The Greatest Challenges Facing Marketers as they Enter International Essay

The Greatest Challenges Facing Marketers as they Enter International Markets - Essay Example 2.3 Socio-cultural paradigms The rapid globalization has created a pluralistic society with diverse needs and requirement. Ennis (2009) believes that socio-cultural imperatives have become the decisive factor in the consumption of goods and services. Indeed, the market strategy must respond to the new culturally diverse system rather than focus only on the product. It is for this reason that firms need to promote their goods and services within a culturally sensitive environment. Nokia advertisements are prime examples which include diversity in their advertisements that are instant hit across the globe. McDonald’s includes the taste of the local population in its burgers and customizes it to cater to the changing demands of its consumers. 2.4 New environment compulsions and sustainable development In the contemporary times, environment conservation and sustainable business practice have emerged as key components of competitive advantage (Slack & Lewis, 2002). The companies en tering new markets must become proactive participants in the conservation and preservation of environment and promote sustainable business practices. Hybrid cars by General Motors and Suzuki are increasingly becoming popular because of their environment friendly features. Bodyshop uses raw materials obtained through sustainable business practices etc. and highlights the need for sustainable development. 2.5 Technology Technology has greatly facilitated business growth with its application in various arenas of business and provided it with flexibility and speed to meet the fast changing preferences of the customers. While it has helped new product development and expedited the... Fast advancing technology and globalization have become critical elements for marketers as they are intrinsically linked to growth as well as empowerment for consumers across the geographical boundary. The needs of consumers are increasing being influenced by various external factors which not only influence their purchase decisions but also force the marketers to innovate and adopt flexible approach to meet their changing preferences. It is believed that marketing is increasingly being conceptualized as an organizational philosophy or â€Å"an approach to doing business†. As a result, consumer not only expects more from the product and companies but the company also needs to conform to their changing requirements vis-à  -vis macro-environment factors and strengthen their position through effective communication techniques. These are major challenges that help the firms to strengthen their market position when they expand globally.

Microsoft programmes Essay Example for Free

Microsoft programmes Essay During year ten I had two weeks of work experience from the 12th to 23rd of March 2007. Work experience wasnt just compulsory for pupils within my school, but a nationwide curricular activity. My head of year Miss Joseph organised the work experience with a company called Trident, who helped organise the placements and checked the placement for health and safety. For those not organising their own work experience, you had apply for jobs through tridents website. You had to select six difference jobs, and order them in preference and then Trident would try to organise the placement you placed first. However Trident were unable to succeed in getting everyone their first choice in placement, as many other schools within Waltham forest were doing work experience during the same period. I however arranged my own placement, at my mothers primary school. My mother, several members of staff and I and to fill out a couple of forms which were then sent to Trident, who would check the placement to see if it was safe for me to work there. I chose to work in a school as I enjoy working with others and helping children to learn. I have often considered becoming a teacher, so I felt that working in a school would help me decide whether that was the career path I should be going down. A couple of weeks before my work experience was due to start, I had an interview with the head teacher of the school. I had to ring up the school and organise this interview. The head teacher asked me a couple of questions about why I had chosen to work there, and what skills I was hoping to gain from the experience. She then showed me around the premises, and introduced me to the members of staff that I would be working with. During my work experience, my working hours were from 8.00 till 5. 00. I took the car to work and the journey would usually take half and hour. I would work until 3. 15, when the children went home, however I did not leave until 5. 00 as I had to help clear up and help with after school activities. On my first day I was informed of the tasks I would be doing that day and introduced to all the children. Most mornings I would clean the childrens cup and then fill them with water. I would then have to set up the first activity, which was always spelling. Other jobs I had to do included; photo copying, paired reading, taking groups of children for group learning and cleaning. I worked with one teacher and one teaching assistant, both of which would assist me with tasks I found difficult and were both very helpful. I felt I did have a positive effect on my colleagues as I would often be able to carry out tasks without too much assistance and therefore my less work for others. However in some activities I had to be assisted due to health and safety reasons, which could have made more work for the staff, than if I was not there. I offered to help out after school and would always be willing to try any task the teacher set me, even if I didnt know what to do. I therefore feel that I made a positive contribution and reduced the work load for my colleagues. During my work experience I had to carry out many different tasks, many of which I had never done before. I was able to cope with most of these new activities, however I did encounter some problems during my first week. For example whilst I was doing paired reading with an individual child, another child, with behaviour difficulties, kept disturbing me and trying to get my attention. I was unsure on what strategy I should use to prevent the children from preventing me from doing the paired reading so I went and spoke to the class teacher. She then told me that the best thing to do, would be to ignore the disruptive child, and they would soon return to their work. I used this strategy several times during my work experience and I then was able to continue with the work, undisturbed. Another problem I encountered was when one child told me that another child had hit them, when in the playground. I then went and spoke to the other child, however they said that it was actually the other child who had hit them. Both children denied hitting one another, so I asked both children if they were hurt in any way, but they both said no. I then spoke to both children, telling them that hitting was wrong, and if there were any more problems then I would have to take them to their class teacher. I then got the two children to make up and play a game together nicely. Afterwards I spoke to the class teacher about the incident and she said the way that I handled the situation was perfect, but next time I should take them both to her as some children do have behaviour issues. I felt that I learned from both incidents and am now able to cope with many more problematic situations that before my work experience. I often helped the teacher to carry out activities outside the classroom, which without my help, would have been a lot harder. I felt that my contribution in many of the activities made it easier for my colleagues and subsequently affected the outcome of the activity, as they all went very well. Over the time of my work experience I learned many new skills that I may not have learned, if I hadnt done the work experience. I really enjoyed my two weeks of work experience. It was a very hard, but rewarding job. Some tasks I did find a little bit boring, however overall the experience was fun and I learnt lots of new skills. For example I am now able to use many of the new Microsoft programmes for modern computers, which are used in many offices and other computer based jobs across the UK. I am also able to teach small groups of children, keeping the attention of every child and enabling them to learn. As I enjoyed my work experience so much I have decided that I would like to become a teacher when I am older, therefore all the skills that I have gained during my work experience will be used again in the future and could make a significant impact on the way I work etc.

Jane Austens Attitudes to Marriage in Persuasion Essay -- English Lit

Jane Austen's Attitudes to Marriage in Persuasion In Persuasion, marriage is one of the major themes of the novel, and Austen's attitudes towards marriage are present in chapter four of the novel. The first episode in which we can examine Austen's attitudes to marriage is in chapter four. In chapter four we must notice that there is no direct speech, which shows that all of the narration is Austen, with her views and opinions being presented to us. When talking of Mr. Wentworth, Austen says ' He was a remarkably fine young man, with a great deal of intelligence, spirit and brilliancy' and of Anne 'an extremely pretty girl, with gentleness, modesty, taste and feeling.' In a novel so concerned with wealth and status we must notice that Austen makes no comment concerning the wealth of either. Austen says of Anne and Wentworth that 'they were gradually acquainted, and when acquainted, rapidly and deeply in love.' It would seem that Austen is implying that in English society you must either gain wealth or love from a marriage, as very rarely were both love and wealth gained. Another theme of the novel which seems to accompany the theme of marriage is that of the private and the public. Austen says of Anne and Captain Wentworth's togetherness 'A short period of exquisite felicity followed, and but a short one. Troubles soon arose. Sir Walter on being applied to thought it a very degrading alliance.' Austen here presents to us that when the public discover the news the relationship turns sour. Sir Walter by calling Anne and Wentworth's relationship an 'alliance' shows that he believes it should be no more than a business relationship. Austen's tone of 'He thought it a very degrading alliance' scorns this op... ... titles are measured and weighed in the consideration of marriage. In finality, Austen uses marriage in the novel as a social yardstick to measure and compare the characters in the novel. Austen?s tone is condemning when talking of marriages based on money, which on one hand shows her recognition of romance and sentimentalism but on the other can be seen as her bitterness for never finding love and marrying. For a novelist so concerned with the theme of marriage, it would seem that Austen believes in love with marriage being the just way to display affection. Austen?s condemning tone towards marriages based on class and wealth could be Austen recognising that marriage is not the only important thing in life. Austen would have had time to contemplate this, being so close to the end of her own life and realising that her life was complete without marrying.

