Friday, November 15, 2019
Griffins Black Like Me and Kingsolvers The Poisonwood Bible Essay
à à à John Howard Griffin's novel, Black Like Me, and Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible, describe journeys made by white Americans into black societies in the early 1960's. Griffin, a white journalist for Sepia magazine, took medication to darken his skin and entered the United States' Deep South to experience the plight of African Americans (Bain 195). His book is a true account of his experiences as a black man. Kingsolver writes of a man who, in many ways, made a similar journey. Nathan Price, a white Baptist missionary in The Poisonwood Bible, moves his wife and four daughters to the Congo of Africa with hopes of spreading the teachings of Christianity and baptizing many. Although Kingsolver's story is fiction, her development of the Congo's history and culture are based on recorded history and her own experiences there as a child (Kingsolver ix). John Griffin and the Price family leave a world in which their race automatically constitutes them with the rights of voice and choice; and discover a world in which those rights are limited. à Being that their professions are journalism and ministry, John Griffin and Nathan Price are accustomed to the use of words, whether written or spoken, to reach out to others and relay information. Once they cross over into the new territories, their abilities to be heard accurately or at all become difficult. In this new setting, Griffin finds the opportunity to speak to a white person does not present itself because it is preceded by a silent language spoken by whites. He first encounters this silent language outside a "Whites Only" restaurant as he is reading the menu in the window. He says, "I looked up to see the frowns of disapproval that can s... ...e the Congo, for all of Africa, the heart of light" (Kingsolver 184). Through the courage of such leaders to provide a voice, the oppressed blacks in these novels begin to experience liberation from the constraints placed on their rights to make their own choices. à Works Cited Bain, Robert, Joseph M. Flora, and Louis D. Rubin, Jr., eds. Southern Writers: A Biographical Dictionary. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1979. Cruse, Harold. Plural but Equal: Blacks and Minorities in America's Plural Society. New York: William Morrow, 1987. Griffin, John Howard. Black Like Me. New York: New American Library, 1962. Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1998. Williams, Juan. Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Year, 1954-1965. New York: Viking Penguin, Inc., 1987. à Griffin's Black Like Me and Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible Essay à à à John Howard Griffin's novel, Black Like Me, and Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible, describe journeys made by white Americans into black societies in the early 1960's. Griffin, a white journalist for Sepia magazine, took medication to darken his skin and entered the United States' Deep South to experience the plight of African Americans (Bain 195). His book is a true account of his experiences as a black man. Kingsolver writes of a man who, in many ways, made a similar journey. Nathan Price, a white Baptist missionary in The Poisonwood Bible, moves his wife and four daughters to the Congo of Africa with hopes of spreading the teachings of Christianity and baptizing many. Although Kingsolver's story is fiction, her development of the Congo's history and culture are based on recorded history and her own experiences there as a child (Kingsolver ix). John Griffin and the Price family leave a world in which their race automatically constitutes them with the rights of voice and choice; and discover a world in which those rights are limited. à Being that their professions are journalism and ministry, John Griffin and Nathan Price are accustomed to the use of words, whether written or spoken, to reach out to others and relay information. Once they cross over into the new territories, their abilities to be heard accurately or at all become difficult. In this new setting, Griffin finds the opportunity to speak to a white person does not present itself because it is preceded by a silent language spoken by whites. He first encounters this silent language outside a "Whites Only" restaurant as he is reading the menu in the window. He says, "I looked up to see the frowns of disapproval that can s... ...e the Congo, for all of Africa, the heart of light" (Kingsolver 184). Through the courage of such leaders to provide a voice, the oppressed blacks in these novels begin to experience liberation from the constraints placed on their rights to make their own choices. à Works Cited Bain, Robert, Joseph M. Flora, and Louis D. Rubin, Jr., eds. Southern Writers: A Biographical Dictionary. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1979. Cruse, Harold. Plural but Equal: Blacks and Minorities in America's Plural Society. New York: William Morrow, 1987. Griffin, John Howard. Black Like Me. New York: New American Library, 1962. Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1998. Williams, Juan. Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Year, 1954-1965. New York: Viking Penguin, Inc., 1987. Ã
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Overtraining, and Burnout in Child and Adolescent Athletes. Pediatrics Essay
