Effective Teamwork Questionnaire Essay

Answer each question in 200 to 300 words, using specific information from the text, â€Å"Helping Annie†, â€Å"Team Building†, and â€Å"Building a Team of Talent† videos, and your research and experience. 1. What are the characteristics of effective teams? How will you ensure your collaborative team works effectively? Effective team are important, and their functions crucial to their success. I have found that clear goals, relaxed environment, open communication, and freedom to express ideas and feelings are great ways to ensure success. In the video â€Å"Helping Annie†, the dynamics of the team were lost due to lack of information, who was right and who could be trustworthy. When team members meet, they should feel as though they blend in with the group. They should feel a commitment to the goals and achievements to the group. What I know about groups are, that having valued diversity, defined roles, balanced participation, and cooperative relationships help with moving the group to a positive outcome. As a participative leader, as it is said in our eBook Working In Groups, â€Å"there is a balance of primary roles and when team members know their roles, work to their strengths, and actively manage weaknesses.† (Engleberg, 2013, p. 55). I will commit myself to ensuring I respect commitments, consistent communication to the group, collaborate, and contribute to the group’s goals and ideas with valuable information that helps in the decisions. I will also be aware of the group’s diversity, talents and dynamics. I bring knowledge of how to deal with problems, planning techniques and ways to improve myself within the group. 2. How will you deal with behavior that hurts your team’s objectives? With conflict in a group environment, I would handle it with respect, recognition, focused on accountability and be aware of unfulfilled needs of that particular team member. I would not reward the difficult behavior nor would I encourage the disruptive behavior. I believe that if you ignore it or â€Å"sweep it under the mat† it takes time, energy away from the group, and I  would want the group to resolve it quickly. I would make sure that I/we do not citizen or â€Å"brand† that person as a trouble maker. I would work together with the group and the individual and encourage each other to focus on the group’s interests and not individual’s position. It is also important to look for opportunities that encourage and empower each team member in the group. I would express a sensitive listening ear to uncover the root of the problem. Listing out the objectives to the individual and the group and reminding them why we are here and how to accomplish them Practicing direct communications, body language and clarifying questions helps resolve the situation and gives the group clarity to the behavior. In dealing with behavior that is disruptive to the group can be a challenge in itself, however it can be resolved with patients and a good listener. 3. What are your proactive processes to keep a team member up to date if he or she misses a meeting? What are your backup plans if things are not working on your team? There are several great ways to keep a team member up to date. Develop and cultivate easy ways to stay connected with those that miss. Face-to-Face and computer-mediated communications are great ways to reconnect and share ideas, goals and feelings. Face-to-Face provide excellent results in effectiveness, comprehension, and gives opportunities to be educated on the use of technology. It builds up respect, inclusion and grows your professional relationship with the team member and group. Update through venues such as emails, skyping, this can be challenging to coordinate, this provides another source of information. This can save time, money and bring the meeting/information to others that live far away. When things do not work out as they are supposed to, I chose to take a moment and find out where things went areaway. Encourage others to share and discuss what happened and create new plans, goals that incorporate processes that help us stay on track. Back up plans help in always being prepared for when things don’t just right. When setting up your backup plans, tap into the group and find team members that have knowledge and expertise in planning. As I use this, it will set up the entire team in a supportive and positive atmosphere. 4. How will you use technology to support your team’s efforts? What are some  questions you should ask? Working with technology has made it easier to communicate, track the individuals / groups progress and increasing productivity. With using an assortment of media platforms such as emails, Skype, video conferencing,instant messaging, and facetalk. These software programs can assist in better group communication, making decisions, and discussing issues easily. I will educate, create a â€Å"how to† of resources that will include information on each media platform. I would bring the group together in collaboration to see where they are with technology and create a smaller group to assist in the training. As new technology is made available, have continued training and education of the group as to stay current with technology. As with new technology always assessing the software, cell phones, computers, servers and other products are current. This will produce a group that is collaborating, productive, which will benefit the company and group. Asking questions is a great way to understand and know your group. With technology, it is important to find out what media platforms the group are already using. I would also ask how can we stay on task with these different media platforms and which ones work best for the group. Stay consistent with the goal/ objective and have a group that through technology use, becomes one unit! 5. Is your team more task-focused or relationship-focused? Why? What are the implications to your team? I find that our group is a mixture of both task-focused and relationship-focused. I have seen just in the last class that we all want to succeed and grow from each others experience. With having the mixture of the two, the work is defined, and roles expected. There are structures in place; a plan devised and we are organized to meet our tasks. As the group continues to work together, there is a supportive, motivating, and collaborating group. We are concerned with each person ideas, thoughts and actions. With these two types of people in the group, we can be productive, accomplish a lot and have a good time in doing it. Although with task-focused or relationship-focused, set up activities and follow up and follow through. With tasks, you can do it with encouragement and empower each team member to always do their best. Through the recommendations from our text this week, have an agenda, plan out your tasks, involve each team member, listen, and encourage them. By engaging  your team, you can meet the challenges of business head on and with seasoned team members involved you can pull from their experiences and knowledge. They will become confident, learning new skills and lead successful change. REFERENCES Engleberg, Isa. (2013). WorkinWorking in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies, Sixth Edition, by Isa N. Engleberg and Dianna R. Wynn. Published by Pearson.g in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies, Sixth Edition, by Isa N. Engleberg and Dianna R. Wynn. Published by Pearson. (6th ed.). : Pearson.

