5 Abnormal Psychology Case Studies That Are Worth Your AttentionÂÂ

If you find people remotely interesting (and who doesn’t), you probably find unusual patterns of behavior and conditions such as schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder somewhat fascinating. For psychology students, these topics in abnormal psychology are particularly interesting. Behaviors that are statistically deviant have long been a point of interest in psychology, and the ability to understand unusual behaviors, emotions and thoughts is the work of specialists in this field. Most psychology students study abnormal psychological conditions in terms of the patterns and behaviors associated with each one. Short case-studies may be used; however for a more profound understanding of these conditions, a deeper look into the cases is necessary. One excellent source used for this purpose is Case Studies in Abnormal Psychology, 9th Edition. Written by four professors, each case outlines the events leading up to the patient initiating therapy, the patient’s family and social history, the treatment, the discussion of the condition and etiological considerations. These in depth cases make excellent options for psychology students looking for some data to include in essays and presentations. There are five cases in particular that are worth looking into: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Rape Trauma This case study tells the story of a young woman who was raped by a TA of a class she was taking at university. PTSD has been a more recent topic in abnormal psychology and, thus, is of a particular interest for students looking to contribute to the field. Furthermore, the case considers issues important to women such as the reactions of people in her social network and her ability to make decisions regarding reporting the rapist, etc. Hypertension in an African American Man This case is particularly interesting due to the etiological and treatment implications since the patient was African American. The patient struggled to deal with pressure and the desire for success and perfection, resulting in a serious condition. The patient also expressed struggles of being a black man in a largely white man’s world, especially at the time of the study. Difficulties of difference of the race between the therapist and patient are discussed. Major Depressive Disorder This case is particularly interesting as explanations for gender differences are discussed considering this disorder. In this case study a woman’s struggle with depression is outlined along with the causes including grief and sadness over the loss of a marriage and stressful events, which particularly affect women. Parasomnia: Nightmare Disorder and Isolated Sleep Paralysis Sleep disorders are also relatively new to abnormal psychology, and an interesting case in an area that has not yet been researched very deeply proves it. This area has received more attention recently due to the large number of people affected by sleep disorders. Paranoid Personality Disorder This area of abnormal psychology hasn’t been heavily researched, making this case study an interesting and helpful one for students looking to understand more about this disorder. This case study outlines the life of a man who exhibits a paranoid personality disorder, but doesn’t complete the therapy which is typical of people who exhibit these behaviors.Use these case studies to make your writing more proficient and interesting at the same time. After all, your professors are usual people who want to read juicy papers with challenging facts. So, while writing, think about them too.

Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr. - 976 Words

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote numerous speeches in efforts to inspire the idea of non-violent protesting in hopes of eventually reaching racial equality. Under what conditions can a man with seemingly no connection to a local community step in and assume the mantle of leadership as a spokesman for a segment of that community’s population? In all of the speeches, one way or another, Dr. King used several different rhetorical devices in order to defend his own actions. In specific, two of his speeches, â€Å"I have a Dream† and â€Å"Letter from a Birmingham Jail† Dr. King used the rhetorical devices of anaphora, allusion, and diction to relay his thoughts of what is right, and also as a way to build a common ground with his audience. Though the rhetorical devices are shared between the two speeches, there are also several differences. The main difference between the two speeches is that in â€Å"I have a Dream† Dr. King is vocalizing his own ideas for wh at could become of the United States of America. In â€Å"Letter from a Birmingham Jail† Dr. King is responding to the clergymen’s letter regarding his braking of the law. The rhetorical devices as well as the speeches are similar, while the audience is the factor that changes the premise. In the speech â€Å"I have a Dream† Dr. King’s uses the rhetorical device of anaphora several times. The first time, Dr. King implores the audience to seize the moment by saying â€Å"Now is the time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  four times in the sixth paragraph. His second use ofShow MoreRelatedRhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.1046 Words   |  5 PagesRhetorical Analysis Essay Civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his memorable â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech while standing at the feet of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. His uplifting speech is one of the most admired during the civil rights era and arguably one of the best in American history. On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about the true American dream: equality. Although the video of his oral spectacle is powerful, the written document portrays exactly howRead MoreThe Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.1139 Words   |  5 Pagesuse rhetorical devices and strategies to get their point across and try to convince the reader to believe in their perspective. It can also be used to get emotions from its readers, but that isn’t really the whole point of persuading someone. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. uses an abundance of pathos in order to make the reader or clergymen feel sympathy towards the black people. Along with pathos, he uses lo gos and a bundle of hypophora. In order to obtain the goal of persuasion, Martin LutherRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr847 Words   |  4 PagesMartin Luther King Jr and The Civil Rights Movement Martin Luther King Jr was a protestor who became the most important spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement.  He was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP) and in 1954, he decided to take a position as a preacher at Dexter Avenue Church in Montgomery, Alabama. King felt as though it was his moral duty to help the civil rights movement which is why he planned many activities that will helpRead MoreThe Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.728 Words   |  3 Pages Martin Luther King Jr. gives this speech on September 28, 1965. This time period was the heart of the Civil Rights movement in America. Slaves received their freedom at the end of the Civil War, in 1865. However, the battle for former slaves did not end there. While they may have earned their freedom, there was still a long road ahead to achieving equality. Martin Luther King Jr., was a Civil Rights activist and speaker. In this speech, he talked not only abo ut what has been accomplished, but aboutRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr1689 Words   |  7 PagesMartin Luther King Junior is often known as the leader of African American civil rights in the United States. His infamous â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech brought a crowd of over two hundred and fifty thousand people to the steps and lake of the Lincoln Monument in Washington D.C. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a protest in Birmingham, Alabama that focused on the unfair treatment and the segregation of African Americans. The court ruled that he was not allowed to hold protests. Therefore, he was arrestedRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr. Essay1996 Words   |  8 PagesIn 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter while incarcerated in Birmingham jail to eight clergymen in response to their letter known as â€Å" A Call For Unity.†   The letter asked for the halt of direct action type protest in Birmingham, Alabama that Martin Luther King was leading.   The letter has become known as one of the greatest works of argument in American history. Part of the reason for the letter’s notoriety and effectiveness is due to its eloquent use of pathos. King’s use of pathos in hisRead MoreThe Rhetorical Analysis Of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.764 Words   |  4 PagesWhile sitting in a jail cell, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. uses this time of reflection to write a letter to the 7 white church leaders in the south in rebuttal to their recent criticisms of the Civil Rights Movement. The letter comes after the recent protest in Birmingham, and the criticisms of his work form the Southern leaders. King crafts his argument in a cause and effect style to illustrate the direct problems or criticisms, and refutes these claims with substantial support in favor of hisRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.769 Words   |  4 Pagesactivists in the nation such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After his assassination, people took their grief to the public and called for acts of violence to deal with the sudden loss. As their anger continued to rise, Cesar Chavez published an article, in which he urged people to com e to their senses and take a less violent approach to the situation. Chavez states that only through nonviolence will people continue to strive towards the peace that they and Dr. King have so long looked forward to. HeRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr. s I Have A Dream 1132 Words   |  5 PagesMartin Luther King Jr. was the man who wrote the speech entitled â€Å"I have a dream† and presented it to nearly 250,000 people on August 23, 1963. In that speech, MLK Jr. used several different types of figurative language/rhetorical devices in order to convey his message to the people on a deeper level. These devices include personification, allusion, symbolism, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and anaphora. Personification is a form of figurative language in which something has nonhuman human qualitiesRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech By Martin Luther King Jr.815 Words   |  4 PagesMemorial more than two score years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous I Have a Dream speech. Aimed at the entire nation, King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice towards the mistreated African Americans and to stand up together for the rights afforded to all under the Constitution. To further convey this purpose more effectively, King cleverly makes use of the rhetorical devices — ethos, pathos and logos — using figurative