Cox container case Essay

Problem Identification: There are quite a good number of problems in the case of CCC, among of which one can define, are the following: 1- Job security for the ethnic minorities who run the workshop for years, while being empowered in the age of Harold Cox, they felt threatened by the introduction of the new management system, that was reflected by the defensive attitude of Aziz and his lack of cooperation which also can be the reaction of being marginalized by Wilson while conducting the company review. 2- Lack of managerial training, which was reflected on how Aziz perceives his job as a shop floor manager whose first and utmost concern, is to deliver production no matter what the outside environment is. 3- Market introduction of new competitors, which dictates the need of full review of the operations, budgeting, supply chain and labor competency. Hence introducing more bureaucracy to the current system and might limit the power of Aziz and his team. 4- The centralization and individuality of Harold Cox in running the company helped the creation of a divisionalized structure and culture as well as developing a high degree of autonomy in the production department and a shallow hierarchy especially in the financial and management accounting area. Analysis: The main reason why Cox asked Wilson to conduct a company review is to get the company moving forward, such an act could have been shared with department managers, despite Wilson’s conclusions, strategies must be compromises that allow the company to move forward (Johnson, 1992). Johnson also argued that Strategic drift takes many years to affect performance, which validates the happening of the falling results of CCC, such a performance made Cox ask Wilson to conduct the review. The resistance to change that Aziz showed can be explained via the framework of Herzberg (1987) at which he argued that job security, as part of the hygiene factors can be a source of job satisfaction and motivation. Despite belittling the effect of hygiene factors on the subject, he did not address such an issue â€Å"job security† on a minority member. Such a factor can be more important than others whether intrinsic or extrinsic since minority members would possess the feeling of fear of losing their jobs and being expelled by the society and not finding another job. Adding the job status of Aziz would add further complexities to the situation as well. The introduction of budgeting and operation optimization without consulting the shop floor manager while he represents the core business of the company could have affected his motivation. These new systems would influence the type of the work that can be done in the shop floor greatly and would change Aziz from a decision maker in his part with all the autonomy and credibility he has to just a regular employee that manages what the new system dictates. Such change would affect Aziz’s motivation to contribute to the new system as discussed by Leavitt (2007). Leavitt argues that the increased bureaucracy and the rigid system turns employees into machines performing the work without thinking, and that would be against the human nature that tends to think and innovate. He also argues that the introduction of IT systems and technologies would be harmful to humans in the work place especially if companies abuse them. He however managed to argue the point from the employee point of view without mentioning the companies perspective at which standardization and new technologies raises the efficiency and performance of the companies and can allocate resources to new departments or new functions. If Aziz were opting the same perspective as   without having the picture cleared that this new system (budgeting and operations review) would benefit him as well as the company, he would tend to resist that change. In the framework of Herzberg (1987), job participation is one of the important myths to job or task enrichment. He emphasizes that giving the employees the big picture and giving them a feeling that they will determine in some measure what they will do in the job; would not be beneficial to the job. Wilson, Straw, Long and Pedder managed to do exactly this part. It would be against Aziz’s benefit if he would resist correcting the situation of the company. He would seem wrong and would hurt himself and his career in CCC if he was explained the current situation and the competitive market condition and how is that affecting CCC and what are the measures needed in the next few weeks / years to correct the competitiveness of CCC. Aziz should have been offered the chance to contribute to the budgeting and even could have been appointed a task in suggesting the best production and budgeting scheme that would save the company time and money. Bassett-Jones & Lloyed (2005) negated the approach of Herzberg and emphasized on the importance of employee’s contribution to the job in order to grant satisfaction. By seeing their ideas being implemented without delays and with the approval of the manager that this idea will contribute to the best of the company, the employee will have a sense of ownership and commitment towards making the idea work. Ford, Ford, & D’Amelio (2008) stated that the resistance to change can be the cause of the management’s actions themselves as they fail to develop trust. They failed to argue that in some cases, the employee(s) have their own agenda and they (employees) are the ones to trigger the resistance. The centralization of the decision making in CCC allowed the formation of a divisional company organization where Aziz’s team form the major part of it. Having this high autonomy formed a specific organization culture perhaps that Aziz is indispensible and hence he is in control. Such a culture would cause Aziz to be reluctant to accept changes specially after CCC lost some of its competitiveness in the market for few years and yet no complain from  Cox and/or the management. Meyers & Martin (1987) suggest that as the organization structure form the organization’s culture and beliefs, so does the leaders of the company. It can be noticed that Cox influenced the idea that the minorities in his company are indispensible, since they support him politically and socially because of their existence in CCC. It can also be noticed that Cox did the interactions with Aziz and the production team on a personal level and hence when changes were mandatory, Aziz opposed it because it did not come from Cox himself and such resistance will not be punished by Cox. It also can be noticed the degree of autonomy in the company when the budgeting scheme is needed, each manager submitted an estimate of expenditure not the actual amount spent the year before or the required budget needed based on the previous year expenditure and the business forecast for next year. The shallow pyramid of hierarchy especially in the management accounting and financial can explain such autonomy. The creation of the subgroup and hence the subculture allowed the lobbying in the production department to happen and to resist any change as long as it is not in their direct favor. Such collectiveness behavior was developed by the centralization of decision making by Cox and the high degree of autonomy he allowed for such a group. In his study, Polzer (2004) has concluded that subgroups and subcultures in organizations tend to have harmful effect on collective welfare that extends beyond the boundaries of this individualistic subgroup. In CCC case, if the production department’s employees feel threatened; they can trigger actions to stop that threat, such as calling for a strike or threating to collectively resign and hence hurt the company by stopping the production. They are well aware that hiring such a large number of employees in a short time will be deemed impossible especially with all the experience they have. Even if the job has high degree of analyzability and does not require specialists to perform it. Moreover, collective resignation would hurt the image of the company and would cause business to be lost to competition even if it is on a temporarily basis. Perhaps what triggered that defensive mechanism with this subgroup is the introduction of the outsiders even if they were completely in a different  department. As proposed by Johnson (1992), introducing outsiders can help in managing the change since the outsider shall have a fresh view of the organization or the department that is undergoing the change. However, he did not mention how that would affect the change recipients themselves and how far would they accept the outsider. He also did not identify if the outsider came from inside the organization (i.e. internal transfer) or from outside the organization and what difference would that make. Alternatives: So, what would CCC management do to resolve the current situation? 1. Do Nothing. The benefits of calming down the current situation and the production department are to ensure the company is kept in operation. Although margins are dropping, the company is sill profitable. However, the disadvantages of this situation are more than its advantages. The operation department will tend to increase its power and influence on the company since now they felt powerful and indispensible, also, they might try to find another alternative or group together and establish another competing company and resign collectively which would put the company out of business. 2. Use a sacrifition sheep: Firing Aziz and the seniors in the production department and replacing them with other seniors from inside the department can be a solution to send a clear message to the rest of the crew that the change is happening regardless of the opposition. This can benefit CCC by establishing a clear strategy that the company is moving forward with the change and personnel have to choose. However, if it backfires, the company can lose too much and we can revert back to the scenario in solution No.1. 3. Driving changes smoothly and in the welfare of the production department: There is no doubt that political consideration has a major play in such situations and it can resolve lots of issues. By calling Aziz and the seniors in the department and explaining the change to them and how would introducing new budgeting system and/or new operation schemes would benefit the company as a whole and the department specifically; they would tend to comply with that change. Asking for their assistance would be a better solution than resisting the resistance. The situation can be transformed to the benefit of CCC if the production department personnel understand the current challenge and start to challenge the status quo themselves, knowing that what will be done will be reflected on their welfare. By adopting the DICE methodology explained by Sirkin & Jackson (2005) to drive the changes as follow: I. Set the Duration of the transformation process with clear and concise milestones. Milestones keep goals tracked and in prospective, encouraging everyone to participate by some sort of recognition would help the process. II. Identify the required personnel and allocate tasks according to their capabilities and traits. That would keep the project Integrity intact and minimizes the risk of duration slippage and/or wrong interpretation of tasks and their requirements. III. Management participation and Commitment to the project as well as employees affected by the change. Management as well should demonstrate how these changes are going to change the welfare of employees and how committed they are to doing so. IV. It should be clarified that each and everyone concerned with this change process should be expected to exert an extra Effort until the transformation is completed. The manage ment should lead by example in this regard and make it clear that any extra effort exerted in this period shall be rewarded on both the long and short term. Recommendations: It is recommended to follow resolution No.3 above, since CCC is considered an SME not a corporate and since they are bound to the acceptance of the strongest department to change. Moreover, this resolution addressed the concerns discussed in the study above which mainly are the job security, motivation, job enrichment of the employees while helping in changing the company culture on the long run by getting the employees to exert extra effort and see their ideas come to live, that would develop a sense of belonging to the company which will benefit the company on the long run. Also, that approach would strengthen the concept that the company is willing to accommodate their employees and work out the changes with them for the best interest of both parties. Plan of actions: Harold Cox, Erica Wilson along with all the company seniors should demonstrate participation and ownership of the change process. It was not a  good idea to leave the interaction being led by the new appointee(s) considering the company culture. The involvement of the top management whose faces are familiar with the production team would ease the effect of the change and indicate that the change are being driven from within not that the outsiders are taking over the company. Depending on the change required; the process duration should be set. Would the management desire only a cost control and lean operations concepts to be implemented or they would require production enhancements by increasing the throughput of the company? Would they procure new technology, which would require training, installation and production scheme change? Would they introduce differentiation either horizontally or vertically to the current products? The easiest change to start with is to introduce cost control and operation optimization associated with achieving the minimum efficient scale of the factory and then drives another change. Driving a major change at once would again be resisted. Mainly the production department would be affected, other departments too, such as financial and management accounting. The latters would be expected to drive the major portion of cost control through supply chain optimization. Introducing operations management department would also help enhancing the operations of the whole company and helping the company to slim the inefficient operations in all departments. It would be expected that some side effects such as additional expenses would follow as sort of rewards to the contributors in the change process to encourage the participation. Also, production lag would occur until the change process is finalized, that could be due to shop floor adjustments or personnel getting accustomed to the new change in the production process, hence, it would be a good idea if the company could produce some reserve capacity to cover this aspect. Bibliography Bassett-Jones, N., & Lloyed, G. C. (2005). Does Herzberg’s motivation theory have staying power? Journal of management development , 24 (10). Ford, J. D., Ford, L. W., & D’Amelio, A. (2008). Resistance t change: The rest of the story. The academey of management review , 33 (2), 362-377. Herzberg, F. (1987, September). One more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review . Johnson, G. (1992). Managing strategic change – strategy, culture and action. Long Range Planning , 25 (1), 28-36. Leavitt, H. J. (2007). Big organizations are unhealthy environment for human beings. Academy of management learning & education , 6 (2), 253-263. Meyers, D., & Martin, J. (1987). CULTURAL CHANGE: AN INTEGRATION OF THREE DIFFERENT VIEWS. journal of Management Studies , 24 (6), 623-647. Polzer, J. T. (2004). How Subgroup Interests and Reputations Moderate the Effect of Organizational Identification on Cooperation . Journal of Management , 30, 71-96. Sirkin, H. L., & Jackson, A. (2005, October). The hard side of change management. Harvard Business Review , 33-47.

