Management Planning and Ethics :: Business Management Coursework

Planning is concerned with the future impact of today’s decisions. It’s easy to postpone planning and therefore plans are seldom made. In the company I work for, the need for planning becomes apparent long after a decision has been made. Due to the lack of planning, short-run solutions are constantly put into place.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In our organization, planning is usually what takes the most time, which we are not given much of when it comes to projects. Even when we get to plan, we don’t get to plan as much as we’d like, usually. On the same token, I believe that there should be a cutoff point for planning as it can definitely suck up all of the time needed to execute a project.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I as a manager, I attempt to plan things as well as I can with my staff, but find that my requested timeline in accordance to the timeline given by my upper management, and to the timeline promised to the executives, find it very difficult at times. It is mentioned in the text that organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling functions in management stem from the planning function. This would explain another tribulation we have at work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We find that we are sometimes disorganized and understaffed. For the most part I maintain the leading and controlling function with what resources I have. This is really never accomplished up to par because of what is lacking in the other areas. Goals and plans to reach them has been the main project on my plate, because of how difficult it is. For the most part, I’ve used my own management instinct to lead the group, and have been successful, to certain degree.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But my influence on the group is quite limited as I struggle to plan for goals and methods of achieving them. My measurement of the completion of our goals has hap hazardously been reported on Monday mornings as second priority to certain tasks that need to be completed before I could even call my group successful. Sometimes this act is confusing and doesn’t appear to serve a purpose to me, immediately. Although, I know that it does in the long run.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have grown to understand how important planning is at all levels of management. I’ve also noticed that its characteristics vary with every level of management. Sometimes it appears as though the higher level of management isn’t really putting the planning function of management into use, causing just as difficult a time for me to plan as I’m currently having. Management Planning and Ethics :: Business Management Coursework Planning is concerned with the future impact of today’s decisions. It’s easy to postpone planning and therefore plans are seldom made. In the company I work for, the need for planning becomes apparent long after a decision has been made. Due to the lack of planning, short-run solutions are constantly put into place.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In our organization, planning is usually what takes the most time, which we are not given much of when it comes to projects. Even when we get to plan, we don’t get to plan as much as we’d like, usually. On the same token, I believe that there should be a cutoff point for planning as it can definitely suck up all of the time needed to execute a project.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I as a manager, I attempt to plan things as well as I can with my staff, but find that my requested timeline in accordance to the timeline given by my upper management, and to the timeline promised to the executives, find it very difficult at times. It is mentioned in the text that organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling functions in management stem from the planning function. This would explain another tribulation we have at work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We find that we are sometimes disorganized and understaffed. For the most part I maintain the leading and controlling function with what resources I have. This is really never accomplished up to par because of what is lacking in the other areas. Goals and plans to reach them has been the main project on my plate, because of how difficult it is. For the most part, I’ve used my own management instinct to lead the group, and have been successful, to certain degree.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But my influence on the group is quite limited as I struggle to plan for goals and methods of achieving them. My measurement of the completion of our goals has hap hazardously been reported on Monday mornings as second priority to certain tasks that need to be completed before I could even call my group successful. Sometimes this act is confusing and doesn’t appear to serve a purpose to me, immediately. Although, I know that it does in the long run.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have grown to understand how important planning is at all levels of management. I’ve also noticed that its characteristics vary with every level of management. Sometimes it appears as though the higher level of management isn’t really putting the planning function of management into use, causing just as difficult a time for me to plan as I’m currently having.

Fraternity Hazing Essay -- Fraternities Greek Life College Essays

Fraternity Hazing When most people hear the term "hazing" it brings up images of fraternities, or they just don’t know what it is. In even though hazing occurs in many places including fraternities and sororities, the military, athletic teams and student organizations (marching bands) at both the high school and collegiate levels. Many believe that hazing in fraternities and in general are nothing more than silly tricks and harmless pranks like those from the 1980s hit comedy Animal House. The realities of hazing are severely different than the witty images many people associate with them. Hazing is an abuse of power that can have weakening and life-threatening consequences. According to the research presented by Hank Nuwer (1990), journalist and author of several books related to hazing, hazing has been associated with more than fifty deaths in college fraternities and countless more physical injuries including paralysis, not to mention the devastating emotional effects that can result for so many young men and women. The most commonly asked questions about hazing in fraternities are, why do young men and women participate in such horrific and life-threatening activities just to belong to a group? This seems like a reasonable question--but it reveal the lack of understanding about the dynamics of the hazing process. Many states have passed legislation to forbid hazing; having noticed that the power of peer pressure prevents hazing victims from giving true permission to participate in the activities. Also, many potential members don't realize and are not informed of what the pledging process and hazing will involve because this information is covered in secrecy by the brotherhood. This combined with the increasing har... ...ited States in all forms of groups, and at colleges that have hazing now as a part of a ritual to get in a fraternity. There should be a â€Å"class† that teaches about hazing and have students come in and speak that have hazed and the consequences that they were faced with, and students that have received the hazing activities. CQ Researcher Hansen, B. (2004, January 9). Hazing. The CQ Researcher Online, 14, 1-24. Retrieved February 18, 2004, from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher. How do we stop hazing? February 15, 2004 http://www.alfred.edu/news/stop_hazing/stop_hazing.html How do we stop hazing? February 15, 2004 http://www.alfred.edu/news/stop_hazing/stop_hazing.html â€Å"Woman touts anti-hazing law as late son's legacy.† Jefferson City News Tribune 16 February 2004 http://www.newstribune.com/articles/2004/02/16/news_state/0216040025.txt