The Cultural Anchoring Of Leadership Styles Free Essays

string(75) " in nature fostering teamwork and seeking group consensus \(Lewis, 2001\)\." With globalisation and related intensification of trade and commerce effective leadership has become indispensable in the business world. Where traditionally the business leader took the role of commanding â€Å"the troops† towards effectiveness and efficiency this has changed dramatically over the last decades. The service industry rise, knowledge management trends, increased workforce diversity combined with international trading and global sourcing of talent, has considerably reshaped the role of the leader in the contemporary organisation. We will write a custom essay sample on The Cultural Anchoring Of Leadership Styles or any similar topic only for you Order Now Numerous firms are in global alliances depending upon flexibility/adaptability to local markets, requiring their managers to possess appropriate leadership styles to cope effectively with different value systems and cultures (Fahy, 2002; Coviello et al., 1998). Arguably, the flattening of hierarchical structures has also contributed to this reshaping process as traditional sources of authority, upon which leaders have built on for years, have been diminished. Combined with the rise of new trading powers such as the â€Å"Asian Dragon†, business leaders, especially in international MNEs do not only face domestic multiculturalism and diversity but are also increasingly expatriated. Consequently completely new cultural pitfalls and challenges are faced requiring understanding of cultural values as well as quick cultural adaptation to transfer domestic leadership abilities into foreign markets. Combined with steadily rising competitive pressures, the contemporary business leader in a role not easily filled. Despite leadership being a universal concept (Bass, 1990), with most literature anchored in the (individualistically oriented) US, it has been questioned to what extend western leadership styles are cross-culturally transferable (Dorfman, 2003). Resultantly, debate has sparked over how far leadership is culturally contingent, if universal leadership qualities and tactics exist and what the explanatory variables are (Scandura Dorfman, 2004). This assignment aims at contributing towards this debate by exploring leadership disparity and possible congruence between the UK and Japan using academic measurement of national culture; Hofstede’s framework respectively. The next section will give an overview over the concept of leadership followed by an in-depth cultural comparison and concluding section. The term leadership incorporates some elements of controversy over its meaning and practices. Different cultural gist or terminology or in cross-cultural contexts makes a universal definition difficult (Yukl, 2002). This seems unsurprising as the understandings and expectations of authority roles differ between cultures. Nevertheless, despite cultural differences the majority of leadership definitions reflect some basic elements these manly being â€Å"group†, â€Å"influence† and â€Å"goal† (Bryman, 1992). Keeping this in mind, leadership can be seen as the â€Å"process of influencing others towards achieving some kind of desired outcome.† (De Jong Den Hartog, 2007, p. 44) or bluntly spoken â€Å"leadership is the ability to get [people] to do what they don’t like to do and like it† (Truman in Sadler, 2003, p. 5). Whilst this is a very basic attempt of a definition it allows for easier application in a cross-cultural context and highlights an important point: In order to lead one needs followers (Drucker, 2007). It is here where the inseparable link to power emerges whereby the power of leaders is largely dependent upon the perception of others (Hollander Julian, 1969; Maurer Lord, 1991; Pfeffer, 1977) but nevertheless forms the basis of leadership authority. It appears that only effective use of this power, combined with â€Å"leading by example† (Pfeffer, 1981) will result in positive and proactive guidance fostering creativity, innovation, commitment and long term organisational development. However, this is questionable and it seems that far too often in academic literature the terms â€Å"manager† and â€Å"leader† are merged giving a blurred picture of what each role actually entails. Readers should be reminded that leaders, unlike managers, do not have to rely on forms of power to influence subordinates, often actually relinquishing formal authoritarian control. This is due to the idea that to lead is to have followers, and following is always a voluntary activity. Nevertheless, it can be argued that even leaders need some foundation of authority; may it only be their charisma (Weber, 1968). This has been manifested in the participative, charismatic or transformative styles of leadership (Den Hartog Koopman, 2001) as oppose to the transactional style more related to operational, task focused  managers. Especially in western economies with predominant service industries, innovation and knowledge management, the former have been the focal point in recent years as autocratic leadership styles do no longer seem sufficient to extract the full potential of an increasingly knowledgeable, highly skilled and demanding workforce. Such, arguably â€Å"softer† approaches fostering employee involvement and participation have nevertheless been proven to result in increased organisational performance (Bass, 1996; 1997; House Shamir, 1993) and are arguably more â€Å"ideal† forms of organisational leadership (Bass Avolio, 1989). This might be applicable to western societies yet a cross-cultural generalisation might be prejudiced and the influence of personal values and cultural influences upon leadership styles should not be ignored (Byrne Bradley, 2007). Rather, culture, an essential component of which is personal values (Kroeber, 1952; Kluckhohm, 1949), is to be seen at a centre stage when analysing leadership differences (George et al., 1998; Nakata Sivakumar, 1996; Steenkamp et al., 1999; Cadogan et al. 2001), as t is â€Å"the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another† (Hofstede, 1980, p. 260) and shape leadership preferences. Culture hereby should not be limited to national culture but has to be extended to incorporating organisational as well as political culture (Schein, 1985), the latter two arguably being extensively shaped by the former. Democratic or authoritarian political systems, national values regarding sex differences and ethical behaviour as well as organisational attitudes towards factors such as centralisation and work attitude, undoubtedly influence leadership styles. Not only will such factors shape leadership approaches, but with regard to cultural differences these will often even stand in conflict to each other. Consequently domestically implemented leadership approaches might not be applicable in other cultural settings and render ineffective in maintaining firm sustained competitive advantage and superior international performance (Kimber, 1997; Jackson and Aycan, 2001; Pfeffer, 2002). The next section will investigate the effect of cultural values upon leadership styles in detail using the U and Japan as examples. British leadership style has often been described as more casual in nature fostering teamwork and seeking group consensus (Lewis, 2001). You read "The Cultural Anchoring Of Leadership Styles" in category "Leadership" As such, a more participative leadership style is predominant reflecting flatter hierarchical structures in UK organisations. So, hierarchical structures not primarily seem as means to establish authority structures (Laurent, 1983) but more as core administrative frameworks. This according to Hofstede (2001), is a reflection of the UK’s low association to Power Distance. Essentially, subordinates do not attribute much to position and title and leaders must â€Å"embody a collective will and take personal responsibility for it while continuing to communicate and co-operate with the team† (Mole, 1990, p. 105). Unsurprisingly, networking capability and people management skills are highly valued in the UK (Stewart et al. 1994) as leadership qualities. Nevertheless, this (collectivist) team and people orientation is mainly seem as a path towards achieving organisational targets and innovation assuring individuals in team settings aggregate knowledge that has strategic relevance to the organisation (Miller Morris, 1999). As such transformational leadership attitudes (Burns, 1978) can be seen where leaders are to create conditions under which subordinates devotedly contribute to the organisation yet this is done primarily through a strategic lens. (McCarthy, 2005). Nevertheless, the Anglo-Saxon system of shareholder satisfaction drives leaders towards task orientation often combined with a short-term outlook. As such quick, short-term organisational (financial) success is often more valued than long-term organisational success and relationship building, reflecting according to Hofstede, a culture of highly short term orientation and low uncertainty avoidance. Essentially, risks are seen as part of daily business practice and leadership approaches reflect that subordinates are given opportunity to implement potentially rewarding, but high risk, strategies. This shows that, despite team orientation and a one might say more relaxed, friendly and diplomatic leadership style, the British cannot deny their American leadership style influence, fostering structured individualism, speed and drive (Lewis, 2001). Falsely, m any authors seem to  ignore this connection, even so influences of hire and fire mentality and the creating of specialist roles underlining a core individualistic attitude are undeniable reflecting British national, and interlinked to that, legal and organisational culture. Such individualistic attitude constantly resurfaces in leadership styles often portrayed through individual target setting, remuneration practices and shorter employment contracts. Employees do not look for lifetime employment and a steady career in one company resultantly British leaders are more reluctant to invest heavily in the training and education of subordinates (Schneider Littrell, 2003). This continues to the often actively sought after and purposely created assertive and competitive environment amongst colleagues or departments reflecting a relatively high masculine attitude as Hofstede’s culture scale clearly outlines. While these attributes sketch general aspects of British leadership, styles will vary between organisations, industries and individuals. Service- or RD intensive industries for example, will follow a more Theory Y (McGregor, 1960) approach fostering employee involvement and empowerment. Leadership on traditional manufacturing industries on the other hand due to their reliance on productivity and output combined with an often repetitive working atmosphere, might take a more Theory X attitude. In contrast to the UK, Japanese leadership, like many Asian countries, is grounded in Confucian principles (Redding, 1990; Tan, 1986) and despite rising western influences, strong Confucian traits believing in moral, interpersonal relationships/loyalties, education and hard work still lurk beneath the surface (Lewis, 2001). Especially â€Å"taking the family as a model for society at large, Confucianism is basically authoritarian and stresses hierarchical and status differences† (Selmer, 2001, p. 8). As such, through its vertically orientated hierarchies and rigid organisation (Chen, 1995) one would expect Japan to score higher than the UK in Hofstede’s power distance index, and so indeed it does. This offers leaders with traditional and legitimate power bases however, surprisingly not resulting in autocratic leadership styles as one would expect, but far more the association of assertiveness-authority and reason tactics (Schmidt Yeh, 1992). As such, Japanese leadership style rewards subordinate respect and obedience with highly paternalistic attitudes, expressed by mendou: â€Å"I think about your, I will take care of you† (Dorfman et al. 1997). Consequently, the