How has the 'American Ideology' changed since 1980 Answer with Essay

How has the 'American Ideology' changed since 1980 Answer with reference to notions of self reliance, equality of opportunity - Essay Example Self reliance is the conception that free and independent individuals should take responsibility of their social well being (Weir 2007, p. 746). Weir continues to argue that individualism closely relates to self reliance in the United States. However, this issue raises numerous controversies to various people. Since the eras of George Washington after the founding of America to the era of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, Americans had been embracing self reliance. Weir states that one of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin is known for his statement â€Å"God helps them that help themselves,† which many Americans misunderstood as a quotation from the bible (2007, p. 746). The government of Ronald Reagan since he assumed power as president in January 20, 1981 to 1989 greatly supported the ideology of self reliance. The former president is quoted saying â€Å"Every time the government acts, we lose self-reliance, character, and initiative (About.com n.d.). The current government of the United States in the leadership of President Barack Obama does not support self reliance. At a fundraiser in San Francisco in the last week of October 2011, the President warned the audience that if they do not re-elect him, they stand to face a new era of self reliance in America (Fleming 2011). Self-reliance implies that Americans do not stand a chance to rely on the government for provisions such as health care, education or anything they consider as a requirement. Fleming (2011) argues that most Americans would consider it unthinkable to do away with entitlements, they would worry if let to use their own resources. The American federal government takes the active role of including entitlements and safety nets such as retirement saving for its citizens in its budget. However, some Americans support the aspect self reliance because it comes with a sense of freedom. For example, most of the funds used for entitlements come from the taxpayers. The government takes a large sh are of the taxpayer’s income in the form of tax by using regulations which ensure Americans’ minimal requirements are taken care of. There is a lack of freedom in such situations because taxpayers have no control over what to do with their money. In fact, the government takes its portion before taxpayers can access their share. The main problem arises when needs keep increasing and changing with time. For example, health insurance is a right to the Americans while electricity and water are basic needs. The use of resources to provide the society with basic necessities is the key reason why Americans continue to wallow in dependency. As a nation, America opts not to risk gaining freedom by accepting self reliance. Equal opportunity is the provision that all people should receive similar treatment with the absence of obstacles such as preferences or prejudices and artificial hurdles except in cases where they are justifiable. The provision of equal opportunity supports s ituations such as offering job prospects to candidates with proper qualifications with the certainty that they can perform ably in the task. It disregards use of connections such as friendships, race, ethnicity, religion, birth relations and involuntary attributes such as sexual orientations, disability and age to whoever has control of offering the job. Equal opportunity provides advancement chances to all parties with interest, and allows them to compete on equal

Korean Christianity Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Korean Christianity Paper - Essay Example However, the strength of the influence in the clergy, which was once a driving factor in moving the people, now lay down at the side, and materialism as well as influences from other cultures has taken over. Prior to being divided into the south and the north, Korea was once a single nation, being ruled by s single government. Around the 1880’s foreign missionaries started to enter the nation, but was not readily accepted by the people due to various conflicts in their teachings as well as the already present traditions in Korea (Lee 117). Moreover, only some of the educated elite which had the chance to study in Japanese or American universities were successfully converted to Christianity. Common folk, called minjung were still worshipping their ancestors and offering them food and wine, among others, which has been the norm for more than a thousand years (Oak 1). Thus the conversion of Koreans during the start of the 20th century was rather slow and limited. The conversion f rom the pagan religions of the masses and the Confucian and Buddhist principles in the upper class society of Korea was not an easy task. Foreign missionaries did not have an idea that deeply-rooted religions associated with ties to families and ancestors would be hard to break, and converts would have to face ostracism from their families or suffer severe torture or death (Oak 5). Many Koreans also see the conversion as a strong political force that yearns to topple the government, thus many oppose to being converted. Most of the elite that were sent to Japan, the United States or any other country either as a