Symbolism in Janus

4 Jonathan Whidden English 1900B Ian McAdam September 29th,2012 Symbolism in Janus â€Å"The bowl was just a bowl†. (Beattie 455) In the short story â€Å"Janus† writer Anne Beattie uses a simple bowl to be the central focus of symbolism in the story. The bowl can be interpreted to mean or symbolize many different things. The bowl belongs to the protagonist of the story Andrea, a successful real estate agent who is married to her husband of many years. It has been argued that the bowl symbolizes everything from the life that Andrea lives or the world that Andrea lives in.Though there are strong arguments for these arguments among many others, I believe the strongest evidence of what the bowl symbolizes is a personality or traits of a character that repeats itself throughout the story. This character is not so coincidentally the title of the short story â€Å"Janus†. In the following essay I will argue that the bowl symbolizes an ancient god by the name of â€Å" Janus† and all of his traits powers or attributes. Beattie uses the bowl to symbolize all of the traits of the ancient god thru the life of our protagonist Andrea.To begin we must examine who this god was believed to be so we can relate it to the story. â€Å"Janus is the Roman god of gates and doors, beginnings and endings, and hence represented with a double-faced head, each looking in opposite directions. He was worshipped at the beginning of the harvest time, planting, marriage, birth, and other types of beginnings, especially the beginnings of important events in a person's life. Janus also represents the transition between primitive life and civilization, between the countryside and the city, peace and war, and the growing-up of young people. †(Janus) 4As mentioned above, it is no coincidence that Beattie chose this title. The two faces Janus the god has is a symbolism in itself, it symbolizes deceit as I interpret two-facedness as being deceitful or as Beattie wr ites â€Å"tricked†. We will learn that Andrea herself, proves to be deceitful and deceived, she is tricked herself. Andrea also is also stuck between two different life's as we come to learn. She is stuck in the middle of new beginnings and endings in her relationships. Andrea seems unsure or lacks he courage to decide which path she would like to take. Andrea's life had many doorways she could ave opened, unfortunately for Andrea, she stays on the doorstep. There are two important factors of Andrea's life that the bowl plays a major part in, her social life and her professional life. Let's begin with Andrea's social life. Andrea is married to her husband of several years. Though Andrea and her husband have been together for a few years, they have no children together. Andrea and her husband both have their own successful careers as Andrea is a real estate agent and her husband a stock broker. For all the financial success they enjoy, their marriage was far from perfect.Both Andrea and her husband are a lot alike yet distant from each other. â€Å"They were both quiet people- reflective, slow to make value judgments. † (Beattie 455) Their relationship is where the symbolism of bowl comes into play, the bowl was a gift from a former lover of Andrea's. The bowl was actually a gift from a former lover. â€Å"She had first seen the bowl several years earlier, at a crafts fair she had visited half in secret, with her lover. † (Beattie 456) Andrea hid the origins of the bowl from her husband which is evidence of her two-facedness, â€Å"There were times where she wanted to talk to her usband about the bowl. † (Beattie 455)The fact that Andrea has kept the origins of bowl rom her husband is an example of her deception. It also shows an unwillingness to let go of the past. If Andrea wanted to rid herself of the memories of this former relationship, would she not rid herself of all gifts or memories from the relationship? Instead she grows an unhealthy attachment to the bowl over time, valuing it over her relationship with her husband. Communications issues are just the start of the 4 problem with Andrea. Andrea is not without guilt, she does show an urge to talk to her husband about he bowl, however