Japanese leadership culture, despite placing emphasising hierarchy and status differences requiring full subordinate obedience, expects helping and caring for followers and being involved in their personal lives (Whitehall Takezawa, 1968; Bass et al. 1979). As a result the most powerful force of the Japanese leader is not autocracy but charisma combined with intrinsic rather than extrinsic (materialistic) reward mechanisms often predominant in the UK: bonuses, on-target-earnings, etc. (Maslow, 1943, 1954). This seems surprising considering the high masculine score, which, from a western perspective would result in autocratic, top down, assertive, tough and focused on material success (Hofstede, 1998) leadership. It is here where Hofstede’s framework seems to only partly explain the Japanese culture and low individualism but high masculinity and power distance stand in conflict with each other. Additionally, in such an environment more focus towards ascription rather than achievement would be expected (Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, 1997, 2000). Nevertheless, the contrary appears in the Japanese context with leaders having to possess superior, often specific, (hard) knowledge supplemented by strong educational backgrounds (Nestler, 2008). Here another disparity to UK leadership emerges, where despite educational background being important for initial work placement, greater focus upon (soft) â€Å"people skills† and strategic directive is desired and ascription of leadership positions remains (Hampden-Turner Trompenaars, 1994). The collectivist principles shape Japanese leadership style dramatically, requiring group consensus and decision-making despite extremely high masculinity and higher power distance. Essentially a â€Å"bottom-up† (ringsho) process of decision-making is chosen (Wu, 2006) with the leader granting independent decision making to the group generally letting subordinates use their own approaches to achieve overall collectivist objectives (Dorfman et al. 1997). This is surprising, as in western societies strong hierarchical  structures often result in a â€Å"top-down† leadership approach but can be explained through high uncertainly avoidance collecting input and consensus from all parties involved before decisions are made. Even more so, the concepts of â€Å"wa† (maintaining social relationships) and â€Å"kao† (maintaining â€Å"face†) actually require the involvement of subordinates in the decision making process and the preservation of harmony rendering western leader contingent punishment behaviour inappropriate. It is here where Japanese leadership style diverts extensively from its UK (Anglo-Saxon) counterpart where public scrutinising is part of daily leadership practices reflecting a competitive and individualistic culture driven by short-term financial objectives with high-risk acceptance. Due to the collectivist environment and extensive future planning, Japanese managers on the other hand, do not view themselves as risk takers, despite this characteristic often being attributed to charismatic leaders (Bass, 1985). This is reflected in Japan’s extremely high uncertainty avoidance score and is further supported by strong long-term orientation valuing prevailing face and harmony. Unsurprisingly, life-long employment is desired, supplemented b continued job rotation aimed at developing employees. As a result leaders and subordinates enter into long and close relationships hardly ever interrupted contrasting the UK’s â€Å"burn out† environment fostering high staff turnover. Unlike in the UK, Japanese business leaders look for generalist employees capable of working in multiple levels of the organisation reflecting a society placing less value upon specialists than western cultures. Overall, Japanese leaders focus upon collective (not individual) responsibility (Hayashi, 1988) and group harmony maintenance is usually considered more important than profitability and overall productivity (Bass, 1990). Nevertheless, also Japanese leaders have to drive performance resulting in somewhat of a trade-off situation between performance and collectivist harmony maintenance. According to the performance-maintenance theory (Misumi, 1990), Japanese leaders have to chose between goal achievement and the continuation of the group, preferably combining high levels of both (Misumi, 1995). If this is achieved, such supportive or  participative leadership styles (Ouchi, 1981) are said to result in â€Å"higher levels of motivation, delegation of decision-making, commitment, and intrinsic job satisfaction† (Keys and Miller, 1982, p. 6). This appears to be in line with the currently preferred leadership style in the UK. However, one should not forget that unlike the Japanese working environment, the UK has been subject to great inward as well as outward FDI flows resulting in a blending of many different leadership approaches. As such arguably UK leaders would find it easier to adapt to Japanese principles than Japanese leaders. This is due to the western â€Å"farce† of collectivist team working for individualistic goals and the limited respect paid to status differences. While Hofstede’s framework helps to understand the leadership differences between the two countries if fails to explain some factors. So for examples does high Japanese power distance explain hierarchical structures and respect to superiors but the theoretical assumptions of complete centralisation of power, low emphasis on developing the workforce and autocratic top-down contact initiation (Hofstede, 1991) do not fully reflect the Japanese working environment. On this note one should not forget that Hofstede’s framework is not free of criticism and arguably is outdated, limited in scope of methodology and measurement (Dorfman and Howell, 1988; Roberts and Boyciligiller, 1984) and only reflects a blend of organisational (IBM) culture and national cultures (Hunt, 1983; Robinson, 1983). As such it is no surprise that other studies such as the GLOBE project have found differing or even contradictory results for similar cultural dimensions. How to cite The Cultural Anchoring Of Leadership Styles, Essays The Cultural Anchoring Of Leadership Styles Free Essays With globalisation and related intensification of trade and commerce effective leadership has become indispensable in the business world. Where traditionally the business leader took the role of commanding â€Å"the troops† towards effectiveness and efficiency this has changed dramatically over the last decades. The service industry rise, knowledge management trends, increased workforce diversity combined with international trading and global sourcing of talent, has considerably reshaped the role of the leader in the contemporary organisation. We will write a custom essay sample on The Cultural Anchoring Of Leadership Styles or any similar topic only for you Order Now Numerous firms are in global alliances depending upon flexibility/adaptability to local markets, requiring their managers to possess appropriate leadership styles to cope effectively with different value systems and cultures (Fahy, 2002; Coviello et al. , 1998). 2Arguably, the flattening of hierarchical structures has also contributed to this reshaping process as traditional sources of authority, upon which leaders have built on for years, have been diminished. Combined with the rise of new trading powers such as the â€Å"Asian Dragon†, business leaders, especially in international MNEs do not only face domestic multiculturalism and diversity but are also increasingly expatriated. Consequently completely new cultural pitfalls and challenges are faced requiring understanding of cultural values as well as quick cultural adaptation to transfer domestic leadership abilities into foreign markets. Combined with steadily rising competitive pressures, the contemporary business leader in a role not easily filled. Despite leadership being a universal concept (Bass, 1990), with most literature anchored in the (individualistically oriented) US, it has been questioned to what extend western leadership styles are cross-culturally transferable (Dorfman, 2003). Resultantly, debate has sparked over how far leadership is culturally contingent, if universal leadership qualities and tactics exist and what the explanatory variables are (Scandura Dorfman, 2004). This assignment aims at contributing towards this debate by exploring leadership disparity and possible congruence between the UK and Japan using academic measurement of national culture; Hofstede’s framework respectively. The next section will give an overview over the concept of leadership followed by an in-depth cultural comparison and concluding section. 4The term leadership incorporates some elements of controversy over its meaning and practices. Different cultural gist or terminology or in cross-cultural contexts makes a universal definition difficult (Yukl, 2002). This seems unsurprising as the understandings and expectations of authority roles differ between cultures. Nevertheless, despite cultural differences the majority of leadership definitions reflect some basic elements these manly being â€Å"group†, â€Å"influence† and â€Å"goal† (Bryman, 1992). Keeping this in mind, leadership can be seen as the â€Å"process of influencing others towards achieving some kind of desired outcome. † (De Jong Den Hartog, 2007, p. 44) or bluntly spoken â€Å"leadership is the ability to get [people] to do what they don’t like to do and like it† Whilst this is a very basic attempt of a definition it allows for easier application in a cross-cultural context and highlights an important point: In order to lead one needs followers (Drucker, 2007). It is here where the inseparable link to power emerges whereby the power of leaders is largely dependent upon the perception of others (Hollander Julian, 1969; Maurer Lord, 1991; Pfeffer, 1977) but nevertheless forms the basis of leadership authority. It appears that only effective use of this power, combined with â€Å"leading by example† (Pfeffer, 1981) will result in positive and proactive guidance fostering creativity, innovation, commitment and long term organisational development. 6However, this is questionable and it seems that far too often in academic literature the terms â€Å"manager† and â€Å"leader† are merged giving a blurred picture of what each role actually entails. Readers should be reminded that leaders, unlike managers, do not have to rely on forms of power to influence subordinates, often actually relinquishing formal authoritarian control. This is due to the idea that to lead is to have followers, and following is always a voluntary activity. Nevertheless, it can be argued that even leaders need some foundation of authority; may it only be their charisma (Weber, 1968). This has been manifested in the participative, charismatic or transformative styles of leadership (Den Hartog Koopman, 2001) as oppose to the transactional style more related to operational, task focused managers. Especially in western economies with predominant service industries, innovation and knowledge management, the former have been the focal point in recent years as autocratic leadership styles do no longer seem sufficient to extract the full potential of an increasingly knowledgeable, highly skilled and demanding workforce. Such, arguably â€Å"softer† approaches fostering employee involvement and participation have nevertheless been proven to result in increased organisational performance (Bass, 1996; 1997; House Shamir, 1993) and are arguably more â€Å"ideal† forms of organisational leadership (Bass Avolio, 1989). This might be applicable to western societies yet a cross-cultural generalisation might be prejudiced and the influence of personal values and cultural influences upon leadership styles should not be ignored (Byrne Bradley, 2007). Rather, culture, an essential component of which is personal values (Kroeber, 1952; Kluckhohm, 1949), is to be seen at a centre stage when analysing leadership differences (George et al. , 1998; Nakata Sivakumar, 1996; Steenkamp et al. , 1999; Cadogan et al. 2001), as t is â€Å"the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another† (Hofstede, 1980, p.260) and shape leadership preferences. Culture hereby should not be limited to national culture but has to be extended to incorporating organisational as well as political culture (Schein, 1985), the latter two arguably being extensively shaped by the former. Democratic or authoritarian political systems, national values regarding sex differences and ethical behaviour as well as organisational attitudes towards factors such as centralisation and work attitude, undoubtedly influence leadership styles. Not only will such factors shape leadership approaches, but with regard to cultural differences these will often even stand in conflict to each other. Consequently domestically implemented leadership approaches might not be applicable in other cultural settings and render ineffective in maintaining firm sustained competitive advantage and superior international performance (Kimber, 1997; Jackson and Aycan, 2001; Pfeffer, 2002). The next section will investigate the effect of cultural values upon leadership styles in detail using the U and Japan as examples. 