Save Water Speech Essay

Good morning to the excellencies, respected teachers and my dear colleagues. I would like to speech on a very important topic â€Å"save water† today at this special occasion. As well all know that how the water is important for the continuation of life on the earth. It is the most basic need of everyone (human being, animal, plant and other microorganisms). Water is the unique source of life, without water we cannot imagine the life here. Life on other planets is not possible just because of the absence of water. It is considered as the most important among other known celestial bodies. Almost three-fourth area of the earth is covered by the water and it constitutes around 60-70 % of the living world. It seems that water is endless renewable source on the earth because it is regenerated and redistributed all over the earth through evaporation and rain. It arises a question in our mind that if water is renewable source then why we should worry for water and try to conserve it. Actually, there is only 1% of the water on the earth which is usable to us. And other water bodies have unusable water to us such as 97% salty sea water, 2% water in the form of glaciers and polar ice caps. Only 1% water is here for us over which a huge population all over the world is depended for the survival. Death is more possible in the lack of water than the lack of food. It again arises a question in our mind that why we are so late in realizing the need of water saving and conservation. Since the life of each and every living things on the earth depends on water, then scenario will get worse if useful water become dirty or started reducing. A water looking fresh and drinkable from outside can be mixed with the harmful and toxic elements through various sources like industries, factories, sewer, etc and cause illness and death if ingested by animals, plants or human beings. Here are some tips which really will help us to save water: Parents should aware their children about the need of water conservation. They should avoid buying recreational water toys (which require constant stream of water) to their children. Everyone should be aware of the water shortage rules and restrictions and strictly follow in their own area. Every employee should be active for the water conservation at their own work place and encourage their employer to promote water conservation in other effective ways. There should be water conservation awareness and tips for every starter in the orientation manual and training program at schools, colleges,  work place, offices, institutions, etc. Water conservation techniques should be promoted on every news media such as TV, newspaper, radio, FM, community newsletters, bulletin boards, banners, etc. People should be more active in their area to report (to their owner, local authorities, water management of district) any problems related to water loss through broken pipes, errant sprinklers, open hydrants, abandoned free-flowing wells, etc. Water conservation awareness should be highly developed and promoted especially in the schools to aware children means future of the nation. School students should be assigned to prepare projects on water conservation or given this topic during any competition like debate, discussion, essay writing or speech recitation. It should be promoted at tourism level so that tourists and visitors can be aware of and understand the need for water conservation. As being educated citizens we should encourage our friends and neighbors to join the water conscious community. Everyone should make a task related to water saving and try to complete by the end of day strictly.

Riordan’s Manufacturing Strategy

The Ordain Manufacturing Company utilizes the level strategy for their manufacturing and production planning. The process begins with the raw materials that are received by the receiving team who ensure all necessary materials are accounted for and this team moves the raw materials to the factory. The receiving supervisor then compares shipping documents against scheduled incoming orders for processing. These orders are then received by the inventory clerk and this person enters the information related to the raw materials receipts into the inventory system.The level strategy is beneficial for Ordain because they are able to maintain a stable workforce at all times, working at a constant output rate. This strategy offers a schedule that keeps the finished product moving at the same rate throughout the production cycle. Ordain can continuously produce their products equal to the average demand of the goods. In addition, employees benefit from this strategy because they are guaranteed stable work hours and the costs of potentially decreased customer service levels and Increased Inventory costs, (Jacobs, F. R. & Chase, R. , 2011). Forecasting Technique and ProcessThe quantitative forecasting technique Is the most practical for Ordain Manufacturing to utilize to determine the future sales for their electric fans. Quantitative forecasting Is a statistical technique for making projections using data and prior experiences to predict those future sales based on past trends. (Observationally. Com, 2014). Radian's China plant prepares Its own forecast of electric fan sales that take place throughout the world. Their make-TCL;-order stock process forecasts Its demand for the fans based on the average sales In the previous three years and anticipate the same for upcoming years.