Exercise and sports behavior has been an area of vigorous research interest. Athletes and people who compete at a high level of physical exercise are usually habituated to intense levels of activity for over a prolonged period of time. However, there is hesitation to term it as a psychological disorder or a disorder associated with characteristic patterns of psychological disturbance. People with very high levels of athletic activities may be high achievers who participated in these activities with intense physical work due to many reasons, but the most important is their sense of achievement. Many of them feel that these activities contributed to their psychological well-being and their emotional stability. A closer examination of their exercise patterns happened to be adaptive and hence has been contemplated to be contributing to the overall psychological functioning. Investigation into their lifestyles revealed that those revolved about their athletic or physical exercise activities, and many of them had disciplined, inflexible, and well-ordered routine. To be able to maintain such routines, these individuals rigidly followed a regimented running programme and often subordinated other aspects of their life such as diet, occupation, and socializing to their running. The question remains, whether this obligatory pattern of excessive exercise and physical activity have any detrimental effects on these people with high athletic activity. In this assignment, current research will be reviewed to find out the answer of this question. Overtraining or burnout is commonly regarded as a generalised stress response to a prolonged period of overload. Thus, overtraining can be defined as ââ¬Å"an abnormal extension of the training process culminating in a state of stalenessâ⬠(Weinberg and Gould, 1999). Many other terms have been used to denote this syndrome. These include staleness, burnout and failing adaptation (Hooper et al. , 1993). Tenenbaum et al. (2003) recently suggested as theoretical model of this condition (Tenenbaum et al. , 2003). Generally speaking, overtraining can be attributed to a combination of high-intensity training at excessive levels and provision of inadequate rest or insufficient time for recovery. There have been arguments as to whether a single, universally agreeable diagnostic index of burnout is possible, case studies have revealed a host of physiological and psychological symptoms. Physiologically overtraining may manifest signs of depressed immune function leading to an increased incidence of upper respiratory tract infections. The physiology alters so that there are increases in resting heart rate. Endocrinologically, there may be decreases in testosterone levels and increases in cortisol concentration. In some individuals, there may be decreases in maximal blood lactate concentration, which is otherwise expected to be high. All these may culminate into deterioration in athletic performance of the affected person, but there may be psychological symptoms which may include include mood disturbances, feelings of chronic fatigue, loss of appetite, repetitive loading injuries, and quite often insomnia (Cashmore, 2002). The prevalence of this syndrome can be estimated from Morgan (2000) that over 50% of both male and female marathon runners have at least sometimes suffered from burnout in some time. As a paradox, burned out athletes tend to try harder and perform increasingly worse. There are many factors associated with this phenomenon. Literature has revealed that these factors may include ââ¬Å"inadequate recovery time between bouts of training, prolonged or over-intense training regimes, personal problems and inadequate coping resourcesâ⬠(Weinberg and Gould, 1999). Morgan (2000) also claimed that mood disturbance in these individuals may be etiologically related to burnout, although there have been disputes against this claim. In general, it has been shown that people who exercise vigorously tend to suffer from symptoms of mood changes, irritability, restlessness, insomnia, lack of appetite, or feelings of guilt. Bill Norris, the principal trainer on the American Tennis Professionalsââ¬â¢ tennis tour, observed recently that problems of injury and burnout stem from a combination of the ââ¬Å"never-ending pursuit of achievement and the inability of coaches to understand that the human body can only take so much for so longâ⬠(cited in Evans, 2002, p. 24). Consequently excessive stress is an important initiating event for psychological, emotional, and physical withdrawal from a formerly enjoyable sport. As Gould et al. (2002) concurs exercise or sport burnout can be defined as the ââ¬Å"manifestation or consequence of the situational, cognitive, behavioural, and physiologic components of excessive stressâ⬠(Gould et al. 2002). This phenomenon has been embodied most strikingly in teenage sports performers or athletes, who have spectacular and sudden rise with similarly abrupt and premature decline. Many young tennis prodigies can be used as examples to illustrate this phenomenon, and even some of them despite being prolific achievers could not go to the extent that they would have. Moreover, some of them fell prey of recurring back or neck problems or other chronic injuries. History suggests that a combination of parental pressure and coaching tyranny was operational in leading to halt of many promising careers in sporting (Gould et al. 2002). There had been attempts to explain the phenomenon of sports burnout through different theoretical framework. The progression of burnout has been presumed to be due to pressure of training and development of competitive approaches. This demand is interpreted by the athletesââ¬â¢ psyche in a different manner, and some indeed end up seeing it as a threatening situation. If the demand is perceived to be threatening, the youth usually demonstrates physiological responses, which are characterised by fatigue or insomnia. In the next state, these physiological responses lead to strategies for coping, which in turn may manifest as diminishing levels of competitive performance. This may lead to interpersonal problems of the affected individuals and failure of coping may lead to complete withdrawal from sport or any other athletic