The Teachers Who Made Me a Better Reader and Writer

The Teachers Who Made Me a Better Reader and Writer When I was younger and less savvy about bookish websites, the only place where I could actively engage in my love of reading with someone other than myself was the classroom. My parents were never the type to read to me before bed because they were too tired from working all day. (They did, however, provide me with all the books I wanted.) I also didn’t have many friends that were readers, so being a reader was quite a lonely thing to beâ€"unless I was in the classroom. Most of my classmates were the I-don’t-like-to-read type, so it was mostly my teachers that made reading in the classroom fun and engaging. These teachers were important to my development as a reader and writer for many reasons. Without them, I probably never would have gone on to major in English at college, where I also had some amazing professors. There are three teachers in particular who were essential in shaping me as a reader and writer. Because I have no contact with these teachers anymore, and because Im not sure how they would feel about me writing about them, Ill only be using the first letter of their last name. Third Grade Ms. R taught us a lot about science and art through Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House series. She used the books’ imaginative storylines to help foster our own imaginations and creativity. We made papier-mâché dragons based on one of the books, and we led our own group science projects where we researched animals that Jack and Annie encountered on their adventures. Ms. R was able to channel what we were reading into hands-on activities where we could interact with the themes of the books. Seventh Grade Despite Ms. L being the primary seventh-grade science teacher, she devoted our homeroom hours to reading and writing. She would have us read books such as Hoot by Carl Hiaasen out loud, and then have us discuss the passages as a class. Our discussions were essential when it came time to structure and write our essays. Ms. L taught us to have a clear understanding of what our thesis was and discuss it in a way where everyone would be able to follow our thought process. This was a huge influence in how I wrote my essays throughout high school. Junior Year British Lit Finally theres Mr. V, who is still the most enthusiastic teacher Ive ever had. He taught the dreaded British literature class but did so in an exciting and theatrical way. Every story and poem we read in class had to be read preciselyâ€"if not, he would make use start all over again. This exercise really helped when words were too difficult to pronounce or the tone in writing shifted. He also had us watch films such as Braveheart, which we used to contrast his favorite play, Macbeth, in an essay. His teaching was just what I needed to tone my literary analysis skills. These three teachers solidified reading and writing as an essential part of my life, and for that, I thank them. I hope that everyone, avid reader or not, has had a teacher or two like Ive had. Are there any teachers you would like to thank or give a shout-out to?

Background And Development Of Reinforcement Theory - Free Essay Example

BF Skinner and his associates proposed reinforcement theory of motivation. Reinforcement theory (also called as operant Conditioning) states that individual s behavior is a function of its consequences. It is based on law of effect . 2.2 Law of Effect OB Mod relies heavily on the law of effect, which states that a person tends to repeat behavior that is accompanied by favorable consequences (reinforcement) and tends not to repeat behavior that is accompanied by unfavorable consequences. ( Newstrom W. John, p no 111 ) Reinforcement theory of motivation looks out on the perception of individuals. This theory focuses totally on what happens to an individual when he takes some action. Thus, according to Skinner, the external environment of the organization must be designed effectively and positively so as to motivate the employee. This theory is applied for analyzing controlling mechanism for individual s behavior. However, it does not focus on the causes of individual s beh avior. 2.3 Behavior Modification Organizational behavior modification, or OB Mod, is the application in organizations of the principles of behavior modification, which evolved from the work of B.F. Skinner. OB Mod and the next several models are process theories of motivation, since they provide perspectives on the dynamics by which employees can be motivated. ( Newstrom W. John, p no 111 ) The figure below illustrates the basic steps in OB mod. Source: Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations by Ricky W. Griffin,Gregory Moorhead The first step is to identify performance related behavioral events that are the desirable and undesirable behaviors. A manager of a restaurant might decide the most important behavior for the steward is to greet customers warmly and serve them. The second step in behavior modification is for, managers to baseline the performance of each individual which is usually calculated in percentage across different time intervals. Ex ample if any sales representative is getting around 25% of the total sales as required by the company. The third step is to identify existing behavior