Big Bang Essays - Physical Cosmology, Big Bang, Universe

Big Bang It is always a mystery about how the universe began, whether if and when it will end. Astronomers construct hypotheses called cosmological models that try to find the answer. There are two types of models: Big Bang and Steady State. However, through many observational evidences, the Big Bang theory can best explain the creation of the universe. The Big Bang model postulates that about 15 to 20 billion years ago, the universe violently exploded into being, in an event called the Big Bang. Before the Big Bang, all of the matter and radiation of our present universe were packed together in the primeval fireball--an extremely hot dense state from which the universe rapidly expanded.1 The Big Bang was the start of time and space. The matter and radiation of that early stage rapidly expanded and cooled. Several million years later, it condensed into galaxies. The universe has continued to expand, and the galaxies have continued moving away from each other ever since. Today the universe i s still expanding, as astronomers have observed. The Steady State model says that the universe does not evolve or change in time. There was no beginning in the past, nor will there be change in the future. This model assumes the perfect cosmological principle. This principle says that the universe is the same everywhere on the large scale, at all times.2 It maintains the same average density of matter forever. There are observational evidences found that can prove the Big Bang model is more reasonable than the Steady State model. First, the redshifts of distant galaxies. Redshift is a Doppler effect which states that if a galaxy is moving away, the spectral line of that galaxy observed will have a shift to the red end. The faster the galaxy moves, the more shift it has. If the galaxy is moving closer, the spectral line will show a blue shift. If the galaxy is not moving, there is no shift at all. However, as astronomers observed, the more distance a galaxy is located from Earth, the more redshift it shows on the spectrum. This means the further a galaxy is, the faster it moves. Therefore, the universe is expanding, and the Big Bang model seems more reasonable than the Steady State model. The second observational evidence is the radiation produced by the Big Bang. The Big Bang model predicts that the universe should still be filled with a small remnant of radiation left over from the original violent explosion of the primeval fireball in the past. The primeval fireball would have sent strong shortwave radiation in all directions into space. In time, that radiation would spread out, cool, and fill the expanding universe uniformly. By now it would strike Earth as microwave radiation. In 1965 physicists Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson detected microwave radiation coming equally from all directions in the sky, day and night, all year.3 And so it appears that astronomers have detected the fireball radiation that was produced by the Big Bang. This casts serious doubt on the Steady State model. The Steady State could not explain the existence of this radiation, so the model cannot best explain the beginning of the universe. Since the Big Bang model is the better model, the existence and the future of the universe can also be explained. Around 15 to 20 billion years ago, time began. The points that were to become the universe exploded in the primeval fireball called the Big Bang. The exact nature of this explosion may never be known. However, recent theoretical breakthroughs, based on the principles of quantum theory, have suggested that space, and the matter within it, masks an infinitesimal realm of utter chaos, where events happen randomly, in a state called quantum weirdness.4 Before the universe began, this chaos was all there was. At some time, a portion of this randomness happened to form a bubble, with a temperature in excess of 10 to the power of 34 degrees Kelvin. Being that hot, naturally it expanded. For an extremely brief an d short period, billionths of billionths of a second, it inflated. At the end of the period of inflation, the universe may have a diameter of a few centimetres.