diplomat, a scholar, or exiled were easily converted to Christianity, but their ideals were not easily accepted by many, and people would rather cling to old traditions than lose their families in the process (6). However, after the great depression of the 1920’s and the continuing struggle for independence after being annexed by Japan, Protestant Christianity was prom ulgated by many of the movement’s leaders and revolutions regarding the economic and political reform ensued (118). The association of Korean pride, self-sufficiency and nationalism was spearheaded by a Presbyterian Elder named Cho Man-sik, which was a man with a lot of experience regarding teachings in Christianity, governing a school, and law (Wells 828). In order to initiate the economic stability of Korea (which was struggling due to low wages as well as dependence on Imperial Japan), Cho lived in simple house and worn traditional clothing suited for heavy work, among others. Becoming the symbol for New Korea, Cho held seminars and rallies to push the rest of the nation to become self-governing and self-sufficient (829). Making the people move was something that the socialists were not able to do alone. Protestant Christianity as a religion took its own course and development as well as the integration into the lives of the common folk through the subtle intermingling wit h pagan traditions. Initially, Korean Protestantism was not iconoclastic and sacral in nature, but due to the strong ties of shamanism and other pagan religions, it eventually evolved as such. Also, since the presence of sacred artifacts, people and places was already being practiced, these influenced how converted people worshipped in their faith (Lee 8). And since the lower classes, or minjung were easily converted into Christianity due to the adaptation of old customs, there was an explosion of

Advantage of science Essay Example for Free

Advantage of science Essay Science gives us safe food, free from harmful bacteria, in clean containers or hygienic tins. It also teaches us to eat properly, indicating a diet balanced in protein and carbohydrate and containing vitamins. The results is freedom from disease and prolonged life. In pre-scientific days, food was monotonous and sometimes dangerous; today it is safe and varied. It is varied because through improved sea, land and air transport food can now be freely imported and exported. Science has also improved clothing and made it more appropriate for climatic and working conditions. Man-made fibers and versatile spinning machines, today enable us to dress in clothes both comfortable and smart without being expensive. Home, school and office all bear witness to the progress and application of science. Nowadays, most homes possess electric lighting and cooking, but many also have washing machines, vacuum cleaners and kitchen appliances, all designed to increase comfort and cleanliness and reduce drudgery. Science produces the fan which cools the air, the machinery which makes the furniture and fabrics, and hundred and one other features for good living. The books and papers are at school, and again everything from the piece of chalk to the closed-circuit television of instruction are the direct or indirect results of scientific progress. Learning is therefore easier. And clerical work is made far more speedy and efficient by the office typewriter, quite apart from the hundreds of different machines which relieve the manual worker of so much slow and monotonous toil in the factories. The first and the major advantage is that medical science is very progressive and vastly available. Without the needed technology a lot of people would struggle with their health. More complicated treatments are being carried out successfully, by means of science and technology. These include surgeries, heart and kidney transplant, artificial inseminations and many others. These treatments are saving many innocent lives. The point is to spread it, and reach with medicine help to the poor nations of the Third World. Again, advanced technology improves industry by making it more effective and, what is vital today, safer for environment. Modern technology has introduced various sophisticated machines into our industries which is increasing productivity at a very fast rate. Work that required technological advancements have made the world a smaller place to live in Dissemination : whether spreading  information, broadcasting news, or sharing knowledge, technology has made it faster, easier, and smarter. Education Disadvantage  with the new science and technology developments most people underestimate the damage it gives us. First of all, I would like to say, that with these new science and technical appliances people became to be lazy. They rarely go out to work on foot or by a bicycle. Now there are a lot of modern cars in the cities, which are said to be emitting less gas. But still their emitted gasses damage the environment, so to my mind, that is why pollution of our environment is increasing. Secondly, it seems to me, that technologies are throwing away our free time. For example, these new laptop computer or those touch-screen devices are full of entertaining programs, which are attracting people effectively. Then people forget how to communicate with others in real life, not through international communication systems like â€Å"Skype† or â€Å"Facebook†.

