Developing a Motivational Plan Essay Example for Free

Developing a Motivational Plan Essay A motivation plan for any school is extremely important for the success of any educational program. Students who are not motivated will not learn and in turn wont succeed. Many components should be included in a motivational plan so that all the needs of students are met and each student has goals that are attainable and can be reached. According to Hersey (2008), Goals should be set high enough that a person has to stretch to reach them but low enough that they can be attained. Goal setting, rewards, both tangible and non-tangible, and a sense of belonging are motivational components that should be included in a motivational plan. The first part of a motivational plan that I would feel essential for my school would be goal setting. At the current school that I work at, I feel like this is a missing part of our motivational plan and it greatly affects our students. Without goals, the students dont know what they are working towards, this creates confusion and a detachment from the meaning of education. Although some students may set personal goals, I feel like its important for there to be group goals so that the students can work together to achieve them and be more motivated. Goals should be set high, but not so high that students cant achieve them. Goals that are too high would do the opposite of motivate, it would create despair and students would give up eventually because they would know that their effort is not worthwhile. Setting goals that are attainable will motivate students and will give students the confidence that they need to continue their efforts in reaching additional goals. If students know that they can reach a goal, something that is attainable and reachable, theyll be more motivated to try so that they can have that feeling of accomplishment. Another important aspect of goal setting is that the goals are changed and updated frequently so that students constantly have something to work for. Once a student achieves a particular goal, the motivation will be gone unless they have something else to work towards, something else to motivate them. Hersey (2008) also supports this idea by stating, Once the child becomes proficient in attaining a particular goal, it becomes appropriate for the parent to provide an opportunity for the child to identify and set new goals. So, its my plan to work with the students to create attainable goals frequently so that students have constant motivation and something that they can always work towards. I believe that goal setting is a major component of any motivation plan and this will be the main focus behind mine. I feel that its extremely important that students have goals and something to work towards, otherwise there will be no motivation behind their actions. The second component of my motivation plan will be tangible and intangible rewards. Students will work towards something and be more motivated if they receive something in return. This is similar to why anyone get a job. They work hard and complete actions in order to receive the tangible reward of money and the intangible reward of accomplishment. Students are going to be more motivated and work harder if they will get something in return for their hard work, whether its intangible like a feeling, or tangible, like good grades or rewards. It is no surprise, then, that to improve academic achievement of middle school students, successful programs incorporate the social contexts for both intrinsic motivation and internalized extrinsic motivation (Wilson Corpus, 2001). Although studies have shown that extrinsic rewards are only beneficial short term and can be detrimental in long term situations, (Corpus Wilson, 2001), I believe that every now and then a tangible reward is needed and can result is a positive outcome and increased motivation. An example of this is a current motivational strategy that we use at my current school regarding awards for good grades, citizenship, and good attendance. Students get awards every semester for achieving milestones in these categories and I believe that it does increase student motivation. If a student is close to the end of the semester and has a B+ in one class, they will are motivated to raise that one grade in order to get the highest award presented to them in front of their parents, teachers, and students, since we do the award ceremony during the school day. I have personally seen the motivation that is created by these awards and I plan to include this in my motivational plan as well. Intangible awards can also be very successful in creating motivation and are more beneficial long term although short term effects may not be as common as with the tangible rewards. Students respond to intrinsic rewards like praise, self assurance, and accomplishment. There are, however, many intangible rewards, such as praise or power, that are just as important and effective for use as incentives when endeavoring to evoke a particular behavior (Hersey, 2008). To incorporate this into my plan I would like to see more praise for good behavior, as well as giving students more choices in the classroom. By giving students choices, they will feel more empowered by their choice and feel more accomplished when they achieve it, resulting in increase motivation. Finally, I would like to see a good sense of community and belonging in my school community. According to Glasser (1985), the five basic needs common to all people are the need for belonging, power, fun, freedom, and survival. With a sense of belonging, students will have more ownership over their behavior and will be more motivated to succeed. Its been my experience that students that are out-casts arent motivated to succeed because they have no reason to, no one to share their success with. The opposite would happen if students feel like they belong and have someone to share their motivation and success with. Overall, more than one component is important to any successful motivational plan. My plan will focus on goal setting, rewards, and a sense of belonging or community within my school. With these factors I hope that my students will be motivated to learn and become better students and people. Its my belief that although many factor are essential to a motivation plan, its crucial that goals are set so that students have something to work towards. Without a goal to work towards, students wont feel like they have a reason to be motivated. These are the components that will be included in my motivational plan for my future school.

