Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Frankenstein Relationships :: Essays Papers

Frankenstein Relationships Many stories have progressed enough to be the topic of conversation from time to time. The novel, Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus has different relationships to many other topics. The author of the story, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley who was born almost 200 years ago bringing with her the age of horror (Edison 5), used biographical strategies to write Frankenstein. Also, as time progressed, Frankenstein became a well-known story. It was turned into many different films that depicted the time period that it happened to be from. One final relationship that Frankenstein has happens to be the way that everyone can draw morals from the story, no matter what the reader’s age, or how the reader’s life has evolved. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley used biographical strategies to write her well-known novel. Frankenstein has plenty of tragedy included to form the storyline. Many women passed away throughout the entire novel. Perhaps the reason for these mishaps was because Shelley watched many women and children die all through her life. For instance, her mother died after giving birth to Shelley. Also, only one of Mary’s children survived infancy. Mary herself almost died after a miscarriage. Percy Shelley’s wife, Harriet, committed suicide. (Percy married Mary after his wife took her own life.) Shelley also demonstrated a bond between specifics such as names, dates and events. For example, the letters that form the narration of the novel were written to Margaret Walton Saville (Whose initials M.W.S are those of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley). These letters were written not only during the time that Mary was going through her third pregnancy, but also during the time when she was writing the novel itself. It appears that Mary tries to be a silent person in her story. Most of the important scenes revolve around her in some way. Certain dates had a large enough impact on Mary’s life that she integrated them into her novel. â€Å"Mellor discovered that the day and date on which Walton first sees the creature, Monday, 31 July, had coincided in 1797, the year in which Mary Shelley was born. This fact and other internal evidence led Mellor to conclude that the novel ends on 12 September 1797, two days after Mary Wollstonecraft’s death.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Reason of Apple’s Success