contingencies or consequences of performance exactly how the employee is performing. The fourth step is to develop intervention strategies in other words some element of the performance reward- linkage structure, process, technology, groups, or tasks is changed to make high level performance more rewarding. After the intervention step, the manager again measures performance to determine whether the desired effect has been achieved. If not manager must again re design the intervention strategy or repeat the entire process. Next step is to maintain desirable behaviors through positive reinforcement for example granting incentives every time a desired behavior is shown by the employee. Finally, managers has to evaluate performance management as to how the employee are performing and by offering long term rewards like incre ase in pay, promotion to sustain ongoing efforts to improve performance. (Griffin W. Rickey 9th edition, p no 108 ) Chapter 4 Types of Reinforcement Reinforcement Methods Source: The fundamentals of Organization Behavior by Henri L. Tossi, Neal P. Mero 3.1 Positive Reinforcement: Thomas J. Peters, author of In Search of Excellence, emphasizes that organizations striving for success need to celebrate what you want to see more of from your employees. In order to do this it is essential to understand the concept of positive reinforcement and its easy integration into your organization. Positive reinforcement is a standard analyzing tool that can be used in workplace, educational institutions and even in our day to day life, which is connected to performance or behavior. Positive reinforcement is used by managers to extract the desired behavior from the employee keeping organization success in mind. Positive reinforcement can be achieved by observing and carin g about an employee, positive reinforcement has a major impact on employee motivation, satisfaction, productivity and loyalty in attaining individual success. As well employee success contributes to the overall improvement in the organization s performance. As all of these results and success factors of positive reinforcement begin to come together, your organization will leap ahead in its increasingly competitive marketplace. Positive reinforcement in an organization can be achieved in many ways like praising the employee if he has achieved his target and giving incentives if the employee has completed the project for the month and taking the team out for a dinner and appreciate their effort and also managers can provide training to the employees who has achieved the goals and objectives of the organization. This will be immediately followed by the positive behavior; the employee will see a link between behavior and positive consequences and will be motivated to repeat similar b ehaviors in future. And employees tend to repeat the same in order to gain appreciation. Shaping is a methodical and progressive application of positive reinforcement. It occurs when more frequent, or more powerful, reinforcements are successively given as the employee comes closer to the desired behavior8. Even though the desired behavior is not shown by the employee, it will be encouraged by giving reinforcement for behavior in the right direction. Shaping can be used by managers to train the employee for complex tasks/assignments. 3.2 Negative Reinforcement: Negative reinforcement is one which involves the removal of undesired behavior of an employee. Negative reinforcement is also known as Avoidance. In other words negative reinforcement is used to increase the desired behavior. Rather than receiving a reward following a desirable behavior, the person is given the opportunity to avoid an unpleasant consequence (Griffin W. Rickey 9th edition, p no 108 ). This also inv olves removal of objectionable outcomes once desired behavior is demonstrated. Example of common undesired behavior of employee in an organization Employees rushing and not quality checking their own work. Talking to colleagues instead of responding to customers in a timely manner which hampers the growth of the organization Being unpleasant, rude or argumentative to team mates. Opposing all improvement suggestions made by the managers. Repeatedly raising trivial issues. Taking excessive breaks. Not showing interest in learning new things related to work. Managers can apply negative reinforcement theory to control the behavior of the employee Example 1: if the employee is not showing interest in the work and is showing casual attitude, managers can speak to the employee and cut down the incentive so that deduction may correct the behavior of the employee, so here incentive acts as a catalyst to change the behavior of the employee. Example 2: Managers pr essurize the employee if the report/project is not completed on time, these results in employee completing the report/project to avoid pressure from the manager. Negative reinforcement is often confused with punishment, but they are not the same. Punishment attempts to decrease the probability of specific behaviors; negative reinforcement attempts to increase desired behavior. Negative reinforcement can be used effectively by managers to reshape the behavior of the employee in the organization and change to desired behavior. So negative reinforcement is one of the standard reinforce that can be used by managers. 