The Big Five Inventory Bfi Psychology Essay

The Big Five Inventory Bfi Psychology Essay The present research is aimed at exploring the relationship between the Big Five Personality Factors and Academic Success. The Big Five Inventory, developed by John Benet-Martinez (1998), was administered on 158 students of the first and second year postgraduate (HR and Business Management) programs at XLRI. The participants current CQPI at XLRI and the XII standard percentage marks obtained at school served as the two measures of academic achievement. The results revealed that conscientiousness was significantly and positively associated with XII Standard percentage scores (r = 0.124, p Acknowledgements I am grateful to Dr. M. Srimannarayana for his unparalleled guidance and support which was a major motivation behind my doing this dissertation. I thank the participants of this study for having filled up the forms and for having shared their experiences with me for this project, without which I would have been unable to go anywhere with my analysis. I would also like to thank my classmates who helped me in many instances with valuable inputs regarding various concepts and issues. Table of Contents Introduction Two traditional indicators define academic performance grades and highest level of educational attainment. Academic achievement is affected by an interplay of cognitive abilities and personality traits, both of which are involved in the determination of the direction and intensity of intellectual investments. Previous studies undertaken to examine the predictors of academic success have focussed largely on intellectual ability. Anastasi (1954) noted declining correlations between IQ scores and academic performance with increasing levels of educational attainment. Specifically, the correlations between the two constructs declined from r = .70 in elementary school to r = .50 in secondary school and to r = .40 in college (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2005). Within postsecondary education itself, there is a declining correlation between ability tests and other measures of intelligence with increasing years at school. This pattern repeats itself at the post-graduation level abilities have the highest predictive validity at the commencement of a students university or postgraduate experience, and then subsequently decline in magnitude (Humphreys, 1968; Humphreys Taber, 1973). These results indicate that individual differences in academic performance due to cognitive ability disappear with increasing years of education, even after clearing successive hurdles to admission. Hence, it appears that non-ability factors (i.e., personality, self-efficacy, and motivational variables) become more important in distinguishing between better and worse students when the students are pre-selected by past academic performance or intellectual ability (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2006). Recent studies provide evidence in support of the measures of personality dimensions as possible predictors of academic achievement (e.g., Duckworth Seligman, 2005). Martin et al. (2006) found that personality characteristics have a major impact on performance at the undergraduate level across all 4 years of coursework. This impact was observed over and above the effects resulting from high school academic performance and intellectual ability (i.e., achievement test scores). Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003) studied the linkages between personality traits and academic performance using two longitudinal samples of British university students. They found that personality scores measured during the first week of the academic year were significantly related to final exam results and programme work that were assessed three years later. Further, the predictive power of personality traits accounted for another 10-17% variance in academic performance when it was related to both academic behaviours (like attendance and class involvement) and teachers predictions. In another study, Furnham et al. (2003) found that personality traits accounted for about one-fifth of variance in exam marks and one-third of variance in essay grades over a 2-year period. McLaughlin, Moutray Muldoon (2007) examined the impact of personality in predicting academic performance among nursing students. They administered the Eysencks personality questionnaire (EPQ-R) on 384 nursing students in their first year of study. The results of the EPQ-R were then analysed along with the final marks obtained at the end of the program. They found that students with high scores on psychoticism were more likely to withdraw from the program. Extraversion was also seen to negatively impact academic performance those scoring high on extraversion were more likely to achieve lower marks. In another study, Bisping Patron (2008) also found personality type as a significant determinant in academic success. They used the MBTI to study the impact of personality type in an introductory general business course designed to incorporate knowledge from various business disciplines. Caspi, Roberts, and Shiner (2005) argued for a causal relationship between personality traits and academic performance. They postulated that personality traits and academic