9British leadership style has often been described as more casual in nature fostering teamwork and seeking group consensus (Lewis, 2001). As such, a more participative leadership style is predominant reflecting flatter hierarchical structures in UK organisations. So, hierarchical structures not primarily seem as means to establish authority structures (Laurent, 1983) but more as core administrative frameworks. This according to Hofstede (2001), is a reflection of the UK’s low association to Power Distance. Essentially, subordinates do not attribute much to position and title and leaders must â€Å"embody a collective will and take personal responsibility for it while continuing to communicate and co-operate with the team† (Mole, 1990, p. 105). Unsurprisingly, networking capability and people management skills are highly valued in the UK (Stewart et al. 1994) as leadership qualities. Nevertheless, this (collectivist) team and people orientation is mainly seem as a path towards achieving organisational targets and innovation assuring individuals in team settings aggregate knowledge that has strategic relevance to the organisation (Miller Morris, 1999). As such transformational leadership attitudes (Burns, 1978) can be seen where leaders are to create conditions under which subordinates devotedly contribute to the organisation yet this is done primarily through a strategic lens. (McCarthy, 2005). Nevertheless, the Anglo-Saxon system of shareholder satisfaction drives leaders towards task orientation often combined with a short-term outlook. As such quick, short-term organisational (financial) success is often more valued than long-term organisational success and relationship building, reflecting according to Hofstede, a culture of highly short term orientation and low uncertainty avoidance. Essentially, risks are seen as part of daily business practice and leadership approaches reflect that subordinates are given opportunity to implement potentially rewarding, but high risk, strategies. This shows that, despite team orientation and a one might say more relaxed, friendly and diplomatic leadership style, the British cannot deny their American leadership style influence, fostering structured individualism, speed and drive (Lewis, 2001). Falsely, m any authors seem to ignore this connection, even so influences of hire and fire mentality and the creating of specialist roles underlining a core individualistic attitude are undeniable reflecting British national, and interlinked to that, legal and organisational culture. Such individualistic attitude constantly resurfaces in leadership styles often portrayed through individual target setting, remuneration practices and shorter employment contracts. Employees do not look for lifetime employment and a steady career in one company resultantly British leaders are more reluctant to invest heavily in the training and education of subordinates (Schneider Littrell, 2003). This continues to the often actively sought after and purposely created assertive and competitive environment amongst colleagues or departments reflecting a relatively high masculine attitude as Hofstede’s culture scale clearly outlines. While these attributes sketch general aspects of British leadership, styles will vary between organisations, industries and individuals. Service- or RD intensive industries for example, will follow a more Theory Y (McGregor, 1960) approach fostering employee involvement and empowerment. Leadership on traditional manufacturing industries on the other hand due to their reliance on productivity and output combined with an often repetitive working atmosphere, might take a more Theory X attitude. In contrast to the UK, Japanese leadership, like many Asian countries, is grounded in Confucian principles (Redding, 1990; Tan, 1986) and despite rising western influences, strong Confucian traits believing in moral, interpersonal relationships/loyalties, education and hard work still lurk beneath the surface (Lewis, 2001). Especially â€Å"taking the family as a model for society at large, Confucianism is basically authoritarian and stresses hierarchical and status differences† (Selmer, 2001, p.8). As such, through its vertically orientated hierarchies and rigid organisation (Chen, 1995) one would expect Japan to score higher than the UK in Hofstede’s power distance index, and so indeed it does. This offers leaders with traditional and legitimate power bases however, surprisingly not resulting in autocratic leadership styles as one would expect, but far more the association of assertiveness-authority and reason tactics (Schmidt Yeh, 1992). As such, Japanese leadership style rewards subordinate respect and obedience with highly paternalistic attitudes, expressed by mendou: â€Å"I think about your, I will take care of you† (Dorfman et al. 1997). Consequently, the Japanese leadership culture, despite placing emphasising hierarchy and status differences requiring full subordinate obedience, expects helping and caring for followers and being involved in their personal lives (Whitehall Takezawa, 1968; Bass et al.1979). As a result the most powerful force of the Japanese leader is not autocracy but charisma combined with intrinsic rather than extrinsic (materialistic) reward mechanisms often predominant in the UK: bonuses, on-target-earnings, etc. (Maslow, 1943, 1954). This seems surprising considering the high masculine score, which, from a western perspective would result in autocratic, top down, assertive, tough and focused on material success (Hofstede, 1998) leadership. It is here where Hofstede’s framework seems to only partly explain the Japanese culture and low individualism but high masculinity and power distance stand in conflict with each other. 14Additionally, in such an environment more focus towards ascription rather than achievement would be expected (Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, 1997, 2000). Nevertheless, the contrary appears in the Japanese context with leaders having to possess superior, often specific, (hard) knowledge supplemented by strong educational backgrounds (Nestler, 2008). Here another disparity to UK leadership emerges, where despite educational background being important for initial work placement, greater focus upon (soft) â€Å"people skills† and strategic directive is desired and ascription of leadership positions remains (Hampden-Turner Trompenaars, 1994). 15The collectivist principles shape Japanese leadership style dramatically, requiring group consensus and decision-making despite extremely high masculinity and higher power distance. Essentially a â€Å"bottom-up† (ringsho) process of decision-making is chosen (Wu, 2006) with the leader granting independent decision making to the group generally letting subordinates use their own approaches to achieve overall collectivist objectives (Dorfman et al. 1997). This is surprising, as in western societies strong hierarchical structures often result in a â€Å"top-down† leadership approach but can be explained through high uncertainly avoidance collecting input and consensus from all parties involved before decisions are made. Even more so, the concepts of â€Å"wa† (maintaining social relationships) and â€Å"kao† (maintaining â€Å"face†) actually require the involvement of subordinates in the decision making process and the preservation of harmony rendering western leader contingent punishment behaviour inappropriate. It is here where Japanese leadership style diverts extensively from its UK (Anglo-Saxon) counterpart where public scrutinising is part of daily leadership practices reflecting a competitive and individualistic culture driven by short-term financial objectives with high-risk acceptance. Due to the collectivist environment and extensive future planning, Japanese managers on the other hand, do not view themselves as risk takers, despite this characteristic often being attributed to charismatic leaders (Bass, 1985). This is reflected in Japan’s extremely high uncertainty avoidance score and is further supported by strong long-term orientation valuing prevailing face and harmony. Unsurprisingly, life-long employment is desired, supplemented b continued job rotation aimed at developing employees. As a result leaders and subordinates enter into long and close relationships hardly ever interrupted contrasting the UK’s â€Å"burn out† environment fostering high staff turnover. Unlike in the UK, Japanese business leaders look for generalist employees capable of working in multiple levels of the organisation reflecting a society placing less value upon specialists than western cultures. 17Overall, Japanese leaders focus upon collective (not individual) responsibility (Hayashi, 1988) and group harmony maintenance is usually considered more important than profitability and overall productivity (Bass, 1990). Nevertheless, also Japanese leaders have to drive performance resulting in somewhat of a trade-off situation between performance and collectivist harmony maintenance. According to the performance-maintenance theory (Misumi, 1990), Japanese leaders have to chose between goal achievement and the continuation of the group, preferably combining high levels of both (Misumi, 1995). If this is achieved, such supportive or participative leadership styles (Ouchi, 1981) are said to result in â€Å"higher levels of motivation, delegation of decision-making, commitment, and intrinsic job satisfaction† (Keys and Miller, 1982, p.6). This appears to be in line with the currently preferred leadership style in the UK. However, one should not forget that unlike the Japanese working environment, the UK has been subject to great inward as well as outward FDI flows resulting in a blending of many different leadership approaches. As such arguably UK leaders would find it easier to adapt to Japanese principles than Japanese leaders. This is due to the western â€Å"farce† of collectivist team working for individualistic goals and the limited respect paid to status differences. While Hofstede’s framework helps to understand the leadership differences between the two countries if fails to explain some factors. So for examples does high Japanese power distance explain hierarchical structures and respect to superiors but the theoretical assumptions of complete centralisation of power, low emphasis on developing the workforce and autocratic top-down contact initiation (Hofstede, 1991) do not fully reflect the Japanese working environment. On this note one should not forget that Hofstede’s framework is not free of criticism and arguably is outdated, limited in scope of methodology and measurement (Dorfman and Howell, 1988; Roberts and Boyciligiller, 1984) and only reflects a blend of organisational (IBM) culture and national cultures (Hunt, 1983; Robinson, 1983). As such it is no surprise that other studies such as the GLOBE project have found differing or even contradictory results for similar cultural dimensions. How to cite The Cultural Anchoring Of Leadership Styles, Essays

