The Nature Versus Nurture Debate Sociology Essay

The Nature Versus Nurture Debate Sociology Essay Throughout the history of human existence, there have always been questions that have plagued man for centuries. Some of these questions are what is the meaning of life and which came first, the chicken or the egg. Within the past 400 years a new question has surfaced which takes our minds to much further levels. The question asked is whether nature or nurture has more of an impact on the growing development of people. It is a fact that a combination of nature and nurture play important roles in how humans behave socially. However, I believe that nature has a more domineering role in the development of how people behave in society with regards to sexual orientation, crimes and violence and mental disorders. Height, hair color, eye color and sex are just a few examples of ways our DNA has shaped us. But could it be possible that our DNA also affects the way we behave in society. It is possible that genetics affect us is more ways that we may have imagined. Dr. Peter B. Neubaur believes that shyness, eating disorders, obsessive behavior and psychological illness can all be traced back to our genetics.  Sexual orientation  is also believed to be derived from genes in our body which determine what sexual preference we prefer. Violence and other types of crimes can be linked back throughout a persons lineage to witness that other family members have been committed similar crimes without ever meeting one and other. Throughout our lives we have all been influenced by our environment and other outside forces. Our environment may change the way we think, act and behave in life. Since we are all products of our environment, it comes to no surprise that we, as humans, tend to behave in a society the same way others around us behave but at the same time we strive to find who we really are (Schaefer 73). Since birth, humans have always analyzed the world around them. With each day that passes, humans take in more and more information from the outside world. The information which humans obtain through their environment subconsciously influences the decisions people make throughout their daily life (Neubauer 16). On the other hand, our genetics also play a vital role in determining what type of person we are and what will we become.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The sexual orientation of a person has been a critical debate over the past several centuries. For several decades many people believed that nurture had a more profound impact on the sexuality of humans than did nature. Even the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud believed that sexual orientation was derived from nurture. Freud developed a theory which explains that at birth till the age of four every child is bisexual. When the child reaches the age of around four, he/she begins to learn to withhold their feeling for members of the same sex and start expressing those sexual feeling to members of the opposite sex. Freud proposed the idea that male homosexuality originates when this crucial developmental stage is hindered by some outside force also known as nurture. According to Freud, this can occur when either a chided is raised in a fatherless household or with an overbearing mother figure. However, when this idea was actually tested, it did not fall through as ma ny would expect it would (Steen 185). Since many years after Freuds passing, it has become apparent that nature holds a strong role in the development of sexual orientation of humans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If nurture isnt the cause for sexual orientation then nature must be. According to Grant Steen, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, a large study was recently conducted which gathered gay males who have either identical or  fraternal twins  or adopted brothers. The goal of the study would be to see if genetics played a role in twins. At the end of the survey more than half of the  identical twins  of gay men were also found to be homosexuals. At the same time only about 22% of the fraternal twins were found to be gay and only 11% of the adopted brothers were gay. What these statistics show is that DNA plays a very important role in determining sexual orientation. Nature seems to have such a large impact on the sexual orientation of individuals that I feel that nurture has almost little or no effect on whether a person is homosexual or not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If homosexuality is genetic then there should be a dramatic occurrence of homosexuality with families who have many homosexual relatives than to families in the general public who do not have homosexual relatives. Another survey was conducted in which 114 openly homosexual men were asked questions about the sexual orientation of their relatives. The study showed that homosexuality is indeed strongly clustered in some families; among the brothers of men in this study, the incidence of homosexuality was nearly seven-fold higher than in the population at large (Steen 197).  Homosexuality  can be considered hereditary because families with one gay relative are more likely to have others somewhere in their family lineage. Some skeptics may begin to raise the question that if homosexuality is genetic then there should be a gay gene in our DNA. After many studies, scientists have found that there is at least one gene which is responsible for homosexuality. Though this is not conclusive evidence because scientists still havent unlocked all of the DNA strands, scientists figure that with time and the advancement of technology we one day might be able to actually pin point this gay gene in DNA (Plomin 337).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reporter  Jeff McMullen  of ABC interviewed  David Reimer  in May of 2000 who fell victim of a botched circumcision when he was only eight months old. The doctors at the time felt that David would be better off living the rest of his life as a girl. The doctors believed that the nurturing of a child and not nature would determine their psychological make-up. David explained to McMullen that throughout his entire childhood he felt out of place. It seemed that even though David grew up as a woman, inside he felt something was wrong. This interview strongly supports the idea that nature plays a vital role in determining sex. No matter how much of an effort was put in to surround Davids environment with feminine characteristics, it would not be strong enough to over come the resilient power of nature. From the time of conception, nature has already planed out many important factors which will effect our lives in so many ways. If nature does control our sexual preferences then it is possible that it could control many other facets of human existence. In the United States about twenty million crimes occur each year and most of the time the criminals are repeat offenders. One may begin to speculate whether society in the United States promotes crimes or are criminals born with the desire to