Motivation Essay

INTRODUCTION Motivation is the process of initiating and directing behaviour based on the persistence of effort to satisfy an individual goal or need (Petri, 1991; Robbins et al, 2000 and Robbins et al, 2001). There are two approaches to understanding motivation, each of which has theories expanding to support the nature of motivation. Content theories focuses on what motivates an individual. In contrast to process theories of motivation which focus on how individual behaviour is motivated. This essay will focus on motivation in an educational context and the importance to provide opportunities and motivation for students.The purpose of this essay is to present a theoretical overview of the key differences between content theories and process theories of motivation. Then a programme developed from a theory to be applied to an undergraduate business course at Monash University. The motivational programme will focus on improving the assessment technique used by lecturers and tutors (â €Å"teachers†) that will motivate and improve undergraduate students learning ability. The aim will be to encourage students to gain a better understanding of the core concepts of business.Assessment in universities needs to be reshaped in order to motivate students. CONTENT THEORIES OF MOTIVATION Content theories are also referred to, as need theories. That is, motivational theories that look at what individual needs motivate and direct behaviour to respond to specific goals. Many early theories from the 1950? s, include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y and Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, established core concepts which have helped explain motivation especially in an organisational setting.McClelland’s three needs theory is a more contemporary view on the content theory approach to motivation that focuses on three important needs in work situations. Each theory identifies individual needs in order to understand b ehaviour. The main factors that underlie this approach is the need to understand that individuals have different needs, and what can be offered in response to these different needs as well as the importance on the external working environment to give individuals the opportunity to satisfy their needs (Robbins et al, 2000, p558).An example of a content theory of motivation is Douglas McGregor theory of the A? A ±A? A µeconomic manA? A ±A? A ¶. He proposed 2 contrasting views of human nature. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y suggested one negative (Theory X) and one positive (Theory Y) view on human beings. He â€Å"concluded that a manager’s view of the nature of human beings is based on a certain grouping of assumptions and that he or she tends to mould his or her behaviour towards employees according to these assumptions† (Robbins et al, 2001, p199).The negative assumptions were labeled â€Å"Theory X†, which held four dominant assumptions of wor kers. Workers dislike work and go to great strengths to avoid it. Based on this it is believed that workers need to be punished with tight control systems in order for them to achieve goals. In addition, workers lack responsibility, thus need formal directions from superiors to perform. Such Theory X workers are predominately motivated by lower-order needs according to Maslow’s hierarchy for example they need security.In contrast, â€Å"Theory Y† assumes higher order needs dominate individuals. Thus, Theory Y workers enjoy responsibility where they can exhibit self-direction and self-control. Therefore, in order to motivate workers, mangers need to provide a working environment that provides challenging jobs and minimal formalisation. Applying this to an educational context, it can be assumed that teachers can either have a Theory X or a Theory Y view of students. That is, teachers can view students as A? A ±A?A ·lazy or un-cooperative† (Theory X) OR as †Å"being clever and work hard† (Theory Y). Teachers that adapt a Theory Y approach, are more likely to be attuned to students’ needs, actively participate with students to increase student skill-development and learning (OECD, 2000). It is important for teachers to become more student-centered. Therefore assessment must â€Å"focus more on student learning outcomes and students’ attitudes about what they are learning and their role in the teaching and learning process† (Carey, Wallace and Carey, 2001).This can be better understood by considering process theories of motivation. Process theories of motivation set out to explain how people choose a course of action they will pursue, not solely on individual needs like content theories. PROCESS THEORIES OF MOTIVATION Despite the fact that content theories of motivation have helped many organisations understand employee motivation, many of their concepts alone do not provide a comprehensive understanding of moti vation. Therefore, the introduction of another approach to understanding motivation was brought about.Process theories of motivation attempt to explain the process of arousing behaviour, sustaining and regulating the pattern of behaviour (Ames and Ames, 1989). Theories include goal setting, reinforcement, equity and expectancy theory. â€Å"These theories attempt to explain why people choose to behave in a certain way and the reasons they react as they do† (Robbins et al, 2000, p558). In contrast to content theories of motivation, which looked at what initiates behaviour to satisfy a need, this approach broadens the perspective of motivation. It looks at the underlying reasoning that influence individuals to behave and respond in a certain way.Therefore, motivating students by either punishing them to perform or encouraging self-direction, the goal setting theory, identifies underlying factors that achieve a given behaviour, which is the key to understanding the process appro ach to motivation. Goal setting theory states that â€Å"specific and difficult goals, with goal feedback, lead to higher performance† (Robbins et al, 2001, p770). That is, work motivation can be increased with goal specific directed behaviour. It also proposes that difficult goals, provided that the individual has accepted them, lead to higher performance than general goals.However, feedback is essential in the achievement of specific and difficult goals â€Å"because feedback helps identify discrepancies between what they have done and what they want to do† (Robbins et al, 2000, p559). In order to gain the performance benefits of specific goals, feedback helps shape the individuals behaviour. Better still, self-generated feedback is a greater motivator as it allows the individual to monitor their progress. Robbins et al (2000) suggested that goal setting theory is best suited to cultures were there is a moderate power distance, low in uncertainty avoidance and high i n quantity of life like Australia and New Zealand.These ensure a reasonable level of independence amongst individuals and those individuals will not be threatened to take on difficult goals. Also the importance of performance is shared by all. In goal setting theory, â€Å"the characteristics of a goal and attitudes towards it are thought to be influenced by