Study on the human kidney and kidney stones

Study on the human kidney and kidney stones There are normally two kidneys in humans. The kidneys are small organs which can be found behind the abdominal cavity in a space called the retroperitoneum. They are approximately at the vertebral level of T12 to L3. The kidney participates in whole-body homeostasis, excretion and releases important hormones. Small, solid masses called kidney stones may form when salts or minerals, which are normally found in urine, become solid crystals inside the kidney. These crystals are normally too small to be become aware of, and pass harmlessly out of the body. However, they can build up inside your kidney and form much larger kidney stones. If a stone becomes large enough, it may begin to move out of the kidney and progress through the ureter (a tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder). A kidney stone can become stuck at various parts of the ureter or kidney causing pain, infection and occasionally kidney damage. These kidney stones can be in many different shapes and sizes. The peak age for kidney stones is between 20 years old and 50 years old. The risk of having kidney stones in males is three to four times larger than in females. Other diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, chronic diarrhoea, or kidney cysts might increase the risk of having kidney stones as well. If the patient has previously had a kidney stone then he/she will have a 50 percent chance of developing another one within five years. A family history of kidney stones also increases the risk of developing kidney stones (cvstine stones). Kidney stones form when there is a decrease in urine volume and/or an excess of stone-forming substances in the urine. The most common type of kidney stones present contains calcium in combination with either oxalate or phosphate. Other chemical complexes that can form kidney stones in the urinary tract include uric acid and the amino acid cystine. Dehydration from reduced fluid intake, excessive sweating, or strenuous exercise without adequate fluid replacement may lead to the formation of kidney stones. Obstruction to the flow of urine can also lead to kidney stone formation. Kidney stones can also result from infection in the urinary tract; these are known as struvite or infection stones. Ingesting too much sugar, salts, and/or protein may lead to the formation of kidney stones as well. This is due to protein containing amino acids (which includes cystine); fructose is a sugar which some individuals metabolize into oxalate. Many different medical conditions may also lead to the fo rmation of kidney stones. These medical conditions include gout (which results in an increased amount of uric acid in the urine and can lead to the formation of uric acid stones.), Hypercalciuria (too much calcium is absorbed from food and excreted into the urine, where it may form calcium phosphate or calcium oxalate stones.), hyperparathyroidism, cystinuria and hyperoxaluria. Medication may also lead to kidney stone formation. These medications include some diuretics, some chemotherapy medicines for cancer and some medication used to treat HIV and AIDS. The presence of kidney stones may cause the patient to have symptoms of sudden pains in their abdomen, lower back, or/and groin area. Renal colic may occur in severe cases, which is accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Kidney stones also cause blood to be present in urine; this is caused by the kidney stone rubbing with the wall of the ureter. Sometimes symptoms such as frequent urination, difficulty in urinating, and testicular pain may also occur. Fevers and chills may occur as well when the patient has kidney stones as well as an infection in the urinary tract. The diagnosis of kidney stones is suspected by the typical pattern of symptoms when other possible causes of the abdominal or side pains are excluded. Imaging tests are usually done to confirm the diagnosis. There are 2 methods that can be used to detect kidney stones, the helical CT scan (which detects any obstruction in the urinary tract without any contrast material) and the intravenous pyelogram (IVP: an X-ray of the abdomen along with the administration of contrast dye into the bloodstream). Helical CT scans have been shown to be a significantly more effective diagnostic tool than the IVP in the diagnosis of kidney or urinary tract stones. In pregnant women or those who should avoid radiation exposure, an ultrasound examination may be done to help establish the diagnosis. There are many methods of removing a kidney stone. Most kidney stones eventually pass through the urinary tract on their own within 48 hours, with ample fluid intake. Pain medications are used for symptom relief. For kidney stones that do not pass on their own, a procedure called extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is often used. In this procedure, shock waves are used to break up a large stone into smaller pieces that can then pass through the urinary system. Surgical techniques have also been developed to remove kidney stones when other treatment methods are not successful or helpful. This may be done through a small incision in the skin (percutaneous nephrolithotomy) or through an instrument known as an ureteroscope, which is passed through the urethra and bladder up into the ureter. Rather than having to undergo treatment, it is best to avoid the formation of kidney stones in the first place when possible. It can be especially helpful to drink more water, since low fluid intake and dehydration are the major risk factors for kidney stone formation. Depending on the cause of the kidney stones and an individuals medical history, dietary and lifestyle changes and/or medications are sometimes recommended to decrease the likelihood of developing further kidney stones.