Business game

Reflection on Personal Performance in Business Strategy Game Business strategy games involving management process before confirming the decision to be made. Lesson learned taken from the business game, from the process and the content from the case (industry and situation condition of the business). Management Process Planning was the first process taken. Reading and understanding the relevant information was necessary and plays a significant role in planning process. Expectation was established in the planning, and followed stepping process until all aspects have been determined, including all distinctiveness in production (capacity, model, etc. ), transportation (shipping), labor, etc. Planning is critical, and it was indicated in the business strategy games, in which it required quite some time to achieve an agreement. Time was also a factor should be considered, and it drove the discussion on the planning to obtain the agreement. Organizing was also needed in the game to obtain optimal process. One opinion was listened and it organized the discussion and the direction of the process toward certain strategy. Other opinion was taking in to consideration, whether support or as devil advocacy to the strategy. The process also managed by organizing the flow of discussion to center on the strategy with already decided to be focused on. One person plays role as organizer at one time became a source person or follower in the other time. This approach of organizing made the progress of the discussion in the one focal point that describes the strategy taken which leads to the decision. When a member played the role as organizer, then the member did directing the process and content according to the chosen strategy, and also can happened that the strategy can be changed according to the expected result and considering assumption of strategy of the competitors. Some times in the process, one or more member can have their drive going down. In this situation other member did motivated the team to keep up the winning spirit. Controlling was also involved in the process, by focus on one thing and sacrifices in other thing, align with the strategy. These four processes of management were implemented in the process of gaining the final decision and in determining the content to be made (such as production/manufacturing, shipping, labor, price, etc. ), in which the final decision was made by consensus. The experience in the game gives the learning point in practicing of implementing management process, planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. Within a given time, group should be able to do planning (including crafting the strategy, and establish the goal), organizing the process (including agreed on the road map of the process, listening and expressing opinion, and adjusting to the characteristics of the group), directing (including do and accept direction, motivating others, make or initiate decision), and controlling (to be aligned with strategy). Management Functions Strategy plays a critical role in the process, and aim to make the company have differentiation that creates competitive edge compare with the competitors. Decisions are determined align with the chosen strategy. Strategy such as increasing market share and or increasing price to obtain more profit, and or have a low cost production by moving the manufacturing to the low cost location, and or lowering the labor cost, and or increasing the quality of the product, etc. , were became the issues discussed during the process. Any decision made in the process should be linked to the strategy and eventually to the expected result (goal). Marketing management initiatives plays important role in the process. Attention was put in the advertising or promotion program. The decision on the initiatives was made in relation with other initiatives, and initiative should be congruence to be able to reach expected impact. Operations management was also applied, in order to have efficient and low cost production, to be able to lower the price, or put emphasizing in better quality of product and therefore adjust the price to a higher number. Having different locations of manufacturing was also part of consideration in operation management, including the days needed for shipping, and inventory level. Financial management was critical. At the end of the day, the success of the strategy, whether the plan was achieved of not, was determined by facts and figures which was analyzed and interpreted in terms of financial. The situation or condition of the company was considering of profitable, safe or potentially bankrupt, and whether the strategy was effective or not was determined from numbers including financial ratios. Production plan and realization, exchange rate, labor cost, product sold or unsold, inventory level, price, etc. were contributed to the financial condition, and will be analyzed further for determining next strategy (for next run). Human Resource was also had major role in the decision process. Number of labor involved, salary and incentives, were several factors considered in human resource function. During the discussion it was also considered incentive factors as the factor that can boost the motivation of the employees, in which can increase the productivity and eventually proportionally can lower the cost. Experience in the business games told that the management functions will be more effective if it was take into consideration in integrated way. The strategy made was comprise of many functions of management, Working in Teams Team work was a factor that can smooth the progress of the practice toward a productive way. At one time one member took the role as leader, and expressed the idea or opinion which regarded as reference that was supported or argued by other members. The leader than guide or direct the process toward obtaining acceptable or best solution. Other member played role as follower, tried to understand point of view of the leader, and gave opinion to enrich the information for having the decision. In one process it can happened that the role of leader was switch from one member to another member, and lead the discussion toward the decision. Working in team in the business games demonstrated by listening to other opinions or ideas and, gave contribution to the group by doing analysis and expressing constructive argument and idea or opinion to the group. In the process of making group decision, group tried to obtain consensus, with all group members support the decision. Experience and Lesson Taken to Working Place In leading unit in the working place, it is important to have clear goals for the unit, which are determined in the process of performance planning that usually take place at the beginning of the year. The goals comprises of organization (unit) objective, and individual objective which should be clear and measurable (refer to SMART Goals principle) and cascaded from top to bottom, means that the goals are aligned from executive or manager position to staff position. Having a clear goals or expectations will make all employees within the unit know exactly what are expected to be achieved and will make the monitoring of performance become more effective, and eventually it will make the evaluation of the achievement more effective. Leader should be able to define the goals, which reflected what the unit wants to be, particularly for the respective year. For the unit, strategy than decided to define what is the best way to achieve the goals or answering how to get there. Leader should be able to determine the strategy, which should consider of having different way of doing rather than just following the same thing. Strategy should have put into consideration opportunities and obstacles that can potentially will be faced along the year. For the unit performance, flow of work, service level agreement, number of employee, training and development program that will have impact to the quality of work, compensation practice, etc. should be considered in order to have effective strategy. Every people in the organization have potential, and leader should put effort to unleash the potential of the individual and support them to perform in their work. Many initiatives of improvement or programs come from the people in the unit that can give positive impact to the unit. Motivation is needed to keep the work spirit not fall to the lower level. Leader should do coaching to ensure people in the unit understand and on track, make sure that people move to the same direction with same strategy. Every function of management can be implemented to achieve optimum result. Managing the operation implemented to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of work. Human resource management will help in ensuring what unit do are align with the business. Financial management can be implement whether in business or support function, for instance to measure Return on Investment of certain initiatives. As member of management team, we should contribute in a positive way by giving opinion and ideas, or doing what has been decided productively. Discussion should be conducted in conducive way, listen what other people say and express opinion to reach to the decision. When decision has been made, member should follow and committed to perform the decision in effectively. Success of the unit is also determined by the competency, performance, and contribution of the members. To have an optimum result, member should be able to look the purpose as unit purpose not individual purpose. This principle can create synergy between members in the team and can contribute more to the performance of the team. The business strategy games provide inspiration that can be applied in the working situation. Having competitors that can affect the result of one group convey the message that in establishing standard, one unit should not look into inside factors, but should also consider outside factors. The capability of the unit can be seen differently and will lead to different goals and strategy. Strategy can be different if the external condition is supportive and indicates opportunity and will be different if the external conditions are not accommodating. Macro and micro analysis can be conducted to have a more comprehensive analysis for obtaining effective and right decision. Read more: http://www. ukessays. com/essays/business/reflection-on-personal-performance-in-business-strategy-game-business-essay. php#ixzz2leirR8KT BUSINESS SIMULATION GAMES INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION PAPER On 10 November 2010 afternoon, Our Can group get a chance to get the materials business simulation games, the first time we were a little confused and not understand what the content and intent or purpose of this program. Until then we get the opportunity to play an active role play in the game by forming a company in our Group Can. Listen Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary I am a member of cans group discussion 3, in this business game, we manage the company named CHAMP. We chose the name CHAMP for our company becouse we hopes that companies will become a leader or a winner in this Business Simulation Game. Growth of our company in this game very interesting and gave many valuable lessons. Our company was ranked second on the game in first year, after making changes in the manufacturing and marketing strategy; we became the first winner in the game in the second year. In the third year we make changes in the shipping, manufacturing also marketing strategy again to maintain its position as champion, but in the fact that our ranking dropped to be number 3. In the fourth year we wanted to get back into champions. We did totally change the strategy in all sections and mainly to increase product awareness, we contracted with many famous artists paid a high price for promotion. But the results we slumped to the lowest ranking (sixth). This surprised us and made us confused to find out where our biggest mistakes in managing the company. Listen Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary noun camp compound Did not want to continue to decline, in the fifth year we try to flash back to learn the success stories in the first and second year, besides that we also study the companys strategy of competitors, then we create a new strategy and the results we were able to ride into fourth place. In the sixth year we try to make small changes to strategy in several sections and the results we rose again to number three. In the seventh year we do not make changes to our strategy and stay at rank 3. After doing business game above, there are many valuable lessons that I get. Those lessons were: About Management Process (Planning, Organizing, Directing, Controlling) In managing a company as a manager or owner of a business we must have: a. Planing ? Both long-term planning and short term, this really helps us to determine the strategy or action we should do in the near future or the preparation for long-term corporate strategy. b. Organization ? Complete, clear and transparent as one of the supporters because of the companys people are assets of a company†, the placement of people with appropriate knowledge and skills that will facilitate the acceleration of the process as well as the operations of a company. It also must be supported by a clear Job Description and detail-enter the respective functions of the organization. c. Directing ? In the governance of a company also must be supported by rules or standard operating systems or procedures are clear and understood by all line employees. we often call with company regulations, standard operating procedures etc. d. Controlling ? As a manager or owner in a company we still have to implement controls on employee performance, corporate governance, corporate operating costs and market conditions that support the smooth and that we manage the companys growth periodically. We can also be done with checking Monthly Report / Balance Sheet , hold on monthly meetings, etc. Listen Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary adjective inside deep indoor internal interior profound inland intrinsic cavernous thoughtful three-dimensional adverb deeply sound preposition in within on to inside under in the course of prefix endo- 2. About Management Function (Strategy, Marketing, Operations, Finance, Human Resources, etc. ) Strategy ? Corporate strategy should be set appropriately by considering several factors, including supporters of human capital, finance, market share and also that there are competitors in the same type of business with our company. In the governance of a business may take a few strategies such as for launching a new product needs some backup strategy, it is necessary whenever the initial strategy does not show results in maximum then we still have some alternative backup strategy, so it does not require a long time to take any action appropriate in market penetration. Marketing ? According to my opinion, the success rate of a company also backed with the full functionality of the marketing is true both in the company engaged in the services or products etc. Capable marketing, product master, around the existing market and marketing must knowing the strengths and weaknesses of competitors. Listen Operations ? Operational support from both system and service level aggrement factor in a process of corporate governance is very important. It also needs to be supported with the latest technology. Listen Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary verb hold conduct make organize provide establish arrange carry out throw take set up call launch institute stage put on bring about impose carry on incur exercise levy open put up effect float lay on negotiate afford touch off operate stage-manage generate phrase bring into being Finance ? A company can be said in good condition when to generate maximum profit. As a manager or the owners of a company we should be able to manage our capital versus operating costs required, the greater the profit earned by production costs that are not too large will show the healthy of a business. However, we also must consider the placement of funds and financial governance of our company, whether already in accordance with the budgeting or is not appropriate. In terms of business expansion or major factor that should we consider is the condition of our corporate finance, whether supportive or not, when lack of support but the potential or opportunities that we have a large, one financial source of our business is on loan from the Bank with a source of return and specific timeframe. Human Resources ? In addition to the above factors one important thing to note is that inadequate human resources that are reliable and have the skills to suit the needs of the company. A competent leader should be able to determine the amount of labor requirements and can put the right people-enter the respective divisions within an organization. 3. About Working In Teams To work as a reliable teamwork are some things we have to consider include: Get familiar with either all members of the team, it is useful to the division of tasks and towards solving problems that arise. We must be willing to hear opinions of all members of the team in making changes in strategy or action for operasinal company. Explore more information and opinion that reliable and resonable with the case or problem that we should solving as a good team work, eq. Browsing some data from internet or from any sourches. Putting the right people on the job or responsibilities in accordance with the characteristics of our team members are. Based on the experiences and lessons I got from the business game I have done, I plan to apply some advantages in my workplace. As the leader of my unit : A leader should have strong leadership and enough skills to manage the organization and the company. Planning, directing (also mentoring or choaching program) and controlling periodicly to all of my sub ordinate. Delegate some responsibilities to the deputy business with a fixed control function properly . Sharing knowledge to all sub-ordinate, sub-branch manager and exploring new knowledge, new technology and strategy for the success of Bank Mega Cluster Balikpapan Special Hire employee from another Bank (Manager or Marketing) to help me manage the company and make the vision 1000 of Bank Mega become reality (become the leader bank in Balikpapan – East Kalimantan Indonesia) As a member of my management team : Being more creative, proactive and always have new ideas to supporting the management team More details in targeting business opportunities and increase market share. Establishing a reliable team work with 2-way communication is effective and still value the opinions of other members of management team Read more: http://www. ukessays. com/essays/business/business-simulation-games-individual-reflection-paper-business-essay. php#ixzz2lej5YvdS REFLECTION PAPER – THE BUSINESS STRATEGY GAME About Management Processes From the Business Strategy Game, I learned that first important process for a company to determine its future business path was to set a strategic and realistic planning about what is the company goal, how long the goal will be achieved and how to achieve the goal among the competition. In setting the plan, company should define first what is their mission statement or strategic vision. This mission statement is a statement which indicates the purposes and activities of the company’s business/goals in brief, clear and focus words. Along with mission statement, company must clearly define its objectives quantitatively within certain period. From these quantitative objectives, company could set a realistic and attainable long term strategic planning to allocate budget and resources in the company. In strategic planning, company should define clearly its target market, financial objective and competitive position among the industry. This strategic planning will be the direction of the company in running its business. After setting the strategic planning, company should design an organization structure to manage the company effectively, by designating persons who will in charge in each roles and held responsibility in each area of the business in the company (marketing, finance, operation, sales and so on), especially the person who will be responsible as the leader of the company (as CEO). The role of CEO is very essential because he/she must lead company to the right direction in implementing company strategy to achieve company’s objectives. From the clear and effective organization structure, CEO and management will have clear legitimation and authority in directing all resources in the company to implement the company’s strategy. Finally, the company should closely and intensively controlling and monitoring the performance of the strategy during implementation to assess its progress against the pre-defined targets and ensure that all the company elements were doing their parts and responsibility in the right track. About Management Functions In a company, management should establish the right and important functions which will run the company operational activities, define what are the responsibilities of each functions and ensure that each functions performed in accordance with the company objectives. In order to give more value to the company in terms of profitability, management should work together to set a strategy in making company’s output (product or services) more competitive in the market by considering all aspects involved. As an example, to gain more profitability company could set pricing strategy to be higher or lower compare to market but before decided the price, company should consider other aspects such as costs, quality and resources needed in creation of the product or services. About Working in Teams In working as a team member in the company, it is very important to determine a clear designation about who will act as the leader and the follower. Because if there’s no clear designation, potentially will cause the resources in the company to move to the wrong direction and this will destruct company effort in achieving its objectives. As a leader, a person should show the ability to manage and to coach the entire team member to do their tasks properly, and he/she should has willingness to listen and appreciation to his/her followers insights at the same time. And as a follower, one should give respect to the leader and obey the leader decisions. But it is important too for the company to define what is the follower assignment and designation, because if it is not clearly defined, the follower couldn’t perform nor contributed optimally in attaining company’s objective process. What I plan to do in my work place from the experience and lessons I took from the BSG are : As the leader of my unit I will put more effort to be an effective and efficient leader of my unit and will put more awareness to all my team member that our jobs especially in designing the most efficient operational work flow in my company has essential impact in saving the company budget and optimizing company resources which will contributed in achieving the company’s objective especially in financial aspect and giving more value to the customer and shareholder. And furthermore I will spend more time and effort to evaluate designation and job description for each member of my team, to put the right person to the right job and responsibility. If the designation and job description were not fit or not clear to the team member, it will impact to the performance of the working unit itself because each team member do not know exactly what is their role in their working unit. As a member of my management team I will put more consideration and attention about financial impact of any decision that my management made. From the BSG, I see that all activities in each working unit must be contributed and affected to the company strategic planning especially in achieving financial goals. And I will put more respect to any member and any decision of my management team made, even though sometimes the decision seems to be hard to be implement, I will try to see it from wider perspective that the decision must be made deliberately and considered many important aspects which ending is to give more value for the company.