incentives, self-perceptions and the manner in which the goals are set† (Brotherton, 1999, p36). Therefore, in an educational context the teacher and student need to work together to determine behavioural strategies that will lead to performance.End-of course evaluations conducted by Monash University A? A ±A? A ·elicit students’ attitudes about instructors and the role that they play in the teaching/learning process† (Carey, Wallace and Carey, 2001). Such instruments assess students’ motivation for learning and allow for continuous course and program improvement. MOTIVATIONAL PROGRAMME Feedback fr om end-of course evaluations â€Å"usually prompts an ongoing adaptation of a course to the emerging learning needs of its students† (Panasuk and Leabaron, 1999).It was found that â€Å"students consistently expressed views that new assessment motivated them to work in different ways† (Sambell and McDowell, 1998). The aim in developing motivational programme for undergraduate students will focus on assessment reform applying the goal setting theory. This proposition will encourage students to target specific goals, in hope that it will result in higher performance. The programme will involve students in their evaluation process in order to motivate them to actively participate in their skill-development and improve learning. Every act of assessment gives a message to students about what they should be learning and how they should go about it† (Sambell and McDowell, 1998). The programme will suggest that goals based evaluation criteria will improve studentsâ€℠¢ motivation in turn achieving a greater level of performance. The programme will focus on behaviour related to undergraduate business students at Monash University. It will include a check mark grading system that will be designed around behavioural objectives. The check-mark systems sets a specific standard for document quality, and instructors give a paper a â€Å"check mark† when it meets the standard† (Sorenson, Savage and Hartman, 1993). Students are required to set their own achievement goals, in terms of grades based on their overall subject result. That way they can evaluate their progress toward their goals on their own with each assignment mark. â€Å"This necessitates defining goals for oneself, using self-directed strategies to accomplish these goals, and assessing progress† (Larsen and Thisted, 1999).The programme will involve behavioural objective questionnaires that will identify what the students want to achieve at Monash. This will include long- term goals (degree completion) as well as short-term goals (average subject result e. g. distinction, right down to improving structure of writing). â€Å"Defining tasks in terms of short-term goals can help students to associate effort with success, but of course long-term goals are also needed if students are to become lifelong â€Å"learners† (OECD, 2000, p. 31). It will also involve social objectives (develop a good rapport with teachers). Using behavioural objectives may help students organize and structure† their learning and â€Å"may produce positive attitudes toward learning† (Sorenson, Savage and Hartman, 1993). Also, they outline behavioural objectives of each student, which are associated with goal difficulty. In addition, a student performance evaluation form is to be handed in with each assignment, outlining specific goals that the essay is to achieve. For example, good use of relevant and current references, each paragraph systematically links one to the other etc.Also the overall mark the student expects on the assignment based on their effort. From this teachers are to use the check mark system and self-evaluation system to grade the work. It is very important to give feedback, especially in relation to student evaluation forms outlining their objectives. Limited feedback such as â€Å"meaning well done or â€Å"meaning re-consider, needs to be more specific. Effective feedback should provide shorthand comments, throughout the paper and on the marking sheet, clearly clarifying any issues. Such feedback is called evaluative feedback. Evaluative feedback helps the individual understand the performance information by comparing it to standards or to the individual’s own past performance† (Larsen and Thisted, 1999). In addition, it is important to direct them where possible to achieve a higher mark, therefore feedback needs to be constructive. â€Å"Constructive feedback is task-specific and focuses attention on the task† (Larsen and Thisted, 1999). By focusing on the task and â€Å"providing target objectives results in the achievement of more objectives† (Sambell and McDowell, 1998).When students use the check-mark system, they can identify what they must do to achieve higher marks. Obviously, the goal difficulty set by students varies among the constraints of his/her ability. In this programme, it is important to provide specific feedback and include student participation in selecting objectives. In light of this, between the behavioural objectives system, grading method and student outcomes, students should actually be motivated to increase performance under these systems. CONCLUSIONThe theoretical issues proposed in motivational theories such as the economic man developed by McGregor and the benefits of setting specific and difficult goals are important. The distinction on how they motivate an individual is a major influence on behaviour. Applying motivational theory to a n educational context we draw our attention toward skill development, satisfaction and achievement. In developing a motivational programme, the focus was on assessment reform focusing on undergraduate business students at Monash University. Teachers and students need to work together in assessing ones performance.It is believed that â€Å"individuals are mutually motivated to learn when they do not have to fear failure, when they perceive what they are learning as being personally meaningful and relevant and when they are in respectful and supportive relationships with teachers† (OECD, 2000, p29). Therefore, by using a goal setting approach to motivate students, student participation in selection of objectives in as â€Å"research on the motivational value of goals, both the check-mark and behavioural/performance objective systems seem to motivate students to improve performance† (Sorenson, Savage and Hartman, 1993).However, with today’s rapid change and emergen ce of new knowledge and theory, universities will have more concepts on which to build and develop on â€Å"motivating the school’s participants so as to obtain the best possible educational results† (Panasuk and Lebaron, 1999). http://www. writing-expert. com/blog/sample-essays/essay-on-motivation. html

Effectively Communicating in an Interpersonal Relationship