performance might be causally related if achievement criteria and personality dimensions overlap. In other words, the causal relationship will arise when a certain behaviour indexing a certain personality trait is also a part of successful performance. For instance, exerting effort as a behaviour (relevant to conscientiousness) is likely to be important for securing high grades in school (Rothstein, Paunonen, Rush, King, 1994), thereby indicating the existence of a causal relationship. Given the wide variety of personality measures available and the subsequent difficulty of making generalisations across studies, there is considerable debate regarding which personality traits are associated with superior academic performance. Nevertheless, the majority of research examining the importance of personality in academic performance has used the Big Five Model of Personality (Costa McCrae, 1992). For example, Tok and Morali (2009) examined the predictive ability of the Big Five personality factors on academic success for a total of 295 physical education (PE) teacher candidates. They found that academic success as GPA was positively related to Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness and negatively associated with Neuroticism. In a meta-anlysis by O Connor and Paunonen (2007), conscientiousness (r = .24), extraversion (r = -.05) and openness (r = .06) were identified as the most consistent predictors of academic achievement. In another study, Mervielde (1994) and Mer vielde, Buyst, and De Fruyt (1995) examined teacher ratings of different age groups (from 4-12 years). They found that both Openness and Conscientiousness showed significant association with academic performance. Barbaranelli, Caprara, Rabasca, and Pastorelli (2003) also found these two traits as the most important personality correlates of academic success across different informants (self, teacher, and parent). Each of the five factors Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism have been discussed below with regards to their impact on academic performance. Conscientiousness Conscientiousness is associated with the will to achieve, self-control, determination, purposefulness, and dependability. Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham (2004), and Moutafi, Furnham, Crump (2003) report a negative relationship between IQ and conscientiousness. Nevertheless, it appears that conscientiousness, as a personality construct, most strongly correlates with academic achievement in both undergraduate and graduate settings (Busato, Prins, Elshout, Hamaker, 2000; Noftle Robins, 2007). Noftle and Robins (2007) used multiple personality inventories across four independent samples of more than 10,000 participants. They found conscientiousness to be the strongest predictor of both high school and college GPA. Chamorro-Premuzic, Furnham, and Ackerman (2006) found conscientiousness to be a good predictor of academic success (r = .19 to .31) on multiple measures including exams, continuous assessment (presentations), and written essays over a three year period. Lievens, Coetsier, De Fruyt and De Maeseneer (2002) found conscientiousness to be a significant predictor of academic performance among medical students in each of their three preclinical years. Further, successful students differed from the unsuccessful ones on the subconstructs of dutifulness, achievement orientation, and self-discipline. Conscientiousness is associated with sustained efforts and goal setting activities (Barrick, Mount, Strauss, 1993), both of which are said to contribute to scholastic achievement (Steel, 2007). It is also related to compliance and attention to home assignments (Trautwein, Ludtke, Schnyder, Niggli, 2006), to time management and to regulation of effort in learning activities (Bidjerano Dai, 2007). This attests the relationship of conscientiousness to academic performance, class attendance, and final grades (Conard, 2006). MacCann, Duckworth, Roberts (2009) found that each facet of conscientiousness (e.g., diligence, dependability, self-discipline, prudence, competence, dutifulness, order, and achievement striving) contributed to higher performance in academic settings, attainment of scholastic success, and lower disciplinary infractions. The facets also independently predicted Grade Point Average (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003; Furnham et al., 2003; Martin et al., 2006), motivat ion (Komarraju Karau, 2005), effective learning styles (Duff et al., 2004), and academic aspirations (Rottinghaus, Lindley, Green, Borgen, 2002). Finally, Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003, 2006) argue that in competitive settings, conscientiousness may play a compensatory role for lower cognitive ability and consequently promote higher academic achievement. Thus, the conscientious person who works hard, completes tasks, and strives to succeed is more likely to be motivated to perform well. This would help him in achieving higher academic success (Furnham Monsen, 2009). Openness to Experience Openness to Experience is characterised by receptiveness to new ideas, preference for varied sensations, attentiveness to inner feelings, and intellectual curiosity. Evidence supporting the relationship between Openness to Experience and scholastic success is mixed. Some studies report a positive relationship between Openness and academic performance (e.g., DeFruyt Mervielde, 1996; Farsides Woodfield, 2003), effective learning style, and higher academic aspirations (Rottinghaus et al., 2002). However, other studies do not support such a relationship (e.g., Busato et al., 2000; Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003). Openness has been positively related to final school grades and to strategies involving critical thinking (Bidjerano Dai, 2007; Komarraju Karau, 2005), and motivation to learn (Tempelaar, Gijselaers, Schim Van Der Loeff, Nijhuis, 2007). Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003) found openness to be positively related to intelligence and intellectual curiosity. Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnhams (2008) confirm a positive relationship between the openness and academic achievement. They argue that open individuals are more likely to engage in activities that stimulate the acquisition of knowledge and learning experiences. Caprara et al. (2010) found that openness along with academic self-ef ¬Ã‚ cacy contributed to junior high-school grades, after controlling for socio-economic status (SES). Graziano et al. (1997) assessed the Big Five self-reports of 5th to 8th graders. They found Openness positively related with both, self-reports and teacher ratings of academic adjustment. However, OConnor and Paunonen (2007) reported in a review a very low correlation (r = .06) between openness and academic achievement. They rejected the idea of an overall interaction between the two variables. Neuroticism Neuroticism is the degree to which a person experiences negative emotions that are associated with irrational beliefs (Ellis, 1994), weak impulse control, and difficulty coping with stress. A number of studies report a negative correlation between neuroticism and academic performance (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003; Ridgell Lounsbury, 2004), thereby indicating that academic performance tends to be higher in the case of emotionally stable students than neurotic students, who may experience higher levels of anxiety during stressful situations (OConnor Paunonen, 2007). However, results of meta-analyses examining the relationship between neuroticism and academic achievement remain inconclusive (OConnor Paunonen, 2007; Trapmann et al., 2007). Such studies suggest that neuroticism may not be a strong predictor of individual differences in academic achievement in general. Agreeableness Agreeableness may be defined as the disposition of a person toward nurturance, altruism, trust, and a willingness to help others. Studies examining the relationship between agreeableness and academic achievement have produced differing results. Gray and Watson (2002) and Farsides and Woodfield (2003) found agreeableness to be positively associated to GPA (r = .15 and r = .14 respectively). Deary et al. (2003), using the Big Five Inventory found that those who failed to complete the program scored lower on agreeableness. However, in other studies (Conard, 2006; Duff, Boyle, Dunleavy, Ferguson 2004) researchers failed to find such a significant association between the two variables. Thus, agreeableness may not be that important a determinant of academic performance. Extraversion Extraversion is the degree to which individuals are sociable, preferring large groups and gatherings. Extroverts demonstrate a tendency to be cheerful, assertive and active. Although a positive relationship exists between IQ and Extraversion, Extraversion has been found in several studies (Busato, Prins, Elshout, Hamaker, 2000; Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2004; Furnham, Chamorro-Premuzic McDougall, 2003) to be negatively associated with academic success. Early studies, in particular, indicated that introverts performed better than extroverts, suggesting that the former were better at revision and possessed a higher ability to learn (Entwistle Entwistle, 1970). More recently, Sanchez-Marin et al. (2001) found that extraverts failed their programs more frequently than introverts, again suggesting that this was to do with their distractibility, sociability, and impulsiveness. However, Furnham et al. (1998) found that extroverts performed significantly better than introverts on a meas ure of logical reasoning. Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003) state that it is difficult to find a consistent relationship between intelligence and extraversion. Overall, extraversion supports academic achievement in some studies and hinders it in others. It must be noted that several variables like age, educational level, gender and assessment method may moderate the relationship between the two variables. In light of the preceding research, today it is more important than ever to determine the personality factors influencing academic success among college students, given the increasing levels of early withdrawal from college and their declining levels of academic performance (Tok Morali, 2009). While a considerable amount of research has been undertaken to establish the relationship between personality factors and academic achievement, there is a virtual gap in study in this area