The Success Of Apple: Above And Beyond Its Technology Over the weekend I was in an Apple store in northern New Jersey. It made me very uncomfortable. See, I’m a PC guy. A staunch Windows user, from Windows 3. 1 to 95 to 98 to NT to XP to Vista (ouch) to the current Windows 7 (did I miss any? ). However, I’m dabbling in the dark side, using an iPad (in addition to other devices such as a BlackBerry Playbook and a few Android phones). On a recent trip I broke the glass of my iPad. Hence my trip to the Apple store.As I was waiting for someone from technical support (called the Apple Genius bar) to help me, I observed Apple up close and personal. Here are a couple of things I noticed that have, no doubt, played key roles in Apple’s success. Happy staff = happy customers The whole staff was excited and happy to help customers. I observed one young lady in particular, an Apple staff member, who continually and genuinely smiled as she helped customers. She warmly greete d one customer after another and helped them work through their problems with a spark of excitement.Another lady adorned in big earrings and big glasses reminded me of a concierge at a high-end New York hotel. Friendly, professional and excited to help. In another incident, a customer came in and had a question about using her product in another country. I overheard an Apple manager suggest to a staff member that he call someone in the country to which the customer was headed, to get the answer she needed! How many retailers would take the time to make a phone call (to another country! ) to help out a customer on the retail floor? A chaotically smooth in-store processOver the course of my life, I’ve had the privilege of being around several U. S. Presidents. For obvious reasons, there is always a lot of commotion, activity and security around the President. However, all of this fuss is carefully choreographed by the U. S. Secret Service, the White House advance team and other s. To an outsider it might look like confusion, but as you look closer you see there’s a very detailed plan of action in place. This is how it was in the Apple store. Their were dozens of customers milling around, all with different needs.There were customers with pre-scheduled appointments at the Genius bar, walk-ins in need of technical support, those simply making retail purchases and people trying out new products—and everyone saw immediate attention from passionate and very knowledgeable staff members. What was also interesting was that all of the sales staff on the floor had the ability to process credit card sales with their iPhones, an innovation that is not seen at most retailers. Instead of standing in line for the cashier, the cashier comes to you and processes your transaction on the spot: pretty neat (and efficient). Also Case Study will describe why Apple Inc. is a very successful company.So what happened with my cracked iPad? Since the iPad was relatively new, the Apple representative said he would make an exception and gave me a new one. The entire process took about 10 minutes. I was fully expecting to pay $200 to get it fixed. So I was pleasantly surprised. Clearly, Apple’s products are well designed, easy to use and fun. However, the products are only one part of Apple’s success. The other part is the ease of doing business (that is, making the purchase and receiving support) that Apple delivers so harmoniously to its customers Reasons Apple Is So Successful One of the more interesting questions I get asked about as an industry analyst who’s followed Apple since 1981 is why Apple is so successful. It’s an honest question because to those unfamiliar with Apple, the company’s rise and current dominance in non-PC devices is somewhat puzzling. Most people have a working understanding of the fact that Apple lost the PC wars to Microsoft, and only nominally understand that when Apple created the iPod and then the iPhone, the company started to go in a new direction.And anyone who’s gone into an Apple store knows full well that Apple’s customer service and stores represent the gold standard for selling and supporting tech gadgets. But beyond that, the reasons why Apple is really successful are still a mystery to many. (MORE: 50 Best iPhone Apps 2012) There are plenty of books about Apple that talk about everything from Steve Jobs’ history to tenets of Apple’s business models to secrets about Apple’s internal-management ideas.However, after years of watching Apple up close and personal and having to deal with every one of their CEOs, as well as interacting with various Apple execs over the years, I would like to suggest that the reasons the company is successful can be boiled down to six key principles that make it very hard for competitors to compete with Apple. 1. For any product that Apple creates, the people who create it have to want it themselves So many times with projects I do with other tech companies, the goal is almost always based around the technology first, followed by whether or not people really want to use it.Geeky engineers are dazzled by the technology at their disposal and often create something because they can. But Apple’s approach is quite different. The engineers who are creating Apple products actually make them for themselves. And Jobs was the chief â€Å"user† of Apple products when he was alive. All of Apple’s products are based on the fact that Jobs represented the real customer. And his engineers had to come to grips with that when designing a product. It has to be something that they personally couldn’t live without. 2. The products have to be easy to useJobs was a stickler on this point. While industrial design is a critical component of any product Apple makes, if it is not easy to use, it is considered worthless to the consumer. This is what drove the company’s user-interface designs from Day 1 and is still the mantra pushed to the software and hardware engineers every day they go to work. All of the products they create have to be intuitive and easy to understand and learn. As technology has become more intricate and users want more features, the task of keeping things simple is sometimes difficult.And Apple creates tools for power users and rookies, which can mean a broad range of ease-of-use issues. But even with that, Apple is the only company I deal with where ease of use is more important than the product itself. Apple makes this a critical goal of its approach to creating anything for the market. (PHOTOS: The Apple II Turns 35) 3. Keep things simple I was in Paris in the past two weeks and had talks with various French telecommunications officials about many mobile-computing issues. But one conversation I had in particular emphasizes this keep-it-simple point.We were discussing how to compete with Apple — a major pastime for all Apple competitors and carriers these days — when the question of why Apple is really successful came up. And one exec nailed it when he said he felt that the real reason Apple is successful is because it has one product; in this case the iPhone. It minimizes the decisionmaking process for the consumer by making things simple. The person speaking was with a carrier in France, and he said that in their stores, they have to have as many as 25 different models of phones available.That makes it hard for his staff to be really knowledgeable about all of them all of the time, and their customers just have too many options to choose from. But Apple only has one iPhone model, and anyone who has gone into an Apple store understands that every staff member there knows a great deal about each of the four major products carried in its stor es. Apple doesn’t have five iPhone models to choose from; it has only one. While this may seem limiting given the amount of smart phones available to users, the truth is the reverse.Our company has done consumer research for over 30 years, and consumers constantly tell us that while choice is nice, in reality they want the process of choosing a tech product to be simple and not complicated by a plethora of choices. Yes, there are tech-savvy people who like more choices and sometimes even like complexity, but from years of experience as a market researcher, I can tell you that in the end, the majority of users are not tech-savvy, and keeping things simple for them is a plus. Apple understands this in spades and is never tempted to add multiple versions of an iPhone, iPad or even more than one or two types of iPods.This makes buying an Apple product simple. And consumers seem to appreciate this considering the huge number of iDevices that are sold each year. I know the tech med ia and techies are the most vocal about this issue of choice, but in the end, while choice is good for competitive pricing, what nontechie consumers really want is simplicity. (MORE: The Inventor Of the Future) 4. Offer great customer service and in-store experiences Jobs understood one of the major conundrums of technology: even if you create products that are easy to use, the variety of things that people want to use technology for often creates complexity.Because of this, consumers at all levels may need some hand holding from time to time. I was one of the most vocal critics of Apple when it introduced its first retail store in Tokyo in 2002. I thought it was crazy for Apple to try and go into retail. At the time, and even today, tech retail stores are in decline while big-box stores like Costco and Walmart sell products on price and nothing else. I thought that if price were the issue, an upscale retail store would be DOA. Wow, were other naysayers and I wrong about Appleâ€⠄¢s retail strategy. Apple uses this conundrum to its advantage.Because it keeps product SKUs simple, the salespeople inside the stores know the products really well. Notice that when you go into an Apple store and are greeted by one of the sales staff, you’re not asked, â€Å"How can I help you? † Instead they ask, â€Å"What