HEART DIESAES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HEART DIESAES - Essay Example Types of heart diseases Coronary heart disease is a condition in which the coronary blood vessels increasingly become unable to supply sufficient blood and oxygen due to a blockage caused by plague deposits (Gregson 2001, p.16); eventually, this results in a reduced supply of blood and oxygen to the heart. In addition to that, the Coronary heart disease results in intense chest pains, angina, and could eventually trigger a heart attack or devastating injury to the heart muscle. In this regard, common symptoms for coronary heart diseases include angina, pressure on the chest and other places such as arms, neck, back and jaws, in addition to a fatalistic shortness of breath (Chenzbraun 2010, p.9). Well-determined risk factors for the Coronary heart disease include cigarette smoking, hypertension, alcoholism, diabetes, and obesity, in addition to family history, stress, lack of adequate exercise, and hyperlipidemia. The treatments for Coronary heart disease include lifestyle changes suc h as smoking and alcohol cessation, medications such as statins, nitroglycerin, and aspirin, which lowers risk of recurrence (Pampel and Pauley 2004, p.57); in addition, other treatments available are surgical operations such as the coronary artery bypass or heart transplant and non-surgical operations such as the coronary angioplasty using stents. Angina pectoris is a warning sign for heart attack; also known as angina, it is a medical term for the chest pain that follows insufficient supply of blood to the heart. There are different types of angina, with different intervals of pain ranging from just a few seconds to several minutes, and each one of them has different causes and risk factors as well. For instance, stable angina presents with chest discomfort and allied symptoms triggered by some activity such as running but minimal or non-existent at rest or with medication, while unstable angina is very severe and occurs with minimal exertion, with a crescendo pattern, Micro-vascu lar angina presents with chest pains too, but unlike the other two, its causes are unknown. Common symptoms of angina pectoris include chest discomfort, a sort of pressure or heaviness sensation, in addition to referred pains in such areas as the upper central abdomen section, including the back, neck, jaws, or shoulders; some people may also present with autonomic symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and pallor. Major risk factors for angina pectoris include cigarette smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and an inactive lifestyle, in addition to family history of premature heart disease; the most common treatment for angina is nitro-glycerine, a potent vasodilator that supplies more oxygen to the heart muscle. Congestive heart failure denotes the condition whereby the heart becomes unable to supply a sufficient amount of blood to the rest of the body due to fatty plaques (Caldwell 2007, p.6), resulting in a reduced oxygen supply to the body tissues. Symptoms for heart failure include shor tness of breath, a swelling of the legs, and intolerance of exertion or exercise, while common causes of the condition include coronary artery disease, heart attack, cardiomyopathy, in addition to all other conditions that overwork the heart such as hypertension, valve, kidney and thyroid diseases, and diabetes.

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 74

Leadership - Essay Example This trait would be most useful in an athletic department especially in the area of delegation of authority, for example, in the selection of a team captain. The team captain would have to be a person who has a very high achievement drive. The rest of the players look up to the captain of the team as their natural leader bath in the field and as a team. The captain must therefore have demonstrated high levels of effort both during practice and in competition situations. He must be able to rally the team into action through his/ her natural charisma as this acts as a booster of team morale (Arvey, 2006). The captain must have a demonstrable high ambition for the team and other team members so that he is a holistic team player. High energy levels in the captain must be evident as this will serve to revive the team when they are undergoing a slump during competitions or practice sessions. Personal initiative is very desirable in a team captain as this will make him a very effective situ ational leader on the field and also off-field (Yukl,

Changes in American Transportation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Changes in American Transportation - Essay Example Transportation includes transportation of people, goods, and even animals.There were various means of transportation in America during the 1800's, including Steam Boats, Horses and the use of Public Ferry. Nowadays, transportation and communication are usually treated in different contexts. However, during early 1800's, long distance communication was very much dependent upon transportation. During that period, transportation was synonymous to communication, and the growth of transportation directly affected the developments in communication to a great extent. During the 1800's the 'pony couriers', a means of transportation as well as communication, influenced the history of transportation in America.In order to appreciate the changes in transportation during that period, it is necessary to analyze the process under the then prevailing circumstances, and gain an understanding of transportation methods and processes back then. A careful analysis of the newspapers of this period in the history provides glimpses of the status of transportations prevailed in those times. In America, transportation in the sea and waterways was already quite developed between 1800 and 1810. The use of steam boats started between 1800 and 1810. ... Transportation of the agricultural and industrial commodities strengthened the economy of the country. Within few years steam boar services grown very fast, catering to the development of the economy, and a news article is given below. Natchiz, Jan 2: Important Arrival - Arrived here on Monday last, the Steam-Boat from Pittsburgh which had as a regular trader She was only 921 hours underway from Pittsburgh to this place a distance of near two thousand miles."1 Before then, only the inland methods of transportation, like horses, mules and asses which remained primitive because of their slow pace of technological development, that Americans relied upon. Animals like horses, mules and asses were the means of transportation before 1800.This change in the mode of transportation enabled Americans to move from place to place more conveniently than they could before 1800. During the 1800's it was normal to come across the advertisements in newspapers, a sample of which is given below, for trading in horses. "A Mare and Horse for Sale, Classified Ad 4"2 Another change in the mode of transportation between 1800 and 1810 was the commencement of the use of Public ferries. Adverts like the one below were to be regularly seen in the newspapers then. "Be it ordained by the Mayor, Aldermen, Common Council, and Freemen of the City of Hartford, That if any person shall willfully, or negligently, ride or drive any kind of Carriage, or Vehicle, or ride, lead, or drive any horse upon any Side Walk in laid City, now laid out, or hereafter to be laid out, unless for the purpose of necessarily... and to pay to such party just damages."3 "The port cities and ferry places were active with import and export of cargo of various types. Primitive types of

Microsoft Management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Microsoft Management - Term Paper Example This company has helped to alter the living, working, and recreational behavior of hundreds of millions of public around the world (History link.org, 2000). Additionally, Microsoft entered the operating system (OS) business in 1980 with its own version of UNIX, called Xenix. However, Disk Operating System (DOS) ultimately proved the company's dominant power. After the breakdown of the discussion with Digital Research, IBM granted the contract to Microsoft in November 1980 to provide a version of the CP/M operating system. It was set to be utilized in the upcoming IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC). By December 1982, Microsoft approved DOS to 50 additional manufacturers. Millions of IBM "clones" were being sold, and were powered by MS-DOS. Soon after, in 1983, the Graphical User Interface (GUI), which facilitates representation of computer programs and files through icons and other graphics on the screen of the computer, was launched. The success of MS-DOS led to invention of a new operat ion system OS/2 in 1984 and also release of Microsoft Windows (United States Securities And Exchange Commission, 2011). Subsequently, Microsoft introduced its Office collection, ‘Microsoft Office’, in 1990. The software bundled distinct office use applications, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. As the early versions of Windows were unsuccessful, so Windows 3.0 was launched with an efficient graphics user interface and superior ‘protected mode capability’ for the Intel processor. This idea made both MS Office and MS Windows foremost in their respective areas. The company also diverted into software applications, by creation of certain programs that allow computers to perform specific tasks, such as word processing and spreadsheets. It also began producing Compact Disk--Read Only Memory (CD-ROMs) (United States Securities And Exchange Commission, 2011). In the year 1995, Microsoft redefined its assistance and extended its products into ‘networ king’ along with the ‘World Wide Web’ and also with ‘Windows 95’. Windows 95 was an entirely innovative user interface with a narrative start button. It also provided 32-bit compatibility as well as the MSN, an online service, and Internet Explorer for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), a web browser. In 1998, Microsoft enjoyed its monopoly in the field of operating systems. Moreover, by 2001, Microsoft established Windows XP. It became very successful and also acquired a reputed position in the market. In 2004, new version of Windows XP was developed and later in 2007, Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 came into existence (History link.org, 2000). Thus, it can be stated that Microsoft, with its immense inventions marked its path as an industrial giant. Empowerment Human Resource Management (HRM) includes the administration of people in an organization in order to form a collective relationship between management and employees. This appro ach focuses on the proper functioning of the organization. Human resource management includes various processes such as work force planning, training and development, empowerment and employee appraisal among others (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). Empowerment is a part

Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health - Essay Example Addressing health impairment factors with substance abusers is called â€Å"Fear appeals†, the individual can be taught about the hazards involved in abusing drugs and explaining the entire bodily, mechanism that is hampered as a result of the drugs. In order to convey the message of the fear appeal, the substance abuser must be sober at that time and one another factor that would be more effective in dealing with the problem is not inducing excessive amount of fear in the client. If the fear appeal induces excessive fear the client is likely to suppress these unpleasant feelings as quickly as possible and though, for a short period of time he may quit substance abuse but the behavior may relapse once the fear subsides. Therefore, clinicians must exercise caution. 2. Would it make a difference how old the substance abuser is? Age is an extremely significant factor in determining the effects of addressing the health impairment factor. For instance, if the substance abuser is yo ung there is a high possibility that the individual began abusing drugs only recently.