How to blast through word counts †and get your writing speed up to 1,000 words an hour

How to blast through word counts – and get your writing speed up to 1,000 words an hour How to blast through word counts – and write 1,000 words an hour Word counts are a feature common to business and academic writing alike. ITTs (invitations to tender) commonly specify a word limit for key sections. And while an essay or a doctoral thesis usually come with a word minimum, the reality is that it quickly becomes a target. On the face of it, that should be fine. In practice, it’s often where the problems start. The trouble is that numbers are a distraction, which is one thing you definitely don’t need when you’re trying to produce an important document. How big this distraction is depends on the size of the word target. If numbers are off-putting, big numbers can be paralysing. Watching the figure at the bottom of your screen creep up in ones or twos can easily become a fixation that displaces creativity and original thought. It’s like watching the clock in an exam hall tick by while staring in vain at a question you can’t answer. Fortunately, there is an easy way to tackle this. And, like the problem itself, the answer lies in the way your brain works. Step away from the pain The first step is to realise that we all deal with big, scary numbers all the time. We just don’t notice it. In a typical working day, you somehow manage to fill up around 1,000 minutes (assuming you get up at 6.30am and your head finally hits the pillow at around 11 at night). What you don’t do is tackle them second by second. Just as well, as there are 60,000 of them in that same working day – that’s over 15 MILLION waking seconds every year, not counting weekends. Next, let’s overcome another mental stumbling block – the fact that we know writing is often a complex task. Well, you deal with other complex tasks all the time. Getting through a typical day is actually pretty complex, if you think about it. Even an hour’s commute involves many actions and decisions that, if you considered them as a whole, would seem overwhelming. (Which route do I take? Shall I use the bus or the train? Which train shall I catch? Shall I get a coffee? What type of coffee? You get the picture.) Shift your focus to the content Focusing on a big, scary word count will just make it scarier and scarier. But it’s the act of focusing that’s perhaps the biggest thing making it scary. The most important thing is not the number, it’s the content. The more you focus on the number, the less productive you’re likely to be (often because you’re not writing but thinking and worrying about writing). Not only that, but focusing on the number can dramatically reduce the quality of your output. You end up just counting words, rather than really thinking about whether each word deserves its place in your document. Filling each page becomes your priority, with the result that – if you’re not careful – you end up using longer phrases than you need to, just to pad it out. (Why use ‘helped produce’ when ‘facilitated the production of’ gets you twice as many words?) Counting words reduces each one down to a base value. In an 80,000 word thesis, that value is just 1/80,000 of the final document. This doesn’t only make you casual with the words you choose. It’s also utterly demoralising. Say you have a productive day and produce a thousand words. Not just any thousand words, but a thousand words of engaging prose that will provide real value to your intended audience. When you finish, you sit back and bask in the glow of a job well done. But that glow lasts all of about 15 seconds (if you’re lucky). Taking its place at that point is a kick in the guts, as you realise that you’ve still got 79,000 words to go. Cue depression, demotivation and – probably – paralysing writer’s block. Fortunately, there is another way: forget about the number altogether. I realise that’s easier said than done: you can’t not think of something by trying not to think about it. (If you don’t believe me, try not thinking of a pink elephant now that I’ve put the idea in your head.) But you can take advantage of a quirk of the human brain, which means that you can’t consciously think about more than one thing at the same time. (Multitasking is a myth: deep down, it’s just switching back and forth between tasks, albeit perhaps very quickly.) That means you can forget your Big Scary word count by thinking about something else. Channel your thoughts It also holds the key to transforming your productivity. Because you can dramatically increase how many words you produce by thinking about the information itself, the people who will read what you write, or switching between the two. That in itself is a lot of thinking. So first, you need to separate your research from your writing. Research, thinking and writing all go hand in hand, but they’re not the same thing. Confusing them and trying to do all three at the same time only invites trouble. So turn your attention to the topic in hand and think about it for a few seconds. This is vital if you’re going to write anything valuable and informative. (Although it’s surprising how many documents are apparently produced by focusing on something less important – such as a template or model structure. Believe me, it shows.) I realise that thinking often feels neither productive nor like ‘real work’. To make it feel more concrete, grab a notebook and start