Self-Analysis Essay -- Essays Papers

Self-Analysis Before taking this course my writing styles and habits were very different. I was the typical procrastinator because I would wait until the night before a paper was due to start it. This did not allow me enough time to properly proofread everything, which resulted in getting points deducted for simple grammatical errors that could have been avoided if I would have had the time to proofread. My writing styles have many strengths and weaknesses and I have been able to improve my writing because of them. I have learned from my strengths and weaknesses how to become a better writer. In my writing, I have many strengths, some that which I have developed through this course and some that I already had. Before this class, I was able to pick out good content for my papers and concentrate on including the most important material. Also before this course I was able to develop paragraphs well. I was able to have good structure and format within my paragraphs. I was also able to think of the best order for them to go in so that the paper would flow well. However aft...

Italian Neorealism Essay -- European Cinema

The aim of this report is to discuss Italian Neorealism (Neorealismo); looking at how the movement played a significant element in European cinema during and after the times of Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime. The report not only looks at how but why Neorealism became a growing phenomenon for filmmakers during its debatable 10 year period, and what implication of messages these Neorealist directors were trying to send out through their films. Backed up by several reliable book sources, the evidence for this report will also highlight the influences Neo-realism has created in modern filmmaking today. Before the dawn of Neorealism, Italy was under great turmoil in the early 1920s suffering from major economic crisis, bank failures and a collapsing government, which would also mean a collapse in the Italian film industry and the ‘Silent Era’ of cinema (Roberts, 2005). When Benito Mussolini took control as the 40th Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 the revival of Italian cinema would be once again be relived, but this time ruled under the control and guidance by Mussolini and his fascist government (Bondanella, 2001). It was not until the mid 1930s that the brutish dictator truly recognized the potential power of media, where in 1935 a special funding was given to the production of Italian films which was used to open up film institutions like the ‘Centro Sperimenale di Cinematografia’ (CSC) film school, and ‘Cinecitta’ (Cinema City) studios in 1937 (Ruberto and Wilson, 2007). The development of these institutions sparked the appearance of early sound cinema, specializing in genres such as comedies, melodramas, musicals and historical films, but were all categorized as ‘propaganda’ and ‘white telephone’ films by many critics due... ...echoslovak New Wave, Denmark’s Dogme 95, and British Social Realism, which all can be seen as notable influences from that of Italian Neorealism. Works Cited Roberts, J. (2005), Benito Mussolini, Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books. Bonandella, P. (2010), Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present (3rd edn), London: The Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd. Ruberto, L.E. and Wilson, K.M. (ed.) (2007), Italian Neorealism and Global Cinema, Detroit: Wayne State University Press. Reich, J. and Garofalo, P. (ed.) (2002), Re-viewing Fascism: Italian Cinema, 1922-1943, Indiana: Indiana University Press. Landy, M. (2000), Italian Film, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sorlin, P. (1996), Italian National Cinema 1896-1996, London: Routledge. Shiel, M. (2006), Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the Cinematic City, London: Wallflower Press.