Effectively Communicating in an Interpersonal Relationship To the newly wedded couple, It has occurred to me that our current generation seems to lack the ability to communicate effectively with in an interpersonal relationships and it is through cooperation, collaboration, and compromise that an effective flow of communication occurs. If we analyzing and studying the communication process of both sending and receiving information, we can improve our ability to communicate effectively between one another. To have a successful interpersonal relationship one must first interact with others, which is called interpersonal communication. † (Hybels, 2007) We spend most of our lives interacting with each other, with a dozen different reasons to talk to different people. We will tend to say things differently depending on who we are speaking too. So there is a lot more to communication that just putting words together and saying them out loud for the other person to hear. The ability t o communicate effectively takes real skill and learning this skill never ends, even in a marriage.Being able to communicate effectively is probably one of the most important skills a person can have in a marriage, as the main cause for divorce is the lack of communication between one another. You are the only person that can say what you want your spouse to hear, so if you don’t know how to express what you want to say or explain your intentions clearly, the other one could easily take what you say and turn your own words agains you. So the best way to avoid this situation is to be assertive in how you communicate.When I say you must be assertive, I mean you must express your feelings and ideas openly, honestly, and take responsibility for your actions. It is also being willing to listen to what the other one is saying and respect them no matter how different their opinions may be from yours. You also need to be able to recognizing the emotions in one another, as it is a very important first step to building a good relationship. If one cannot feel what the other one is feeling, then you simply cannot connect with them on a personal or emotional level and that can deeply hinder one’s relationship process.Interpersonal communication is important because of the functions it achieves. Whenever we engage in communication with another person, we seek to exchange information with them, we also communicate information through a wide variety of verbal and nonverbal cues. Spoken communication has huge effects on all aspects of our life, to including interpersonal relationships, just as speaking and telling our needs and wants verbally or non-verbally is a necessity for our daily lives.Within our daily lives of both work and home, when we exchange information with our spouse, our verbal communication is organized by our language, whereas nonverbal communication is not. We spend about 75 percent of our day communicating our knowledge, thoughts, experiences, and ideas to each other. (Allis, 2002) What we don’t realize is that a lot of our communication is not made up of the oral or written form but of the nonverbal form. In communications involving two or more people, our messages are sent on two levels simultaneously and if the verbal cues are not congruent with the nonverbal cues, then the flow of communication is hindered.Correct or not, if the receiver of the communication will base the intentions of the sender on the nonverbal cues that they recieved. Most couples believe that they will communicate better because of the fact that they are in a relationship with this person and the depth of their personal knowledge and connectivity. (Schoenberg, 2011) All of this is based on the assumption that your significant other understands your intent even though your verbal and nonverbal signals are not matching up. So you two have to be cognizant of the nonverbal signals that you send to each other.Nonverbal cues can be categorized in to two sections: vocal and visual. The vocal side of nonverbal communication involves timbre (quality and tone), pitch (inflection), intensity (volume), tempo (speed), rhythm, and pauses (silence). Whereas the visual side of nonverbal communication involves your eyes, face, body posture, and hand gestures. â€Å"Before a person makes an attempt to form an interpersonal relationship, they must decide what attracts them to that person. There are many factors that make up attractions to other: physical attractions, perceived gain, similarities, differences, and proximity are a few of them. (Hybels, 2007) As you too were attracted to each other from the start, it is common with most people to be attracted to each other by the way they look, some people might have certain distinct characteristics that they find more attractable then others. Tall or short, blonde or brunette hair, blue or green eyes, muscular or slender, or even freckles are many things that attract us to one another but if there is no attractions, you are going to be less likely to walk up to someone and strike up a conversation them.For example, I am covered from wrists to neck to waist with tattoos and I have found that they inhibit my ability to have a good first impression on many of the professors that I have had over the last several years of college. I didn’t notice it at first but over time I saw that I received a warmer reception and instruction from my teachers when I had long sleeves on but if I gave the instructor time to get to know me. I could slowly start to show tattoos and it would not affect how the instructor acted towards me.On the opposite side though, I have met very interesting and smart people that had just as many tattoos as I did because of the shared similarities that we had. The similarities and differences can be a major factor in determining if a relationship will be good for a person because at times we will find ourselves attracted to people that share the sa me culture basis that we do. It is not a hard reach though to see why people are often attracted to people who enjoy the same things as we do but people can also be attracted to the differences in personalities. For example, people who don’t like making decisions might be attracted to a stronger decision maker. Because these characteristics complement each other, they might help strengthen the relationship. † (Hybels, 2007) So keep this in mind when you two are communicating with each other and it seems that what you are trying to send in not being received properly, as your nonverbal cues or bodily language might be sending something entirely different. As important as sending the right signals both verbally and nonverbally, effective listening is just as important in any relationship.When one listens to another, it shows that you respect them and care about what the other person is trying to communicate. There are three important types of listening and they are active , critical, and empathic. (Sole, 2011) Active listening is assertive communication that develops a sense of trust, were the person talking gets the feeling that you know what they are trying to communicate is getting to you. In doing this, you two will build a stronger bond and trust each other more in what you say and do.Critical listening is an analytical and rational process of listening, in where you analysis what is being said, process the information, and make a judgement on what was meant. After one has been in a relationship for a while the critical listening will not be needed, as empathic listening will tend to take over. Empathic listening is listening to your spouse when they have an issue or problem that they