Working Diversity in ABC Pty Ltd-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Working Diversity in ABC Pty Ltd. Answer: Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Policy Diversity is age, gender, sexual orientation, education, religion, and ethnicity is present in the workplace is important and relevant for the development of the organization. This is a broad term to emphasize the people and groups for the sake of humanity and building up the workplace environment (Kulik 2014). This kind of workplace environment helps to enhance the objectives of the employees and deliver more sound service to the customers. Inclusion processing in terms of the logistic department is over emphasizing on the supply chain management and delivers goods to the people. People are sending their material for the urgent delivery basis, so private logistic companies have taken a huge charge form the customers (Richards and Bergin 2014). Thus, organization prime target will be delivering the material to the customer as soon as possible. In case of problem-solving the situation, the creative and innovative practice of organization has been controlled by the cultural inclusion p olicy of the organization (O'Connor, Derudder and Witlox 2016). Logistic business is accessed in globally thus their cultural perspective must be strong to encompass social, political and economic value. An inclusive environment supports diversity in the workplace and enables the attitude, behavior, and skill to make more work efficiency in cross-cultural situations. Diversity in the workplace also maintains the equal opportunity for the employees and that also showcase the anti-discrimination legislation for each employee of the organization. Inclusion in the workplace has provided the societal ideology and provides the special education and opportunities for the employees for the better outcome (Correll, Suzuki and Martens 2017). In the diversified situation of the company, employees background and dealing manner of their behavioral change impacted over the compressive adjustment of their innovation and finding. Policy Number FA 12456379 Key terms referred to the policy The key terms related to the organization policy are 1. Customer attention provisions article 7.2 in section permitted legal responsibility. The company has to maintain some legal legislation and obligations that imposed from the government. They are under some contract thus their legal period has served that contract period only. 2. Price and Payment option including the issues of value added tax with product service and conditions. There are different prototypes are also present for the help of customers. Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act 1998 the company can implement some rules and regulations on pricing. There are different modes of payment and the company has their view over it. Some of the customers have done their payment by cheque and some by cash, thus different payment module brings different act or legislation in the company (Correll, Suzuki and Martens 2017). 3. Delivery of the product and the transportation methods come under the general process where custo mer demand is the concern matter for the company. For this reason, their logistic department needs to be strong to deliver the product at the right time. Legislation and policy need to be imposed for his reason. Risk and retention of the company are providing the sustainable condition of the company in this competitive market. Under the Insolvency Act, 1986 companies are retaining their existence in this competitive market. There are certain liabilities of the organization in respect of product analysis, customer handling and legislation. The organization has Anti-corruption policy which is activated for imposing the zero-tolerance approach in the company. On the other hand, the company has some anti-corruption policy and they have done it in an ethical way (Kulik 2014). The company has to create a boar of executives those will formulate the anti-corruption system in the office. The privacy policy is also incorporated in the company for the customers and employees so that no one can trespass any employees or customers personal life. So mitigating the violation of personnel management is the ultimate application of this policy. Link to Quality Assurance Principles Australian legislation encourages and endorses the additional principle in an organization. The regulators are Australian Securities and Investment Commission AUSTRAC (for AML), ATO (for FATCA and CRS) and theAustralian Prudential Regulation Authority(APRA). These are the demonstrated legislation that company has used for their maintenance and security. Risk management, licensing, compliance management system all these are making a large impact on the legislation and acts. Policy Statement The principle of the policy is: Make sure that employees and customers are treated rightfully and with a stage of communal admiration. Mitigate the Prejudices and biases regarding the community issue. Build up a variety of practices and strategy that enthusiastically neutralize partiality or chauvinism. Promotion of inclusive practices in the organization. The services surroundings treat and compliments community uniformly regardless of sex, period, socio-economic position, competition, speech, beliefs, supplementary requirements, and relations construction or way of life (Kulik 2014). There are some occupational Health and safety act that ensure surroundings support and mental welfare. Rationale Logistic companies have some code of ethics that conducted by the government. The services include the philosophy statement that encompasses the right of the deliverance of logistic company. The diversity policy in the organization is relevant as the company has to improve their position in the competitive market and that provide the selecting services and manner of the company. Strategies and practices Strategic objectives are the supporting pillars of the organization that helps to understand the organizational aim and objectives for the future outcome. In some cases, objectives are being set and employees have to work over it or in the other hand where strategic change is needed for the betterment of the organization. As mentioned by Piecyk and Bjrklund (2015) ensuring the goodwill of the organization all the strategic changes have been implemented. In case of ABC Pty Ltd, logistic organizations have some particular stakeholders and management in the supply chain that has set the objectives for the betterment of the organization policies and legislation (Baldacchino, Ferreira and Costa 2013). There are some strategic changes that need to be implemented for setting the objectives of the organization. Assortment Employees diverse mannerism is important and relevant for the workplace to improve the management and quality (Myatt et al. 2015). The innovative mannerism of every employee helps the company to strict in the best plan and ensures the best productivity in respect of the company.Inclusion Promotion of the employees through the development is the prime task of inclusion process. Innovation, creativity all these are an important approach to promote the organization skill in the better perspective (O'Connor, Derudder and Witlox 2016). Leadership and outcome of the leadership are important as the organizational influence in the business stretch is depending on that innovative style of ornamenting the business.Interactions Communications is the best process to manage the adverse situation and maintain the inclusion initiatives for the transparent business process. In logistic business, the communication process is very important and familiar for the employees as they have to interact with the customer when they attaining any customer for the receiving or delivering purpose (Starostka-Patyk, Tomski and Zawada 2015). Communication process helps to build a relationship with the customers and providing a healthy relationship with the company. Sometimes interaction in between employees in the organization invents some creative or innovative strategy to develop the organization output.Responsibility Organization has some liability to continue good run in the competitive market. For the sustainable condition of the organization responsibilities of the organization to hold the goals and objectives of the organization are important. Employees also have some responsibilities to cover o that organization level has sustained (Brindley 2017). Divisibility and mitigating the problems of the organization is the key responsibility of the management. Employees Induction In the recruitment, process organization has to choose the right strategy to get a competitive advantage in this globalized market. Employees must be open-minded so that they can accept any community or religion. On the other hand, employees must know about the establishment of the company. Every employee has to read the services values announcement and Diversity and Equity Policy so that they can know the diverse outcome of the company and accustomed through the process. HR Practices: Selection and Recruitment There is equivalent chance legislation defense the civil rights of individuals during the employment and assortment of recruits. Services are advised that their strategy and actions should reproduce the pertinent central, state or terrain legislation (Correll, Suzuki and Martens 2017). For the selecting criteria, human resource department has taken extra initiation as these are the people who work together thus their mindset about the diversity in the workplace must be clear and ethical so that adverse consequences can be handled. HR Practices: Performance Management Human resource team has monitored the performance of the employees so at the time of recruitment they have to choose the right people who can deliver their best for the organization. For the better performance organization has to invite all the communities people so that diverse accumulation of behavior and skill prevailed in the organization (Chin and Tat 2015). Organization tradition, a way of working and productivity must improve by the effective liveliness of those employees. Non- compliance of Diversity and Equity Policy Non-compliance and equity policy of the company have focused on the mitigation of prejudices. If there is any discrepancy happens then the employee can complain in Complain department of the organization (Kulik 2014). Services the company has provided for the development of the company must enrich by the equity policy implemented by the organization and that enhances the product quality and level. Anti-bullying practices Bullying is frequently the behavior from those individuals who are detrimental or partial alongside others. The organization may come to a decision to tackle the concern of place of work maltreatment and by which process that gets threaten to other, overwhelmed, derisory or unconfident in the place of work: in relation to assortment and enclosure issues. Communication with stakeholders Use of creativity in logistics is the touch of improving manner that innovates the new way of proceeding and mitigate the negative consequences as well. In the logistic department, the lower level hierarchy must be improved in a suitable manner so that a touch of innovation is always presented over there. Implement of the fast running vehicle and section wise material deliverance may strengthen the distribution policy and that impacted over the delivery process. Customers will get their product soon within the provided timeline (O'Connor, Derudder and Witlox 2016). Innovativeness in maintaining the manpower in the workplace is also important as the experience employees can deal the process with the customers in an easy way on the other hand novice employees are not dealing with proper manner and that also accused by the system. Some new devices may be implemented so that logistic company can monitoring their employees where they are and covering their route so that employees can work in an ethical manner and do not get any kind of leisure in between the job expect the break time. Effective technological assistance in logistic business and alternative device maintenance to monitoring the employees is the key finding that organization must include in their ideas (Abele, Boltze and Pfohl 2017). Training and monitoring program for the employees is the key issue that enhances the developmental curriculum of the organization. In case of logistic customer management and proving, service is the sustainable confidence of the organization that allocates more emphasizes in between employees (Baldacchino, Ferreira and Costa 2013). Leadership Outcome Leadership outcome is the key issue that incorporates the executive level of managing and setting up the goal and objectives to reach the better future. Leaders are always having the eye of viewing the future so their implemented strategic change or invention creates a new dimension for the organization. In the logistic department experience and man management is the ultimate issue that prevents obstacles and smoothes the path of success. Leaders are evolved by the process and of maintaining the divisive people (Gotsis and Kortezi 2015). Proper planning and executive attachment in the corporate event where leaders are effectively implementing certain strategy so that company can ensure their success strike. However most of the cases there is some adverse situation when an organization has not met any goal, a good leader come up on that occasion and save the organization by doing some effective implementation (Wood and Wilberger 2015). In the provided company ABC Pty Ltd leadership ev olve and diversity is presented in the workplace scenario. Measuring tools The service may additional state tools that help out in measuring the usefulness of the strategy. Link to other policies There are some following policies that impacted over the other case and piercing to a unique direction. Child protection. Healthy eating. Employment of child care services. Enhancement of the moral of the employees. Individual health needs Occupational health and safety. Grievances and complaints management References Abele, E., Boltze, M. and Pfohl, H.C., 2017. Interdisciplinary Research in Production, Logistics and Traffic: Introduction to Dynamo PLV and Overview of the Book. InDynamic and Seamless Integration of Production, Logistics and Traffic(pp. 1-9). Springer International Publishing. Baldacchino, G., Ferreira, D. and Costa, E., 2013. Competing Notions of Diversity in Archipelago Tourism: Transport Logistics, Official Rhetoric and Inter-Island Rivalry in the Azores.Island Studies Journal,8(1). Brindley, C. ed., 2017.Supply chain risk. Taylor Francis. Carvalho, M.S., Magalhaes, D.S., Varela, M.L., Sa, J.O. and Gonalves, I., 2016. Definition of a collaborative working model to the logistics area using design for Six Sigma.International Journal of Quality Reliability Management,33(4), pp.465-475. Chin, T.A. and Tat, H.H., 2015. Does gender diversity moderate the relationship between supply chain management practice and performance in the electronic manufacturing services industry?.International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications,18(1), pp.35-45. Correll, D.H., Suzuki, Y. and Martens, B.J., 2017. The diversity-logistics hypothesis: how animals and manufacturers stand to reduce inbound logistics and inventory costs through diversity.Progress in Industrial Ecology, an International Journal,11(1), pp.79-96. Gotsis, G. and Kortezi, Z., 2015. Workplace Diversity: A Resource or a Source of Conflict?. InCritical studies in diversity management literature(pp. 1-12). Springer Netherlands. Kulik, C.T., 2014. Working below and above the line: The researchpractice gap in diversity management.Human Resource Management Journal,24(2), pp.129-144. Myatt, P., Worthy, P., Green, M., Lawrie, G., Pedwell, R., Wang, J., Zimbardi, K. and Rowland, S., 2015. ALURE Implementers Checklist: Design and Logistics. O'Connor, K., Derudder, B. and Witlox, F., 2016. Logistics services: Global functions and global cities.Growth and Change,47(4), pp.481-496. Piecyk, M.I. and Bjrklund, M., 2015. Logistics service providers and corporate social responsibility: sustainability reporting in the logistics industry.International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management,45(5), pp.459-485. Ramos, T.R.P., Gomes, M.I. and Barbosa-Pvoa, A.P., 2014. Planning a sustainable reverse logistics system: Balancing costs with environmental and social concerns.Omega,48, pp.60-74. Richards, P. and Bergin, A.E., 2014. Handbook of psychotherapy and religious diversity. Starostka-Patyk, M., Tomski, P. and Zawada, M., 2015. Diversity management as a part of corporate social responsibility policy.Procedia Computer Science,65, pp.1038-1045. Timm, I.J., Woelk, P.O., Knirsch, P., Tnshoff, H.K. and Herzog, O., 2016. Flexible Mass Customisation: Managing Its Information Logistics Using Adaptive Cooperative Multi-agent Systems. InDevelopments in Logistics and Supply Chain Management(pp. 203-211). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Wood, V.R. and Wilberger, J.S., 2015. Globalization, cultural diversity and organizational commitment: Theoretical underpinnings.World,6(2), pp.154-171.