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Two explosions rocked western Baghdad's al-Shu'lah neighborhood near a Shiite Muslim mosque on Sunday, killing at least 15 people and wounding at least 57, Iraqi police said. The first blast was triggered near the mosque -- and when people gathered near the scene, a suicide car bomber drove into the crowd and detonated the vehicle in the second blast, police said. Word of the blasts in the capital came just hours after news of two suicide car bombs in Tikrit, about 90 miles (150 km) north of Baghdad. The bombs exploded just 15 minutes and a short distance apart, killing at least six people and wounding 26 at an Iraqi Police Academy in Tikrit, according to an official with Tikrit's governor's office. Police were responding to the first explosion -- which happened in front of the police academy at 8 a.m. (12 a.m. EDT) -- when the second car bomb detonated close by at the meteorology building, the official said. In an earlier attack Saturday evening, seven commandos with Iraq's Interior Ministry were wounded when five mortar rounds landed inside their facility in the al-Baiya' neighborhood of southwest Baghdad, Iraq police said. The attack in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, occurred as new recruits at the academy were about to travel to the Jordanian capital of Amman for a training program, police Lt. Shalan Allawi said, The Associated Press reported. A doctor at Tikrit General Hospital said the bombs killed four policemen and two civilians, with 23 policemen and several civilians wounded, AP reported. Elsewhere, three insurgents were killed Sunday as the roadside bomb they were trying to plant in the town of Mahawil exploded, police said in the nearby city of Hillah. The explosions follow the deaths of at least 12 people Saturday in a series of attacks by insurgents. The U.S. military said Task Force Baghdad soldiers arrested eight people Saturday. They are suspected of shooting down a commercial helicopter Thursday. The military said in a release that an "Iraqi civilian helped Task Force Baghdad soldiers find" eight people, who were being questioned in the crash that resulted in the deaths of 11 people on board. Six American security contractors, two Bulgarian crew members and two Fijian security guards were killed in the crash. A Bulgarian crew member who survived the crash was shot to death, according to the Bulgarian company that owned the helicopter. The helicopter was flying from Baghdad to the northern city of Tikrit when it went down just north of the capital.

Facebook in Academic Institutions Essay

1. Summary. Whilst the majority of students have Facebook profiles, potential to support academic institutions was seen in its features. This paper provides a generalization of several case studies about the utilisation of Facebook in several universities. It offers an overview of the advantages, constraints and limitations of the suggested practices. The report shows that although Facebook implementation faced partial success, most of the respondents strongly believed that it should remain a forum only for social networking, not a platform for formal academic information. 2. Terms of reference. Social networking sites, especially Facebook, have gained wide popularity in the last few years. They provide a variety of options such as group setting, live chat and online discussion forum. This structure made it possible to expand and go beyond the boundaries of being tools utilised only for marketing and social interaction. Bearing in mind that their main users are individuals at the age of 18-24, they offer a good potential for academic and educational purposes. Owing to the growing interest to the topic, I have been commissioned by the Senior Management Group of the University to investigate whether academic institutions use them in order to interact with students. The purpose of this report is to find out evidence and outcomes of such implementation in the academic community. Although the collected results appear to be somehow contradictory, the dilemma whether Facebook can be both a social and academic forum seems to have a straightforward answer. 3. Procedure. To analyse the university strategies regarding social platforms, a review of library evidence and instances was conducted. In order to retrieve materials of high quality and authority, the search was conducted in Google Scholar and Library Catalogue Plus. Since much more research is done on the social aspects and privacy issues regarding Facebook, advanced searching was used in order to ignore the irrelevant information. Due to the recent nature of the topic, the scope of the articles and journals was limited to publications from the past five years, 2007-2012. The findings are overviews of case studies based on the practices in USA, Italy and South Africa with  prevailing number of undergraduates as main respondents. Because of the variety of social networking sites, the study is primarily focused on Facebook since it has its roots in the academic environment and in this way it is distinctive from the rest of its kind (Bosh 2009, p.191). 4. Findings. Academic institutions realised that Facebook is a pervasive element in every student’s life (Roodt et al. 2009, 16). Adopting this new approach of getting in touch with their target audiences was a challenging way to increase engagement. The literature review shows that the official presence of universities on Facebook has recently increased. Not only is the presence on Facebook important for attracting potential students, but it also provides advantages for enrolled ones. They already have the experience and the knowledge how to use it, which leads to easy incorporation for the purpose of distributing academic information (Bosh 2009, p.191). Apart from being a powerful marketing tool, Facebook is used as a mechanism for: * Online discussion on topics covered in lectures * Administrative and departmental arrangements * Module information 4.1 Online discussion forum. Overall, no empirical evidence was found about Facebook used as a sole platform for academic interaction. It was used as a complement to the existing learning management systems (LMS) – web sites, Blackboard, etc. The established Blackboards have proved to be successful tools for information retrieval. Most of them have a discussion forum, but it has rarely been used for communication (Hrastinski & Aghaee 2011, p.453). Case studies in a Comprehensive Disease Management course and at University of Cape Town reveal that the respondents seldom have a look at the discussion board. Due to its features allowing immediate responses, Facebook offers potential to overcome the lack of dialogue among students. However, there were opponents to this idea who strongly believed that the existing LMS was useful and were unwilling to have discussions in a separate forum (Wang et al. 2012, p.431). This was not an impediment since participation was optional. As a result, learners became more engaged since formulating thoughts online was easier and topics could be discussed more in depth (Cain & Policastri 2011,  p.7). Many students struggle to raise questions and participate actively during lectures and tutorials. Therefore, social platforms facilitate and promote the development of analytical skills allowing everyone to take part. The improved level of communication had impact on the classroom climate leading to higher motivation (Loving & Ochoa 2011, p.129). This transition from passive learner to active participant is beneficial (Selwyn 2009, p.158). It raises student motivation and engagement. Nevertheless, many like Bosh (2009) argue that it does not promote critical thinking since the so-called â€Å"Google generation† assumes social platforms primarily as a way of entertainment. Another drawback of online discussions is that responds are listed in a chronological order, not in threads, which makes it difficult to follow the logical links between comments (Wang et al. 2012, p.436). 