Language Of Race Essay

(Review of Lawrence Blum, â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : The Moral Quandary of Race (Ithaca; Cornell University Press, 2002). Theory and Research in Education 1(3), pp. 267-281. ) Lawrence Blum’s book, â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : The Moral Quandary of Race, is excellent and thought-provoking. It is a model of moral philosophy done well, and, as importantly, done with a purpose. At no point does one wonder, as one does with all too much moral philosophy these days, â€Å"Why does this matter? † Blum makes it clear from the start why we should care about the language and concepts of race and racism, and he does a brilliant job of integrating careful philosophical analysis with contemporary examples, historical explication, and creative thought experiments. Blum’s purpose is basically two-fold: first, to fight against racism and racial injustice by proving that the notion of â€Å"race† is both descriptively false and morally inimical and replacing it with the more accurate and useful notion of â€Å"racialized group†; and second, to enable and promote productive dialogue about racism and racial inequality, especially between members of different racialized groups. He is explicit only about the second of these aims — as he comments in the preface and reiterates in similar terms throughout the book, â€Å"If we agree that racism is so important, don’t we need to know what it is? How can we talk intelligently, especially across racial lines, unless we do? † (p. viii) — but the first aim clearly determines the structure and content especially of the second half of the book. In both cases, Blum suggests that language is a key: we can both move forward in the fight against racial injustice and promote cross-racial dialogue about racism and other racial ills, he suggests, if we analyze and clarify what we mean by certain words that are often used too loosely (such as â€Å"racist† and â€Å"racial 2 discrimination†); recapture other terms that have inappropriately been divested of moral weight (such as â€Å"racial insensitivity† and â€Å"prejudice†); and abandon the language of â€Å"race† altogether because its history of use has made it inherently misleading. This is the primary thrust of the book. In this essay, I will question Blum’s emphasis on language and naming. I will suggest that disagreements about the racial language we use, such as about â€Å"what racism is,† are integral elements of the debate about race and racial injustice, rather than something that can and should be resolved ahead of time. Although Blum characterizes his analysis of racial language as being merely clarificatory, therefore, and designed to advance cross-racial dialogue from the outside, as it were, I will argue that instead he is doing something far different. At best, he is staking a partisan position within the debate itself; at worst, he is cutting it off from the start by building the answers to most of the important questions about racism and racial discrimination into his definitions. In addition to these methodological concerns, I also will query the practical results of implementing the linguistic shifts Blum proposes. I will argue, first, that implementation of â€Å"racialized group†-talk will be harder than Blum suggests (even among people who fully accept his arguments and are willing and even eager to abandon â€Å"race† in favor of â€Å"racialized group†), and second, that it is unlikely to have the social psychological effects Blum predicts. In both of these cases, I will consider teachers’ practices in implementing anti-racist curricula as an important test case, since teachers (along with parents and the media) play a crucial role in shaping the racial language and attitudes of the next generation. i Before I tackle these issues, however, a brief summary of (and a couple of quibbles with) â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  are in order. 3 Blum establishes the moral and conceptual grounding for his project in his first and longest chapter, â€Å"‘Racism’: Its Core Meaning. † In this chapter, Blum provides a deft historical, moral, and conceptual analysis of â€Å"racist† and â€Å"racism. † He is concerned to construct a definition that preserves the strong moral opprobrium that attaches to â€Å"racism† while avoiding the â€Å"conceptual inflation,† â€Å"moral overload,† and â€Å"categorical drift† that have come to characterize the terms â€Å"racism† and â€Å"racist† — i. e. , the indiscriminate application of these terms to a wide variety of categories (such as motives, beliefs, acts, and people) encompassing any and all â€Å"racial ills† from bigotry to prejudice to racial discomfort, as well as even to non-racial ills such as discrimination based on age, religion, nationality, or physical appearance. By contrast, Blum limits the application of â€Å"racism† to things stemming specifically from antipathy and/or an inferiorizing attitude toward a racial group. He shows why antipathy and inferiorizing are both sufficient and necessary to his definition — for example, one may feel benevolent toward blacks in part because one feels superior to them, but feel antipathetic toward Asians because one assumes they are smarter than oneself; both attitudes would be properly classified as racist, and he argues persuasively that all other examples of racism could fit into one or both of these broad categories. Hence, Blum shows, although racism can be attributed to motives, acts, people, symbols, beliefs, images, epithets, remarks, attitudes, individuals, societies, and institutions (all categories that Blum discusses in detail), each attribution must be independently justified; one cannot just assume that a person who displays a racist symbol, for example, is a racist herself, or even that she necessarily has racist motives. In this respect, Blum is sensitive to the mitigating (although still morally suspect) issues of individual ignorance, unreflective adoption of social norms and behaviors, and unconscious attitudes, any of which may cause an individual to appear but not to be racist, or alternatively to be racist in fact, but to have adopted these racist attitudes 4 subconsciously or even unconsciously. ii Finally, in this chapter Blum gives significant attention not just to racism’s definition but also to its particular moral character. He argues that racism is morally evil not just because it violates â€Å"general moral norms† such as equality, respect, and good will, but also because of its â€Å"integral tie† to historical â€Å"race-based systems of oppression† that were clearly evil. â€Å"‘ Racism’ draws its moral valence from this historical context in two ways. First, the mere fact that these historical systems were based on race provides some of that opprobrium, even if current instances of racism no longer take place in the direct context of, for example, segregation, apartheid, or slavery. . . . [S]econd . . . we continue to live with the legacy of those systems† (Blum 2002: 27-8). In chapter 2, Blum asks â€Å"Can Blacks Be Racist? † and answers in the affirmative. No matter what preconditions one places on racism (e. g. that it must be ideologically embedded, or combined with social power), Blum argues, there will be (and are) some black people (as well as members of other minority groups) who meet these criteria and hence must be judged to be racist. Insofar as the denial that blacks can be racist is motivated by a desire to highlight the inherent inequalities among different racist acts and beliefs, however, Blum would agree — and argues that — there are important â€Å"moral asymmetries† in racism. Because of such acts’ â€Å"historical resonance† (p. 44), â€Å"greater power to shame† due to minorities’ positional inferiority (p.46), reflection of on-going patterns and prevalence of racism (p. 48), and contribution to maintaining â€Å"systematic racial injustice† (p. 49), â€Å"Everything else being equal, greater moral opprobrium rightly attaches to racism by whites against people of color than the reverse. This is the most important moral asymmetry in racism† (pp. 43-4). Chapter 3 catalogues â€Å"Varieties of Racial Ills,† which are acts or attitudes that deserve some (often substantial) degree of moral condemnation but do not rise to the level of â€Å"racism† as 5 such. These include racial insensitivity, racial ignorance, racial discomfort, white privilege,exclusionary same-race socializing, and racialism (a term used here to mean â€Å"conferring too much, or inappropriate, importance on people’s racial identity† (p. 59), but which Blum confusingly reuses with a different meaning in chapters 5-9). Chapter 4 then moves into an extremely careful and thoughtful discussion of â€Å"Racial Discrimination and Color Blindness. † He deduces four reasons that discrimination may be wrong: â€Å"(1) it unfairly excludes a qualified individual on the basis of a characteristic irrelevant to the task for which selection is being made; (2) it is done out of prejudice; (3) the prejudice is pervasive and (for that or other reasons) stigmatizing; (4) the discrimination helps to sustain the group whose members are discriminated against in a subordinate position† (p. 89). Hence, he argues, the term â€Å"racial discrimination,† which automatically carries with it the implication of moral condemnation, should be confined â€Å"to forms of discrimination involving race that either stem from race-based prejudiced [sic] or that disadvantage an inferiorized or stigmatized group† (p. 95). In contrast, he argues, forms of racial differentiation that avoid the four pitfalls listed above may be tolerated or even embraced: for example, racial egalitarianism, which does rely to some extent on racial differentiation but not on discrimination as defined above, is preferable to color blindness. Chapters 5-7 form an undesignated second section of â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , focusing specifically on the concept, history, and science of â€Å"race† in order to debunk it. Blum analyzes the empirical outcomes of thinking in racial terms in chapter 5, â€Å"‘Race’: What We Mean and What We Think We Mean. † He identifies four moral dangers of racial thinking: (1) â€Å"a moral distance among those of different races — an intensified consciousness of a ‘we’ of one race counterposed to a ‘they’ of another† (p. 102); (2) the â€Å"imposition of false commonality on all those classified as members of the same race† (p. 103); (3) the suggestion of â€Å"an inescapable 6 ‘racial fate’† (p. 104); and (4) â€Å"associations of superiority and inferiority of value† (p. 104). These lead into chapter 6’s fascinating discussion of â€Å"‘Race’: A Brief History, with Moral Implications,† in which Blum shows the historical contingency and relatively recent vintage of racial thinking, at least in the West. (Although Blum’s language about race’s recent arrival on the scene is fairly global, his examples