The Gift From The Greeks Essays - Combined Track And Field Events

The Gift From The Greeks The Gift from the Greeks The first Olympic Games were held at Olympia, in the Peloponnes. The most famous are the games that were held in Olympia in honor of Zeus every four years from August 6th to September 19th. Olympics have been a symbol of the camaraderie and harmony possible on a global scale. The gathering of athletic representatives from participating governments, even throughout the recent Cold War period, is proof that world unity is possible. It was a gift from the Ancient Greece The Pentathlon consisted of five events; the long jump, javelin throw, discus throw, foot race, and wrestling. The Pentathlons, especially the successful ones, were often treated and even worshipped like gods. Because of their exquisite physiques, they were used as the models for statues of the Greek Gods. The superior athletic ability of these athletes affects the games even today. The twisting and throwing method of the discus throw, which originated in Ancient Greece, is still used today. The original events were even more challenging than those of today. The modern discus weighs in at just 5 pounds, one-third of the original weight, and the long jumps were done with the contestant carrying a five pound weight in each hand. The pit to be traversed in this jump allowed for a 50 foot jump, compared to just over 29 feet in our modern Olympics. Apparently, the carried weights, used correctly, could create momentum to carry the athlete further. Legend has it that one Olympian cleared t he entire pit by approximately 5 feet, breaking both legs as he landed. These legends, for all their blood, sweat, and tears, were awarded an olive branch from the tree behind the alter of Zeus when they won. Fortunately, the regions they represented were usually somewhat more grateful for bringing honor home. It was not uncommon for the victors to receive free food for life, money, or other valuable offers. They were often worshipped as gods and sometimes their sweat was preserved and sold as a magical potion. In the later years of the games, an additional event was added which signaled the end of the games and the return to the war ridden life of ancient history. Soldiers, adorned with a full body of armor weighing upwards of 50 pounds, would compete in a foot race. Unfortunately, even the apparent athletic ability of these soldiers could not prevent the fall of Greece to Rome in the middle of the second century BC. Under Roman rule, the Olympics began to lose its fervor until it was abolished in 393 AD by the Christian Roman emperor Theodosius I who most likely objected to the pagan rites associated with the Olympics. Some historians believe that even after the official abolishment of the Olympics, it may have survived for an additional 120 years. Its subsequent revival in 1896 was brought about by the discovery of the ancient stadium. Since that time, it has been held every four years, in accordance with tradition, being interrupted only for the two world wars. The competition of the nations in these events represents the age old competitive spirit of man. The need for people to take pride in something larger than themselves and feel as if they are part of a greater good. The Olympics, today as well as 3,000 years ago, offers a non-combative environment to do so.

History Of The Internet Essays - Internet Hall Of Fame, Free Essays

History Of The Internet Essays - Internet Hall Of Fame, Free Essays History Of The Internet History of the Internet The Internet as we know today was not a concept that was quickly enacted when it was first thought up. It was a revolutionary process that was the result of visionary people who painstakingly brought forth the World Wide Web. These individuals saw a promising potential in allowing computers to share information on research and development in scientific and military fields. This is all started in 1962 when the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) initiated a research program. They selected J.C.R. Licklider of MIT to head the work and develop it. Later Leonard Kleinrock of UCLA who developed the theory of packet switching, which was used to create the basis of Internet connections. His thesis was titled Communications Networks: Stochastic Flow and Delay. This thesis examined what packet-switching networking could look like. Lawrence Roberts of NIT confirmed Kleinrocks theory by connecting a Massachusetts computer with a California computer over dial up telephone lines. This proved that it could be done and when he later joined DARPA in 1966 he developed his plan for ARPANET. ARPANET, also known as the Internet was brought online in 1965 under a contract let by the renamed Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) (Howe 2). It originally connected UCLA, Stanford Research Institute, UCSB, and the University of Utah. Soon after several other universities connected to ARPANET. In order for ARPANET to communicate via the telephone lines a series of protocols were developed Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) came first then TCP/IP developed from these. These protocols communicated transparently across multiple, linked packet networks. The ultimate infrastructure was designed that if sites were destroyed by nuclear attack, routers would direct traffic around the network via alternate routes. Since this was a initially founded by the government, it was originally limited to research, education, and for government use. In order to work the Internet a person had to learn a complex system. The Internet matured in the 70s as a result of the TCP/IP architecture first proposed by Bob Kahn at BBN and further developed by Kahn and Vint Cerf at Stanford and others throughout the 70s.(Howe 3). It is interesting to note that at this time at Bell Labs the Unix to Unix Copy Protocol (UUCP) was invented. Newsgroups and discussions were exchanged through this means although it did not use TCP/IP. Usenet is not considered a part of the Internet but it did help those that used the Internet. It played a big part on creating the Internet network and its community. In 1986, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated the development of the NSFNET which today, provides a major backbone communication service for the Internet.(ISOC 1). In Europe, major international backbones such as NORDUNET and others provide connectivity to over one hundred thousand computers on a large number of networks. Commercial network providers in the U.S. and Europe are beginning to offer Internet backbone and access support on a competitive basis to any interested parties.(ISOC 2). In the early 90s commercial use on the Internet was allowed, before it was only allowed to serve the goals of research and education. Because of this lift commercial network use expanded beyond what anyone thought it could be. As with all growth there are pains to be dealt with. Users want quicker speed connections and wireless connectivity. The demand is heralding a response for these needs and it seems there will be no limit what to ask for. Bibliography Aboba, Bernard. How the Internet Came to Be. Addison-Wesley, 1993. Bell Laboratories. 22 Oct. 2000 . Cerf, Vint. A Brief History of the Internet and Related Networks. ISOC. 22 Oct.2000 Howe,Walt. A Brief History of the Internet. 22 Oct. 2000 0.delphi.com/navnet/history.html

Judging people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Judging people - Essay Example In doing the task, there are certain qualities that people use in judging the ethnic backgrounds of people such as physical appearances, mode of dressing, speech, food, actions and practices. The first factor that people use in judging people is physical features because they are the easiest and most apparent. Without asking a person, one can guess his nationality through the color of his skin, hair and eyes. Using the deductive method of finding answers, a person who looks at another person who is tall, with blond hair, white skin, blue eyes and aquiline nose may automatically guesses that the person is not a Mexican, African or Asian. One would definitely guess that the person is either American, European or Australian. Therefore, the groups where the person is identifying the individual is now limited to the groups with similar physical features. Having deduced the aforementioned matter, one can now listen to how the people talk. Although Americans, Europeans and Australians hugely use English, there are also distinct difference in the way they

The Global Financial Crisis has as its basis a failure of regulation Coursework

The Global Financial Crisis has as its basis a failure of regulation. A Critical Discussion - Coursework Example The Global financial Crisis first began in USA’s sub-prime mortgage market and this gradually resulted in a global economic recession of a huge magnitude. In this mortgage market, the financial institutions issued sub-prime mortgage loans to householders. In most cases, these borrowers had unstable incomes and failed to fulfill the basic criteria of credit worthiness. The borrowers mostly kept their respective properties as mortgage and the loans were issued to them against the value of this collateral security. During that time, there was an upswing in the property market and the financial institutions could easily realize the value of this collateral asset by a forced sale. Therefore, the lenders considered the property market a safe place and did not hesitate to issue loans against the property assets kept as collateral security. A regime of low interest rate was prevalent at that time and the mortgage loans were issued at this floating interest rate. As a result, the borrowers had to repay a small amount of the loan every month. However, the U.S Federal Reserve Bank increased the lending rate of interest in the country. During 2004-2006, the lending interest rate in USA’s housing market recorded a sharp rise. Following this, the borrowing householders had to repay a higher installment of the loan to the financial institutions each month.... They tried to improve their financial situation in this way.2 In the property market, the supply of property exceeded the demand by a large amount, resulting in a huge decrease in the prices of the properties. Now, there were institutions in Europe, Asia and even Africa who had invested in the U.S market. The property assets which were given as collateral security in exchange of the loans issued in the USA were held by these institutional investors across the world. This was made possible by a complicated method of securitization resting on strategies of globalization. Thus, the repayments of the loans made by monthly installments by the borrowers were actually delivered to these institutional investors around the globe. Once the borrowers started defaulting, the monthly repayment of the loans stopped reaching the institutional investors. This resulted in huge losses for the institutions. Banks in the U.S.A and Europe defaulted; various stock indexes declined considerably, the market value of equities and commodities plummeted and there were la rge scale job losses resulting in unemployment in the economy. This financial crisis continued to spread to several countries of the world.3 4 The global financial crisis of 2008 had four features that were common with the other crises of the world: the increase in the assets prices that did not prove to be sustainable, upsurges in credit that resulted in increasing of debt burdens, the accumulation of marginal loans and the build up of systemic risk and the failure of regulation to control the crisis. It was seen that in the crisis, the regulatory regime had proved to be insufficient. In the developed countries, finance companies,