3.3 Punishment: Punishment is another process in reinforcement theory which managers can implement on employee to reduce the frequency of undesirable behaviors. Punishment is an unpleasant, or aversive, consequence of a behavior. Examples of punishment are verbal or written reprimands, pay cut, layoffs, loss of privileges and may be termination. (Griffin W. Ri ckey 9th edition ) Punishment is different from negative reinforcement, in negative reinforcement is used to increase the desired behavior of the employee whereas in punishment the unpleasant behavior is eliminated by having a negative event which follows the behavior of the employee. Here in punishment the employee stops or avoids undesirable consequences. Punishment must be used as a tool to change the behavior of the employee and give employee a chance to correct his behavior. Besides undesired behavior may far reach negative effects if they go unpunished. (Griffin W. Rickey 9th edition, p no 105 ) Example 1: Manager must punish the employee if he continues to underperform after several warnings and does not show any improvements. Punishment should be used as a last resort to change the behavior of the employee because it may put lot of pressure and stress which may result in unpredictable outcome. Punishment may not permanently eliminate undesired behavior because so metimes it will be not having an alternative to the desired behavior. 3.4 Extinction: Extinction is referred as elimination of desired behavior when manager s hold back positive reinforcement. If rewards are withdrawn for behaviors that were previously reinforced, the behaviors will probably become less frequent and die out. (Griffin W. Rickey 9th edition, p no 105 ) The behavior of the employee is no longer reinforced and is less likely to occur in future and may affect the organization growth, while positive reinforcement contributes to the overall growth of the organization extinction can hamper the growth by not recognizing employee performance. Example 1: If the employee is continually praised for the promptness in which he completes his work for several months, but receives no praise in subsequent months for such behavior, his desirable behaviors may diminish. Thus, Extinction is the most important part of reinforcement theory because it may affect the employee productivity or creativity which reflects in the employee performance. So as to avoid unwanted extinction, managers may have to continue to offer positive behavioral consequences and maintain his good performance. If managers inadvertently or otherwise, stop rewarding valuable behaviors such as good performance, those behaviors may also become extinct. (Griffin W. Rickey 9th edition, p no 105 ) Chapter 5 Schedules of Reinforcement Schedules of reinforcement theory are based on when managers should apply different types of reinforcement theory to shape or reshape the desired behavior of the employees. Applying different types completely depends on the situation. The table below shows summarizes the five basic reinforcement schedules that managers can use Source: Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations by Ricky W. Griffin, Gregory Moorhead The two main types of reinforcement schedules are continuous and intermittent. Although the schedule of rei nforcement often depends on practical considerations, reinforcement is always delivered according to some schedule. ( Slocump W. John no 108 ) 5.1 Continuous Reinforcement Continuous reinforcement rewards behaviour every time it occurs. Continuous reinforcement is very effective in motivating desirable behaviors, especially in the early stages of learning, when the goal is to familiarize the employee being conditioned with the basic ground rules of the situation. Continuous reinforcement must be provided promptly and consistently in order to work. Managers must closely monitor the behavior of the employee to reward every time he delivers desirable behaviors. Partial reinforcement may affect the employee from showing desired behavior, if the employee is praised for every time he completes his work and will not receive any acclamation for the subsequent works done, the employee may stop putting the extra effort. Every time reinforcement is applied it strengthens behavior, so continuous reinforcement leads to very rapid increases in the rate of behavior. It is especially useful, then, when the task is to shape up some new behavior or behavior chain. ( Chance Paul, p no 177 ) 5.2 Fixed Interval Reinforcement Fixed interval reinforcement is defined as the reinforcement schedule where rewards are spaced at uniform levels. The critical variable is time, and it is held constant. This is the predominant schedule for most salaried employees11. Examples of fixed interval reinforcement may be monthly salaries given to employee, pay check given on weekly basis; employees are rewarded on a fixed interval reinforcement schedule. ( Robbins, Judge, Millet, p no 59 ) In fixed interval reinforcement employee are not rewarded whenever they show desired behavior, they will be rewarded on a monthly, weekly basis unlike in continuous reinforcement employee will be rewarded every time a desired behavior is occurred. Unfortunately, in many situations the fixed interval schedule does not necessarily maintain high performance levels. Example: if employees know that they will be paid and visited by manager on a weekly basis, they may be motivated to work hard at that point of time, to gain praise and recognition. And other days of the week the employees may not work so hard because they have learned that reinforcement is unlikely except during the weekly visit. 