High maintenance intensive gardens Essay

Located primarily in the southern region of the United States, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, ColorTech is a privately held company that grows and supplies annual and perennial flowers to big-box stores. Some of its clients include Walmart and Home Depot. They rented greenhouse space in other US cities to be able to handle special orders, with greenhouses in the North which helped them provide region specific and seasonal plants. ColorTech profits had been consistently dropping due to a change in the market and industry. A saturated market and a shift away from water and high maintenance intensive gardens, along with increased price competition are the major reasons why we have seen a loss in profits for ColorTech. Demands for lowering prices and very costly customizations from the big-box stores made ColorTech even more exposed than other competitors. As part of its growth strategy and an effort to generate additional revenue, ColorTech recently acquired a Colombian company specialized in cut flowers, and quickly became one of the largest growers in North and South America. Character profiles- Melissa Richardson- She is the main character in this case study. Melissa was the top sales performer in Chicago before her recent promotion to sales manager of the Phoenix office. Melissa is excited and eager to step into this position, hoping that her previous experience and success will be able to help the struggling Phoenix office become successful. She has no previous manager experience, but has taken management training courses which helped her learn about some of her duties. Beth Campbell- She is the Regional Sales manager for ColorTech. Beth is very absent from this story and does not provide the support to Melissa that she needs. Campbell appears to be very busy and does not communicate expectations with Melissa well. Alex Hoffman- He is an account representative, and has been with the company for 8 years. He is the top salesperson in the entire company. He is very dismissive in his attitude towards Melissa. He does not appear to accept her as his manager. He might be having some feelings of jealousy born out of the fact that he may have considered himself qualified for the manager position. Alex has no interest in selling the cut flowers portion of the business and will only work on his own terms. Gregorio Torres- Torres, also an account representative, has been with the company the longest, 12 years. His sales numbers are below average. During his first encounter with Melissa, he was more interested in discussing his idea for a new website to manage customer service. When further pushed about why his sales numbers were so low, Gregorio responded with â€Å"I guess I’m just not a hard-sell kind of guy.† From an outside perspective it seems as if Gregorio is just not cut out for sales and might be more interested in customer service or operations. Sarah Vega- Sarah is the third account representative on the team. Even though she has been with the company for 3 years, still does not appear to have it all together. Sarah was either tardy or absent from meetings. Even when she eventually made it for a meeting, she seemed distracted, restless and unorganized. This attitude to work reflected on her erratic sales numbers, though she appeared knowledgeable in some areas of the company’s product line, she was totally clueless in others. . Chelsea Peterson- Chelsea is a store merchandiser and has been with the company for 2years. This is a position that provides support for the sales team. Chelsea from the start was openly hostile with Melissa. Chelsea feels that Melissa is not giving her a chance to become a sales rep even though she has never expressed that desire to anyone. She eventually expresses her interest to Melissa who told her to put a resume together for consideration. Chelsea still feels slighted and has hires an attorney to approach ColorTech about gender diversity records. Nick Ruiz- Nick is fresh out of college and has been with ColorTech for 1 year. He is the most enthusiastic of all the employees on the team. He is currently a store merchandiser, but will do whatever it takes to get into an account rep position. His product knowledge is very strong, he has active discussions with customers, and since there is a greenhouse on site he has strong knowledge of operations as well. He even forgoes his breaks to go into the greenhouse just to talk to workers about the jobs that they do. The Situation- From the very start Melissa Richardson has received no support or respect as a manager. In addition, Melissa has never had any managerial experience and has stepped into an office where she is way over her head with problems that she has never faced before. Her first day on the job gave a glimpse of what she was in store for. Her regional sales manager did not show up to introduce Melissa and to get Melissa acclimated to the team. The top sales rep in the company did not respect her and showed up to the first meeting late even though he knew about it. Along with that Sarah Vega showed up late to the meeting and also disrespected Melissa. Very quickly things spiraled out of control for Melissa. She was disrespected in the first meeting by Alex and Sarah, and she did not do anything to address the situation. Melissa coming from Chicago was not accustomed to the culture of the Phoenix office. The greenhouse workers and a lot of the sales team are Hispanic by nature and Spanish was their first language. Melissa has tried to learn Spanish by tape, but could not keep up with the speed that everyone else spoke it at. On multiple occasions the sales reps would speak Spanish in front of her, but