scribbling down some ideas about what you might include in the document itself. Don’t worry too much about the words you use or forming them into sentences. Don’t even worry if the ideas are any good. These are just for your use only. Do them in a real-world notebook though, with a pen or pencil (remember those?), rather than on a screen. As you do so, you’ll start to notice gaps in your knowledge, which you can use to direct your research. And as you do more research, you’ll generate more ideas, which you then scribble down in your notebook. It’s a virtuous circle. (I call it the research cycle.) After a while, you’ll have enough information to start to map out a structure. When you get stuck, just think about the reader and what they’re likely to need to know or be interested in. (Note that those are often not the same thing.) In fact, do that even if you’re not stuck. Stepping into your readers shoes is vital if you’re to avoid the risk of writing something that’s of limited value – value that’s perhaps even limited solely to you. Separate out topic ‘chunks’ Then use the same technique to generate ideas and notes for each part of the structure. To make this easier, break down the structure into easily manageable chunks. ‘Manageable’ in this case could just be one mini-topic that produces only three or four paragraphs at first. But if you take five to ten minutes to scribble down the information you’re going to include in those paragraphs (deleting or adding to it based on your knowledge of your reader), you’ll find that ideas start coming thick and fast. The writing part then becomes very, very easy. Just start writing, based on your notes, to produce a few paragraphs. What you’re doing is ‘blocking out’ the information, separating completely from the writing process. The idea is that you get the information down in a form (ie scribbles) that makes it very difficult for you to slip into self-criticism. You can rearrange the notes first, if you need to. Post-it notes might help here. But don’t over-engineer the method and turn it into another distraction. (Just drawing arrows or giving sections numbers might be safer in this respect.) And resist the temptation to edit as you go. Instead, leave each draft section for a few days – or the entire document if it’s fairly short – and edit it in a few days’ time. You’ll be amazed at how many new ideas and improvements you can make then, once you’re viewing it as an editor rather than a writer. (Again, you can’t be both at the same time.) Make it a daily habit This technique works well for one-off documents. But where it really comes into its own is if you make it a daily practice. Because doing that will give you a skill that you can use throughout your career. (The ability to produce original documents quickly and fearlessly is a rare and extremely valuable one.) You’ll have off days, but those are all just part of the process of adjustment. Think of it as building up your writing muscles. As you adjust to the pace, you’ll find yourself getting faster and faster. As you practice, you’ll also start to build up an impressive volume of work. It’s easily possible to produce thousands of words a day with this method. You can use it to write a management report, a term paper, a tender for a contract or a PhD thesis. It works especially well for blog posts too: I wrote the first draft of this post in less than an hour, after 30 minutes of scribbling in my notebook. (I know this because I did it sitting in a London museum that restricts free WiFi access to 60 minutes, but also because I timed it. The original word count was just under 1,200 words. It took exactly 57 minutes and 17 seconds.) Give it a try. Just remember not to think of that pink elephant. Image credit: MP_P / Shutterstock

The effects of poverty and pollution on economy Research Paper

The effects of poverty and pollution on economy - Research Paper Example Sometimes, it is even the electricity that is at a threat of becoming abandoned where affording the costs in an inefficiently constructed home in relationship to electricity usage. In the following paper, the theory of the Cost of Living Index, the nature of suburban life is evaluated. Overview McGirr (2012) has discovered that the poor largely are populating the suburbs as once lush and comfortable sub-divisions now sit in ruins with burnt out landscapes that are no longer manicured and groomed to meet a standard of presence in the ‘keeping up with the Joneses framework of suburban myth. McGirr (2012) writes that â€Å"Keeping up with the Joneses,† the midcentury caricature of suburban conformity, materialism and consumption has given way to a new suburban normal of making ends meet, with many formerly middle-class families in detached single-family homes struggling to pay mortgages and utility bills, and to repair aging cars†. The Joneses are no longer competing for the best products and consumer glut, but are competing for food, maintaining ownership of their homes at the barest level, and for being able to keep what they have rather than attain the next big thing. Poverty rates have not only climbed because of the current economic downturn. McGirr (2012) reports that in the previous eight years to 2008, poverty rates in suburbs had been climbing to 25% with 51 million households reporting incomes at less than 50% above the poverty line. This trend may be simply due to the larger numbers of people that have gravitated to the