Article Critique: the Tyranny of Choic Essay

I will be writing a Article Critique on the article â€Å"The Tyranny of Choice† by Barry Schwartz. In this Critique I will addressing many psychological concepts, including what is a maximizer and satisficers. Also I will test myself to see which one fits me the most with the decision I made in my life and the ones I will make in the future. A maximizer is someone who tries to get the best out of ever situation or tries every options until they found the best one. (Schwartz,2004) A satisficers is someone who would settle for OK even if the best is out their for them. Maximizers spend the most time on everything because they spend most of the time comparing any and everything they find. Satisficers may browse and look around but when they find something that is right for them then they eliminate any further browsing. A scale was develop to distinguish the two and it is called â€Å"The Maximization Scale†. When you use the scale and and you are higher than 4 then you are considered a maximizer. If you score lower than 4 then you are considered a satisficers. Many say that a maximizer tends to become more depress than a satisficers mainly because they tend to think about the many choices they turned down to get the â€Å"best choice†. Sometimes the choice they chose isn’t that much better then the other choices they turn down. So they would dwell on the thought and it would get them upset and start to become depress. Whereas with satisficers they get depress but not as much, because they are upset about their other choices but since they lowered their standards they are pretty acceptable with their decision. (Schwartz, 2004) My score is 4.3 which means that I am more of a maximizer. When I make a decision I do all of my research before I try or do anything new. I weight out my pros and cons before I attempt to do anything, mainly because I do not want to make a mistake in the long run. At the end of the day though I am happy with the decision but some how I see better choices that I either overlooked or didn’t pay attention to. When I figure out those choices I tend to get upset or mad with my self, because some time I think the magic what if Some try to put their all in their getting what they assume is the best choice. â€Å"The more we invest in a decision the more satisfaction we expect to realize from our investment.†(Schwartz,2004,pg 74) What ever they invest in, they expect to be able to use it or learn from it for a long period of time not a short one. The reason I say that is because they wouldn’t want to spend all their hard work and time on something that will not last that long. If that do happen then the person will be upset and soon become depressed about their wrongful decision. In my opinion I thought this Article was very interesting to read. I saw myself reading and thinking that I do the exact same thing I am reading about. I am a online shopper never go to the store and shop, but I tend to start site hopping. Which is simply me going from site to site trying to find the best choice or the best value. At first I didn’t know they gave people who find the better item and people who settle a name. I also tend to try to put my all in something I expect to last quite a while Example, I wanted the new Ipod touch, but it cause 300 with everything, now I sacrificed going out, getting fast food, and limiting my spending. Now the only reason I did that is because I expect the iPod to last for a long time now, but if it was to last for a couple of weeks or months then I would not have done all of that. Overall this article was a well put together article in which I learned a lot of information from that I can use later in life, it also explained a lot of thi ngs in my life at this time. In conclusion, â€Å"As the number of choices we face increase, the psychological benefits we derive start to level of†(Schwartz,2004 ,pg75) It seems like the more choices you are faced day by day the more it will start to bother your emotions and feelings. You are faced with so many choices on a day to day basis, and you try our to make the â€Å"ideal choice†. At the same time your mind may drift off and say â€Å"What if I chose this or that† then the pressure increase. This article was to help you realize somethings about yourself. Also it was something that would help you better yourself in the years to come. References Schwartz, B. (2004, April). The tyranny of choice. Scientific American, 290(4), 70-75.

Organizational Communications Analysis Women’s Resource Center at Norman, Oklahoma