just need to talk about and know that you are there to listen.So when you empathetically listen, you set aside your own feelings and concentrate on comforting you spouse in their time of emotional need. Once you can use empathic listening in your relationship, you will be able to reflect on what is being said and respond back on the same emotional level of the person communicating but empathic listening is something that takes time in a relationship and you cannot force emotions but you can just be there for your spouse.It is obvious that you too have already made the initial approach to each other but there can be times in you relationship that you will have to make the approach again because a new or different situation has developed. So it is good to know that once we have approached someone, the next steps of forming an interpersonal relationship would be our motives for communicating. Your motives for getting married can easily be seen if someone spends just a couple minutes with you two and you guys fit the text book definition of what motivates us for forming a relationship.As â€Å"we are motivated to form relationships for many different reasons such as, pleasure, affection, inclusion, escape, relaxation, control, and health. † (Hybels, 2007) If one is motivated by pleasure, he or she might want someone to watch the same movies, listen to music, or discuss things that they have in common. If one is motivated by affection, then finding someone who will give you the â€Å"affective affirmation† that you need.Regardless of what motivates us, if we have started to develop a relationship we have to decide how much of our selves that we want to share and at what point in the relationship do we share it. Another factor that would have been considered as well would be the proximity of each other, as â€Å"proximity is the close contact that occurs when people share an experience such as at work, school, or play. † (Hybels, 2007) But seeing as you to met in college and studied the same major, your proximity was really close and you too were able to hare a lot of really neat experiences together and still continue to do so. Speaking of sharing with one another, I would like to explain self-disclosure to both of you. As â€Å"self-disclosure is a process in which one person tells another person something he or she would not reveal to just anyone. † (Hybels, 2007) Self-disclosure in not just providing someone with information about yourself. Self-disclosure is about revealing a piece of yourself that others would not normally know or learn about you over time.It involves trusting a person with your vulnerabilities when your risk sharing this information but it is also a way of gaining more information from the person you are sharing it with and you want to be able to trust each other and predict the thoughts and actions of your spouse. When one shares information like this, we are able to judge the reactions of our significant other. So once we share this information, we can learn how they think and feel on certain situations or topics that would not normally come up in normal day discussions.It is also implied that once he or she begins self-disclosure, the other will fol low suit. Thus causing a mutual disclosure and deepening the trust between two people in a relationship, knowing that they except you for who you are. While self-disclosure can strengthen a relationship it can also damage it as well but it is not called the intensifying stage for nothing because a relationship can be damaged if he or she is pouring out their soul to you and you don’t like what they are hearing or if the self-disclosure comes to early in the relationship, it can be just as damaging.There are five stages that we go through when developing and strengthening a relationship, these are the â€Å"coming together† stages. The first stage is the initiating stage, which is characterized by nervousness, caution, hesitation, and a very high risk of rejection. The next stage is the experimental stage, where we seek out any common interests, experiences, and life goals. It is in this stage that you might of talked about both of your education and career goals, when you might want to start a family, and what part of the city you wanted to settle down in.The third stage is the intensity stage in which the couple begins self-disclosure in an attempt to strengthen their relationship but also make it more vulnerable to each other. If you didn’t notice, when you two first started dating, your conversations were usually on positive topics in both of your lives but as time when on and you began to trust each other and build bonds. So when both of you felt comfortable in expressing your needs, fears, and desires; your relationship was strengthened and the two of you grew closer together as a couple.I don’t really think you two had an issues with this though, as you guys seemed to attach yourselves to each other after only a month had passed bye and the beginning and continued use of your pet names for each other made all of us sick but we were extremely grateful (kidding) when both of you got that summer intern job together. You two did c ome back a stronger couple though, so that summer really did bring you two together more, which led you into the fourth stage.The fourth stage is the integrating stage, in which the couple begins to communicate and respond easily to each others feelings. This is the point where your personalities began merging into one and we always saw you two together. I don’t think there was a single party or gathering that both of you were there for but you two made a cute couple and it was just expected after a time. The final stage would be the bonding stage. At this point, the couple will make some sort of commitment that announces their relationship to those around them,† (Hybels, 2007) involving a lot of commitment and dedication to the relationship and to each other. Whereas you two decided to get married and finally move into that small house you both were drooling over but you do know that once you two decide to have a baby, you will have to find a bigger house. In all of th e stages discussed we all have decision to make, we can either continue to move forward to the next stage, stay in the same stage we are in, or terminate the relationship all together.No matter what we as individuals choose to do with our lives, we need to know how to communicate effectively to that next stage and we need to know how to handle and resolve conflict in any relationship we place ourselves in. â€Å"We can do this by conflict resolution, which is negotiating to find a solution to the conflict. † (Hybels, 2007) Depending on how a conflict is resolved it can produce a positive or negative result but it also helps to take a positive approach to any conflict resolution, where discussion is considerate and on-confrontational, and the heart of the matter is on the issues and not on the individuals. If this can be completed, then, as long as people are willingly listening to each other and explore facts, issues, and possible solutions properly, conflict can often be res olved effectively. Making interpersonal communication just like any other work of life, meaning that it must be practiced and utilized regularly to be successful and we must continually analyze and study it in order to improve our ability to communicate effectively in relationships.So if you relationship is to last a long time and be a healthy and happy one, it is important to maintain a constant and consistent flow of communication with your partner (Sole, 2011). I wish the best of luck to both of you and hope your future endeavors bring you as much happiness as the last ones did. Sincerely, Aaron Stamper Reference Allis, R. (2002). Non-verbal Communication. Zeromillion. com. Retrieved from http://www. zeromillion. com/business/management/non-verbal-communication. html Hybels, S. & Weaver, R. (2007).Communicating Effectively. New York: McGraw-Hill Company Inc. Preston, P. (2005). Nonverbal communication: Do you really say what you mean? Journal of Healthcare Management. Retrieved f rom http://proquest. umi. com. Schoenberg, N. (2011). Can we talk? researcher talks about the role of communication in marriages. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com. Sole, K. (2011). Making Connections: Understanding Interpersonal Communication. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content. ashford. ed. Effectively Communicating in an Interpersonal Relationship Effectively Communicating in an Interpersonal Relationship To the newly wedded couple, It has occurred to me that our current generation seems to lack the ability to communicate effectively with in an interpersonal relationships and it is through cooperation, collaboration, and compromise that an effective flow of communication occurs. If we analyzing and studying the communication process of both sending and receiving information, we can improve our ability to communicate effectively between one another. To have a successful interpersonal relationship one must first interact with others, which is called interpersonal communication. † (Hybels, 2007) We spend most of our lives interacting with each other, with a dozen different reasons to talk to different people. We will tend to say things differently depending on who we are speaking too. So there is a lot more to communication that just putting words together and saying them out loud for the other person to hear. The ability t o communicate effectively takes real skill and learning this skill never ends, even in a marriage.Being able to communicate effectively is probably one of the most important skills a person can have in a marriage, as the main cause for divorce is the lack of communication between one another. You are the only person that can say what you want your spouse to hear, so if you don’t know how to express what you want to say or explain your intentions clearly, the other one could easily take what you say and turn your own words agains you. So the best way to avoid this situation is to be assertive in how you communicate.When I say you must be assertive, I mean you must express your feelings and ideas openly, honestly, and take responsibility for your actions. It is also being willing to listen to what the other one is saying and respect them no matter how different their opinions may be from yours. You also need to be able to recognizing the emotions in one another, as it is a very important first step to building a good relationship. If one cannot feel what the other one is feeling, then you simply cannot connect with them on a personal or emotional level and that can deeply hinder one’s relationship process.Interpersonal communication is important because of the functions it achieves. Whenever we engage in communication with another person, we seek to exchange information with them, we also communicate information through a wide variety of verbal and nonverbal cues. Spoken communication has huge effects on all aspects of our life, to including interpersonal relationships, just as speaking and telling our needs and wants verbally or non-verbally is a necessity for our daily lives.Within our daily lives of both work and home, when we exchange information with our spouse, our verbal communication is organized by our language, whereas nonverbal communication is not. We spend about 75 percent of our day communicating our knowledge, thoughts, experiences, and ideas to each other. (Allis, 2002) What we don’t realize is that a lot of our communication is not made up of the oral or written form but of the nonverbal form. In communications involving two or more people, our messages are sent on two levels simultaneously and if the verbal cues are not congruent with the nonverbal cues, then the flow of communication is hindered.Correct or not, if the receiver of the communication will base the intentions of the sender on the nonverbal cues that they recieved. Most couples believe that they will communicate better because of the fact that they are in a relationship with this person and the depth of their personal knowledge and connectivity. (Schoenberg, 2011) All of this is based on the assumption that your significant other understands your intent even though your verbal and nonverbal signals are not matching up. So you two have to be cognizant of the nonverbal signals that you send to each other.Nonverbal cues can be categorized in to two sections: vocal and visual. The vocal side of nonverbal communication involves timbre (quality and tone), pitch (inflection), intensity (volume), tempo (speed), rhythm, and pauses (silence). Whereas the visual side of nonverbal communication involves your eyes, face, body posture, and hand gestures. â€Å"Before a person makes an attempt to form an interpersonal relationship, they must decide what attracts them to that person. There are many factors that make up attractions to other: physical attractions, perceived gain, similarities, differences, and proximity are a few of them. (Hybels, 2007) As you too were attracted to each other from the start, it is common with most people to be attracted to each other by the way they look, some people might have certain distinct characteristics that they find more attractable then others. Tall or short, blonde or brunette hair, blue or green eyes, muscular or slender, or even freckles are many things that attract us to one another but if there is no attractions, you are going to be less likely to walk up to someone and strike up a conversation them.For example, I am covered from wrists to neck to waist with tattoos and I have found that they inhibit my ability to have a good first impression on many of the professors that I have had over the last several years of college. I didn’t notice it at first but over time I saw that I received a warmer reception and instruction from my teachers when I had long sleeves on but if I gave the instructor time to get to know me. I could slowly start to show tattoos and it would not affect how the instructor acted towards me.On the opposite side though, I have met very interesting and smart people that had just as many tattoos as I did because of the shared similarities that we had. The similarities and differences can be a major factor in determining if a relationship will be good for a person because at times we will find ourselves attracted