commit these heinous crimes. According to Steen there is evidence from a large study of adopted children which shows that there is a tendency for children to reenact the criminal behavior of their biological parents. So even if a child was adopted and was raised in a house which had no  criminal activities, the child would be more likely to commit the same crimes as their biological parents which they have never met. This obviously disproves the notion that people are taught and raised to commit crimes. The East Coast sniper John Lee Malvo would hide in remote places all along the east coast and would shoot and kill people when the opportunity arose. Doctor Patricia Haensly believes that the DNA of John Lee Malvo differed from most peoples DNA. She came to the conclusion that most criminals are born with the genes that allow them to not think about the actions that they are coming are immoral. This is a very true statement because most people commit some type of crime, granted not murder but more along the lines of littering, but we tell ourselves that its not a problem and forget about it moments later. Murderers may feel the same way about killing as some people feel about littering. Nature also has a strong impact on domestic violence. In the United States over 18% of all homicides involved family members killing each other (Steen 228). This can lead to the deduction that just as the households which have one gay member are more likely to have other homosexually oriented family m embers; households which have one member who commits violent acts are more likely to have other family members who commit similar acts of violence. Sometimes nature cannot explain all the crimes committed in the United States. Some may feel that simply living in such an environment places young people at special risk of falling victim to aggressive behavior (Ferguson 81). For example, if a person is constantly surrounded by crimes and violence, then that person is more likely to commit the same crimes. However it may just be that people who live in bad areas would still commit those same crimes even if they resided in a low crime environment. Never-the-less your environment should not allow youre to commit the same crimes no matter how much crime is going on. If a person keeps committing crimes in a bad neighborhood then it is most likely that the DNA of that person convinces them that it is all right to commit murders. This explains why many people in jails in the United States are repeat offenders. One may begin to wonder if there is more to these criminals than what is on the surface Many mental disorders have been scientifically proven to be heritable. Manic-depression is a trait which is inheritable through family lineage. Many separate studies have arrived at the conclusion that identical twins are more likely to acquire manic-depression than do fraternal twins. In fact four out of every five twins tend to share the same types of mental disorders (Steen 141). One study found that risks of clinical depression are much higher in certain families than in others. Close relatives of those who are depressed are three times more likely to suffer from depression than people who dont have depression in their family history (Steen 147). This further secures the fact that nature plays such a crucial role over nurture in our lives and within our own families. There are some mental diseases such as  schizophrenia  which adults may suffer from which some people believed is cause from various problems in a persons childhood. This leads many so speculate that the roots of schizophrenia extend far back into childhood. Within the past ten years a discovery was made which scientists were able to link a gene on our chromosome to schizophrenia. This schizophrenic gene would be a dominant gene which means that if any person had this gene in their DNA then it is likely that he/she would suffer from schizophrenia. Even though more research needs to be done on the schizophrenic gene, it still provides us information which could one day lead to the solving of schizophrenia and many other devastating diseases (Steen 151). It has become clear that nature and nurture both play very important roles in how humans behave in a society. I feel that nature plays the more domineering role in the foundation of human existence. All though every day we are bombarded with outside forces, it is our internal make up that determines how we would react to our environment. Our environment only adds to what nature has given to us. If we use it in the correct ways then it will be beneficial to society and our selves. However, once the environment starts to turn to the ways of violence and crimes we can only assume that it will only have negative effects from any point you look at it.

The Book of Acts Essay -- Religion, Bible

There has been much debate regarding who wrote the book of Acts. Professor Riggs of Auburn Theological Seminary said, â€Å"In recent years the tide of opinion has been turning, and is now strongly setting toward a first-century authorship† (Riggs, 38). The early view of the church states Luke is the author of Acts. External evidence agrees with tradition that Luke wrote the book of Acts. The early church fathers, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Eusebius, provide evidence that Luke is the author (Lea & Black, 282). The Muratorian Canon (A.D. 190) contains a list of books from the New Testament and lists the author of Acts and the Third Gospel as Luke. There is also internal evidence that points to Luke as the author. In both Luke and Acts, the author uses medical phraseology. In Acts 28:8, the father of Publius was sick with a fever and had a bloody flux. Other instances can be found in Acts 10:10 and 16:16 (Riggs, 41-42). Luke was a physician and that would explain why h e used medical terms when writing the book of Acts. Considering the external and internal evidence, Carson and Moo... The Book of Acts Essay -- Religion, Bible There has been much debate regarding who wrote the book of Acts. Professor Riggs of Auburn Theological Seminary said, â€Å"In recent years the tide of opinion has been turning, and is now strongly setting toward a first-century authorship† (Riggs, 38). The early view of the church states Luke is the author of Acts. External evidence agrees with tradition that Luke wrote the book of Acts. The early church fathers, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Eusebius, provide evidence that Luke is the author (Lea & Black, 282). The Muratorian Canon (A.D. 190) contains a list of books from the New Testament and lists the author of Acts and the Third Gospel as Luke. There is also internal evidence that points to Luke as the author. In both Luke and Acts, the author uses medical phraseology. In Acts 28:8, the father of Publius was sick with a fever and had a bloody flux. Other instances can be found in Acts 10:10 and 16:16 (Riggs, 41-42). Luke was a physician and that would explain why h e used medical terms when writing the book of Acts. Considering the external and internal evidence, Carson and Moo...