The Women’s Resource Center was originally started in 1973 and 1974 during the winter. It was originally started by a graduate student who wanted to assist women who were in transition points in the life. This organization could not function without effective communication and to analyze the communication strategies of the organization can provide helpful information that could further improve them. This included those women who were looking for employment as well as women who wanted to return to school. Since its opening the center has developed many programs and services (â€Å"History.. † 1). There are many programs available at the Women’s Resource Center and these include WRC Victims of Domestic Violence Shelter (providing safe temporary housing to victims of domestic violence and their children); Rape Response Team (trained volunteers who are available to meet with rape victims at the ER); counseling (specialized for victims of sexual assault or domestic abuse); WRC Education Program (offers staff that speak in a variety of places for about topics having to deal with domestic violence, date rape, healthy relationships and other topics); Children’s Program (groups that focus on letting children express their emotions and feelings); Court Advocacy (court advocates to help women through the legal system); and WRC Cells (a program to offer victims cell phones at no cost in case of an emergency) (â€Å"Programs.. † 1-2). There are also some training workshops. The main one is SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) Volunteer Training, a specialized trainin g for nurses to learn how to do forensic rape test kits (â€Å"Training†¦Ã¢â‚¬  1). Effective communication is one of those things that are important to how well an organization is run. The Women’s Resource Center in Norman, Oklahoma has a lot of strengths in their communications. They do a good job of training both their staff and their volunteers. They work with their staff on issues about communications and knowing when to talk and when to be able to allow others to talk as they are dealing with people in very difficult situations. They learn how to effectively communicate for the situations that they are in where there is a high risk to the women that they are talking to. This means that there is a lot of training put into the idea of communications for this organization. Their main strength in communication is the overall ability to communicate effectively with those who are in a tough situation. The reason that this works so well is that there is a great deal of things in the communication process (Lee 2). Knowing the communication process can greatly help how communications are for people. According to Lass well’s model of communication there needs to be an effect for the communication to take place. What this is saying is that what is being communicated needs to have a point and a direction. In this communication process the organization is trying to point out that women deserve respect and self assurance (Lee 3). The idea of effective communication for change is something that this organization does well. The organization has made a lot of changes in the past both the long term past and the recent past. These changes are effectively communicated if three major components are available in the strategy. This study by Larkin and Larkin stated: â€Å"Communicate only facts; stop communicating values. Communicate face to face; do not rely on videos, publications or large scale meetings. And target front line supervisors; do not let executives introduce the change to frontline employees. † This is an example of the effective things that Women’s Resource Center communicates as they use a strategy that shows that each level learns new things (Cheney 330). Some of the negative things that are done at the Women’s Resource Center with communications are that the trainings are not available to the public for information. They do offer some training seminars but in the end the trainings are not available as a program on the intense level. The communication process is not as well done in advertisement or getting the word out about the programs that are available. Another area that shows weakness in communication is the organization. There is not a strong organization in this company and there are many different people volunteering and/or working for the agency. Some of the areas that could use improvement include the areas of communication about the organization and throughout the organizations volunteers and employees. This meaning that they all could use better communication to communicate between one another. The idea as stated in the same study as above is that there is sometimes little credibility to the values could be one of the communication problems in this area as it would be a problem in communicating and that the upper management and board of directors have not had a very clear vision with the Women’s Resource Center as many things have changed about their main values and ideas since the creation of the center which could cause some confusion (Cheney 330-333). A second area that has caused some problems with communications in the organization has been a lack of employed resources. This means that there are a lot of volunteers who might not have the same standards to communicating needs as regular full time or even part time employees would have. In order to effectively improve these areas there would have to be a system set up which would give both volunteers and employees a chance to express their feelings and ideas without the fear of being persecuted and with the idea that anyone who is involved has an opinion that matters. The idea that communication is a big part of leadership and how well leadership runs is based on the leader’s ability to communicate effectively. In this case this would be an area for needed improvement (Cheney 205-206). There are many areas where improvements could be made in the communication processes with the Women’s Resource Center. Some of these areas are that the management could be give better support to all of the volunteers and employees alike. Another thing that could happen is that those who are involved would be able to voice their opinions and give a case for care. They would be able to effectively communicate their needs in a process that would be pre-developed by management as it would be something that they could use on a regular basis. This means that they would be able to better manage their communications needs by effectively learning how to resolve issues and discuss issues with proper communications. The theory of Schramm on communication and the idea that overlapping boundaries and experiences make for easier communications is key in the field and services that the Women’s Resource Center is providing. It is in this process that these workers and volunteers would be able to communicate better with the clientele based on whether or not they had shared the same or similar experiences in their past (Lee 3-4). The strengths and weaknesses for this organization were apparent when reading over the press releases and other information available about the organization. Also the writer observed the communication aspects while working for the organization prior to returning to graduate school. This was observed through being a part of the organization’s training and programs. It was also observed through understanding information about the programs and how they are communicated to the public. Being able to effectively communicate is very important in the field of social work and for social service agencies. The one area where communication is well done is between the staff and the victims that come in for services as the training programs in this area are very good. Therefore their main strength is being able to communicate well to women in tough situations. The Women’s Resource Center is an organization that needs to have superior communication skills in order to deal with the problems that are being affected on a regular basis through their organization as they readily do not know what is going on and sometimes are in need of being able to communicate in a more effective manner. One of the main problems has been a lack of communications through the numerous volunteers and employees and in the end it has been a cause for some communication gaps. The main thing that can be done to improve the status of these things is for there to be a better communications system in place in general for the organization. This means that the organization would have better communication between the management and the employees and volunteers. Some of these communication gaps are what are causing the down fall for this organization and are some of the leading causes of the overall conflict that is experienced within the organization. There are always going to be â€Å"inherent challenges† when discussing communication and workplace environments (Messersmith 1). In the end communication is very important in all areas of life and when there is effective communications in some areas it lends hope to the idea that there could be effective communications in all areas of an organization. While analyzing communications for the Women’s Resource Center it is no wonder that there are many different types of communication used and it is no wonder that there are some needs for improvement. Most of the need for improvement falls on the overall board of directors and their ability to create a clear plan for what they want and what is going on within the organization. Without this they are not able to give back to the organization what is needed in order to be effective in their management and other skills. So what is needed is for the organization to work on their being able to communicate better within the organization through a set system in place for communications. This would mean that no matter when the individual was seen and whom she was seen by the whole organization would be able to help her in the future. Preparing basic short case studies and sharing them during a team meeting would be one way that this could be possible. Part of this is also being open about the organization’s needs. â€Å"Employees need to be aware of the challenges the company is facing so that they can do their part to help. † A second thing that needs to be done better is the communications that are given between the organization and the community, meaning that the community would be better informed in the future (Basili 2).