Melissa could not follow what they said because they spoke in Spanish. This would upset Melissa and make her feel even more distant from her team. The Phoenix sales office was not meeting sales expectations, and to makes things even worse there was a fungus in the Columbia Greenhouse cut facility. The only way to remedy this problem was to destroy the stock inside, disinfect the entire facility, and then finally start regrowing all of the cut flowers. This problem caused delays of weeks in orders from new customers, and the potential loss of many clients. Due to low self efficacy, a lack of support from upper management, not fitting into the culture of the office, and lack of experience as a manager; Melissa failed to successfully transition from team member to team leader. In the end, everything spiraled out of control, with Sarah missing work at least once a week, Gregorio consistently putting up poor numbers, Chelsea filing a gender discrimination lawsuit against the company, and Alex providing no respect and support for his manager. Diagnosis Melissa Richardson is having difficulty transitioning from Team Member to Team Manager for a variety of reasons including her own behaviors and situational challenges she encounters and they contribute to a dysfunctional team environment. Melissa is in trouble even before she begins her new job as Sales Manager because of her low self-efficacy beliefs concerning her management training (Kinicki, 2008, p. 39-41). She has taken management training courses offered by her company but has little confidence in her understanding of the Managerial and Human Resources responsibilities of her new position. She finds it hard to imagine how she might apply the specific advice and experiences that her management trainers relate to situations she will encounter. Self-efficacy beliefs are often self-fulfilling prophecies; low self-efficacy beliefs lead to low expectations of success and can result in destructive behavior patterns, such as putting off difficult tasks, which contribute to failure (Kinicki, 2008, p. 40-41). Melissa’s problems transitioning to a management position are partly because; whether she recognizes it or not, she is not confident that she has the necessary skills and abilities. As she meets her new team and interacts with her new supervisor it becomes clear that she is not communicating well with any of them. The members of her team are mostly distant or distracted–not focused on the job at hand–and she allows herself to be distracted from making a strong first impression by other aspects of her job such as touring the greenhouses, phone meetings, and paperwork. Melissa is a low self-monitor, not particularly good at observing her own self-expressive behavior and adapting it to the demands of the situation (Kinicki, 2008, pg 42). She learns from her manager, too late to complete a quarterly sales report, that the data she is using was falsified by her predecessor. She is also confronted by an angry employee wrongly convinced of being passed over for a promotion. Melissa, however, does not respond to the environmental cues and change her behavior as she would if she were engaged in self-management (Kinicki, 2008, p. 43). She isn’t helped by the lack of leadership from her own manager, Beth Campbell, who ought to be coaching her and providing feedback as she transitions to her new role and gets to know her new team members (Kinicki, 2008, p. 42). They meet only once before Melissa starts her new job and when Melissa does start, Beth fails to properly introduce her or give her any background information on her new team and position. She assigns work but does not give Melissa the necessary support and training to make sure she succeeds at new and unfamiliar tasks. Beth is not providing the leadership that she needs and Melissa is not comfortable asking for help. One more situational factor working against Melissa’s transition to Team Leader is her difficulty adapting to a new environment in Phoenix, where speaking Spanish is a big part of everyday interactions with her co-workers. Several times she feels isolated from her team because she is not fluent in Spanish, even though she has tried to learn the language. Melissa’s sales team is dysfunctional and she immediately has problems in her interpersonal relationships with several team members. Alex Hoffman is dismissive, Chelsea Peterson is hostile and Sarah Vega is absent. By the time of her July meeting with Beth Campbell, Melissa’s group has not progressed beyond the second stage of Bruce Tuckman’s Five-Stage Theory of Group Development (Kinicki, 2008, p. 88). She encounters problems in the first stage, Forming, when she fails to make a strong first impression on her team. This is followed by the second stage of group development, Storming, as demonstrated by challenges to her authority from Alex who dismisses her goal of selling cut flowers, Chelsea who accuses her of gender discrimination, and Vega who is persistently absent. The group never reaches the third stage, Norming, because nobody challenges the team to move forward and really take on the problem solving necessary to overcome the challenges presented when sales are jeopardized by production issues in the greenhouses. They lack the common commitment necessary to qualify as a real team (Kinicki, 2008, p. 93). Melissa does not effectively set goals or provide incentives and feedback to motivate her team members. She also fails to develop teamwork competencies by helping them understand their problem solving situation so they can arrive at a common understanding of what challenges are facing them and how to go about resolving them (Kinicki, 2008, p. 93). Prescription While the ColorTech team in