How sociological perspective contribute to the relationship between Essay

How sociological perspective contribute to the relationship between the education and the society - Essay Example of opportunity, the democracy and economy (Department of Education, 2004) and it has been well known that schools could help individuals to be socialized (Meyer, 1977). Therefore, this essay would like to discuss how the sociological perspective might explain the relationship between the education and the society. Particularly, this essay will illustrate this point from these three levels: the social contribution of the physical education, the development of students’ socialization process and the importance of the education to the social equity and development. This essay will be structured as follows: it starts by talking about the social effect of the physical education followed by the effect on students’ socialization process. After that, this essay will look at the impact on the social equity together with the discussion about the interaction of these three topics. At last, this essay will conclude by illustrating how these three factors work with the relationship between the society and the education. Physical education deals with the exercise and development of students’ bodies (Kirk et al, 2006). Moreover, it makes students realize the importance of their bodies and the fact that they should take care of their condition in order to maintain clean habits in society. The naturalistic view of the body says that the study of the body could be fully explained by the scientific studies (Shilling, 1993). Thus, the functions of our body and our activity could be understood by biological science thoroughly. In comparison, the sociological perspective argues that the biology could not fully explain the behavior of the body as some activities were determined by the society and the social behavior is a combination of both nature and culture (Evans, 1993; Kirk et al, 2006). Particularly, Giddens (1993) stated that our body is influenced ‘by our social experience as well as the norms and values of the groups to which we belong’. This means that our body is

Of Mice and Men Character Analysis Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Character Analysis Essay Write a study of the character of Crooks, showing how Steinbeck uses him to tell us more about the other characters, and about the social and economical context of the book? This novel takes place in the 1930s, it was a time of great depression, there was racial prejudice towards coloured people and there were very few job opportunities making it hard for people to have a good standard of living. Steinbeck wrote this novel to show us the daunting and alarming conditions for workers at this time; he chose each character to represent a different type of person. For example, one of the characters Crooks represents coloured people. When reading the story of mice and man we learn that Crooks is a kind and considerate man You told me to warm up tar for the mules foot. I got it warm this tells us that Crooks is generous man and is always willing to help. I can do it if you want Mr Slim when Crooks is speaking to Slim, he is deferential towards Slim and treats him like a superior by calling him Mr Slim. Although Crooks is a kind man he is not treated fairly and adequate all due racial prejudice they let the nigger come in that night first of all he is not even called by his proper name instead they use racial discrimination to point him out as he is called intimidating and awful words such as nigger and stable buck. He does not bunk with the others workers because the other workers are racist towards him and all due to his colour Crooks has to live in a stable buck where all the other animals live as he is not treated as an equal, had his bunk in the harness-room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn this tells us that Crooks is treated inappropriately as he has to live in appalling conditions. We also get the impression that Crooks is isolated from the other workers making him feel lonely and deserted Crooks said darkly: guys dont come into a coloured mans room very much this tells us that Crooks has no true friends, this is not because he is a atrocious man, it is because of racial prejudice. Another reason why Crooks is lonely is that he segregates himself from the white workers as hes the only black worker on the ranch. We learn that Crooks is well educated as he has books in his room And he had books, too; a tattered dictionary and a maules copy of the California civil code for 1905. This also tells us that although there is racial prejudice, Crooks knows his rights. We get the impression that Crooks is realistic and scornful and once dreams of owning his own farm Youre nuts. Crooks was scornful. I see hundreds of men come by on the roads an on the ranches with their bindles on their back an that same damn thing on their heads. This tells us that Crooks is like any ordinary man, he also has dreams to own a farm one day. If youguys would want a hand to work for nothing just his keep, why Id come an lend a hand. This suggests that Crooks is desperate to get out of this ranch and he is hoping he will one day own that farm. Well, jus forget it, said Crooks. I didnt mean it. Jus foolin. I wouldnt want to go no place like that Crooks now realises there is no way he will ever get out of the ranch and own a farm so he tries to convince himself he never wanted a farm in the first place. The door opened quietly and the stable buck put in his head; a lean negro head, lined with pain, the eye patient. This tells us that Crooks has to be patient when living with the workers as he knows he is below the other workers because he is a coloured man and if Crooks was to make a slight move out of line there will be problems and fights will break out. When Crooks is talking to Candy, Crooks has to treat him well otherwise trouble will break out, you can come in if you want Although Crooks does not want Candy to come in he has to treat the other workers with respect Candy seemed embarrassed. I do know. Course, if ya want me to We get the impression that Candy feels embarrassed to go into a coloured mans room. I was born right here in California. My old man had a chicken ranch, bout ten acres. The white kids come to play at our place this tells us that in Crooks past life, there was nor always racial discrimination and he was once treated as an equal and as he got older there was more racial prejudice. Most of the other workers treat Crooks with no respect except for Slim who treats Crooks like an equal and in return Crooks treats him like a superior . Huh? Oh Hello Crooks. Whats a matter? First of all, this tells us that Slims treats Crooks with respect by calling him by his proper name, we also get the impression that Slims shows consideration to Crooks by asking him Whats a matter? Slim is the only worker that respects Crooks for who he actually is. Well, he aint doin no harm. I give him one of my pups. This shows that Slim is kind and friendly towards everyone and not just Crooks. The majority of the workers at the ranch treat Crooks will no respect and show no consideration where the hell is that God damn nigger? the first impression I get is that the workers do not treat Crooks reasonably, as they do not call him by his name, they call him racial words such as nigger and stable buck. When the workers get angry all anger is taken out on Crooks, this tells us that Crooks is not treated like a human being all due to racial prejudice. Cause Im black. They play cards in there, but I cant play because Im black. They say I stink. This shows us that not only a small amount of workers are racist towards Crooks, the majority of the workers are. Smitty says he woulda killed the nigger this tells us that the workers not only hate him but they want to kill him, this gives us the impression on the amount of racial discrimination. Even Curleys wife who is not a worker at the ranch is racist towards Crooks Listen, Nigger, she said. You no what I can do to you if you open your trap Crooks is treat badly by the majority of workers on the ranch due to racial discrimination Crooks has to treat them well Yes maam Although Crooks knows his rights, he has very few of them and he always has to show respect towards the other worker The other characters show no respect towards Crooks as they are racist, unfair and cruel towards him, the majority of the workers do not even call Crooks by his name and call him racial words such as nigger where the hell is that God damn nigger? The only character who shows any sign of respect towards Crooks is Slim, Slim treats him like an equal Hello Crooks. Whats a matter? Although in the time this novel was set there was racial discrimination Slim was not racist towards Crooks because he was a fair and respectable man. In return Crooks treats Slim like a superior I can do it if you want, Mr Slim We get the impression that Lennie does not even no who Crooks is as he has a very immature behaviour and a childish mind

Financial Reporting Systems of Germany and the Netherlands

Financial Reporting Systems of Germany and the Netherlands Nobes (1998) classifies the German financial reporting system as a Type B (weak equity) and The Netherlands as Type A (strong equity). Compare the financial reporting systems of Germany and The Netherlands. National differences have all become stereotypical. Indeed the differences between countries may be vast. Influences such as family origin, or attitudes towards business culture are inherently reflected in the way businesses are run, managed and owned. There are also many reasons as to why there are differences in financial reporting. These depend on the character of the national legal system, the type of industry financing, the interrelationship between tax and finance reporting systems, the extent of accounting theory progression and even language.(Elliott, 2006)[1] In terms of the legal system between Germany and the Netherlands, it is clear tat they both follow a civil law system which is different to the common la procedure of the United Kingdom contained within the Companies Act 1981.[2] However, for the purposes of this essay, I will focus on the comparisons between the financial supporting systems of German and the Netherlands with regards to the Nobes’ (1998) classification of Germany being a weak equity (Type B) while the Netherlands in a strong Equity (Type A). I will consider Nobes’ theory by considering equity figures for both Germany and the Netherlands in respect of their types of equity and will briefly compare the financial reporting systems of the two countries. Although equity is represented in many different forms, it is generally defined as â€Å"the value of a company which is the property of its ordinary shareholders (the company’s assets less its liabilities, not including the ordinary share capital)[3] In terms of financial accounting reporting, considerations of which is the relevant way of financing a business, i.e. the information required by equity investors are different to those of load creditors. Strong equity can be defined as a high ratio between equity market capitalisation and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) whilst weak equity is a low ratio between market capitalisation and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).[4] I, Germany had the lowest equity of 5 countries which were studied. (49%). This shows that unlike America, France or presumably the Netherlands, Germany does not rely heavily on individual investors. Specifically, Nobes (1998) develops a frameork that seek to explain the differences in international accounting. Nobes catagorises accounting systems into two types: Class A (accounting for outside shareholders) and Class B (accounting for tax and creditors). Two variables determine whether a country will have a Class A or a Class B accounting system: (1) the type of culture and (2) the strength of the equity-outsider financing system. According to the model, countries with Type A cultures have developed strong outsider-equity financing systems that have led to the development of a Class A financial reporting system. Therefore, like America and the UK, the Netherlands has relied on a Type A accounting system that is relaint on a high ratio of equity investment as oposed to loan creditors. Conversely, countries with Type B cultures have weak outsider-equity financing (i.e. weak equity) systems that have led to the development of a Type B financial reporting system . This model is comonly known to be widespread practice within continenatl Europe including Germany. Nobes (1998) stsudies the link between the financing system and accounting, but also believes that a Type A system in terms of equity financing is not entirely dependant on Type A accounting, but instead external or outsider equity financing is imperative. By drawing on examples, Nobes (1998) examines Japan. Japan is a country with many listed companies as well as large equity market, but instead of the market being supported externally, most of the shares are owend by Janpanese banks or other companies, investors etc). According to the model, financial reporting in Japan should exhibit the characteristics of a Type B accounting system. Nonethelss, Nobes (1998) in explaining why Germany is substantialy different to the Netherlands claims that differences in culture, i.e. countries that have altered their culture through war will usually adopt the culture and accounting system imported from the dominating country. This explains, for example, why some post colonial African countries possess a type A system despite having very weak accounting systems. As noted earlier, Nobes focuses his discussion on the link between financing systems and accounting. He assumes that some cultures lead to strong equity-outsider financing systems and others do not, but he leaves the examination of this assumed relationship for others. Nobes appears to assign a very broad view of culture to this variable in his model. In a simplified model presented earlier in his paper he refers to this variable as culture, including institutional structures[5] A brief examination of the differences betweent the culture of institutional structures is examined below. While a Type A classification separates accounting and tax rules, Type B does not.[6] Type A in comparison to Type B also has an extensive auditing system. This is true for the Netherlands in comparison to Germany. In US, UK and Netherlands, link between taxable income and accounting income is much weaker, with separate tax accounts and financial accounts. The information is prepared with external investor information in mind thereby focusing on a large equity market (Type A). In comparison a Type B taxation system such as that of Germany tax accounts which are published financial accounts are not usually prepared for investors, but instead internal forces such as company investors, shareholders etc. In sum, the Type A system such as that in practice in the Netherlands and as proposed by Nobes is one of dynamic accounting formulated with the external investor in mind thereby creating increased demand for external investment. On the other hand, Germany experiences the converse of this, with taxation and accounting system which is interlinked and an intention of financial reporting for internal investors rather than external investors in mind. Bibliography Classification based on Corporate Finance, http://www.people.ex.ac.uk/wl203/BEAM011/Materials/Lecture 10/IA1 Lecture 10.pdf Elliott et al, Financial Accounting and Reporting, (2006 10th ed) Dictionary of Accounting, Collin Publishing (2001) Nobes (1998) Footnotes [1] Elliott et al, Financial Accounting and Reporting, (2006 10th ed) p 136 [2] Ibid, p137. [3] Dictionary of Accounting, Collin Publishing (2001) p.99 [4] Elliott et al, Financial Accounting and Reporting, (2006 10th ed) p 137 [5] Nobes (1998) p. 177 [6] Classification based on Corporate Finance, http://www.people.ex.ac.uk/wl203/BEAM011/Materials/Lecture 10/IA1 Lecture 10.pdf