5.3 Variable Interval Reinforcement Variable reinforcement uses time as the basis for applying reinforcement, but it varies the interval between reinforcement. This schedule is inappropriate for paying wages, but it can work well for other types of positive reinforcement such as praise and recognition and for avoidance. ( Griffin W. Ricky, 9th Edition, p no 105 ) Considering the above example for variable reinforcement if manager s visits employees work stations any time during the week, so they will be having no idea of when the manager will be visiting their work station s, so employee will be motivated to work hard for a longer period of time. 5.4 Fixed Ratio In a fixed- ratio schedule, after a fixed or constant amount number of responses are given, a reward is initiated. ( Robbins, Judge, Millet ) With fixed-ratio reinforcement, the number of behaviors needed to obtain reinforcement is constant. Fixed interval means it happens at the same rate at the same time. Like an allowance that you receive on the 20th of every month. 5.5 Variable Ratio Variable Ratio reinforcement, the number of behaviors required for reinforcement varies over time. An employee performing under a variable ratio schedule is motivated to work hard because each successful behavior increases the probability that the next one will result in reinforcement14. ( Griffin W. Ricky, 9th Edition, p no 106 ) Variable ratio reinforcement tends to be the most powerful of the entire reinforcement schedules because in variable ratio the number of desired behavior required f or reinforcement is not important, intervals between reinforcement is very crucial, interval between reinforcement must not be too long that the employee will be demotivated and stops trying it. Example: Variable ratio refers to getting different amount money at different times. This could be seen in someone who is paid in commission the more cars a person sells, the more money he makes, therefore it is a ratio and he/she doesn t know how many cars they are going to sell to make money, so they must sell as many cars as possible. Chapter 6 Being a Motivating Manager In previous chapters we have discussed about the types and schedules of reinforcement, in this chapter we will discuss few points about how manager should motivate the employee in order to get the best results out of them: 1) Treat staff well: Manager has to be friendly with the entire employees in the organization and also has to maintain a level of distance with his staff, which is bit complicated. Ma nager should motivate the employee by having timely discussions and group meetings and encouraging them for the desired behavior. Small gestures of this type help in building up of a cordial relationship. (2) Recognize the differences: Recognizing the difference is very difficult on the manager s part, which should be carried out very cautiously because all the employees in the organization vibrate to a different pace, so motivating one employee may affect other employee growth and can also demotivated him/her. Understanding and recognizing the differences between the individual is very important. (3) Set realistic goals: Set moderate goals. Setting too high a task creates a feeling of non-achievement, right from the beginning itself. The goals set should be such which seem feasible to the employees to be achieved. A slightly higher target than expected provides a challenge. (4) Prevent Demonization: The job of the manager is to motivate the employee working under him, the role of manager includes both motivating and punishing the employee, but punishment must be used as an last resort to change the behavior of the employee else it may affect the productivity of the employees. (5) Non-financial rewards: Apart from giving incentives, pay raise, manager has to focus on non-monetary rewards such as an achievement award or a letter of appreciation which boosts the efficiency of the staffs to work harder and also gain more accolades in future which will create a competitive environment in the work place. Chapter 7 Conclusion Reinforcement theory explains in detail how an individual learns behaviour. Managers who are making attempt to motivate the employees must ensure that they do not reward all employees simultaneously. They must tell the employees what they are not doing correct and guide them properly to ensure that all the employee work towards achieving the organization success. The main objective of reinforcement theory is to ensure that employees perform the tasks assigned to them as fast as they can, take new projects and put their maximum efforts in achieving the tasks and increase there efficiency. Manager must see the employees in the human perspective and not in business perspective, so manager must give chances to the employees to move towards the desired behavior from the undesired, which helps both the employee in increasing the frequency of desired behavior and managers to be successful and build a good rapport with the employees.

