Reason People Attend College or University Essay

Why do you think people attend college or university? Use specific reasons & examples People attend college or University to become skilled or educated person. College/ university is a platform where we can learn anything effectively such as we can improve our knowledge, we can know about different career lines and we can get knowledge about any career line and college or university provide very friendly environment through which we experience How to behave with friends and How to do team work? First reason: People attend college or university to improve their knowledge. They can get knowledge about particular subject from their skilled teachers. During class /lecture session, their knowledge is increased because everyone has its own way of perception, if someone have doubt on any topic, then teacher will provide solution for that problem. In this way, rest of students get chance to think about topic in different ways. They can share their knowledge with their friends and they can also do group discussion about difficult topics with their friends. Second reason: They can opt different profession according to their wish and then they can join particular course which is relevant to their career. So that they can become efficient in their career line because they have sufficient time to do practical and to improve their skills effectively. Or they can learn from their mistakes while studying. So that they would never repeat mistakes in their professional life. Third reason: During college or University , Students experience many different phases of life. During studying, Students make project with 4 or 5 team members and they play games or sports in team, in this way, they learn How to do work in team ? and How to co-operate with team members. This thing helps them when they are in profession life. Students also learn to work in different situation for example sometime Students do work with their teachers, while working with teachers they learn to behave with seniors. At last, I want to say that everyone must attend college/ university because college/university is a heaven for students or you can say that this is a place which make their life great. Reasons for Attending College or University Summary: People attend college or university for many different reasons, such as new experiences, career preparation, and increased knowledge. Many people attend colleges and universities all over the world to study and conduct research. What are their expectations of the academic experience? In my opinion, people involved in collegiate programs have two main purposes: to gain the experiences and certificates that prepare them for future careers and to increase their knowledge about different aspects of life. Many people desire stable careers that deeply affect their lives. Therefore, good preparation for a future career is a necessity. To maintain and promote your position at a company, especially in certain kinds of jobs, you must have the knowledge and experiences that come from attending a college or university. The skills, spirit, and confidence you gain from studying help equip you for your work. Moreover, it is easier to find a good job when you have qualified certificates. Many well-educated people can carry out their tasks smoothly and methodically with more economization of time and strength than people who manage their work by learning from their failures. Another advantage of attending a college or university is the relationships you build with other people. These relationships help you improve yourself. In a collegiate environment, you learn how to work in groups and how to cooperate with your partners. You also learn to achieve mutual understanding, an essential and useful skill in your future work. The second reason for attending a college or university, increasing knowledge about many aspects of life, might seem a little impractical, but it is, in fact, very practical. Some people have the misconception that studying in college provides them only with knowledge relating directly to their major and that getting certificates is the most important purpose of attending college. With those goals in mind, they often neglect subjects that don’t seem to be applicable to their work. However, knowledge from college is not just useful for your job; it also is useful for many other things in life. For example, people with basic knowledge about literature, history, art, psychology, etc. might enjoy their lives more than unlearned people. They also might overcome difficulties and stress more easily, as well as have an acceptable and   optimistic attitude toward obstacles and failures in their lives. Furthermore, cultivated people might treat others in their communities with more regard. Nothing you study in college is useless, and increasing knowledge is as important as getting certificates. The more knowledge you have, the more poetic your life is. Generally speaking, it’s always necessary to have a good education. In addition to obtaining the appropriate certificates, attending a college or university gives you a great opportunity to learn about many different things on both macroscopic and microscopic levels. While the specific reasons people attend colleges and universities might differ, the fundamental purposes are the same: they want to obtain the necessary training and education for their future careers and they want to learn about a variety of different subjects that will apply to their lives outside their future careers. Therefore, everyone who chooses to attend a college or university should always strive to reach their goals and aspirations. People attend college or university for many different reasons (for example, new experiences, career preparation, and increased knowledge). Why do you think people attend college or university? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Essay: Some people say attending college is an indispensable way to find a job. Actually, I think most of people going to college are not just for a future job. First of all, I think everyone who attends a college will make some good friends. In fact, some people claim the best friends of their entire life are met in the college. Friends in college have more opportunities to spend time together finishing their paper in the library, doing sports, having classes, etc. Consequently, they will get a deep understanding with each other and last a long-term relationship. My dad’s several close friends are all met in college. Secondly, I think some people attend college because their curiosity for knowledge or the keen to know the truth about this world. During the studying life in college, people can learn a lot not only about those courses , but also the spirit of science , the great of humanity and the basic of this world .Colleges are the center of scholar and research , there are numerous scientists, writers, physicians, historians benefit form college’s studying. Thirdly, we are always trying to find ourselves a life-long purpose but have no idea what we really want or who we really want to be. In college , those books, lectures and courses can give us an answer. It is not just about jobs ,but people’s dream. It may encourage you to become a writer after a plenty of reading or you dream of becoming a philosopher after get familiar with Aristoteles. You may find yourself interested in chemical change or principle of universe. It is never as simple as finding a job. In college, you learn what you are really into and that will enlighten your future and life .One who knows nothing about himself will never walk out of the confusion or begin to chase his own dream. NO.2 Nowadays, education no doubt plays an important role in professional and social life. Many students attend college or university for many reasons. Although people think that universities are available for career preparation and increasing knowledge, in my opinion it is correct to say this aloud, that colleges represent a new experience on life  personally speaking, education is about learning to think, learning different ways to analyze a problem and to find a solution to resolve it. Participating in colleges and universities would be a great opportunity to have a general formation in order to be able to think clearly, critically, to have broad range of knowledge. When people at times could confront debates or situations, they would be able to know where to start to analyze and to have a solution for that. Moreover people want to attend college because they want to achieve great success in life .Pursuing a college they would be able to gain more good skills that will be helpful for their future  careers. Professionally, the conventional view is that education increases one ‘ earning potential, so college is one ticket to a high-paying job. Actuality people who want to go to a college and university often thinks about the job and the high salary they can earn in order to have a comfortable lifestyle and to provide themselves Similarly since the competition of jobs is higher and the number of job applicants are getting increased everyone should be well educated and to have e degree in order to get a good professional job. So in one way or another a college education is a requirement of many professional jobs In a social perspective , going to college and university is e new experience in life and through such live experience people become more wiser, mature and responsible . Student that attend colleges are separated from their parents and their homes Now they are forced to face another reality but this time at different rules, being alone and not having the support of their families. Through that they use to be more mature and to handle the world by themselves. Similarly, participating a college could be very useful for people because only in this way they can come across to diverse social, cultural and multi language groups. By meeting new people that are not from their hometown and further that they do not speak the same language could be e new experience that each one of them can have.

Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 14

Every week passed more or less quietly. Grandma Harman came home, her cough better. She didn't seem to notice anything different about Thea. Night came earlier, and everyone at school talked about parties and costumes. The air got colder and there was an announcement that the old gym would be opened for Halloween. Thea heard that Randy Marik had been moved to a psychiatric hospital and was in intensive therapy. He was making some progress. Thea and Eric worked every day on their plan. The only real excitement came the night when Thea walked in, sat on Blaise's bed, and said, â€Å"Bullets won't stop him.† â€Å"What?† Blaise looked up from creaming her elbows. â€Å"I mean, spells won't stop him. Eric. They just bounce off. I'm telling you this because you're going to notice that he's not with Mar.† Blaise snapped the tube of cream shut. She stared at Thea for a full minute before she said tightly, â€Å"What are you saying?† Thea's humor drained away. She looked at the floor. â€Å"I'm saying we're soulmates,† she said quietly. â€Å"And that I can't help it. There is really, truly, nothing I can do about it.† â€Å"I can't believe, after all that-† â€Å"Right. After all that work. And after me trying and trying to stop, because I'm scared to death. But there's no way to fight it, Blaise. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I've got to find some way to try to live with it.† She looked at her cousin. â€Å"Okay?† â€Å"You know it's not okay. You know it's completely not okay.† â€Å"I guess what I mean is, okay, will you please not kill him or turn us in? Because I can't stand being in another fight with you. And I can't stop breaking the law.† Blaise tossed the cream jar in the direction of the dresser. â€Å"Thea, are you all right?† she said, seriously. â€Å"Because you're acting very†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Fatalistic?† â€Å"Fatalistic and generally scary.† â€Å"I'm okay. I just†¦ I don't know what's going to happen, but I am sort of†¦ calm. I'm going to do my best. Eric's going to do his best. And beyond that, nothing's guaranteed.† Blaise stared for another minute, her gray eyes searching Thea's face. Then she shook her head. â€Å"I won't turn you in. You know I would never turn you in. We're sisters. And as for trying to kill him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She shrugged, looking grim. â€Å"It probably wouldn't work. That guy is impossible.† â€Å"Thank you, Blaise.† Thea touched her cousin's arm lightly. Blaise covered Thea's hand with her own red-nailed fingers, just for a moment. Then she sat back and straightened her pillows with a little jerk. â€Å"Just don't tell me anything, all right? I wash my hands of you two and I don't want to know what's going on. Besides, I've got worries of my own. I have to decide between a Maserati and a Karmann Ghia.† Halloween. Thea looked out the window at the darkened world. There weren't any kids in the alley, but she knew they were flitting around the city. Goblins and ghosts and witches and vampires-all fakes. Real vampires were sitting inside at fireplaces, or maybe at exclusive parties, chuckling. And real witches were getting dressed for their Samhain Circles. Thea put on a white shift, sleeveless, made out of one piece of material. She pulled a soft white belt around her waist and made a loop pointing up with one side of the tie, then wrapped the other end around the base of the loop three times. A thet knot. Witches had used them for four thousand years. She took a breath and looked outside again. Enjoy the peace while you can, she told herself. It's going to be a busy night. Eric's jeep pulled into the alley. The horn honked once. Thea grabbed the backpack, which had been stuffed under her bed. It was full of materials. Oak, ash, quassia chips, blessed thistle, mandrake root. The hardened residue from the bronze bowl, which she had painstakingly scraped off with one of Blaise's art knives. A wooden seal, also carved with Blaise's tools. And an ounce vial with three precious drops of summoning potion stolen from the malachite bottle. She started for the stairs. â€Å"Hey, are you leaving already?† Blaise said, emerging from the bathroom. â€Å"You've got-what?-an hour and a half before Circle.† Blaise looked gorgeous, and more herself than at any other time of year. Her shift was black, also sleeveless, also made in one piece. Her hair hung loose to her hips, woven with little bells. Her arms were pale and beautiful against the darkness of hair and shift, and she was barefoot, wearing one ankle bracelet. â€Å"I'm going to run out and do something before Circle,† Thea said. â€Å"Don't ask me what.† Blaise of course didn't know what Thea and Eric were planning. Not even Dani knew. It was better that way. â€Å"Thea†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Blaise stood at the top of the stairs and looked down as Thea dashed out. â€Å"You be careful!† Thea waved at her cousin. The back of the jeep was full of wood. â€Å"I thought I'd better bring some more, just in case we need it,† Eric said, throwing her backpack in. Then he added in a different voice, â€Å"You look- amazing-like that.† She smiled at him. â€Å"Thanks. It's traditional. You look nice, too.† He was wearing the costume of a seventeenth-century French soldier at Ronchain-or as close as they could get from looking at woodcuts in old books. They drove into the desert, past the huge bare cliffs, off the main road and far out among the Joshua trees, until they found the place. It was tiny, just a dip in the ground almost enclosed in red sandstone pillars. The pillars didn't look like the monoliths at Stonehenge-they were knobby and squished sideways, like towers of Play-doh that some kid had smashed-but they served the same purpose. They'd found this place all by themselves, and Thea was very proud of it. â€Å"The fire's still going,† she said. â€Å"That's good.† It had been burning for the last three days inside the circle. Thea's hope had been that it would keep Suzanne interested-and away from the people setting up in the old gym. And it seemed to have worked. Not just the fire, of course. The three dummies lying on the ground tied to stakes were supposed to be interesting, too. â€Å"These guys all look okay,† Eric said. He picked up the smallest dummy and dusted it off. It looked something like a scarecrow when he thrust the stick into a hole in the ground, standing it up. A scarecrow dressed in a black shift tied with a thet knot. With a sign hanging around the neck: lucienne. The other small dummy had a sign that said clement. The big dummy's sign said suzannb. â€Å"Okay,† Thea said when they had unloaded the wood, leaving her backpack in the jeep. â€Å"Now, remember, you don't do anything until I get back, right? Not anything. And if I'm a few minutes late, you just wait.