activity. It has been argued that it is difficult to generalize since to cause this, many subjective factors, such as, self-esteem, ambition, and personal anxiety may play important roles. Lonsdale et al. (2009) had examined the potential factors contributing to the psychological impacts of sports burnout. They used self-determination theory by employing a cross-sectional design with the primary aim to investigate the behavioral regulations and athlete burnout. It has been shown that less self-determined motives showing positive associations and more self-determined motives showing negative correlations with burnout. Competence, autonomy, self-determined motivation, exhaustion, devaluation, reduced accomplishment, and global burnout play important roles in exercise and sports burnout (Lonsdale et al. , 2009). This means, personality and factors related to motivation influence the different stages of burnout process. Some authors have identified training stress as the determinant of the burnout process. This is a physical characteristic of the burnout process. This occurs due to the fact the body cannot tolerate the physical strain anymore. As an additive, competition also plays important roles. Although in some cases, some of the young people are grown up enough to cope up with the stressors associated with higher level of competition, in many cases, the young competitors experience a psychophysiological malfunction once their bodies fail to respond positively to training. This would affect their mental orientation leading to incapability of meeting the demands placed on their bodies. Brenner et al. (2007) describes burnout syndrome as a series of psychological, physiologic, and hormonal changes that may result in decreased sports performance. The common manifestations have been described as chronic muscle and joint pain, changes in the personality, resting tachycardia, and decreased performance in sports. This is commonly associated with fatigue manifested by lack of enthusiasm about practice or competition. The athlete may also encounter immense difficulty in completing the normal routines of an athlete. Burnout in sports has been recognised as a serious sequel of the syndrome of overtraining. Although this is a serious problem, it can be prevented. Usually, the athletes are encouraged to participate and practice different kinds of sports rather than one particular type of activity. Sometimes these may be prevented though various training adjustment approaches. It has been seen that steps to keep workouts interesting with age-appropriate games and training may prevent it. There should be time off from structured or organised sports at least 1 to 2 days per week, to allow the body and mind to rest. This time may be utilised in other activities. The trainer must allow longer scheduled breaks from training and competition every 2 to 3 months, but during this time, he must focus on other activities involved with cross training so his loss of skill and level of conditioning does not deteriorate (Brenner et al. , 2007). Conclusion The detrimental effects of high level exercise are numerous. There is risk of over-use injury, potential for excessive weight loss, mood disturbance, psychological burnout, eating disorders, depression, and low level of psychological wellbeing. Recently, there has been a growth of research interest in the areas of personal problems. These include stress and burnout afflicting people involved in sport and exercise. Research also suggests that not infrequently exercise habit can have adverse consequences. For certain vulnerable population practicing athletics, sports, and physical activities, exercise is associated with specific psychopathologies. Furthermore, a variety of physiological hazards to health have been demonstrated to be associated with habitual physical activity and/or sport. These include metabolic abnormalities, such as, hypothermia in swimmers or dehydration in marathon runners; disorders of hemapoeisis, such as, anemia in endurance athletes and cardiac problems, such as, arrhythmia. All these may result from prolonged vigorous athletic activity. On the contrary, it has long been known that intensive training regimens do not always enhance athletic performance. More precisely, when the nature, intensity and/or frequency of athletic training exceed the bodyââ¬â¢s adaptive capacity and lead to a deterioration in sport performance, then the condition is known as burnout or overtraining. Modern research has suggested many changes. Reference List Brenner, JS. and the Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness Overuse Injuries (2007). Overtraining, and Burnout in Child and Adolescent Athletes. Pediatrics; 119: 1242 1245. Cashmore, E. (2002). Sport psychology: The key concepts. London: Routledge Evans, R. (2002). ââ¬Å"Breaking pointâ⬠. The Sunday Times, 19 May, p. 24 (Sport). Gould, D. , Damarjian, N. , and Greenleaf, C. (2002). Imagery training for peak performance. In J. L. Van Raalte and B. W. Brewer (Eds. ), Exploring sport and exercise psychology (2nd ed. , pp. 49ââ¬â74). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Hooper, S. L, Traeger Mackinnon, L, Gordon, R. D. , and Bachmann, A W. (1993). Hormonal responses of elite swimmers to overtraining. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 25, 741ââ¬â747. Lonsdale, C. , Hodge, K. , and Rose, E. , (2009). Athlete burnout in elite sport: A self determination perspective. J Sports Sci; 27(8): 785-95. Morgan, W. P. (2000). Psychological factors associated with distance running and the marathon. In D. T. Pedloe (Ed. ), Marathon medicine (pp. 293ââ¬â310). London: The Royal Society of Medicine Press. Tenenbaum, G. , Jones, C. M. , K
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Thyroid Cancer Specific Purpose