Sex Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sex Education - Essay Example The advantages of teaching sex education at home include the outcome that children will gain a sense of appreciation and high regard for their sexuality. This may be undertaken with parents who want them to enjoy and celebrate that very special part of their being. It is possible for parents to attain self-respect for their children if they are able to appropriately and relevantly teach them sex education at home. This self-respect is one that can be ensured by parents in their children regarding their sexuality, given that they teach them responsibly. This vision may be best promoted at home by providing a loving and thoughtful sex education. The demand that parents speak to their children is high in today's intense peer and media pressures. There is also a compelling need for parents to be open-minded and communicative to their children regarding sex education. On the other hand, the advantages of learning education in school include objectivity, collective learning, and freedom of inquiries, which may not be found at home (if parents tend to be strict and conservative). Children will certainly appreciate more to learn sex education in school rather than at home, given this home environment. There might be uneasiness between the child and the parents, which might preempt the child from raising certain concerns, for which the school may be a good venue.

Attitude Formation: Cognitive Consistency and Inconsistency

Attitude Formation: Cognitive Consistency and Inconsistency Minahil Meher Attitude Formation Many of our views are acquired in situations in which we interact with or observe the behaviour of others, called social learning. Such learning can be acquired through several processes, which in turn help us form attitudes. Classical Conditioning: Learning based on Association The evoking of an attitude by the association of an unconditioned stimulus with a neutral conditioned stimulus is the first process of â€Å"learning†; classical conditioning. When a stimulus that is capable of producing a positive response (U.S) regularly precedes a second stimulus (C.S), the first becomes a signal for the second. Advertisers and other persuasion agents have considerable expertise in using this principle to create positive attitudes towards their products. EXAMPLE: Marketing a new drink. Before Conditioning: Attractive Girls Positive Emotions (Unconditioned Stimulus) (Unconditioned Response) Drink’s Logo No Response (Neutral Stimulus) During Conditioning: Attractive Girls Positive Emotions/Attitudes Drink’s Logo (Conditioned Response) After Conditioning: Drink’s Logo Positive Emotions/ Attitudes (Conditioned Stimulus) As the Drink’s Logo is continuously being paired with images of attractive girls, positive attitudes will be developed within the target population. Classical conditioning takes place best in social settings where an individual’s close ones are concerned, thus helping form attitudes. A young child sees her mother frown and show other signs of displeasure and discomfort in the presence of a particular societal or religious class of people. At first the child is neutral towards the presence of these people as she/he is unaware of their distinct characteristics e.g. skin colour, type of clothes, language etc. The child at this point has not yet learned to categorize these variations in terms of group membership. However, once these cues are paired repeatedly with the mother’s negative emotional reactions, classical conditioning occurs, and the child then gradually begins to react in a similar fashion as her mother in the presence of the particular set of people. This usually takes place on the unconscious level i.e. the child may not have conscious access to the role that mother’s changed emotional reactions pla y on the formation of a negative attitude. As a result, the child acquires a negative attitude that is generalized to members of that group as a whole. Subliminal Conditioning: According to a study by Krosnick et. al. (1992, as cited in Baron et.al. 2010), individuals can often form an attitude without being aware of the stimulus responsible. Students were shown photographs of a stranger engaging in a grocery store or walking into her apartment. While viewing these photos, other pictures; associated with either positive or negative feelings, were exposed for brief periods of time. Participants who were exposed to photographs that induced positive feelings (e.g. laughter, newly wed couple) liked the stranger better than participants who had been exposed to photos that induced negative feelings (e.g. open-heart surgery). This for of attitude formation is known as subliminal conditioning. Mere Exposure: This refers to having seen an object before, but not remembering having seen it. This too results in attitude formation and its effects on attitudes are stronger as the stimuli are perceived consciously rather than subliminally thus, conscious memory of the stimuli is not required (but conscious exposure is). Alzheimer patients, who cannot not memorize the stimuli, are seen to form new attitudes on the basis of mere exposure to certain stimuli. Instrumental Conditioning: Rewards for the â€Å"Right† Views. We can acquire an attitude toward our classes and jobs through instrumental conditioning i.e. learning based on direct experience with the object on the basis of rewards and punishments. If an individual experience rewards related to some object, his/her attitude will be favorable. Thus, if their work provides them with good pay, a sense of accomplishment, and compliments from co-workers, their attitude toward it will be quite positive. Attitudes that are followed by positive outcomes tend to be strengthened and are likely to be repeated, while attitudes that are followed by negative outcomes are weakened so their likelihood of being expressed again is reduced. The rewards given to individuals during such conditioning, in a social context, are usually in the form of psychological acceptance. That is why it is seen that most children express political, religious and social views that are highly similar to those of their parents and other family members, until the teen when the peer influences become especially strong. EXAMPLE: Positive/Favorable Attitude toward alcohol consumption (Teenage). Before Instrumental Conditioning: Alcohol Consumption Negative (Behaviour) (Attitude towards it) Peers provide IF Alcohol Consumed: Social Acceptance/ Status (Reward Given) After Instrumental Conditioning: Alcohol Consumption Positive (Behaviour) (Attitude towards it) This shows that if someone rewards a behavior, even if the behaviour itself is wrong, it is more likely to be repeated as it is strengthened – it is the â€Å"right† view in the opinions of those who are in favor of alcohol consumption. As adults, we may be aware that different groups we belong to will reward or punish us for expressing support for a particular attitude position. We may even find ourselves expressing one view on a topic to one audience and another view to a different audience. A relevant example would be the upcoming Elections ’13 of Pakistan i.e. they depend on a candidate’s success at delivering the â€Å"right view† to the â€Å"right audience†, and so may be perceived as shifting their responses to accommodate the views of different audiences rather than taking a firm stand on anything. This shows that they alter their attitudes just to gain rewards from people (votes). This however, can also be applied to the voters who will change their views or attitudes of voting for a particular party on the basis of the rewards in store for them e.g. financial benefits, technological advancements etc. Observational Learning: Learning by Exposure to Others Attitudes can form also in the absence of direct rewards for acquiring or expressing those attitudes through the method of observational learning or vicarious learning; when individuals acquire attitudes or behaviors simply by observing others. According to Myers and Caniglia (2004, as cited in Delamater Myers, 2011) the media provide interpretive packages or frames about an object that may influence the attitudes of viewers and readers. By portraying events and actors in certain ways, TV news, news magazines, and newspapers can produce cognitive images of a racial group as being volatile, dangerous, or unreasonable that in turn produce negative attitudes. A common example is that of how Muslims are shown on international television; as terrorists, instilling within the international audience that all Muslim’s are terrorists even though they may never have actually been in direct contact with them and yet develop a negative attitude towards them. But why do people adopt the a ttitudes that they hear others express or imitate the behaviors they observe in others? Social Comparison: This refers to our tendency to compare ourselves with others to determine whether our view of social reality is correct or not, as we often adopt the attitudes that others hold. An individual is then seen to adopt the attitude position of those they see as similar to themselves and not of those they consider or see as dissimilar. An 18 year-old girl is more likely to look at another 18 year-old girl to adopt a clothing fashion or be up-to-date with the latest trends rather than a 50 year-old woman who isolates herself from societal values. Similarly if a teenaged boy wants to know about the latest games to play on his Xbox/PS3, he will more likely observe ‘gamers’ rather than non-gamers also, if we go deeper, he will observe gamers who play the same kind of games as him; same genre of games. Reference Groups: A reference group consists of the people an individual values and prefers to identify with, who they look up to when adjusting and forming their attitudes. The adoption of an attitude thus depend on extend to which an individual identifies with the group advocates the formation of an attitude or the change. This may apply to making small purchase decisions; which brand of sunscreen to buy, as well as forming attitudes about other groups of people; whether a new social group is positive or negative. According to a research it has been proven that if your reference group holds negative views about a new social group we have never been in contact with, we are more likely to form the similar negative attitude towards them despite not knowing them at all. Not only this but we ourselves expect to be influenced by those who we consider as similar. Example: University students being given a lecture on AIDS and the hazards of unprotected sex are more likely to be influenced by the attitude or views of the speakers if they are also university students, like themselves. Cognitive Consistency/Inconsistency Consistency among a person’s cognitions i.e. beliefs and attitudes is widespread. If you have liberal political values, you probably favor medical assistance programs for people living in poverty. If you value equal rights for all persons, you probably support affirmative action plans. The observation that most people’s cognitions are consistent with one another implies that individuals are motivated to maintain that consistency. Several theories of attitude organization are based on this principle. In general, these cognitive consistency theories hypothesize that if an inconsistency develops between cognitive elements, people are motivated to restore harmony between those elements. Balance Theory: Social balance theory as proposed by Fritz Heider (1946) is the theory that people strive for cognitive balance in their network of likes and dislikes. According to the balance theory, an imbalanced state is one in which two of the relationships between elements are positive and one is negative or in which all three are negative. This theory can thus be used to explain our attitudes and anxiety related to people we know, and consists of three possible states: Balance: When the person/people we know have the same attitude as us. Imbalance: When the person/people we know hold a contradictory attitude to ours. Non-balance: When the person/people we don’t like hold a contradictory attitude to ours. Example: Consider Fatima and Bilal, who are seniors in college. They have been going out together for 3 years and soon want to get married. Bilal is thinking about going to law school. Fatima doesn’t want him to stay in school after he gets his bachelor’s degree. She doesn’t want him to go to school for 3 more years, during their starting years of marriage. Bilal feels strongly about Law School (Positive Attitude). Bilal loves Fatima greatly and so does she (Positive Attitude). Fatima doesn’t want him to go to Law School (Negative Attitude). Thus there is an imbalance that needs to be restored. There are three basic ways to do this: First, Bilal may change his attitudes so that the attitude status (negative or positive) of one of the relations is reversed. For instance, Bilal may decide he does not want to attend law school (Positive to Negative). Alternatively, Bilal may decide he does not love Fatima (Positive to Negative), or he may persuade Fatima it is a good idea for him to go to law school (Negative to Positive). Each of these involves changing one relationship so the system of beliefs contains either zero or two negative relationships. Bilal can restore balance by changing a positive or negative relation to a null relation. Bilal may decide that Fatima doesn’t know anything about law school and her attitude toward it is irrelevant. Third, Bilal can restore balance by differentiating the attributes of the other person or object. For instance, Bilal may distinguish between major law schools, which require all the time and energy of their students, and less prestigious ones, which require less work. Fatima is correct in her belief that they would have to postpone marriage if he went to Yale Law School. However, Bilal believes he can go to a local school part-time and also work and maintain a marriage. Balance is usually restored in whichever way is easiest. If one relationship is weaker than the other two, the easiest mode of restoring balance is to change the weaker relationship. Because Bilal and Fatima have been seeing each other for 3 years, it would be very difficult for Bilal to change his sentiments toward Fatima. It would be easier for him to change his attitude toward law school than to get a new fiancà ©e. However, Bilal would prefer to maintain their relationship and go to law school. Therefore, he may attempt to change Fatima’s attitude, perhaps by differentiating the object (law schools). If this influence attempt fails, Bilal will probably change his own attitude towards law school. Cognitive-Dissonance Theory: Whenever we make a decision, there are some cognitions; attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, that are consonant with that decision, and other cognitions that are dissonant with it. Dissonant cognitions create an unpleasant psychological state that we are motivated to reduce or eliminate. Whereas balance theory deals with the relationships among three cognitions, dissonance theory deals with consistency between two or more elements (behaviors and attitudes). There are two situations in which dissonance commonly occurs: After a decision. When one acts in a way that is inconsistent with one’s beliefs. Post-decision Dissonance: After one has made a decision. Example: Sajid needs a job in the city to earn money for his family. Having made the choice, Sajid is experiencing cognitive dissonance; a state of psychological tension induced by dissonant relationships between cognitive elements. Some decisions produce a large amount of cognitive dissonance, others very little. The magnitude of dissonance experienced depends in part on the proportion of elements that are dissonant with a person’s decision. In Sajid’s case, there are three consonant and only two dissonant cognitions, so he will experience moderate dissonance. The magnitude is also influenced by the importance of the elements. He will experience less dissonance if it is not important that he will seldom get a holiday, but more dissonance if spending time with his family is of great importance to him. A way of reducing the dissonance would be to emphasize more on the consonant cognitions and de-emphasize the dissonant cognitions. Counter-attitudinal Behavior: A second circumstance that produces dissonance occurs when a person behaves in a way that is inconsistent with his or her attitudes. Example: When a person who considers himself high in honesty is asked to lie. Jameel works as a sales man and is asked to lie to the customers about the quality of a certain product; asked to say it’s imported when it’s not. For every customer he convinces to make such a purchase, he receives extra money (apart from his basic salary). If Jameel actually lies to the customer, he will face dissonance as it goes against his attitude of being honest; behaviour is inconsistent with cognitions. The theory of cognitive dissonance, in regard to reducing the amount of dissonance being faces predicts that One will change their attitudes toward the tasks (like them better). The amount of change will depend on the incentive paid to tell the lie. Specifically, the theory predicts that greater attitude change will occur when the incentive to tell the lie is low rather than high, because one will experience greater dissonance under low incentives than under high incentives. References:   Baron, R. A., Bhardwaj. G., Branscombe, N. R. Byrne, D. (2011) Social Psychology  (12th ed). India: Dorling Kindersley. Delamater, J. D. Myers, D. J. (2011) Social Psychology (7th ed). CA, USA:  Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