suburbs and with larger populations are showing larger percentages of poor. After the growth provided by Roosevelt’s New Deal, the number of people that moved to the suburbs was a result of an increase from 40% of the population owning homes in 1940 to 62% owning homes in 1960. The percentage of homes in the suburbs in 1910 was 7%, but by 1960 that had reached 23%. The development of the identity of the suburban ite is one of the stronger personalities that have dominated the American culture in the last sixty years. Modern suburbia is the cultural equivalent to a sense of the elite, the success of the American dream represented by home ownership, two cars in the driveway, and a lush yard surrounding a relatively upscale home. In 1962 as the development of the suburb had created a generation of suburban dwellers, â€Å"Michael Harrington argued in â€Å"The Other America† that poverty survived amid broad prosperity precisely because it was invisible to most Americans (McGirr, 2012). The suburbs not only provided a sense of the American dream, but it was a shield from all that was not working in the United Sates. Mc Girr (2012) goes on to quote Harrington as he developed his discussion. â€Å"Living out in the suburbs,† Harrington declared,  in what now seems like quaint nostalgia, â€Å"it is easy to assume that ours is, indeed, an affluent society.†Ã‚  Americans, he suggested, no longer saw poverty just â€Å"on the other side of the tracks† in their towns and small cities, but as a distant problem of the inner city, glimpsed only fleetingly from commuter trains or highway traffic† (McGirr, 2012). McGirr (2012) writes that â€Å"The conceit that poverty is a problem suffered by other — often less deserving — people was an essential part of suburban self-identity that was reflected in its politics†

Legal Aspect of Transsexuals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Legal Aspect of Transsexuals - Essay Example At the turn of the century where egalitarian mentality provoked social change and global recognition geared towards the recognition of transsexual rights saw the greater acceptance in the concept of sexual orientation. Sexual change that was deemed unacceptable and unthinkable is now legally accepted. It is understood that in the human rights activist cry for equality, a collective recognition is acceptable for all and not merely censored on a few singular groups. The potential for random discrimination in relation to their legitimate acceptance although currently under legal protection of laws has still raised compelling questions that can never be dismissed. We cannot deny that there are still the so-called moral activists in adherence to old conservative theories who utter a different lament against these sexual minorities. There is an even greater chance that the social change may take its toll and be delegated to the far recesses of one's imagination unless the laws that protec t the identity of transsexuals are recognized and properly implemented particularly in the society and their legal rights upheld where common complaints of gender inequality are often heard. With the passing of certain laws that govern sexual discrimination acts, the seemingly simple question on the legal recognition of transsexuals in terms of thei... When the European Convention on Human Rights recognized individuals other than the traditional gender classification of male and female, a ground breaking law was heralded. In the field of sexual orientation the protection of transsexual rights of gay and lesbian under Article 8 of the European Convention has been interpreted "to extend to an adult's right to participate in private, consensual homosexual activity". In Cossey v U.K.1, lodged with the Commission was Miss Cossey's complaint of the fact that under English law she cannot claim full recognition of her changed status and in particular is unable to enter into a valid marriage with a man. The applicant challenged the government to change her birth certificate to reflect her new gender and the basis of denial dwell on the substantial administrative burdens imposed on the birth certificates. Whilst the government desires to keep the accuracy of its records, the Government argued to maintain the privacy except on the "position o f third parties (e.g. life insurance companies) in that they would be deprived of information which they had a legitimate interest to receive". As a matter of interest, insurers have the legitimate interest in knowing the actual gender reassignment surgery. The Insurance laws has its ways and means of protecting that interest and the insured party's obligation lie mostly by providing material facts and empowering the insurer to nullify the contract if it appears that the insured has withheld such vital information.Nobody would imagine protecting insurers by insisting that everyone enters all medical treatment in a public register and besides it will take up

Information Security Management and Purpose