Your Body Is Never Yours Essay example -- Literary Analysis, Disgrace

In Disgrace, sex is repeatedly used a source of power. Lurie takes advantage of his young student and also pays prostitutes for sex. The most violent act of power and hatred towards sex and women is Lucy ´s rape, performed by two black men. However, I claim sex is in fact not used for power, but that the author believes that we never own our own bodies. Therefore, considering they are not ours, they cannot be violated. Furthermore, he shows us that the worth of our bodies is simply limited to the expectations of people around us. I state that in Disgrace, your body does not belong to you. It is merely a product of expectations and responsibilities. In the opening of the book, Lurie pays for the service of prostitutes to find relief. In his younger days, he could use his charm and good looks to seduce women now â€Å"if he wanted a woman he had to learn to pursue her, in one way or another to buy her† (7). He speaks of wanting something, suggesting that a woman is a thing that can be had, or in this case purchased. While reflecting of the prize he pays for his favorite-prostitute ´s body he realizes that â€Å"in a sense they own Soraya too, this part of her, this function† (2). They, being the escort company that she belongs too. Here it is implied that Soraya is just a product that can be sold and purchased, or even rented out by its owner. When, one day Lurie sees Soraya shopping with her sons, their relationship change. She becomes a person, a living being and their relation ends on her initiative. This shows of her desire to restrain herself to an object in the eyes of her customer. Subsequently, as David no longer can take pleasure from Soraya, he benefits from his position as a respected teacher to take advantage of the much younge... ...eople ´s eyes. Our bodies are not ours, as Lucy affirmed after she has decided to get married to Petrus. â€Å"With nothing. Not with nothing but. With nothing. No cards, no weapon, no property, no rights, no dignity† (205). This is how she sees herself, and perhaps how every person in the novel sees themselves. Everyone realizes that their value is bound to something other than them, David to his status as a professor, Melanie to her youth and beauty, Pertrus to his property and ownership, Lucy to being independent and Bev, who sadly knows that as a dumpy older woman she has no value at all. A sad idea, but nonetheless true in Disgrace. That we are not people but mere products, to be valued, evaluated and graded. The use of power to obtain sex or of sex to obtain power then becomes secondary. As readers we are left with the query of whom or what is deciding our value.

Chernobyl Essay -- Nuclear Chernobyl History Essays

Chernobyl On April 26, 1986 disaster struck the world. It was not a disaster like any other before. A new type of death was now shown to the world. Although during World War II people encountered radiation sickness and death, that was sadly intended. The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear powerstation was undoubtedly the worlds largest nuclear accident. That was the difference. It was accidental, and although innocent people were killed or made sick in the past from radiation, this would prove to be the most disastrous of any incident (other that war) involving radiation. First of all, I should tell you exactly where Chernobyl is. Chernobyl is a rather small town in the Ukraine right near Belarus. It is north of Kiev, the Capital of Ukraine. Kiev is only One hundred and ten kilometers away from Chernobyl and has a population of 2.4 million. Chernobyl’s population is 12,500. In 1986, 10 percent of all the worlds nuclear energy was generated by the USSR. By the year of the accident (also 1986) 4 reactors at Chernobyl’s power station were the most modern reactors to date. These are known as the RBMK type. RBMK is a Russian acronym and when translated roughly means â€Å"reactor cooled by water and moderated by graphite.† This is one of two types of reactors that Soviets have built for the production of nuclear power. The reactor is made up of Three main important parts. The reactor vessel- this houses all other reactor parts. The Core- this consitsts of a huge container filled with the graphite blocks and the Control Rods which are long metal rods. In the Chernobyl reactors, these rods contain boron. They help to control chain reactions by absorbing f... ...incident, put an end to the development of nuclear power plants. Since 1979 no new nuclear power plants have been builtâ€Å"...http://library.thinkquest.org/3426/data/worldwide-effects/rest.html The fact that no more nuclear power plants have been created has created a big issue. Eventually we may be forced to build a new one. In fact plans are already being discussed about how to go about building these or finding alternative energy sources. Storage is also a problem because of the nuclear waste, that no one wants to claim responsibility for, and no one wants to deal with the risks of it. (nimby) So in a few years, changes are going to occur, and I heard it here in class first. That when we hear about the National Guard escorting trucks to Alaska through Canada or trucks containing nuclear waste being escorted through highways, the change has begun.

Motivation in the Workplace Essay -- Business Management Papers

Motivation in the Workplace There are people out there in the workforce that believe they are obligated to do their best at their job simply because that is what is expected from all of us as humans. On the other hand, there are those out there that want to only do as much as they can get away with doing. No matter which one of these employees you are or are working with companies and employer's need to understand the concept of motivation. Motivation comes in many forms such as money, benefits, or simple recognition within. Motivation also leads to higher productivity and profit and that is what we are all looking for in business. The key to unlocking peak performance from your work force is the concept of human motivation. In addition, the key to motivation revolves around one fundamental principle: "What's in it for me?" (WIIFM). We have all been socialized to believe that only "selfish" people consider "What's in store for me." When in reality all people are motivated first by self-interest. The word selfish is used as a negative label for someone's perceived behavior. Understanding the concept of self-interest is perhaps the only way we will understand our need to achieve. Self-interest or feeling good about your self is a fundamental ingredient of motivation. When you work an extra hour, not on the clock, you are doing it for one real reason. It makes you feel good to either get the job done well or to help someone else. In the end you might get some sort of recognition in the company but usually you will not stay an hour extra today to get a gold star in two weeks from now. Dr. Gerald Kushel, has stated in his book "Reaching the Peak Performance Zone"; there are several variables involved in motivation. Among them are... ...hatever the motivational techniques used, they should be customized to coincide with the corporate culture unique to the organization. They also need to be meaningful to the employees and used in ways that the purpose of the reward is obvious. There are all kinds of employees out there with different work ethics and a small amount of thought into the motivational techniques used by an organization can go a long way to getting those unique individuals working together in a more productive and profitable way. Bibliography Works Cited 1. Eye, David E.,1,001 Ways to Inspire 1999 New York Publishing 2. Newman, Dr. Fred, Let's Develop 1994 Castillo International, Inc. 3. Sherman, Arthur W., Managing Human Resources 1998 (11th ed.) South-Western Publishing 4. Traynor, William J., Opportunities in Human Resource Management Careers 1997 VGM Career Horizons

Agribusiness

Agribusiness as a way of life Agribusiness for me is a systematic structure of well coordinated and oriented subsystems which makes the agriculture stable. Agribusiness can be viewed as a system, in which it compose of many subsystems. In agriculture where crops are cultivated to produce crops, the agribusiness plays an important role to distribute those crops in proper places at high value. Well, we all know that agriculture doesn't only involve in crops but also in poultry and livestock, fishery and forestry.It also plays an important role of the daily lives of the people, where the incessant interaction and circulation of commodities is discerned. Without Agribusiness, goods and services will not be delivered to various consumers and the needs and wants of the people cannot be attained. Agribusiness is tantamount to open system which composes of various subsystems. And in order for the system to be viable, its subsystem should also be viable. Any system has its own gaps and weakne sses that may lead the whole system to collapse.And it is obvious that to prevent the whole system to collapse, the operation of each and every subsystem should be well orchestrated, well coordinated and lastly well synchronized to make the whole system viable as it should be. By effective coordination and synergism, agribusiness as viable open system can be attained. The importance of agribusiness as a field of discipline is that we will discern the gaps and weaknesses of our career in which we could devise some individual developmental plan to improve ourselves as well mounded individual, highly competitive meeting national and global needs.Due to ineffable importance of agribusiness in people's daily lives. Many improvements were developed to make human needs, wants and activities much more accessible and easier leading to global industrialization. Annually, investments trends, prospects or development in agribusiness continuously devised to sustain domestic and global needs. The current investment trend or developments in Agribusiness is the â€Å"Biotech investment trend in Europe and Asia for 2012† in which it is stated that theE companies are finally following US and also Japanese organizations in improving their purchase in â€Å"agro-biotechnology' inside Asia. Although simply no precise figures can be obtained, estimates coming from different options indicate in which biotechnology purchase by E firms inside Asia provides increase coming from US dollars 230 million inside 1993 to be able to US dollar 270 thousand in 1995. The growing investment is combined with an increasing variety in business projects. (www. Investment-trend. Bloodspot. Com)