Middle-Class Homelessness in America Essay Example for Free

Middle-Class Homelessness in America Essay Can you imagine yourself standing in line in hope for a cot at a shelter to share with your family, or waiting for a warm meal in a soup kitchen? This is what many middle-class American citizens have succumbed to. Has the American dream been lost, has the middle-class lost its position in the American economy, and has the inequality of income cause the demise of the middle-class? By focusing on the health care reform and record low unemployment rate we overlook the underlying problem; the dwindling middle-class, the backbone of our country. Many studies have been conducted to define middle-class without much success. It has been attempted to relate it to annual income. One study states that yearly incomes between $32,900 and $64,000, another between $50,800 and $122,000, and the U. S. census bureau middle 60% of incomes is the largest range of all lies between$ 20600, and $102,000 as what defines middle-class. Dan Horn notes in the Cincinnati Enquirer â€Å"Psychologist Ken Eisold, a contributor to Psychology today, said, though, that the way people describe their social status has more to do with what’s going on in their heads than their wallets. † Eisold goes on to say that â€Å"it’s really more about identity†. Horn adds that Julie Heath, director of the University of Cincinnati’s Economics Center agrees with Eisold that saying, â€Å"We’re a middle-class family has more than a financial connotations to it, it has a salt-of the earth to it. That’s the bed rock. Essentially this shows that Americans do not base their social status on their income alone, but also on their personal accomplishments and views of where they have come from and where they are going. That being said, the bed rock of the middle-class comes from one of the most common descriptions what living in America is all about; the great American Dream. History tells us that this emotion connected with being middle-class started showing up in the 1830’s. In these times people came to America hoping for the best, and they clung to ideas of how they would make it. They believed that if those ideas and values were kept, that they were middle-class, even if they were not financially. This is how the idea of the Leave it to Beaver life style came into being. In the 1950’s men took white collar jobs while women stayed home and maintained their house and families. They bought homes in the suburbs, nice family cars, and made safe investments. This provided them a sense of stability and many believed this is what the American dream is all about. Today, in pursuit of the dream, to maintain their middle-class status many Americans have higher incomes than their parents did but both parents are working. Yet while doing the best that they that they can possibly do, many are watching their dreams shatter. Erin Currier, director of the Pew Economic Mobility Project, said â€Å"stability is one of the biggest threats to the middle class today. † She goes on to say, â€Å"Though born into middle-class, many fall out by adulthood. † This is due to inflation of basic needs such as health care, day care, college funding, and the rise of the inequality of income. One term often referred to when relating to the middle-class crisis is Income Gap. As defined on the internet by investapedia. om, the income gap is the unequal distribution of household and individual income across the various participants in an economy. A sociology and political science professor at the University of Arizona who studies income inequality and poverty, says that over the past three decades â€Å"is slow income growth compared to general economic growth†¦ a bigger and bigger portion of economic growth has occurred to the wealthiest 1 %, whether the measure is basic wages or total compensation,† says Lane Kenworthy. (CQ researcher 3) There is political risk involved with this shift that is greater than economics and family finances. A large middle class, especially one that is politically active, tends to be a kind of anchor that keeps our country from swinging back and forth. There are typical values that middle-class families acquire and pass on to their children and those values tend to be good for democracy,† states Teresa Sullivan, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan, and the co-author of The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt. (CQ Researche r 2) The new millennium looked very hopeful for the war on poverty in America. The federal poverty rate was the lowest it had been since 1974 according to CQ Researcher. The next 4 years even better with Housing prices doubling in many cities and increase in home equity loans that brought the Home-ownership rate up to an all time high of 69 percent. In 2008 we would not only see the sand shift out from the false growth of the economy led by the banks and lending companies but our government bail the banks out with $700 billion rescue bill, They did not however bail out the borrower and many lost their homes. Leading to the current middle class crisis. These issues, the rise of the inequality of income and the shattering of the American dream, have led us to the downfall of the middle class. In more recent years the middle-class are finding themselves not only having a decrease in their income due to layoffs and downsizing, but while not able to maintain their dream are losing their homes due to foreclosures. They are now finding themselves sleeping in their cars, if fortunate to still have one. They are waiting in lines for food and shelter, and bathing in gas station rest rooms, standing on street corners and highway exit’s begging for money or work. I have a personal interest in this research because I consider myself a middleclass American who lived through these years of the housing crisis and recession, I have lost a business, I am dealing with the short sale of my home and a threat of foreclosure, I have suffered through divorce and currently I am a struggling single mother. In conclusion the decline of the middle-class has hit very close to home. Although the hope of the American dream dies a slow death in my own heart, because of the continual economic status and burden of the cost of living rising, many like me are losing hope.