4.2 Administrative and departmental arrangements. According to Malesky & Peters (2011), given the large number of students on social networks, multiple university departments and faculties use social platforms to disseminate information to learners. A large number of youngsters have permanent Internet connection on their smartphones and checks their profiles quite often. Therefore, Facebook is utilised for relaying last-minute information about schedules and venues because students are more likely to be on Facebook rather than to check their email (Selwyn 2009, p.163). Important issue to be taken into account here is the authority of the information. It will be assumed as reliable only if it is posted by a member of the academic staff. In addition, departmental pages are good way to get in touch with students, especially during holidays when the existing LMS is rarely visited (Bosh 2009, p. p.187). For example, at Northeastern University of Boston the initial skepticism of viewing course-related posts in a platform primarily used for social interaction faded away and at the end 57% of the respondents were convinced it was useful (DiVall & Kirwin 2012, p.4). Another important implication of faculty pages is that they create a virtual campus environment where all students can communicate and learn from each other (Bosh 2009, p.195). It is beneficial especially for current students who have the chance to talk and exchange experience with the alumni and graduates they will never meet. Maintaining good  student-faculty relationship through Facebook also reflects on student satisfaction about the quality of the service provided. However, time-constraints and costs of such implementation should be carefully considered before integration since the staff is already maintaining the other course management software (DiVall & Kirwin 2012, p.2). It is a powerful tool for small institutions which cannot afford to purchase a Blackboard (Wang et al. 2012, p.434), but its limitations such as safety and partial participation prevent it from being used as a main tool for information dissemination. 4.3 Information about modules. Module information was posted in a specially established Facebook groups. This format was chosen instead of a page because of the option to set up a closed community. It was perceived as controlled environment since the lecturer was the one who could add and remove members (Wang et al. 2012, p.436). Generally, feedback about this practice was positive. Apart from communication about assignments, research findings and current affairs, the group wall was a suitable platform for resource and materials sharing – videos, photos, links to external articles were uploaded which were useful for those willing to extend their knowledge beyond the lecture material (Estus 2010, p.3). However, it was not considered as a complete success due to the inability to support resources in other formats (Wang et al. 2012, p.434). To overcome this problem, additional applications such as Google Docs were used in order to extend Facebook capabilities. Despite this, lectures preferred the traditional Blackboard due to the ease of use. Another advantage of this practice was the positive impact on student-lecturer communication. The virtual office hours allowed learners to contact tutors and lecturers in a less pressured environment (Bosh 2009, p.195). This is important for the better understanding of the matter since learners felt more comfortable to raise their questions on the platform. In addition, lectures’ profiles could enhance their credibility because students see the similarities between the lecturer and themselves (Wang et al. 2012, p.437). Taking into account that it is a dual-side communication process, the other party (students) revealed that they did not want to be contacted by tutors because it is a social forum for getting in touch with peers and they try to separate social life from education (Madge et al.  2009, 150). Friendship with lecturers was possible but it seldom happened because students were cautious that this could affect their ability to be objective (Malesky & Peters 2012, p.138). Further weaknesses of Facebook here were the inability to support grade notification, assignment uploading and online testing (Loving & Ochoa 2011, p.129). 5. Conclusion and recommendation. Although literature provides not enough empirical evidence, it is clear that students prefer to keep the divide between their social and academic space. Facebook has suitable affordances, which allow its utilisation as an educational platform as well. Successful practices were found where it has been used as supplement to the existing learning management system for resource sharing and module and academic information dissemination. However, further research has to be done to investigate the links and synergies between both in order to find the best way they could successfully work together. When it comes to the implementation of Facebook practices in a particular university, it should be carefully considered whether weaknesses are outweighted by potential advantages. Since the literature review shows that Facebook brings a little contribution to the functions of the existing Blackboard, Loughborough University should not invest time and efforts into setting up pages and groups. It is perceived as an intrusive invasion into a place students feel as â€Å"theirs† (Loving & Ochoa 2011, p.124). LEARN and student emails already successfully execute the functions Facebook could be used for. Lectures, tutors and academic staff could be contacted at any time and the discussion forum is well-developed. Therefore, a possible integration of Facebook is not worth efforts. Even though it has a potential, it should remain a place for social interaction and not for formal university practices. 6. Word count. The report contains 1504 words. 7. References. Bosch, T., 2009. Using online social networking for teaching and learning: Facebook use at the University of Cape Town. South African Journal for Communication Theory and Research[online], 35(2), 185-200. , [accessed 21.05.12]. Cain, J. & Policastri, A., 2011. Using Facebook as an informal learning environment. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Edducation[online], 75(10), 1-8. , [accessed 18.05.12]. DiVall, M. & Kirwin, J., 2012. Using Facebook to facilitate course-related discussion between students. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Edducation[online], 76(2), 1-5. , [accessed 18.05.12]. Estus, E., 2010. Using Facebook within a Geriatric Pharmacotherapy Course. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Edducation[online], 74(8), 1-5. , [accessed 21.05.12] Hrastinski, S. & Aghaee, N., 2011. How are campus students using social media to support their studies?. Education and Information Technologies[online], 17(4), 451-464. , [accessed 20.05.12]. Loving, M. & Ochoa, M., 2011. Facebook as a classroom management solution. New Library World[online], 113(3), 121-130. , [accessed 20.05.12]. Madge, C. et al., 2009. Facebook, social integration and informal learning at university: â€Å"It is more for socializing and talking to friends about work than for actually doing work†. Learning, Media and Technology[online], 34(2), 141-155. , [accessed 20.05.12]. Malesky, L. & Peters, C., 2011. Defining appropriate professional behavior for faculty and university students on social networking websites. Higher Education[online], 63(1), 131-151. , [accessed 21.05.12]. Mazman, S. & Usluel,Y., 2010. Modeling educational usage of Facebook. Computers & Education[online], 55(2), 444-453. , [accessed 18.05.2012]. Roodt, S., Cloete, S. & De Villiers, C., 2009. Facebook as an academic tool for ICT lecturers. Annual conference of Southern African Computer Lecturers’ Association[online], 29 June-1 July. Eastern Cape: SACLA, 16-22. , [accessed 22.05.12]. Selwyn, N., 2009. Faceworking: exploring students’ education†related use of Facebook. Learning, Media and Technology[online], 34(2), 157-174.< http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439880902923622>, [accessed 21.05.12]. Wang, Q. et al., 2012. Using the Facebook group as a learning management system: an exploratory study. British Journal of Educational Technology [online], 43(3), 428–438. , [accessed 19.05.12]. Appendix 1Search strategy Existing literature about Facebook is focused more on social networking and privacy issues. Since the study needed more education-oriented materials, the initial search in Google and Wikipedia was not useful enough because it led to more general results. The main information retrieval tools used during the investigation were Google Scholar, Library Catalogue Plus and some additional databases found through the Select Database option. In order to avoid a large amount of inappropriate materials, only databases from the â€Å"Education† category were selected. The most useful of them was ScienceDirect. In addition to the materials which exactly fitted the search criteria, a number of related articles was suggested, which was very helpful. In all of the information retrieval tools advanced searching strategies were applied in order to narrow the results and sift out the most relevant ones.

Dont Judge a Book by Its Cover

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they must admit that their parents were right. We do not like to admit it, but the old adages they told us as children are normally correct, and we teach them to our children. My mother was adamant about teaching me that you should â€Å"never judge a book by its cover†. Some examples of what she meant are: the color of someone’s skin, the way they dress, the type of car they drive, anything that might give false impressions, either both good or bad. For the majority of my life, I had lived by that rule; kept it engrained in my mind, but when it came to the men in my life, well the cover was everything. When it came to men I was a student of Oscar Wilde who coined the phrase â€Å"It is only the shallow who do not judge by appearances. † I was under the impression that aesthetics were everything. It took me until one day before my twenty-fifth birthday to determine that maybe I should apply the saying that Mom taught me, rather than the philosophy of Wilde, to every aspect of my life. I now know that it is truer than anything else that Mother ever taught me; â€Å"never judge a book by its cover†, or you just might miss a great story. The day before my twenty-fifth birthday three of my girlfriends and I decided to go out for a pre-birthday celebration. There was a big party planned the following night, and we knew that we would not have a lot of time to hang out together. We got all dressed up and went to our favorite sports bar, George’s. I guess we could be considered regulars, and because of that, we knew a lot of the people there that night. As we sat around our table, listening to music and talking, several people came over to the table to give me birthday wishes since they would not be attending the party the next night. About halfway through the evening, a friend of mine named Chuck came over to say hello because we had not seen each other in quite some time. He had been out of town visiting family in Huntsville, Texas. He told me that he had brought one of his cousins back to Houston with him to the bar as well as an old friend from high school. I looked over towards his table and saw a man, who, in my opinion, at the time was the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on. I had to meet him. There was no way around it; he was tall, dark, and handsome. He had a smile that could light up a room. I did not say anything to Chuck just then, we simply continued our conversation, and I made sure to remind him of the party the following evening. He promised he would come. All the while I hoped that he would bring his friend or cousin. I was not sure yet which he was, but I would soon find out. Sometime after midnight, it was officially my birthday, and I decided that my present to myself would be to meet that handsome stranger. I walked over to Chuck’s table and introduced myself to the other gentlemen. I quickly learned that the man whom I thought was so handsome was Alex, Chuck’s cousin, and the other man was Don, Chuck’s friend from high school. We talked for a while and I invited them all to the party later that night. I made sure they all had my number in case they needed directions and bade them good night. I just knew that Alex would show up and be my next beau. The next evening I got a call from Don, which was not the call that I had been anticipating, he was asking for directions and said that he was coming with Chuck, but they had not heard from Alex. I was a little disappointed, but was excited about the party, so I did not let it get me down. When Don and Chuck arrived, I was shocked to see that Don came in with two dozen long stemmed white roses. â€Å"Happy Birthday Beautiful; you are even more beautiful than the flowers that I hold for you† and he kissed me on my cheek. I felt speechless but somehow managed to muster a quiet Thank you so much, they are amazing. † Once he had given me the flowers, Don and Chuck went to find a seat and I remained stunned in mine. I talked to my friends that were with me the previous night, and one asked â€Å"Where is Alex? † â€Å"I have no idea. † I said. â€Å"Those flowers are incredible! Where did you get them? † my friend Becky asked. â€Å"Don, the friend of Ch uck’s that I met last night at George’s. The flowers are beautiful, and he told me I was too, I can’t believe this, he likes me. I don’t know what to do; he is so nice but just not my type. He’s shorter than most guys I date and he is not slim and trim the way I usually like my boyfriends; what am I going to do? I guess I will just smile and be nice and think about it tomorrow. † I said to my friends and we continued with the party. I never saw Alex that night and never got a phone call from him either. I looked at the flowers all day Sunday and could not get past how much Don was not my type but yet