her fear and the consequences that could come from it were stronger. Doors would be opened and closed, perhaps she would have to let go of the bowl, something she seems unwilling to do. Her relationship ended with her lover because of her indecision, her unwillingness to start something new and close the door on her marriage. â€Å" Her lover said that she was always too slow too know what she really loved.Why continue with her life the way it was? Why be two-faced, he asked her. He had made the first move toward her. When she would not decide in his favour, would not hange her life and come to him, he asked her what made her think she could have it both ways. † (Bettie 456) Beattie gives us strong evidence of the symbolism of the bowl. Andrea's career is the other important aspect of her life where the bowl greatly influences her decisions and contains more strong evidence of its symbolism. As mentioned, Andrea is a successful real estate agent. â€Å"(She had a very profitable year selling real estate.Word spread, and she had more clients than she felt comfortable with. † (Beattie 455) Andrea used the bowl as well as other â€Å"tricks† to help her in her career, or so she thought. When she thought that some prospective buyers might be dog lovers, she would drop off her dog at the same time she would place the bowl in the house that was up for sale. † It can be argued that there is nothing morally wrong with these â€Å"tricks† that Andrea used to sell houses, I would agree. Yet the real deception comes from the bowl itself. Andrea has allowed the bowl to take credit for work she has done, allowing the bowl to deceive her.â€Å"She was sure that the bowl brought her luck†. (Beattie 455 Bids were often put in on houses where she had displayed the bowl. There is no evidence at all to suggest that the bowl influences the sale of the house. There is no question that customers like the look of the bowl, some even inquiring on where the bowl came from. â€Å"Once Andrea got a call from a woman who had not put in an offer on a house she had shown her. That bowl, she said- would it be possible to find out where the owners had bought that 4 beautiful bowl. Andrea pretended that she did not know what the woman was referring to. † (Beattie 454)This is more evidence of Andrea's two-facedness or deceit, ill will intended or not, Andrea is not ompletely honest with her clients. Unfortunately for Andrea, she allows the bowl to deceive her, convincing her that it is the reason she closes so many houses. How could a bowl do this, â€Å"The bowl was just a bowl. † (Beattie 455) I do believe Beattie shifts the meaning of the bowl throughou t the story. At times the bowl represents Andrea's life, how material things are the only things she values, it shows a dependency on material things because of her passionless marriage. Other times the bowl represents her inability to make a decision or to let go of her past relationship.It symbolizes her fear of choosing a path, choosing a door, closing relationships and starting new. Andrea instead allows the bowl to dictate her decisions. As mentioned above, arguments can and have be made for many different meanings . the bowl always returns to its roots. It came from a hidden relationship, it is used to â€Å"trick† home buyers. The bowl is a representation of a past relationship, one she had an opportunity to start a new life with, yet she didn't. She is stuck in the middle of two doors, two paths. There is no beginning or end for Andrea because she evidently lacks the courage or .The bowl represents the two-faced nature of Andrea, her trickery her two relationships. It deceives Andrea in convincing her that it is the reason for her success. â€Å"The bowl was just a bowl†. (Beattie 455) All these examples directly symbolize the traits or attributes of the ancient god â€Å"Janus† Works Cited 1. Beattie, Ann. â€Å"Janus. † The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Allison Booth, Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 453-456. 2. â€Å"Janus. † Encyclopedia Mythica. 2012. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 01 Oct. 2012 ;www. pantheon. org/articles/j/janus. html;.