The Cost Of The War On Drugs Philosophy Essay

The Cost Of The War On Drugs Philosophy Essay The War on Drugs was declared on June 17, 1971 by President Nixon, claiming at a press conference that drugs and their abuse are, public enemy number one in the United States (Frontline). Since that time, the War on Drugs has gone on to become the longest and most costly war in American history (Duke 15). The ever increasing expenditures, perceived infringement of constitutional rights, misinformation campaigns, imprisonments, and the seeming futility of the whole endeavor are leading many to question whether the War on Drugs is justifiable. This war is being waged against a concept and not an enemy, which guarantees unlimited funding and an unlimited time period with which to fight it. Not only is it unethical for the government to specify what chemicals citizens can and cannot place into their own bodies, the massive resources funneled into this futile operation would greatly benefit other areas of human society. 87 million people over the age of twelve have used illegal drugs, making this war on a concept virtually a war against the citizens of the United States (Cole, par. 14). The majority of resources devoted to the war on drugs are for law enforcement purposes, ignoring the underlying problems of addiction within the consumer culture in which we live. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be a sorry state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny (Shulgin 28). Jack Cole is a retired New Jersey state police lieutenant who spent nearly fourteen years working as a narcotics officer. Over the course of his career, Jack evolved from a true believer in the War on Drugs into the co-founder of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition or LEAP. LEAP, as the name states, is an organization consisting of former police officers, judges, district attorneys, retired DEA, etc., who lobby for drug legalization (Cole, par. 1). Jack believes the War on Drugs is unjustly destroying millions of Americans lives every year and that the war itself is primarily responsible for many of the drug and drug related societal problems (par. 2). For example, by declaring certain drugs illegal one creates a black market and artificially inflates the price of these inherently non valuable products. Where there is demand there will be supply, especially for a ridiculous profit margin such as 17,000%, as Jack states (par. 7). These profits fund illegal organizations, such as Al Qaeda and organized crime, as well as contribute to local violence as seen in gang disputes over drug peddling territory (par. 7,20). Mr. Cole cites several compelling statistics. Tobacco kills 430,000 Americans per year, Alcohol 110,000, and all illegal drugs combined kill less than 12,000 people per year (par. 9). The US government spends 69 billion dollars per year in the War on Drugs and arrests 1.6 million on non-violent drug offenses (par. 9). Mr. Cole raises the valid question as to whether these monetary and human expenses are justified in combating illegal drugs while approximately 540,000 deaths are attributed yearly to legal alcohol and tobacco consumption (par. 9). A key question in considering the war on drugs is that of how much freedom an individual should have. John Stuart Mill addressed this question in his seminal work On Liberty. Mill was of the persuasion that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to prevent harm to others. His own good, whether physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant (LaFollette 290). By this definition, the notion of victimless crime is moot. With no victim, there is no crime. This is a major point of contention among many because humans do not live their lives in a vacuum, virtually every action affects someone else in some way. Another important aspect to consider is the notion of harm. Who exactly is being harmed by drug use? If it is the drug user that is harmed, according to Mills views we have no right to prevent a rational human being from performing this action, even if the action itself is irrational. If there is sufficient evidence that drug use directly harms others, that is a justifiable reason to prohibit societys actions. Many in favor of prohibition cite many ways in which drug use harms others, such as drug use increases crime, child abuse, spousal neglect, accidents, and non-productiveness. The problem though, is that drug use does not directly cause these harms, rather it increases the risk of these harms. Rape and murder are always wrong because they always harm someone else by definition. Drug use is more slippery, not every user harms others and no user always harms others. We must decide if the likelihood of a few users to sometimes harm others is justifiable reason to ban all drug use. This is much like the decision we have already made concerning the risk of gun ownership. James Q. Wilson is an academic political scientist and President Nixons appointed chairman for the National Advisory Council for Drug Abuse Prevention (NACDAP), the forerunner to the modern DEA. Wilson is a firm supporter of the drug war, arguing that the expenses that would be incurred from legalization far outweigh any expense of the current drug war (297). He claims that the notion of drug use being a victimless crime is absurd, that society is not, nor ever has been, composed of autonomous beings (297). In his view, drug use is wrong because it demoralizes people, is contrary to human goodness, and degrades society as a whole (297). Wilson is combining a form of cost-benefit analysis utilitarianism with his evaluation of the virtues of drug use. A counter to this point of view is seen in the writings of Thomas Szasz, a professor of psychiatry at the State University of New York. Szasz thinks that when the Declaration of Independence states all men, meaning rational adults, are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, this includes the liberty to self medicate with drugs (White 279). His view is reminiscent of Mills statement that Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign (LaFollette 290). The factors of addiction and danger are thought to have no bearing on the argument, that self harm is not a justifiable liberty limiting principle (White 279). Freedom is and always will be more valuable than safety. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, Those who can give up essential liberty to attain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety (ushistory.org). Speaking of liberty limiting principles, Szasz is speaking from a standpoint of the harm principle, or the idea that law may only rightly restrict an individuals actions if they directly harm another (Mackinnon 233). As mentioned previously, this originated with J.S. Mill. There are other liberty limiting principles to consider though, such as the social harm principle which claims that the law may prevent an individuals actions if they do harm to society itself (234). In a free market society, anything that erodes competition may be justly outlawed. This may partly provide reason for declaring marijuana illegal due to the fact that the top ten drug companies account for more than 50% of Fortune 500 profits and according to Dr. Claudia Jensen, a breast cancer specialist, 80% of prescription drugs could be replaced by cannabis (American Drug War). This would seriously erode the market because cannabis can be grown virtually anywhere as is seen today with its cultivation in areas rangi ng from backyards to bedroom closets. Another way in which drugs may violate the social harm principle is in their alleged degradation of the family. William J. Bennett, a former drug czar under the Bush Sr. administration, states that not only do drugs harm the users, but also hurt parents, they destroy families, they ruin friendships (Bender 52). If family structure is deemed to be an integral part of societal well being, this argument could stand up under the societal harm principle. There is a risk of committing the post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy if sufficient evidence of drug use directly harming the family unit is not produced. Viewing the subject of drugs through a deontological lens produces different ideas altogether on the subject. Firstly, the use of drugs for recreational purposes may very well be breaking Kants imperative not to use oneself as a means to an end. Second, the highest purpose of a human is to be a rational being and anything that impairs this ability must be inherently bad. Intoxication muddies ones ability to consider situations rationally, hampering ones ability to make a proper moral choice. One could also argue that drug use leading to addiction robs an individual of their autonomy, overriding their free will with a drive for consumption at all costs. Also, in relation to Kants maxim of universalizability, one could without contradiction will it to be a universal law that nobody injects heroin. I think this principle becomes a bit less clear when considering substances such as marijuana though. Virtue ethics are most famously associated with Aristotle and provide a refreshing perspective in relation to drug usage and its legislature. By not focusing on the act itself or the assumed consequences of the action, virtue ethics focuses on the character of the agent. Aristotle also does not distinguish between morality and politics because the two are intertwined (Christie 56). Politics are meant to populate society with citizens of good character (56). By employing the golden mean as mentioned in Aristotles Nichomachean Ethics, we can hope to arrive at a balance between two extremes. Additionally, Aristotle also takes into account contextual factors such as our willingness to do the right thing, to the right person, at the right time, and with the right motives. The two poles of our current situation in regard to drug usage are absolute prohibition and complete legalization. The associated virtues of these positions could be conservancy and liberalism. I think a strategy of legalization and control would best fit the situation as a golden mean. Can condoning drug use be a virtue though? It is virtuous to promote virtue and vicious to promote vice. Through prohibition we are greatly contributing to empires built on vice and adding to the already ample surplus of human suffering in the world. Maybe it is not condoning drug use, but having compassion for the suffering of others and seeking to minimize that suffering. In conclusion, after conducting my research I am still of the opinion that the War on Drugs is ethically wrong. I have learned many disturbing things involved with the prohibition of chemical substances. Prisons are being privatized, which is good for expense optimization but creates a profit motive to incarcerate people (American Drug War). Their stock is sold on wall street based on how many people are in jail (American Drug War). Almost half a million people are in prison or jail due to drug offenses (drugwarfacts.org). The private companies can also use inmates as private property to do work or produce goods the company profits from, which sounds a bit like slavery to me (American Drug War). The number of marijuana arrests is greater than the number of arrests for all violent crimes combined, meaning that if it were to be legalized, many powerful organizations would lose a great deal of money (skeptically.org). Many drugs were banned originally due to reasons of racism, empire bu ilding, and fear (Hooked). The CIA is alleged to have started the L.A. crack epidemic of the 1980s to finance Nicaraguan Contra efforts, with fairly compelling evidence (Webb). Money seems to control everything. The Partnership for a Drug Free Americas biggest funders were alcohol and tobacco companies until they were exposed, now they only accept from prescription drug manufacturers (Males par. 9). Marijuana is in the same DEA schedule as heroin, PCP, and methamphetamine, which is asinine (justice.gov). Cocaine is not physically addictive nor is MDMA (Eldredge 13). No one has ever died from a marijuana overdose (23). Alcohol withdrawal is on par with heroin, and both are awful (15). Drugs do not consume people, people consume drugs and sometimes allow them to take over. A peyote cactus, which has existed on this earth far longer than humans, is not an inherently bad thing yet it is a schedule I offense to grow one in your front yard. I do not think that drugs should be sold from vending machines on the street corner, but under prohibition they virtually are, except not from vending machines. By declaring these substances illegal we are ceding any amount of control we might be able to exert over a wide range of powerful and potentially dangerous chemicals. People will consume whether society says they can or not, in ever more innovative and industrious ways. The current era of synthetic drugs capable of being manufactured in a bathroom is due in part to prohibition of less harmful substances. It is cheaper and easier to make your own supply with stuff you bought from Walgreens and Home Depot. Seeking altered states of consciousness seems ingrained in the human ps yche. Our current efforts with this war against drugs have only served to amplify the negative effects drugs have on society. Legalization and control, much like we do with alcohol and tobacco, seems to me to be the golden mean of this situation. I do not think people should use heroin, but I also do not think I have a right to force them not to in the privacy of their own home nor that we are helping anyone by making it illegal. We should stop this madness now, there is an almost infinite variety of substances that exist now or are mere potentialities that will inebriate a human being. We are seeing this across America today with the rise in popularity of incense that has been sprayed with a synthetic cannabinoid agonist and sold for $20 a gram. We are like Don Quixote battling an enemy that does not exist while the real enemy is inside ourselves. If we devoted as many resources as we funnel into the drug war toward education, research, and endeavors to better understand ourselves and the world that surrounds us, society would without a doubt have a better tomorrow.

A Message of Awareness :: Essays Papers

A Message of Awareness James Joyce’s book Dubliners, is composed of several intriguing short stories. Joyce’s main emphasis is to send a â€Å"wake up call† to the people of Dublin about the appalling conditions of Ireland. In a letter to his publisher Joyce tells him that he â€Å"seriously [believes] that [the publisher] will retard the course of civilization in Ireland by preventing the Irish people from having one good look at themselves in my nicely polished looking-glass† (qtd. in Beja 33). Joyce proves his assertion through his use of characters and situations in the short stories â€Å"The Boarding House,† â€Å"A Little Cloud,† and â€Å"The Dead.† In addition, autonomy and responsibility play a major role of how the characters act and react to certain situations that connect to the hard times of Ireland. In Dubliners, characters often face situations that are portrayed as â€Å"light and dark.† In â€Å"The Boarding House,† Mrs. Mooney’s actions and interactions are primarily portrayed as being manipulative. She is a â€Å"dark† person and Joyce uses examples to support this. Joyce describes Mrs. Mooney as a person that is stern and is â€Å"all business.† Mrs. Mooney’s characteristics imply that she is someone to fear. In addition, Mrs. Mooney’s boarding house is run with much order. Joyce states that Mrs. Mooney â€Å"governed her house cunningly and firmly, knew when to give credit, when to be stern and when to let things pass,† which a viewer can acknowledge that Mrs. Mooney is a â€Å"dark† and fierce women when it comes down to taking actions on others (56). Furthermore, Mrs. Mooney has such a stern and superior control over the tenants that Joyce states that the â€Å"young men spoke of her as The madam,† which means a lady of respect (57). They know that Mrs. Mooney is one lady to be feared. In â€Å"The Boarding House,† Mr. Doran’s actions with Polly caused him to be fearful of Mrs. Mooney. Joyce explains how Mr. Doran’s feelings about receiving consequences from Mrs. Mooney are â€Å"dark.† Joyce exaggerates the depth of Mr. Doran’s nervousness towards receiving his sanctions were so fierce that â€Å"he felt his heart leap [†¦] in his throat† (61). Mr. Doran’s actions are so fearful that he acts as if he is being tried for murder. Mr. Doran’s fears of the consequences are so â€Å"dark† that He longed to ascend through the roof [of the Boarding House] and fly away to another country where he would never hear again of his trouble.

Fitzgeralds Satirical Portrait of Modern Society :: essays research papers fc

Fitzgerald’s Satirical Portrait of Modern Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Great Gatsby,† a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, depicts life in the 1920’s. â€Å"The Roaring Twenties,† a nickname given to the decade laden with flippancy, is a time where the rich people in society have little to do, and a lot of money to spend in many ways. Jay Gatsby, one of the â€Å"newly† rich people, chooses to spend his money throwing wild parties every weekend in the summer. Fitzgerald paints a picture of modern society by writing about the lavish parties thrown by Gatsby and the behavior of the guests who attend them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Nick Carraway describes the scene at Gatsby’s mansion while preparing for a party, â€Å"At least once a fortnight a corps of caterers came down....On the buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’ oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs...In the main hall a bar with a real brass rail....By seven o’clock the orchestra has arrived† (44), he tells of the luxuries provided by Gatsby in order to impress his guests. Fitzgerald is mocking the way people in society try, at great extents, to impress each other. Gatsby’s careless spending of his money parallels the decadent spending of people in modern society. One of the â€Å"twins† tells Nick about how Gatsby bought her an expensive gown, â€Å"When I was here last I tore my gown on a chair, and he asked me for my name and address- inside a week I got a package from Croirier’s with a new evening gown in it,† (47). This shows that Gatsby spends his money in an exorbitant manner, much like the way modern society spends money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The people at Gatsby’s parties often stay for days and are uninvited. Most of the guests don’t know Gatsby, let alone care about him. The loss of manners and self-centeredness of modern society are exemplified by the way the guests treat Gatsby, and how they gossip about their host. They impose upon his hospitality and outstay their welcome, â€Å"A man named Klipspringer was there so often and so long that he became known as the boarder- I doubt if he had any other home,† (67). When Gatsby is not around, the guests often fabricate stories about his life. â€Å"He’s a bootlegger. One time he killed a man who had found out that he was nephew to von Hindenburg and second cousin to the devil,† (65). Rumors of his personal life circulate his parties and grow as his guests embellish on them.

Bob Dole, Bill Sherman, and some blind guys with an elephant :: Essays Papers

Bob Dole, Bill Sherman, and some blind guys with an elephant When I moved back to Vermont and had conversations with friends and relatives about the Gulf War, I was surprised at how different the war they were describing was from the one that I remember. "Stealth" fighters, "Patriot" missiles, "chemical" attacks, people that I talked to had the impression that war was a constant state of danger. At the American Legion's annual convention this past summer, speaker Bob Dole said in part that, for those of us who served in wars, "We did not see the big picture. We saw the small struggle. We did not hear the call of history. We heard the voice of friends" (Stuteville 49). What I remember the most about the Gulf War is also the "small" struggles. Before I went to Saudi Arabia I had the classic American (or was it Hollywood?) idea of what "war" was all about. Just like John Wayne, or Rambo, I knew what war was! (I still remember a briefing chart that we had made of what we, the guys in my company and me, thought of as "our" mission . . . "Go there, kick ass, come home.") I knew that we would get there and, somehow, magically, be delivered to where the Iraqi army was. We would then defeat those same Iraqis in some grand, amorphous "Cinemascope and Technicolor" battle, set the Iraqi people free from the evil clutches of Saddam Hussein, and come home to America where we would all be honored as heroes. There would be victory parades, speeches, and (most importantly) free beer for the rest of our lives. What we found was that for eight months we sat on our butts in the middle of a desert. Not that "Beau Geste" desert of rolling sand dunes and oases with palm trees, Bedouin tribesmen with caravans of camels that Hollywood had managed to find. Oh, no-oo-oo! What we got was a rock-covered, "so-hot-you-couldn't-go-outside-in-the-middle-of- the-day," "so-cold-at-night-that-you-needed-a-sleeping-bag," bug-infested piece of land that, better than "desert," someone should have called "Mars" because it looked as if it was plucked off the face of another planet and thrown down just for us to find. This was as far removed from a Hollywood desert as it could be. There are three things about that war that I will never forget. First, I will always remember struggling with the sun.