to people that share the sa me culture basis that we do. It is not a hard reach though to see why people are often attracted to people who enjoy the same things as we do but people can also be attracted to the differences in personalities. For example, people who don’t like making decisions might be attracted to a stronger decision maker. Because these characteristics complement each other, they might help strengthen the relationship. † (Hybels, 2007) So keep this in mind when you two are communicating with each other and it seems that what you are trying to send in not being received properly, as your nonverbal cues or bodily language might be sending something entirely different. As important as sending the right signals both verbally and nonverbally, effective listening is just as important in any relationship.When one listens to another, it shows that you respect them and care about what the other person is trying to communicate. There are three important types of listening and they are active , critical, and empathic. (Sole, 2011) Active listening is assertive communication that develops a sense of trust, were the person talking gets the feeling that you know what they are trying to communicate is getting to you. In doing this, you two will build a stronger bond and trust each other more in what you say and do.Critical listening is an analytical and rational process of listening, in where you analysis what is being said, process the information, and make a judgement on what was meant. After one has been in a relationship for a while the critical listening will not be needed, as empathic listening will tend to take over. Empathic listening is listening to your spouse when they have an issue or problem that they just need to talk about and know that you are there to listen.So when you empathetically listen, you set aside your own feelings and concentrate on comforting you spouse in their time of emotional need. Once you can use empathic listening in your relationship, you will be able to reflect on what is being said and respond back on the same emotional level of the person communicating but empathic listening is something that takes time in a relationship and you cannot force emotions but you can just be there for your spouse.It is obvious that you too have already made the initial approach to each other but there can be times in you relationship that you will have to make the approach again because a new or different situation has developed. So it is good to know that once we have approached someone, the next steps of forming an interpersonal relationship would be our motives for communicating. Your motives for getting married can easily be seen if someone spends just a couple minutes with you two and you guys fit the text book definition of what motivates us for forming a relationship.As â€Å"we are motivated to form relationships for many different reasons such as, pleasure, affection, inclusion, escape, relaxation, control, and health. † (Hybels, 2007) If one is motivated by pleasure, he or she might want someone to watch the same movies, listen to music, or discuss things that they have in common. If one is motivated by affection, then finding someone who will give you the â€Å"affective affirmation† that you need.Regardless of what motivates us, if we have started to develop a relationship we have to decide how much of our selves that we want to share and at what point in the relationship do we share it. Another factor that would have been considered as well would be the proximity of each other, as â€Å"proximity is the close contact that occurs when people share an experience such as at work, school, or play. † (Hybels, 2007) But seeing as you to met in college and studied the same major, your proximity was really close and you too were able to hare a lot of really neat experiences together and still continue to do so. Speaking of sharing with one another, I would like to explain self-disclosure to both of you. As â€Å"self-disclosure is a process in which one person tells another person something he or she would not reveal to just anyone. † (Hybels, 2007) Self-disclosure in not just providing someone with information about yourself. Self-disclosure is about revealing a piece of yourself that others would not normally know or learn about you over time.It involves trusting a person with your vulnerabilities when your risk sharing this information but it is also a way of gaining more information from the person you are sharing it with and you want to be able to trust each other and predict the thoughts and actions of your spouse. When one shares information like this, we are able to judge the reactions of our significant other. So once we share this information, we can learn how they think and feel on certain situations or topics that would not normally come up in normal day discussions.It is also implied that once he or she begins self-disclosure, the other will fol low suit. Thus causing a mutual disclosure and deepening the trust between two people in a relationship, knowing that they except you for who you are. While self-disclosure can strengthen a relationship it can also damage it as well but it is not called the intensifying stage for nothing because a relationship can be damaged if he or she is pouring out their soul to you and you don’t like what they are hearing or if the self-disclosure comes to early in the relationship, it can be just as damaging.There are five stages that we go through when developing and strengthening a relationship, these are the â€Å"coming together† stages. The first stage is the initiating stage, which is characterized by nervousness, caution, hesitation, and a very high risk of rejection. The next stage is the experimental stage, where we seek out any common interests, experiences, and life goals. It is in this stage that you might of talked about both of your education and career goals, when you might want to start a family, and what part of the city you wanted to settle down in.The third stage is the intensity stage in which the couple begins self-disclosure in an attempt to strengthen their relationship but also make it more vulnerable to each other. If you didn’t notice, when you two first started dating, your conversations were usually on positive topics in both of your lives but as time when on and you began to trust each other and build bonds. So when both of you felt comfortable in expressing your needs, fears, and desires; your relationship was strengthened and the two of you grew closer together as a couple.I don’t really think you two had an issues with this though, as you guys seemed to attach yourselves to each other after only a month had passed bye and the beginning and continued use of your pet names for each other made all of us sick but we were extremely grateful (kidding) when both of you got that summer intern job together. You two did c ome back a stronger couple though, so that summer really did bring you two together more, which led you into the fourth stage.The fourth stage is the integrating stage, in which the couple begins to communicate and respond easily to each others feelings. This is the point where your personalities began