Information Security Management and Purpose Information Security The success and competitiveness of any business in the market is highly dependent on its infrastructural ability to protect its valuable assets from the rivals and other competitors. It was the old days when the resources and assets of organizations were materialistic which in now a day have turned into computer programs and files that have the data related to corporate secrets, trades, agreements, figures, values and formulas, information about markets, customers and sales along with financial statements and economic status. All this confidential information should be protected and this is where the field of information security steps in. information security in itself is quite a diverse term that incorporate the different strategies and uses the computer programming and sophisticated softwares to protect the important information from getting into the access of wrong hands (IAPS, 2015). The main purpose behind the process of information is to make the systems, information or data less vulnerable to the external threats by violation of legal and corporate rules while also to maintain the integrity of the organization. There are different forms of the information security formed, tested and installed based on business and kind of information like detection of any threat or breach into the companys online database or computer files, encryption of the data into an unreadable form, checks of the already existing infrastructure to determine its ability to keep the data protected. Other than that, at the management and administrative level information security corresponds to the implementation of the rules that must be properly governed and followed by each and every individual in the organizations. As a whole the information security deals with the management of corporate data, vulnerability measurement, could computing, data protection and security of specific programs ( ISACA, 2017). Job 1: Information Security Program Manager This is a management level job at the organization where the selected candidate will be responsible for overlooking and coordinating with the technical teams and programmers to make sure that all the requirement of the client and customers are being met and completely understood. The job requires the strong time management skills, leadership attributes including eh abilities to meet the guidelines and carrying out all the tasks efficiently. This jobs requires the strong command and knowledge of the information security protocols, concepts and terminologies. The company deal in the six major sectors of the information security including the vulnerability management, monitoring, adoption, access and identity, governance and training. The job requires the degree in the management of information security along with computer sciences with the strong knowledge of the security and risk assessment along with the technical aspects related with the information technology and the excellent comm unication and presentation skill with verbal and written information sharing. This job is entitled to provide a great opportunity for growth and career development in the field information security by also achieving the business dynamics in a diversified way because of the clients in different sectors (SP Global, 2017). Job 2: Information Systems Officer This job is posted by the office of United Nations for the position of the information systems officer in their office in New York which is currently open for the application related to the field of the information systems and security.ÂÂ   This job posting covers another aspect of the information systems in an organization where the hired candidate would look after the management of integrated information systems, dealing with the customer management, automation of the different functions, implementation of the new softwares and programs to achieve better performance and outcomes. The officer would be responsible for the complete documentation of the information systems in terms of their specifications and requirements. The officer will also take care of the access to the proprietary data and identification of the different individuals for granting access along with the development of new security programs and would create the software platforms for the integration of the exist ing functions that are kind of related to each other. Along with the testing of information systems the coordination and communication between the organization and clients would be included in the job responsibilities as well. The basic and important qualifications for the job include the in-depth knowledge and understanding of the information systems, security and management, analysis of the existing infrastructure and databases (United Nations, 2017). Job 3: Information Security Systems Officer This job requires an individual with a strong background in the information systems and their security having an experience of the verification and testing of the security systems according to the rules and regulations implemented by the federal authorities. The responsibilities would include updating the existing infrastructure of data processing according to new certifications and affiliations in the complete context/ strong coordination with the information security manager would be required throughout the time. Security of the applications while making sure that follow the procedure, specifications and guidelines of the client and policies. Degree in information technology along with the risk assessment skills along with customer satisfaction, security planning and grip over effective documentation of all the software systems is required. Pervasive Technologies and Information Security Pervasive technologies come as an integral outcome of the wireless networking among different mediums, internet and internet of things, embedded systems and artificial intelligence