The purpose for my informative speech is to inform my audience about Thyroid Cancer. Thesis: How often do you know people with Thyroid Cancer? Not much? Thyroid Cancer is a nodule in the thyroid region of the neck. Many adults have small nodules in their thyroids, but typically fewer than 5% of these nodules are found to be malignant. Organization Format: My Speech will be organized in Chronological order. Introduction: I.Attention getter: I believe that if, at the end of it all according to our abilities, we have done somethingà to make others a little happier and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstancesâ⬠¦we must try. I didnââ¬â¢t always know this and I am happy that I lived long enough to find it out. -Roger Ebert; thyroid cancer survivor Relevance statement: Today, Thyroid Cancer has the highest cure percentage that any other cancer has. It is common in the United States. According to the National Cancer Institute about 37,000 people are diagnosed with thyroid cancer each year. We know that Thyroid Cancer is curable, but it does have some high side effects. It is also known as a small tumor. Thyroid cancer occurs in the cells of the thyroid. A butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of your neck, just below your Adam's apple.Your thyroid produces hormones that regulate your heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and weight. II. Topic Disclosure: Thyroid cancer is a cancerous growth of the thyroid gland. Its Symptoms may vary depending on the type of thyroid cancer. III. Preview: Today Iââ¬â¢d like to share with you and educate you on Thyroid Cancer and its Symptoms, treatments, causes and preventions. A. Symptoms: How every individual has different side effects depending how the cancerous the gl and B. Treatments: What is the cure of thyroid cancer, and keeping in good health.C. Causes and Preventions: The cause of Thyroid cancer, how to prevent it and why people get it. Body: 1. Thyroid cancer is a cancerous growth of the thyroid gland. Many symptoms of Thyroid Cancer can lead to negative side effects. â⬠¢ A. The thyroid is located on your neck by a gland. Swelling of the neck, Difficulty swallowing, enlargement of the thyroid gland, roughness or changing voice, Neck swelling, and Thyroid lump (nodule) are symptoms of thyroid cancer. Some Symptoms may vary depending on the type of thyroid cancer or tumor a person has.Most people donââ¬â¢t know that they have Thyroid Cancer until they go to the doctors and they get examined. 2. The Treatment for Thyroid Cancer varies depending on the type of tumor. A. Having surgery is usually the treatment for the tumor. The entire Gland is removed. If the surgeon notices that the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, then they will also be removed. B. Radiation therapy is the medical use of ionizing radiation as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells. It is delivered by taking radioactive iodine is often used, with or without surgery.Radiation therapy with an external beam of radiation can also be used. C. After the treatment, you need to take a thyroid hormone to replace what your glands used to make. A thyroid hormone is responsible for regulation our hormones. The dose of the treatment is usually a little higher than what your body needs, which helps keep the cancer from returning. D. If the cancer does not respond to surgery or radiation and has spread to other parts of the body, chemotherapy may be used, but this is only effective for a third of patients. 3. The cause in thyroid Cancer can occur in all age groups. A. People who have had radiation therapy to the neck are at higher risk. Radiation therapy was commonly used in the 1950s to treat enlarged thymus glands, adenoids and tonsils, and skin disorders. People who received radiation therapy as children are at increased risk for getting thyroid cancer. As they get older the symptoms are rare. B. 1. There are different causes of Thyroid Cancer. Anaplastic carcinoma (also called giant and spindle cell cancer) is the most dangerous form of thyroid cancer. It is rare, and does not respond to radioiodine therapy.Anaplastic carcinoma spreads quickly and invades nearby structures such as the windpipe (trachea), causing breathing difficulties. 2. Follicular carcinoma accounts for about 30% of all cases and is more likely to come back and spread. 3. Medullary carcinoma is a cancer of nonthyroid cells that are normally present in the thyroid gland. This form of the thyroid cancer tends to occur in families. It requires different treatment than other types of thyroid cancer. 4. Papillary carcinoma is the most common type, and usually affects women of childbearing age.It spreads slowly and is the least dangerous type of thyroid cancer. 4. To test someone for Thyroid cancer, you must go to the medical office and a physical examination can reveal a thyroid mass or nodule which is usually in the lower part of the front of the neck, or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck. A. Once tested, the results can be as stated; showing paralyzed vocal cords, Thyroid biopsy showing anaplastic, papillary cancer cells. Final Transition statement: In conclusion, Thyroid cancer can be cured. It takes a long process to be cured but by staying healthy and getting monthly check up, you life can change.We know that there is a lot of types of thyroid cancer, but some are highly curable. Conclusion: As I educated you about thyroid cancer, I hope everyone has a good vision on the types of thyroid cancer, symptoms, treatment, the cause and why people get thyroid cancer and how people get tested on their glands for thyroid cancer.Works Cited Wyckoff Cindy. Roger Ebert. 2 march , 2010 . 15 October, 2010 . Wikipedia. Thyroid Cancer. 3 Oct ober 2010 . 15 October, 2010 . National Cancer Institute. Thyroid Cancer. . 15 October, 2010 .