so very sweet. Don called me on Monday to say hi and thank me for inviting him to my party. He had really enjoyed himself. Finally, he asked if I wanted to go to George’s and watch he basketball game on Tuesday night. I was torn, he was nice enough, but I did not want to lead him on because he was not my type, it would never work. I decided to go and see what would happen after some good natured ribbing from my friends about being conceited and mean. I am so glad that my friends did pick on me and make me regret being shallow because I ended up very sere ndipitous. I soon found out that Don was the nicest man I had ever met. After spending some time with him his looks were not of consequence anymore, in fact they had grown on me in a way I never expected they would. Ever since that Tuesday night we have been together and are now married with two beautiful daughters. Once we kissed, that man whom I had once considered a frog quickly turned into a Prince and I was blessed to become his princess. I should have listened to my mother all those years ago and applied the saying to â€Å"never judge a book by its cover† to everything in my life; I may have saved myself some heartache. Thanks Mom for instilling values in me and keeping in the back of my mind, â€Å"never judge a book by its cover† you might miss a great story; or in my case, a fairytale. Dont Judge a Book by Its Cover There comes a time in everyone’s life when they must admit that their parents were right. We do not like to admit it, but the old adages they told us as children are normally correct, and we teach them to our children. My mother was adamant about teaching me that you should â€Å"never judge a book by its cover†. Some examples of what she meant are: the color of someone’s skin, the way they dress, the type of car they drive, anything that might give false impressions, either both good or bad. For the majority of my life, I had lived by that rule; kept it engrained in my mind, but when it came to the men in my life, well the cover was everything. When it came to men I was a student of Oscar Wilde who coined the phrase â€Å"It is only the shallow who do not judge by appearances. † I was under the impression that aesthetics were everything. It took me until one day before my twenty-fifth birthday to determine that maybe I should apply the saying that Mom taught me, rather than the philosophy of Wilde, to every aspect of my life. I now know that it is truer than anything else that Mother ever taught me; â€Å"never judge a book by its cover†, or you just might miss a great story. The day before my twenty-fifth birthday three of my girlfriends and I decided to go out for a pre-birthday celebration. There was a big party planned the following night, and we knew that we would not have a lot of time to hang out together. We got all dressed up and went to our favorite sports bar, George’s. I guess we could be considered regulars, and because of that, we knew a lot of the people there that night. As we sat around our table, listening to music and talking, several people came over to the table to give me birthday wishes since they would not be attending the party the next night. About halfway through the evening, a friend of mine named Chuck came over to say hello because we had not seen each other in quite some time. He had been out of town visiting family in Huntsville, Texas. He told me that he had brought one of his cousins back to Houston with him to the bar as well as an old friend from high school. I looked over towards his table and saw a man, who, in my opinion, at the time was the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on. I had to meet him. There was no way around it; he was tall, dark, and handsome. He had a smile that could light up a room. I did not say anything to Chuck just then, we simply continued our conversation, and I made sure to remind him of the party the following evening. He promised he would come. All the while I hoped that he would bring his friend or cousin. I was not sure yet which he was, but I would soon find out. Sometime after midnight, it was officially my birthday, and I decided that my present to myself would be to meet that handsome stranger. I walked over to Chuck’s table and introduced myself to the other gentlemen. I quickly learned that the man whom I thought was so handsome was Alex, Chuck’s cousin, and the other man was Don, Chuck’s friend from high school. We talked for a while and I invited them all to the party later that night. I made sure they all had my number in case they needed directions and bade them good night. I just knew that Alex would show up and be my next beau. The next evening I got a call from Don, which was not the call that I had been anticipating, he was asking for directions and said that he was coming with Chuck, but they had not heard from Alex. I was a little disappointed, but was excited about the party, so I did not let it get me down. When Don and Chuck arrived, I was shocked to see that Don came in with two dozen long stemmed white roses. â€Å"Happy Birthday Beautiful; you are even more beautiful than the flowers that I hold for you† and he kissed me on my cheek. I felt speechless but somehow managed to muster a quiet Thank you so much, they are amazing. † Once he had given me the flowers, Don and Chuck went to find a seat and I remained stunned in mine. I talked to my friends that were with me the previous night, and one asked â€Å"Where is Alex? † â€Å"I have no idea. † I said. â€Å"Those flowers are incredible! Where did you get them? † my friend Becky asked. â€Å"Don, the friend of Ch uck’s that I met last night at George’s. The flowers are beautiful, and he told me I was too, I can’t believe this, he likes me. I don’t know what to do; he is so nice but just not my type. He’s shorter than most guys I date and he is not slim and trim the way I usually like my boyfriends; what am I going to do? I guess I will just smile and be nice and think about it tomorrow. † I said to my friends and we continued with the party. I never saw Alex that night and never got a phone call from him either. I looked at the flowers all day Sunday and could not get past how much Don was not my type but yet so very sweet. Don called me on Monday to say hi and thank me for inviting him to my party. He had really enjoyed himself. Finally, he asked if I wanted to go to George’s and watch he basketball game on Tuesday night. I was torn, he was nice enough, but I did not want to lead him on because he was not my type, it would never work. I decided to go and see what would happen after some good natured ribbing from my friends about being conceited and mean. I am so glad that my friends did pick on me and make me regret being shallow because I ended up very sere ndipitous. I soon found out that Don was the nicest man I had ever met. After spending some time with him his looks were not of consequence anymore, in fact they had grown on me in a way I never expected they would. Ever since that Tuesday night we have been together and are now married with two beautiful daughters. Once we kissed, that man whom I had once considered a frog quickly turned into a Prince and I was blessed to become his princess. I should have listened to my mother all those years ago and applied the saying to â€Å"never judge a book by its cover† to everything in my life; I may have saved myself some heartache. Thanks Mom for instilling values in me and keeping in the back of my mind, â€Å"never judge a book by its cover† you might miss a great story; or in my case, a fairytale.