Informal Speech Outline

First Man in Space Topic: Yuri Gagarin General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about first man who escaped Earth’s gravity and appeared in space. Thesis: Gagarin was to be the very first man being in space. Introduction Attention Getter: What would you think if I ask who was the first man in space? First idea is Neil Armstrong? Isn’t it? But what if I say that there was cosmonaut from Soviet Union who traveled in space one year earlier? Significance of Topic: Sounds not familiar?Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history on April 12, 1961 when he became both the first person in the world to enter space and the first person to orbit the Earth. Establishment of Ethos: Since childhood, this man was a hero of mine that’s why I decided to investigate his biography more detailed. Thesis: Gagarin was to be the very first man being in space. Preview Statement: So today we will go on tour to the spacecraft and take a look at Yuri Gagarin’ s life background, his road in becoming a cosmonaut, and the historic flight itself. (Transition: So let’s start our trip by finding out Yuri Gagarin’s life background. Body I. According to article â€Å"Life and Death of Yuri Gagarin† published in Engineering and Technology magazine on April 2011, Yuri Gagarin was born in March 9, 1934 in a small village west of Moscow in Russia (then known as the Soviet Union). Yuri was the third of four children and spent his childhood on a collective farm where his father, Alexey Gagarin, worked as a carpenter and bricklayer and his mother, Anna Gagarina, worked as a milkmaid. A. Like millions of people in the Soviet Union, the Gagarin family suffered during Nazi occupation in World War II. After a German officer took over their ouse, the family constructed a small mud hut where they spent a year and nine months until the end of the occupation. 1. Life was difficult during the war and the Gagarins were kicked out of their ho me and moved to another city. B. When Yuri was fifteen he entered a vocational trail and learned to be a metalworker. 1. In two years as the best student he was sent to continue his study to Saratov high technical school. a. While studying there, he joined the Aero Club where he trained to fly an aircraft. b. This hobby predetermined his future charge; Gagarin decided to devote his life to aviation.C. In 1955 he enrolled into the Russian Air Force and two years afterwards graduated with honors from the Soviet Air Force Academy. 1. However, while Gagarin enjoyed being a fighter pilot, what he really wanted to do was to go to space. a. Since he had been following the Soviet Union's progress in space flight, he was confident that soon they would be sending a man into space. b. He wanted to be that man. (Transition: Now that we know life background of Yuri Gagarin, lets move to a how Yuri became a cosmonaut. ) II. His desire was so strong that in 1960 he applied to be a cosmonaut. A.Acc ording to â€Å"First man in space† published in About. com on May 5,2010, Yuri Gagarin was just one of 3,000 applicants to be the first Soviet cosmonaut. 1. Out of this large amount of applicants, just 20 were chosen and Gagarin was one of the 20. B. During the extensive physical and psychological testing required of the chosen cosmonaut trainees, Gagarin excelled at the tests while maintaining a calm behavior as well as his sense of humor and readiness to the upcoming flight. 1. Later, Gagarin would be chosen to be the first man into space because of these skills. (Transition: Now lets take a look at the historic flight itself) III.So on April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin boarded Vostok 1 (the name of the spaceship) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome located in Kazakhstan. A. Although he was fully trained for the mission, but no one knew if it was going to be a success or a failure. Gagarin was to be the very first human being in space, truly going where no man had gone before. B. Gagari n was rocketed into space, using an automated system. 1. Gagarin was not given the control to the spacecraft during his mission because scientists were worried about the psychological effects of being in space; it wasn’t discovered by that time. C.After entering space, Gagarin completed a single orbit around Earth. The spaceship’s top speed reached 17,600 miles per hour. At the end of the orbit, spaceship reentered the Earth's atmosphere. 1. Gagarin was in space exactly 108 minutes circled the entire globe. 2. Right before he landed, a farmer and her daughter spotted Gagarin floating down with his parachute. a. Once on the ground, Gagarin, dressed in an orange spacesuit and wearing a large white helmet, Gagarin terrified two women and it took him a few minutes to convince them that he is a human, not an alien and to direct him to the nearest phone.D. For this accomplishment Gagarin was awarded medal and title hero of Soviet Union. 1. Yuri Gagarin’s successful fl ight into space paved the way for all future space exploration. Conclusion Summary Statement: So, now you know a life background of Yuri Gagarin, his road in becoming a cosmonaut and his historic flight. References Bizony, Piers, (April, 2011). Life and Death of Yuri Gagarin. Engineering & Technology. 31 (2), pp. 35-37 Rosenberg, Jennifer (May 5, 2010). The First Man in Space. Available at: http://history1900s. about. com/od/1960s/a/yurigagarin. htm. Last Accessed March 15, 2013.

Matching Leadership Style to a Situation Essay

MATCHING LEADERSHIP TO A SITUATION Leadership Styles Choosing the Right Style for the Situation From Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill to Martin Luther King and Steve Jobs, there can seem to be as many ways to lead people as there are leaders. Fortunately, businesspeople and psychologists have developed useful, simple ways to describe the main styles of leadership. By understanding these styles and their impact, you can develop your own approach to leadership and become a more effective leader and school head as well. We’ll look at common leadership styles in this article, and we’ll explore situations where these styles may be effective with your people. (Note: The leadership styles in this article are based on several core leadership frameworks.) Adapting Your Approach to Leadership Leadership is not â€Å"one size fits all† thing; often, you must adapt your style to fit a situation or a specific group. This is why it’s useful to gain a thorough understanding of other leadership styles; after all, the more approaches you’re familiar with, the more tools you’ll be able to use to lead effectively. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the leadership styles that you can use. 1. Transactional Leadership This leadership style starts with the idea that team members agree to obey their leader when they accept a job. The â€Å"transaction† usually involves the organization paying team members in return for their effort and compliance. The leader has a right to â€Å"punish† team members if their work doesn’t meet an appropriate standard. Although this might sound controlling and paternalistic, transactional  leadership offers some benefits. For one, this leadership style clarifies everyone’s roles and responsibilities. Another benefit is that, because transactional leadership judges team members on performance, people who are ambitious or who are motivated by external rewards – including compensation – often thrive. The downside of this leadership style is that team members can do little to improve their job satisfaction. It can feel stifling, and it can lead to high staff turnover. Transactional leadership is really a type of management, not a true leadership style, because the focus is on short-term tasks. It has serious limitations for knowledge-based or creative work. However, it can be effective in other situations. 2. Autocratic Leadership Autocratic leadership is an extreme form of transactional leadership, where leaders have complete power over their people. Staff and team members have little opportunity to make suggestions, even if these would be in the team’s or the organization’s best interest. The benefit of autocratic leadership is that it’s incredibly efficient. Decisions are made quickly, and work gets done. The downside is that most people resent being treated this way. Therefore, autocratic leadership often leads to high levels of absenteeism and high staff turnover. However, the style can be effective for some routine and unskilled jobs: in these situations, the advantages of control may outweigh the disadvantages. Autocratic leadership is often best used in crises, when decisions must be made quickly and without dissent. For instance, the military often uses an autocratic leadership style; top commanders are responsible for quickly making complex decisions, which allows troops to focus their attention and energy on performing their allotted tasks and missions. 3. Bureaucratic Leadership Bureaucratic leaders work â€Å"by the book.† They follow rules rigorously, and ensure that their people follow procedures precisely. This is an appropriate leadership style for work involving serious safety risks (such as working with machinery, with toxic substances, or at dangerous heights) or where large sums of money are involved. Bureaucratic leadership is also useful in organizations where employees do routine tasks (as in manufacturing). The downside of this leadership style is that it’s ineffective in teams and organizations that rely on flexibility, creativity, or innovation. Much of the time, bureaucratic leaders achieve their position because of their ability to conform to and uphold rules, not because of their qualifications or expertise. This can cause resentment when team members don’t value their expertise or advice. 4. Charismatic Leadership/ Pace-setting Leadership A charismatic leadership style can resemble transformational leadership because these leaders inspire enthusiasm in their teams and are energetic in motivating others to move forward. This excitement and commitment from teams is an enormous benefit. The difference between charismatic leaders and transformational leaders lies in their intention. Transformational leaders want to transform their teams and organizations. Charismatic leaders are often focused on themselves, and may not want to change anything. The downside to charismatic leaders is that they can believe more in themselves than in their teams. This can create the risk that a project or even an entire organization might collapse if the leader leaves. A charismatic leader might believe that she can do no wrong, even when others are warning her about the path she’s on; this feeling of invincibility can ruin a team or an organization. Also, in the followers’ eyes, success is directly connected to the presence of the charismatic leader. As such, charismatic leadership carries great responsibility, and it needs a long-term commitment from the leader. 5. Democratic/Participative Leadership Democratic leaders make the final decisions, but they include team members in the decision-making process. They encourage creativity, and team members are often highly engaged in projects and decisions. There are many benefits of democratic leadership. Team members tend to have high job satisfaction and are productive because they’re more involved in decisions. This style also helps develop people’s skills. Team members feel in control of their destiny, so they’re motivated to work hard by more than just a financial reward. Because participation takes time, this approach can slow decision-making, but the result is often good. The approach can be most suitable when working as a team is essential, and when quality is more important than efficiency or productivity. The downside of democratic leadership is that it can often hinder situations where speed or efficiency is essential. For instance, during a crisis, a team can waste valuable time gathering people’s input. Another downside is that some team members might not have the knowledge or expertise to provide high quality input. 6. Laissez-Faire Leadership This French phrase means â€Å"leave it be,† and it describes leaders who allow their people to work on their own. This type of leadership can also occur naturally, when managers don’t have sufficient control over their work and their people. Laissez-faire leaders may give their teams complete freedom to do their work and set their own deadlines. They provide team support with resources and advice, if needed, but otherwise don’t get involved. This leadership style can be effective if the leader monitors performance and gives feedback to team members regularly. It is most likely to be effective when individual team members are experienced, skilled, self-starters. The  main benefit of laissez-faire leadership is that giving team members so much autonomy can lead to high job satisfaction and increased productivity. The downside is that it can be damaging if team members don’t manage their time well or if they don’t have the knowledge, skills, or motivation to do their work effectively. 7. Task-Oriented Leadership Task-oriented leaders focus only on getting the job done and can be autocratic. They actively define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, and plan, organize, and monitor work. These leaders also perform other key tasks, such as creating and maintaining standards for performance. The benefit of task-oriented leadership is that it ensures that deadlines are met, and it’s especially useful for team members who don’t manage their time well. However, because task-oriented leaders don’t tend to think much about their team’s well-being, this approach can suffer many of the flaws of autocratic leadership, including causing motivation and retention problems. 8. People-Oriented/Relations-Oriented Leadership With people-oriented leadership, leaders are totally focused on organizing, supporting, and developing the people on their teams. This is a participatory style and tends to encourage good teamwork and creative collaboration. This is the opposite of task-oriented leadership. People-oriented leaders treat everyone on the team equally. They’re friendly and approachable, they pay attention to the welfare of everyone in the group, and they make themselves available whenever team members need help or advice. The benefit of this leadership style is that people-oriented leaders create teams that everyone wants to be part of. Team members are often more productive and willing to take risks, because they know that the leader will  provide support if they need it. The downside is that some leaders can take this approach too far; they may put the development of their team above tasks or project directives. 9. Servant Leadership This term, created by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s, describes a leader often not formally recognized as such. When someone at any level within an organization leads simply by meeting the needs of the team, he or she can be described as a â€Å"servant leader.† Servant leaders often lead by example. They have high integrity and lead with generosity. In many ways, servant leadership is a form of democratic leadership because the whole team tends to be involved in decision making. However, servant leaders often â€Å"lead from behind,† preferring to stay out of the limelight and letting their team accept recognition for their hard work. Supporters of the servant leadership model suggest that it’s a good way to move ahead in a world where values are increasingly important, and where servant leaders can achieve power because of their values, ideals, and ethics. This is an approach that can help to create a positive corporate culture and can lead to high morale among team members. However, other people believe that in competitive leadership situations, people who practice servant leadership can find themselves left behind by leaders using other leadership styles. This leadership style also takes time to apply correctly: it’s ill-suited in situations where you have to make quick decisions or meet tight deadlines. Although you can use servant leadership in many situations, it’s often most practical in politics, or in positions where leaders are elected to serve a team, committee, organization, or community. 10. Transformational Leadership/Visionary Leadership Transformational leaders are inspiring because they expect the best from everyone on their team as well as themselves. This leads to high  productivity and engagement from everyone in their team. The downside of transformational leadership is that while the leader’s enthusiasm is passed onto the team, he or she can need to be supported by â€Å"detail people.† That’s why, in many organizations, both transactional and transformational leadership styles are useful. Transactional leaders (or managers) ensure that routine work is done reliably, while transformational leaders look after initiatives that add new value. It’s also important to use other leadership styles when necessary – this will depend on the people you’re leading and the situation that you’re in. Conclusion: Three factors that influence which leadership style to use 1.The school head’s personal background: †¢What personality, knowledge, values, ethics, and experiences does the school head have? †¢What does he or she think will work? 2.Teachers being supervised: Teachers with different personalities and backgrounds; The leadership style used will vary depending upon the individual teacher and what he or she will respond best to. 3.The organization: The traditions, values, philosophy, school vision and mission, concerns of the organization and all situational factors influence how a school head acts No one style of leadership fits all situations. All situations are different. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. There are many leadership styles from which to choose. Different styles were needed for different situations and each leader needed to know when to exhibit a particular approach so it helps to have an understanding of other styles. A leader must use his or her judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example you may need to confront a teacher for inappropriate behavior, but the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective. By learning about the pros and cons of each style, one can adapt an approach to a situation. Also note that the situation normally has a greater effect on a leader’s action than his or  her traits. This is because while traits may have an impressive stability over a period of time, they have little consistency across situations. As a school head he or she must be a Task-oriented Leader to perform best in situations of high and low control, and a Relationship-oriented Leader to perform best in moderate control situations. Behavior is a mirror in which Everyone shows his image.

