“All groups and organizations should function as teams in which everyone makes decisions and shares responsibilities and duties. Giving one person central authority and responsibility for a project or task is not an effective way to get work done.”
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the opinion expressed above? Support your views with reasons and/or specific examples drawn from your own work or school experiences, your observations, or your reading.
Eventhough the author's statement is quite enticing I chose to stand on the other side of the fence, for the following reasons.
Digging the examples from history to present events, there is no harm to claim that leadership is mostly about a single person and his strength to take a prompt decision. Alexander lead his huge army to invade the whole world just by his sheer will power and decision. Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple, Google are all ruling today just because they are driven by one man and one decision.
Coming down to day to day life activities, such as in any project, if every person in a team has the same and the equal responsibilities, there can be unnecessary conflicts in opinion even executing a tiny job. Everybody will have different vision and may be most of those are not correct. This situation is not only time-consuming but also counter-prodcutive for a company where fast delivery is a buzz word.
The reason for advocating a single leader is that he can delegate the responsibilities to the right guy avoiding unnecessary delays and confusion. Not everybody is adept at everything, but it is also true that everybody has their own strength. So its a leader's job to know whom to assign a job so as to deduce the best output from him. If everybody becomes leader who is going to execute the actual job at hand?? An example in this scenario can be that all US soldiers be given the rank of a Captain, then who is going to command and who is going to follow?
A leader ensures that decision is made, he may be wrong at certain occassions but would be able to make decisions on time. Delegation helps others concentrate on their strength and leave the leader to plan out the future activities. A leader is chosen based on certain attributes, which cannot be found in everybody. According to a survey in US army, there is a steady shortage of around 300-400 army personnels for the last 2 decades. So the point is that not everybody can be leader, it is safe in few hands only.
Finally, even though its a very win-win situation to suggest that equal responsibilities be given to every member, but in practical scenarios, either we think about household jobs or office work, one-man leadership is best to accomplish things efficiently.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The following appeared in the editorial section of a corporate newsletter.
“The common notion that workers are generally apathetic about management issues is false, or at least outdated: a recently published survey indicates that 79 percent of the nearly 1,200 workers who responded to survey questionnaires expressed a high level of interest in the topics of corporate restructuring and redesign of benefits programs.”
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument,
what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.
Author is trying to make a generalization that workers have interest in management issues. To support his statement he presented a survey data which cliams that 79% of the workers have expressed their high interest in the topics of corporate restructuring and redesign of benefits program.
While at first glance, author seems very convincing and I find it hard to find a loophole in the statement, but on a second look, it is obvious that author's statements cannot be sound enough if he doesnot make certain assumptions.
The very first thing the author assumes that if workers have shown interest in corporate restructing and redesign, that itself is sufficient and a necessary condition to conclude that workers are interested in management activities. I would say, those two aforementioned activities are a very tiny part in a management activities and in some cases, these activities may not be important as well. Author must show that workers also have active interest in other core management issues like, planning, resources, company finances, work delegation to name a few.
Last, but not the last, lets assume that pure workers, and not people from management group comprises the majority of the surver taker, but question which raises doubt in reader's mind is what was the nature or authenticity of survey, for instance, what kind of questions were asked in the survey ? Was it an multiple-choice or was it an oral questinairre? Based on what criteria they came to the conclusion made by the author. All these question needs explanation and solid reasoning.
Finally, even though the author sounds enthusiastic, his statement will be more convincing if he can backup his argument with relavant data and logic.
“The common notion that workers are generally apathetic about management issues is false, or at least outdated: a recently published survey indicates that 79 percent of the nearly 1,200 workers who responded to survey questionnaires expressed a high level of interest in the topics of corporate restructuring and redesign of benefits programs.”
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument,
what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.
Author is trying to make a generalization that workers have interest in management issues. To support his statement he presented a survey data which cliams that 79% of the workers have expressed their high interest in the topics of corporate restructuring and redesign of benefits program.
While at first glance, author seems very convincing and I find it hard to find a loophole in the statement, but on a second look, it is obvious that author's statements cannot be sound enough if he doesnot make certain assumptions.
The very first thing the author assumes that if workers have shown interest in corporate restructing and redesign, that itself is sufficient and a necessary condition to conclude that workers are interested in management activities. I would say, those two aforementioned activities are a very tiny part in a management activities and in some cases, these activities may not be important as well. Author must show that workers also have active interest in other core management issues like, planning, resources, company finances, work delegation to name a few.
Last, but not the last, lets assume that pure workers, and not people from management group comprises the majority of the surver taker, but question which raises doubt in reader's mind is what was the nature or authenticity of survey, for instance, what kind of questions were asked in the survey ? Was it an multiple-choice or was it an oral questinairre? Based on what criteria they came to the conclusion made by the author. All these question needs explanation and solid reasoning.
Finally, even though the author sounds enthusiastic, his statement will be more convincing if he can backup his argument with relavant data and logic.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
“Two years ago, City L was listed 14th in an annual survey
The following appeared as part of an article in a magazine on lifestyles.
“Two years ago, City L was listed 14th in an annual survey that ranks cities according to the quality of life that can be enjoyed by those living in them. This information will enable people who are moving to the state in which City L is located to confidently identify one place, at least, where schools are good, housing is affordable, people are friendly, the environment is safe, and the arts flourish.”
Discuss how well reasoned... etc.
The above passage quotes that two years ago City L was rated 14th in an annual survey and that this information will help people, who plan to move to this city, to choose a place where they can settle. Even though the claim may be true but there are few assumptions which need to be addressed. I will be addressing them in the following paragraphs.
First of all, author made an assumption that the ranking given to city L, two years ago, is still valid. It leads us to another assumption that there is no change in the conditions or living style of City L. Based on the same ranking, people can make decisions to move this year too.
Further, there was no detail of the survey made. It simply states it as an “Annual survey” without providing information such as, who participated in the survey, what were the various agenda in the survey and the like.
Finally, it goes on to make assumption that by the ranking alone, people can get a good picture of all the important aspects of daily life such as schooling, community, people, environment and so on, which can help them to decide whether they can move to city L .
To conclude, I would feel that the ranking of City L will make more sense if we get the most recent one. Additionally, the annual survey should provide details about the participants and the different criteria on which they are being surveyed. Further more, the ranking should provide more relavant and detailed information on the other factors like schooling and community. If all the above assumptions are addressed, people planning to settle in City L, will have lot more data in their hand to make a judicious decision.
MY Scrap :
Assumption
1) Ranking made before 2 years is still valid
2) Ranking gives a detailed picture of all the essential factors viz: housing, school, people, environment etc
“Two years ago, City L was listed 14th in an annual survey that ranks cities according to the quality of life that can be enjoyed by those living in them. This information will enable people who are moving to the state in which City L is located to confidently identify one place, at least, where schools are good, housing is affordable, people are friendly, the environment is safe, and the arts flourish.”
Discuss how well reasoned... etc.
The above passage quotes that two years ago City L was rated 14th in an annual survey and that this information will help people, who plan to move to this city, to choose a place where they can settle. Even though the claim may be true but there are few assumptions which need to be addressed. I will be addressing them in the following paragraphs.
First of all, author made an assumption that the ranking given to city L, two years ago, is still valid. It leads us to another assumption that there is no change in the conditions or living style of City L. Based on the same ranking, people can make decisions to move this year too.
Further, there was no detail of the survey made. It simply states it as an “Annual survey” without providing information such as, who participated in the survey, what were the various agenda in the survey and the like.
Finally, it goes on to make assumption that by the ranking alone, people can get a good picture of all the important aspects of daily life such as schooling, community, people, environment and so on, which can help them to decide whether they can move to city L .
To conclude, I would feel that the ranking of City L will make more sense if we get the most recent one. Additionally, the annual survey should provide details about the participants and the different criteria on which they are being surveyed. Further more, the ranking should provide more relavant and detailed information on the other factors like schooling and community. If all the above assumptions are addressed, people planning to settle in City L, will have lot more data in their hand to make a judicious decision.
MY Scrap :
Assumption
1) Ranking made before 2 years is still valid
2) Ranking gives a detailed picture of all the essential factors viz: housing, school, people, environment etc
The following appeared in a memo from the customer service division to the manager of Mammon Savings and Loan.
The following appeared in a memo from the customer service division to the manager of Mammon Savings and Loan.
“We believe that improved customer service is the best way for us to differentiate ourselves from competitors and attract new customers. We can offer our customers better service by reducing waiting time in teller lines from an average of six minutes to an average of three. By opening for business at 8:30 instead of 9:00, and by remaining open for an additional hour beyond our current closing time, we will be better able to accommodate the busy schedules of our customers. These changes will enhance our bank’s image as the most customer-friendly bank in town and give us the edge over our competition.”
Discuss how well reasoned... etc.
In the above passage made by a bank executive claims that by providing excellent customer services the concerned bank can differentiate
itself from other banks and can get new customers. He also claims that average wait time per customer will be reduced. The executive also
predicts that customer service can be improved by providing customers more service time, so the bank timings should be extended. Even though,
all the predictions are optimistic but there are certain flaws present and without addressing them with proper assumptions, the bank’s plan will not be successful.
At the outset, author makes an abject assumption that the only area where the bank can improve upon is Customer Service and nothing else. On saying that, the passage makes an unspoken assumption that bank provides excellent services in all other areas like best Interest rate, Flexible loan plan, Vehicle loan and the type. In the same vein, it also assumes that customer service is the only means to get new customers.
Further it goes on to state that by increasing the bank working hour, customer average wait time can be reduced from six to three minutes. In fact, there was no data provided to calculate this figure. It may so happen that on certain day there are a lot of customers and some day its very low.
Additionally, it assumes claims that by extending the office timings, customer service can be improved.
To conclude, the bank executive has made a lot of assumptions, but they can be successful only if he addresses the hidden assumptions. For example, if the author can provide relevant data that the only area the bank is lagging behind other bank is customer service, so it may perfect sense to work in that area. Next only by increasing the work timing will do no good if the quality of service is not improved.
My scrap notes………….
Assumption
1) --Customer service need to be improved
2) --Customer wait time wil go down
3) --All other services like Interest rate, Flexible loan are perfect
4) --Customer Service is the only means to get new customer
5) That customer service can be only improved by extending the timing
“We believe that improved customer service is the best way for us to differentiate ourselves from competitors and attract new customers. We can offer our customers better service by reducing waiting time in teller lines from an average of six minutes to an average of three. By opening for business at 8:30 instead of 9:00, and by remaining open for an additional hour beyond our current closing time, we will be better able to accommodate the busy schedules of our customers. These changes will enhance our bank’s image as the most customer-friendly bank in town and give us the edge over our competition.”
Discuss how well reasoned... etc.
In the above passage made by a bank executive claims that by providing excellent customer services the concerned bank can differentiate
itself from other banks and can get new customers. He also claims that average wait time per customer will be reduced. The executive also
predicts that customer service can be improved by providing customers more service time, so the bank timings should be extended. Even though,
all the predictions are optimistic but there are certain flaws present and without addressing them with proper assumptions, the bank’s plan will not be successful.
At the outset, author makes an abject assumption that the only area where the bank can improve upon is Customer Service and nothing else. On saying that, the passage makes an unspoken assumption that bank provides excellent services in all other areas like best Interest rate, Flexible loan plan, Vehicle loan and the type. In the same vein, it also assumes that customer service is the only means to get new customers.
Further it goes on to state that by increasing the bank working hour, customer average wait time can be reduced from six to three minutes. In fact, there was no data provided to calculate this figure. It may so happen that on certain day there are a lot of customers and some day its very low.
Additionally, it assumes claims that by extending the office timings, customer service can be improved.