would you like to do today? † They go right to the heart of any technology user’s question, a question that’s always related to what they want to do with the technology the user is interested in. And once you explain your needs, they take care of it on the spot in most cases. Or if you need more hand holding, they turn you over to the Apple Geniuses.No wonder 50% of people buying Apple products are new to Apple. Apple’s products are simple to understand and use, but if you do have a problem, Apple can take care of it at their stores or over the phone quickly. (PHOTOS: Apple Announces New iPad) 5. Apple only makes a pro duct if Apple can do it better Apple normally doesn’t invent a new product or product category. Sure, the company did invent the first commercial PC with the Apple II, and the Mac improved on PCs with a graphical user interface and mouse input. But since then, all of Apple’s other products have been recreations of existing products.Apple did not invent the MP3 player; Apple reinvented it and made it better. Apple did not invent the smart phone; Apple reinvented it and made it better. And Apple did not invent the tablet; Apple reinvented it and made it better. As Apple designer Jonathan Ive said recently, â€Å"Our goals are very simple — to design and make better products. If we can’t make something that is better, we won’t do it. † Clearly, Apple applied that thinking first to iPods, then smart phones and more recently, to the iPad. 6. Apple stays at least two years ahead of its competitors This is the one that scares Apple’s competi tors the most.While those competing with Apple are just getting products to market that are competitive, Apple is already working on the products at least two years out. For example, the new iPhone that will most likely go to market in October was designed and signed off on two years ago. And the iPhone the company is working on now is for the fall of 2014. The same goes for the iPad. The new iPad that we will most likely see next March was signed off on two years ago. The one that’s being worked on now we will probably see in 2015. This is a nightmare for Apple’s competitors and will continue to be for some time. (MORE: What Would Steve Jobs Do? Besides having geniuses in design, software and retail, Apple also has the cash to invent components, manufacturing processes and things like that, which almost makes it impossible for the competition to make any real headway against Apple. And don’t let the fact that Android has become the No. 1 smart-phone operating s ystem make you think that it’s the big winner. Yes, Android has gained ground by the sheer numbers of companies and products pushing Android. But the real measure of success is in the profits, and Apple is making as much as 70% of all the profits in smart phones and about 85% of the profits in tablets.Just ask any Android competitor which they would like more, market share or profits. You’ll get the answer relating to the real measure of success in this market. These six principles may seem a bit simplistic given the fact that Apple also has great software, industrial design and a powerful ecosystem of content, apps and services as part of the company’s success equation. However, I can tell you that from my three decades of following Apple, it’s these six key principles that are what really makes it successful.And as long as it adheres to them, it’s pretty likely that Apple will continue to grow and command a relatively large share of the market in the company’s product categories where it competes. Bajarin is the president of Creative Strategies Inc. , a technology-industry-analysis and market-intelligence firm in Silicon Valley The secret of Apple's success: simplicity Apple's success – driven by the vision of Steve Jobs – has been to distil its ideas to their essence. By contrast, too many companies are overly complicated [pic] Steve Jobs speaks during an Apple special event in 2010 in Cupertino, California.Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Apple's package-design team had just returned from its presentation to Steve Jobs, and the faces told the story – they had that â€Å"things didn't go exactly as we planned† look. â€Å"The suspense is killing me,† I said to the project leader. â€Å"How'd it go this morning? † â€Å"Well,† he said, â€Å"Steve hit us with the Simple Stick. † Translation: Jobs had rejected their work – not because it was bad bu t because, in some way, it failed to distil the idea to its essence. The person leading the project had directed the team to create packaging for two versions of the same product.Jobs had decided this was brain-dead. â€Å"Just combine them,† he said. â€Å"One product, one box. † There was no need to explore the idea of a second package. He was right. It was simpler, quicker, better. The conversation was over in minutes, and it left one very smart and talented group of people wondering why they hadn't thought of that before. The Simple Stick symbolises a core value within Apple. Sometimes it's held up as inspiration; other times it's wielded like a caveman's club: a deep, almost religious belief in the power of simplicity. If you're prepared to do battle with complexity, you'll have no trouble finding a fight.Chances are you're surrounded by it. Unless you work in the rarest of environments, complexity lives inside your organisation's hierarchy, its goals, and probabl y most of your colleagues as well. If your company ever fails, you can be sure it won't be the fault of simplicity – it will be the result of its absence. Think brutal Clarity propels an organisation. Not occasional clarity but pervasive, 24-hour, in-your-face, take-no-prisoners clarity. Most people never perceive that this is lacking in their organisation, but 90% of the time it is. Just open a few random emails, activate your â€Å"brutal-vision†, and read.The muddying messages are rampant. If people were brutally honest in their emails, the time we spend sorting through our in-boxes would surely decrease by half. Steve Jobs demanded straightforward communication from others as much as he dished it out himself. He'd cut you off if you rambled. He ran his business as if there were precious little time to waste, which well reflected the reality for Apple – as surely it does for any company serious about competing. This is probably the one element of Simplicity t hat's easiest to institute. Just be honest and never hold back.Demand the same from those you work with. You'll make some people squirm, but everyone will know where they stand; 100% of your group's time will be focused on forward progress – no need to decode what people are really saying. There is a general perception that Jobs was the nasty tyrant who demanded allegiance, barked commands, and instilled the fear of God in those around him. While Jobs certainly did exhibit these behaviours, this portrait is incomplete. The man could also be funny, warm, and even charming. There is a huge difference between being brutally honest and simply being brutal.You can't let yourself be talked into going along with something when you know it can be better. Ever. To settle for second best is a violation of the rules of simplicity, and it plants the seeds for disappointment, extra work, and more meetings. Most disturbing, it puts you in the worst possible business position: having to def end an idea you never believed in. Your challenge is to become unbending when it comes to enforcing your standards. Mercilessly so. If you submit only the work you believe in 100% and approve only the work you believe in 100%, you own something that no one can take away from you: integrity.As often happens in life, one must often suffer the consequences of doubting before becoming a believer. I'm not proud of it, but that's the way I learned my lesson about standards. There was a certain amount of theatre that went on inside Apple. The rules were well known, and a number of dramas played out with predictability. That Jobs was intolerant of stupidity is a matter of record. He wasn't at all polite when stupidity reared its ugly head. He especially wasn't fond of employing stupidity, so if you were on Apple's staff and wanted to retain that status, it was wise not to display your lack of smarts in a meeting with him.You'd just set him off and get it right between the eyes. A former App le senior staffer remembers a routine that he saw played out often during his time as a direct report to Jobs. He calls it â€Å"the rotating turret†. There was no predicting when it would happen, as it depended on how conversations evolved. But in some meeting, at some random time, some poor soul in the room would say something that everyone in the room could tell was going to light Jobs's fuse. First came the uncomfortable pause.The offending comment would reverberate in the air, and it would seem as if the entire world went into slow motion as Jobs's internal sensors fixed on the origin of the sound wave. You could almost hear the meshing of gears as his â€Å"turret† slowly turned toward the guilty party. Everyone knew what was coming—but was powerless to stop it. Finally, the turret would lock on to its target. In a split second Jobs would activate his firing mechanism, and without a second thought he'd unload all his ammunition. It was uncomfortable to wat ch and even more uncomfortable to experience, but at Apple it was just a fact of life.Think small How many overpopulated meetings do you sit through in a year? How many of those meetings get sidetracked or lose focus in a way that would never occur if the group were half the size? The small group rule requires enforcement, but it's worth the cost. Out in the real world, when I talk about small groups of smart people, I rarely get any pushback. That's because common sense tells us it's the right way to go. Most people know from experience that the fastest way to lose focus, squander valuable time, and water down