Friday, November 8, 2019
Protoyping Example
Protoyping Example Protoyping ââ¬â Article Example Prototyping A of the article and where it was found Identification of The article in this case talks of the five major pitfalls that may be experienced when prototyping. This article may be found in the User Interface engineering website whose link is . It can be scrutinized that a prototyping is also known as Heuristic development. This process involves developing a system via controlled process of trial and error. The Prototype uses high speed development language such as fourth generation language 4GLS. There are two basic methods of prototyping namely; gradually build of the actual system and building the model to create the design (Jared, 2003). The five major pitfalls of prototype described in this article include; it focuses on drawbacks rather than learning. Secondly, It tends to make too much coverage without making sufficient divergence, some prototype such Axure take time to master. It may make one to work on the wrong fidelity especially if there is a lot of jumping and finally there are a lot of evaluation since prototyping tends to be broken down into several stages (Jared, 2003). The one thing about prototyping that surprised you the most The one thing that surprises me about prototyping is that a well design prototype can sell and idea better compared to any other form design. Further, a prototype may come in different shapes and size (Jared, 2003).Purpose of prototyping within the example in the chosen article Based on the article chosen above prototyping serve the following purposes namely; it helps the users to understand the idea better by getting deeper into that idea as well as help to sell the idea to other people. Further prototype reduces time required in exploring an idea (Jared, 2003). ReferenceJared.M.S. (2003).Five Prevalent Pitfalls when Prototyping
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Filling Vacancies in the US Senate
Filling Vacancies in the US Senate Senate seats become vacant for a variety of reasons the Senator dies in office, resigns in disgrace or resigns to assume another position, usually an elected or appointed government position.What happens when a Senator dies in office or resigns? How is the replacement handled?Procedures for electing Senators are outlined in Article I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, as later amended by paragraph 2 of the Seventeenth (17th) Amendment. Ratified in 1913, the 17th Amendment not only changed how Senators are to be elected (direct election by popular vote) but it also outlined how Senate vacancies are to be filled: When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. What Does This Mean in Practice? The U.S. Constitution grants the state legislatures the power to determine how U.S. Senators are to be replaced, including empowering the chief executive (the governor) to make these appointments.Some states require a special election to fill a vacancy. A few states require the governor to appoint a replacement of the same political party as the previous incumbent. Typically, a replacement holds office until the next scheduled statewide election.From the Congressional Research Service: Prevailing practice is for state governors to fill Senate vacancies by appointment, with the appointee serving until a special election has been held, at which time the appointment expires immediately. In the event a seat becomes vacant between the time of a general election and the expiration of the term, however, the appointee usually serves the balance of the term, until the next regularly scheduled general election. This practice originated with the constitutional provision that applied prior to the popular election of senators, under which governors were directed to make temporary appointments when state legislatures were in recess. It was intended to ensure continuity in a stateââ¬â¢s Senate representation during the lengthy intervals between state legislative sessions. Exceptions or Where Governors Do Not Have Unlimited Powers: Alaska, Oregon, and Wisconsin do not allow the governor to make interim appointments; state laws require a special election to fill any Senate vacancy. Oklahoma also requires that Senate vacancies be filled by special elections, with an exception. If the vacancy occurs after March 1 of any even-numbered year and the term expires the following year, no special election is held; rather, the governor is required to appoint the candidate elected in the regular general election to fill the unexpired term. Arizona and Hawaii require the governor to fill Senate vacancies with a person affiliated with the same political party as the previous incumbent. Utah and Wyoming require the governor to select an interim senator from a list of three candidates proposed by the state central committee of the political party with which the previous incumbent was affiliated. In the event of a Senatorââ¬â¢s death, his or her staff continue to be compensated for a period not exceeding 60 days (unless the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration determines that more time is needed to complete the closing of the office), performing duties under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Understanding of the Chinese traditional value Essay