merging into one and we always saw you two together. I don’t think there was a single party or gathering that both of you were there for but you two made a cute couple and it was just expected after a time. The final stage would be the bonding stage. At this point, the couple will make some sort of commitment that announces their relationship to those around them,† (Hybels, 2007) involving a lot of commitment and dedication to the relationship and to each other. Whereas you two decided to get married and finally move into that small house you both were drooling over but you do know that once you two decide to have a baby, you will have to find a bigger house. In all of th e stages discussed we all have decision to make, we can either continue to move forward to the next stage, stay in the same stage we are in, or terminate the relationship all together.No matter what we as individuals choose to do with our lives, we need to know how to communicate effectively to that next stage and we need to know how to handle and resolve conflict in any relationship we place ourselves in. â€Å"We can do this by conflict resolution, which is negotiating to find a solution to the conflict. † (Hybels, 2007) Depending on how a conflict is resolved it can produce a positive or negative result but it also helps to take a positive approach to any conflict resolution, where discussion is considerate and on-confrontational, and the heart of the matter is on the issues and not on the individuals. If this can be completed, then, as long as people are willingly listening to each other and explore facts, issues, and possible solutions properly, conflict can often be res olved effectively. Making interpersonal communication just like any other work of life, meaning that it must be practiced and utilized regularly to be successful and we must continually analyze and study it in order to improve our ability to communicate effectively in relationships.So if you relationship is to last a long time and be a healthy and happy one, it is important to maintain a constant and consistent flow of communication with your partner (Sole, 2011). I wish the best of luck to both of you and hope your future endeavors bring you as much happiness as the last ones did. Sincerely, Aaron Stamper Reference Allis, R. (2002). Non-verbal Communication. Zeromillion. com. Retrieved from http://www. zeromillion. com/business/management/non-verbal-communication. html Hybels, S. & Weaver, R. (2007).Communicating Effectively. New York: McGraw-Hill Company Inc. Preston, P. (2005). Nonverbal communication: Do you really say what you mean? Journal of Healthcare Management. Retrieved f rom http://proquest. umi. com. Schoenberg, N. (2011). Can we talk? researcher talks about the role of communication in marriages. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com. Sole, K. (2011). Making Connections: Understanding Interpersonal Communication. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content. ashford. ed.

Target Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Target Corporation - Case Study Example After SWOT analysis the report contains analysis of macro environment of the company which includes details about its economy, culture, politics and technology. The overall report is followed by a conclusion stating what has been mentioned and discussed in the report. Introduction Target Corporation, an American retailing company with its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota is among the second largest discount providing retailer after Wal-Mart in United States. It was founded in the year 1902 and characterized as the Dayton Dry Goods Company and also one of the first Target stores which have been opened near Roseville, Minnesota in 1962. It operates 1556 stores in 47 states. Target stores, Mervyn’s and Marshall Field’s were the three main retail divisions of Target which was formerly known as Dayton Hudson Corporation. It offered fashion conscious upscale products at affordable price thus distinguishing itself from competitors. Hudson’s and Marshall’s w ere department stores offering sophisticated costly products to the mooned customers while Target and Mervyn’s offering apparel and recreational items to the budget conscious customers. Target received America’s Corporate Conscience Award in 1989 and contributed over $2 million to the communities where the stores were located (ABOUT, 2012). Target continued to be the biggest money maker of Dayton Hudson’s Corporation in 21st century with a successful business mix of trendy merchandise and easy to navigate quality stores. Fifty expanded Target Great land stores were open in 1990 which was combined by general merchandise mix with grocery store. The Target Guest Card which is the first store credit card was introduced in 1995 which attracted around nine million accounts by 1998. With the growth of Target and being the largest division of Dayton Hudson Corporation the company was then renamed in August 2000 as Target Corporation. In 2002 Target generated 84 percent of fiscal revenue from 1225 stores located in 47 states. In 2010 it was ranked at number 33 in Fortune 500 companies. It is also a component of Standard & Poor’s 500 index. Target Corporation expanded business in Canada in January 2011. By 2013 it plans to operate 100 to 150 stores in Canada (ABOUT, 2012). The mission of Target Corporation is to provide outstanding value, exceptional guest experience through continuous innovation while fulfilling Except More, Pay Less promise and become the preferred shopping destination for guests. Positioning of Target Corporation was based on quality, style, trend and not just pricing. Today Target operates more than 1600 outlets in 47 States which includes grocery shopping, photo processing centers, pharmacies, food avenues, in-store bakery, deli, and meat and production section. Target Corporation used attractive promotional strategies for advertisement and became the second largest discount retailer in United States by 2002. Main compet itors of Target were Wal-Mart and K-Mart. When K-Mart declared bankruptcy the only competitor for Target remains Wal-Mart is one of the retailers which leads the market and industry in terms of sales and size. Target Corporation’s key element of success was its ability of communicating effectively the unique position of company through