great ideas is to entrust them to a larger group.Just as we know that there is equal danger in putting ideas at the mercy of a large group of approvers. One reason why large, unwieldy groups tend to be created in many companies is that the culture of a company is bigger than any one person. It's hard to change â€Å"the way we do things here†. This is where the zealots of simplicity need to step in and overcome the inertia. One must be judicious and realistic about applying the small-group principle. Simply making groups smaller will obviously not solve all problems, and â€Å"small† is a relative term.Only you know your business and the nature of your projects, so only you can draw the line between too few people and too many. You need to be the enforcer and be prepared to hit the process with the Simple Stick when the group is threatened with unnecessary expansion. In one iconic technology company with which I worked I found a framed sign in every conference room designed to nudge the employees toward greater productivity. The headline on the sign was how to have a successful meeting. The content read like it came right out of a corporate manual, which it likely did.It featured a bullet-pointed list of things like: â€Å"State the agenda at the start of your meeting,† â€Å"Encourage participation by all attendees,† and â⠂¬Å"Conclude your meeting with agreement on next steps†. What these signs really said, though, was: â€Å"Welcome to a very big company! Just follow these signs and you'll fit in well. † It's not hard to imagine Jobs, who actively fought big-company behaviour, gleefully ripping these signs off the wall and replacing them with Ansel Adams prints that might provide a moment of reflection or inspiration. If you ever work at Apple there will be no signs on the wall telling you how to run a meeting.Likewise, there will be no signs telling you how to tie your shoes or fill a glass of water. The assumption is that you are well equipped with brains and common sense and that you're a fully functioning adult. If you're not already a disciple of simplicity, you'll become one soon. Either that, or you'll decide you'd rather not be part of such a thing, which is okay too. Simplicity prefers not having to train a bucking bronco. If big companies really feel compelled to put something on their walls, a better sign might read: How to Have a Great Meeting 1. Throw out the least necessary person at the table. . Walk out of this meeting if it lasts more than 30 minutes. 3. Do something productive today to make up for the time you spent here. Think clarity This is an area where just about every business needs more work. Words are powerful, but more words are not more powerful – they're often just confusing. Understand that in your company's internal business and in communications with your customers, dissertations tend to drive people away. Though many writers never seem to grasp the point, using intelligent words does not necessarily make you appear smarter.The best way to make yourself or your company look smart is to express an idea simply and with perfect clarity. No matter who your audience is, it's more effective to communicate as people do naturally. In simple sentences. Using simple words. Simplicity is its own form of cleverness – saying a grea t deal by saying little. Think human Unless you're in the business of sterilising things, business is no place to be sterile. Have the boldness to look beyond numbers and spreadsheets and allow your heart to have a say in the matter. Bear in mind that the intangibles are every bit as real as the metrics – are often even more important.The simplest and most effective way to connect with human beings is to speak with a human voice. It may be necessary in your business to market to specific target groups, but bear in mind that every target is a human being, and human beings respond to simplicity. Best advice: Just be true to your species. This is an edited extract from Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success by Ken Segall (Portfolio Penguin, ? 14. 99) or at Guardian Bookshop for ? 11. 99 Doing business the Steve Jobs way It's natural for people to be resistant to change, large or small, so trying to change attitudes within an organisation can be difficult.But when you spread the word about the value of simplicity you are not spreading some oddball theory, you're echoing one of the most successful people in business history, Steve Jobs (right). If you refer to the benefits Apple has enjoyed by embracing simplicity, and make the appropriate parallels to your own business, you'll build a compelling case. You can spread the religion of simplicity project by project, by interacting with people and groups one at a time. Getting people to buy into a concept to the point where they start contributing their own ideas can literally create a movement within an organisation.Simplicity is a way of looking at every part of your job, the jobs of those around you, and the way your company operates. Once you start seeing the world through the lens of simplicity you'll be astounded at how many opportunities exist to improve the way your business works What are the Keys to Apple’s Success in Emerging Technologies? by Bill Halal [pic]Apple did not co me by its present success easily. Before the iPod, iPhone, and iPad became profitable icons of high-tech fashion, Steve Jobs suffered a long series of failures.Apple’s Pippin game player, the Next computer, Apple TV, the Lisa computer, the Newton PDA, and the Apple mouse are among the many products that are barely known because they were dismal flops. For many years, there were serious doubts if Apple could survive the battles it was losing to competitors like Microsoft. In contrast, Apple is now expected to sell 30 million iPads in 2011 — two-thirds of all tablet computers sold globally. Although the iPhone is fighting off 90 different smart phones, Apple’s sales are up 60% and could reach 100 million iPhones in 2011.The source of this staying power is seen in the fact that the Apple iPhone has the highest consumer satisfaction scores ever recorded. Apple’s profits exceed those of IBM, and it is considered one of the most Innovative and valuable companie s in the world, Such stunning success always raises questions over its origins. How did a struggling company run by a charismatic but somewhat erratic CEO learn to excel in the brutal battle among emerging technologies? Can the factors of this success be identified and used to guide others? The most striking conclusion about Apple’s rise is that Steve Jobs learned bitter but crucial lessons from failure.After years of autocratic leadership, dismal sales, and temperamental behavior demoralized the company, John Sculley became CEO in 1985 and Jobs was sent into the computing wilderness. For 12 years, he suffered losses such as the Next computer, which was overpriced and sold only 50,000 units in seven years. When Jobs returned to head Apple, he had learned to focus on good design, to treat people well, and to develop winning strategy. Tim Bajarin, president of a consulting firm, said â€Å"[Steve Jobs] would not have been successful if he hadn’t gone through his wildern ess experience. The main lesson from Apple’s success, however, is the central importance of focusing on strong products that are well-designed for the market. Jobs is a genius at minimalist designs that integrate technology breakthroughs to fill a newly emerging need with unusual style. He thinks success requires â€Å"listening to the technology† in order to â€Å"discover† the potential products waiting to be invented. The result can be seen in the way Jobs describes the attraction of the iPad – â€Å"It’s like holding the Internet in your hands,† he told a crowd. It’s so much more intimate than a laptop and more capable than an iPhone. It’s truly magical. † This keen sense of anticipating where emerging technologies are leading comprises the central talent that allowed Jobs to create revolutionary breakthroughs like the first personal computer (Apple 1), the first graphical interface (Mac), the first Unix PC (Next), th e first successor to Sony’s Walkman (iPod), the first online music store (iTunes), the first widely used smart phone (iPhone), and the first successful tablet (iPad).Serious processes are needed to closely follow advances in technologies that will impact your organization and to find creative new solutions for the market. That’s why Apple does far less conventional product research than other companies, and focuses instead on product discovery. Here’s how Jobs described his approach: If I had asked someone who only used a calculator what a Mac should be like, they couldn’t have told me. There’s no way to do consumer research so I had to go and create it, and then show it to them. Behind such great products, Apple thrives because it has been described as a â€Å"well-oiled machine. † Jobs learned to delegate, so his COO, Tim Cook, now runs a tight ship, and a cadre of managers and designers have learned to â€Å"think like Steve. † The company has outsourced its manufacturing operations, while 317 Apple stores are wildly popular and profitable. The Apple music store – iTunes – has expanded into a powerful vehicle for trading videos, movies, and possibly other information products.Even with these stunning achievements, Apple faces enormous new challenges as competition among other smart phones and tablets heats up. There are at least 20 versions of Android phones alone, slowly taking Apple’s market share. In 2011, Americans will buy more Androids than iPhones. The main issue, of course, is what happens when Jobs’ illness requires a successor? Despite claims that Apple has institutionalized practices that foster creativity, innovation, good design, and other legacies of Steve Jobs, it is really impossible to replace true genius. When Jobs returned from the wilderness to save Apple, John Sculley