are almost entirely confined to ancient Greece and Rome, Europe, and North America; this leaves the reader a bit confused about the intended scope of his historical analysis and claims. ) Finally, chapter 7 boldly asks, â€Å"Do Races Exist? † and marshals a fair amount of scientific evidence (in conjunction with the historical evidence from chapter 6) to answer a resounding â€Å"no. † This outright rejection of race sets up the challenge he confronts in the final two chapters (and unstated third section) of the book: how simultaneously to rid ourselves of the inimical concept of â€Å"race† while still promoting the causes of racial justice and equality — causes which, as Blum showed in chapter 4, require for their achievement that we name and pay attention (as opposed to blind ourselves) to differences among racial groups. iii In chapter 8, â€Å"Racialized Groups and Social Constructions,† therefore, Blum proposes to replace the concept of â€Å"races† with â€Å"racialized groups,† arguing, â€Å"The term ‘racialized groups’ is preferable as a way of acknowledging that some groups have been created by being treated as if they were races, while also acknowledging that ‘race’ in its popular meaning is entirely false† (p. 160). Blum further justifies use of the term â€Å"racialized groups† in chapter 9, â€Å"Should We Try to Give Up Race? † He argues that racial justice and even a positive sense of racial identity can be promoted by â€Å"racialization†: â€Å"its recognition supplies a more accurate understanding of the character of the racialized social order, encourages a stronger recognition of commonalities of experience and of political and moral commitments across ‘racial’ lines, and, arguably, would in the long run be 7 more politically effective in mitigating racism and racial injustice than would a belief in the reality of race† (p. 170). But Blum recognizes that merely transforming our language is not enough; this act will not itself transform the unjust social structures that inform and shape our language: â€Å"In the real world, ridding ourselves of the myth of race can not be severed from the politically more challenging task of changing the structural relationships among racial groups† (p. 178). Hence, he concludes by implicitly urging a two-pronged approach to promoting racial justice and equality: altering our language, on the one hand, and engaging in direct social action (especially integrationism), on the other. Critique I find most of Blum’s arguments compelling taken on an individual basis. â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  convinces me that the term â€Å"racism† should be reserved for race-related, morally egregious beliefs/motives/acts/etc. , that there’s a wide range of racial ills, that pursuit of racial equality does not amount to racial discrimination, that â€Å"race† is a morally inimical concept, and that â€Å"racialized group† better captures the historical genesis and conceptual construction we call â€Å"race. † I am not convinced, however, that these arguments taken together satisfy the central articulated aim of the book: namely, to promote cross-racial dialogue about race. This is not, as I’ve said, because I question his reasoning or his conclusions; rather, I question whether his method, of using substantive moral philosophy, is consonant with this aim. First, some reminders about Blum’s stated aim. As I noted at the beginning of this essay, Blum asks in the preface of â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"If we agree that racism is so important, don’t we need to know what it is? How can we talk intelligently, especially across racial lines, unless we do? . . . . We need to clarify what racism is, to find a basis in history and current use 8 for fixing a definition† (p. viii). He reiterates this concern at the beginning of chapter 2: â€Å"My goal of an adequate account of racism is entirely antithetical to race-based attachment to definitions of ‘racism. ’ I am seeking an account that will facilitate communication between groups about the character, forms and extent of racism (and other race-related ills). For that we need some agreement on what racism is, and from there we can attempt to settle differences about its extent† (p. 35). Blum’s aim is clearly to establish a baseline for discussion — to foster productive communication by providing moral and conceptual clarification and then to get out of the way in order to allow the now â€Å"intelligent† and â€Å"facilitated† debate to proceed on its own. This is an admirable goal, but I don’t think that â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  achieves it — nor do I think that it could achieve it in its current form. This is so for a few reasons. First, it is misleading to suggest that moral philosophy is necessary to fix a definition of â€Å"racism. † So long as there’s an agreement, or at least mutual comprehension among the interlocutors, as to what each person means in using various terms, then that is sufficient to promote dialogue. For example, if all people accepted that only whites could be racist, then â€Å"cross-racial dialogue† could proceed on that basis; there’s no reason that Blum’s definition of racism (which asserts that all people can be racist) is necessary to promote dialogue. Of course, one of Blum’s implicit points is that there isn’t agreement about what racism is, and that such agreement, or even mutual clarification and comprehension, is very unlikely to arise on its own. Rather than revealing a troubling weakness or gap in the discussion, however, this reveal instead the essential nature of the debate about race and racism: namely, that debating the meaning of these terms is part and parcel of debating the things themselves. In other words, fixing a definition is not a neutral act. It is a partisan act. This is because much of the dispute about racism is bound up in how one defines the problem. If individuals unintentionally benefit 9 from the legacy of racism (e. g.via â€Å"white privilege†), are they morally responsible in some way? Is it racially discriminatory for an association serving mostly Latino youth to try to hire mostly Latino staff? Is it racist for a small business owner to hire people she â€Å"feels comfortable† with, if it turns out she tends to feel comfortable only with people from her own racialized group, since that’s among whom she grew up? These questions lie at the heart of the â€Å"conversation about race†; they cannot and should not be settled ahead of time. Thus, Blum’s second methodological mistake is to think that setting a neutral baseline for discussion is even possible. Blum’s approach is inevitably partisan — simply in trying to clarify meanings, he takes stances on a number of controversial issues — and hence he is within rather than above the fray. This is perfectly appropriate — taking and defending particular stances about how we ought to live our lives is what moral philosophy is, or at least should be, about — but it is not what Blum professes to be doing. Furthermore, Blum’s approach is at least partly opposed to his stated aim of promoting cross-racial dialogue about race and racism, insofar as to the extent that readers accept Blum’s positions as given, their avenues for debate about race and racism will be cut off rather than expanded. I hope (and expect) instead that readers will be drawn to engage with and debate the arguments themselves, as any good work of social and moral philosophy should inspire people to do; they do not, however, provide a neutral starting point for others’ conversations. iv My concerns about the match between Blum’s stated objective and the content of his book are irrelevant to my assessment of his arguments or his conclusions, most of which I think are generally on target. I do wonder, however, about the concrete, â€Å"on the ground† implications of his conclusions, especially but not solely for those responsible for educating the next generation. I will address two especially pressing questions: (1) How would one use the 10 language of â€Å"racialized groups† in a way that was clearly distinct from using the language of race, especially in institutional contexts? (2) Is there convincing psychological evidence to support Blum’s claims about the results of redescribing social and identity groups? For example, is there convincing evidence that thinking of oneself as being a member of a socially constructed racialized group has more positive psychological effects than thinking of oneself as a member of a biologically-determined race? These questions raise issues that are significant for assessing the practical import of Blum’s arguments in general; they are also crucial for determining how his conclusions would alter anti-racist curricula and pedagogy in the classroom, which presumably will be central to the realization of Blum’s moral philosophy. First, Blum’s claim that we can combat racism (at least to some extent) by altering our language about race has moral purchase only if there is some way to â€Å"operationalize† — and especially to institutionalize — this linguistic adjustment. Blum seems to acknowledge this, and to be optimistic about its potential: â€Å"Appreciating the difference between race and racialization, and at the same time attempting to do justice to the unreality of race and the reality of racism, may point us toward new ways of thinking and new forms of institutional practice† (p. 166). He gives one (and only one) example of how one might adopt â€Å"new forms of institutional practice† in relation to the Census, which is a key tool for tracking racial patterns and disparities in society — but also hence for seeming to legitimate racial categorization. In response to this dilemma, Blum suggests, â€Å"Were the federal government to encourage a broad understanding that the purposes for which the Census is now explicitly used do not require a commitment to the existence of races in any form, but only to racialized groups, the legitimate discrimination- monitoring function of Census racial categories could be severed from any implication of racialism† (p. 167). But then frustratingly, Blum gives no specifics about how the Census could 11 do this. Would Blum hope for a statement of disavowal of race? If so, where? Just in the preamble (which already includes a â€Å"baby step† in that direction (see p. 227, fn. 11)), which nobody reads? Or in the census itself, which seems impractical since it is intentionally kept as short as possible in order to maximize response rates? Instead of a statement of disavowal, the Census could replace â€Å"What is this person’s race? † (the question currently asked) with â€Å"What is this person’s racialized group? †, and then use quotation marks (or â€Å"scare quotes†) around terms such as â€Å"black,† â€Å"Spanish/Latino/Hispanic† (which is currently kept separate from the â€Å"race† question), and â€Å"white† to reinforce their constructed status. This is also