Criminology & Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Criminology & Criminal Justice - Essay Example White citizens receive satisfactory services from police in comparison to other ethnic groups. It was found out that: One of the most controversial areas of police targeting relates to the policing of immigration and the people who are defined as ‘immigrants’. During the 1960s and 1970s ‘coloured immigration’ was not only a potent political issue but also one that framed black and Asian people’s experiences of policing. Many research studies uncovered evidence that ordinary policing often involved checking immigration status (asking, for instance, for passports) when people from ethnic minorities reported crimes of which they had been the victim (Newburn 2007) The criminal justice system should be the epitome of fairness and equity. Police should be fair and just in the execution of their mandate. In the United Kingdom, there have been cases of unfair policing especially towards the ethnic minorities such as blacks. Newburn (200) indicated that sometimes â€Å"a black person reporting a crime is first subject to a background check†. This should not happen since profiling of citizens based on their background is unconstitutional. Public policing should be reformed to ensure that the police do not discriminate citizens based on their ethnic background. The police should be trained to serve citizens equally irrespective of where they come from. Also, any police officer who engages in ethnic profiling should be punished and held criminally liable. The Chicago School proposes that socialization is a core factor in the evaluation of criminal activity in the society. Unlike other theories that focused on an individual’s characteristics to explain crime, the Chicago School postulates that the environment influences people. In essence, there are no people who are born as good or bad. Rather, the external influences of people and social situations play an important role in determining the behavior of a person. The

Toxic Liquid Waste Incinerator Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Toxic Liquid Waste Incinerator - Essay Example Stack air emissions are gaseous, vapor, and particle-bound by-products of combustion. Facilities also have fugitive air emissions, which are released into the air from process points other than stacks (e.g., equipment leaks, wind-blown dust). The design of an incinerator, including waste and residual handling, largely determines the number of fugitive air emissions that might occur. Incineration facilities also generate solid and liquid residuals. These typically include wastewater from air pollution control devices and solid wastes, such as ash that remains in the combustion chamber and sludge that settles from wastewater treatment operations. In a waste liquid incinerator, the alkali waste liquids are recovered, the organic waste liquids are thermally decomposed and the hazardous waste liquid is made nonhazardous. All waste must be thoroughly characterized before they arrive at the incinerator and their contamination levels are known before they can be treated. Liquid wastes are stored primarily in tanks which have passive vents to the atmosphere. All vapors released from tanks first pass through Adsorption filters that capture volatile chemicals which might otherwise enter the air. The liquid wastes are piped directly into the incinerator, either to the rotary kiln or to the afterburner. In the primary combustion chamber, the inside temperature is at least 1580 °F (temperature varies depending on the type of waste treated). This process generates gases which pass into the secondary combustion chamber for further treatment. The incombustible material in the waste leaves the rotary kiln in the form of ash which drops into a water pool and enters into the residual management part of the process. In the secondary combustion chamber, some liquid waste is sprayed directly into the afterburner for treatment purposes. The organic gases generated in the rotary kiln are destroyed when exposed to the temperature of 2205 °F for at least 4 seconds.  Ã‚  

Voting Right Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Voting Right - Essay Example However, in the years since the words of the Declaration of Independence were put to parchment, the Supreme Court has, more often than not, shown that it will uphold the status quo of society, and deny the right to vote to women and those of minorities, rather than affirming and advancing it. Though there have been some instances of advancement occurring, they are not as plentiful as those that do not. The list of cases for both protection and denial of voting rights spans not only decades of history, but could also span volumes of pages. As always with multiple examples, there are those that best exemplify things, and I believe that the cases of United States v. Reese in 1876 as well as Minor v. Happersett in 1874 are the best examples of the Supreme Court denying voting rights, while the cases of Smith v. Allwright in 1944 and Baker v. Carr in 1962 are the best examples of both advancing the right to vote and ensuring protection for it. Both United States v. Reese and Minor v. ... In United States v. Reese, an election inspector, Hiram Reese, had refused to allow William Garner, who was an African-American, to vote in a Lexington, Kentucky election, due to the fact that he had not paid a poll tax of $1.50. In Minor v. Happersett Mrs. Virginia Minor, leader of the suffrage movement for women in Missouri, brought suit against a registration officer when he refused to add her name to the list of registered voters, due to her gender. Garner alleged that he had attempted to pay the poll tax and had been refused, while Mrs. Minor alleged that she was a citizen, and all citizens had the right to vote, therefore she had the right to vote. The Supreme Court in United States v. Reese ruled that the Fifteenth Amendment â€Å"does not confer the right of suffrage upon anyone†, meaning that just because he was African American did not mean that Garner had the right to vote. The result of this case was that states were able to continually deny the vote to African Ame ricans, not based on race, but on other requirements such as literacy and nonpayment of poll taxes. In Minor v. Happersett, the Supreme Court went further, stating that though the Fourteenth Amendment gave all citizens the right to vote, and Mrs. Minor was indeed a citizen, the Constitution did not specifically give women the right to vote. This decision was all the more ridiculous because the Constitution did not provide for many things that had since come into existence in the United States and had worked quite well, yet women were still denied the right to vote because it did not exist in the Constitution. Both of these cases are examples of the Supreme Court not only denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States, but acknowledging that legislation existed that could have

How will the initiative affect StarBucks Sales Essay

How will the initiative affect StarBucks Sales - Essay Example First, the reusable cups will cost customers $1. When they lose, crush or forget to carry them back the next time they buy coffee that will cost them another $1. Statistics indicate that, in the US alone, 233 million persons are old enough to consume coffee (Tice, 2012). Assuming each buys a reusable cup only once, that will translate to about $65 million worth of cups alone. Then, that would serve as free advertising, since consumers will keep the reusable cups with them, in their kitchens, offices and cars. That has more potential of being closer to consumers than billboard advertisements. Consumers will also save 10 cents each time they refill their reusable cups. In the long run, before the cups finally wear out, they would have earned back the $1 they used to buy them, so long as they continue buying from Starbucks (Tice, 2012). Essentially, this means the reusable cups will generate repeat