Saturday, January 4, 2020

University of Minnesota Morris Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores

The University of Minnesota Morris is a public liberal arts college with an acceptance rate of 63%. Founded in 1860, UMN Morris is one of the five campuses in the University of Minnesota System. Morris is a town of about 5,000 located on the western side of the state. Students can choose from over 35 majors, and they enjoy the close relationships with faculty that come with a 13-to-1 student / faculty ratio and an average class size of 16. On the athletic front, the Morris Cougars compete in the NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. Considering applying to University of Minnesota Morris? Here are the admissions statistics you should know, including average SAT/ACT scores of admitted students. Acceptance Rate During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, UMN Morris had an acceptance rate of 63%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 63 students were admitted, making University of Minnesota Morris admissions process competitive. Admissions Statistics (2017-18) Number of Applicants 3,139 Percent Admitted 63% Percent Admitted Who Enrolled (Yield) 19% SAT Scores and Requirements University of Minnesota Morris requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 6% of admitted students submitted SAT scores. SAT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile ERW 530 660 Math 550 690 ERW=Evidence-Based Reading and Writing This admissions data tells us that most of UMN Morris admitted students fall within the top 35% nationally on the SAT. For the evidence-based reading and writing section, 50% of students admitted to University of Minnesota Morris scored between 530 and 660, while 25% scored below 530 and 25% scored above 660. On the math section, 50% of admitted students scored between 550 and 690, while 25% scored below 550 and 25% scored above 690. Applicants with a composite SAT score of 1350 or higher will have particularly competitive chances at University of Minnesota Morris. Requirements Note that University of Minnesota Morris does not superscore SAT results; your highest composite SAT score will be considered. While UMN Morris does not require the SAT writing section, the admissions office will consider the writing results in the review process. ACT Scores and Requirements University of Minnesota Morris requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 95% of admitted students submitted ACT scores. ACT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile English 20 27 Math 21 27 Composite 22 27 This admissions data tells us that most of UMN Morris admitted students fall within the top 37% nationally on the ACT. The middle 50% of students admitted to University of Minnesota Morris received a composite ACT score between 22 and 27, while 25% scored above 27 and 25% scored below 22. Requirements Note that University of Minnesota Morris does not superscore ACT results; your highest composite ACT score will be considered. While UMN Morris does not require the ACT writing section, the admissions office will consider your writing results in the review process. GPA University of Minnesota Morris does not provide data about admitted students high school GPAs. Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph University of Minnesota Morris Applicants Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph. Data courtesy of Cappex. The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to University of Minnesota Morris. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in  with a free Cappex account. Admissions Chances The University of Minnesota Morris, which accepts fewer than two-thirds of applicants, has a somewhat selective admissions process. However, UMN Morris has a  holistic admissions process involving factors beyond grades and test scores. The admissions office is looking for applicants who have completed a college preparatory curriculum that includes four years of English and math (including algebra and geometry); three years of science and social studies; and two years of a single foreign language. Rigorous coursework, including Advanced Placement, IB, Honors, and Dual Enrollment classes, can strengthen your application, as can participation in meaningful extracurricular activities and glowing  letters of recommendation. UMN also gives consideration to the personal interview and the SAT or ACT writing sample in the review process. In the scattergram above, the blue and green dots represent accepted students. You can see that most successful applicants had B or higher averages, and the great majority had grades of B or better. Standardized test scores also tended to be above average: nearly all admitted students had SAT scores of about 1000 or higher, and ACT composite scores of 20 or above. If You Like University of Minnesota Morris, You May Also Like These Schools: University of Minnesota - Twin CitiesCollege of CharlestonSt. Marys College of MarylandTruman State University All admissions data has been sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics and University of Minnesota Morris Undergraduate Admissions Office.

Friday, December 27, 2019

Responsibilities And Responsibilities Of A Project Manager

A project manager has many responsibilities and roles in a project. For a project manager to be successful, they must first guarantee that in the project all the responsibilities are clearly set and understood by all team members. By guaranteeing that the responsibilities and roles are assigned within the project team, this will help to ensure that the project will run smooth, with everyone knowing their roles and responsibilities. By having a successful project manager it will then offer the procurement management the strategies and proper steps, so the managers can have a procurement plan. Without the proper building blocks for the foundation for the project management team, there may be a strategy, but no way of understanding how to deliver the results that are needed for the project. It is important to have management principles, in order to be able to make any business changes successful in the project. The role that a project management has in procurement and supply chain management are but not limited to; reduced operating costs, improved quality, simplified or change the processes and come up with an effective supplier chain management. Some of the challenges in these roles and responsibilities would be to drive value from the supply chain and procurement processes. This is extremely hard and challenging because, you first need to identify the areas that have cost savings and then reduce your operating processes to help reduce costs in your organization. If theShow MoreRelatedResponsibilities Of A Project Manager1728 Words   |  7 Pages Assessment Item- 2 Assignment -1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES Read MoreThe Responsibility Of Being A Project Manager1390 Words   |  6 PagesTaking on the responsibility of being a project manager can be multidimensional and very demanding but rewarding at the end. The roles of a project manager has the total responsibility for the successful planning, execution, monitoring, control and closure of a project. After a project manager take on a tasks that’s has been assigned to him/her from a client, the job is just beginning. They must first understand and have general knowledge about the task that has been put in their hand. The missionRead MoreThe Responsibility Of Being A Project Manager1391 Words   |  6 PagesTaking on the responsibility of being a project manager can be multidimensional and very demanding but rewarding at the end. The roles of a project manager has the total responsibility for the successful plannin g, execution, monitoring, control and closure of a project. After a project manager take on a tasks that’s has been assigned to him/her from a client, the job is just beginning. They must first understand and have general knowledge about the task that has been put in their hand. The missionRead MoreProject Management And The Roles And Responsibilities Of Project Manager922 Words   |  4 Pages Initially I had a view that project management is organized planned objective of an organization with the consideration of all other constraints like budget cost, man-power and utilizing resources. From the classes my knowledge on project management has enhanced. Here I comes to know the different kinds of management in an organization and the roles and responsibilities of project manager, line manager, functional manager and sponsor. Project manager responsible for coordinating and merging activitiesRead MoreAssignment on Roles and Responsibilities of Project Manager9779 Words   |  40 PagesAssignment on â€Å"Roles and Responsibilities of Project Manager† [The assignment is prepared for the requirement of the course Project Management (MGT-4705) of BBA 7th semester] Prepared for Muhammd Shah Course Instructor Department of Business Administration International Islamic University Chittagong. Prepared By Name: Nafisa Ahmed Matric No: B-061213 Semester: Spring Level: BBA 7th Female (B) Submission Date: 11th August, 2009 Department of BusinessRead MoreProject Mgt- Human Resource Plan1706 Words   |  7 Pages[pic] Project Human Resource Plan Template This Project Human Resource Plan Template is free for you to copy and use on your project and within your organization. We hope that you find this template useful and welcome your comments. Public distribution of this document is only permitted from the Project Management Docs official website at: www.ProjectManagementDocs.com Human Resource Plan Company Name Street Address City, State Zip Code Date Table of Contents Read MoreManagement and Project1498 Words   |  6 Pages Project Human Resource Management (DAPM07T) Assignment 03 Portfolio of Evidence Table of Contents Contents 1 Introduction 3 2 Project Scope 3 2.1 Project Statement 3 3 Project Objectives. 3 4 Matrix Organisation and responsibilities 4 5 Project title and responsibilities 4 5.1 Project Team 5 5.2 Roles Of the project team 5 5.2.1 Project Manager 5 5.2.2 Project sponsor 6 5.2.3 Contractor Construction 6 5.2.4 Project engineers 6 5.2.5 Project Coordinator 6 5.2.6 ContractorRead MoreThe Responsibilities Involved With The Project Management1371 Words   |  6 PagesThis paper describes in brief the responsibilities involved with the project management. It also states the minimum educational qualification, skills, certifications needed and the salaries given to people in this role in today’s world. Keywords: [Click here to add keywords.] University of Houston Clear Lake A project is basically an assignment which has a definitive start and end times. It is a task undertaken to create a product or a service. Every project usually performs a unique set of operationsRead MoreEssay on Project Kick Off1462 Words   |  6 Pages2 PROJECT KICKOFF AND COMMUNICATION PLAN Date: April 25, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Kickoff Meeting – Letter to Invitees 3 Agenda for Discussion at Kickoff Meeting 3 List of Attendees to Kickoff Meeting 3-4 Project Communication Plan 4 External Communications 4 Internal Communications 4-5 Communicating with Upper Management and Customers 5 Change Management 5 Project Reporting – Administrative Close-Out 5 Project Reporting –Read MoreRoles and Responsibilities of Employees in Bpo1287 Words   |  6 PagesLTD ROLES AND RESPONSIBLITIES Roles and responsibilities of employees in BPO Manoj Mathew * What is MANAGEMENT Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims * Characteristics of Management * Goal Oriented : It coordinates the efforts of workers to achieve the goal of the organization * Result through others : The Manager cannot do everything themselves, they must