unsatisfactory, however, for two reasons. First, â€Å"racialized group† will likely be either greeted with confusion or treated as a synonym of â€Å"race,† especially in the absence of an explanation of the term; in the latter case, it is likely to end up acquiring the separatist, hierarchical, and essentialist connotations or â€Å"race† (just like â€Å"disabled† and even â€Å"differently abled† acquired those of the maligned term â€Å"handicapped† they were designed to replace). Second, many of the choices given are not (yet) â€Å"racialized groups,† at least not in the United States, but are nationalities: Samoan, Filipino, Native Hawaiian, Asian Indian, Japanese. Should these terms all be in scare quotes? I would think not — but then how would one deal with the presence of scare quotes some places and their absence others? One could add â€Å"nationality and/or ethnicity† to the â€Å"racialized group† question, and then surround everything with quotation marks — but this then gets cumbersome, to say the least, and is likely to raise other dilemmas. As the Census example shows, institutionalizing â€Å"racialized group† language is hard in print, particularly when it comes to naming and labeling the racialized groups themselves (â€Å"black,† â€Å"white,† â€Å"Vietnamese,† â€Å"Native American†). It is substantially harder in conversation, 12 such as in the oral give-and-take of a classroom. Consider Ellen, a teacher of ten and eleven year-olds, who is eager to incorporate anti-racist education into her teaching. Ellen reads â€Å"I’m Not a Racist, But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  over the winter holiday and then sits down to revise her January lesson plans, which include a unit on non-violent protest designed both to fit into the school’s conflict resolution initiative and to lead up to the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. ’s birthday. As she reads over her plans, she quickly inserts a mini-lesson on â€Å"racialized group† at the beginning of the unit and converts â€Å"race† to â€Å"racialized group† throughout the unit. She adds in a two-day lesson called â€Å"What is Racism? †, and develops an interactive group activity for near the end of the unit designed to help students decide when it’s okay to refer to or take someone’s racialized group membership into account and when it’s not. Reviewing her social studies lessons on Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr. , and the March on Washington, D. C. , she is pleased. She also thinks her English lesson on an excerpt of King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail will prove challenging but inspiring to her students. But then Ellen suddenly gets worried. Throughout her lessons are references to blacks, whites, Indians, British, Hindus, Christians, Jews. Which of these are racialized groups and which are not? How can she help her students figure out the difference? How can she talk about â€Å"blacks† and â€Å"whites† to her class without her students falling back into racial thinking? She can hand-signal scare quotes each time, but will that just turn into a joke among the students? And which groups would she use the hand signals for? All of these concerns are predicated on the conclusion that language matters — that it influences how we think, reason, behave, and interact with one another. This brings us to my second question about implications of Blum’s conclusions: is there social psychological evidence in favor of them? Throughout the book, Blum clearly operates on the assumption that if people recognize the socially constructed, rather than biologically inherent, nature of racialized groups, 13 then they will better be able to fight against the â€Å"hierarchical† and â€Å"inegalitarian† (p. 107) assumptions inherent in racial thinking. This is partly because racial identity then becomes in some way a matter of choice. â€Å"Whether a group is racialized is a matter of its treatment by the larger society. Whether the group takes on a self-identity as a race is a different matter† (p. 148). In recognizing their racialized treatment, rather than believing themselves defined by an immutable racial identity, individuals who are members of racialized groups can decide how to respond. Will they embrace their racialized identity, as those do who proudly join the Asian- American club, volunteer with La Raza, or wear t-shirts proclaiming â€Å"It’s a BLACK thing — you wouldn’t understand† or â€Å"Hot Latina Mama†? Will they reject it, declaring â€Å"that’s not who I am† and/or trying to assimilate? Or will they try to subvert it in some way, say by reclaiming the term â€Å"nigger† (or â€Å"queer† in the [non-racial] case of gays) and defiantly using it as a term of affection for others inside the group? By choosing the extent and nature of their racial identities, Blum seems implicitly to be arguing, individuals and groups are empowered; whether they choose to appropriate, reject, or subvert the characterizations thrust upon them by racializing others, the very act of choosing liberates them from the racialist (and racist) assumptions of innate difference, inferiority, and/or stigma. Two substantial bodies of work in social psychology, however, cast serious doubt on this claim. The first is system justification theory — the theory that â€Å"psychological processes contribut[e] to the preservation of existing social arrangements even at the expense of personal and group interest† (Jost and Banaji 1994: 1). The second is the notion of â€Å"stereotype threat† — the idea that in certain situations (those posing â€Å"stereotype threat†), members of stigmatized groups worry about confirming a negative stereotype about their group through their performance on a task, and then, precisely because of this anxiety, end up performing worse on 14 the task than they otherwise would (and than others do) — thus paradoxically performing true to negative stereotype (see Steele and Aronson 1995; Steele 1997). I will address each in turn. According to system justification theory, people implicitly support the status quo, including hierarchy differences between low- and high-status groups, even when they are members of low-status groups, and even when they reject the distinctions on a conscious level. Thus, in studies done under both â€Å"authentic† and experimental conditions, women ask for lower wages than men do for the same work (or they work 25 percent longer than men if offered the same wage (Cite forthcoming)); individuals rate even initially unwanted outcomes (such as tuition increases, or a member of the opposing political party winning an election) more desirable the more likely they are to occur (Kay et al.2002); And they rationalize the legitimacy of existing inequalities (e. g. , if told that graduates of University B earn more on average than University A graduates, University A students will rate University B students as being smarter and better writers than they; if told the opposite, however, then University A students will express the opposite prejudice and rate themselves higher (cite forthcoming)). Even individuals who explicitly articulate egalitarian beliefs tend to demonstrate moderate to strong implicit attitudinal biases toward higher-status groups (whites, young people, men); this is true regardless of the individual’s own group membership(s) (Greenwald and Banaji 1995; Banaji 2001). In other words, individuals internalize prejudice, discrimination, racism, and/or oppression (Jost and Banaji 1994; Jost et al. 2002; Kay et al. 2002). â€Å"[M]embers of disadvantaged groups internalize negative stereotypes and evaluations of their own group, to at least some degree† (Jost et. al. 2002: 598). Thus, even if people know that they are members of a group that is treated (merely) as if â€Å"there were inherent and immutable differences between them; as if certain somatic characteristics marked the presence of significant characteristics of mind, emotion, and 15 character; and as if some were of greater worth than others† (Blum 2002: 147), they are still likely to believe, subconsciously at least, that these are accurate assessments of their group membership. It takes a great deal of inner strength to stand up to stigma, discrimination, and prejudice. Even those who consciously reject racialist presumptions may respond differently subconsciously. This may be because of internalized oppression, as discussed above. But it may also be a result of rational adjustments in motivation or expectations. Knowing that one â€Å"is discriminated against, stigmatized, or inherits a history of racial† disadvantage (p. 177) may very well (and rationally) lead one to adopt a presumption of disadvantage — a belief that one’s effort will not be rewarded because of on-going discrimination and racism, and hence a reduction in effort, motivation, and/or aspirations. There is clear evidence of both effort reduction (Stone 2002) and aspiration reduction even among people who consciously reject stereotypes, such as women who profess a liking for mathematics (Nosek et al. 2002). This lowering of expectations is clearly compounded if individuals accept, whether implicitly or explicitly, the idea that they really are inferior in some way (as system justification theory suggests). Furthermore, as Claude Steele’s acclaimed work on â€Å"stereotype threat† shows, there are significant psychological and performative costs even simply in knowing that one is a member of a group that is perceived in a negative light. For example, research over the past few years has consistently shown that black students do worse on verbal tests if told the test is a measure of ability than they do if they are told the test is non-diagnostic (Steele 1997); the same is true for women’s performance on math tests (Keller 2002). Similarly, white students do worse than controls on tests of athletic skills if told that the their performance will indicate their â€Å"natural athletic ability,† but black students do worse if told their performance indicates their â€Å"sports 16 intelligence† (Stone, et. al. 1999). This response to â€Å"stereotype threat† is evident even among very young children (ages six to ten): children above seven years old demonstrate high levels of stereotype consciousness (awareness of others’ stereotypes about various groups), and children who are members of stigmatized groups perform worse when they think they are being measured along stereotypic lines than they do on the exact same test when their stereotype awareness (and hence sense of stereotype threat) is not activated (McKown 2002). These results pose a serious challenge, I believe, to Blum’s claims about the practical import of his moral philosophy. Although it is true that this research has all been done under conditions of â€Å"race† rather than â€Å"racialized groups† being salient (insofar as â€Å"racialized groups† has not become a popular or widespread term), it strikes me as being highly unl.   