† He stopped nodding. â€Å"The Halloween party starts at nine. If you're not here at nine exactly, I might-â€Å" â€Å"No. Don't touch anything, don't do anything.† â€Å"Thea, we might lose her. What if she decides that nothing's happening here, so she might as well go to the party-â€Å" â€Å"I won't be late,† Thea said flatly. It seemed the only way to win the argument. â€Å"But do not burn those witches before I'm here to cast the cirde. Okay?† â€Å"Good luck,† he said. He looked handsome and mysterious in his exotic clothes. Not like himself. They kissed under the half-full moon. â€Å"Be safe,† Thea whispered, making herself let go of him. â€Å"Come back safe,† he whispered. â€Å"I love you.† She drove the jeep back to the city, to the maidens' Circle Twilight meeting. It was being held this year at a Night World dub on the southern edge of town. There was no sign on the door, but the doormat, between two grinning jack-o'-lanterns, had been painted with a black dahlia. Thea knocked and the door opened. â€Å"Dani You look great.† â€Å"So do you,† Dani said. She was dressed in white, in a pleated sheer gown that hung to her ankles and looked Egyptian. Black braids clasped with silver cascaded from a sort of crown at her head, falling over her shoulders and back and arms. She made a beautiful Queen Isis. â€Å"You didn't wear a costume,† she said, making it a question. â€Å"Blaise and I are sort of going as Maya and Hell-wise,† Thea said. The truth was that she was most comfortable in her ordinary Circle clothes, and that Blaise knew she looked best in hers. â€Å"Well, come on down. You're the last one,† Dani said, taking Thea's hand. They went down a flight of stairs to an underground room. It had a makeshift, thrown-together look, with crates to sit on, and white fairy lights strung between concrete pillars. Metal chairs had been pushed to the periphery. â€Å"Thea! Hey, there! Merry meet!† people called. Thea turned around and around, smiling and getting hugs. â€Å"Good Samhain,† she kept saying. â€Å"Unity.† For those few minutes, she forgot about what was going to happen tonight. It was so good to see them all again, all her friends from summer Circles. Kishi Hirata, dressed as Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess, hi gold and orange. Alaric Breedlove- the sophomore from Lake Mead High-as Tammuz the shepherd, son of the mother goddess Ishtar. Claire Blessingway as the Navajo goddess Changing Woman, in a dress decorated with red flower petals and turquoise. Nathaniel Long as Herne, Celtic god of the hunt, in forest green, with stag's antlers. Humans put on costumes to disguise themselves tonight. Witches put on costumes to try to reflect their inner selves-what they were inside, what they wanted to be. â€Å"Here, taste,† Claire said, handing Thea a paper cup. It was full of a thick red herb drink spiced with cinnamon and cloves. â€Å"It's hibiscus-my dad's recipe.† Someone else was passing around shortbread cakes in the shape of crescent moons. Thea took one. Everything here was so bright, so warm-and she would have been so happy if all she had to do tonight was enjoy it. Have a normal Samhain Circle. Celebrate†¦ But Eric was waiting out there in the dark and cold of the desert. And Thea was counting the minutes until she could leave. â€Å"Okay, people, it's time to get started.† Lawai'a Dcua, a pretty, sturdy girl with hair like black nylon, was standing in the center of the room. She was wearing a red shift and lei-Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess, Thea guessed. â€Å"Let's get our circle, here. That's good, come on. Chang Xi, you're the youngest now.† A little girl with big almond-shaped eyes came shyly into the ring of people. Thea hadn't seen her before- she must have turned seven since the last summer Circle. She was dressed in jade green as Kuan Yin, the Chinese goddess of compassion. Still shy, she took a sprig of broom-real broom, the plant-and swept the area inside the ring. â€Å"Thea, you do the salt.† Thea was surprised and pleased. She took the bowl of sea salt that Lawai'a offered, and walked slowly around the perimeter of the circle, sprinkling it â€Å"Alaric, you take the water-â€Å" Lawai'a broke oft looking toward the stairway, seeming startled. Thea saw other people look. She turned around. Two adults, mothers, were coming down the stairs. As the light shone on the first woman's face, Thea felt a jolt. It was Aunt Ursula. In a gray suit, her expression as bleak as Thea had ever seen it. Nobody in the room made a noise. They all stood still as Joshua trees, watching until the women reached the bottom. Interrupting a Circle in the middle of casting was unheard of. â€Å"Good Samhain,† Lawai'a said faintly. â€Å"Good Samhain.† Aunt Ursula was polite, but she didn't smile. like a displeased teacher. â€Å"I'm very sorry to bother you, but this will only take a minute.† Thea's heart had begun to pound, slow and hard. It's just guilty conscience, she tried to tell herself. This doesn't have to be about you. But it did. And something inside her knew even before Aunt Ursula looked the Circle over and said, â€Å"Thea Sophia Harman.† As if she doesn't know what I look like, Thea thought dazedly. She damped down hard on a wild impulse simply to brush past Aunt Ursula and head for the street. Now she knew why rabbits were so stupid as to leave a good hiding place and run blindly when a dog came near. Just panic, that's all. She stepped away from a staring Kishi on her left and a dismayed Nat on her right. She could feel every pair of eyes in the place on her. â€Å"What is it?† she said, trying to look surprised. Aunt Ursula's eyes met hers directly, as if to say, You know. But she didn't say anything, which was almost as bad. â€Å"Dani Naete Mella Abforth.† Oh, Eileithyia. Not Dani, too†¦. Dani was stepping out of the circle. Her small head was held proudly, but Thea could see the fear in her eyes. She walked, linen swaying around her ankles, to stand beside Thea. Dani, I'm sorry†¦. â€Å"That's all,† Aunt Ursula said. â€Å"The rest of you go on with your Circle. Good Samhain, everybody.† To Thea and Dani, she said, â€Å"You need to come outside.† They followed her silently. There was nothing else to do. When they were out in the cool night air, Dani said, â€Å"Is-something wrong?† She looked from Aunt Ursula to the other woman, who was short but had considerable presence. And seemed familiar to Thea†¦ and then she had it. It's Nana Buruku. From the Inner Circle. This isn't a Harman family matter. The Inner Circle itself is calling us. â€Å"There are some things we need to talk about. Come on and let's get it all cleared up fast,† Nana Buruku said quietly, putting a cinnamon-colored hand on Thea's arm. Gran's ancient Lincoln Continental was sitting at the curb. Nana Buruku took the wheel herself. Dani and Thea held hands in the backseat. Dani's fingers were icy cold. The car wound up and down streets lined with human trick-or-treaters, to a big ranch-style house with high block walls screening the backyard. Selene's house, Thea realized, seeing the name Lucna on the mailbox. It must be where they're having the maidens' Circle Midnight meeting. Aunt Ursula got out. Thea and Dani sat in the car with Nana Buruku. In a few minutes, Aunt Ursula came back with Blaise. Selene, dressed in silver, and Vivienne in black, followed as far as the driveway. They looked sober and scared, not like wicked witches at all. Blaise did. Barefoot and apparently indifferent to the cold, little bells ringing, she looked flushed and angry and proud. She opened the door with a jerk and sat down hard beside Thea, who scooted over. â€Å"What's going on?† she said, almost out loud. â€Å"I'm missing the moon cakes, I'm missing everything. What kind of Samhain is this?† Thea had never admired her more. â€Å"We'll get back in time,† Dani said, and her voice was steady, even if her fingers were still cold. They're both brave, Thea thought. And me? But however much she wanted to, she couldn't get a word out through the tightness in her throat. She half expected Nana Buruku to get on the freeway and head out toward the desert, toward Thierry's land. But instead the Lincoln headed down familiar streets and pulled up in the alley behind Grandma Harman's store. Thea could feel Dani's questioning eyes on her. But she had no idea what was going on, and she was afraid to look Dani in the face. â€Å"Come on,† Aunt Ursula said, and shepherded them through the back door, into the shop, through the bead curtain that led to the workshop. All the chairs for Gran's students had been pushed into a rough circle. People were sitting in them, or standing and talking quietly, but when Thea stepped through the curtain behind Nana Buruku, they all stopped and looked. Thea's eyes moved from face to face, seeing each in a sort of disconnected, dreamlike flash. Grandma Harman, looking so grim and tired. Mother Cybele, who was the Mother of the Inner Circle, just as Gran was the Crone, looking anxious. Aradia, the Maiden, her lovely face serious and sad. Others she recognized from two years ago, people who were so famous she knew them by their first names. Rhys, Belfana, Creon, Old Bob. Aunt Ursula and Nana Buruku made up the last two of the nine. They looked like ordinary people, working men and women and still-sharp-as-a-tack retired seniors, the kind you'd see any day on the street. They weren't. This was the biggest concentration of magical talent anywhere in the world. These people were the witch geniuses, the prodigies and the sages, the far-seers. The teachers, the policy-makers. They were the Inner Circle. And they were all looking at Thea. â€Å"The girls are here,† Mother Cybele said softly to Aradia. â€Å"They're standing in the middle.† Gran said, â€Å"All right, let's get this thing started. Will everybody find themselves a seat.† It wasn't a question, it was an order. Gran was senior to all these celebrities. But she wouldn't look at Thea. And that was the most terrible, nightmarish thing of all. She acted as if Thea and Blaise were strangers. Everyone was sitting, nudging their chairs into a more evenly spaced circle. They were all wearing their ordinary clothes, Thea realized: business suits or uniforms or pants and tops. In Aradia's case, jeans. In Old Bob's case, dirty overalls. Which means they never even started their own ceremony tonight. This is important enough to skip Samhain over. This is a trial. Red-haired Belfana pushed Creon's wheelchair to an empty spot. She was the last to sit down. I'm centered, Thea thought numbly. It was her worst fear, the very thing that had driven her away from Eric in the desert, the first time she'd felt the soulmate connection with him. And now it was true. She could hear Dani breathing irregularly, and the faint tinkle of bells as Blaise shifted from foot to foot. â€Å"All right,† Grandma Harman said, sounding tired but formal. â€Å"By Earth, by Air, by Water, and by Fire, I call this Circle to unity.† She went on, reciting the age-old formula for a meeting of deliberation. For Thea, the words blended into the pounding of blood in her ears. It was strange, how terrifying it could be to be surrounded in all directions by people. Everywhere she looked, another grave, unreadable face. She felt as trapped as if they had been humans. â€Å"Thea Sophia Harman,† Gran said, and suddenly Thea was listening again. â€Å"You stand accused†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There seemed to be an endless, empty pause, although Thea knew it was probably no time at all. â€Å"†¦ of working forbidden spells in direct disobedience to the laws of Hellewise and of this Circle†¦.† All Thea heard for a while was â€Å"working forbidden spells.† It seemed to hang in the air, echoing. Part of her kept waiting to hear the other, more terrible charges of betraying the secrets of the Night World and falling in love with a human. But they didn't come. â€Å"†¦ summoning a spirit from the far places beyond the veil†¦ binding two humans with a forbidden love charm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And then Gran was reading Blaise's name. Blaise was charged with fashioning a necklace out of forbidden materials and binding humans with a forbidden charm. Dani was charged with aiding and abetting Thea in the summoning of a spirit from the far places-which was wrong, of course, Thea thought dizzily. Her whole body was tingling, from the soles of her feet, to her palms, to her scalp. With fear†¦ and with something like relief. They don't know. They don't know the worst part of it, or they would have said so-wouldn't they? And if I just keep quiet, why should they ever know? Then she focused on Gran, who had finished reading the charges and was now talking in an ordinary voice again. â€Å"And I have to say that I'm disappointed in all three of you. Especially you, Thea. I'd expect this from her, of course†-she nodded at Blaise, speaking to the rest of the Circle-â€Å"that descendant of mine there who's dressed up like Hecate's bad daughter. But I honestly thought Thea had more sense.† She looked disappointed. And that-hurt. Thea had always been the good girl, the golden girl, youngest and most promising of the Hearth-Woman line. Now, as she looked from face to face, she saw disappointment everywhere. I've failed them; I've disgraced my heritage. I'm so ashamed†¦. She wanted to curl up and disappear. Just then, there was a silvery ripple of bells. Blaise was tossing her dark head. She looked defiant and scornful and very proud and a little bored. â€Å"What I want to know is who turned us in,† she said in an almost inaudible but definitely menacing whisper. â€Å"Whoever it is, they're going to be sorry.† And suddenly, somehow, Thea was less frightened. The disappointment didn't mean so much. It was possible to shock the Inner Circle and still be standing up. Blaise proved it. It was then that irony struck Thea. She'd spent her life getting in trouble because of Blaise, and now here they were, in the worst trouble imaginable-because of her. And Dani was in trouble, too. Her velvety eyes were filled with tears. When she saw that, Thea found the tightness in her throat easing. She could talk again. â€Å"Look-excuse me-but there's something you need to know. Before this goes any further-â€Å" â€Å"You'll have a chance to speak later,† Mother Cybele said, her voice soft and firm, like her little dumpling-shaped body. â€Å"No, I have to say it now.† Thea turned to Gran, speaking, for just these few seconds, to her grandmother rather than to the Crone of the Inner Circle. â€Å"Grandma, Dani shouldn't be here. Really. Really. She didn't know anything about the summoning; I did it all. I promise.† Gran's expression gentled slightly, the creases on her face shifting. Then she was impassive again. â€Å"All right, all right, we'll see about that later. The first thing is to find out just what you've been doing. Since you seem to be the instigator here.† It was when she said â€Å"later† that realization hit Thea like a tsunami. And everything changed. Later†¦ time†¦ what time is it? She looked frantically around for the clock. There-behind Old Bob's gray head†¦ Ten minutes to ten. Eric. Somehow, in the stress she'd felt since Aunt Ursula came to get her, she had completely forgotten that he was waiting in the desert. But now she could see him, the vision in her mind's eye as clear as if she were standing there with him. Eric watching the clock, minutes going by, and Thea still not arriving. Eric looking at the bonfire and at the three black-clothed dummies tied to their stakes. And the party. The Halloween party at school. Blistered metal doors being opened and people flooding in. Shoes walking across the scuffed wooden floor, costumed kids standing underneath the dangling witch figures. Kids shrieking with laughter, handing over goblin money, crowding into the torture booths. While something lurked around the exposed pipes on the ceiling. Maybe invisible, maybe looking like a white figure and feeling like a blast of arctic wind. Maybe like a woman with long mahogany hair. Lurking†¦ then suddenly sweeping down†¦ She's going to kill them. They're completely defenseless†¦. Fear tore into Thea like jagged metal. It was all happening right now, and she wasn't doing anything to stop it. It had been happening for almost an hour, and she hadn't even given it a thought.

Costa Coffee Essay

1. Executive summary In this business report we are analysing the business environment in which our company – BESO and its main competitor – Costa Coffee operate. The main objective is to research, analyse and understand the competitor’s business strategy, to find out if there is a gap in their action plan and how we can take advantage of this. The report consists of SWOT analysis of BESO and PEST analysis of both companies. The target markets of both – BESO and Costa Coffee are similar. That makes the competition between them even bigger. The report also discusses the marketing approach and the various advertising campaigns conducted by Costa Coffee and the advertising techniques we decide to adopt in the long run. The distribution system of Costa Coffee is also considered and plans to expand to different locations. The pricing strategy of BESO is based closely to the strategy of Costa Coffee as we have adopted competitive pricing. In terms of ethical issues we examined the various types of corporate social responsibilities of Costa Coffee. 2. Introduction. The business report includes an analysis of Costa Coffee as a main competitor of BESO Coffee. The report examines the business environment where both companies operate in. It has been requested from the Marketing Director of BESO and also has to be focused only on the UK market. 3. BESO – Brief history BESO Coffee is a coffee chain settled in the UK in 2001. It has been established by an independent trader but later on when the business has grown, new stakeholders appeared. At first BESO’s target market was limited as well as the products it offered- only a few types of coffee and limited types of confectionary. However, only two years after launching BESO on the market it became popular through different groups of people, therefore the menu became much diversified and the target market as well. BESO has shown great performance during the years and has become one of the most recognized names on the current market. That is why Costa Coffee is determined as a main competitor of BESO. 4 5 The Marketing Profession 4. SWOT and PEST analysis 4. 1. SWOT analysis Strengths †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Efficient and trained staff Customer loyalty Brand recognition High quality coffee Friendly and relaxing atmosphere for our customers. Weaknesses †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Limited number of outlets Low levels of advertisement Interior design needs updating More range of the types of coffee available. Continual change in consumer taste Can be seen as an unhealthy product Opportunities †¢ Based in Central London which covers a large demographic of customers Olympics 2012 will bring in more sales Introduction of new products including healthy options. Retailing mugs and coffee equipment Threats †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Customers demanding fair-trade and organic coffee. Big chain coffee shops dominating the market. Economic issues and crisis Lack of ownership of primary resources e. g. Coffee farming. †¢ †¢ †¢ 4. 2. PEST analysis There are many different Political, Economic, Social and Technological issues that both our company and also Costa Coffee face within the coffee industry. Firstly, the first political issue to consider is that majority of coffee beans are brought and made in developing countries, so companies need to ensure that their coffee is made by fair-trade dealers and they need to consider the ethical conditions of the labor used. Another political issue includes all the taxes and tariffs incurred by any business operating within the UK, whether it be import tariffs or VAT on goods sold. The economic factors that our companies face are similar to the issues faced by many businesses within the whole goods and services market, this including the economic recession of 2008. Customers now have less disposable income to spend and as a result cut-down on the purchasing of non-vital goods. This is due to of unemployment rising and the levels of debt increasing. The social factors that need to be taken into consideration is that consumers are spending more money on coffee due to the demand for quality goods. This can be seen in the comparison of value of tea and coffee industry with coffee valuing at 738 million according to the Times (2008). As a result, companies need to ensure that buying coffee is not only a quick purchase, as they need to have value-added for customers including high quality coffee and a relaxing 5 6 The Marketing Profession atmosphere. Lastly, the technological issues that both our company and Costa face is the introduction of self-made home coffee by the use of coffee machines specifically tailored to make at home, for example, the Senseo coffee-machines. This can be seen as a threat to coffee shops as it is a cheaper alternative for customers in the long run. 5. Target market According to a Mintel report titled â€Å"Coffee Shops† published February 2012, â€Å"Two thirds of consumers buy coffee out of home, rising to three in four among 16-24-year-olds as core users†. Costa Coffee has the highest number of outlets within the UK totaled to 1,302 coffee shop chains as opposed to Starbucks who has 739 and Caffe Nero with 509 shops. It also claimed that â€Å"Costa has different store designs to suit different purposes such as ‘Metro’ which is aimed at the younger/urban consumers and ‘Evolution’ which is designed for more mature customers in provincial locations. It states its customer segments are ‘Recharge, Relax, Refuel’†. Therefore the target market for Costa Coffee ranges from a wide range of customers of different ages as it caters to many different needs. Students have been said to make up 30% of their target market, Professionals 45%, Families 10% and mature consumers 15% of the clientele. At BESO Coffee, our market we aim to target at is very wide as it ranges from teenagers to mature customers. We even target at families as we offer menus for younger children and parents. Our products are reasonably priced so it can be bought from people of many different income level groups, from working to upper class. 6. Marketing approaches Costa coffee have used many different marketing approaches and campaigns in order to succeed within the industry as it is important to continually update their marketing strategies. Costa has introduced campaigns such as ‘How Do You Like Yours’, which allowed customers to customize their coffee’s by for example adding espresso or syrup. This helps them differentiate themselves from competitors as it gives consumers more power and control over their purchase. Another campaign introduced by Costa was the arrival of Costa light in 2011, which offered low-calorie and healthier options to customers. This was an important step for Costa as there has been an increase in healthy eating trends, which can be seen in the figure below. Figure: Consumer demand for display of calorie content on restaurant menus, June 2010-December 2011 6 7 The Marketing Profession. Other campaigns included the launch of Costa Coffee Gift Card in November 2011 which allowed customers to buy card with pre-paid amounts of up to ? 75 and a more recent campaign at the beginning of 2012 when Costa collaborated with the Spirit Pub Company which ensured that Costa coffee would be used in its restaurants chains including Chef & Brewer and Flaming grill. Costa has used many forms of media to advertise their campaigns to the public. One method used to inform customers was through the use of television advertising in 2008 whereby Costa launched its first ad. The advert helped to illustrate the â€Å"superiority of Costa’s products† and according Reynolds (2010) its message was that â€Å"the brand is on a mission to save the world from mediocre coffee and seven out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa†. Other forms of media used by Costa include Billboards as it can be seen by many commuters within the UK by their use of big bold writing and minimal distraction of the main message. Their billboards are distinctive as they have a continual theme colour, text and logo, which are recognised by customers. Our approach to our marketing campaign is to use alternative uses of media to portray our message, including the use of the Internet, as it is a popular form of media used in today’s society. We aim to use Facebook and Twitter to advertise our campaign and the company as a whole as it covers a large demographic. 7. Distribution strategy Costa operates in the UK through its own coffee shops, franchises and wholesale outlets. On the18th of October 2011, Whitbread stated that the number of Costa UK stores had risen from 1,217 in March 2011 to 1,302 in September 2011, including 95 openings and ten store closures. In comparison, Costa International increased its stores from 654 to 701 during the same period, including 72 openings and 25 closures. Meanwhile Costa Express/Coffee Nation units increased from 877 in March 2011 to 934 in September 2011, taking account of 79 openings and 22 closures. These units are partnered with service station operators such as Moto, Esso and Welcome Break, retailers like Tesco and The Co-Operative and foodservice group Compass (Mintel 2012). In a market with low loyalty levels, advertising and promotion is important in keeping brands in the forefront of consumers’ minds. Costa Coffee looked to sustain an emotional response among consumers with the marketing supporting its launch of Costa Light variant in autumn 2011 through an advertising campaign that used slogans such as ‘All the love, none of the handles’ and ‘Extra feel good in every cup’ (Mintel 2012) Customers were also encouraged to see the lighter side of life with its Costa Light Comedy Challenge competition. Costa’s aim was to showcase up-and-coming comedians by asking them to submit a one-minute film via its website. A public vote then saw the top ten entries from five regions go through to a further round to be judged during one-off events across the UK, with the campaign finally culminating in two regional winners performing at The Comedy Store, London (Mintel 2012). Costa Coffee’s distribution system is broad with a balanced portfolio across high streets, retail parks, concessions, airports, rail and other travel hubs as well as an increasing number of stores in new locations such as universities and hospitals. Innovative distribution channels, such as Costa Express and Drive Thru are developed. They will extend the brand’s reach and increase accessibility for the customer (Whitbread, 2010). 7 8 The Marketing Profession Andy Harrison, chief executive of Whitbread said that popping out for a coffee has become a â€Å"firm fixture† of peoples’ lives. â€Å"Coffee culture has grown massively over the last five to 10 years – people have a real demand for quality coffee and a choice of different coffees,† he said. â€Å"When I was kid everyone wanted a Nescafe – that has definitely changed. † (The Guardian 2011). 8. Pricing strategy. Costa Coffee is a well-known, high valued and trusted cafeteria all over the world. They offer wide range of high qualitative coffee drinks and food, excellent services and relaxing atmosphere. Costa relies on their superiorities and offer comparatively higher prices because they have realized that the luxury comes with the price. Costa Coffee offers two sizes of drinks – medium and large and the price difference between them is not significant. In this way they encourage their customers to buy the bigger size, because the amount of the drink is bigger and is on almost the same price as the medium one. But even the medium size of cappuccino is served in a cup with the size of soup bowl, so Costa Coffee has a reason to charge a relatively higher price because of the value they give, even though in most cases customers do not need such a big amount of drink although they have to pay for it. In this way, Costa is able to sell cheaper coffee to regular customers, who are aware of the amount of the drink (with elastic demand) and sell more expensive coffee to infrequent visitors, therefore the cafeteria makes big profit from each cup of coffee. This is the corporate strategy and how Costa found a way to charge comparatively higher prices than most of their competitors. This strategy has some disadvantages and threats such as the present credit crunch, which might affect the sales and the budget of Costa Coffee as they target middle and upper middle class, therefore in the time of recession customers may prefer some of the cheaper competitors. 9. Pricing strategy that we will adopt – competition based pricing strategy One of the biggest advantages of the †Competition based pricing strategy† is that in the same time you are focused on your business and objectives and on the competition’s strategies. Once you understand what the competition is doing, you have the chance to do everything better and to gain a competitive advantage (Jobber 2008), therefore to increase the number of customers and to gain bigger market share. There are three types on competition based pricing methods: †¢ †¢ †¢ Price your product the same as the competitor Set your price to increase customer base Seek larger market share through price Compared to Costa Coffee we are fairly new to the market so it would be more appropriate for BESO to adopt the †Competition based pricing† as a strategy that will allow us to grow fast as competitive brand. In order to achieve biggest results we will match/mix the three competition-based pricing methods. BESO will offer similar products as/like the Costa’s products but on lower prices, therefore BESO’s market department must always be aware of what the competition is offering in order to provide better value for money. In this way BESO will has the opportunity to outline its advantages as comparing similar products as those of the competition but on lower prices (even pence). Once customers understand our priorities they will use to come to BESO as a place, which offers better value for money, 8 9 The Marketing Profession. therefore we will increase our market share (Palmer and Hartley 2006). In terms of increasing customer base, the process is similar to market penetration, we have to select a price that will beat the competition and doing that we will motivate customer to notice our products and to make a purchase decision. Market penetration pricing works well in the introduction stage of the product life cycle and in a highly competitive market, as you increase the production some of your costs will decrease. During the next stages of the product life cycle the price can be increased (Jobber 2010). The easiest way to increase the market share of BESO is to select prices that will attract and hold as many customers as possible (depend on target). It is recommended to adopt the †Market – share pricing† after the business achieved market penetration, because they are linked as the market share happens when large volume of products are sold. So it is better if things happen step by step. And finally the market share is calculated by dividing the amount of each company sells out of the total market and in this way the market leader is determined. 9. 1. Disadvantages of †Competition based pricing† †¢ †¢ †¢ There is a danger to ignore your own production cost if you focus too closely on the competitors’ prices. It takes more time to research and update competitors’ information. Competitors also can copy whatever price you select. 10. Customer service Loyalty is particularly low in the coffee shop market, making customer retention a key area of improvement going forward (Mintel 2012). At the start of 2012 Costa Coffee launched the ‘Just How Do You Like Yours? ’ campaign. It aims to highlight the customizable elements of its products, a key differentiator to its lower-priced non-specialist competitors such as EAT and Pret A Manger. A clear pricing strategy was also included in order to appeal to consumer’s sense of value for money. For example, customers can now add an extra shot of espresso or sugar-free syrup shots to their drinks for 35p per unit. Also, in 2011 Costa Coffee launched gift cards (Mintel 2012). Although consumers state that convenient location is more important to them than the brand of coffee chain, operators can still capture consumers’ attention through qualities other than price. For example, two in three users think that quality is the most important decision-making factor when choosing where to buy hot drinks, whilst nearly half disagree that they usually choose the cheapest venue. However, with so many brands trading off of a quality positioning, operators have to ensure that they are differentiating themselves on additional levels, hence the trend towards lifestyle branding in the wider eating out market (Mintel 2012). Costa Coffee’s reputation for excellence applies not only for the exceptional coffee but also the insistence on perfect service. â€Å"Recruiting and retaining highly motivated and talented people is essential and great emphasis is placed on improving the skills, expertise and 9 10 The Marketing Profession performance of our people through award winning, industry-leading training and developing programs† (Mintel 2012). 11. Costa Coffee’s attitude towards environmental issues Consumers are extremely careful about environmental issues, trying to buy environmentally friendly food and drinks. Most of the customers feel that it is their duty to save the environment in order to live healthier. That is why most companies are under a lot of pressure to change their attitude towards the environment most often related to greener, packaging solutions, recycling and many others. Costa Coffee is the first UK coffee chain buying beans from Rainforest Alliance Certifiedâ„ ¢ farms. From October last year, almost 100% of the coffee beans for Mocha Italia blend are from certified sustainable farms. Costa Coffee is also a member of UK Paper Cup Recycling Committee, their cups are made from sustainable sources and that’s saves about 1,100 trees a year. The ingredients from which the cups are made of are all from iconic recyclable material and are made using only certified sustainable pulp. Vegetable Costa Coffee is also concerned about its coffee-growers and in 2006 it registered a Costa Foundation, dealing with the improvement of the welfare of coffee-growing places like Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Uganda and Vietnam. Costa Coffee is also a partner with Cafechurch network, supporting local community. The organization deals with environmental issues, fair trade, divorce and stress problems and others. People are feeling well, being part of a great atmosphere, live music, good communication, and a lot of interviews, having the opportunity to understand more about the Costa Coffee Foundations. 12. The competitor’s CSR activity Costa Coffee is not achieving basic standard of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The coffee company does not give a specific data for the carbon footprint. Its environmental data is part of the environmental data of its parent company-Whitbread. 13. What is your attitude to CSR/environmental issues going to be? The aims that Costa Coffee manages to do are quite a lot. Some of the first ones are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Developing Costa Coffee’s energy & environmental strategy. Managing carbon reporting and ensuring compliance for CRC. Maintaining the ISO50001 system. Working with manufacturer’s waste contractors and NGO to improve takeaway cup recycling. 10 11 †¢ †¢ The Marketing Profession Developing Costa Good Together CR programme . By 2012/13 Costa Coffee aims to help 15, 000, providing them access to education. That target will help to bring together the communities, helping adults to find jobs and trades. The coffee chain aim is to raise ? 750,000 alone during 2012/13. Costa Coffee will try to dedicate Energy & Environment Manager in Costa Coffee. That will be useful, trying to insure more control and to organize the best structured plan for the company. Costa’s cardboard cups are not recyclable, even though the cardboard can be recycled. The other ingredient in the cardboard cups, the ink and the glue, cannot be recycled. The target environmental plan of Costa Coffee is to use vegetable ink and degradable glue on its cups. Costa Coffee is raising money to build schools in regions where a lot of coffee farms take place. There are already 22 schools in developing countries. That makes a big difference for a lot of young people who have the opportunity to study. Costa Foundation is also taking care for the supplement of special healthy nutritious meals and laptops for the children. †¢ †¢ †¢ 14. Conclusion Based on the researches and analysis that have been done BESO has a great potential to use Costa’s disadvantages and to convert them into our opportunities for prosperity. Offering similar products as those of Costa Coffee but on lower prices and in the same time launching our own products (BESO’s cupcakes) is a good strategy to gain a competitive advantage. Slight changes in the interior design of our cafeteria would be refreshing and a good way to attract new customers. Furthermore increasing our advertising activities would be an opportunity to remind our customers and in the same time to inform our new potential customers about BESO’s fantastic services and great value for money. 15. References Baker S. (2003), New Consumer Marketing, West Sussex, John Wiley & Sons Ltd Cooper D., Schindler P. (2011), Business Research Methods, New York, McGraw – Hill Education Economics Help (2008), Costa Coffee UK and Sales Techniques. Available at: http://econ. economicshelp. org/2008/08/costa-coffee-uk-and-sales-techniques. html [Accessed: 20th March 2012]. Government of Alberta (2012), Methods to Price Your Products. Available at: http://www1. agric. gov. ab. ca/$department/deptdocs. nsf/all/agdex1133#competition [Accessed: 20th March 2012] Jobber D. (2010), Principles and Practice of Marketing, London, McGraw – Hill Education 11 12 The Marketing Profession Kotler P. , Armstrong G. (2006), Principles of Marketing, The United States of America, Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data LinkedIn (2011), Costa Coffee Energy and Environment Manager at Whitbread. Available at: http://uk. linkedin. com/pub/ollie-rosevear/14/672/948 [Accessed: 20th March 2012] Mintel (2012), Brand Communication and Promotion. Available at: http://academic. mintel. com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=59 0036/display/id=611992#hit1 [Accessed: 20th March 2012] Mintel.

Importance of reward and resourcing within human resource Essay

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Effective Talent Management Processes And Management Development Programme - Essay Example Talent intelligence refers to the insight that a company needs to capitalize on its most key asset – its employees – by capturing meaningful information on people within the organization and outside (within competitors) for appropriate action towards driving the business of the organization forward (Lawler III & Ulrich, 2008). Talent management (and development), on the other hand, refers to a body of theories (including models and empirical studies) that offer managerial insights on how to identify such talent systematically and provides mechanisms on how to nurture and utilize the talent so acquired towards fulfilling the organizational objectives (Berger & Berger, 2010). In practice, talent management requires every individual organization to design, develop, and implement its own unique and adaptive talent management strategy in line with the organization’s objectives, operations, culture and environmental influencers (Berger & Berger, 2010). Talent managemen t has become a core human resource function. Trends and Emergent Issues in Global Management Globalization has led to a radical paradigm shift in how organizations conduct their business. Similarly, managerial focus has now broadened from a restricted focus on how the organization can achieve profitability and survive within the domestic and regional market. It now includes the emergent issues in global business today and the way they affect the organization’s profitability, as well as the way an organization impacts both its internal members and the communities where it is situated. The emergence of Brazil, India, China, and Russia as economic giants has led to increased focus of industries and top quality human resource skills on these markets due to the shortage of managerial talent elsewhere. The number of excellent leaders and managers has not increase (at least not at par) while the level of companies and industries seeking these crucial human resources has (Goldsmith & Carter, 2009). Talent management has increasingly grown from the need to find individuals whose competencies ‘fit’ within the organizational agenda in times of growth and expansion. It is clear from the recent, historical effects that the globalization of former national markets has not only brought opportunities forth for economies of scale and, therefore, more profits, but also created an integrated system that channels a ripple effect, in case of a collapse of one segment of its market, onto the rest of the global system (Carnall, 2007). Global recessions like the one experienced in 2008 had the effect of cutting down jobs globally. A focus of managers now shifts to identification and development of individuals with the ability to lead during such lean times, talents which can consolidate, engage, and sustain a proactive yet consistent approach to operational business cycles. Finally, global business means that multinationals need to obtain employees with different skills and competencies, which blend together to provide synergistic benefits for the organization (Schiemann & Meisinger, 2009). The differentiation amongst individuals in terms of behaviors, culture, attitudes, and interests means that a delicate and deliberate effort is required in obtaining a harmonious fusion of all these elements (the list is by no means conclusive) that is self-sustaining and provides an environment suitable for creativity, innovation, and employee growth. Present managers have exposed a high

Oil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Oil - Essay Example Oil is the world’s biggest industry. It has often been referred to as the â€Å"black gold† and the devils excrement. Oil is found in the world’s most democratic and well governed countries such as Norway and Canada and also in some of the most autocratic nations such as Saudi Arabia and Nigeria (Roberts, 2004). In countries like Ghana and Nigeria, oil has become a curse. When oil was being mined in Ghana, the local people hoped for a better living standard and an improved sanitation. Everyone in Ghana was very excited and waited anxiously for the mining of oil for the first time in the country. They hoped that Ghana would be able to break the â€Å"curse† that had been associated with the mineral. This event only saw a few getting richer and the poor getting poorer. The same problem faced its neighbor Nigeria which is the largest crude producer in the continent. There was such a big gap between the rich and the poor because of corruption in the oil industry in Nigeria (Roberts, 2004). Oil on the other hand has had a positive influence to all the countries that have mined it. Despite all the negative impacts of oil, countries have been able to develop and upgrade their infrastructure. Third world countries have been able to export their oil to developed countries and have been able to use this to put up infrastructure like roads, schools and even hospitals. Oil has been referred to as ‘power’ in terms of its influence in political dominance and control. Oil is needed in order to grow food, put up infrastructure, manufacture food and transports them to the market and to advance technology. However, it lubricates both national and international politics. The following are some of the reasons that make oil such a powerful political force in the world today. We need oil every day in order to survive. Oil is universal and it is cheaply available, we do have other sources of energy such as electricity but there has not been any other

History and Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History and Literature - Essay Example History plays a decisive role in developing a nation’s culture. Literature, in turn, is based upon the culture of a nation. Thus, history affects the literature of a nation through culture. A lot of books have been published on the great battles that have occurred in the world from time to time. Other books that are not directly written on wars reflect the impacts of war on the society in different ways. Owing to the great role of history in shaping a nation’s literature, both are considered subordinates of each other. History brings facts into literature. In the contemporary age, facts and figures are valued a lot. Facts and figures play a fundamental role in enhancing the value of literature. Literature progresses with research. Research is fundamentally based on the literature review pertaining to the topic of research. Audience looks out for numeric figures that fundamentally come from the history. In the modern age, people are obsessed with the notion of â€Å"not hing but facts†. This has created a lot of schism between predictions and forecasts made on the basis of historic data. Nowadays, predictions are of no scientific value. Researchers are required to extrapolate the past trends to estimate the future. We get to learn a lot about history from the stories we read.

Production and Trade Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Production and Trade - Assignment Example It is therefore apparent that an economy that lacks adequate financial institutions such as in the developing economies suffers from low savings rate, which in turn leads to low investment hence slow economic growth. Financial institutions also help in reducing poverty traps such as reduction of the information cost that may reduce the level of business investment and furthering slowing economic growth. Developing countries experience low economic growth due to lower rate of investment attributed by low savings and high cost of information. Financial institutions are very significant in economic development especially to people who utilize them well. It can be argued that developing economies experience slow economic growth contributed by lack of proper financial institution’s framework and political interference with the financial systems. However, if the rule, regulations and independency of these financial institutions can be addressed, they can greatly speed up economic growth in the developing countries. Financial institutions undergo serious challenges in economically repressed areas since low income earners do not normally save. This therefore inhibits growth of the financial institutions and further minimizes investments hence low economic

Evolution of Polo Ralph Lauren Essay Example for Free

Evolution of Polo Ralph Lauren Essay Polo Ralph Lauren has become one of the most renounced clothing companies of the 20th and 21st century. The creator of Polo is a man named Ralph Lifschitz who was born on October 14, 1939 in New York, New York (Ralph Lauren). He was born to Fraydl Kotlar and Frank Lifshitz who were Ashkenazi Jewish from Belarus. In 1955, when Ralph was 16, he and his brother changed their last name to Lauren because they were made fun constantly for having a Jewish last name but his brother Lenny kept the last name (Ralph Lauren). At the age of 18 Ralph worked for various fashion stores such as: Bloomingdale’s, Brooks Brothers, and the Rivetz of Boston neckwear company as a salesman for all of the stores (Vogue). While he worked at all these jobs Ralph studied at the City College of New York for business. Three years later in 1960, Lauren was drafted in to the military and he joined the U.S. Army Reserves and he started basic training at Fort Dix (Vogue). Lauren once said â€Å"When I was growing up, officers in uniform were very impressive to me†¦ When you wear an old military jacket there’s some sort of connection to those qualities, the way the uniforms were made really inspired me for some of my designs that I made later on.† (Vogue). Four year later, in 1964 Ralph marries Ricky Low-Beer. Since Ralph had been around clothes so much-to be more correct neckties- he created his first line of neckties in 1967 but instead of using his name Ralph Lauren, he uses the alias Polo (Vogue). In 1968 Polo menswear launched and it featured English-cut suits, pleated pants, and Fair Isle sweaters (Vogue). Ralph told Vogue â€Å"none of the magazines even wrote about my new line, or came to my show†. The president of Bloomingdale-Marvin Traub-took notice of his new line and gave Ralph his own in-store boutique at the age of 29, it opened in 1969. The boutique was very successful and helped position Bloomingdale and Ralph as the new faces of menswear. In 1970 when Lauren was 30 he received an Coty Award for menswear after designing an unlined, â€Å"unconstructed† suit which is basically what most of the suits today look like. In 1971 Ralph puts the man playing polo on the cuff of the shirt instead of on the chest of the shirt like it is now (Vogue). There were some trademark issues which made it to where Ralph couldn’t just put Polo on his clothing. Since Ralph couldn’t do that he called it â€Å"Ralph Lauren† but later he will get the Polo trademark and call his brand Polo Ralph Lauren. By the end of the 1970’s Polo Ralph Lauren will have expanded from the little boutique in Bloomingdale’s to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, and Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida and this was the first sign to Ralph that his clothing company was going to be a big. When the collared shirts with the polo-player logo was introduced in 1972 it was released in 24 different colors. If you had a polo shirt at this time, it showed your class in the preppy world. Ralph Lauren was once asked â€Å"how can a Jewish kid from the Bronx do preppy clothes?† and he replied with this â€Å"Does it have to do with class and money? It has to do with dreams. (Ralph Lauren). Women found his clothes fashionable because it gave them something different to wear than the traditional gypsy and hippie styles of clothing, after figuring out that women liked his clothing he started a womenswear line in 1972 and it was a huge success. Four year later, in 1976 at the age of thirty-seven Ralph Lauren wins another Coty award for womenswear and this makes him the first designer to win in both categories of menswear and womenswear. He also wins a Coty Hall of Fame award, and in celebration of the award The New York Times did an article on him and pictured him with model Patti Hansen in a Tux laughing with Lauren in a Tuxedo Jacket and jeans, both holding cigarettes, the title of the article was â€Å"I’m having a Black Tie Affair with Ralph Lauren.† (Vogue). This gave the brand of Ralph Lauren a huge push around the world because he had a supermodel pose with him in this article and the fact that he was in Time magazine which people all over the world read also put his name out there in the world. In the 1980’s and 1990’s is when Ralph Lauren gained most of his wealth of, 6.5 billion dollars (Ralph Lauren). In the 1980’s Ralph Lauren expanded his business to include children wear, eyewear, underwear, jeans, shoes, accessories, housewares, furs, luggage, and a plethora of other products (Ralph Lauren: American Classic). Even though most of the companies that expanded too fast like this suffered brand image dilution, Polo was actually made stronger because of many reasons. Mainly because Ralph designed everything himself and if he didn’t directly design the item he still had the last say on how the item looked and what material was put inside it. Another reason Polo stayed in high fashion is because retail never lowered and it was always a higher price. Ralph once said â€Å"I won’t lower my price for anyone. If you can’t buy my clothing than don’t buy it.† (Ralph Lauren: American Classic). In the 2000’s Ralph Lauren made a multimedia marketing joint venture with NBC and allies, and ValueVision, operator of Home Shopping Network. Polo Ralph Lauren became one of the first companies only to use advertisement through electronics, Polo.com was created in 2000 and this was one of the first fashion websites in history (Ralph Lauren: American Classic). In 2001 Polo made their first online magazine telling people all things celebrity, sport, art and culture about polo, th at same year Polo created Runway.Polo.com. this was made to provide fashion fans with a look behind the scenes in collection-development and fashion shows, while offering style and beauty tips (Ralph Lauren: American Classic). Through the 46 years Polo Ralph Lauren has had hundreds of fashion shows but never overseas until now. He’s chosen to do his first fashion show overseas at one of the most historic art schools in the world called École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France on October 8, 2013 (Ralph Lauren’s first..). Ralph Lifschitz was just a boy from a working class Orthodox Jewish family in the Bronx who started out selling neckties in many of the high fashion stores in New York. He came from the bottom just selling and making neckties in a small boutique in Bloomingdale to creating and breaking down barriers in the fashion industry. Ralph now has hundreds of stores across the world which has made him a billionaire. Polo Ralph Lauren was made to celebrate the pr eppy, sporty, wealthy, and traveled, while keeping a modern look. Polo has been around for 46 years and has never lost its value which is very rare for any company to do. Works Cited â€Å"Ralph Lauren. Biography† Bio. True Story. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2013 â€Å"Ralph Lauren.† The World of Fashion in Voguepedia .2012. Web. 14 Oct. 2013 â€Å"Ralph Lauren: American Classic.† Eurbanista Brand Strategy, Sustainability and the Digital Revolution in Fashion, Luxury and Media. 2009. Web. 14 Oct. 2013 â€Å"Ralph Lauren’s first international runway show honors Paris school restoration.† Luxury Daily. 2013. Web. 14 Oct. 2013

Conflict Resolution Strategies and Styles

Conflict Resolution Strategies and Styles Abstract The world is turning into globalization concept to increase the productivity and efficiency to achieve the organizational goals. To achieve standard effectiveness of the organization the number of techniques and strategic management tools used in different ways either combining/integrating one and other or straight way use one technique. People techniques and organizational techniques are playing very vital role in developing the organization and growth of it. With the help of integration of these techniques we can achieve the effective results after applying in the organization. Organization and people are strongly inter-related to each other. So the effective use of these people technique directly effect on the organization and vise versa. The conflict management is the people technique but effective and timely use of this technique can give the advantage to the organization on the competitors. The consideration of the competitive advantages is very important while making the organ izational strategy. The skilled people are the competitive advantages over the same functional competitors. This skilled people force give you a huge competitive advantage and that should be avoid resolving the conflicts between them timely. Conflict management is a key success factor for any organization and we are considering this technique while the formulation of the organizational strategy like CPM (competitive profile matrix) is the organizational technique to formulation strategy. Integration of these techniques (Conflict management CPM) will directly affect the business in positive direction. Keywords: Competitive profile matrix (CPM), Internal factor evluation (IFE), External factor eveluation (EFE), Kye success factors, Conflict resolution Style, competitive advantages, latent stage,congnition and personlization, Key success factor (KSF) Introduction â€Å"Competition people† these two words are always interrelated in all the areas of the globe. New technologies, tools methods provide extraordinary results in every sector of business world. But apart from those â€Å"people† in the organization will also play a vital strategic role to success of any business and stand as a leading competitor in market. Applying people techniques into Organizational techniques and vice versa, and integrating of these techniques for an organization will help to its growth in the market. Key success factors (KSF) are usually understood to be the set of factors that can be considered key to the continued success of an organization or a business. These factors may be ‘skills, tasks, or behaviour, they can operate at a number of levels and be used for a diversity purpose .There are many key success factors will impact to a successful organizations. And these key success factors will helpful to compare the rival competitors in the market. Competitive profile matrix (CPM) is a strategic management tool to communicate with the attributes and shows the competitors in the market. And it is setting up the stages to describe your competitive advantage and the basis for your company strategy. In every organization there will be some conflicts among peoples, groups and departments, by resolving these issues among them in timely lead the organization in positive direction among the competitors in the market. It means when we compare the competitive organizations in the market, we will consider some of the key success factors, and with these key success factors (KSF) we can build the competitive profile matrix, for each success factor , indicators are measures of performance should be established and tailored , the identified information will need to be developed or modified to ensure that the success key information is collected, analyzed, and distributed, in other words , it helps to ensure that the organizations inf ormation support the key activities and thus the wider objectives. In CPM there are five main attributes, like key success factor, rating, weight, weighted score and total weight score; here we will give the ratings for each factor its ranges from 1 to 4. 1 is low, and ‘4 is high, means when we compare the organizations we will put the common key success factors (like, advertising, etc) and assign the rate for each factor. And assign the weight of the each key success factor, it ranges from 0 to 1 (low to high), weighted score value is the result achieved after multiplying each factor rating with weight. While integrating these techniques (people organization) we can put conflict management as one of the key success factor, in CPM. Means how effectively and timely the conflicts are managed in organizations among the people, groups depts. Always healthy environment in any organization helpful to its growth, by taking advantage of this making as â€Å"conflict management† is a strategic people technique, and integrating with the organization technique CPM, when the total weighted score in CPM is ranges between 1(low) to 4(high). If the total weight score fall below 2.5 consider as week, higher than 2.5 is consider as strong in the position. The firm with higher total weight score considered as winner in competitive market. Catching the competitors weak point and making it as strong point for your organization and managing any conflict issues timely in organization, makes you as the leader of the market. People Technique (Conflict management) What is conflict? Conflict is the process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party. Conflict is a process in which people disagree over significant issues, thereby creating friction between parties. Conflict can exist when people have opposing interests, perceptions, and feelings; when those involved recognize the existence of differing points of view; when the disagreement is ongoing; and when opponents try to prevent each other from accomplishing their goals. Although conflict can be destructive, it can also be beneficial when used as a source of renewal and creativity. A competition and rivalry between individuals or groups over an outcome that both seek, is not the same as conflict. In competition, there must be a winner and a loser; with conflict, people can cooperate so that no one wins or loses. When people think of the word conflict, they often think of wars or violence. However, conflict exists at all levels of society in all sorts of situations. It is easy to forget that we experience conflict every day of our lives. Conflict happens when two or more people or groups have, or think they have, incompatible goals. However, in most cases we resolve the conflict. From a personal level to international level, good communication is usually used to overcome differences and to reach an agreement before violence breaks out. At a personal level, we often do not realize we are overcoming our differences. It is important to remember that conflict can be creative. Conflict is sometimes necessary to bring justice where injustice exists. It can provide an opportunity for new social and political systems to be established and can help to shape the future. However, when conflict becomes violent it will usually do more harm than good. After violent conflict, it is often difficult to see the opportunities for a better future due to the widespread destruction of infrastructure and livelihoods, the breakdown of trust and the suffering caused through bereavement, trauma, grief and anger. It is also likely that such social change could have occurred before the conflict became violent. Transitions in Conflict Thought: Conflicts are an everyday phenomenon in each organization. Conflicts are impossible to avoid, but it is possible to manage them in a way that we recognize the conflict symptoms in time. It is necessary to continuously track the organizational signals, which point to their existence. In case we do not react in due time, this can lead to a situation where the conflict itself manages the organization. Problems mostly occur in those organizations where the business results directly depend on collaboration, team work and creativity, and where having only the results in mind, we tend to forget to take care of people and mutual relationships. Disagreement which occurs when goals, interests or values of various individuals or groups are incompatible and those people block each others efforts for accomplishing goals is called organizational conflict. Reduction of work performance efficiency, reduced communication among employees, motivation fall and ultimate employees dissatisfaction are only some of the numerous negative consequences of conflict. But the conflict itself does not have to be negative; the majority of conflicts can in fact be an excellent ground for accomplishment of better business results, and an impulse for changes and growth of the Organization itself [5x]. Duly recognition and adequate conflict management can lead to series of positive effects like stimulation of creativity and innovation within the company, stimulation of changes towards work quality improvement, reduction of incurred tensions etc. Moreover, in case conflicts lead to constructive changes they should be encouraged in order to make a good relation among employees based on mutual respect. Sometimes conflicts should be regarded as a resource which enables us constant new learning, new knowledge and a potential growth and development of organization. The employees directly involved in the conflict often do not have the opportunity to cope with the whole situation or the impact of all elements in the given situation, mostly because of restricted ability for decision-making. [6x] Throughout the years there were times when conflict was perceived in a different way, so we distinguish: Traditional view of conflict Human relations view Interactionist view. Traditional view of conflict in ‘30s and ‘40s of the last century it is believed that the conflict is something bad, that it is destructive for the organization, and that it should be avoided. It is considered that the sources of conflict are mostly the results of bad communication and lack of trust. According to this standpoint one should avoid conflict, as well as people who make the conflict, so that the work performance be satisfactory. Human relations view is that the conflict is something natural which occurs within every organization. This view is characteristic for the period from the ‘40s to the ‘70s of the last century. It is considered that conflicts should be accepted, and that conflicts eventually can lead to better work performance. Interacionist view is still represented today, and is based on the approach according to which conflicts should be encouraged, because they tend to have a positive effect on creativity and innovation by the employees. [6x] Types and levels of Conflict There are four types of conflict. Inter-group conflict occurs when groups within and outside the organization disagree on various issues. Interpersonal conflict Interpersonal conflict emphasizes the interaction of human factors in an organization. Here we are concerned with these factors as they appear in a dyadic relationship. It is further classified into two classes of factors as conflict sources. These are: Personal.Individuals are not identical, constant or consistent. When two individuals are brought together and kept together, each with their own qualities, needs and skills, a conflict may ensue if their attributes are not meshed together in a coordinated way. Interaction between individuals with different attitudes, values and needs can produce conflict behavior and affect organizational performance.[8x] Functional. Individuals in organizations have roles which are expected sets of behavior associated with their position. In theory, individuals are not expected to engage in any discretionary behavior. Such specification would be consistent with organizational preferences for consistency and predictability. In practice, however, role specifications tend to be ambiguous and incomplete, and in their interaction with others, some individuals often feel dissatisfied with their role or position, or they may feel that their aspirations for higher positions are being frustrated. Interpersonal conflict can be accounted for, to a great extent, in terms of the incumbents roles and their expectations in particular situations. Intra group conflict occurs within a work group over goals and work procedures. Intrapersonal conflict Intrapersonal conflict is internal to the individual and is perhaps the most difficult form of conflict to analyze and manage. Intrapersonal conflict is basically a conflict between two incompatible tendencies. It arises when a stimulus evokes two different and incompatible tendencies and the individual is required to discriminate between these tendencies. [7x] Horizontal conflict takes place between departments or groups at the same level of the organization. In contrast, vertical conflict occurs between groups at different levels of the organization. Types of Conflict Task conflict: Conflicts over content and goals of the work Relationship conflict: Conflict based on interpersonal relationships Process conflict: Conflict over how work gets done Organizational conflict: Organizational conflict occurs when a stakeholder group pursues its interests at the expense of other stakeholders. Given the different goals of stakeholders, organizational conflict is predictable. Conflict is associated with negative images, such as unions getting angry and violent, but some conflict can improve effectiveness. When conflict passes a certain point, it hurts an organization. If we do not react duly, this can lead to the situation that the conflict itself manages the organization. One of the more important determinants of productivity, efficiency and performance, and finally job contentment is also the conflict as an independent variable of organizational behavior. By systematic research of organizational behavior we want to make a positive influence on dependent variables, but first we have to understand and get a good insight into individual elements of organizational behavior. There is strong relationship between the level of conflict and the impact on the Organizational performance. [8x] Personal conflict: Conflict sometimes has a destructive effect on theindividualsandgroupsinvolved. At other times, however, conflict can increase the capacity of those affected to deal with problems, and therefore it can be used as a motivating force toward innovation and change. Conflict is encountered in two general forms. Personal conflict refers to an individuals inner workings and personality problems. It was also pointed out that there is a basic incompatibility between the authority and structure of formal organizations and the human personality.Human behaviorcannot be separated from the culture that surrounds it.[5x] Many difficulties in this area are beyond the scope ofmanagementand more in the province of aprofessional counselor, but there are some aspects of personal conflict that managers should understand and some they can possibly help remedy. Social conflict refers to interpersonal, intergroup, and intergroup differences. Role Conflict: Another facet of personal conflict has to do with the multiple roles people play in organizations.Behavioralscientists sometimes describe anorganizationas a system of position roles. Each member of the organization belongs to a role set, which is an association of individuals who share interdependent tasks and thus perform formally defined roles, which are further influenced both by the expectations of others in the role set and by ones own personality and expectations. For example, in a common form of classroom organization, students are expected to learn from the instructor by listening to him, following his directions for study, taking exams, and maintaining appropriate standards of conduct. Theinstructoris expected to bring students high-quality learning materials, give lectures, write and conduct tests, and set a scholarly example. Another in this role set would be the dean of the school, who sets standards, hires and supervises faculty, maintains a servicestaff, readers and gra ders, and so on. The system of roles to which an individual belongs extends outside the organization as well, and influences his functioning within it. As an example, a mans roles as husband, father, son, and church member are all intertwined with each other and with his set of organizational roles.[4x] Conflict within groups: Conflicts between people in work groups, committees, task forces, and other organizational forms of face-to-face groups are inevitable. As we have mentioned, these conflicts may be destructive as well as constructive. In western culture, winning is more acceptable than losing, and competition is more prevalent than cooperation, all of which tends to intensify intragroup conflict. Group meetings are often conducted in a win-lose climate — that is, individual or subgroup interaction is conducted for the purpose of determining a winner and a loser rather than for achieving mutual problem solving[5x].Conflict arises in groups because of the scarcity of freedom, position, and resources. People who value independence tend to resist the need for interdependence and, to some extent, conformity within a group. People who seek power therefore struggle with others for position or status within the group. Rewards and recognition are often perceived as insufficient and improperly distributed, and members are inclined to compete with each other for these prizes. Interdepartmental Conflict The third major cause of organizational conflict is structural. Organizations are designed around product lines, regions or technical specialties. These activities are assigned to departments that often have mutually exclusive structured interests and goals and that interact within a framework of scarce resources and task dependence. When resources are relatively fixed and when one departments gain is at the expense of another, conflict should be expected. If two sub-units in an organizational system have differentiated goals and are functionally interdependent, conditions exist for conflict. Interdependence produces the need for collaboration, but it also presents occasions for conflict. [9x] Other contextual factors which affect the interaction structure between departments and create the conditions for interdepartmental conflict include: different attitudes between line and staff units, organizational size (directly related to level of conflict) and standardization (inversely related to conflict), physical or communicational barriers between departments, unequal access to authority, rewards or organizational resources and ambiguity or uncertainty in assigning tasks or rewards to different departments. These are the sources of conflict situations in organizations. How a conflict situation will change over time, how its interrelated components will alter and the environment, in which it occurs will respond, is dependent upon the administrators efforts to manage or influence it. This in turn is related to ones understanding of the source of a specific conflict situation. Process of Conflict: Process of conflict consists of 4 stages or levels of conflict according to which the development of relationships between the sides involved in conflict is shown. The first stage is also called as latent stage in which certain characteristics, like communication, structure and personal variables, can lead to conflict. It is important to point out that it is not necessary to have the simultaneous occurrence of all three factors, but occurrence of just one. Communication in organization is very important, in case there is lack of communication in the organization this can lead to conflict. But also to much communication, as well as obstacles in communication, possible lack of understanding or noise in the communication channel can produce conflict as a consequence. The second stage, cognition and personalization stage represents the outcome of the impact of first phase factors. We distinguish two sub stages in this stage: Perception of the participants in conflict which does not mean that conflict, has occurred. Not until there has come to articulation of feelings and expression of awareness of conflict, can we say that the conflict itself occurs. In the third stage there comes to conflict manifestation. There is hostile behavior among participants in conflict and we say there comes to the so called open disagreement. The last stage in this process of conflict is the conflict outcome which shows us the further relationship development of the participants in conflict and consequences of conflict. Consequences of conflict can be manifest through increased working efficacy of the organization in whole or quite the contrary, the decrease of working efficacy [8x]. Conflict management styles: The success of the organization depends on the ability of conflict recognition and the very way of conflict management. Conflict management implies integration of all factors which can contribute to conflict resolution or its prevention. Those factors are improvement of communication and practicing discipline in the organization, as well as having in mind the life phases of parties included. Different authors know about various approaches to conflict management. Besides five typical approaches and strategies on conflict management which we will show and explain, it is important to point out that an important role bears also the organization itself as the third party in conflict. The organization appears as the mediator between adversaries or as arbitrator. This third party in organization are managers which by using their experience have to constantly develop new strategies and tactic for conflict resolution by using their experience. Moreover, it is generally acknowledged that confl ict represents the most severe test of managers interpersonal skills. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES DIAGRAM: Thomas and Kilmann identified a conflict-handling grid comprised of five conflict management styles based on two dimensions: assertiveness and cooperativeness. Assertiveness is the motivation of an individual to achieve his/her own goals, objectives, and outcomes, while cooperativeness assesses the willingness to allow or help the other party to achieve its goals or outcomes. Any of the five conflict resolution styles might be appropriate based on the circumstances of the situation and the personalities of the individuals involved. Avoiding Conflict Resolution Style The avoiding style is low on both assertiveness and cooperativeness. In other words, the manager is not very cooperative in helping the other individuals to achieve their goals, but neither is he/she aggressively pursuing his/her own preferred outcomes in the situation. The original problem, conflict, or situation is never directly addressed or resolved. However, avoiding behavior might be appropriate when the issue is perceived by the manager to be trivial. It might also be an appropriate approach to use when there is no chance of winning or when disruption would be very costly. When is Avoiding Appropriate? Avoiding conflict can be an appropriate choice, depending on the circumstances. According to Thomas-Kilmann avoiding is an appropriate form of dealing with conflict when used in the following situations: When an issue is trivial and other issues are more important or pressing use time and effort where it will be most productive. When there is no opportunity to constructively address the concern attempts to deal with the problem will likely result in futility and may make matters worse. It may not be the right time or place. When the potential cost of confronting the conflict outweighs the benefits in addressing it this requires assessment and judgment. To buy time and give angry people an opportunity to cool down so that tensions can be reduced it is important for parties to take a break to regain perspective and composure when the situation becomes heated. To refrain from making a rushed decision and allow time to obtain more information or support well planned and prepared decisions are usually the best decisions. When it is more appropriate for others to resolve the conflict resist getting in the middle of conflicts that are better dealt with by other people. Working with Conflict Avoidant Individuals It is clear that the use of avoiding dealing with conflicts and differences can have both positive and negative implications. When working with individuals as a supervisor, mediator, or friend it is helpful to get them to consider the pros and cons of avoiding conflict. Developing a strategy or plan requires that conflict avoidant individuals at least consider their options. [10x] Choosing a conflict mode other than avoiding may be understood by conflict avoidant people as a better option but acting on this choice can still be very difficult. Ensure that emotions are under control so that the facts, beliefs, and goals regarding the disagreement can be clarified and understood as objectively as possible. Excessive fear can be emotionally paralyzing. Role playing or writing out a plan of action can give a conflict avoidant person the confidence they need to deal with the conflict. Assertiveness coaching may also help. These preparatory approaches allow individuals to express their thoughts and feelings in a manner that is typically less stressful than talking about them spontaneously. It is possible that one party will be in a relative power position over another, such as a boss vs. employee. In these situations involve a person in a mediator role who can be neutral yet balance the power relationship so that the weaker party will develop the courage to address their concerns. When this is not possible the weaker party may need to include another person as a third party advocate or observer to help give them some support. [10x] Competing Conflict Resolution Style The competing style of resolving conflict is also known as the win-lose approach. A manager using this style, characterized by high assertiveness and low cooperativeness, seeks to reach his/her own preferred outcomes at the expense of other individuals. This approach may be appropriate when quick, decisive action is needed, such as during emergencies. It can also be used to confront unpopular actions, such as urgent cost cutting. The strategy of â€Å"competing† as a means of gaining power and control stems from early childhood and is reinforced throughout our years in school and college. Many children learn that they can obtain material objects as well as social control over people by using assertive, demanding or aggressive behavior. As they mature they use their talent to compete to â€Å"be the best† student, athlete, musician, etc. or to socially compete to be popular and have status among peers. Some youth learn to deal with disagreements by persuading others to accept their position. Others use power negatively in the form of arguments, threats, intimidation, or physical fighting. Youth who are effective at competing are deemed to be successful. Children and youth who do not stand up for themselves in conflicts may be seen as weak. Many video games and other media directed at youth promote the thrill of engaging in conflict with the goal of defeating the â€Å"enemy†, often using a ny means possible. All of these dynamics promote the use of competitiveness. While parents and teachers also instruct children to be kind, considerate, and cooperative there remains a strong inclination toward using competitiveness as a means of solving problems and achieving success. The value of competing to resolve differences and achieve goals continues into adulthood and employment. Individuals compete for status and position within organizations, sometimes being rewarded for their ability to achieve business goals by being better than their internal colleagues or external business competitors. Successful leaders demonstrate an ability to strategically use their competitive energy and skills for personal and professional benefit. While competing can be productive it can also cause problems when used excessively or inappropriately. It can lead to misuse of power, fraudulent acts, and unethical or illegal activity as we have seen in the situation at Enron and in other business and political events in the news. Truly successful people develop the judgment and skills to use competitiveness effectively and appropriately. [10x] Competing is an appropriate form of dealing with conflict when used in the following situations: When a quick decision and action is needed. When the outcome is critical and cannot be compromised. When you know you are right and are doing the correct thing. In emergencies or when safety is a concern. When being right matters more than preserving the relationship with the other party. When important but unpopular actions are needed such as cost-cutting, down-sizing, enforcing rules, or administering discipline. When ones position, authority, or rights are being challenged. When implementing strategic change and strong, confident leadership needs to be demonstrated. When used inappropriately competing in conflict situations can lead to negative consequences such as: When it strains relationships leading to resentment and retaliation. When it causes intimidation which inhibits important communication, discussion of alternative ideas and attempts at problem solving. When collaboration or compromise would lead to a better exchange of information and better decisions or outcomes. When personal drive for power and control overrides the best interests of the organization. When it results in diminished commitment and support from staff. When it is indicative of a highly competitive personality trait resulting in overuse, causing a person to not recognize when it is important to quit or take another stance. When â€Å"winning at all costs† results in harm to people or the organization. When the personal relationship is more important than the issue at stake. In attempting to address a conflict with another person who differs with you and takes a competitive position it may be helpful to do the following: Allow the person to first thoroughly explain their position, asking clarifying questions. Summarize and repeat what you have heard to assure mutual understanding. Acknowledge the parts that you agree with. Ask the party to carefully listen to your position, clarifying points of agreement and disagreement, using logic and data to support your perspective. Consider having both positions put into writing for review and consideration. Minimize discussion or expression of feelings or subjective elements unless the other party seems open to this perspective. Point out the mutual benefits of a decision that involve collaboration or compromise if this is an option. Help the other party to understand how your position will benefit him/her and how they can gain from agreement with your proposal. I Conflict Resolution Strategies and Styles Conflict Resolution Strategies and Styles Abstract The world is turning into globalization concept to increase the productivity and efficiency to achieve the organizational goals. To achieve standard effectiveness of the organization the number of techniques and strategic management tools used in different ways either combining/integrating one and other or straight way use one technique. People techniques and organizational techniques are playing very vital role in developing the organization and growth of it. With the help of integration of these techniques we can achieve the effective results after applying in the organization. Organization and people are strongly inter-related to each other. So the effective use of these people technique directly effect on the organization and vise versa. The conflict management is the people technique but effective and timely use of this technique can give the advantage to the organization on the competitors. The consideration of the competitive advantages is very important while making the organ izational strategy. The skilled people are the competitive advantages over the same functional competitors. This skilled people force give you a huge competitive advantage and that should be avoid resolving the conflicts between them timely. Conflict management is a key success factor for any organization and we are considering this technique while the formulation of the organizational strategy like CPM (competitive profile matrix) is the organizational technique to formulation strategy. Integration of these techniques (Conflict management CPM) will directly affect the business in positive direction. Keywords: Competitive profile matrix (CPM), Internal factor evluation (IFE), External factor eveluation (EFE), Kye success factors, Conflict resolution Style, competitive advantages, latent stage,congnition and personlization, Key success factor (KSF) Introduction â€Å"Competition people† these two words are always interrelated in all the areas of the globe. New technologies, tools methods provide extraordinary results in every sector of business world. But apart from those â€Å"people† in the organization will also play a vital strategic role to success of any business and stand as a leading competitor in market. Applying people techniques into Organizational techniques and vice versa, and integrating of these techniques for an organization will help to its growth in the market. Key success factors (KSF) are usually understood to be the set of factors that can be considered key to the continued success of an organization or a business. These factors may be ‘skills, tasks, or behaviour, they can operate at a number of levels and be used for a diversity purpose .There are many key success factors will impact to a successful organizations. And these key success factors will helpful to compare the rival competitors in the market. Competitive profile matrix (CPM) is a strategic management tool to communicate with the attributes and shows the competitors in the market. And it is setting up the stages to describe your competitive advantage and the basis for your company strategy. In every organization there will be some conflicts among peoples, groups and departments, by resolving these issues among them in timely lead the organization in positive direction among the competitors in the market. It means when we compare the competitive organizations in the market, we will consider some of the key success factors, and with these key success factors (KSF) we can build the competitive profile matrix, for each success factor , indicators are measures of performance should be established and tailored , the identified information will need to be developed or modified to ensure that the success key information is collected, analyzed, and distributed, in other words , it helps to ensure that the organizations inf ormation support the key activities and thus the wider objectives. In CPM there are five main attributes, like key success factor, rating, weight, weighted score and total weight score; here we will give the ratings for each factor its ranges from 1 to 4. 1 is low, and ‘4 is high, means when we compare the organizations we will put the common key success factors (like, advertising, etc) and assign the rate for each factor. And assign the weight of the each key success factor, it ranges from 0 to 1 (low to high), weighted score value is the result achieved after multiplying each factor rating with weight. While integrating these techniques (people organization) we can put conflict management as one of the key success factor, in CPM. Means how effectively and timely the conflicts are managed in organizations among the people, groups depts. Always healthy environment in any organization helpful to its growth, by taking advantage of this making as â€Å"conflict management† is a strategic people technique, and integrating with the organization technique CPM, when the total weighted score in CPM is ranges between 1(low) to 4(high). If the total weight score fall below 2.5 consider as week, higher than 2.5 is consider as strong in the position. The firm with higher total weight score considered as winner in competitive market. Catching the competitors weak point and making it as strong point for your organization and managing any conflict issues timely in organization, makes you as the leader of the market. People Technique (Conflict management) What is conflict? Conflict is the process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party. Conflict is a process in which people disagree over significant issues, thereby creating friction between parties. Conflict can exist when people have opposing interests, perceptions, and feelings; when those involved recognize the existence of differing points of view; when the disagreement is ongoing; and when opponents try to prevent each other from accomplishing their goals. Although conflict can be destructive, it can also be beneficial when used as a source of renewal and creativity. A competition and rivalry between individuals or groups over an outcome that both seek, is not the same as conflict. In competition, there must be a winner and a loser; with conflict, people can cooperate so that no one wins or loses. When people think of the word conflict, they often think of wars or violence. However, conflict exists at all levels of society in all sorts of situations. It is easy to forget that we experience conflict every day of our lives. Conflict happens when two or more people or groups have, or think they have, incompatible goals. However, in most cases we resolve the conflict. From a personal level to international level, good communication is usually used to overcome differences and to reach an agreement before violence breaks out. At a personal level, we often do not realize we are overcoming our differences. It is important to remember that conflict can be creative. Conflict is sometimes necessary to bring justice where injustice exists. It can provide an opportunity for new social and political systems to be established and can help to shape the future. However, when conflict becomes violent it will usually do more harm than good. After violent conflict, it is often difficult to see the opportunities for a better future due to the widespread destruction of infrastructure and livelihoods, the breakdown of trust and the suffering caused through bereavement, trauma, grief and anger. It is also likely that such social change could have occurred before the conflict became violent. Transitions in Conflict Thought: Conflicts are an everyday phenomenon in each organization. Conflicts are impossible to avoid, but it is possible to manage them in a way that we recognize the conflict symptoms in time. It is necessary to continuously track the organizational signals, which point to their existence. In case we do not react in due time, this can lead to a situation where the conflict itself manages the organization. Problems mostly occur in those organizations where the business results directly depend on collaboration, team work and creativity, and where having only the results in mind, we tend to forget to take care of people and mutual relationships. Disagreement which occurs when goals, interests or values of various individuals or groups are incompatible and those people block each others efforts for accomplishing goals is called organizational conflict. Reduction of work performance efficiency, reduced communication among employees, motivation fall and ultimate employees dissatisfaction are only some of the numerous negative consequences of conflict. But the conflict itself does not have to be negative; the majority of conflicts can in fact be an excellent ground for accomplishment of better business results, and an impulse for changes and growth of the Organization itself [5x]. Duly recognition and adequate conflict management can lead to series of positive effects like stimulation of creativity and innovation within the company, stimulation of changes towards work quality improvement, reduction of incurred tensions etc. Moreover, in case conflicts lead to constructive changes they should be encouraged in order to make a good relation among employees based on mutual respect. Sometimes conflicts should be regarded as a resource which enables us constant new learning, new knowledge and a potential growth and development of organization. The employees directly involved in the conflict often do not have the opportunity to cope with the whole situation or the impact of all elements in the given situation, mostly because of restricted ability for decision-making. [6x] Throughout the years there were times when conflict was perceived in a different way, so we distinguish: Traditional view of conflict Human relations view Interactionist view. Traditional view of conflict in ‘30s and ‘40s of the last century it is believed that the conflict is something bad, that it is destructive for the organization, and that it should be avoided. It is considered that the sources of conflict are mostly the results of bad communication and lack of trust. According to this standpoint one should avoid conflict, as well as people who make the conflict, so that the work performance be satisfactory. Human relations view is that the conflict is something natural which occurs within every organization. This view is characteristic for the period from the ‘40s to the ‘70s of the last century. It is considered that conflicts should be accepted, and that conflicts eventually can lead to better work performance. Interacionist view is still represented today, and is based on the approach according to which conflicts should be encouraged, because they tend to have a positive effect on creativity and innovation by the employees. [6x] Types and levels of Conflict There are four types of conflict. Inter-group conflict occurs when groups within and outside the organization disagree on various issues. Interpersonal conflict Interpersonal conflict emphasizes the interaction of human factors in an organization. Here we are concerned with these factors as they appear in a dyadic relationship. It is further classified into two classes of factors as conflict sources. These are: Personal.Individuals are not identical, constant or consistent. When two individuals are brought together and kept together, each with their own qualities, needs and skills, a conflict may ensue if their attributes are not meshed together in a coordinated way. Interaction between individuals with different attitudes, values and needs can produce conflict behavior and affect organizational performance.[8x] Functional. Individuals in organizations have roles which are expected sets of behavior associated with their position. In theory, individuals are not expected to engage in any discretionary behavior. Such specification would be consistent with organizational preferences for consistency and predictability. In practice, however, role specifications tend to be ambiguous and incomplete, and in their interaction with others, some individuals often feel dissatisfied with their role or position, or they may feel that their aspirations for higher positions are being frustrated. Interpersonal conflict can be accounted for, to a great extent, in terms of the incumbents roles and their expectations in particular situations. Intra group conflict occurs within a work group over goals and work procedures. Intrapersonal conflict Intrapersonal conflict is internal to the individual and is perhaps the most difficult form of conflict to analyze and manage. Intrapersonal conflict is basically a conflict between two incompatible tendencies. It arises when a stimulus evokes two different and incompatible tendencies and the individual is required to discriminate between these tendencies. [7x] Horizontal conflict takes place between departments or groups at the same level of the organization. In contrast, vertical conflict occurs between groups at different levels of the organization. Types of Conflict Task conflict: Conflicts over content and goals of the work Relationship conflict: Conflict based on interpersonal relationships Process conflict: Conflict over how work gets done Organizational conflict: Organizational conflict occurs when a stakeholder group pursues its interests at the expense of other stakeholders. Given the different goals of stakeholders, organizational conflict is predictable. Conflict is associated with negative images, such as unions getting angry and violent, but some conflict can improve effectiveness. When conflict passes a certain point, it hurts an organization. If we do not react duly, this can lead to the situation that the conflict itself manages the organization. One of the more important determinants of productivity, efficiency and performance, and finally job contentment is also the conflict as an independent variable of organizational behavior. By systematic research of organizational behavior we want to make a positive influence on dependent variables, but first we have to understand and get a good insight into individual elements of organizational behavior. There is strong relationship between the level of conflict and the impact on the Organizational performance. [8x] Personal conflict: Conflict sometimes has a destructive effect on theindividualsandgroupsinvolved. At other times, however, conflict can increase the capacity of those affected to deal with problems, and therefore it can be used as a motivating force toward innovation and change. Conflict is encountered in two general forms. Personal conflict refers to an individuals inner workings and personality problems. It was also pointed out that there is a basic incompatibility between the authority and structure of formal organizations and the human personality.Human behaviorcannot be separated from the culture that surrounds it.[5x] Many difficulties in this area are beyond the scope ofmanagementand more in the province of aprofessional counselor, but there are some aspects of personal conflict that managers should understand and some they can possibly help remedy. Social conflict refers to interpersonal, intergroup, and intergroup differences. Role Conflict: Another facet of personal conflict has to do with the multiple roles people play in organizations.Behavioralscientists sometimes describe anorganizationas a system of position roles. Each member of the organization belongs to a role set, which is an association of individuals who share interdependent tasks and thus perform formally defined roles, which are further influenced both by the expectations of others in the role set and by ones own personality and expectations. For example, in a common form of classroom organization, students are expected to learn from the instructor by listening to him, following his directions for study, taking exams, and maintaining appropriate standards of conduct. Theinstructoris expected to bring students high-quality learning materials, give lectures, write and conduct tests, and set a scholarly example. Another in this role set would be the dean of the school, who sets standards, hires and supervises faculty, maintains a servicestaff, readers and gra ders, and so on. The system of roles to which an individual belongs extends outside the organization as well, and influences his functioning within it. As an example, a mans roles as husband, father, son, and church member are all intertwined with each other and with his set of organizational roles.[4x] Conflict within groups: Conflicts between people in work groups, committees, task forces, and other organizational forms of face-to-face groups are inevitable. As we have mentioned, these conflicts may be destructive as well as constructive. In western culture, winning is more acceptable than losing, and competition is more prevalent than cooperation, all of which tends to intensify intragroup conflict. Group meetings are often conducted in a win-lose climate — that is, individual or subgroup interaction is conducted for the purpose of determining a winner and a loser rather than for achieving mutual problem solving[5x].Conflict arises in groups because of the scarcity of freedom, position, and resources. People who value independence tend to resist the need for interdependence and, to some extent, conformity within a group. People who seek power therefore struggle with others for position or status within the group. Rewards and recognition are often perceived as insufficient and improperly distributed, and members are inclined to compete with each other for these prizes. Interdepartmental Conflict The third major cause of organizational conflict is structural. Organizations are designed around product lines, regions or technical specialties. These activities are assigned to departments that often have mutually exclusive structured interests and goals and that interact within a framework of scarce resources and task dependence. When resources are relatively fixed and when one departments gain is at the expense of another, conflict should be expected. If two sub-units in an organizational system have differentiated goals and are functionally interdependent, conditions exist for conflict. Interdependence produces the need for collaboration, but it also presents occasions for conflict. [9x] Other contextual factors which affect the interaction structure between departments and create the conditions for interdepartmental conflict include: different attitudes between line and staff units, organizational size (directly related to level of conflict) and standardization (inversely related to conflict), physical or communicational barriers between departments, unequal access to authority, rewards or organizational resources and ambiguity or uncertainty in assigning tasks or rewards to different departments. These are the sources of conflict situations in organizations. How a conflict situation will change over time, how its interrelated components will alter and the environment, in which it occurs will respond, is dependent upon the administrators efforts to manage or influence it. This in turn is related to ones understanding of the source of a specific conflict situation. Process of Conflict: Process of conflict consists of 4 stages or levels of conflict according to which the development of relationships between the sides involved in conflict is shown. The first stage is also called as latent stage in which certain characteristics, like communication, structure and personal variables, can lead to conflict. It is important to point out that it is not necessary to have the simultaneous occurrence of all three factors, but occurrence of just one. Communication in organization is very important, in case there is lack of communication in the organization this can lead to conflict. But also to much communication, as well as obstacles in communication, possible lack of understanding or noise in the communication channel can produce conflict as a consequence. The second stage, cognition and personalization stage represents the outcome of the impact of first phase factors. We distinguish two sub stages in this stage: Perception of the participants in conflict which does not mean that conflict, has occurred. Not until there has come to articulation of feelings and expression of awareness of conflict, can we say that the conflict itself occurs. In the third stage there comes to conflict manifestation. There is hostile behavior among participants in conflict and we say there comes to the so called open disagreement. The last stage in this process of conflict is the conflict outcome which shows us the further relationship development of the participants in conflict and consequences of conflict. Consequences of conflict can be manifest through increased working efficacy of the organization in whole or quite the contrary, the decrease of working efficacy [8x]. Conflict management styles: The success of the organization depends on the ability of conflict recognition and the very way of conflict management. Conflict management implies integration of all factors which can contribute to conflict resolution or its prevention. Those factors are improvement of communication and practicing discipline in the organization, as well as having in mind the life phases of parties included. Different authors know about various approaches to conflict management. Besides five typical approaches and strategies on conflict management which we will show and explain, it is important to point out that an important role bears also the organization itself as the third party in conflict. The organization appears as the mediator between adversaries or as arbitrator. This third party in organization are managers which by using their experience have to constantly develop new strategies and tactic for conflict resolution by using their experience. Moreover, it is generally acknowledged that confl ict represents the most severe test of managers interpersonal skills. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES DIAGRAM: Thomas and Kilmann identified a conflict-handling grid comprised of five conflict management styles based on two dimensions: assertiveness and cooperativeness. Assertiveness is the motivation of an individual to achieve his/her own goals, objectives, and outcomes, while cooperativeness assesses the willingness to allow or help the other party to achieve its goals or outcomes. Any of the five conflict resolution styles might be appropriate based on the circumstances of the situation and the personalities of the individuals involved. Avoiding Conflict Resolution Style The avoiding style is low on both assertiveness and cooperativeness. In other words, the manager is not very cooperative in helping the other individuals to achieve their goals, but neither is he/she aggressively pursuing his/her own preferred outcomes in the situation. The original problem, conflict, or situation is never directly addressed or resolved. However, avoiding behavior might be appropriate when the issue is perceived by the manager to be trivial. It might also be an appropriate approach to use when there is no chance of winning or when disruption would be very costly. When is Avoiding Appropriate? Avoiding conflict can be an appropriate choice, depending on the circumstances. According to Thomas-Kilmann avoiding is an appropriate form of dealing with conflict when used in the following situations: When an issue is trivial and other issues are more important or pressing use time and effort where it will be most productive. When there is no opportunity to constructively address the concern attempts to deal with the problem will likely result in futility and may make matters worse. It may not be the right time or place. When the potential cost of confronting the conflict outweighs the benefits in addressing it this requires assessment and judgment. To buy time and give angry people an opportunity to cool down so that tensions can be reduced it is important for parties to take a break to regain perspective and composure when the situation becomes heated. To refrain from making a rushed decision and allow time to obtain more information or support well planned and prepared decisions are usually the best decisions. When it is more appropriate for others to resolve the conflict resist getting in the middle of conflicts that are better dealt with by other people. Working with Conflict Avoidant Individuals It is clear that the use of avoiding dealing with conflicts and differences can have both positive and negative implications. When working with individuals as a supervisor, mediator, or friend it is helpful to get them to consider the pros and cons of avoiding conflict. Developing a strategy or plan requires that conflict avoidant individuals at least consider their options. [10x] Choosing a conflict mode other than avoiding may be understood by conflict avoidant people as a better option but acting on this choice can still be very difficult. Ensure that emotions are under control so that the facts, beliefs, and goals regarding the disagreement can be clarified and understood as objectively as possible. Excessive fear can be emotionally paralyzing. Role playing or writing out a plan of action can give a conflict avoidant person the confidence they need to deal with the conflict. Assertiveness coaching may also help. These preparatory approaches allow individuals to express their thoughts and feelings in a manner that is typically less stressful than talking about them spontaneously. It is possible that one party will be in a relative power position over another, such as a boss vs. employee. In these situations involve a person in a mediator role who can be neutral yet balance the power relationship so that the weaker party will develop the courage to address their concerns. When this is not possible the weaker party may need to include another person as a third party advocate or observer to help give them some support. [10x] Competing Conflict Resolution Style The competing style of resolving conflict is also known as the win-lose approach. A manager using this style, characterized by high assertiveness and low cooperativeness, seeks to reach his/her own preferred outcomes at the expense of other individuals. This approach may be appropriate when quick, decisive action is needed, such as during emergencies. It can also be used to confront unpopular actions, such as urgent cost cutting. The strategy of â€Å"competing† as a means of gaining power and control stems from early childhood and is reinforced throughout our years in school and college. Many children learn that they can obtain material objects as well as social control over people by using assertive, demanding or aggressive behavior. As they mature they use their talent to compete to â€Å"be the best† student, athlete, musician, etc. or to socially compete to be popular and have status among peers. Some youth learn to deal with disagreements by persuading others to accept their position. Others use power negatively in the form of arguments, threats, intimidation, or physical fighting. Youth who are effective at competing are deemed to be successful. Children and youth who do not stand up for themselves in conflicts may be seen as weak. Many video games and other media directed at youth promote the thrill of engaging in conflict with the goal of defeating the â€Å"enemy†, often using a ny means possible. All of these dynamics promote the use of competitiveness. While parents and teachers also instruct children to be kind, considerate, and cooperative there remains a strong inclination toward using competitiveness as a means of solving problems and achieving success. The value of competing to resolve differences and achieve goals continues into adulthood and employment. Individuals compete for status and position within organizations, sometimes being rewarded for their ability to achieve business goals by being better than their internal colleagues or external business competitors. Successful leaders demonstrate an ability to strategically use their competitive energy and skills for personal and professional benefit. While competing can be productive it can also cause problems when used excessively or inappropriately. It can lead to misuse of power, fraudulent acts, and unethical or illegal activity as we have seen in the situation at Enron and in other business and political events in the news. Truly successful people develop the judgment and skills to use competitiveness effectively and appropriately. [10x] Competing is an appropriate form of dealing with conflict when used in the following situations: When a quick decision and action is needed. When the outcome is critical and cannot be compromised. When you know you are right and are doing the correct thing. In emergencies or when safety is a concern. When being right matters more than preserving the relationship with the other party. When important but unpopular actions are needed such as cost-cutting, down-sizing, enforcing rules, or administering discipline. When ones position, authority, or rights are being challenged. When implementing strategic change and strong, confident leadership needs to be demonstrated. When used inappropriately competing in conflict situations can lead to negative consequences such as: When it strains relationships leading to resentment and retaliation. When it causes intimidation which inhibits important communication, discussion of alternative ideas and attempts at problem solving. When collaboration or compromise would lead to a better exchange of information and better decisions or outcomes. When personal drive for power and control overrides the best interests of the organization. When it results in diminished commitment and support from staff. When it is indicative of a highly competitive personality trait resulting in overuse, causing a person to not recognize when it is important to quit or take another stance. When â€Å"winning at all costs† results in harm to people or the organization. When the personal relationship is more important than the issue at stake. In attempting to address a conflict with another person who differs with you and takes a competitive position it may be helpful to do the following: Allow the person to first thoroughly explain their position, asking clarifying questions. Summarize and repeat what you have heard to assure mutual understanding. Acknowledge the parts that you agree with. Ask the party to carefully listen to your position, clarifying points of agreement and disagreement, using logic and data to support your perspective. Consider having both positions put into writing for review and consideration. Minimize discussion or expression of feelings or subjective elements unless the other party seems open to this perspective. Point out the mutual benefits of a decision that involve collaboration or compromise if this is an option. Help the other party to understand how your position will benefit him/her and how they can gain from agreement with your proposal. I