Creative Spark Talk Analysis Essay

Creativity is a subject that is very disputable amongst psychologists. Psychologists have argued on a definition for the word creativity for many years now. Regardless of what most psychologists chose to think now, most believe that it is a creative act no matter big or small that is unusual and most likely become very useful to society. The video I watched was by John Bohannon and dancers from the Black Label Movement. The name of the video is tilted â€Å"Dance vs. PowerPoint†, a modest proposal and was filmed at TEDxBrussels, which was also posted in November 2011. John explains in this video how one of his friends tried to tell him about a science experiment and just simply couldn’t. His friend finally explains what the experiment was about to John, and then he tells his friend that â€Å"Maybe next time if you had dancers to try to better explain it will be much easier. He then tells his friend that numerous scientists have started using dancers to describe many d ifferent scientific things simply because it is more sufficient. Dancing PHD is the group of scientists that have started using dancers to explain various things. He starts to explains why it would be more productive to use dancers and instead of PowerPoint presentations. John then gives an explanation on how it is a waste of cash, eventually getting rid of PowerPoint and replacing them with dancers. John even expresses that by using this method even the government could better explain things, therefore making it more understandable to our fellow Americans. Such as things like why are we invading other countries? The talk that Mr. John Bohannon describes does prove a valid point and it does throw a light on some of the stages of creativity. He has done his proper research and makes it very clear on why his solution to PowerPoint could be very productive. John showing more creativity thinking beyond the box, he even has some dancers performing while he is talking so that he quickly proves his point. Curiosity and imagination were used to determine a resolution because dancers would’ve seemed incredible before seeing the actual presentation. Mr. Bohannon was obviously eager to know and see how dancers worked and once seeing it all in motion he ha d a better interpretation towards it. Without his imagination, and thoughts of how dancers and different situations could be put together John would’ve never come up with something as this genius idea. He definitely had to put in a lot of effort, plenty of time and eventually will have to put his ideas on paper to see it active. Sometimes the mind can be very tricky which can make it very hard to put thoughts onto something concrete but once has it will be all worth it. Sharing with the world a different view of things benefits everyone and there will be many key facts from it. From my personal experience PowerPoint’s are easy but can definitely end up being very boring. Even when I was in the military I have had to sit through plenty of them and that got old very fast. Now attending College I also had to put them together and present them. Personally I think the dancers could work better to describe a certain subject or topic but not all the time. Don’t get me wrong some topics should just be left as power points but using dancers on some matters or discussions may be easier to explain. Using dancers could truly benefit in society as a unit then kids in elementary co uld learn easier and this would allow them to use their curiosity and imagination more often. Without having creative minds surrounding us continuously thinking, we would not be the society we are today. We might even live in a different country or the country we do live would’nt have developed the way it did. Numerous people minimize their thinking skills and say no to thinking more than they claim they need too. Each and every person is one of a kind and if they share their thoughts and ideas they could potentially benefit our society as a unit. Doing the least just to get by and not continuously thinking of better and simple ideas only hurts yourself and you are minimized to what you can accomplish. Reference Bohannon, J. (2011, November). Dance Vs. Powerpoint, a modest proposal. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/playlists/11/the_creative_spark