The Great Philospopher, Susanne Langer essays

The Great Philospopher, Susanne Langer essays Most people are familiar with the greatest minds in philosophy such as Aristotle, Plato, or even John Locke. In reality, most well-known philosophers happen to be male. Women philosophers such as Hannah Arendt and Susanne Langer have faded from textbooks and have been somewhat forgotten as the decades have passed. They have not always been credited for their work. This is due to the heavy oppression that they received from the men of their time who often took credit for the work of women. Women were often looked down on and were sometimes unauthorized to have political or educational rights, so they went discredited for their work. However, unlike most women, philosopher Susanne Langer did not let men dictate her actions or educational proceedings. Susanne Langer (1895-1985) was born and raised in New York, the daughter of two German immigrants. Langer attended a private school on the upper west side, and when she graduated, her educational struggles began. Her father held the belief that Susanne should not go to college. Nonetheless, despite his wishes, she enrolled at Radcliffe College (with the encouragement of her mother) and went on to earn her bachelor's degree in 1920. In 1924, when Langer was a graduate student at Radcliffe, she began to shape the direction of her philosophical development. This change was due to the influence of her professor Alfred North Whitehead. Professor Whitehead is responsible for helping to shape Langer's perspective on the history of human thought, the origins of the modern world and the resulting contemporary situation in philosophy. These concepts were later published in her first book, 'The Practice of Philosophy'. Langer didn't look at Whitehead as only a professor, but also as a teache r, lecturer, writer, dissertation adviser, colleague, and even a friend. She dedicated her most well known book 'Philosophy in a New Key' to Professor Whiteman. She then went on to say "the writings of the sage...