Internet Marketing :: essays research papers

It's well known that internet marketers are in the business of marketing. To become successful in business, it's crucial to actively promote your business to gain new customers. Let's face it... No promotion, no new customers. It's a simple as that. If you've ever spent money on advertising before, you will know that it can be a costly process. Whether the cost is measured in time, effort, money or a mixture of all three - the one thing that counts the most is the results. A lack of results from a marketing campaign can be a real disappointment. More often than not, it is a case of hit-and-miss which leads to frustration and a wasted advertising budget. This article will explain three steps that you can take to gauge how effective your marketing campaigns are and to rapidly improve the response rates of future campaigns. It also brings to light some relatively unknown tactics that some advertising companies are employing to rip-off their customers. I hope you're not one of those customers... But you might have been already without even realizing it. Step 1: T&T You may or may not work out a proper campaign for your promotions, but let me make a suggestion to you if I may? You really should be Tracking and Testing. If you don't know how responsive a particular ad is, how can you possibly gauge the ad's effectiveness? Not by guessing, that's for sure! It is essential that you T&T because this keeps you in control of your earnings. If your campaigns aren't creating the desired outcome - signups, sales, opt-ins etc., something needs to be changed. By T&T, you can make changes, retest and gauge the results to repeat the process until you do generate the necessary effect and therefore increase your profits. Step 2: Tweaking What areas need looking at? Here is a short list of questions you can ask yourself. The answer to these questions should be " Yes". If the answer is "No", then simply tweak the item and T&T to produce a better response. Ad Copy: Does it have an eye-catching headline? Is it well written with the correct grammar and punctuation? Have you edited it over and over to create what you'd consider a perfect advertisement? Does it use hypnotic words and phrases that grab the interest of the reader? Does it make the reader want to click through to your web site while pulling out their credit card? Internet Marketing :: essays research papers It's well known that internet marketers are in the business of marketing. To become successful in business, it's crucial to actively promote your business to gain new customers. Let's face it... No promotion, no new customers. It's a simple as that. If you've ever spent money on advertising before, you will know that it can be a costly process. Whether the cost is measured in time, effort, money or a mixture of all three - the one thing that counts the most is the results. A lack of results from a marketing campaign can be a real disappointment. More often than not, it is a case of hit-and-miss which leads to frustration and a wasted advertising budget. This article will explain three steps that you can take to gauge how effective your marketing campaigns are and to rapidly improve the response rates of future campaigns. It also brings to light some relatively unknown tactics that some advertising companies are employing to rip-off their customers. I hope you're not one of those customers... But you might have been already without even realizing it. Step 1: T&T You may or may not work out a proper campaign for your promotions, but let me make a suggestion to you if I may? You really should be Tracking and Testing. If you don't know how responsive a particular ad is, how can you possibly gauge the ad's effectiveness? Not by guessing, that's for sure! It is essential that you T&T because this keeps you in control of your earnings. If your campaigns aren't creating the desired outcome - signups, sales, opt-ins etc., something needs to be changed. By T&T, you can make changes, retest and gauge the results to repeat the process until you do generate the necessary effect and therefore increase your profits. Step 2: Tweaking What areas need looking at? Here is a short list of questions you can ask yourself. The answer to these questions should be " Yes". If the answer is "No", then simply tweak the item and T&T to produce a better response. Ad Copy: Does it have an eye-catching headline? Is it well written with the correct grammar and punctuation? Have you edited it over and over to create what you'd consider a perfect advertisement? Does it use hypnotic words and phrases that grab the interest of the reader? Does it make the reader want to click through to your web site while pulling out their credit card?