Phoenix has encountered numerous problems, including lagging sales, production errors, and an infectious fungus, the team’s main issues stem from Melissa’s difficulty transitioning from team member to team manager, team dysfunction, and Melissa’s difficulty managing diversity and the new culture in Phoenix. There are solutions available to help mitigate the team’s problems, including improving Melissa’s management skills, developing teamwork competencies, and implementing diversity initiatives. However, there is no single solution or quick fix. In fact, under the Contingency Approach, the ideal solution may be a combination of multiple techniques, instead of relying on one solution (Kinicki, 2008, p. 11). The first potential solution provides Melissa with steps she can follow to improve her skills as a manager. Clark Wilson developed eleven skills managers should have: 1. Clarify goals and objectives; 2. Encourage participation, suggestions, and upward communication; 3. Plan and organize work flow; 4. Obtain technical and administrative expertise; 5. Facilitate work through training, team building, coaching, and support; 6. Provide honest and constructive feedback; 7. Keep things moving with schedules, reminders, and deadlines; 8. Control details without being overbearing; 9. Apply reasonable pressure to achieve goals; 10. Empower employees and delegate key duties; and 11. Recognize good performance with positive reinforcement and rewards (Kinicki, 2008, p. 2-3). By clarifying goals and objectives, Melissa would have given Gregorio, and the rest of her team, a target to shoot for, which may help him reverse the negative trend in his sales numbers. A clear sales target may also help Sarah become more consistent with her sales figures. Goal-setting research indicates that performance is higher when challenging goals are set, and feedback helps employees stay on track and motivated (Kinicki, 2008, p. 64). In addition, by encouraging employees to participate in goal-setting, empowering team members, and recognizing good performance with rewards, employees become more committed to team objectives, and performance improves (Kinicki, 2008, p. 64). Lastly, organizing workflow, facilitating work, providing reminders, and motivating the team with reasonable pressure allows Melissa to ensure the team is working efficiently and productively (Kinicki, 2008, p. 64). Learning these management skills will not only improve her team’s performance, they will also help improve Melissa’s communications with her manager, Beth Campbell. By clarifying her goals and objectives with Campbell, Melissa will have a better idea of what it will take to succeed as a manager. By improving Melissa’s technical and administrative expertise, she will avoid mistakes and late submissions with her sales reports. Lastly, by providing honest and constructive feedback to Campbell about Melissa’s frustration and difficulties, Campbell may be able to provide guidance and advice. Thus, refining her management skills will improve not just Melissa’s relationship with her team, but Melissa’s relationship with her manager as well. To address team dysfunction, Melissa and her team need to develop teamwork competencies. Urging employees to be good team players is not enough (Kinicki, 2008, p. 93). Managers need to model and teach the following competencies: the team must understand its problem-solving situation; the team must get organized and measure its performance; a positive team environment should be promoted; conflict must be handled properly; and team members should promote their points-of-view appropriately (Kinicki, 2008, p. 93). By understanding their problem-solving situation, Melissa’s team can take ownership of their challenges, and help find solutions. Getting organized and measuring their performance allows the Phoenix team to understand their goals and what they need to do to achieve them. Lastly, promoting a positive team environment, handling conflict properly, and expressing one’s views appropriately will foster trust, cooperation, and team synergy. The next solution requires Melissa to implement diversity initiatives. Based on Morrison’s study of diversity initiatives, organizations that successfully manage diversity focus on three main areas: 1. Accountability—treating diverse employees fairly; 2. Development—preparing diverse employees for greater responsibility and advancement; and 3. Recruitment—attracting diverse applicants who are willing to accept challenging work assignments (Kinicki, 2008, p. 36). Under the Equity Theory, motivation is a function of fairness, and employees are more likely to commit if the changes are fair (Kinicki, 2008, p. 58). In addition, because of Fundamental Attribution Bias, managers tend to attribute employee behavior to internal causes, but may be ignoring environmental factors (Kinicki, 2008, p. 28). By treating everyone fairly, implementing development programs, and communicating better, Chelsea would have understood Melissa’s thought process, and would be less likely to think that Melissa was being discriminatory. In addition, Spanish was the predominant language at the Phoenix greenhouse, because of the large number of workers from Mexico and Central America. Thus, Melissa would have to significantly improve her Spanish if she wants to be able to communicate more effectively with the majority of workers at the site. Also, the workers in Phoenix like to keep a friendly atmosphere, and even cook outdoor lunches and share lunch with the sales staff, so it would be a good idea for Melissa to get to know them and to learn more about the culture in Phoenix, in order to maintain positive and productive relationships with her co-workers. Organizations