The Victims Of History By George Orwell - 1234 Words

The Victims of History the importance in critical history studies In his critically acclaimed novel, 1984, George Orwell wrote the following; â€Å"Who controls the past controls the future. And who controls the present controls the past.† When discussing the validity of studying history critically, I think this quote accurately highlights many of the key points that are discussed when it comes to studying history. Critical history analysis prompts us to consider more than just the information we are presented with, instead it seeks to uncover both sides of the full story. Taking this into consideration, the first part of Orwell’s quote can be understood as a representation of the stories that are presented to us as history. The victors of these past battles and power struggles became those who control the narrative which in turn becomes the dominant narrative and enforced narrative. While there are those who may choose to accept these societally favoured ideologies, without critical investigation we leave ourselves blind to the true atrocities that have been committed in order to secure positions of power. I will be using the opinions and facts presented in the essays written by Tricia Logan and Joan Scott as evidence to support my reasoning for the importance in critical historical studies. Tricia Logan’s essay; Memory, Erasure and National Myth, takes a look at Canadian history through a critical lens, focusing especially on the relationship between the CanadianShow MoreRelatedEssay on 1984: A Prophesy for the Future?1049 Words   |  5 Pagesto control the personal life of the citizens. The government wanted the people to have no thoughts of their own and insisted on having constant support from its citizens. The state controlled everything, your thought, your actions, and even your history. The 1940s were full of tension and changes. 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Story of the Stone Essay - 1393 Words

Cao Xueqin’s Story of the Stone is a classic in Chinese literature, showcasing the life and exploits of the wealthy Jia clan during the feudal era. Through Cao’s depiction, the reader is afforded a glimpse into the customs and lifestyle of the time. Chinese mode of thought is depicted as it occurred in daily life, with the coexisting beliefs of Confucianism and Taoism. While the positive aspects of both ideologies are presented, Cao ultimately depicts Taoism as the paramount, essential system of belief that guides the character Bao-yu to his eventual enlightenment. As was the case in China, Cao depicts the two forms of belief existing alongside one another, and not necessarily practiced exclusively to one another. Confucianism†¦show more content†¦After publishing the work, Vanitas experiences a Taoist transformation. Confucian ideology is presented early in the text as well. In Chapter Six, we see a distant relative coming to the household to seek financi al help. Despite their estrangement and lack of contact in recent years, the family is generous and Xi-feng presents Grannie Liu with silver. Here the Confucian filial obligation to family is highlighted. In the Confucian system, such a system of virtuous relationships provides structure and order to an otherwise chaotic society. Xi-feng’s actions demonstrate the importance to which Confucian values were held in this period. In contrast to Confucian beliefs, which seek understanding through obligation to duty and family, Taoism provides a better platform for personal betterment and spiritual awakening. In the fifth chapter, when Bao-yu is summoned to the Land of Disillusion, his fairy-overseers explain their concern for him, because as they see it, he the last possible chance for redemption of the family. They are concerned that Bao-yu’s sexual curiosity is getting in the way of his studies and the advancement of his Confucian understanding. 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Business Ethics - Assessed student reflection on ‘FLOW...

We have all heard of ‘bad’, unethical or immoral business practices. The FLOW documentary outlines a number of unethical business practices in relation to water. Business Ethics provides some tools (moral frames) for explaining what makes certain business behaviours unethical, which can assist in ethical decision-making. After viewing FLOW, find a journal article that meets the following conditions: it is based on one of the moral frames listed in Q2 AND is relevant to one of the ethical issues you identify in Q1 . The article should help you to deepen your understanding of the issues and the moral frames. After viewing FLOW and finding a relevant journal article, answer the following questions in 500 words. (You will probably use a†¦show more content†¦Motive: The reason of development is to make human life better. 2. Basis of will: Find a balance between the sustainable economic growth and environment protection. 3. Reasoned imperatives (commands/principles): When a country is in a period of rapid industrialization, there is a large gap between economic growth and resource consumption. The solution is always find a balance point in order to solve environmental problems through the development, and promote development by addressing environmental issues. Since the utilitarian view only consider influence for the result of the act, people may consider the economic growth must bring consequence. Which means all the environmental damage are necessary. But under this condition, this view consider as unethical view. Many people around world are suffering from the consequence of pollution. And every aspect of people’s life is affected by pollution and wastefulness. It is unbelievable that people are having hard time to get natural resource that is essential for human life. The reason of development is to make human life better. And one of the most important symbol is a better environment. 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The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien - 1669 Words