Evaluate Sociological Explanation of the Relationship

Evaluate sociological explanation of the relationship between gender and religious beliefs and practice. (33marks) Within religion, there are clear gender differences. In some regions, women aren’t to show any parts of their bare skin and are most certainly not allowed to become figures of religious authority, whereas in other religions, women are able to dress as they please and progress to one day become figures of religious authority. This difference in religion is also apparent in religious beliefs and religious participation.With regards to religious activity, and beliefs in God, sin, evil and life after death, generally speaking, more women than men participate in such activities. For example, in 2005 it was found that 1. 8million women in England were churchgoers, whereas only 1. 36million men were. Miller and Hoffman support this by finding that women express a greater interest in religion, have stronger personal commitment to it and attend church more, and this applie s to all ages, religious organisations and faiths.Bruce estimates that there are twice as many women than men involved in sects. Some sociologists have seen this difference in religious activity and beliefs as being connected to the different ways of which men and women see God – the god of love and forgiveness or the God of power and control. Sociologists have put forward several explanations for the gender differences in religious beliefs and practices, but most tend to focus on the reason for women’s relatively high level of participation and men’s low levels.Miller and Hoffman state that women are more religious because they are socialised to be more passive, obedience and caring – qualities that are valued by most religions, and it’s claimed that this is the reason why women are more likely to be attracted to religion then men. Men who are seen to have these qualities are also more likely to be religious, so perhaps it is not so much about the gender, and it is the way of which you are socialised.Miller and Hoffman also noted that women are more likely to have part time jobs, whilst also being fall time carers, so as a consequence of this, they have more room for organising their time to participate in religious activities. Women are also more likely to be attracted to the church as a source of gender identity. Greeley argues that taking care of other family members increases religiosity in women because it involves responsibility to ‘ultimate’ welfare as well as everyday needs. Similarly, Davie argues women’s closer proximity to both births – because they are those who give irth to their babies, as well as death because they are more likely to be the ones to look after the elderly when they are on their deathbeds. This brings them closer to ‘ultimate’ questions about the meaning of life that religions are ultimately concerned with. This also fits back in with the different ways me n and women come to see God. Women are more often associated with nature, and the healing role, because of this they may be more attracted than men to New Age Movements in particular.For example, Heelas and Woodhead found that 80% of participants in Holistic Milieu in Kendal are females, this is because such movements often celebrate the ‘natural’ and involve cults of healing which give women higher status and a sense of self-worth. Bruce argues women’s experience of child rearing makes them less aggressive and goal-oriented , as well as being more cooperative and caring, making them more attractive to New Age Movements. Men wish to achieve what women feel. Women may be attracted to New Age Movements because they emphases on the importance of being authentic, rather than merely acting out roles.Callum Brown argues New Age ‘self’-religion’s appeal to women’s wishes for autonomy and therefore attract women recruits. Women also on the othe r hand may be attracted to fundamentalism because of their certainties of a traditional gender role that it presents for them. Glock Stark, as well as Stark and Bainbridge argue that people may participate in religion because it compensates for social, organismic and ethical deprivation, which a person may be gaining a sense of. Glock and Stark argue these forms of deprivation are all common along women and this explains their higher levels of sect membership then men.Organismic deprivation stems from physical and mental health problems. Women are more likely to suffer ill health and seek healing through religion, and thus therefore more likely to join sects. With regards to ethical deprivation, women tend to be more morally conservative and thus are more likely to regard the world as being in moral decline and for this reason are attracted to sects, where their views are often shared. Social deprivation suggests that women are more likely to be poor, and this explains why there are more women than men in sects, since Sects try to gain their following from the poorer members of society.Feminists view religion as being mainly patriarchal. Many claim that religion is a patriarchal institution that systematically benefits males over females, for example in the sacred texts, where women are often unnamed. Alongside this, in almost all religions, the gods are all male, which suggests they claim women, have no power and sacred texts were also written and have been interpreted by males, and thus incorporate traditional male stereotypes and biases towards women.In some versions of Islam, women are not allowed to divorce their husbands, but their husbands may do so by saying so three times, alongside this, their husbands are allowed to have up to three other wives. In other religions, such as the catholic church, women aren’t allowed to have any involvement in religious practices other than becoming a nun, who is still seen as being subordinate in accordance to the other roles available for men, and they are also can participate in mass and so on by adopting their role as the Laity – women cannot become priests.In the church of England, women can become priests since the 90s, and in the church of Scotland, they could have become priests as early as the 1960s. Holms claim that the basis for women’s subordination is their sexuality. Menstruation is generally thought of to make a woman unclean and thus polluting holy places. This is why Hindu women are not allowed to go near family shrines when they are menstruating or pregnant. Muslim women are not allowed to come into contact with the Koran or enter the mosque whilst there are menstruating also.El Sadaawi claims that religion in itself is not oppressive towards women, women’s religious subordination stems from their oppression in the wider society. For example, the Bible and Koran were written in extremely patriarchal societies and scriptures used to justify and reinfor ce their position. Feminists point out that male and female characters in the Bible were not portrayed equally. Tough. Among the traditional regions, Aldridge points out that Quakers and Unitarians are very committed to gender equality, for example back in the 19th century, the Unitarians began ordaining women.