The Unnatural Act of Leadership, Book Review Essay

Odilia Bergh, Peachtree City Police Department Human Resource Management and Development The Unnatural Act of Management February 26, 2013 I began this book like most books, with great anticipation that it was going to be amazing, why else would a qualified instructor assign it. I assumed that it would be a shining example of the finest managerial principals in existence all compacted into a simple to read text with plenty of graphs and helpful handouts. I was certain that I would be a more effective leader for having read it.I spent time strategizing how I would write my paper with great enthusiasm. Then, I read the book. In the first few pages I found myself so caught up with the character development that I quickly lost sight of the big picture. I mean how could I be expected to believe that any one person could accurately describe an entire management team with such accuracy. Richard Thompkins’ descriptions and predictions were almost humorous. His intuition into his co-wo rkers was uncanny. From their personal relationships to the weaknesses in one fail swoop. I wanted to meet Richard myself.As the story developed I later appreciated the lack of filler material as the characters were introduced and it also made for a quick refresher when I was trying to predict who was going to be effected next by Brent’s plans. I quickly became invested in the ninety day project. I could recognize this was a process being explained with the assistance of a story, or a true manager refusing to have an editor alter his vision. Regardless, I decided to step back and focus on the big picture, the actual process of examining an existing managerial team and operations to evaluating its effectiveness through strong managerial principals.Off we went. Learning about the people you are working with, their qualifications and personality traits is imperative. Understanding how they’re perceived by their peers is critical. Richard Thompkins’ descriptions wer e no more than his perception regardless how accurate they might have been. The second part of the equation is the one on one interaction with individuals to develop our own opinions and â€Å"assumptions†. As I began to understand the characters I couldn’t help but begin to assign them new names, names associated with people I work with even myself at times.For the sake of this paper I’ll make up names and rank. Moving into the early chapters I found that my Chief aligns himself strongly with many of the theories and practices that Brent spoke of from conducting effective meetings to managing work stress effectively. Unfortunately prior to his arrival our organization struggled to follow some basic principles that are imperative for success. Basics like â€Å"Read, Listen, Discuss, Observe, or Think. † As police officers, â€Å"read† stands out as an exceptional oddity. The term â€Å"assumptions† was also introduced early in the book and I felt it needed to be developed in more detail.In retrospect, I believe I struggled with the actual term used as â€Å"assumptions† as it has always had a negative connotation to me. Who hasn’t heard the phrase, â€Å"When you assume you make and ass out of you and me? † Regardless, I did recognize that assumptions as introduced are made through communication, making it imperative that effective communication occur to reach valid â€Å"assumptions†. As with any ideas or assumptions they can be altered rather quickly by a number of factors that arise. Understanding this and managing them closely will avoid mistakes to having any major or lasting impact.As employees grow and learn, regardless of rank or title, our assumptions of their abilities might lag or be clouded unless we are constantly communicating. I feel that managing by assumptions can be more effective if you understand who you are dealing with, regardless if you like them personally or not. I a lso recognize that assumptions can easily be influenced by emotions if it’s not monitored properly. I can recognize my growth as manager significantly in this area. I pride myself on making good assumptions based on factual information available to me.I value the decision making process more now that I align myself more clearly with upper management than the mind set of line officers. As a first line supervisor I fill in the blanks when the plans and processes have been identified. I recognize the overall need to establish goals and objectives that are clear and measurable but as a first line supervisor I usually find myself making suggestions and providing raw data which is manipulated and interpreted above my position. Chapter six, I read the title and got excited, What is Management and When Are You Managing?Yes, now we are getting somewhere! I found some truth early on, kind of†¦ Stanley had the position that you learn to be a good manager by managing not by going to school. Before I was promoted years ago I had already obtained my four year degree in Business Management and Organizational Leadership so I felt somewhat prepared. Denial is a nice zip code. Within months of being promoted to Sergeant I was escorted to private meeting room by the two senior officers on my newly appointed team. Truly I don’t remember what they said, but the feeling resonates to this day.YOU KNOW NOTHING, BE QUIET, LISTEN, LEARN AND THEN MAYBE WE WILL LET YOU LEAD. I felt humbled, they had been respectful but firm and the message was clear†¦this was going to be much harder than I thought. I agree that it is very unnatural to decide to produce results through others, especially if we’re better qualified to produce them. I had been a â€Å"go getter- kick ass and tell my backup to take names† kind of officer. As a supervisor the concept that others were going to produce results for me was foreign, I didn’t even know it existed. Educati on would have been beneficial at that point but I didn’t learn that in college.So for that continuing education would have been welcomed, however I may have not been ready to learn the lesson regardless if I had heard it. I loved the management term given in this book. â€Å"Management is a mental process of establishing, and then indirectly achieving the right objectives in the right priority sequence and with sufficient resources. † I have got to admit I felt like that was right on. Over the years I have worked on some level of this definition, but found that at times my priorities were off, or my resources were insufficient or simply the sequence was just not right.I have absolutely no problem in making a decision, with haste. Now I can’t guarantee that it will be a correct decision but as the years pass and the management process becomes more clear my assumptions become more accurate. Of course we should all be tweaking assumptions constantly. Recently our o rganization has been revamping tons of policies, to streamline and make things more efficient. One policy stands out when I think if this management term. As a patrol division we now have a written policy that says that no team can drop below the minimum staffing requirement of six officers.As a patrol supervisor my current team only has seven officers assigned with one deployed over seas. Immediately the problem should be apparent. Each officer is required to flex four hours each pay period, attend training, mange overtime, and ensure vacation time is not carried over. I constantly hear other sergeants complaining that they are below staffing and that they can not operate their teams effectively. They constantly deny leave and training requests which only discourages the officers and causes dissent.I strive not to bring any attention to my team’s situation because if you provide a problem to another manager they are going to solve it, but probably not to your liking. I simpl y flex my team out in the early hours of the morning when there’s minimal, to no call load, and they’re tired anyway. I communicate with the traffic unit supervisor to supplement traffic officers to allow my officers time to attend training. Rarely does a traffic officer have to pick up a call but it allows me not to violate the policy intentionally.I understand that resources are limited and I know my commanders are aware of the problem so reiterating it to them seems counter productive and unnecessary because I feel that we have sufficient resources. I was pleased to read the general rule that said, â€Å"the better the manager, the fewer resources required to be sufficient. † Amen. I believe my organization has shifted the mindset to that of one that measures a good manager/supervisor by the results that are being produced indirectly through our managerial resources.Being encouraged to show ownership while expected to shoulder the responsibility is a welcomed change. I agree that a good manager can manage anything. The next section spoke of determining the difference between stubbornness and persistence; I have to admit I began to sweat. Make no mistake I know that I can be stubborn and quite persistent and no one likes to look in the mirror in the morning. But as I read on I breathed a bit of a sigh. I quickly felt safe, knowing that when I make set an objective that I can’t obtain I will not let it ruin me, and I will bow out, gracefully if possible.I attribute this to an older brother that beat me at EVERYTHING my whole life. As for persistence, I think the word I use is â€Å"heart†. If a person has â€Å"heart† they can overcome almost any other deficiencies, from talent to skill and almost common sense (almost). I think of a wonderful officer I had the privilege of supervising right out of the academy. I seem to get the â€Å"tough ones† but being that I thrive when challenged, and lavish in chaos, I wa s pressed to perform. This officer arrived and with a thick accent and introduced himself.Apparently English was his third language, being from Thailand he struggled with the most basic cultural rituals we enjoy. Even Google was a foreign term. Each night we all worked to help him with everything from his radio traffic to his very poor sense of directions. He would fail, miss the mark, slip, forget, get lost, get made fun of, but he never gave up. He arrived early each night and left late every morning. He smiled, thanked those who helped him graciously, smiled at those who hurt him, smiled at those who he could help and had more heart than any other officer I had ever worked with.He constantly asked questions, never fell into despair and with his determination made everyone respect him. His fortitude was impressive. He says I was his mentor and I taught him so much but I can’t take credit for making him successful because to be honest he taught me every bit as much. He made my need to learn patience rewarding. Under other circumstances I would have resented someone that needed so much assistance to simply function as a first responder. He showed me it was worth the time and effort to give people all you can to help lift them up.He made that lesson for me digestible, even enjoyable. I am proud of the officer he is today, so proud I’m writing about him years later while working on a ten page college paper on management. So as the book progresses Brent is starting to show his managers that he can make good assumptions. He values and encourages communications. He strives to include and share his thought process with his staff. Now this is certainly a new concept at my organization. Initially when my Chief would begin to explain his thought process I would grimace thinking that when he finished he was going to yell, â€Å"There ya happy! But he never did instead, he looked at me and would ask what I thought. I remember having to condition myself to be prepared to actually participate in the process instead of simply walking away wondering what in God’s good name is rolling around in that little mans beady little mind. I thought that very thing quite frequently under my old Chief. I on the other hand had been chastised for explaining myself too much and giving too much information to my officers. Apparently