A Home on the Range :: Personal Narrative West Papers

A Home on the Range I swear that I spent my entire childhood waiting for Ray and Mary-Beth Garson. I would rock back and forth on the plush golden chair to the right of my Grandpa's and look out towards the golden Wyoming hills and the hay stack, waiting for their trailer to come bouncing down into the yard of the Dodds Family Gatecreek Ranch. Once they were in sight, I would dash outside and pretend to be busying myself with the saddles or sprucing up the area around the barn. It was never clear how many horses they would bring, but they always brought April and that was all that mattered. She was my horse. When my mother would tell Ray how much I loved April, he would just look down at his feet, smile and say, "She's a good horse." This time, however, I was not waiting for Ray and Mary-Beth by the window. I actually was busy in the yard, preparing a barbeque on our new grill from Kmart. In summers long past, we would have gone up to the picnic grounds to have dinner, but this time because it was just my mother and I we decided to stay at the house. There were no cousins, aunts, uncles, or siblings milling about, making trips to and from the house with the food and friends. There were no horses in the now terribly overgrown and rundown corral and there were no cows in the meadow behind the house. An elaborate meal was not on deck; it was just burgers, salad, and a Dominos pizza that Mary-Beth brought from town. I had not been to the Ranch since the death of my grandmother, four years earlier. She died on the eve of the millennium, perhaps not wanting to embark into the 21st century, after living through three open-heart surgeries, and the loss of a child and two husbands. Her one true source of joy came from Roger, my mother's half brother, the product of her first marriage which ended when her husband's plane was shot down during World War II. Roger was her prince and she showered him with more love than my grandfather, Thomas Dodds, would ever experience. Tensions had always run high between Roger and the rest of the family, but they came to a climax after my grandmother's death.

Global Warming †Argument Essay Essay

Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century and its projected continuation. Many people across the country have been convinced that global warming is affecting us more and more with each passing day. Because of numerous campaigns by the likes of famous politicians such as Al Gore, the common citizen has been convinced that drastic action needs to be taken in order to stop global warming. However, contrary to popular belief, a large number of distinguished scientists and engineers do not agree that drastic actions on global warming are needed. There are several points supporting both sides of the argument about global warming, however many of them that say global warming is indeed happening use facts that are very broad and that do not solely relate to global warming. For example, the director of the USDA’s Climate Change Program said that, â€Å"Global warming will cause an increase in the number of ‘miserable days’ over the next several years.† That is a very broad statement regarding global warming and its effects, specifically because â€Å"miserable days† can be interpreted differently by different people. In the very same article, the author, Jason Koebler, adds that last year was the hottest year on record in the United States according to NOAA. This, too, is a very general statement and can be related to the climate cycles that Earth goes through. Later in the article, Koebler explains that, according to insurance broker AON Benfield, â€Å"Much of the United States was hit with abnormally dry conditions as drought cost more than $35 billion in lost crops and killed more than 100 people.† This obscene statement is a false cause because you cannot assume that global warming is directly causing these statistics. The statistics can be modified by several variables that have nothing to do with global warming. The effects of global warming is a widely misconceived notion that thousands of people are tricked into believing by misleading statistics. Many of the facts that are published relate to the point of global warming but are not solely caused by global warming. In an article in The New York Times by Justin Gillis, he explains that global temperatures are the highest that they have been in 4,000 years. He is indeed correct about this, as well as the fact that it may be a consequence of human activity. In the article, he explains that â€Å"the planet will be at least as warm as it was during the warmest periods of the modern geological era, known as the Holocene, and probably warmer than that.† Statistics like these tend to lead people the wrong way, convincing them that global warming is taking a huge toll on our planet and that something must be done. However, what is usually excluded from articles about global warming is information about alternative causes of temperature increases, such as changes in the amount and distribution of incoming sunlight caused by wobbles in the Earth’s orbit. A second misconceived notion is that CO2 is polluting our environment and that we need to â€Å"decarbonize† the Earth, when in fact CO2 is a colorless and odorless gas, exhaled by each of us, and a key component of the biosphere’s life cycle. Overall, global warming is a serious matter that has been brought to people’s attention in recent years because of temperature increases. The attention that global warming gained has raised the awareness of thousands across the country to be more aware of how they are individually effecting the environment, which in turn has helped the environment. However, contrary to popular belief, a large number of distinguished scientists and engineers do not agree that drastic actions on global warming are needed, and many articles have misleading facts that cause people to believe otherwise.