What Men Live By. Human existence in the world Essay

What Men Live By. Human existence in the world - Essay Example Our education and experience are the foremost factors governing our intellectual development and forming our unique attitude towards the world and other people. As the essential component of personal introspection, expanding the exalted tendency of human mind, the philosophical thesis, what men live by, never loses its topicality. The most outstanding examination of the subject, revealing the intensity of philosophical thought, was represented by the Russian Literature. Distinctive in its shape and unique in the diversity of its content, the Russian Literature always attracts readership with its lofty aspiring.  Particularly, the most genial reflection of the belief in the exclusive spiritual mission of a human being refers to the samples of the Russian literature of the XIX century.  ... olution had been maturing in Russia throughout the XIX century.  The best examples of the Russian literature and art came into being on the crest of the democratic upsurge. They reflected the wrath of the oppressed serfs and poor folk indirectly or, sometimes, even directly.  Literature played the leading role in the development of innovative ideas and political movements. It was the only sphere of social life that was able to express the progressive thought vigorously.   Despite of the raging censorship (in the reign of Nicolai I Russia was considered as a police state in general), the XIX century was called as the "Golden age" of the Russian Literature.  Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and many other famous writers and poets created that time.  The Russian literature expanded  amazingly and brightly in the XIX century, taking one of the first places in European culture.  The philosophical reflection of inner quest and the meaning of moral values in hu man life were the inevitable result of the social contradictions, which found response in the minds of the most progressive part of the Russian intelligentsia of the XIX century. The great Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910), who put the thesis What man live by in the title of his story, occupies the distinguished place among the leaders of the world culture.  Tolstoy came from the highest nobility, but he refused the title and acted as the spokesman, who expressed the indignation of Russian peasants. After reading Tolstoy's What men live by, there are ambivalent feelings. It seems a bit unusual that  being the representative of critical realism in literature, suddenly, the writer took the position of a preacher composing the story. Created mostly for folk’s reading and absorbed all of the beauty

Contemporary Policy Environmental Economics Essay

Contemporary Policy Environmental Economics - Essay Example Russian then President Putin ordered to stop supply of gas by Russian government owned Gas Company namely â€Å"Gazprom† to Ukraine. This had sent shock waves to EU’s administration. Putin’s move was politically motivated as Ukraine wanted to free from Russia and to align with the West. Putin’s action clearly demonstrated bully-boy political manoeuvres to put pressure on Ukraine’s Prime Minister Victor Yushchenko to realign with Russia again. Some critics argued that move was based on fiscal reasons to put force on Ukraine to defer market price for the gas supplied from Russia and to shell out the lion’s share of revenue it generating from key European- Russian pipeline system it operates. Though , the supplies were resumed within few days due to pressure exerted by EU on Russia , the loss of about 40% of gas during peak winter season and this made France and Germany to summon emergency EU ministerial meetings . The fact is that Europe is hea vily relying on Russian gas whereas Russia is heavily relying on European market, technology and goods. Realising the significance of the issue, EU immediately revealed its â€Å"European Energy Policy† to tackle the future energy supply crisis. As a result, EU announced obligatory renewable energy target for each EU nation and hence, the overall EU will get 20% of its renewable source energy including for transport, electricity, aviation, cooling and heating and for UK, the target has been set at 15% by 2020. This research essay is going to analyse how UK government is going to achieve this target. It also suggests measures to be taken by UK government to achieve this target by discussing the various aspect of the research subject. Total power consumption in UK in the year 2004 amounted to 325,000 GWh which had been mainly manufactured from power plants using fuels like coal, gas and nuclear. In 2004, renewable