Truth has many meanings but the qualities of being a logical and relatable story can stand out to someone. In The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, is a novel that unfolds the truths about the Vietnam war through short stories. The Vietnam war is one of the longest war the U.S. ever participates in which lasted from 1955-1975. Furthermore, through the narration of these stories Tim O’Brien discusses about his feelings and perspective of the war. Also O’Brien writes stories that connects with ventures that has many experiences with war and people who face difficulties. Therefore, The Things They Carried is a collection of true stories because it is logical and relatable to both soldiers and people. â€Å"Enemies† and â€Å" Friends† are relatable and logical because, both people and soldiers experience a situation where there is feud in the midst but eventually dwindle off so trust can form. In â€Å" Enemies† Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen bef riend each other because Strunk stole Jensen s jackknife which turns into an uproar to go into details, â€Å"Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen got into a fistfight. It was about something stupid- a missing jackknife-but even so the fight was vicious†(O’Brien 60). furthermore, in â€Å" Friends†, â€Å"Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk did not become instant buddies, but they learn to trust each other...In late August they made a pact that if one of them should ever got totally funcked up-a wheelchair wound- the other guy would automatically find a way to end it† (Show MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien892 Words   |  4 PagesThe Vietnam War was a long, exhausting, and traumatic experience for all of the soldiers and those who came with them. The Things They Carried, by Tim O Brien illustrates the different affects the war had on a variety of people: Jacqueline Navarra Rhoads, a former nurse during the Vietnam war, demonstrates these effects within her own memoir in the book, The Forgotten Veterans. Both sources exemplify many tribulations, while sharing a common thread of suffering from mental unpredictability. DesensitizationRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1377 Words   |  6 Pageslove to have it as good as we do. Tim O’Brienâ€⠄¢s The Things They Carried discusses many veterans who experience the burden of shame and guilt daily due to their heroic actions taken during the Vietnam War. The book shows you how such a war can change a man before, during, and after it’s over.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As I reflect on the many conflicts America has been a part of, none can compare to the tragedies that occurred in The Vietnam war. As told in The Things They Carried (O’Brien), characters such as NormanRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1457 Words   |  6 Pagesthe theme pertains to everyone regardless of their background. It conveys the same ideas to people from all across our society. Lastly, a classic is timeless, which means it has transcended the time in which it was written. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, he offers a new, intriguing way to view war or just life in general and also meets all of the crucial requirements mentioned above to qualify it as a book of literary canon. Though this book is technically a war novel, many peopleRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1242 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Tim O’Brien is obsessed with telling a true war story. O Brien s fiction about the Vietnam experience suggest, lies not in realistic depictions or definitive accounts. As O’Brien argues, absolute occurrence is irrelevant because a true war story does not depend upon that kind of truth. Mary Ann’s induction into genuine experience is clearly destructive as well as empowering† (p.12) Tim O’s text, The Things they Carried, details his uses of word choice to portray his tone and bias. Tim O’BrienRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1169 Words   |  5 Pagesbut are set in the past and borrows things from that time period. A story that fits this genre of literature is The Things They Carried. The story is about Tim O Brien, a Vietnam veteran from the Unite States, who tells stories about what had happ ened when he and his team were stationed in Vietnam. He also talks about what he felt about the war when he was drafted and what he tried to do to avoid going to fight in Vietnam. The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien was precise with its portrayal of settingRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1004 Words   |  5 Pages Tim O’Brien is a veteran from of the Vietnam War, and after coming home from his duty he decided to be a writer. His work â€Å"The Things They Carried† is about a group of soldiers that are fighting in the Vietnam War. The first part of the story talks mostly about physical items that each soldier carries, and also mentions the weight of the items as well. Though, there is one exception to the list of physical things. Lieutenant Cross is a character of the story, and Tim O’ Brien quickly states theRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien896 Words   |  4 PagesTrouble without a doubt is what First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross c arried around his shoulders because he was out in war, where mistakes happen. Lost and unknown of his surroundings he had to lead his men into safety, while destroying anything they found. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross only holds onto one thing for hope and that is Martha, the woman who he hopes is a virgin to come back to. Tim O’ Brien introduces symbolism by adding a character that has a meaning of purity and a pebble, which symbolizesRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesSummary: â€Å"By and large they carried these things inside, maintaining the masks of composure† (21). In Tim O’brien’s The Things They Carried, the American soldiers of the Vietnam War carry much more than the weight of their equipment, much more than souvenirs or good-luck charms or letters from home. They carried within themselves the intransitive burdens—of fear, of cowardice, of love, of loneliness, of anger, of confusion. Most of all, they carry the truth of what happened to them in the war—aRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1369 Words   |  6 PagesMany authors use storytelling as a vehicle to convey the immortality of past selves and those who have passed to not only in their piece of literature but in their life as an author. In Tim O’Brien’s work of fiction The Things They Carried, through his final chapter â€Å"The Lives of the Dead,† O Brien conveys that writing is a matter of survival since, the powers of s torytelling can ensure the immortality of all those who were significant in his life. Through their immortality, O’Brien has the abilityRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1407 Words   |  6 Pages       Our introduction stated that in â€Å"The Things They Carried,† author Tim O’Brien tells us not directly of the soldiers of Vietnam, or the situations they find themselves in, but about the things they carry on their shoulders and in their pockets. These â€Å"things† identify the characters and bring them to life.   I find that to be true as the author unfolds the stories about war and the uncommon things one carries in to war both inadvertently and on purpose.  Ã‚  Ã‚  As it was noted: Stories about war –

A Home Depot Analysis Free Essays

Final Exam Questions 1a. The way that Nardelli laid out his plan for change was one of the reasons I think it was so successful. He came in and addressed the problems that were easy to point out and also the ones that weren’t apparent to other employees. We will write a custom essay sample on A Home Depot Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now Nardelli needed to rebuild an organization that could easily compete with other big names, and this was relatively easy because the people at Home Depot knew the importance of taking advantage of its growing size. Nardelli did this by implementing a three strategy plan that involved enhancing the core, extending the business, and expanding the market. Nardelli’s first step in the process was enhancing the core. This involved improving the profitability of current and future stores, as well as in existing markets. From the article Heart of Change, I think that Kotter’s first step, increase urgency, relates the most to Nardelli’s first step. Kotter describes his first step like this; â€Å"A sense of urgency, sometimes developed by very creative means, gets people off the couch, out of the bunker, and ready to move† (Cohen and Kotter 690) essay writer life hacks. I think that this is what Nardelli was trying to make happen in his first step for change. He needed the people of the company to see what the issues were, and make a point to say that if we stay where are now, we will fall behind in a few years. This sense of urgency and improvement was the right step to getting Home Depot employees to care and start to make the best change for the company. The first step leads right into Nardelli’s second step which was, extend the business. Nardelli’s purpose with this step was to get employees to come up with ways to better serve the customers. This was to not only enhance customer service, but to become a standout figure among competitors. This was probably one of the most important steps and I think that Nardelli implemented it very well. I related this step to Kotter’s fifth step of empowering action. I chose this because Kotter outlines this step as â€Å"Key obstacles that stop people from acting on the vision are removed† (Cohen and Kotter 697). The obstacle that Nardelli needed to remove was the similarities between his company and competitors. He did this by offering related home improvement services such as tool rental and home installation of products. This set them apart and allowed them to overcome that â€Å"obstacle† and continue to move forward. I think that this was the most important step because it represents the major ‘bump in the road’ that Home Depot needed to overcome in order to continue to keep growing. The final step in Nardelli’s plan was expanding the market. This was one of the easiest steps to correlate to Kotter because I think that it made the most sense, without specifically saying that same thing. Kotter’s seventh step of don’t let up is described as this; â€Å"a change effort will have direction and momentum†¦ build on this momentum and make a vision a reality†. (Cohen and Kotter 700). The whole point of Nardelli’s third step is to take what they have learned and implemented in the company thus far and expand geographically, even serve new kinds of customers. This was his way of carrying the momentum of success out as far as it could go, and making sure that Home Depot didn’t let their success slip through their fingers. This a very good move on Nardelli’s part, and attracting new customers such as commercial contractors and even women, made a huge impact on the overall morale, and success of the store. The only thing that I would have suggested Kotter adds to his plan, was the implementation of metrics. The Home Depot article talks about how in the beginning there was some harsh resistance to the change, â€Å"Resistance to the changes was fierce, particularly from managers: Much of the top executive team left during Nardelli’s first year† (Charan 64). Nardelli did use metrics, and they did make a difference. However, I think that if he had made them a part of his plan and used them earlier in the process they would have made an impression on the executives that did end up leaving. If Nardelli had used metrics I think that they would have correlated with Kotter’s fourth step, communicate for buy-in. This is described as â€Å"simple heartfelt messages sent through many unclogged channels† (Cohen and Kotter 697). Those metrics were the heartfelt messages that needed to be expressed to get people motivated even sooner. With my suggestion Nardelli’s plan should have looked like the following: Enhance the Core, Express Metrics, Extend the Business and Expand the market. Overall, I think that Nardelli did an excellent job, and that taking my advice, would have only yielded better results. 