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Fences by August Wilson - 1495 Words

Growing up, most parents want what is best for their children with the hope that they will lead a better life than the one they had. On the surface, this does not seem to be the case in the relationship between Troy and Cory in August Wilson’s Fences. Troy was a hardworking man who did all he can to provide for his family. Cory worked equally as hard in his athletic career. Troy made a decision to end Cory’s football career out of protection but Cory viewed it as his father’s jealousy. Troy’s rough attitude and relationship towards Cory stems from multiple sources: Troy’s relationship with his own father, his jail time, the fact that he did not make the Major Leagues in baseball due to discrimination, and his reluctance to accept the idea that the times have changed. Each of these plays a distinct role in their relationship, ultimately cultivating in Troy losing Cory for good. When raising children, everything you â€Å"learn† on how to be a parent comes from your own parents or the ones that took care of you. Troy’s behaviors or attitudes towards his two sons are reflections of his own experience with his father when he was younger. He had a very rough childhood growing up, to the point where he wishes he never met his father. Sometimes I wish I hadnt known my daddy. He aint cared nothing about no kids. [...] But Ill say this for him...he felt a responsibility toward us. (I,iv, pg 50). His father had the same attitude that Troy has with his two sons. They viewed caringShow MoreRelatedFences : Fences By August Wilson1541 Words   |  7 PagesName: Alejandro Ahmed Date: 12/6/16 Unit: American Drama Title: Fences Author: August Wilson Year of Publication: 1986 Fences Study Guide Descriptive i. Overview: â€Å"Fences†, was a play written by August Wilson in 1986. The play communicates the story of the son of an unsuccessful sharecropper, Troy Maxson, who has lived most of his life independently due to his father’s abuse during his childhood. The play focuses on Troy’s interactions and conflicts with other characters, and the complicated relationshipsRead MoreFences by August Wilson791 Words   |  3 Pageshave built fences to keep enemies out and keep those they want to protect inside. In society today, people create metaphorical fences in order to fence in their feelings, while others create literal fences in order to keep the unwanted away. In the play Fences, the Maxon family lives in 1950’s America whose love for sports and one another are questioned at times when they need to be together the most. In the play Fences by August Wilson, two main characters Troy and Cory Maxon build a fence, literallyRead MoreFences, By August Wilson1104 Wor ds   |  5 PagesAfrican-Americans during the middle of the twentieth century were treated differently than those of the white population. Fences, a play by August Wilson, demonstrates the frustration of white dominance during a time when African-Americans were secluded from society. The Maxson family are the main characters of the play, showing the life they lived in their black tenement in Pittsburg in the 1950s. The setting demonstrates the drama of their struggle, frustration, rebellion, and the predicamentsRead MoreFences, By August Wilson807 Words   |  4 PagesFences â€Å"Some people build fences to keep people out...and other people build fences to keep people in† (61). In the play, Fences, by August Wilson who displays how fences symbolize different situations to represent different characters. The story takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1950’s, and in the play fences gives an outlook of providing an obstacle or barrier that is intended to keep something out or in. It shows through the protagonist character, named Troy Maxson and his wifeRead MoreThe Fences By August Wilson1813 Words   |  8 PagesIn the Fences, by August Wilson shows that life of African Americans in the U.S. in the 1950s with the story of Troy and his family. Wilson uses the symbol of the fence to show the desires of each character like Rose’s desire is to keep her family together, Troy’s desire is to keep death out and to be not bound forever, and Bono’s desire is to follow Troy, his best friend, as an example of the rig ht way to live and to be with Rose and Troy who are basically his family. Rose and the other seen charactersRead MoreAugust Wilson Fences984 Words   |  4 Pagesbecause in order to get what you want you have to fight for it. Two literary works that reflect this quote are Fences, a play about the struggles of African American before and during the Civil Rights Era in the 1950s and 60s, by August Wilson and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† a short story that shows the difference between women and men during that time, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. ‘Fences’ shows the revolution the characters face, their actions and what is the result of those choices. Whereas, ‘TheRead MoreFences by August Wilson883 Words   |  4 PagesFences, written by August Wilson, is a play about a man, named Troy, struggling to support his family during the late 1950’s. In this play, we see that Troy hurts the people closest to him. He has been uncaring towards his wife, Rose, his brother Gabriel and his son, Cory. This is because Troy had nothing to go on but the harsh example set by his father. In Fences, Troy has felt like he has been fenced in all of his life, which causes him to fence others in. Troy has felt fenced in all of his lifeRead MoreFences, By August Wilson895 Words   |  4 PagesFences written by August Wilson is an award winning drama that depicts an African-America family who lives in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania during the 1950’s. During this time, the Mason’s reveal the struggles working as a garbage man, providing for his family and excepting life as is. The end of segregation began, more opportunities for African American people were accessible. Troy, who’s the father the Cory and husband of Rose has shoes fill as a working African America man. He is the family breadwinnerRead MoreFences, August Wilson1835 Words   |  8 PagesAs illustrative of the kind of analysis I would bring to Fences, by August Wilson, if my bid to direct is successful, O prose to take direction for a part of Act 1, Scene 3 of the play. This will include possible blocking, camera work, music, and what the actor should be feeling and experiencing while acting the par t. I will examine how crucial it is that the actors portray their characters effectively, and I will offer commentary to assure just that. On the basis of these findings I will determineRead MoreSymbolism In Fences By August Wilson1460 Words   |  6 PagesKeep Love in or Lock it Out?: An Analysis of Symbolism in Fences Symbolism is defined as an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind. In Fences by August Wilson, symbolism is used heavily throughout the play in order to represent deeper meanings and add to the emotion of the storyline. In order for the play to have so much depth and emotion, symbolism is crucial to the work itself and the heavy topics