Recruitment, selection and deployment of human resources Case Study - 1

Recruitment, selection and deployment of human resources - Case Study Example ndards for each factor in order to determine the status of performance of employee; establish and identify the misconducts at work; include all possible performance dimensions and all possible rating criteria to judge employees critically; and add an additional column that addresses the performance improvements criteria and factors among employees. Yes, it is adequate and acceptable to modify current rating form in stores as per stores requirements and emerging needs. Many stores may experience higher absenteeism rate, turnover rate, or expenses higher than average. Therefore, it becomes necessary for the betterment of these stores to modify evaluation system and change ratings to motivate employees to perform better and meet organization needs. A store coping with adverse situations might have to implement stringent rating system to identify the true status of employees’ performance and where the company lacks. The applicable performance dimensions in this particular case may include performance; attitude; cooperation; absents; overtime; initiative; customer service; communication skills; knowledge about work; teamwork; time management; ability to cope with pressure and stress; and dedication at work (Grace, 2012). The adequate performance measurement criteria include quantitative and qualitative measurement techniques to appraise employees’ performance. In this regard, customers’ feedback for a particular employee should also be taken as a positive remark in measuring the employees’

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 19

Case study - Essay Example Lisa mate with Mr. Anderson the controller of acquired firm. She asked for several financial records from Mr. Anderson. Lisa has found some discrepancies into those records and wanted more details but unfortunately she did not get enough support. Here in this case identified ethical issue is improper way of managing accounting practices from the side of the acquired company. Here in this case Prestige Fragrance Company has intentionally and suspiciously inflated two accounts in their balance sheet. Those two accounts are â€Å"Other Assets† and â€Å"Other accrued liabilities†. Here in this case the acquired company has not given enough documents related with the other assets section. Review conducted by Lisa has categorically indicated that the acquired company has unethically capitalized marketing expenses. The organization has recorded marketing expenses as the asset. It should have been recorded in the expense section. It indicates that to inflate the financial situation Prestige Fragrance Company has intentionally used unethical accounting practices to create more value for the firm. It is a clear cut ethical breach from the side of Prestige Fragrance Company. The company has continued its unethical accoun ting practices in case of â€Å"Other accrued liabilities† also. When Lisa has asked for the all journal entries related with â€Å"Other accrued liabilities†, Mr. Anderson totally declined to give any details to Lisa. It further reinforces the presence of ethical issue. This attitude of Mr. Anderson has clearly indicated that, he wants to cover up something and for that reason only he is not willing to provide all the documents to Lisa. Hiding something from the finance manager of the parent company is also a clear cut ethical issue which is present in the current case. There are several stakeholders are related with the ethical issues. The whole accounting procedure is

To what extent was religion behind the successes of the great Arab Essay

To what extent was religion behind the successes of the great Arab conquests of the seventh and eighth centuries - Essay Example The importance of this particular research question is contingent upon the role of Islam in a geopolitical sense; arguably something that has a great deal of relevance within the current era. Yet, beyond this, the cultural dynamics and importance of Islam as not only a faith but as a strategic cornerstone of how the Islamic Empire was able to spread an experience early victories is a further component of the research that this particular author seeks to shed a level of light upon. As will be denoted within the forthcoming discussion and analysis, it is the strong and overarching belief of this particular analyst that the religion of Islam played a pivotal and fundamental role in the rapid success and expansion of the Islamic Empire. Both through an analysis of primary and secondary texts, the reader can infer that without the norming influence of the Islamic religion and culture, such an Empire would have never held together; nor have been able to threaten the existing structure of p ower that existed within these regions at the time in question. Likewise, rather than analyzing the role and influence of the religious aspects of Islam on the formation, durability, and strengths of the Islamic Empire throughout all of history, the discussion and analysis that will be presented within this particular research will be solely contingent upon the first several decades after Mohammed came in full control of Mecca and Medina; essentially christening the dawn of the Islamic expansion and the creation of a geo-political movement that would culminate in empire building. The cornerstone of the argument for the importance of the Islamic religion with respect to the spread of the early Islamic Empire ultimately is contingent upon the issue of culture. As one might expect, seeking to define something as complex and overarching as Islamic culture is in and of