Individual Development Plan Essay

Life is a never-ending learning experience. One of the most important lessons we can ever learn from comes from within. As we go through life, it is essential that we learn who we are, and have the ability to recognize and grow from our own personal strengths and weaknesses. Knowing what we are good at and what we are weak in is the only way we can truly grow as individuals. This knowledge helps us to accomplish the goals we set for ourselves in life. Through taking these personal inventory tests of my strengths and weaknesses, I have determined what I need to do not only to better understand who I am, but how to improve my life. All my life, I’ve been known to be serious, dutiful, and reserved. My parents instilled a great deal of order and structure upon us so that if they happen to not be around we would know what to do. Coming from a family of four girls, me being the 2nd to the oldest, I had to be a good role model for my other sisters. While my parents worked, my older sister and I were responsible to watch the younger sisters, do choirs and then homework. Coming home from school, I always made sure that all these things expected of me is accomplished before I go out to play. We used to live in a big apartment complex with maybe 150 units so there were many kids around the neighborhood to play with. Our most favorite activity is to ride our bikes around the complex, racing at times, but most of the time just riding, talking and joking around. I was always a little older than most of the kids, but they loved hanging around with me because I always took care of them and made sure that know one dared them into doing something they couldn’t do. As a teenager, I was pretty down to earth. Being the responsible and thoughtful person that I am, I always try to do the appropriate thing at the appropriate time. I felt that each person should earn one’s keep and got a part time job to help the family out. More like so that I wouldn’t have to ask for money from my parents. They should only be responsible for the livelihood of the family. I often spent the money I made on practical things  that I needed instead of fashion like most of my friends. A person should be responsible for their own destiny instead of being totally dependent on someone for survival. At the age of sixteen, I started my first semester in college. This was the right path for me and the one that I’ve been planning for. My motivation to go and complete my college education, stemmed from the fact I will be the first person in my family tree to be educated and being able to accomplish a goal. Failure was not an option and was never able to understand why so many people decide to drop out. Being a freshman, I really didn’t know what I wanted to study. I knew that majors such as liberal arts would not be something I would chose because I felt they are not practical. What will I learn from it and what job will I do using those skills? So I chose biology. Within two years, I discovered this was not for me either because science never posed concrete answers to questions. There are specific steps you need to take to acquire an answer but the answers can be different when controls are moved around or changed. Business management was my next choice because the concepts were practical and useful. After taking all the self-assessment tests on personality styles, I’ve determined that the term ‘personality style’ generally means the ways in which one is most comfortable when reacting to different situations. I also discovered that while controversy surrounds the theories of personality style assessments, the practice of self-assessment with the intent of greater self-awareness can be helpful in maximizing my ability to understand what is really important to me and the traits which will impact my likeliness to succeed or fail at various careers. If we have a good understanding of our self we can make the most of natural strengths and build on skills in areas in which we are less confident. In order to fully assess my strengths, I first determined the areas that I am most competent in. I generally consider myself to be a well organized individual. Everyday, I prioritize my daily activities by reviewing my never  ending â€Å"to do† list. I am particularly strong and careful in keeping track of facts and details. At work, my job is to plan all the activities of the operations department and report on the activities of the engineering development to upper management. Therefore being systematic, thorough and sincere is important to accomplishing any task that I do. Hardworking and dependable is how most people describe me. Given any assignment, I will get the job done or completed on schedule. When a shipment date has been committed to the customer, I will make sure that the order gets shipped to the right place at the right time. I will often take on extra responsibilities in order to maintain what I think is important. Like the Lemuel Green case presented in class, my motivation is the feeling of existence within an organization. I need to feel that what I do is important to both the company and the people I work with. I consider myself a team player. I often provide assistance to fellow employees when they are in a bind. I am appreciated by my peers for always lending a helping hand when needed. I take pleasure in offering my skills, suggestions or perspective to my co-workers when I think it would be useful to them. According to the five factor theory, I rank highest at being conscientious and lowest at being extraverted. In between are emotional stability, agreeableness and openness to experience. I think this is also right about my personality because I tend to be very aware of my surroundings which allows for flexibility when adapting to any type of environmental or situational change. I’m also emotionally stable, can easily be approached, and always open for different experiences. This is important because Another method I used for assessing personality style is the widely known and recognized, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a test â€Å"derived from psychologist Carl Jung’s theory on psychological types† (Robbins, 2001). According to this test, I am an introvert, sensing, thinking, judgment or ISTJ. For each of the words or letters that I identify most strongly with, is an opposite trait that I have less association with. For example, I am definitely much more of an introvert than an extrovert, as evidenced in quiet and reserved  personality. I am also more of a sensor that an intuitor, because intuitors love ideas, broad concepts and meanings, whereas sensors focus on facts and details. I consider myself more of a thinker than a feeler, because I value critical and logical thinking over doing what I feel is right. And lastly, I see myself as being more a judger than perceiver because like judgers, I believe truth wins out