1b. When Nardelli first arrived at Home Depot, the culture was one that was very close-knit and family oriented. I chose this term to describe the culture because the former CEO and chairman were often thought of as father figures by other employees; â€Å"Many employees simply couldn’t picture this company without these father figures† (Charan 63). When reading the article about Home Depot, there was one specific sentence that stood out to me because it described the pre-Nardelli culture very well, â€Å"It was marked by and entrepreneurial high-spiritedness, a willingness to take risks; a passionate commitment to customers, colleagues, the company, and to the community; and an aversion to anything that felt bureaucratic or hierarchical† (Charan 62-63). Looking specifically at this description of the culture, I can find characteristics that relate directly to low-context cultures, as well as to O’Reily, Chatman and Caldwell’s Cultural Characteristics. I came to the conclusion that the culture at Home Depot was a low-context culture specifically because high-context cultures are based largely on hierarchy. According to our class notes on culture low-context cultures are described as â€Å"cultures that focus on that which is explicit. People are specific and clear in their communication† (Culture Notes 1). This description fits the culture of Home Depot, not only because it strays away from hierarchy, but also because it was very much based on entrepreneurship; which requires specific and clear communication. I believe that the entrepreneurial high-spiritedness that is described above contributes to the feeling of a family oriented and close knit company. Relating the culture to the cultural characteristics of O’Reily, Chatman and Caldwell was relatively easy as well. Specifically there were three characteristics that stood out to me: innovation and risk taking, attention to detail, and people orientation. I chose these because of the way the culture is described. Innovation and risk taking is described as the degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks. Not only was it said outright that this was a characteristic of the company, but I feel as though the close-knit environment promoted this kind of thinking; making everyone feel comfortable and open to sharing their ideas. Attention to detail was not as direct as the previous example, but I related this to the description of entrepreneurial high-spiritedness. Attention to detail is described as the degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis and attention to detail. This definition drew me to lean towards entrepreneurship because I thought that all of the qualities listed are qualities that would be necessary to be a successful entrepreneur. Again, these are all characteristics that thrive in a close-knit family style culture. Finally, I chose people orientation. This is described as the degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. This definition not only relates to the passionate commitment to customers, colleagues, the company, and to the community part of the description, but it also relates to the definition of low context culture. I know that specifically people orientation talks about people within the company, but I think that part of the reason Home Depot was so successful was that it reached outside of the company to impact people’s lives. Lastly, a major part of the low-context culture definition is that people are specific and clear in their communication, and I believe that people orientation would not be successful if this were not a major factor. The pre-Nardelli culture was very easy to define, and point out specific aspects that made it easy to describe and compare. When talking about the post-Nardelli culture, the only thing that really stood out to me was a difference in the feel of the culture. By this I mean specifically it went from a close-knit, family style culture, to a big corporation style that is highly focused on building the organization to take advantage of its outrageous growth. Instead of focusing specifically on the people in and outside of the community, this post culture was a focus on merchandising and collaboration between regional and store operators. Everything was on a larger scale, and even little thinks such as shelf organization and signage were standardized and enhanced, so they were able to stay on the playing field with competitors such as Wal-Mart. While I think that this doesn’t change the fact that it is a low-context culture, because there is still a focus on people and communication and an avoidance of hierarchy, I do think that it changes some of the relatable characteristics of O’Reily, Chatman, and Caldwell’s cultural characteristics. I do not think that they lost innovation and risk taking, attention to detail and people orientation, but simply that the focus was significantly diminished. Instead a focus on team orientation and aggressiveness was emphasized. Team orientation is defined in our notes as the degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals. While the pre culture wasn’t so individually focused that it was everyman for himself, it’s that the post culture needed teams to make sure that all of the new projects like, merchandizing and reevaluation of the store environment, were successful. Finally for the post culture, there was a definite lean toward aggressiveness, which is defined in our notes as the degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing. I do not think that in the pre culture that they were quite on the level of stability from our culture notes, but that Nardelli promoted an environment that allowed people to be assertive and aggressive towards achieving more growth. For the most part I thought that pre- and post-Nardelli cultures were very similar, minus the shift in focus from family business, to large corporation. How to cite A Home Depot Analysis, Papers