Communication and Interpersonal Skills Essay

Communication -the transfer of a message (information, idea, emotion, intent, feeling, or something else) that is both received and understood. Communication Levels 1. One-on-one level – this is you and your fellow colleagues or you and your manager and/or supervisor. 2. Team-or-unit level – level that is limited to the group and its members. 3. Company-level – larger than team level, communications with the different teams within the company or organization. 4. Community-level – how the company communicate to the different sectors of the community or society see more:explain how different forms of dementia may affect the way an individual communicates Inhibitors of Communication Kill the Messenger† Syndrome – we do not take this literally. This syndrome is our natural way of not listening to people we do not like. When we do not like the person talking, we do not listen to what he/she is trying to say because we are already assuming that everything that is coming out of their lips are not good Difference in Meaning – as seen in our activity earlier. The leader tries to explain the picture but some of us have a different perception. Maybe the misuse of words to explain is the root cause of this inhibitor Lack of trust – a symptom of the â€Å"Kill the Messenger† syndrome. Again, if you do not like and trust the person talking, you totally disregard the message the speaker is trying to convey. Information overload – sometimes called communication overload. People have a limit as to how much information one can take in a day. Notice when a person rests their forehead with their palm or fist. That is a sign that the brain needs rest in absorbing information. Yawning is another sign that the person is not yet ready to receive information and experiencing an overload. When this happens, just pause for a few second and let the listener recover for a bit then resume talking. Interference – interference may happen at any time. Whether it is through a person or an event like ringing of the mobile phone or a blast of the ambulance siren, these sudden noises can interfere the bridging of information from sender to receiver. Condescending tone – condescending from the word condescension which is synonymous to arrogance. A communication that indicates lack of respect by patronizing the recipient. Patronize meaning to talk down to. In Filipino, being â€Å"mata-pobre†. Poor listening skills – there are people who have not honed their skills in listening. All they want is talk, talk and talk some more. If everybody talks, nothing is understood. To prove my point, try to situate yourself in the middle of a busy public market and try to understand every word that each person says. Listening is an essential skill in communication. Without it, we cannot bridge out the ideas that is inside our heard. Premature judgments – this happens when we heard something bad that happened to the ones we love. A perfect example, your best-friend said that he saw your girlfriend with a guy. Before your best-friend can finish his story, you bolted out and quarrelled with your girlfriend. If only you listened to the continuation of the story, which is that the man that your girlfriend was seen with is actually her father. How embarrassing it would be, right? That is an example of a premature judgment, which leads us to the last inhibitor of communication, assumptions. Inaccurate assumptions – people love to assume things. We assume things in almost everything. Inaccurate assumptions can lead to mistakes to disastrous situations. For example, if people would assume a person immediately as a criminal just because of their looks, now that would be wrong. Remember, communications is not limited to the use of spoken words, as we will be discussing that further down the road. Assumptions are good, but remember to keep it to yourself until the assumption is accurate and proven. Listening– one of the most important communication skills Hearing- is a natural process, but listening is not. Good listening– means receiving the message, correctly decoding it, and accurate perceiving what it means Empathic listening– listening with the intent to understand Inhibitors of Effective Listening 1. Lack of concentration – this is because we do not pay attention or really not interested in listening at all. 2. Interruptions – sudden occurrence that brings our mind to focus on something else. 3. Preconceived ideas – even before the actual listening happens, our minds have a solid picture of the person who will be talking to us thus giving us the impression of not wanting to listen. 4. Thinking ahead – like preconceived ideas, our mind in preoccupied with something else, that’s why we are not listening effectively. 5. Interference – like interruptions, people or events that suddenly interrupt our listening. 6. Tuning out – not wanting to listen at all or sometimes because of communication overload that our mind shuts down momentarily to rest, thus tuning out. Listening Responsively 1. Active – Always show interest to the person talking to you. Being active gives you a good reception on what the sender is trying to say. 2. Alert – this goes hand in hand with being active. Being alert also gives you a good reception to the message the sender is giving. 3. Vigilant – Synonymous of being alert. Pay full attention to the speaker to grasp the message he/she is trying to convey. 4. Sensitive – being sensitive shows a sign of interest to the person talking. Sensing that the place have so many interferences, you can say to the speaker to go somewhere else so that you can understand what he/she is trying to say. 5. Creative – creative in a sense that you ask questions about the message the speaker has given. Asking questions is a good sign that the listener received the message properly. Improving listening skills -Upgrade your desire to listen -Ask the right questions -Judge what is really being said -Eliminate listening errors Non Verbal Communication Factors 1. Body Factors – these are our gestures and facial gestures. Whether we are the sender or receiver, we subconsciously act out our thoughts. Good readers of non-verbal cues can understand that as if you are an open book. 2. Voice Factors – these pertain to the pitch, intonation, and speed of our voice. Simple cough to interrupt the speaker means a lot of things, depending on how it was sent or received. 