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Anaylsis Of The Film Fight Club Essay Example For Students

Anaylsis Of The Film: Fight Club Essay For years David Fincher has directed some of the most stylish and inventive thrillers in American cinema. His credits include: Aliens 3, Seven, The Game and Fight Club. Each of these films has been not only aesthetically pleasing and fun to watch but each has commented on society, making the viewers think outside norms and analyze their world. Fight Club is no exception; it is a multi-layered film with many subplots and themes, but the primarily it a surrealistically description of the status of the American male at the end of the 20th century. David Flinchers movie, Fight Club, depicts how consumerism has caused the emasculatization of the modern male and tells a tale of liberation from a corporate controlled society. In the movie Brad Pitt comments on the new way of life, We are products of lifestyle obsession; murder, crime, poverty do not concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with five hundred cannels and a designer name on my underwear. The film, Fight Club illustrates the consumer culture in which the 20th century male lives in and how its deconstruction of individuality. The film gives numerous examples of this; the main character of the film (Ed Norton) asks when looking through an IKEA catalog, What kind of plates define me as a person. He not asking what personal characteristics and attributes define him but what possession most accurately does. Furthermore, Ed Nortons character has no name; he is only referred to as the 90s everyman, the IKEA man. The film demonstrates the extensive emphases the consumer based culture of the 20th century on individualism and values associated with being a man. Corporations have replaced personal qualities with corporate logos; the modern male cannot be anything unless he has certain products in his possession. No longer does one own things, his things own him. The contemporary male is a slave of the IKEA nesting instinct. The main character absence of a name only exemplifies this; the buying of furniture from IKEA gives Ed Norton his identity, without being a consumer the main character would remain undefined and anonymous. In the movie, the two main characters, Ed Norton and Brad Pitt, are staring at a Calvin Klein ad and ask each other is this what a man is supposed to look like. Fight Club shows the extent of consumerism controlling life; the consumer culture even defines how the modern male should look and how he should aspire to look. The corporate ownership of the male extends to how much his life is worth. Ed Norton works in a claims department for a large car manufacture. His job is to decide what a manufacture does in case of a design flaw. Take for example, if a carburetor runs a risk of explodi ng after 100,000 miles; ED Nortons job is to investigate the probability of this happening. Then take the number of vehicles on the road and multiply them it by the probable rate of failure and multiply the product again with average price of a settlement. If the end result is less than the cost of a recall, there is no recall. Brad Pitt makes a statement that illustrates the society the modern male is forced to live in, We are a society of men raised by women. The film portrays the emasculation of the 20th century male, not only by our consumer-oriented society but also by feminine standards of civilization. The best example of his would be the support groups Ed Norton visits. In these support groups men are told to gather power, strength and courage from each other; not from themselves. At the end of the sessions men are told to hold each other and cry, things that are very non-stereotypical of men. The 20th century society does not want men to function independently and be able be emotional strong on their own; it does not want men to be men. Society wants to take the vary ideals of being a man, independence, strength and courage and only allow for men to experience them at certain times. The castration and feminization of the male character is exemplified through testicular cancer support group. The men in