IPE Reflection Account Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

IPE Reflection Account - Essay Example Next was the egg experiment wherein nobody wanted to take on the position of leadership and the group did not have enough team work to support one another, so our experiment failed. We also watched videos of people from different professions helping in emergency cases and this made me realize how everyone can contribute to one’s healing no matter what profession he belongs to. Feelings: I think it was good to be able to listen to the views of other professionals as I learned more about their fields and how they view communication. I also learned about communication barriers such as having a handicap like blindness or deafness and how that disabled person would really find it challenging to communicate his feelings, thoughts and ideas to others. I found the IPE sessions very enriching and fun, not to mention, an opportunity to meet other people from different professions that I may someday work with. I learned so much about the importance of communication and team work and know that the exercises will greatly impact how I would regard these two concepts as I practice my profession with other professionals. Evaluation: In the Communication Workshop, the various kinds of communication we brainstormed on were overwhelming. It is not limited to just speaking and listening, reading or writing, but now includes a host of other communication forms and media. However, in health services, most communication is limited to face-to-face since health professionals are in close contact with their patients/ clients, and with other professionals from different fields. Health care professionals need to see their clients in person to determine what the physical symptoms manifested by the patients/clients may mean. In my own group in the IPE, we kept on suggesting ways to solve the problem given to us, but since we were not so familiar with each other yet, we were

The Vietnam War affected America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Vietnam War affected America - Essay Example The Northern Vietnamese were communists and consequently had the support of the USSR and its allies, while the South received support from the US given that they were capitalists ideologically. Even though the war was fought outside the boundaries of the US, the USA got involved in it following the pursuit of the Marshall plan. This plan provided for military and financial assistance to countries that were at risk of being coerced to accept communism policy that the US was vehemently against (Anderson 86). Effect of the War on America Economy The Vietnam War had several significant effects on the US ranging from heavy economic expenditure during the war to loss of substantial number of solders in the military combat. As recognized in the Marshal plan in the United States countries that are under coercion by the communist allies would be accorded military and monetary help to come out of their situation, the US in these regard spent billions of dollars in fulfilling their commitment i n the Vietnam situations. Within the period of the war, the US spent close to $ 170 billion dollars. This was incurred in terms of the military support and financial aids during the war to the southern Vietnam. This expenditure was more than anticipated and in the eventual consideration, it had a negative impact on the economy of the US where it was pushed to the limits, and it should be noted that the expenses were only incurred in a span of 11 years in which the war was fought. The amount of money that was spent by the US mainly was incurred in military related costs; for instance, it was used mainly in the purchase of military equipment, training, and general logistics of managing a military combat, and this is according to the congressional research information following the end of the war in 1975. The hefty cost incurred in the war is a manifestation of how directly the war led to economic down falls in the US. Indirectly, the war also led to economic hindrance in a more disgui sed manner (Moyar 41). Obviously, during the times of war, there is persistent demand of military equipments and other materials. The fact that industries are always in the business of making profit given a looming demand of a product, they will not waste any of such opportunities to make money. In this relation, most companies in the US that were involved in manufacturing of other products switched their production to conform to the then military equipment demands, which included ammunition and bullets. In the end of the war, the companies had no opportunity for the markets as they had configured their companies to suit production of military materials at the expense of other economic goods. This situation led to widespread inflation in the US, leading to economic problems in the country because of the Vietnam War. Division in the US In the initial periods, the US citizens approved the Vietnam War on the basis that it was championing for the ideological freedom of the nations and o bjected the unlimited spread of the communism by the Russians-a period before the media started making coverage of the situation in the country. When the situation of the war was transmitted via television to the citizen and horrors of the war became apparent, many of the US citizens appreciated the need to end the war as it subjected humanity to unnecessary suffering that could be avoided. Through television, the US