Profession and Cultural Language

Profession and Cultural Language Executive summary Psychology is one among many professions that is considered to be fulfilling. The psychologists are concerned with the behavior of human beings. They are mainly interested in solving problems that are emotional and mental.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Profession and Cultural Language specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Their aim is to help patients recover and live normal lives. Like in other professions psychology has its own culture and language. Culture and language are revealed in their daily practice as they solve different problems. Culture is evident in the training, teamwork, research, work and experience, ethics, communication and use of internet, working environment. Language is interactive, with frequent use of psychological concepts and based on research. To become a psychologist one trains as an undergraduate for four years. They later work under the supervision of a qualified and regi stered psychologist. Training enables learners to acquire the language used in the working environment. Experience is gained over time and the individual is considered valuable and knowledgeable. Psychologists learn to deal with different individuals from diverse background and assist them equally. Teamwork yields excellent results as the tasks to be covered are adequately and efficiently done. Effective communication skills have an impact on the quality of work. Written and verbal communication is frequently used. The emails are also used communicate both within and outside the institution. Psychologist can either be self employed or be employed in different organizations. They can work in the area of development of research or be involved with patients. Patients have behavioral problems like drug abuse, mental illness among other emotional problems. They give assistance while observing ethical guidelines provided by the psychological regulatory boards.Advertising Looking f or report on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Psychology engages in research to generate knowledge and to find solutions for emerging problems. Concepts that are used in the profession are as result of the concepts. The findings of research are verifiable and recognized by authorities. Research influence policy making and can be effective in preventing undesirable behavior. Introduction There are many professions that one could join. Before joining students evaluate what their interest is and choose a profession from a long list. Among many professions, psychology is a widely known profession that has been practiced over many years. Many who join the profession are interested in helping people who have emotional and others with mental illnesses. Psychology is a well developed profession. It has well established and developed theories as discussed in the Occupational outlook handbook (2011, p. 1). Those who train in psychology can be employed in institutions and can be self employed. Moreover the field has the challenge of dealing with behavioral problems that have emerged in the contemporary world. Like many other professions, psychology has its own culture and language. This report will identify and discuss the culture and language within psychology. The culture and language of psychology Psychologists though different in areas of specialty have commonality in their practices and language. They observe regulations and ethics of the profession. They focus on behavior to assist patient overcome difficulties and lead healthy lives (Flinders.edu, 2010, p. 2). The America Psychology Association (2011, p. 1) indicates that research is at the core of the profession as theories are developed through research. Concepts are also developed and used as professional language to refer to specific ideas. The language used is understood amongst them and is part of their daily work. Culture withi n the field of psychology Training Training marks the beginning of a professional journey in psychology. All psychologists are trained to be competent professionals in accredited institutions. They cover units relevant to the field as the tutors mentor them. They participate in individual work, group work and work as interns in psychological institutions.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Profession and Cultural Language specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They also engage in research in the relevant field. The training prepares them to be knowledgeable, efficient, effective, team workers and to rely on verifiable knowledge. Those who undergo training can choose to specialize in different areas. they can become sports psychologists, social psychologists, school psychologists, engineering psychologists, clinical psychologists, cognitive and perceptual psychologists, counseling psychologists, educational psychologists, de velopmental psychologists, evolutionary psychologists, experimental psychologists, forensic psychologists, health psychologists, industrial psychologists, rehabilitation psychologists, research psychologists and neuropsychologist (America Psychology Association 2011, p. 2). After training for four year training in an undergraduate program, the psychologist works under the supervision of qualified and practicing psychologist for two years. Thereafter they can be registered with the professional bodies (Flinders.edu, 2010, p. 4). Team work A common observation in today’s organizations is the adoption of teamwork in the working environment. Teamwork encourages the psychologist to complement each other as well as motivate each other while working. They contribute ideas and share ideas within the teams. A team leader who is a member of the team is in charge of the team. Psychologists share ideas in their team and better decisions are made. However, decisions take a very long time to be concluded and disagreements within the team can affect the efficiency of work negatively. Teamwork creates a competitive environment. Those who fail to meet the targets required and have difficulties coping are likely to be relieved from their work. Research Knowledge on used in the study of psychology is obtained from research findings. The psychologists investigate on a prevailing problem among patient to find explanations of the causes and also find solutions. What is more research can be done to generate knowledge.Advertising Looking for report on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Besides generating information, research facilitates the psychologist to make informed decisions. Information obtained from research is trusted by the authorities and can influence change in policy. Research is also an effective tool in prediction. Policies can be adopted to prevent undesirable situations in the future from happening. Research helps identify the changes that have occurred and helps the professional deal with specific situations accurately. The information obtained clarifies doubts and differentiate facts from myths. They get information from literature review, observations and investigations. Psychological institutions are diverse in their objectives and goals. The research is done within the organizational objective. The findings are presented inform of report. The report gives details on the investigation done, the findings and the recommendations. Implementation of the recommendations requires may have financial effect among other outcomes. In accordance with the America Psychology Association (2011, p. 1) research is vital in finding solutions to emerging problems. Individuals keep changing behavior which leads to new problems. Research generates knowledge that is used to train new professionals. Moreover the knowledge helps understand different cultures of the world. Work and Experience Lannon (2010) argues that the most experienced psychologists are valuable to their institutions. They are seen as a reservoir of knowledge. The patients prefer those with experience too. Gaining experience means that one must be practicing and at the same time take note of the new developments in the field. Psychologists work hand in hand with other professionals. They work with policy makers, the medical practitioners, school educators and courts as well as interact with a wide range of professionals. They assist people handle mental challenges and emotional experiences so that they can have healthy relationships within their environment. Their advice is highly regarded in disaster management where people are traumatized. There are many opportunities for those who train as psychologists as pointed out by the America Psychology Association (2011, p., 1). Psychologist can provide counseling in a firm, be involved in research, become educators in education institute and may also become a consultant for both individuals and society. Problems that psychologist treat are behavioral and constantly increasing. Some include adolescent rebellion, drug addiction, stress related to work and family life, disasters related trauma and other ailments that are emotional or mental in nature. The field of psychology is one of the most fulfilling professions that last as long as the psychologist is healthy and capable of working. Ethics The ethics within the psychology discipline must be followed. According to Lannon (2010) ethical issues require understanding between members of a profession such that there are well laid regulations and standards that must be followed. Ethics in psychology is requiring psychologist to be conduct themselves in the acceptable manner when handling the patients. Like in other professional bodies, psychology has its own ethics that are stipulated by the psychological regulatory boards, the state and other organizations within the profession (America Psychology Association 2011, p. 2). The significance of following the ethics is ensuring that patients receive quality services. Ethics originate from the professionals. They engage in discussions that lead to formulation of the ethics. The more experienced psychologist is the more likely they are to give contributions. Experienced psychologists give major contributions in the discussions. In some cases they vote before implementing or discarding the idea. Those who violate the ethics could receive sanction from either the state or the psychological organizations. Psychologists have to learn different personalities to be able to communicate. Psychologists deal with different people with unique problems. Listening is given important so that they clearly understand the patient. Communication and use of internet Communication between the professional and patients is important. Within the workplace there are various forms of communication. They include written, verbal and non verbal. The written form of communication is usually formal. It is used by the superiors to communicate to the employees. They give instructions and communicate changes in written memos and letters. The employees use written communication to give feedback to their superiors. The employees request for assistance and give reports inform of writing (America Psychology Association 2011, p. 2). Consistent with Lannon (2010) the world has many developments in technology which have been incorporated in the working environment. The employer and employees use the internet in communication. The emails have been used to recruit and to communicate within the organization. Psych ology is no exception. Patients can get assistance from online psychologists who offer services over the web. The internet is very rich in knowledge and can be handy in assisting professionals find facts very fast. Other institutions have used the internet to communicate with the patients. The institutions have web pages that are designed by the employees to get feedback. Working environment The Occupational outlook handbook (2011) mentions that the working environment in different institutions is diverse. The diversity is identical to the different subfields of psychology and the goals of the institutions. The psychologist adapts to the culture and the goals of the organization that they join. The psychologist gives high regard to patient. The patient is assured of confidence by the psychologist who offers to assist them. After being assured of confidentiality, patient feels liberated to talk to the psychologist. Additionally, they are not supposed to be condemning the patient if t hey confess, their role is to be understanding and have a relationship that will be effective in helping the patient recover. Language within the field of psychology Interactive language Psychologist interacts with the patients engage in a face to face conversation. They maintain good relations. Verbal conversations matter a lot as the psychologist uses a polite and friendly tone while assisting the patient. During the four year training the student of psychology learns the concepts used. They engage in literature review to understand their meaning and importance. Moreover, they can learn about the concepts during internship in a psychological institution. More concepts are learnt in the journals after the publication of an article or a book. Knowledge is cumulative and with time one adds knowledge on the concepts they know and use in conversation or in writing (America Psychology Association 2011, p. 2). Use of psychological concepts Language is one of the best ways of expressing o neself as Lannon (2010) indicates. The language an individual uses gives a lot of information about what the individual. In psychology, language use is important for both the patient and the psychologist. There are several important concepts used in everyday life of a psychologist. According to the America Psychology Association (2011, p. 1) the word psychology refers to the study of an individual’s behavior. This is different from sociology which investigates the behavior of people as a society. What an individual thinks is the concern of the psychologist. To be able to assist an individual they have to understand the individual behavior. Research Concepts used in psychology are generated from research. The concepts are used by psychologist to refer to specific ideas or conditions. The concepts are developed for easy communication within the field. They are more specific and well understood by the professional (America Psychology Association 2011, p. 1). The psychologist use s the language of the patient to communicate. The language in most cases should be simple. The psychologist explains meaning of complex words to patients when they request for explanation. While communicating, the psychologist is sensitive to different communities and diversity in the use of language. They pay attention not to use words that may be offensive in a community. Moreover they pay attention to the age and of the patient while making a conversation. For instance children require a polite conversation. Conclusion Psychology is a field whose objective is to assist individuals overcome emotional and mental problems. The professional language and culture are learnt throughout ones professional life. Research is very important and increases the knowledge and helps solve problems. It generates concepts used in the field and influences policy. The students specialize in different areas after training. Working as a psychology requires one to be good in communication teamwork and o bserve the ethics of the profession. Moreover one has to learn to work in an environment with diverse people. Reference List America Psychology Association. (2011). Career in Psychology. Web. Flinders.edu. (2010). The Psychology Profession. Web. Lannon, J. M. (2010). Technical communication 11th edition. Web. Occupational outlook handbook. (2011). Psychologist. Web.