over tact. Within each of my strengths lies a weakness. One of my most noticeable and possibly destructive weaknesses is overlooking the long-range implications of the actions I choose to take. I tend to get really excited about a task at hand and find myself half way through that I should have taken a step back, thought about it, and then take action. This can affect my performance and the ability to complete tasks efficiently and on schedule in this results-driven world. As described earlier, I am able to work well within organizational structures, however there are a few things I need to work on in terms of team dynamics. I am not very personable. When meeting with teams or people, I often focus on the purpose at hand. I seldom take the time to know people and often run the danger of inappropriately passing judgment on them. Also in relation to working in teams is my tendency to expect everyone to be as logical and analytical as I am. This is an unreasonable expectation because people are different and I should look at it as an opportunity to learn new insights and ideas. Another significant weakness for me is the inability to express myself creatively whether it is written or verbal. I have a realistic respect for facts and am extremely dependent on it when performing daily tasks. I don’t feel like I rebuff creativity, I tend not to pay much attention to it. When thinking or speaking I try to focus only on reaching my point. I usually a have a solid perception of the concepts or purpose but often run into problems when trying to build a framework that links all the parts together creatively. Whether it is Myers-Briggs or the five factor model, these methodologies all  showed me that I have several strengths, which I have used throughout my life. The fact that I’m realistic, systematic and organize enables me to work well within any organizational structure. I am very thorough, hard working, and careful with particulars and procedures. My practical judgment and valuing of procedure makes me consistent and conservative. I need to assemble all the necessary facts in order to support my evaluations and decisions.

Baby Development

This paper provides an in-depth look at the findings of an Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) with a toddler’s parents in combination with an intricate observation of the same child. Throughout the course of this paper, it is interesting for the reader to compare and contrast the strong Chinese culture at play within this family to that of their own heritage. The observation of the child was naturalistic meaning there was no contact or attempt to alter the activities by the observer and it lasted thirty-minutes with each minute’s findings noted separately on the enclosed table.The AAI consisted of eighteen questions which are intended to provide a sense of understanding of the parent’s experience with their own mother and father while when used with the observation of the child can help to offer a clearer picture of their parenting. There are three definitions of each, parents and children, which can be used to categorize them. These include for the child: secure, insecure-ambivalent, and insecure-avoidant; and for adults: secure-autonomous, dismissing, and preoccupied.The supporting statements that categorize each of these definitions have been carefully considered in determining which rightfully defines the parents and child in this particular case. Commentary Section During the thirty-minutes that the infant, Kevin, was being naturalistically observed in his parents’ home, a vast majority of his activity revolved around self-stimulation with toy cars with very little interaction with his mother who was also present.Of the three categorizations for an infant—secure, insecure-ambivalent, and insecure-avoidant—I would have to say, based on the short amount of time spent with him, that Kevin showed more signs of being a secure child. This conclusion comes from monitoring his activity and interactivity with his mother in combination with things that were said and his mannerisms. The observation began with Kevin’s mot her introducing three toy cars of differing sizes making the young boy incredibly excited.She obviously brought the toys in order to make the child happy, which shows that she is caring. Kevin was unable to verbally communicate clearly. However, the noises that he did make seemed to be joyful and very animated, mostly â€Å"ya, ya. † Initially, Kevin showed slight hesitation in his ability to play with the toy car and his mother, upon instantly recognizing this, got up from the sofa and selected a car to demonstrate to him a fun way to use the toy.In doing so, to further substantiate my feeling that he is a secure child, he made no fuss at her grabbing a toy and was perfectly happy with her showing him what to do. Some children in this situation may have thrown a tantrum feeling insecure as though the parent was going to take the toys away or control the activity in some way. About fifteen minutes or so into the observation Kevin begins knocking on the floor with the cars. Hi s mother informs him of the elderly lady living below the apartment and how she does not like when he makes such loud noises.Ignoring the lengthy explanation he continues to knock out of lack of comprehension. His mother stands and once Kevin sees that her facial expression is one of displeasure he immediately stops knocking as the visual is something that he is able to recognize. As if the child is checking to see whether or not his mother is terribly upset, he goes to her clutching all three of the toy cars against his chest and says â€Å"ma, ma. † She responds with a smile and a â€Å"yes, honey?† He instantly giggles as he realizes that he is not in trouble but was merely scorned for his action at the time. Seeing as how he went to his mother right after the minor incident shows me that he is comfortable enough with her to run back to her immediately after she scolds him. Their relationship appears to be one of happiness and understanding for one another’s needs and wants. Kevin’s mother was born and raised in Xi’an, which is the capital city of Shanxi province located in northwest China.When she was younger, she explains that both of her parents worked full-time, her mother as an accountant and her father for the Chinese government. She was not the only child; she also had a sister who is two years her junior. She graduated from the Xi’an Institute of Foreign Language and came to the United States to attain her MBA when she was twenty-three years old. She describes her parents as being extremely busy throughout most of her childhood as far back as she is able to remember, but she does not see it as being a problem with their relationship.She describes her mother as the kind of person she would like Kevin to think of her as when he is older: intimate, warm, casual, relaxing, and caring. Every free minute