Understanding of the Chinese traditional value - Essay Example Here, Rationale means to act based on objective truths and laws. Propriety implies suitability or appropriateness. The Chinese traditional value of harmony calls for ââ¬Å"harmony but not uniformity.â⬠coordinating dissimilar things to achieve an appropriate combination and thus move ââ¬Å"from uncoordinated situation to one of coordination; from asymmetry to symmetry; and from imbalance to balance.â⬠(Pan, pg 54) The contemporary Chinese society has put up a strong fight to ensure the maintenance of harmony between individuals and society; between nature and human beings; between communities; and between the mind and the body. This work details the Chinese traditional values with regard to parenting and goes further to compare these values with those forming the western culture. Talking about Chinese parenting, one will not miss to mention words such as strict, controlling and authoritarian. This is well established, especially, when we consider the example given by Amy Chua, a professor in law, who in the recent years candidly opened up her story of how she raised her daughters as a "Tiger Mother." A study by psychologists that sought to establish why Chinese parents were so much controlling found a strong attachment of the parentââ¬â¢s authoritarianism to their traditional values, particularly the one relating to obedience. Parents believe have been found to strongly influence the parenting style preferred not only in china but also in other parts of the world. Comparison between the Chinese parenting values and those of western countries, gives a wide divergence. Such is the case that these values differ not only with regard to family customs, but also the goals set for the children. Having said that lets now consider some of the values as it relates to the two worlds. Parenting style refers to a general scheme that describes how much response and control a parent directs towards his/her children. A study
Friday, November 1, 2019
PetMed Express Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
PetMed Express - Essay Example (Porter, 1985) The Force Field Analysis model defines two opposing forces acting on an organization. The driving forces push for change while the restraining forces act as a barrier for change (Falletta, 2005). To achieve the desired change, it needs to unfreeze the current state of equilibrium in an organization by adding driving forces or by eliminating restraints. Once achieved, the organization must refreeze or reestablish equilibrium. The strength of the model is its simplicity. The weakness is the assumptions that disequilibrium is expected to occur; changes occur simultaneously; and equilibrium will be reestablished. Leavitt's Model depicts a diamond shaped model showing interdependence among four variables: structure, technology, task and people. The model illustrates an assumption that changes in one variable affect the other variables. It is similar to opposing forces of the Force Field Analysis. However, the focus is within the internal environment of the organization and excludes the effect of the external environment. (Falletta, 2005) Likert System Analysis addresses seven organizational variables such as motivation, communication, interaction, decision-making, goal setting, control and performance (Falletta, 2005). ... The weakness of the analysis rests on the exclusion of external environment forces that would affect the organization. The measurement also assumes independence on each level. (Falletta, 2005) The Open Systems Theory conceptualizes an organization as a social system which is dependent on the environment they work in. The theory illustrates a repeated cycle of inputs, throughputs, outputs and renewed input with a feedback loop that connects the output and renewed inputs (Falletta, 2005). Weisbord's Six-Box Model follows the open systems theory. The model illustrates six variables in an organization such as purposes, structure, relationships, leadership, rewards and helpful mechanisms. The model also identifies two management systems - formal and informal systems, which are crucial to the effectiveness of an organization. The strength of the model lies on the assumption that the external environment has great influence through the organizational inputs and outputs. The model also takes into consideration the suitability of an organization to its environment. However, the model does not make any direct causal statement regarding the interconnections between variables. (Falletta, 2005) The Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model also follows the open systems theory that assumes an organization as a dynamic, open social system within a larger environment where behavior occurs at the levels of an individual, a group and the whole system. As with Weisbord's model, it takes into account the formal and informal systems. The strength of the model lies on the consideration of the interaction and congruence between the individuals, group and system. The external
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