operate in a global economy, and the workplace is becoming more and more diverse (Kinicki, 2008, p. 5-6). In the past, managers were monocultural and monolingual; however, the 21st century manager must evolve to become multicultural and multilingual to remain competitive in such a diverse and fast-paced environment (Kinicki, 2008, p. 7). In addition, â€Å"managing diversity enables all the organization’s people to perform up to their maximum potential by changing the organization’s culture and infrastructure† (Kinicki, 2008, p. 32). By learning the culture and getting to know the people Melissa is going to be working with, she will be better able to communicate with and manage her team. After all, â€Å"management† is the process of working with and through others to achieve organizational objectives in an efficient and ethical manner† (Kinicki, 2008, p. 2). Melissa and her team are facing numerous challenges, including team dysfunction in part due to Melissa’s lack of management skills, and because Melissa has found it difficult to transition from being a successful team member to successful manager. Melissa also has difficulty managing diversity and adjusting to the new environment and culture. Fortunately, there are solutions available to help solve her team’s difficulties, including improving Melissa’s management skills, developing teamwork competencies, and implementing diversity initiatives. While there is no easy or single solution, using these techniques in combination will help Melissa and her team become more productive, and help them reach their personal and organizational goals. Action Plan There are four key steps that need to be implemented in order to improve Melissa Richardson’s ability to manage successfully. And we have prioritized each solutions based on different challenges and its influence on how well she can lead. First of all, Richardson needs to voice her concerns to her boss, Beth Campbell. Then, she needs to talk to HR about some of the employee’s conduct. Also, she needs to meet with the team and talk about her expectations. Finally, Richardson needs to discuss performance of each individual on one-on-one basis. As discussed before, Richardson was hoping to be guided and mentored in her new role as a sales manager. She did not have prior management experience so it was normal for her to expect some â€Å"hand holding† initially. However, she didn’t receive any support from her boss, Campbell. Not only that, she was in charge of leading a team that require clear direction and discipline. To make the matters worse, the organization was facing its own set of problems related to customer demand and operation limitations. Furthermore, Richardson wasn’t an effective communicator since she wasn’t able to address the team issues and set clear expectations. All of these challenges are very difficult for someone new to manage. So she needs to cultivate a mentor figure, whether it is Campbell or someone else. Because mentoring will provide Richardson the career and psychosocial functions, identified by Kram (Kinicki, 2008, pg. 194), that will help her perform well in her new role. The second challenge Richardson was facing was related to the HR issues. Team members often arrived late to work or were absent. Also, an issue of gender discrimination was brought up by Chelsea Peterson. She felt that she should be receiving a preferential treatment over others because she was a woman. So it is necessary for Richardson to bring up these issues with the HR department and take appropriate actions to stay out of legal trouble and to ensure that the team adheres to organization’s code of conduct. Next order of business requires Richardson to bring synergy and tackle the dysfunctional team. For example, Alex Hoffman is a top sales person but doesn’t open up much. He could be a great asset if she can get him more engaged and involved in the team. And Sarah Vega is not focused and is often distracted by non-work related events. So Richardson needs to understand what holds each member back from being at their maximum potential. And she can increase their performance by applying some of Clark Wilson’s recommended management skills (Kinicki, 2008, pg. 2-3). Finally, Richardson needs to recognize the human capital in her team (Kinicki, 2008, p.12). She already made a list of skills each team members has or lacks. She needs to use that knowledge and focus on increasing productivity potential of each member. She can also increase their motivations through job redesign (Kinicki, 2008, p. 64). For example, Hoffman is focused more on selling to bigger clients while Gregorio Torres is not. So it may be helpful for her to adjust their sales quotas to reflect their customer preference. Also, Nick Ruiz is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about being in the sales team. Richardson can look into opening up an associate sales rep position for him to see how he does in the new role. She can have him work with Hoffman or mentor Ruiz herself on becoming a successful salesperson as she was. We believe that the four steps mentioned above will allow Richardson to improve her management success. Therefore, she needs to tackle each action plan by setting up meetings to address the challenges. First meeting with Campbell seem appropriate due to many questions and concerns Richardson has about her new role. A second meeting with the HR department would help her address the ethics problem with Peterson and other issues. Finally, she needs to meet with the team members again to try to make a strong first impression and re-establish her leadership. References Kinicki, A. (2008). Organizational Behavior. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin