Operation Market Garden Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Operation Market Garden - Essay Example The basis of the attack was the stunning and unanticipated victory of Operation Overboard of June 1944 as well as in the battle for Normandy. General Eisenhower the absolute allied commander, had evaluated the combat power of the German forces and approved the operation, risky as it was. The allies’ alleged that the German forces were so demoralized and jumbled, thus could not withstand further attacks. Eisenhower strategized to attack the German forces along the whole front and eventually end the war (Schultz 20). The operation Market Garden failed mainly due to planners assumptions. The Allies got into a near dilemma in Normandy after the great success as they were exhausted and required some time to reorganize themselves. Deficiency of material supplies nearly brought the operation to a halt. Another setback was when the allies they anticipated collapse of the German forces. They therefore, predicted the war was coming into a conclusion. Many commandants now put their focus on the probable promotions they would get due to this achievement. Another reason was that the Germans had reorganized themselves by early September. German forces had an advantage since the terrain they had to defend was small which enhanced communication (Schultz 26). The consequences of the failure of the Operation Market Garden were include, it demoralized the allies, which prolonged the war. In addition, the allies suffered losses where 10% officers were killed and 50% captured while several others were critically injured. Eisenhower and Montenegro also suffered public scrutiny (Schultz

Personal Development self -managemnt and reflection Assignment

Personal Development self -managemnt and reflection - Assignment Example Section 1 There is a number of skills that one need to posses in order to successfully go through the Higher Education system. One of the most important personal skills that one should have is organizational skills, this skill is very important because it assist an individual to plan wisely and manage time well and bit any deadlines set .Having organization skills illustrates that one has a high level of intellectual ability and thus in a position to undertake a higher education course in any field. Determination is yet another skill that a student pursuing higher education should posses, determination is the zeal to keep on working hard until one achieves his/her goals ,.Determination will enable student to focus on achieving his career goals . Communication skills are needed to promote teamwork and collaboration, leadership skills and research skills ,without communication skills a student may not be in a position to smoothly carry out their business around the university .In moder n world the use of information technology and knowledge in numeracy is a must for any student pursuing higher education more over, a student should have problem solving skills, be in a to improve own learning and performance and should practice self discipline. Individually, I understand that I have some weaknesses in some of the skills mentioned; in particular I have gaps in organizational skills, zeal to improve my own learning and performance and I also have poor communication skills. Section 2 Action Plan for Academic skills needed to be attained Skill Target Action Timescale Success Criteria Recourses Organisational skills Excellent organizational skills Have a workable time table in place Become committed to my school work Time management Practice free and effective communication Listen to others Exercise leadership skills 6 months Neatness and clarity in my work Beating of deadlines Excellent grades Fellow students Lecturers Reading material Improving my own Learning and Perf ormance Excellent all round performance Consultation Teamwork Hard work Commitment Motivation 6 months Improved performance Involvement in most activities Reading material Fellow students Family Lecturers Communication Skills Excellent communication skills Stay focused Listen carefully See the point in other people messages Ask for assistance if needed Practice clarity 4 months Improved teamwork Excellent listening skills Excellent organisational skills Improved performance Reading material Fellow students Lecturers Action plan for the four subjects to be covered during the program Subject Target Action Time Frame Success Criteria Recourses Subject one to four Perform exemplarily in the respective subjects Get the core units Understand the topics Visit libraries and other resource centers Carry out in depth research on the subjects Submit all assignment on time Practice teamwork with class mates and lecturers During the course duration Good performance Good communication skills Libr aries, the internet , Fellow students Lecturers Section 3 Topic 1 Understanding this topic was easy for me, this is due to the exciting lecturer we had, and the lecturer was amusing besides being very knowledgeable. I ensured that I would not miss nay lecturer ,personally ,this topic has assisted me to develop my communication and interpersonal skill due to the high level of involvement

Interpretivism Approach In The Study Of Workers Behaviour Psychology Essay

Interpretivism Approach In The Study Of Workers Behaviour Psychology Essay The study of workers behaviour is a very complex phenomenon as it involves peoples attitudes, feelings and behaviours, which characterise life in an organisation. The field of human behavior is solidly grounded by researcher such as Taylor, Maslow, Herzberg and Elton Mayo. With the pace of industrial revolution, studies are now more focused on areas such as job satisfaction and analysis, performance evaluation, employee motivation and the human factor at workplace. Hence, the interpretivism approach has gained momentum in the study of human behaviour. This literature review will introduce the different research philosophies which have been used in the field of human behaviour, firstly, providing a descriptive analysis of the Positivist approach, which focuses on quantitative methods as opposed to the Interpretivist approach, which focuses on qualitative methods and secondly how the early approach to research in human behaviour has shifted towards qualitative methods as it enhances understanding of workers behaviours in organisations and hence facilitate management decisions. For decades, the way in which research is conducted has produced arguments relating to which research philosophies, approaches and strategies are best to follow.   A research philosophy is a belief about the way in which data can be gathered, analysed and used. Galliers (1991) identified two major school of thoughts as Positivist (also called scientific) and interpretivist (also known as anti-positivist). Positivism is a belief that it is possible to obtain objective knowledge through observation and that such knowledge is verified by statements about the circumstances in which such knowledge is true. Smith (1998) provides a useful insight into positivist thinking within social sciences with this description: Positivist approaches to the social sciences . . . assume things can be studied as hard facts and the relationship between these facts can be established as scientific laws. For positivists, such laws have the status of truth and social objects can be studied in much the same way as natural objects. In other words, Positivism views the social world as the natural world in terms of how it can be studied, because human behaviour is determined by rules and developed with social groups. Positivism is considered to be an empirical testing of theories by means of experimentations before reaching a general principle. Positivism adopts a clear quantitative approach to investigating phenomena by using data that are objective, discernible and measurable. According to House (1983) evaluation of information is considered to be scientifically objective in the sense that they can be verified by logical inspection regardless of who uses the techniques. Hence, the positivist approach to research is favoured due its exactness and impartiality. (e-International Relations, 2010).   Positivist research is usually conducted with a large number of participants. The research design tend to be comparative, hence the use of surveys or experimental designs is usually preferred. The methods used are more likely to produce quantifiable and testable data such as official statistics, structured interviews and observation.   Typically, they are rigid, unchanging and free from social constraints. However, the use of these methods can sometimes be very expensive and time consuming. Thus, critics argue that the positivist approach yields useful, but limited data, which only provide a superficial view of the phenomenon under investigation (Bond, 1993; Moccia, 1988; Payle, 1995) Early positivist theorist in the field or organisational and human behaviour searched for underlying principles of what happens in organisational settings. They were concerned with efficiency, or how to economically maximise workers productivity (Denhardt, 2008; Simon, 1947a). However, Dahl (1947) rejects the idea that the study of human behaviour could be classified as a positivist approach and could be designed as true experiments that produce uniform, reliable and verifiable data. A major criticism of the positivist approach is that it does not allow a comprehensive study and examination of human beings and their behaviours. Hence, the increasing importance of the human factor in the workplace leads to the emergent to a shift towards the interpretivist paradigm. Interpretivism approach focuses on methods that examine people and their social behaviour (Gill and Johnson, 1997). This approach considers human beings as part of the social world, which exists due to the interaction and actions of human beings. It emphasises a search for meaning, understanding and social interaction as the basis for knowledge. According to Cantrell (1993, p84), the aims of interpretivist approach research are to understand phenomena, to interpret meaning within particular social and cultural contexts, and to uncover beliefs and elicit meaning from action and intention through dialogical interaction between researchers and participants. According to the interpretivist view, the social world is open and changing by ways people go about their lives. Research methods therefore, must be capable of capturing the quality of peoples interpretations and understanding the meanings to people course of actions. Hence, the utility of qualitative data is preferred as it is more acquiescent to the study of organisation and human behavior. Qualitative research is a class of research methods in which the researcher actively interacting with the participants of the particular study (Muchinsky, 2003).   In other words, the researcher gets involved with the phenomena being researched. Thus, qualitative research produces narrative descriptions of events as opposed to quantitative research which produces results in numerical data (Landy Conte, 2004; Strauss Corbin, 1990) The interpretivist approach makes use of flexible and multiple methods, the most desirable way of studying a small sample in depth over time. The favoured common methods used include interviews, observational research and focus groups.   The characteristics of these methods are extremes to those used in quantitative research as they are exploratory rather than explanatory and focus on meanings than establishing facts. The interpretivist paradigm disagrees with the notion that human beings and its behaviour can be studied with scientific methods. Interpretivist theorists are more concerned with the study of organisation from inside as they assumed that a better understanding of how the company functions can only be achieved from the perspective of the workers. The favoured research design in Ethnography with the use of qualitative method such as observation is useful in answering questions on why employees behave the way they do in organisations and what happens in the organisation (Ehigie, R.I Ehigie B.O, 2005:621-638). Ethnography study is by means of which you assess people in their day to day activities, their behaviour and culture in a natural setting. Fetterman (1998) describes it as the art and science of describing a group or a culture. The group can be categorised as work group, organisations or team of individuals where as culture can be the prevailing culture in an organisation. Ethnography can be used to gain understanding of the real world context, social as well as work settings (Hughes et al, 1995; Blomberg et al, 1993). Bret et al (2003) argues that since organisations are presently turning towards the use of work teams, ethnography studies have become an important research method in understanding the complex interactions with work teams. Hence, the use of ethnographic methods help in gathering information by mainly watching and talking with people, and by scrutinising documented reports and records (Riemer, 2008:205). Observation is one of the ethnographic methods used by researchers to observe the population of the phenomena to be studied to develop an understanding of their behaviour and culture. The personnel of an organisation who usually make use of this method are supervisors, human resource experts as by nature of their job responsibilities they are expected to observe workers behaviour on the job (Krumm, 2001). Frederick Taylor, one of the early contributors in the study of motivation and performance at work carried out series of experiments at the Bethlehem Steel Company which included non-participant observation of workers. As the workers were constantly aware that they were being observed, there was a drastic change in their work pattern and consequently resulted to improvement in work performance, organisation productivity and earnings. Taylor (1856-1915) advocated that monetary rewards were the main cause of motivation, therefore observational studies on workers did not affect their p erformance, as they were drive by the financial rewards they would achieve by their course of actions. A very good example of participant observation can be related to the Hawthorne experiments allegedly conducted by Elton Mayo. The researchers involved in the Hawthorne Experiments did not understand the impact of human values and interaction until they personally interacted with the workers (Denhardt, 2009:3). Thus, through this interaction they had a better understanding of the workers actions in relations to the working environment. However, observational studies are also criticised as only small samples can be investigated such as in the case of Taylors research which was only conducted on manual workers. It is believed that if the research was conducted on white collar workers the findings would have been different. Another criticism by (Muchinsky, 2003; Sackett Larsen, 1990), observation is not frequently used in the study of human behaviour as it relies extensively on time and energy. One criticism of Mayos research is that the population involved knew that they were being studies. The critics argued that to capture a clearer picture of the research, the participants should not be made aware that they are being studied. Despite these criticisms, it is believed that Taylors observational studies have immensely contributed to present day management and gave birth to the concept of performance related pay system. To summarise, it can be argued that qualitative methods found its way in the study of both organisational and human behaviour. However, as a researcher to understand the phenomenon being studied, the use of converging information from different sources, regardless of its form is more advisable. Although Spector (2005) argued that qualitative methods of research offer an alternative to the highly quantitative methods, it is opined that both quantitative and qualitative research methods can help researchers understand issues better than either of the two separately. The use of qualitative methods is growing in the study of organisational and human behaviour (Lee, 1999) as human element are substantially emphasised in an organisation. Although the qualitative methods have significantly contributed to our understanding of human behaviour in the organisations, many avenues for future research are still open and new ones continue to emerge.

The Positive Impact of Technology on Education Essays -- Teaching Educ

The Positive Impact of Technology on Education Today, technology is found everywhere in education.There are computers in many of the classrooms and schools contain computer labs, or at least numerous computers in the library available to students. In my paper, I want to discuss some of the positive and negative effects that technology has on education. Throughout my schooling, I’ve seen technology go through different stages of importance in education.When I was in elementary, I remember seeing maybe one computer in the whole school.Moving to middle school, each classroom had around two computers for students to use.The library had a small computer lab where computer classes were held and students could sign up to use them.High school consisted of computers in every classroom.The chemistry and physics room had a small computer lab, the library had a lab of about 30 computers, and we had a computer lab down the hall as well.I recently took a visit back to my elementary school and was amazed at the changes that had taken place, all technological.The library was turned into a fu...

Allegory of the Cave and Narrator Essay

As the philospoher Seneca once said, â€Å"It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable. † Raymond Carver’s Cathedral is a story about a man who started out as a closed-minded man but, throughout the story his character changes as he begins to bond with his wife’s friend, Robert, a man who is blind. Plato’s Allegory of the cave is a story about a prisoner who is freed from being locked in chains living all of his life underground and finding out a different perspective about a lie he’s been living his whole life, being told as a conversation between Socrates and Glaucon. In the stories, â€Å" Cathedral† by Raymond Carver, and â€Å" Allegory of the Cave† by Plato, both authors argue that a person’s reality is not always what is seems to be. In â€Å" Cathedral,† Raymond Carver uses irony between the narrator and Robert when they talk about the cathedral. The narrator tries to explain how a cathedral looks like with words when he says â€Å" To begin with, they’re very tall. I was looking around the room for clues. They reach way up. Up and up. Toward the sky. They’re so big, some of them, they have to have these supports. To help hold them up, so to speak† to Robert who is blind and can’t really apprehend what is being said. (Carver, page 24, lines 448-451). Until Robert asks to be drawn a cathedral when he says â€Å" Hey, listen to me. Will you do me a favor? I got an idea. Why don’t you find us a pen and some heavy paper. Go on, bub, get the stuff† the narrator realizes that Robert sees by touching around the paper. (Carver, page 25, lines 492-495). What the narrator doesn’t understand is that the blind man can’t see what he sees even though he thinks that by describing with words about how a cathedral looks, helps. The irony Carver is trying to show is that the narrator is the one who is blind, not Robert, because he perceives his reality to be similar to Roberts but instead really isn’t. In â€Å" Allegory of the cave† Plato uses metaphor about the message that is being compared to an imaginary prisoner’s life. Socrates explains to Glaucon â€Å" Behold! Human beings living in a underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the cave; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and neck chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turing round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets† to imagine a person who is living a certain kind of way for a long period of time. (Plato, page 8, lines 5-14). Then they are told that what they are living is a lie when Socrates says â€Å" And now look again, and see what will naturally follow if the prisoners are released and disabused of their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and wlak and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distrees him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive some one saying to him, that what he saw before was an illusion, but that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision, -what will be his reply? † (Plato, pages 8-9. Lines 42-51). Socrates then says â€Å" And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away and take in the objects of vision which he can see, and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the things which are now being shown to him† to explain that the prisoner will want to believe what he is already accustomed not to what has just been told to him. (Plato, page, lines 57-61). The metaphor that the story compares to is a prisoners life and perspective of reality, once you are told that the way you have been living for your whole life is wrong, you are most likely to be scared of the truth that has just been told to you since the reality that you have been living isn’t what it seems to be. In both stories, â€Å" Cathedral† by Raymond Carver and â€Å" Allegory of the cave† by Plato, both authors use imagery to descibe how the characters in the story are lead to a new reality that has been bestow upon them. In â€Å" Cathedral† the narrator learns the way Robert sees things when he says â€Å" He ran his fingers over the paper. He went up and down the sides of the paper. The edges, even the edges. He fingered the corners. All right, he said. All right, let’s do her. He found my hand with the pen. He closed his hand over my hand. Go ahead, bub, draw, he said. Draw. You’ll see. I’ll follow along with you. It’ll be okay. Just begin now like I’m telling you. You’ll see. Draw, the blind man said. † (Carver, page 26, lines 508-514). Carver reveals that by being very desciptive using imagery, the reader can understand how the narrator is getting really tense in a good way when he is shown that his perspective of reality of blind people just being blind and nothing else is about to change. In â€Å" Allegory of the cave† the prisoner is being taken to see a new perspective of the way he used to think when Socrates says â€Å" And suppose once more, that he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent, and held fast until he’s forced into the presence of the sun himslef, is he not likely to be pained and irritated? When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities. † (Plato, page 9, lines 63-68). Plato shows that by using imagery in his story, people can notice that the prisoner is in a lot of pain when he is being shown that his perspective of reality of the shadows being his reality is about to change for the rest of his life. In both stories â€Å" Cathedral† and â€Å" Allegory of the cave† both charcters of the story are being shown a different way of thinking. This new way of thinking evolved them into a better self being. Both charcters, the narrator and the prisoner were challeneged into a new way of thinking, both stuck to it till the end, and both became more of a fulfilled person.

“It is through what we wear that we all establish our identity.” Briefly support or contradict this claim

Let us imagine a world where it was acceptable to roam the streets unclothed. Would you still conform to the norm that stated that it was usual to wear clothes? Most would, but there would be a minority who would take the liberty of going out naked. They would be viewed by the majority as anti-conformist and it could have spiralling effects on other aspects of their life – such as their identity. If a teenager wants to rebel against norms, it is very easy. They simply need to turn up to a dinner party in jeans and a t-shirt and no more need be done. They would have firmly set an impression in the minds of the other â€Å"black tie wearers†. It could lead to exclusion from the group even if they knew each other previously because it is showing a side of the person that may have previously been hidden. There isn't a human being who doesn't take appearance into account when getting a first impression of someone. It is what initially attracts one person to another and can give an idea as to what the person may be like. However, identity can be established in many ways and clothing is just one of these methods. When looking at a particular group of people, it is usually possible to examine the trends that they exhibit and spot people who look out of place and may be trying to change or enhance their identity through their clothing. Describe the connection between one particular trend in pop music and what its followers wear. â€Å"Mom. I wanna be just like Britney Spears† were the eight words which rang across the world when Ms. Spears released her saucy â€Å"Baby One More Time† video. Suddenly, it was trendy to dress in school girl uniform and the boys were instantly turned on by teenage girls dressing just like Britney. Had it not been for Britney's video, dressing in uniform at any time other than in lessons would, most likely, still be very â€Å"un-cool†. Since her first single, Ms. Spears has been an international jet-setter and trend setter. With each premiere, awards ceremony and after-show party she has attended, she has been the subject of miles worth of newspaper columns. Teenage girls everywhere have been unable to avoid the tactless and shameful promotion that Jive Records have elicited from Britney and living in the 21st century, it has become almost impossible not to be influenced by the publicity surrounding America's most famous Virgin. From controversy to contraception, Britney has been linked to everything. The initial hype surrounding her showed that she was popular amongst teenager boys and this was, no doubt, one of the main reasons thousands of teenage girls began to idolise her. Her sweet and innocent image meant that it was cool to be like Britney and this soon led to an explosion in mini-Britneys. There was a risk that she wouldn't catch on though and that she would fizzle out as another one-hit wonder. However this was soon disproved when she was pursued quickly by the other pop teen queen Christina Aguilera. Just when parents thought that Britney would be a temporary phase that their kids would go through, Christina pops up onto the scene. Bringing yet another set of catchy pop tunes, Christina enforced the idea that it was necessary to look gorgeous, be a size 8 and have a perfect body. Pig-tails were in and pony-tails were out; short skirts became even shorter and breast enlargements were being ordered left, right and centre. Despite their persistent denial of buying the plastic treatment, private clinics saw an enormous increase in their waiting list around Christmas time. It became cool to wear tight tops, to dress in leather and run around school doing Britney and Christina style dance routines. However, times change quickly and schoolgirls are already becoming bored of their teen idols' style and as Britney turns unfavourable in their eyes, it is now necessary for them to look at the older and more respected artists. Singers like Jennifer Lopez, Samantha Mumba and Janet Jackson who all have unparalleled style are the new trend. As teenage girls want to mature into appreciated women, their dress sense also proceeds in parallel and they begin to move away from the â€Å"bubblegum† image into a more adult look. They will however, all too often find themselves pre-occupied with the idealistic look of women in beauty magazines and on screen. Although this shouldn't be the case, it is an inevitable consequence of living in the midst of technology as we do and at least through these more mature artists, teenagers are growing up quicker. It is ironic to think that Britney is now modelling herself on her fans in order to please them. As they mature and advance in their ways of thinking and styles and trends, Britney is now evolving into a more mature and focused artist more in the style of Janet or Madonna. What is worrying though is that there doesn't seem to be another level to which artists like Britney can go to after her fans get tired of her present scheme. Unlike the real divas, Britney has a shelf life and it is almost up. Unless she can creatively reinvent herself with yet another new style, her fans will have to look elsewhere for inspiration and it may well be to an anti-conformist who exhibits qualities that are rebellious and not in line with conventional trends.