3. Proximity Factors – this pertains to the place or space of the listener to the speaker and vice-versa (ex. the farther we are to the speaker means that we are not interested in listening to the person talking) Communicating Verbally Show interest Be friendly Be flexible Be tactful Be courteous Asking Questions Effectively 1. Phrase questions carefully – choice of words are important, we should be sensitive as to not offend the speaker by questioning him/her inappropriately. 2. Use open-ended questions – these are questions that can give the speaker a chance to respond to further clarify the inquiry given. 3. Acknowledge emotions – be sensitive on the underlying emotions. Read the non-verbal cues of the speaker and from there you know how to handle the situation. 4. State your purpose – it is a sign of giving due respect to the speaker of stating the purpose of your question. In that way, both the speaker and the listener know that they are both on the same page on the topic. 5. Drop your defences – be objective in giving and answering questions. After all, the purpose of question and answer is to clarify things and needs further explanation. Being defensive will only inhibit the flow of communication Communicating in Writing Strategies for improved written communication 1. Plan before you write – just like in speaking, be sensitive on the reader of your written correspondence. Choose your words carefully before writing them down. 2. Be brief and direct – since the message is done in writing, might as well give your message brief. This can help the reader to understand your message and not experience eye-strain in reading a bunch of words that mean to tell him that he needs to brush his teeth in the morning for example. 3. Be accurate – go straight to the point on the message of the letter you are righting. 4. Practice self-editing – after writing, read your message as if you are the receiver. Feel the content and understand every word. Try to edit parts that you feel or notice that the reader will misinterpret what you are trying to say. Writing better reports Define the problem Develop a work plan Gather relevant data Process findings Develop conclusions Make recommendations Communicating Corrective Feedback Be positive – this is for both the manager and the employee in question. Remember to give due respect to everyone, whether you are the listener or the speaker. Watch your non-verbal communication and try to show to the one you face that you respect him/her as a person and ready to discuss anything with him/her. Remember that you subject yourself into this because it is for the better. Be prepared – think back of the reason why this activity is happening. Try to clear your head with negative thoughts as it will not help you not only in recalling past events, but also finding solutions to the  problem. Be realistic – when giving corrective feedback, look for solutions that are doable. In addition, try to focus on the subject at hand and base all of the topics on facts not hearsay or speculations. Don’t be completely negative – the negative form of corrective feedback is being reprimanded. But on the other hand, you can look at it as a form of an adv ice coming from top management to make you do better with work. So do not be negative. And if you are the one who will be doing the reprimanding, remember the â€Å"kiss and kick† principle, start with something positive then inject the negative. (i.e. â€Å"You know I like as to how you come in to work early but if only you could lessen the internet usage for surfing personal stuff, you could help the company a lot.†) Improving Communication Skills Keep up to date – this does not mean that you have to read a lot of magazines so that you can talk about what are the latest happenings in society, although it can help keep the interaction interesting. But other than that, keeping up to date means you talk and interact with your peers and superiors about what is happening inside the workplace. Keep yourself inside the loop so that you will not be left behind. Prioritize & determine time constraints – talks are good but do it efficiently. One can talk but make sure that you know what to talk and for how long you will be talking. It is not nice for someone to keep on talking and talking that you do not give the listener an opportunity to react. Time your talk and balance out the topics to keep the interaction going. Decide who to inform – if you know something sensitive, it would be wise to think first as to whom you will share the sensitive information with. Inappropriate sharing of information can lead to grapevine or worse can sue you for libel. Our word is our bond so be careful. Determine how to communicate – would it be proper to say it in front of his face or write it down in a memo? Just remember, saying it makes the receiver feel informal while putting it down on a piece of paper makes it more stern and formal. Analyze the message you want to convey and then choose the method of delivery. Communicate & follow-up – once you opened your communication line about a topic, keep it open. Learn to follow- up if there are updates that  you should know about. Always keep yourself in the loop. Check understanding & obtain feedback – doing follow-up makes you certain the level of understanding the listener has about the message you convey. Do not hesitate to ask if th ey understood what you mean and ask them for feedback. In feedback, you can gauge on how effective you conveyed the message and see what areas you can improve so that you can give clearer message delivery. There are three ways to convey our message across, they are: 1. Written – again, we said that this is the formal way of sending your message across. Written messages can hold you responsible and accountable on every word written. 2. Verbal – the most common method of sending the message across. It is informal and sometimes forgettable. So if you wish to send something important across using this method, make sure to ask the person if he/she understood what you are trying to say. Follow-up from time to time if the listener did understand the message you have sent across. 