Effective is Priestly in conveying them Essay

Priestly chose to write this play when he did, in 1945 because he had seen both world wars. He set it in 1912 because he knew what was to come, this way he had an insight to what was going to happen, so he could show the ignorance of the upper sector. Mr. Birling should understand the common people better than he does, especially as he came from a working class background. It would seem that he does not appreciate the working class anymore, as he would not even increase the wages of his workers. â€Å"They were averaging about twenty-two and six which was neither more nor less then is paid generally in our industry. They wanted the rates raised so that they could average about twenty-five shillings a week. † It is also evident that he runs his life by looking after himself first, as he tells Gerald and Eric at the beginning of the play â€Å"And as you were saying, dad, a man has to look after himself. † Mrs. Birling should have some understanding of Eva Smith because she is a governor of a charitable organisation to help women in desperate situations. But her ignorance gets in the way of her work, she doesn’t even think there is a possibility of there being more than one Birling family, so she dismisses Eva Smith straight away. â€Å"Yes I think it was simply a piece of gross impertenance – quite deliberate – and natrally that was one of the things that pedjudiced me against her. † Mrs. Birling’s ignorance is also apparent when she is saying what should happen to the young man who impregnated Eva Smith. Sheila had to learn, not to use status as an extended tool for jealousy. After Sheila has been told about her involvement in Eva Smith’s death she seems genuinly sorry for what she has done â€Å"And I know I’m to blame – and I’m desperately sorry† As well as what Sheila says, the stage directions like â€Å"distressed† are used to show how she is feeling. Her youth also opens her to the exposure of Inspector Goole â€Å"We are most impressionable on the young† this also makes us realise how Inspector Goole â€Å"breaks down the barriers†. When you are â€Å"far gone†, or as you would more commonly say it now, drunk, you are quite likely to get yourself into some sort of trouble as Eric learns. Unlike his parents and Sheila, Eric realises that what he did was wrong at the time and tried to make amends for it by giving Eva Smith money. â€Å"I insisted on giving her enough money to keep her going† At first when Eva Smith left him he didn’t change his ways, you can see this when he â€Å"helps himself to the decanter†. After the Inspector has gone through the events it looks like Eric has finally come to grips with what he has done and will make some sort of effort to change now, because of the imppression left on him by the Inspector. The message Inspector Goole is trying to present is that, whatever you do, you will eventually be judged for it. â€Å"We are members of one body. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire, blood and anguish. † Inspector Goole also delivers the message that everyone must look after everyone else, and almost exactly contradicts Mr. Birling’s teaching of â€Å"every man has to look out for himself† or else the world will turn into a cold, miserable place, full of hatred and selfishness.

Evaluation on the Validity of the Claim That American Public Education Essay

Evaluation on the Validity of the Claim That American Public Education Has Been Consistently Lowering Its Standards and Expectations - Essay Example According to the survey conducted by ‘The National Assessment of Educational Progress’ (NAEP), the result known as â€Å"Nation’s Report Card,† depicted the positive outcomes of the students belonging to 4th, 8th and 12th grade standard on an international basis. Whereas, in contrast to the reports that presented by NAEP, it can be viewed that the scores of the US were much of lower standard in the worldwide context (Gropman, â€Å"Waning Education Standards Threaten U.S. Competitiveness†; Alexander and Leticia 325-327). It has been further argued that the aspect of ‘Downward Mobility’ is haunting the education system of America. The students in the US are avoiding in attending schools and colleges with a fear that their juniors possessing greater education background will be much more educated as compared to them. Further details on the argument for the stand i.e. ‘American Public Education’ is getting consistently lowered in terms of its standards along with expectations have been cited with certain valued observations. For instance, Andreas Schleicher, who is regarded as a special advisor related to education at ‘Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’ (OECD) proclaims that "It's something of great significance because much of today's economic power of the United States rests on a very high degree of adult skills - and that is now at risk," (Coughlan â€Å"Downward mobility haunts US education†). This reflects a clear picture about the prevailing education system of America. In support of the argument, the survey report of OECD revealed that the young adults are being more educated than their parents based on the ratio of 1:5. According to the viewpoints of Miles... This paper stresses that it will be a fallacy to judge the failure of American Public education system due to the persistence of various dissimilar viewpoints about the concerned subject matter. It is the result of the series of activities and the political interferences that eventually deprived the public education system of America from being flourished. In the study, it has been argued that racial discrimination, depriving the middle-class families, inequality and rise in the education expenditures are few of the reasons that contributed in consistent failure of American public education system in terms of lowering its standards along with expectations. The author of the paper talks his own oppinion on the problem of American public education which based system have not declined in recent days. There are several governmental policies levied upon the education sector, proving the effectiveness of the American public education system. It is the teachers who play an effective role in determining the development of education system of any nation. This report makes a conclusion that on contrary to the failure of the American public education system, the government is taking initiatives to implement changed rules and policies for improving the same. Furthermore, it has been viewed from the study that public education system of the US greatly affects five vital security fronts that comprise economic growth along with competitiveness, physical safety of the nation, US global awareness and US unity along with cohesion. Thus, it is necessary for the US government to formulate policies on immediate basis to develop the existing public education system of America.

Hippocratic Medicine as a Departure from its Egyptian and Mesopotamian Essay

Hippocratic Medicine as a Departure from its Egyptian and Mesopotamian Forerunners - Essay Example The paper â€Å"Hippocratic Medicine as a Departure from its Egyptian and Mesopotamian Forerunners† proposes that there are significant ways in which Hippocratic medicine was a radical departure from the faith-based healing in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Greek medicine was considered the foundation of medicine in the Western world. This view began to change as the Western world began gained a broader knowledge of the history of medicine, resulting to a correlation being established between the earlier Mesopotamian and Egyptian medicine and that of Ancient Greece. It is important to review this relationship to see whether the decline in the reputation of Greek medicine is justified. It is proposed to examine whether Greek medicine was in fact a radical departure from the healing based on religious beliefs that was practiced in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. This paper claims that Hippocratic medicine was in fact such a radical departure because of its use of surgical procedu res, its concept of practitioner responsibility, and its basis in naturalism. Naturalism is the idea that events are explained only on the basis of causes that exist in nature. For instance, a practitioner may attribute a patient’s sickness to a change in the weather or to a lack of exercise, an imbalance in diet, or an incorrect position of the body during treatment. Naturalism tends to determine the causes of a disease based on what can be seen and examined in the natural world rather than on supernatural forces that occur in the spiritual realm.