just telling them to do something was suppose to be sufficient since they were being compensated so heavily financially.I felt that if your subordinates and supervisors for that matter, knew your frame of mind and your thought process they could better manage their â€Å"assumptions† (hope you’re proud of me for using the term properly). In turn they could predict your decisions more quickly and learn to make better ones themselves as a result. Span of control was a relevant topic that I found mid way through. Recently our organization was restructured, removing three captains from the top of our command structure. As a first line supervisor I was not effected drastically however my supervisor has shifted completely away from his prior position.With no lieutenants on the patrol shift I find myself with more span of control, unfortunately I feel my support is all but gone. I report to someone I rarely see and no longer have immediate feedback. I recognize the change was necessary and I am striving to find a balance. As for Brent by this point he’s gotten the managers in his corner, he‘s taking calculated risks, or should I say managing effectively by assumptions. His leadership has been almost too perfect in my opinion. No big blunders he never misspoke and was always right. After supervising for twelve years I’m going to call the flag.I recognize that my Chief is a good manager because he says that everyone makes mistakes and all you have to do is sit down and watch for a while and you’ll see one. Maximizing Your Leverage with Direct Producers seemed like a lofty way to say, get your people to work for you. The title was a little pretentious but the chapter was actually one of my favorites. As first line supervisors I’ve grown to simply accept that many direct producers (patrol officers) will never develop a good understanding of management so I work towards building the relationship between them and myself to bridge the gap.I have always excelled and developing loyal relationships based on mutual trust. Unfortunately when trust, the foundation for me is missing, the relationship is essentially doomed. It will be superficial and dysfunctional. For this reason I hold honesty, trust, and moral fortitude in the highest regards as I develop relationships with my co-workers. I feel these three ingredients are our water, oxygen and food we need to survive. Regardless if subordinates understand why your asking them to perform a task, they will perform it for no other reason than you have demonstrated your dedicated to their survival .I have learned over the years that I am not responsible for their happiness that is their responsibility. There was a very interesting couple of paragraphs that outlined the differences between supervisors and managers and he hit the nail on the head when he discussed the first line producers view of the two. It is like the twilight zone. I know that my officers see the sergeants as part of the command staff, however, command staff see sergeants more aligned with the officers. This does pose a difficult position for sergeants who are continuously left out of the communication loop.I always say if you want me to manage your rumors you have to feed me some valid information. Without that, I’m forced to manage rumors by more misinformation. At least I can mange my own rumors better than those of others. As a first line manager I have finally figured out that my primary duty is to make my officers feel important. I think that could have summed up that chapter. Considering I have a few pages left I’ll expound a bit since I feel this is where my forte lies. Again, twelve years ago I was clueless; I thought if I could show the guys how great I was they would want to follow me.Instead I learned that if I show them how great they are they will follow me. The biggest compliment I got was when an officer said, in shift change, that he would run into a brick wall if I asked him to. He added that he figured the wall would fall because why else would I order him to go. I was flattered that he would blindly follow my order, however he also indicated that he respected how I make assumptions (I used it again, gotta be worth 10 points). As an inexperienced supervisor I was concerned about each person liking me, the person they were interacting with. I would adjust for each individual subordinate accordingly.I reflect back and can say that that it was not in the way of a servant leader but more of a teenager who wanted to be liked and accepted. With the years I le arned that I was more effective when I was myself. I am a Christian, wife, mother of four, who happens to hold a position at an organization that requires me to guide, teach, and hold myself and others accountable for our actions. That simplified life drastically. I stay enthusiastic about my career, usually. I never ask anyone to do something I’m not prepared to do myself and I accept responsibility when I make mistakes.I respect those who handle my mistake effectively and use them for what they are, chances to learn. I find disciplining subordinates exciting and challenging. Nothing satisfies me more than to handle a discipline session so effectively that the subordinate still wants to engage me in a personal conversation. The Motivation of Inspiration, deep. I mentioned that our organization went though a drastic structure change recently. I also mentioned that I don’t have the luxury of a lieutenant working with me. On weekends I am alone and during the peak hours of 4:30pm to 7:30pm I have no assistance.The lieutenants developed their own hours and selected 7:00am-3:00pm and 7:00pm to 3:00am. However with the limited supervisors their schedules are constantly changing. Upon returning from a 6 weeks recovery from a foot operation I attempted to meet with my lieutenant on several occasions. I wanted to get an official update on how my team had done along with an update on what was going on with the organization. I had been away from work and had developed some doubts about my current career path. After a few days my lieutenant learned that I was meeting with someone above his rank.He came to me and I confirmed that he had not made me a priority. Frustrated and betrayed he told me that making me â€Å"happy was not his job†. I corrected him and assured him he was not responsible for my happiness but was responsible for my career development. I asked him what he felt his priorities were and he wiggled his finger towards the sky in a circl e and said, â€Å"this†. Not clear on his term I asked him to define it. He again said, this, the organization. I asked him to define who he felt made up the organization. He got even more frustrated and raised his voice.I asked him to lower his voice and improve his argument. He said he didn’t know what I wanted from him, adding that I was a sergeant he knew could handle anything. I explained it like this to him. My job is to check and fill my guys’ gas tanks as needed each shift. His job, was to fill mine, and I was running on fumes. I conceded that I was a hybrid and could go farther than others but eventually would need fuel. Now, that doesn’t mean that anything is wrong with my vehicle it just needs to be maintained. I think he understood and we both agreed to keep working on communicating with each other.I also believe that people will rise to our expectations of them, another key element in motivating others. I have seen officers that struggle with other supervisors arrive on my shift defeated, ready to continue their struggles. I like to immediately empower them with some responsibilities. Certainly something they can succeed at, and then shower them with praise. The cycle then continues, elevating their tasks and responsibilities exponentially until they believe in the person I have told them I see. I had an officer who struggled with making decisions and his self esteem was shattered with all the discipline he’d received.Being a very emotional person, he took discipline from his prior supervisor as a personal attack. I immediately gave him the responsibility to inspect vehicles when he arrived on my shift. At first he called with question after question. I encouraged him to complete all his inspections and upon completion we would address any questions he had. Inevitably in meeting with the other seven officers on his team many of his questions were resolved and he arrived with few questions and the completed inspec tions. I praised his resourcefulness and assigned him the task for the upcoming month.He was excited to have a leadership role and began to act accordingly. With time he grew to be confident his decision making abilities and learned to accept discipline sessions from me as learning opportunities. Now this leads me into the marginal employee. They are out there and what a pain! I have learned much when dealing with this mess. For years I had a marginal employee working under me. She was not only marginal but she was high maintenance. Now to correct that statement, she was capable of working hard if she was â€Å"happy†. So what did the under educated but highly experienced supervisor that I was do, that’s right I kept her â€Å"happy†.I managed her emotionally to motivate her professionally. Sounds easy enough huh? Unfortunately maintaining her happiness was utterly draining and was a daily time consuming venture. But I felt that proving that I could get impressi ve results out of a marginal employee would validate my ability to supervise. Boy was I dead wrong. I remember Brent giving the lesson in the book that brought it all back. Put those problems right back on them he explained, remove that unnecessary stress from yourself. I was moved away from that officer and she tanked with the next supervisor.Of course she blamed him but I knew better. In the last month the teams were again moved around and after two years she would be reassigned to me. Believing that I could save her from her impending termination, if she could not turn it around, she began our first conversation with how happy she was to be working with me again, blaming her last supervisors for all her problems. She then admitted that she was upset with me because I had not accepted her Facebook request. I took that very moment to make the path ahead very clear to her. I told her in no uncertain terms that I would not be managing her happiness.I would however be holding her acco untable for her actions. I also told her that my Facebook was not a topic for discussion. She chose to become insulted instead of enlightened. Within three weeks of being reassigned to my shift she resigned after sixteen years. I know I was not the reason, but I also feel she lost the comfort she was envisioning on my team. I must say that although personally I liked this person, as I supervisor I was ecstatic she chose to leave the organization. Conveniently a few chapters later I came across a section to deal with problem employees.I felt enamored with the comment that marginal employees are the greatest waste of time, money and opportunities within an organization. I have learned that first hand. Being that I have reached ten pages and don’t want to be too much of an overachiever I want to focus the criticizing of others and termination of employees. I was very surprised when I read that Barbara was scared to fire Chuck. Barbara’s character development didn’t foreshadow that insecurity. Regardless Brent knew exactly what to say and was able to convince Barbara to handle a situation immediately after their pep talk.Now I can go on and on about several other topics that arose in the latter pages (especially Stress Transfer) but I’m going to close with this, I enjoyed the lessons shared in this book. However I wouldn’t recommend anyone read this book unless they are borrowing it from me. My book has received full scrutiny and I have highlighted all the pertinent lessons, motivational quotes, managerial theories and terms so there is no need to read all the filler. By the way, I truly think that Brent wears Superman underwear everyday.