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

The Novelty of Teams

Co-leadership is not only significance in group interventions but also in psychotherapy group leadership. Use of co–leadership in group interventions is not only important administratively, but may also profit group members directly.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Novelty of Teams specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, the relationship between the two leaders can be a very good example to the group members, showing them how to interact healthily with each other (Dies, 1994, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Co-leaders are also able to offer each other support, as well as cooperate to achieve and sustain objectivity. Their presence is also suitable in minimizing tension especially in the case of those therapists who are just beginning their profession (Dies, 1994 cited in Miles and Kivlighan 2008). The co-leaders also share different ideas and views concerning the group and its members, and may help one another to handle differences and counter-reactions from the group (Yalom, 1995, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Co-leadership and group interventions A lot is yet to be explored on how group dynamics can be affected by co-leader relationships. However, effect of co-leader relationship to group climate (a specific part of group dynamics) can help one comprehend the relationship between co-leadership and group member outcomes. Group climate includes those aspects within the therapeutic setting that encourage similar and related compatible types. This group climate can be directly attributed to psychotherapy group dynamism (McKenzie, 1983, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). In addition, therapy-client association in personal psychotherapy can be likened to group cohesion, an element of group climate (Yalom, 1995, cited in Miles and Kivlighan 2008). Since group climate is essential in group psychotherapy changes, a study of factors that determine the establishment o f group climate such as co-leadership may be vital to help comprehend occurrence of change in group interventions. According to a questionnaire-based research, three factors affect the relationship between group climate and group member outcome. These include the â€Å"engaged, avoiding and conflict factors† (GCQ-S; MacKenzie, 1983, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The engaged factor outlines the group’s significance to its members, the members’ closeness, and the cohesion of the entire group. Avoidance factor on the other hand refers to a case of group members evading any change-related responsibilities. The conflict factor relates to the degree of conflict and lack of trust among the group members (GCQ-S; MacKenzie, 1983 cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Apart from being shown to relate to group member outcome, gr oup climate has also been shown to be the link between the leadership of the group and the outcome of group members. A similar research revealed that both the level and pattern of engagement development had a relationship with group outcome (Kivlighan and Tarrant 2001, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Co-leadership and Team cognition In order to understand how various aspects of co-leader relationship affect group climate, it is crucial to first comprehend the concept of teamwork and perceive co-leaders as teams. It is also prudent at this point to understand what a team is. A team can be said to be a group of individuals who work while depending on each other in order to reach a common objective. Co-leaders can then be perceived as teams since they work together for a group intervention’s leadership. Team cognition can be used to understand the co-leadership aspects in group interventions. Basically, team cognition, obtained from organizational research, can be described as the functioning of a team with regard to the formation and use of information (MacMillan, Entin Serfaty, 2004 cited in Miles and Kivlighan 2008). It also particularly refers to shared mental models such as information and knowledge vested in team members and how they use it. Shared mental models have various benefits within a team. They help one to clearly explain team performance since they shed light on member interactions in addition to enhancing the possibility of anticipating the performance of the team. Apart from this, they give insight on the challenges of a team and how to solve them (Cannon-Bowers Salas, 2001, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Novelty of Teams specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, knowing the level of similarity that exists among members of a team, mental models may be used both to elaborate more and anticipate team members’ degree of involvement on a given responsibility. A research has shown that the degree of similarity among the team members mental model as pertaining an ideal member goes a long way to affecting team participation. When team members think in the same way about who an ideal member is, the level of knowledge held by them in determining team members performance matters less than when they think differently. In addition to anticipating performance, team cognition also shows a team’s effectiveness such that similar mental models of what encompasses a ‘team’ were directly related to the performance of a team and that team processes such as synchronization, communication, and collaboration enhanced this relationship. Although a study on team related mental model has been used to anticipate and analyze team the performance of the team mainly from industrial-organizational perspective, the application of team cognition phenomena to co-leader teams is still in a limbo. Alt hough most co-led groups have an advantage of co-leaders ability to share diverse views and opinions regarding the group and its members, no research has shown the degree of co-leaders mental models regarding their group and its link to group climate among other parameters. Effectiveness of the Co-leadership model Different researches have been carried out to investigate the effect on group performance arising when either co-leaders or single leaders are used. There is one that was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of co-leadership on both client and therapist training outcomes (Hendrix et al. 2001, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Both qualitative (such as variations in the training levels of the co-leaders) and quantitative means were used to examine the use of varied pairs of co-leader teams. There were so many clients from different families with different problems that were assigned to both individual and co-led therapists. Results did not show much difference in the use of individual therapists and those of co-leaders.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, the qualitative results indicated that there were some benefits accruing to those groups that had co-leader teams. Such benefits were additional knowledge and insights that were offered from another leader (therapist). There was knowledge sharing that motivated them to be risk takers. Even though these were the reported benefits from co-leadership, a few challenges were reported as well. These included not only control issues, but also the need to be thoroughly knowledgeable about the therapeutic system. Such benefits of co-leadership like willingness to be risk takers might go a long way to influence group aspects like group climate. The Development process in Co-leadership The development process of the co-leader relationship can be described in four stages (Dick et al. 1980, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). These include â€Å"formation, development, stabilization, and refreshment â€Å"(Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). During the formation stage, co-leaders are mainly pre-occupied with personal issues that revolve around proficiency and uncertainty. It is also at this point that basic developmental and interpersonal issues arise. Co-therapy is not encouraged at this stage. During the development stage, co-leaders concentrate mainly on supporting and helping each other. The third stage, stabilization focuses mainly on the relationship between the group, co-leaders, and tasks. The co-leaders help each other to grow up and hence external supervision is unnecessary. The final stage (refreshing) is marked by enthusiasm and the desire for more therapeutic growth (Dick et al. 1980, cited in Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). It is therefore essential that co-leaders go through these development stages prior to leading any group (Wheelan, 1997). It is further argued that co-leaders play pivotal roles in group development and that as the group continues to grow, its needs with regard to leadership also change (Wheelan, 1997). Whereas newer groups require greater emphasis on task dimensions, mature groups on the other hand need a leadership that focuses more on the relational dimensions of the group (Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Definitely, a co-leader who has undergone these thorough development stages will be in better position to not only collaborate with fellow co-leaders, but also to offer the best leadership as per the group requirements. It is imperative to understand the co-leadership related processes since co-leaders play a vital role when it comes to group climate. Study has indicated that group climate plays a vital role in linking group leadership with group member outcomes. Although this has been established, more study and research as to how group leadership affects group climate is still underway (Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). Comparison between group and individual based interventions A study in team cognition reveals that cognitive effects within individuals and teams occur in just the same way. This concept of common cogniti ve models helps to comprehend performance through its elucidation of interactions, helps to anticipate performance, and sheds light on a team’s main hurdles and their respective remedies. Whereas research has shown a positive relationship between team cognition and group participation, other studies have revealed increased team efficiency arising from shared mental models (Miles and Kivlighan, 2008). At times, managers are faced with multifaceted challenges that require team involvement to be able to overcome. That is why Dr. Bill Hodgeson, despite being an expert in both Chemistry and management was faced with a complex problem within Lederle laboratories and he could not think of another way but to assemble a team of intelligent persons loaded with varied experiences to help deal with the issue (Gellerman, 1998). Studies from psychotherapy of schizophrenic patients have indicated that symptoms of patients did not appear to have reduced after an individual based treatment (S chwatz, 1984, cited in Dixon, and Scott, 1995). It is further reported that unlike research in group therapy, researches in individual intervention therapies have mostly been faced with methodological difficulties (Keith and Mosher, 1980, cited in Dixon, and Scott, 1995). Studies including group psychotherapy interventions for both inpatient and outpatient settings were carried out. For the latter case, the efficacy of the interventions was missing especially for the acute psychotic patients except for the cases where the intervention was properly structured and well defined so as to result to changes in some behavioral aspects like attitudes (Scooler and Keith, 1993, cited in Dixon, and Scott, 1995). On the other hand, results from group psychotherapy interventions within the outpatient settings did not give consistent results regarding reduction of the disease causes and re-hospitalization (Parloff and Dies 1977, cited in Dixon, and Scott, 1995). Research on these interventions ha s had several shortcomings especially in methodologies and implementation. The common issues have been insufficient skills acquisition and experience of psychotherapists, insufficient information on the minimum number of sessions to be attended by a patient, insufficient group comparisons, imbalanced procedures of group tasks, not attending to diagnosis related to psychiatry and lack of non-standard outcome parameters. The accuracy and generalizability of the results is therefore thwarted by the errors and deficiencies in these studies (Dixon and Scott, 1995). Conclusion Group based interventions become distinct due to the presence of co-leaders. For co-leadership to be effective, the co-leaders ought to undergo the four different stages of development before meeting the group. These include the formation, development, stabilization, and refreshment stages. This is the only way to make them display teamwork, which is a vital ingredient in making them affect group climate. Teamwork o n the other hand helps them develop mental models that affect both group participation and group member outcomes. This is what makes this method superior over individual based intervention. The latter method also has limited leader skills and experiences required for efficient group participation. The limitation of both methods is insufficiency in their methodological and executional aspects. References Dixon, B. and Scott, J. (1995). Psychological Interventions for Schizophrenia. Web. Gellerman, S. W. (1998). How people work: Psychological approaches to management problems. NY, Library of Congress. Web. Miles, J, and Kivlighan, D. (2008). Team cognition in group interventions: the relation between co-leaders’ shared mental models of the group and group climate. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 12(3), 191-209. This essay on The Novelty of Teams was written and submitted by user Jaden Santos to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.