The Problem of Evil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Problem of Evil - Essay Example There are people with numerous doubts, but others hold on to their faith in God. The paper establishes a discussion of the topic though a description, analysis and evaluation of arguments by various philosophers, and it will also establish the stance of the paper concerning the topic. Emmanuel Levinas is one of the philosophers who asserts that evil influences people into doing the wrong things; thus, he seeks to develop a discussion that accounts for evil. In fact, his argument is based on the role of rationality through the propagation of evil, which seems to be underestimated (Katz, 2005). Moreover, he argues that evil is infused in everyday transformation of temptations that are forbidden concerning impulse of good. Furthermore, his approach to the problem of evil is based on the discount of the conventional perception of theodicy that is considered a justification or rationalization of evil along with suffering inflicted on people. The other philosopher is Morilyn McCord Adams w ith an argument that the problem of evil relates to problem of reconciling existence of horrendous evils with God’s existence, which is suitable for people. In fact, Adams offers proposals as solutions of the problems, whereby she appeals to various forms of intimacy with God. Furthermore, this intimacy is focused on participants of horrendous evils (Earl, 2011). ... However, Kant fails to clarify the propensity of evil; thus, there is need to focus on interpretation of the propensity of evil and association with claims of evil of humanity (Duncan, 2011). Nevertheless, there are features that distinguish interpretation of the issue, whereby there are commentators who have ignorance of the issue. Moreover, there is serious analogy drawn by Kant concerning the propensity of evil and addiction. In this case, Kant has plausible argument regarding the assertion of human race, and it is reasonable. 2. Description and analysis of philosophers' views Levinas's views offer a chance of creating a perception of evil in a different light, whereby he considers evil as a disregard of acts and not a destruction of life, and he considered the source of evil to be inability of attuning to other. In fact, this form of evil offers a capacity of detachment from humanity, whereby people fail to see their responsibility. Therefore, this leads to an assertion that ther e is a precondition of other forms of evil. On the other hand, Levinas raises claims that indicate that evil makes people stand suffering, whereby one may seek to invert the relationship between suffering and evil. Furthermore, he poses a rejection of the conception of suffering, whereby he considers suffering to be a substantial component of the meaning of human life. Adams focuses on worry associated with respect to horrendous evil concerning the way God would defeat horrendous evil, which is in the context of participant’s lifetime. In fact, she argues that God would be supporting good people suffering from horrendous evil, thereby allowing their lives to subdue to evil (Swinburne, 2012). Therefore, her

Business in Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business in Literature - Essay Example In the novel The Ladies Paradise, the new recruit Denise is not used to displaying her salesgirl charm and feel violated, defenseless and naked because she is treated like a machine for modeling clothes. The job requirement was that the women had â€Å"to be attractive for the sales rooms† she consents to be attractive according to the stores standards to the leering men and the unethical Monsieur Jouve who would harass the girls that worked in the store by forcing them to buy into his good-will and making sexual advances towards them which was seen as a privilege given his position as the owner. This goes against the moral concept of the market as the Monsieur is only seeking to maximize his profit in this case his sexual gratification. The fulfillment of self-interest will contribute to the common good in the market according to John Stuart Mill; the Mauss theory acknowledges that the market cannot ignore the ethics of self interest in the market. His anthropology is based o n the aspect of giving and receiving in the market as a basis for social integration that is important in the economic interactions. Honesty and respect acknowledges the morality of exchange and interdependence of social relations in the market. Mauss anthropology emphasizes that responsibility is a fundamental constituent of ethical subjectivity therefore responsibility for other human beings legitimizes economic actions. Tono Bungay novel offers an ethical critique of the impact of the late nineteenth century capitalist modernization in the homeland. The story also traces the effects of the accelerated economic transformation to the social arrangements and classes in the society. The ethical dilemma arises where the aristocrat society subjects the bourgeoisie to exploitation and machinations in entrepreneurship. There is a struggle of capital and labour. This also describes the modern