Communication Channels Essay

A large number of cases point out that using communication channels properly would greatly improve the organization in some aspects. Without understanding communication channels, on the opposite, would have bad effects on the organization. It is not exaggerate to say that communication channels play a significant role in management and good managers will never miss them. In this essay, I will generally talk about three different communication channels which are formal channel, informal channel and grapevine activity and then analyze each of them in details in order to make good comparison. By doing so, the differences among them are shown clearly. Some examples will be given to illustrate how important a good manager who understands communication channels and what benefit he would bring to the organization. Communication channels can be classified into three parts which are formal channel, informal channel and grapevine activity. A formal communication channel identifies individuals who are the official sources of information and the information that is their special concern(Johnson, Donohue&Atkin,1994). Since relationships are determined by one’s role, structure is viewed by managers as a static entity which conforms to a top down configuration (Monge & Eisenberg, 1987). This point of view emphasizes the configurations resulting from formal authority relationships represented in the organizational hierarchy. An official meeting which held by organization is an exmaple of formal channel. On contrast, an informal communication channel is designed for varieties of needs such as social ones and it is based on the social contact as well as the personal affection of administrative staff. This approach maintains a sense of personal integrity and team cohesiveness. Apart from the above two channels, grapevine activity is also counted. However, grapevine activity is a major medium of informal channel. As the name suggests, the grapevine is entwined throughout the organization with branches going in all directions. They spread quickly, uncontrollably and, once started, are often hard to stop. Because grapevine activity may harm both individuals and the organization itself, managers must consider how to control it. Above three communication channels have their own advantages and disadvantages under different circumstances. How to use them efficiently and properly gives us a good topic to discuss. Formal communication channel is significantly useful when there is something fairly important to the organization and everyone should pay attention to. It shows the authority of superior and it is strictly serious. If we use informal channels instead of formal ones under this circumstance, lack of authority and configuration will lead to a never reached target. On one would consider it as an important issue. However, nowadays, informal communication channel is regarded as the complement of formal channel and cannot be ignored. If we could manage informal channel in a right way, it would play an active role in organization. For example, in many situations, in order not to cause some unnecessary troubles, administrative staffs do not say exactly what they thought through formal communication channel but to chime in with others. On this occasion, when we take advantage of informal channel to have a talk with administrative staffs, we may grasp their true feelings towards certain issue and then shoot the arrow at the target. Informal channel may decrease interpersonal conflict and make the human relationship more harmonious. Grapevine activity, as mentioned above, it is a form of informal channel and it is an inevitable part of organizational life. Researchers generally agree that the grapevine often functions in a beneficial manner The grapevine can help improve organizational efficiency in a number of ways. It also can help identify pending problems, can function as an early warning signal for organizational change, and is a vehicle for creating a common organizational culture. Unfortunately, the down side of grapevine activity is obviously at the same time. The most common one is inaccuracy. psychological research reveals that human always like to send emotional messages when they are down in spirits or they are not satisfied with their jobs. They may misinterpret some facts intentionally or unintentionally and tell them to others in an exaggerate way. Someone who has have ulterior motives may take advantage of grapevine in order to satisfy their personal interests. Thus it can be seen that every communication channel has its range of application. Our aim in management is to use them properly. As a result, it is fairly important for a manager to understand communication channels. If a manager understand communication channels he(she) would know which channel is suitable for a certain situation. This would maintain a good human relationships and always make employees happy with their jobs. Employees do not work only for salary but also for some need in spiritual level. They need to be respected and participated. If they feel that they are important to the organization, they would work harder. A good manager would satisfy them with these aspects during formal communication. Informal communication also helps organization with its development. A good manager would use informal communication channel to keep good relationships with employees and cover the shortage of formal communication. For instance, treat employees a lunch or a dinner if they do well in their positions and listen to their opinions as much as you can. This would let them feel that they are valued. Also, provide childcare to employees who have babies already and to free them of worries. By doing so, employees would be more happier and they would contribute more to the organization. As for grapevine activity, a good manager would know how to deal with it and make good control of it. Consequently, the organization would grow faster if we take very good advantage of communication channels. In conclusion, there are three communication channels which are named as formal channel, informal channel and grapevine activity. They all have positive functions to organization depend on how you manage them. It is worthwhile to know and use them appropriately in management and a great value will be obtained accordingly.