that she had available was spent with her and her sister. Based upon the way that Kevin has responded to his mo ther’s discipline throughout the course of the observation, it seems as though he does not suffer from what psychologist Kagan refers to as behavioral inhibition, which often leads to anxiety in later years.In his research, he has acknowledged the fact that per attachment theory, an infant, in this case Kevin, will become bonded to his mother or whoever provides care to him on a daily basis within the first year. It is, though, the â€Å"individual differences in the secure versus insecure quality of attachments [that] have been observed, resulting from differences in the caregiver's availability and responsiveness to the infant and the degree of reciprocity between the infant and the caregiver† (Shamir-Essakow, Ungerer, and Rapee, 2005).Kevin’s mother has vowed to take traumatizing experiences of her past and avoid putting her child through them so that he can develop into a more secure toddler and eventually adult. One of the questions asked of Kevin’s mother during the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was about a time that she remembers being separated from her mother, whom she stated she was closest to growing up. She told me of a time when her mother went away for business when she was almost seven years old.She and her sister waited outside everyday while their mother was away, hoping that she would return soon. Finally, when she did come back she cooked a large meal for the entire family as a way to make up for her absence. Seeing as how this is something that left a lasting impression on her, it seems that she displayed some separation anxiety while her mother was away, but since her mother returned rather than abandoning her it is highly likely that any future trips caused her and her sister far less stress.Knowing how her mother leaving negatively affected her and her sister at such a young age it is probably unlikely that she will accept any requests for leaving Kevin for an extended period of time, at least until he is o ld enough to understand that she will be coming home. Although he does seem secure overall, he did show great affection toward his mother and it is apparent that she would be greatly missed should she leave. As far as her disciplinarian responsibilities with Kevin, she takes cues from her parents. In the interview, she stated that her parents were never threatening whether it was in a joking or serious manner.Yet, she mentioned that her confidence and self-esteem levels are lower than she would like and attributes that aspect of her adult life to the lack of compliments and praise received by her parents as a child. During my observation, when Kevin repeatedly knocked the cars onto the floor, his mother was stern but not condescending or threatening whatsoever. She simply gave him a look to let him know that she was not happy with his present behavior and he stopped out of an obvious subconscious respect for his mother’s wishes.This is an insecurity that she had as a child th at she is trying not to pass down to Kevin. By communicating with him and interacting with him she is definitely not displaying characteristics of a parent who would be considered preoccupied or dismissing. In Mahler’s object-relational theory of child separation-individuation, he explored this sort of relationship between parents and their children and looked further down the road to disclose the affects it would have on them in adolescence.From his work on the subject, others have determined that it is ultimately the way that an individual is able to learn how to balance â€Å"closeness and distance in interpersonal relationships appears to have implications for a host of adjustment and psychosocial outcomes, including self-esteem, quality of family relationships, success in peer relationships, and level of depression and anxiety† (Holmbeck and Leake, 1999). These are all aspects of developmental life that can be either negatively or positively affected at early stag es in Kevin’s life should his mother do too much to avoid a natural separation.It is difficult to balance and control actions in parenting so that a child grows up to be an independent, self-sufficient adult who is able to recognize and pass on similar traits to their children and so on. There is no doubt that a parent who is constantly dismissing their child or is clearly preoccupied a majority of the time will have negative effects on their child at some point later on in their life. This can be seen in the way that Kevin’s mother’s parents dealt with her in certain situations. Granted, after returning from the business trip she made up for her absence in the eyes of her children, an underlying cut was perhaps made.Furthermore, the lack of compliments and praise has obviously made an impression on her into adulthood. Young people are very perceptive, much more than adults give them credit for. Though their actions may not reveal the hurt and slight damage that is being caused, in the long run it may be apparent and those actions blamed after-the-fact. Kevin’s mother has taken these deficiencies and altered them to suit her desires as a parent. Based on her experiences, she has come to realize that her child needs as much physical contact as possible; including kissing, hugging, and just being held.However, the difficulty comes in balance, if Kevin is coddled too much it may also negatively affect him later in life making him into an extremely dependent adult who constantly craves attention and lacks the self-sufficiency to handle grown up problems on his own. However, praise comes with little consequences as long as discipline is fairly and consistently provided. She has come to realize that praising Kevin on a regular basis when he does things that she would like to see him doing leads him to continually act in such a manner in the future.In the interview she mentioned how overprotection has affected her and vows to allow Kevin t o be exposed to the realities of the world around him to better prepare him for life on his own, which is ultimately what parenting is all about. Overall, this project was an extremely beneficial experience for me. It helped me to learn how insecure parents can sometimes raise an insecure child who becomes a far more secure and autonomous parent raising a secure child based on their own experiences growing up in combination with their cultural background.This is revealed as truth in research developed by Ainsworth that found â€Å"that maternal behavior toward the infant is the critical determinant of infant attachment† (Lowinger, Dimitrovsky, Strauss, and Mogilner, 1995). When he grows up, he will have a much more positive relationship with his mother than perhaps his mother has with her own. The future appears to be bright for little Kevin who has seemingly found a healthy balance between freedom and dependency.