Bernard Cornwells Sharpe Books in Chronological Order

Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe Books in Chronological Order Bernard Cornwells books about the adventures of British soldier Richard Sharpe during the Napoleonic Wars have been enjoyed by millions, mixing – as they do – a combination of action, combat, and historical research. However, readers can have difficulty putting the many volumes into chronological order, especially as the author has written many prequels and sequels. The following is the correct historical order, although they all stand alone. As youll see by scanning below, the Sharpe series now begins with adventures in India, before moving on to the Napoleonic setting that made Cornwells name; theres also a post-Napoleonic book at the end. All of which begs the question, where is it recommended you start? If you intend to read the whole series, then starting with Sharpes Tiger is a good idea because you can then go through in order as Sharpe grows. But if you want to see if you like the books, or if you want to jump into the Napoleonic Wars, then we actually recommend Sharpes Eagle. Its a strong story and its quintessential Cornwell. TV Adaptations Its also worth pointing out that the main volumes were all filmed for television in the 1990s. Although the signs of a modest budget are present, these visual adaptions are very good, and the boxset is also highly recommended by me. What might confuse people is there were later television shows using the now older actor, but drawing on the prequel books - none of which are essential. Sharpe in Chronological Order Sharpes Tiger: Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Seringapatam, 1799Sharpes Triumph: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Assaye, September 1803Sharpes Fortress: Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Gawilghur, December 1803Sharpes Trafalgar: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Trafalgar, October 1805Sharpes Prey: Richard Sharpe and the Expedition to Copenhagen 1807Sharpes Rifles: Richard Sharpe and the French Invasion of Galicia, January 1809Sharpes Havoc: Richard Sharpe and the Campaign in Northern Portugal, Spring 1809Sharpes Eagle: Richard Sharpe and the Talavera Campaign July 1809Sharpes Gold: Richard Sharpe and the Destruction of AlmeidaSharpes Escape: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Busaco, 1810Sharpes Fury: Richard Sharpe the Battle of BarrosaSharpes Battle: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Fuentes de OÃ ±oro, May 1811Sharpes Company: The Siege of BadajozSharpes Sword: Richard Sharpe and the Salamanca Campaign June and July 1812Sharpes Skirmish (short story): Richard Sharpe and the Defens e of the Tormes, August 1812 Sharpes Enemy: Richard Sharpe and the Defense of Portugal, Christmas 1812Sharpes Honour: Richard Sharpe and the Vitoria Campaign, February to June 1813Sharpes Regiment: Richard Sharpe and the Invasion of France, June to November 1813Sharpes Christmas (short story)Sharpes Siege: Richard Sharpe and the Winter Campaign, 1814Sharpes Revenge: Richard Sharpe and the Peace of 1814Sharpes Waterloo: Richard Sharpe and the Waterloo Campaign 15 June to 18 June 1815Sharpes Ransom (short story, appears in Sharpes Christmas)Sharpes Devil: Richard Sharpe and the Emperor, 1820-21

Part II CIKR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Part II CIKR - Essay Example With respect to this alternative approach, FEMA immediately began by sending to the region not only emergency management equipment and personnel but also a special team which has been subsequently termed as an â€Å"Innovation Team†. This innovation team was tasked with the responsibility of acting as a direct go-between for the stakeholders at the FEMA regional offices in New York City and the first responders on the ground. Prior emergency response had noted that a clear disconnect has been evidenced between the first responders and those individuals who are seeking to mitigate an action plan within the offices of the regional/local headquarters. As a means of providing a fresh set of eyes to the situation and acting as an attache to the different groups responsible for operations on the ground, the innovation team was able to connect internal and external groups to cooperate in a more efficient and time sensitive method. Naturally, even though the utilization of such a team necessarily took away from the overall manpower/resources which could be deployed with respect to emergency management operations, it was the understanding of FEMA, upon review and analysis of the operational plan and action of Sandy response, that the integration of the innovation team ultimately increase efficiency far beyond what could have been done if the same level of personnel were utilized in operations alone. Some of the most salient takeaways from post operational review of the innovation team and the means by which it responded denoted the fact that three specific areas within emergency operations were able to notice a marked improvement. The first of these was with regards to the overall level of emphasis that was placed upon communication. Naturally, after such a disaster, FEMA had traditionally been tasked with providing interoperable communications to all the stakeholders on the ground. However, the sheer complexity and interconnectivity of the existing communication s, as well as the damage that was performed, meant that FEMA’s role within interoperable communications and the provision of ensuring effective communications between key stakeholders needed a much higher level of emphasis. Yet, even with this oversight, the innovation team was able to point to these drawbacks and ameliorate them prior to these becoming a major pickup in the emergency response that FEMA was providing. A further level of growth and insight that the innovation team was able to provide was the fact that innovations that include cost savings and can produce most tangible and intangible benefits were the most beneficial towards the allocation of appropriate resources. Naturally, within the time of disaster, such as hurricane Sandy necessarily represented, the availability of these resources and the ultimate efficiency through which they could be provided was an element of the utmost importance. Accordingly, in order to ensure that these resources were utilized to a maximal and efficient level, the Innovation Team was able to provide useful feedback in order to determine how allocation of resources could be improved in the future. By analyzing the historical growth and appreciation for CIKR and the way in

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Importance of Information Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Team Building Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Team Building - Term Paper Example A community of people sharing common norms, values and interests would always remain a group and would never become a team unless individual members forming the group start to respect one another’s feelings. A team essentially works for the attainment of organizational goals by sidelining the personal interests of individual team members. â€Å"A major advantage a team has over an individual is its diversity of resources, knowledge, and ideas.† (Townsley, 2008). A sound strategy to build the effect of a team in an otherwise group of workers should be based on certain exercises that would serve to enhance the interaction among the members of opposing views. Team members should be given enough time to socialize frequently and work jointly to accomplish predefined tasks. Managers should organize task based workforces in which specified teams should address particular tasks. The idea is to achieve the effect of contact hypothesis in the task force. One member should be selected from each department as a representative of the department. In this way, a holistic approach can be adopted in which the finance, human resource, administration, operation and various other departments as required should work together in close cooperation and collaboration with one another to achieve the objective of organizational significance. The task force should be strategically designed and every individual member should be fully educated on his boundaries and limitations prior to the commencement of the task. All foreseeable antecedents of conflict should be clearly addressed to the maximum extent to minimize the chances of conflict. Tasks should be designed to allow maximum communication among the members. This can be achieved by formulating interdependent activities w ithin the task. The services of individual departments should be integrated into the work elements. In the course of working together, healthy debates should always be encouraged. Managers should

Importance of Information Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Importance of Information Management - Essay Example This is important in that it would assist the management plan on better ways of servicing its client. This supports the arguments form the paper that states that information management forms the basis for improving the students’ satisfaction and learning experience. Information is the only way through which management or the administration can interact with the students. I also realized that a channel linking the academic staff and the teaching staff or the teacher and the student is very important. Consequently, there must be a channel that should link them. It is clear that information presented in the paper support the claims made by Erlanger (2005)that states that knowledge management or information management impacts on innovation and organizational performance directly and indirectly (through an increase on innovation capability). This is because the acquisition of the right information from the clients, for this case, students would enable the management or the school a dministration to plan for the best strategies to adopt towards improving the performance of the students (Levy, 2003). Information management provides the basis for improving the performance of the employees. Based on the discussion from the paper, it is clear that in school setting, the performance of the teachers can be enhanced through course unit evaluation. Course unit evaluation is where the students fill a form that targets at exploring whether the teacher or the tutor is doing as expected. The paper reveals that although the course unit evaluation is important, most people especially the students take it lightly and hence fail delivering comprehensive information to the academic staff. This would prevent the staff from coming up with appropriate intervention measures. The paper affirms that it is possible to resolve this by imposing a forceful feedback into the system. This would make the student take the issue seriously. The time for evaluation is also very important. It is undisputable that if the evaluation is done at the end of the course, then the respondent, or rather the students may not benefit because the kind of changes that would be adopted would be possibly implemented in the next session. Because of this, it is true that appropriate and effective evaluation should be carried out in the middle of the course (Babcock, 2004). Appropriate and effective information management provides the basis for improving the performance of the client. Grading, for example, is an example in which this point becomes relevant. It is clear that grading is a means through which the management can meet the students’ needs. Just as the paper puts it, it is true that appropriate grading system should be able to motivate the student and not just to give them grade. The paper affirms that comments are imperative because it offers detailed, personalized feedback that would help in measuring progress towards strategic targets (Kanyengo, 2009). Additionally, the paper gives an insight of significance of using the online quizzes and homework tasks on blackboard. I wholly support this fact because adoption of online quizzes and homework task on blackboard would be time-consuming and also it allows provision of grade or a few generic statements of feedback. A study that was done by Liu & Cavanaugh (2011) reveals that teacher’s comments and feedback on the student’s assignments as well as teacher-student interaction are very