where different modules function and interact with each other through sharing of information. The environment around us is full of the pervasive technologies where the most important or significant ones include the surveillance systems, monitoring and control systems, intrusion or theft detection within a facility or computer system. All these complex networks of devices should be protected from the external threat that can break in and be a strong reason for increased threats and vulnerabilities. As the information security deals with the protection of different computer, software and IT systems pervasive technologies have a strong link with it. The sensors and different kind of tools and machines used in pervasive technologies must share the correct data and information without being altered or delayed and there comes the role of information systems where the testing, updating and verification of the infrastructure is to be done in order to meet the specification of the client and customers because the growth and success of their business depends on the extent to which they are reluctant to share the confidential information. Getting an understanding of the pervasive technologies in ways of the interaction between different devices and protocol I would be achieve the skills of analyzing the competency or ability of the security systems to avoid any external violation while the improvement and new methods for the data processing would be implemented in the pervasive technology in order to make them more efficient and reliable. References IAPS. (2015). Information Security Overview. Retrieved from www.iaps.com: http://www.iaps.com/security-overview.html ISACA. (2017). Information Security Management. Retrieved from www.isaca.org: http://www.isaca.org/Groups/Professional-English/information-secuirty-management/Pages/Overview.aspx SP Global. (2017, march 3). Information Security Program Manager. Retrieved from careers.spglobal.com: http://careers.spglobal.com/ShowJob/Id/1131125/Information-Security-Program-Manager/ United Nations. (2017, February 10). Information Systems Officer, P3. Retrieved from careers.un.org: https://careers.un.org/lbw/jobdetail.aspx?id=73254

The Role of Stress in the Development of Bulimia Essay -- Causes of Bul

The Role of Stress in the Development of Bulimia During the past few decades, Western culture has witnessed an enormous explosion in the number of eating disorders reported among young women. One such type of eating disorder is Butimia Nervosa. According to the DSM-IV criteria it is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating, in which the person experiences a feeling of "loss of control",and recurrent compensatory behavior in order to prevent weight gain. Both of these behaviors occur, on average, at least twice a week for three months. In addition, self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight. Finally, there are two subcategories of bulimia. There is the purging type in which the person regularly engages in self-induced vomiting or the misuse of diuretics or laxatives. The other type is the nonpurging group in which the person engages in other inappropriate compensatory behaviors rather than self-induced vomiting, laxatives, or diuretics. (American Psychiatric Association, 1993) Several studies have focused on stress as one important variable in the onset or occurrence of eating disorders such as bulimia. In addition, they explore the different situations or events which bulin-fics consider to be stressful and the various ways in which bulimics cope with these stressors. In this paper I plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the following related studies and attempt to answer the question, What is the role of stress in the development of DuUnfia? Do Bulimics Appraise Stress Differently? It is possible that bulimics may appraise potential stressors differently from other individuals. For example, in comparison to nonbulimics, people with bulimia may appraise the situation as being more s... ...ic Disorder with Agoraphobia on Eating Disorder Symptomatology: A Case Study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 18,195-198. Compas, B.A., Rosen, J.C., & Tacy, B. (1993). The Relation Among Stress, Psychological Symptoms, and Eating Disorder Symptoms: A Prospective Analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 14,153-162. Cooper, P. J. & Steere, J. (I 993). The Effects of Eating of Dietary Restraint, Anxiety, and Hunger. Intemational Journal of Eating Disorders, 13, 211-219. Lopez-lbor, A. J. (1991). The nosological entity buhmia nervosa. Actas Luso-Espanolas de Neurologia, 19, 304-325. Killen, J.D., Maron, D.J., Robinson, T.N., Saylor, K.E., Taylor, C.B., & Telch, M.J. (1987). Evidence for an Alcohol-Stress Link among- Normal Weight Adolescent's Reporting Purging Behavior. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 6, 349-3 56. The Role of Stress in the Development of Bulimia Essay -- Causes of Bul The Role of Stress in the Development of Bulimia During the past few decades, Western culture has witnessed an enormous explosion in the number of eating disorders reported among young women. One such type of eating disorder is Butimia Nervosa. According to the DSM-IV criteria it is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating, in which the person experiences a feeling of "loss of control",and recurrent compensatory behavior in order to prevent weight gain. Both of these behaviors occur, on average, at least twice a week for three months. In addition, self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight. Finally, there are two subcategories of bulimia. There is the purging type in which the person regularly engages in self-induced vomiting or the misuse of diuretics or laxatives. The other type is the nonpurging group in which the person engages in other inappropriate compensatory behaviors rather than self-induced vomiting, laxatives, or diuretics. (American Psychiatric Association, 1993) Several studies have focused on stress as one important variable in the onset or occurrence of eating disorders such as bulimia. In addition, they explore the different situations or events which bulin-fics consider to be stressful and the various ways in which bulimics cope with these stressors. In this paper I plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the following related studies and attempt to answer the question, What is the role of stress in the development of DuUnfia? Do Bulimics Appraise Stress Differently? It is possible that bulimics may appraise potential stressors differently from other individuals. For example, in comparison to nonbulimics, people with bulimia may appraise the situation as being more s... ...ic Disorder with Agoraphobia on Eating Disorder Symptomatology: A Case Study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 18,195-198. Compas, B.A., Rosen, J.C., & Tacy, B. (1993). The Relation Among Stress, Psychological Symptoms, and Eating Disorder Symptoms: A Prospective Analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 14,153-162. Cooper, P. J. & Steere, J. (I 993). The Effects of Eating of Dietary Restraint, Anxiety, and Hunger. Intemational Journal of Eating Disorders, 13, 211-219. Lopez-lbor, A. J. (1991). The nosological entity buhmia nervosa. Actas Luso-Espanolas de Neurologia, 19, 304-325. Killen, J.D., Maron, D.J., Robinson, T.N., Saylor, K.E., Taylor, C.B., & Telch, M.J. (1987). Evidence for an Alcohol-Stress Link among- Normal Weight Adolescent's Reporting Purging Behavior. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 6, 349-3 56.

Life Style Inventory Essay

As I look at my results from the Life Style Inventory my primary thinking style that I scored the highest in was the affiliative style at 83%. As I looked deeper at this style it fit me to a tee. I have always been warm and sincere because I always try to see the best in other people. My interpersonal relations with peers and subordinates alike have allowed me to be trusted and liked by others. This has helped me to be both diplomatic and tactful in my decisions as a manager. My genuine concern for people and ability to accept change easily has placed me in a leadership position many times just because I am able to listen and feel that people are more important than things. Next we will be looking at my backup personal thinking style and I had a two way tie between Self- Actualization and Humanistic- Encouraging at 75%. In the Humanistic-Encouragement thinking style I love to teach and enjoy sharing knowledge with others. I am very supportive of others and encourage others to strive for excellence and to think for themselves. As a good listener I am supportive of others and always willing to take time with people. Now with Self-Actualization I am a creative thinker and can communicate easily and very aware of my own feelings. I tend to be optimistic and realistic with my judgments and I have a high level of personal integrity. As I look at these three thinking styles I completely agree with them as my strengths. I have always been the equalizer and the manager called upon to best deal with conflict. I value my employees, focus upon perceptions, and know their needs. Honor and Integrity direct my morale fiber and I hold respect as being the most important element that people need in their lives. These styles are all important for training and developing a strong working team and have made me valued as a good leader and well thought of by my peers. When I at look at any of these thinking styles that may be limiting me I would have to turn towards Approval. I feel that I can be overly trusting too fast and too agreeable with others opinions. Whether you are overly seeking approval or accepting others values too much this style can work against you and be called being too generous to a fault. I feel that I would like to have better control upon being overly sympathetic with people. I have the ability to give people too many chances to improve or correct their behavior when in all actuality it would have been better to have cut our losses after the first counseling session failed. Giving an employee a fair chance is fine but when I go too far it can appear like favoritism or special treatment. If the employees know that you are overly sympathetic they will also play to this weakness to get out of the hot seat. The team likes you and shows approval on the surface but really they do not respect you and view you as a push over. I sometimes fight this behavior because there is a fine line between the perception of not caring and being not sympathetic enough and being overly sympathetic to a fault. I always know that you cannot please everyone as a good leader and some may even oppose you, but if upper management sees you as being too soft and overly sympathetic then you are not taking care of the business. Impact on Management Style: Planning When I think of my primary and back up styles of thinking I can see the affiliative style having me motivate my team through using praise and friendliness. This can help me in the planning phase by getting valuable input from my team through building trust and meaningful relationships that are reciprocated. This helps us to feel like a team and make informed decisions from data collected by our team and helps us to build a sound plan of action. Through self-actualization I would use my sound judgment and optimistic and realistic nature to set solid goals. When making company plans my humanistic-encouragement style would have me utilize my knowledge of the company’s needs and the teams needs to make good plans. Being a good listener also makes planning a lot easier. Organizing With my ability to develop and teach others and listening to my team while easily adapting to change I am able to better organize my team by setting SMART goals and using my communication skills to keep my team well informed. By thinking outside of the box and using my creative and original thinking skills I will be able to keep all of my team on the same page with our eye on the target of success. Leading My primary and backup styles give me an excellent leadership skillset in that I listen and set own goals, but I also understand how people feel and make sound judgments. My genuine concern for others and communication skills not only give me great leadership skills but my ability to use my intuition to read people allows for proactive decisions to be made. Perhaps it is my ability to be diplomatic and tactful and see the best in others that allows for me to be respected and well thought of as a leader. Controlling Some people use intimidation and threats to control their team but giving them respect and a sense of ownership of their job allows my coaching and development style to allow peer pressure to control our team. The ability to set common goals and encourage our team to think for themselves, gives ownership and control through respect, honor, and integrity. Never asking my team to do what I am not willing to do myself and giving them the resources and tools needed to be successful keeps the respect and lines of communication open. Genesis of Personal Style: If I was to critically evaluate what has contributed the most to my personal styles it would have to be my family and growing up in the restaurant business. Always being in the public eye and dealing with guests face to face gave me a comfort at an early age of being in front of people and taking the time to listen and enjoy people. I was in the entertainment business and learned how to set goals and run a business by watching the controllable costs and giving quality service so that our guests would return. I developed understanding, humility, confidence, and personal integrity from my family. Growing up in my community and having great friends and families really made a big difference with being sincere, warm, and open. It was sports and Boy Scouts that offered discipline, commitment, and goals to my life. From my relationships built in high school and the Navy to the relationships built in business I continue to learn and strive to improve my styles to compliment my ability to lea d. Conclusion and Reflection: As I look at my Constructive skills I see how my developments of Affiliative, Humanistic-Encouragement, and Self-Actualization styles have all contributed to my ability to be a good leader. My intuitive ability to read behavior and develop teams is second nature to me and my ability to listen and be real to my team has earned me their respect. Now my Passive and Defensive styles show me that dependent and conventional may be an area to watch out for but I felt that approval was the area that concerned me the most. Specifically it may be too easy to become overly sympathetic and this could lead to being overly generous to a fault. Looking at my Aggressive and Defensive Styles I look at oppositional and competitive styles and giving me the ability to question everything and always inspect everything before making a decision, be the best at what we do, and set the benchmark of our industry. I feel that the LSI shows us our strengths and opportunities and while we are always striving to improve our behaviors we must look at our beliefs in why we find our behavior acceptable and seek to make changes here, because in order to improve one’s behavior we must change our beliefs first. I feel that I would like to improve upon being less sympathetic and watch my procrastination by setting clear boundaries a staying to the specific rules. It is important for me not to put things off for tomorrow if I can do it today. I also would like to not get overly involved in team members personal issues that are affecting their work. This exercise helped me to look closely at how other styles can overshadow the positives of other styles and be counterproductive. This has helped me because as I see that several of my styles help me to be a good leader but now I have a better understanding on what other styles can limit my constructive styles ie, if I have a high affiliative and a high power style then I would desire to have close friendships but try to control and dominate these friendships which will result in a negative relationship. Overall this has been a great tool for my future in management and beter understanding my thinking and behavior process.