in India. Thus, the present study extends the earlier literature on personality-academic achievement relationship by studying the linkage between the two variables among B-school students in India. Hypothesis Based on the results of the previous research, I hypothesise that Conscientiousness as a personality variable would have the strongest impact on academic achievement. Method Participants Data was collected from 158 respondents studying in the postgraduate program at XLRI. Convenience sampling technique was used to identify the respondents. The sample size comprised of a mix of participants belonging to the first year and second year HR and Business Management (BM) programs offered by the Institute. Specifically, 81 respondents (51.26%) were studying in the HR program and the remaining 77 participants (48.73%) belonged to the BM batch at XLRI. Out of these, 108 participants (68.35%) were in the second year and the rest 50 (31.64%) were studying in the first year. All the respondents were between the age group of 21-32 years. There were a total of 112 male respondents (70.88%). 46 female respondents (29.11%) comprised the rest of the sample. Measures Personality Measure: The Big Five Inventory (BFI) developed by John Benet-Martinez (1998) was used to measure the five personality dimensions of Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. The participants were asked to respond to 44 items on a 5 point Likert Scale with a score of 1 indicating strongly disagree and a score of 5 indicating strongly agree. Out of the 44 statements, eight items each measure Extraversion and Neuroticism; nine items each measure Agreeableness and Conscientiousness and ten items measure Openness to Experience. Sixteen items in all are reverse scored. John Srivastava (1999) report the reliability coefficient of the BFI to be 0.83. The convergent validity for the instrument ranged from 0.73 to 0.81. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a validity coefficient of 0.92 for the instrument. (See appendix: Big Five Questionnaire) Academic Achievement: The participants Cumulative Quality Points Index (CQPI) at XLRI at the time of the research study was used as a measure of academic achievement. The maximum CQPI that can be obtained by a student is 8.00. The CQPI, as a measure, was coupled with the percentage of marks obtained in the XII standard in school. Information on both these measures was obtained from the participants self-reports. Data Analysis Responses obtained from the participants were first recoded to take into account the negatively worded items. Thereafter, the scores on the five dimensions of the BFI were computed for each participant by summating the responses of the assigned items. In order to explore the relationship between personality factors and academic success, the Pearsons Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was calculated between the Big Five Dimensions and the two measures of academic achievement, namely XLRI CQPI and XII standard percentage scored. Results The results indicate that Conscientiousness was significantly and positively associated with XII Standard percentage scores (r = 0.124, p No significant correlation was found between other personality factors and the measures of academic achievement. Table I: Correlation Coefficients between the Big Five Dimensions Measures of Academic Achievement Big Five Dimension XII Percentage XLRI CQPI Extraversion 0.095 0.025 Agreeableness -0.051 -0.047 Conscientiousness 0.124* 0.248** Neuroticism 0.077 0.164* Openness to Experience 0.012 0.058 where ** indicates p Discussion The findings of the study revealed that when compared to other personality dimensions, Conscientiousness had the strongest influence on academic success, both at the XII board level and at the post-graduation level. Thus, the hypothesis was accepted. More specifically, conscientiousness was significantly and positively associated with XII Standard percentage scores (r = 0.124, p Neuroticism was also found to be significantly and positively related to CQPI at XLRI (r = 0.164, p Further the high structure academic environment prevalent at XLRI may also facilitate a comparatively better performance for students who are high on neuroticism (as is indicated by positive correlation obtained between the two variables in the present study). It has been argued that neuroticism has a more substantial influence on academic performance under high pressure situations. This may be because the presence of evaluation apprehension may trigger a variety of cognitive and affective reactions among individuals with high levels of anxiety. In fact, under low levels of situational pressure these individuals might experience less anxiety and stress, thereby performing better or at a level similar to individuals with low levels of Neuroticism. The evaluation system at XLRI is such that it emphasizes round the year academic performance rather than evaluation being restricted to a single examination, as is the case with the XII board exams. Further at XLRI, aside from the quizzes an d end term examination (which are individual evaluation components), a major focus is on evaluation of group projects and assignments. These further reduce the stress and anxiety levels for students and make