3. Electronic (E-mail) – emails these days have two forms, the written which we call email and voice which we call voicemail. This is the modern form of message carriers; it is fast, convenient and can be stored easily. Like the written message, you have to be careful on what you put there because each message is a file and these files can be stored and opened again if needed. Developing Interpersonal Skills Recognition of the need Careful selection Training Measurement and reward Promoting Responsiveness among Employees Value people Give people what you want to get back Make cooperation a habit Personality & Communication Personality used to describe a relatively stable pattern of behaviour, though, emotions, motives & outlook distinctive to a given individual & that characterize that individual throughout life Group of characteristics according to psychologists 1. Introversion Vs. Extroversion – are you a homebody or someone who likes to go out and have an adventure? 2. Neuroticism Vs. Emotional Stability – do you experience thinking negatively to others or you still have a clear conscience? 3. Agreeable Vs. Stubborn – do you always â€Å"go with the flow† or someone that â€Å"blocks the flow†? 4. Conscientious Vs. Undependable – do you always look into detail or are you just â€Å"happy-go-lucky†? 5. Open To Experience Vs. Prefers The Familiar – are you unafraid to try out new things or contented to the status quo? Overview of Team Building and Teamwork Team- A team is a group of people with a common, collective goal. Primary reasons for advocating teamwork are: †¢ Two or more heads are better than one. †¢ People in teams get to know each other better, build trust & as a result help each other. †¢ Teamwork promotes better communication. Rationale for Teams A group of people becomes a team when the following conditions exist: †¢ Agreement exists as to the team’s mission †¢ Members adhere to the team ground rules †¢ Fair distribution of responsibility & authority exists. There are three types of teams in the work place, they are: Department Improvement Team – their focus is improving work in the department. H. James Harrington and Kenneth Lomax have stated the importance of this type of team in their bookâ€Å"Performance Improvement Methods†. They  write, â€Å"Department Improvement Teams or DIT is one of the most valuable teams in the entire process. The team is made up of employees in a particular department reporting to the same manager. They focus on problems that they know about, has resources to use, and is empowered to solve with little or no outside approvals†¦ Since this team is looking at issues that affect its own efficiency and effectiveness, there are huge opportunities for saving organization resources.† Process Improvement Team – Harrington and Lomax has a description of this team. They write, â€Å"Another very valuable team in any organization is this team†¦ since they focus on a particular process, they are also called cross-functional teams.† Directly handled by management, its members consists of individuals who are deeply involved in that particular process. They will identify process issues that can be corrected through the use of a task team. Organizations will prioritize the critical business process and assign PITs to redesign and reengineer one to three processes at a time. In these cases that the PIT members will work on it between 50% – 100% of their time for three to six months. And just like the Department Improvement Team, thePITs has great opportunities to reduce internal cost by making process more efficient, more effective, and more adaptable. Task force-a task force is a temporary unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Members are based on experience and participation is mandatory. They are directed by management and it is also in the discretion of management on the task that they will be working on. Task mforces are formed to provide solutions as soon as possible so the urgency is very high and directly affect the entire organization. The process facilitator is optional and team leadership shall be appointed by management. Task forces are also called â€Å"ad-hoc committees† Being in a group, members should learn how to work together. Factors that influences teamwork are: Personal identity of team members Relationships among team members Identity within the organization To become a member of a team, one must: Gain entry Be clear on the team’s mission Be well prepared and participate Stay in touch Now, how can one be a leader of the team? He/she should be: Team Building and Teamwork Be clear on the team’s mission Identify success criteria Be action centered Establish the ground rules Share information Cultivate team unity And finally, the following characteristics should be present in order to exude team excellence and performance: Interdependence Stretching tasks Alignment Common language Trust/Respect Shared leadership/ followership Problem-solving skills Confrontation/ Conflict-handling skills Assessment/Action, celebration Building Teams and Making Them Work Following are the factors that influence team building & should be taken care of: Makeup & Size of Teams Choosing Team Members Responsibilities of Team Leaders Other Team Members Creating Teams Mission Statement Developing Collegial Relationships Promoting Diversity in Teams Four Step Approach in Team Building Assessing Team Needs – talk, communicate, and interact with fellow members. At this point there should not be roles played like leader and follower. Everybody is equal, therefore can equally express freely what the needs of the team are. In that way, people can identify what is essential and work on it in the process. Planning Team-Building Activities – once the needs are identified, the team should use it as basis for the activities. The activities should address a particular need, not one activity that can answer all of them. Executing Team-Building Activities – execution is key. The team should do the activities properly in order to address the need identified. Evaluating Team-Building Activities – not all activities go on smoothly. If it does, the team should not stop there. Meet and analyze the events that happened. The team can do a SWOT analysis to evaluate the activity and use the results on assessing a new set of team’s needs and do the same process all over again. Character Traits and Teamwork Following are few character traits required for Teamwork: Honesty Selflessness Dependability Enthusiasm Responsibility Cooperativeness Initiative Patience Resourcefulness Punctuality Perseverance Teams are not Bossed – They are Coached Bosses approach the job from â€Å"I’m in charge – do as you are told perspective†. facilitators of team development and continually improved performance. Following are a few characteristics of a Coach: Clearly Defined Character Team Development/Team Building Mentoring Mutual respect Human Diversity Handling Conflict in Teams Resolution Strategies for Team Conflicts: Plan & Work to establish a balanced culture Establish clear criteria Don’t allow individuals to build personal empires Encourage & Recognize risk-taking behavior Value constructive dissent Assign people of widely differing perspectives Reward and recognize both dissent & teamwork Structural Inhibitors of Teamwork Compensation and Recognition – let’s start from the most obvious. People will not lead if they will not be paid handsomely and recognized for the work. Let’s admit, it is human nature, no one will work for free.Even volunteers have their own intentions, not really working freely just for the heck of it. Planning and Control – Rank and file employees do not like additional work, work that they won’t get paid. Middle management on the other hand does not wish to work because of the length of time consumed plus the paper works. Again, people will do it, wherever he/she is in the organizational ladder, for compensation and recognition. Unit Structure – this is all about how the organization looks like. A rank- and-file cannot lead a team same as an executive becoming a memberof a team led by a rank-and-file. Unit Goals –  conflict of interest is sometimes a big hindrance for a team to move forward. Members that have a hidden agenda that sometimes conflicts with what is supposed to do can stumble or even halt the entire team’s operation. Accountability & Responsibility – I put them on top of the ladder because they are the toughest and at the same time most critical value a team must have. It is human nature that when something fails, we point fingers and not accept part or even full responsibility of the actions. Remember, a team should work as one, and working as one, the members should contribute. If members are weak in this area, the team will stumble and not reach their goal. Rewarding Team and Individual Performance The second figure shows the model for developing a team and individual compensation system. The steps are as follows: Step 1: Decide what performance to measure Step 2: Determine how to measure the performance Step 3: Identify the rewards to be offered Step 4: Integrate related process

Meaning of Life and Happiness Essay

Humankind can’t continue their lives without desires. If one wants to be happy, surely, he has to discover his best desires that provide him a happy life. Some of these desires that help to continue our lives can be acceptance in our relationships, a good family life and strong social relations. Trying to satisfy these desires has a great meaning to achieve happiness for me. To start with, however embarrassed I am about this desire of mine, I have an obsession to expect people to accept my thoughts and manners in every situation. Yes, this is not a good characteristic and sometimes makes me an antipathic person but trying to be accepted by someone can give you happiness, too. Besides, if you can manage to make someone love you knowing and accepting all about you, I think that is the absolute happiness. Furthermore, it seems to me that family is the basic source of happiness. Certainly, I can’t always be a good guy and sometimes I make them upset but I can’t stand seeing them upset. Therefore, I try to do whatever necessary to make them happy. Consequently, when I see happy family faces, I feel deeply happy. Thirdly, to have friends is one of the most meaningful aspects of life. I believe that one should have three very warm friends at least. For example, I can’t bear loneliness and if I couldn’t share all my heart with these warm friends, I believe that I could never be happy. As a consequence, if you feel like me, it will be worth improving your close relationships in order to be happy. To recap, humankind has a short life but he is given a lot of desires to be happy. Moreover, if one wants to discover the meaning of his short life, he should look for it in desires. Whether he finds it or not, he will taste happiness just by looking for it.

Critically evaluate the rules that apply to misrepresentation and Essay

Critically evaluate the rules that apply to misrepresentation and non-disclosure in insurance contracts - Essay Example Incorrect, incomplete or incorrect answers during application or material fact non-disclosure may go up to the contract’s roots and jeopardize its continued existence. The association between the insured and the insurer is regarded as one where mutual responsibilities of good faith and trust are overriding. During application time, indispensable facts are customarily recognized by the applicant but may be challenging to the insurer to make certain. The insurer is thus, vulnerable and needs the material facts so as to establish whether to issue a policy or not, what particular omissions it may need, and the amount of premium to charge. In fact, there are two diverse duties on the applicant at the time of the application. Normally, a broker or an agent interviews an applicant to complete the process of application. Based on the nature, as well as, type of the insurance coverage wanted, the application will have numerous questions concerning the background, health, business activities and various other aspects of the applicant. The application will characteristically have a declaration that is executed by the applicant and that the answers availed are complete, full, and true. Consequently, there are two isolated essential issues2. The first issue is that of any misrepresentation of answers by the applicant in the questions on the application. The second issue is that of non-disclosure of any facts by the applicant that are within his or her knowledge, and which are essential to the insurance. In the event that an insurer takes a stand that a policy is void because of non-disclosure or misrepresentation, it is not required of the insurer to determine the insured’s motives. The motives of the insured are irrelevant provided the misrepresentation are of a fact identified by the insured that could be viewed by a rational insurer as substantial to the risk. Typically,