the environment a low press situation. This may explain for the significant positive association observed between Neuroticism and academic performance at XLRI. Finally, no significant correlation was found between the personality factors of Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness with the measures of academic achievement. Research evidence regarding the association of these personality dimensions with academic success is mixed and there are numerous studies that report no relationship of academic success with Extraversion (e.g., Hair Hampson, 2006; Furnham, Chamorro-Premuzic, 2004; Phillips et al., 2003, etc), Openness to Experience (e.g., Busato et al., 2000; Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003) and Agreeableness (e.g., Conard, 2006; Duff, Boyle, Dunleavy, Ferguson, 2004). The results of these studies are in line with the current results. Implications Overall, the results of our study, along with those of previous studies, clearly demonstrate the useful nature of Conscientiousness in predicting the academic success among college students. This information may be beneficial to college admissions committees armed with the mission to reduce the increasing levels of early withdrawal from college and academic failure. However, the problem of accurate measurement of the personality constructs leaves the admission committees wide open to the challenges of self-report scales. These self-rating measures may be highly prone to the effects of impression management, given the high stakes nature of admissions to graduate school. One suggestion is to apply other data collection methods that may approximate the personality constructs sought here. For example, Trapmann and colleagues (2007) suggested that structured interviews may be used to assess the personality trait of Conscientiousness and its associated components. Here also concerns regard ing impression management remain, despite the fact that interviews form a substantial component of selection process for a majority of graduate schools. Another suggestion is to request ratings about the student from knowledgeable informants that could be used to assess particular personality traits (Wolfe Johnson, 1995). However, admissions committees may find locating willing and unbiased informants a huge challenge. Those who provide letters of recommendation could be asked to address particular student characteristics. The idea is to gather as much information as possible about a students non-ability traits to guide admission related decisions. Limitations Directions for Future Research The first limitation of the present study concerns the investigated sample. The participants were students of the postgraduate management program at XLRI. Since, the participants had already been pre-selected by ability and intelligence; it may have resulted in a narrow distribution of the students characteristics. Future studies can focus on samples from multiple backgrounds with a wider distribution in abilities. Another limitation of this study is that it focuses exclusively on grades as a measure of academic performance. Grades represent only one measure of performance that people exhibit in the context of education. In the classroom there are several behaviours that may be more highly related to personality, such as the frequency of asking questions or seeking help (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, McKeachie, 1993), or even showing up for classes when the attendance is not taken. Investigating the effects of personality on these and other data sources may reveal that personality plays a much larger role in student behaviours, than the sole examination of grades and level of educational attainment would reveal. It is suggested that future research can focus on examining homework and other study-related behaviours discussed above. Because they occur in a relatively unstructured environment, it appears that they would be more likely to capture the influence of non-ability traits rather than just in- class assignments or grades.

COP 3530, Discrete Data Structures and Algorithms, Summer 1999, Homework 5 :: UFL Florida Computer Programming Homework

Class Notes: Data Structures and Algorithms Summer-C Semester 1999 - M WRF 2nd Period CSE/E119, Section 7344 Homework #5 -- Due Wed 30 June 1999 : 09.30am Revised Date In class, we discussed the breadth-first and depth-first search (BFS and DFS) algorithms for graph traversal. Using your class notes and the text (Chapter 12) as a guide, answer the following questions. Note: Answers are in blue typeface. * Question 1. Write pseudocode (not Java code) for the BFS algorithm we discussed in class. Beside each step, write the number of external I/O, memory I/O, incrementation, comparison, and other types of operations employed. Then, construct a work budget for each type of operation, together with a Big-Oh estimate of complexity. Answer: Psudeocode for BFS is given for a graph having n vertices and m edges, as follows: procedure: Breadth-first-search(w) { initialize list L0 to contin vertex w # 2 mem I/O i = 0 # 1 mem I/O while not(isEmpty(Li)) do # n-1 comps { create Li+1 = empty list # 1 mem I/O for each vertex v in Li do # n iterations max. { for each edge e incident on v do # m iter's max.

Effective Communication in the Business Meetings

Effective Communication in Business Meetings The great management guru Peter Drucker once said, â€Å"Business communication is all about understanding what has not been said. † Especially today business communication is one of important factors to be successful in the changeling business environment because during opened working environment one can meet lots of others for discussing but how to make an effective communication in business meetings? There are some of factors to impact deeply on result of an effective communication in the business meetings as clear goal or objective, careful planning, use materials, communication skills and conflict management. People may ignore to be involved in meetings, if they know their time will not be useful or non-productivity. Meetings should be completely carried out periodically or prepare urgently (if required) during work running of any organization. There are ways to spend the time more effectively. First factor considers here is goal or objective of business meeting. The goal or objective is built basing on actual situation of works what need to solve or make a decision, even just making a relationship. A business meeting without goal or objective considers as one walks around without home port, especially today’s challenging business environment is more focused in result. Imaginably there is no specifically stated desired outcome of the meeting so that is no point in availability the meeting. The goal or objective impacts people on gathering includes, but not limited to: communicating information, problem solving, team building, and making decision. Scheduling or preparation, communication, conflict management and follow-up are some of key factors to make sure that meetings are productive and efficient and that is being more essential in the today’s complicated working environment. The key for achieving the goal is an advance planning by everyone involved in the meeting. Detailed planning is a guideline to build an effective business meeting. Planning for meeting will support attendees to have a visualizing in advance how the meeting will be organized, where meeting attendees will sit, who will present in the meeting and how long the presentations will last. The meeting time and location should be confirmed one day before meeting to support attendees having a proper arrangement. Besides the meeting location should be able to accommodate all guests, convenient location, technological capabilities, and a comfortable condition. When the ocation has been determined, next important step is to start researching the information needed for the presentation, creating an agenda. The agenda should start with a quick objective or goal reminder, followed by the time frame allotted to each presentation. Research and investigation are perhaps the most important piece of planning an effective business meeting, which will help discover, summarize and organize the topic of the meeting. By making a convincing argument on the topic, the part icipants will be able to provide facts, instances, and definitions to support the subject. There are five main sources that can provide information for presentations. First of all is personal experience. Personal experience reflects the flow of thoughts and meanings persons bring to their immediate situations. The second resource is internet, especially in the 21st centuries which is considering as era of information technology. The goal is to improve the ability of people from all walks of life and interests to access, search, and use the information distributed in Internet resources. According to Usunier, & Roulin (2010, Apr), â€Å"there is no geographic limitation to Internet access and suppliers in any country can create Web sites containing information and dialogue content† (p. 189-227). Using a search engine is becoming more common in finding research. Instead of using search engines, online libraries are also available to support for finding research. Third resource is written and visual resources in different channels as magazines, journals, newspapers, books, broadcasts, and documentaries which can be consulted for information, arguments, and evidence for presentation in the meeting. The fourth resource is research methodology. Appropriate methodology is taking short time to find out the needed information. Pullin (2010, Oct) states â€Å"the research methodology was qualitative in nature and, to ensure scientific rigor, a multi-method approach was taken in collecting and analyzing the data† (p. 460). The fifth source is other people. In order to accurately use other people as a source is also a shortest way to help presenter receiving needed information for meeting, but presenter should clarify the provided information as doing an informational interview with the person. Research can make the presenter feel more confident in communicating the presentation, and as a result, the presentation will be more powerful. â€Å"The vital elements of the communication process are the source, encoding, the message, the medium, decoding, the receiver, and feedback. An understanding of those components can help you design effective conversation communication programs† (Jacobson, 2009, p. 12). Those components will be handled easily by effective communication skills, which are essential in conducting a successful business meeting. Communication is an art which is not mastered by all so an effective communicator should be taken clearly when sending or receiving the messages. â€Å"Effective communication is one where you are able to send and receive messages in a clear, coherent manner overcoming all the barriers† (Bardia, 2010, p. 29). People listen to what is being said and engage in dialogue. Communication skills include: influencing, negotiation, making an impact, dealing with conflict and dealing difficult people. Business research has identified communication apprehension as a problem for improving communication skills. Aly (2005) states â€Å"communication apprehension as an individual level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons† (p. 98). When a speaker gives a speech in front of a large group of people, seemingly anxiety and fidgeting produce interfering, off-task thoughts and its result is apparent of word jumping or increased rhythm of heart that inhibit skill development. Public speaking is a common source of stress for everyone. Many of us would like to avoid this problem entirely, but this is hard to do. Once there is determination as how to overcome the fear? overcoming the fear can be done by making sure the topic is known, analyzing the audience competently, knowing the speech content well, recognizing value and uniqueness, and focusing on communicating with the audience instead of on the fear. Some other strategies that can ensure the meeting is effective are clarifying, confirming and summarizing. Making sure that the purpose of the meeting is clarified will reduce any chances of the audience misunderstanding the content. By asking the audience questions, or answering their questions, we can confirm that everyone understands. This is true when summarizing is used. By summarizing all the information at the end of the presentation, the presenter is, once again, making sure the information was understood. An effective communication in meetings is not only solely responsible for speaker but also share the burden those who attend the meeting. An active listening communication strategy will help ensure a successful meeting. Urquhart (2004) states â€Å"these four steps to become a more active listener: Hearing, feedback and interpretation, evaluation and response† (p. 3). â€Å"Hearing involves paying attention to what the speaker is saying and being sure it is heard† (Urquhart, 2004). The message will be encoded and understood by showing out the feedback and interpretation. On the way, the feedback will support speaker find out and correct any misunderstanding. The listener may be able to ask the question until the listener is sure that message is encoded and understood accurately. Finally, listener will decide what to do with the information given by the speaker. During a meeting, there is a good chance that two or more members of the group will disagree. That is also to let us to see the matter as others aspects. The disagreement may result in conflict. An effective communicator should know how to deal with conflict. There are five steps to help organizations deal with conflict in a constructive way as follows: 1. Recognizing that the conflict exists. 2. Finding common ground by putting the conflict in the context of the larger goal of the team and the organization. 3. Understanding all the perspectives of the issue, this means that everyone is not required to agree with the opposing views. 4. Attacking the issue and not the members of the team. 5. Developing an action plan that describes how each member of the team will solve the problem or issue. By following above mentioned steps during a meeting, the conflicts will be able to deal with in a opened-mind, cooperative manner. To require an understanding the goal of a meeting or presentation the speaker should be able to understand of what the final outcome and what is trying to reach. By the way to make a successful meeting, presenter should have a worst result of what meeting will be as misunderstanding or responded disagreement. In order to establish that the goals of the meeting have been met, the audience is not only taking an active part but also the presenter must make the audience interested in the topic along with meeting significance of the topic. There are two important questions to support presenter clarifying the goal or objective. First, what do I want my audience to know or do as a result of my speech? Second, how will I know if I am successful? Being clear those questions is the audience’s feedback. Feedback is recognized by immediate behavior change from the audience and asking question to audience also on the way to get feedback. The follow up actions to the presentation or meeting consist of any actions that are to be determined at a later time. Minute and any decisions made at the meeting must be noted and distributed to all parties involved. Delegations of assignments are to be noted and follow up must be carried out. Besides, additional meetings might be necessary if the final outcome is not clear or decisions are not probably made. In conclusion, an effective meeting is determined to conduct by several strategies. Meetings are productive and efficient when we incorporate all of above-mentioned ideal. Careful planning and clear goal or objectives are the key factor as well as choosing the suitable time and right location for the meeting. Being prepared presentation for the meeting is also very important, there is irresponsible if anyone going to a meeting and not being prepared, it may send the wrong message to the others in the meeting. The meeting is unsuccessful if any key factor is missing. Visualizing how the meeting will unfold if the meeting is held in the noise location. Besides, an active listening communication strategy as giving feedback and asking question will help ensure a successful meeting. Getting the audience involved in the meeting will create a more productive meeting. Also, by asking the audience to evaluate and respond to the information provided will allow them to participate in the discussion and make suggestions on ways to find a solution. On the way, focusing goals and working on solutions during the meeting can influence others being interested in the meeting and being more involved. We all know that the anxiety will appear by various points of view when speaking in front of a large group or even a small group and it will reduce when we make confidence by ourselves experiences, communication skills and also well prepared. Communication skills and experience are only cumulative by taking more serious. If you appear nervous or unsure; the audience may lose interest in the topic. The speaker should always be prepared, analyze the audience, and focus on the subject matter. Other strategies that can ensure for an effective meeting are clarifying the topic, confirming that the audience understands the information given, and summarize all the information at the end of the meeting. We have also learned that conflict is part of business meeting to help attendees have a several looking for one matter and by the way supporting to make decisions. Keep in mind, not everyone will agree with what you are saying, therefore; we should try to have an open mind and try to find common ground. Do not attack the other members of the team, because they may not agree with you, simply attack the issue at hand. Conflict isn’t actually good or bad, the way is how we deal with it. Developing an action plan as a team may allow the other members to feel that the problem can be worked out in a respectful, professional manner. Conducting effective business meetings will definitely help to improve productivity at the workplace. Almost meeting will be stressful, but by the way to make everyone involved interestingly that the meetings are well planned, organized, and allow the attendees to discuss possible solutions to solve the problems what they arise. Productive meetings are not only making a unity between groups but also teaching us essential communication skills, cumulate costly experience and how to manage conflict. Finally, during these meetings we practice problem solving, idea sharing and incorporate creativity that will eventually lead to a successful business environment.

Stowe, Wheatley, And Truth Essay - 1196 Words

When it comes to Stowe, Wheatley, and Truth there is one universal factor that they all had in common. That factor was they all shared a common theme and all their novels and that theme was based on slavery. Each of these authors have their own way of expressing their opinions of slavery and how they portrayed it. They also all had different approaches and different writing styles. The pieces of work that will be covered o express to answer the these questions are Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Stowe, His Excellency General Washington by Wheatley, and Ain’t I a Woman by Truth. Stowe’s political objectives played a huge role in effecting the style and formal aspect of his novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. His main political objective was to get people to†¦show more content†¦But I do not agree with this. I feel that Stowe was just trying to spread awareness and let people know the extreme experiences that slaves were actually put through. I feel that this is very different then promoting racial stereotypes. In a way I feel like this is challenging them more because it is more real and honest. This novel says it how it was there was no sugar coating whatsoever. This to me was a great approach because it was better at spreading awareness of what all those people actually went through. I believe that Wheatley’s work is revolutionary in content. I believe this because of what was discussed in the pieces of work â€Å" One century scarce performed its destined round, When Gallic powers Columbia’s fury found; And so may you, whoever dares disgrace The land of freedom’s heaven-defended race! Fixes are the eyes of nations on the scales, For in their hopes Columbia’s arm prevails. Anon Britannia droops the pensive head, While round increase the rising hills of dead. Ah! Cruel blindness to Columbia’s state! Lament thy thirst of boundless power too late.† (Wheatley) This quote from His Excellency General Washington by Wheatley to me is very revolutionary in content. I feel this because it was meant for George Washington and set to him. This all ties in to one because at the time that this poem was sent to George Washington he was the newly appointed commander and chief of the Armies of North America. This to meShow MoreRelatedLite rary Analysis Of The Slavery Period A Number Of African Slaves By Harriet Beecher Stowe1798 Words   |  8 PagesAgustin Gamez Instructor: Nancy R. Williams Course: American Literature Date: 10/14/2015 Literary Analysis Essay # 2 During the slavery period a number of African slaves wrote stories, and poems about their daily hardships that they had to withhold by being a slave and everything else that happen throughout their life’s. Not many Black writers had the resources or support from their owners to publish what they wrote or anyone to care about what they wrote, lucky slaves did reach success when theyRead MoreBelonging Essay4112 Words   |  17 PagesL.M. Anne of Green Gables JF Morrison, Toni Beloved AF http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beloved_(novel) Morrison, Toni The bluest eye AF Morrison, Toni Sula AF Morton, Kate Forgotten garden AF Nabakov, Vladimir Lolita AF Naidoo, Beverley Other side of truth YA Niffenegger, Audrey The time traveller’s wife AF Niland, D’Arcy The shiralee AF Nunn, Cameron Shadows in the mirror YA Oates, Joyce Carol Black girl/White girl AF O’Brien, Robert Z for Zachariah YA O’Dell, Scott Island of the blue dolphins JF Orwell