To conclude, the bank executive has made a lot of assumptions, but they can be successful only if he addresses the hidden assumptions. For example, if the author can provide relevant data that the only area the bank is lagging behind other bank is customer service, so it may perfect sense to work in that area. Next only by increasing the work timing will do no good if the quality of service is not improved.
My scrap notes………….
Assumption
1) --Customer service need to be improved
2) --Customer wait time wil go down
3) --All other services like Interest rate, Flexible loan are perfect
4) --Customer Service is the only means to get new customer
5) That customer service can be only improved by extending the timing
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
How to advice somebody ?
The best way to advice somebody is to find out what they want and advice them how to attain it?
An apt topic “How to advice somebody ? “ As a matter of fact, I WOULD take the same stance as the author descibes that its absolutely necessary to listen to somebody before I give him any piece of advice.
First of all, I feel its always important to undertsand whats going on in the mind of the person who seeks my advice. For example, few years back my younger brother came to me one day and questioned asked me whether he can join Army. I said Yes, Why not ? In fact, that’s not what he wanted to become. He wanted to become an engineer, but he was little afraid of the competitive exams that he has to undergo before he finally secure a seat in an engg college. I went on to tell him that everything is possible with hard work and diligence.
Another example that came to my mind was of US late president, John F. Kenedy. He mentioned in his memoir that his father Sr Kenedy was always there to guide him, but never forced upon his views; His father, rather listened to him patiently to discover whats going in his son’s mind and then helped him chalk a plan so that he can tread on that path.
Moreover, there is a fair chance that we may mislead the advisee if we don’t understand his mind. In the same scenario, if without listening to my brother, I would have started babbling on the Army and passed on whatever little knowledge I have on that subject, who knows, my brother could have choosen a different career path.
Nevertheless, I do agree that there are a few people, who are misled and have no aims or aspirations in life. They don’t know what to do next or in future or in their life. In such cases, I would say, those people need much more understanding and attention than an average guy needs. Deep in their heart they have something which they may not be able to bring out, so as an able advicer, it will be my duty to make sure that they come up with their inherent thoughts and ideas.
Finally, I would reiterate that its absolutely necessary to listen and understand the concerns of a advisee, before we can impart our knowledge.
An apt topic “How to advice somebody ? “ As a matter of fact, I WOULD take the same stance as the author descibes that its absolutely necessary to listen to somebody before I give him any piece of advice.
First of all, I feel its always important to undertsand whats going on in the mind of the person who seeks my advice. For example, few years back my younger brother came to me one day and questioned asked me whether he can join Army. I said Yes, Why not ? In fact, that’s not what he wanted to become. He wanted to become an engineer, but he was little afraid of the competitive exams that he has to undergo before he finally secure a seat in an engg college. I went on to tell him that everything is possible with hard work and diligence.
Another example that came to my mind was of US late president, John F. Kenedy. He mentioned in his memoir that his father Sr Kenedy was always there to guide him, but never forced upon his views; His father, rather listened to him patiently to discover whats going in his son’s mind and then helped him chalk a plan so that he can tread on that path.
Moreover, there is a fair chance that we may mislead the advisee if we don’t understand his mind. In the same scenario, if without listening to my brother, I would have started babbling on the Army and passed on whatever little knowledge I have on that subject, who knows, my brother could have choosen a different career path.
Nevertheless, I do agree that there are a few people, who are misled and have no aims or aspirations in life. They don’t know what to do next or in future or in their life. In such cases, I would say, those people need much more understanding and attention than an average guy needs. Deep in their heart they have something which they may not be able to bring out, so as an able advicer, it will be my duty to make sure that they come up with their inherent thoughts and ideas.
Finally, I would reiterate that its absolutely necessary to listen and understand the concerns of a advisee, before we can impart our knowledge.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Following the Colorado massacre of schoolchildren, many lawmakers have proposed that an
international body regulate the internet so that sites which provide information to terrorists should be eliminated.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the above opinion. Support your opinion
with reasons and examples.
The above statement claims that by regulating internet activities, terrorism can be eliminated. I think this is an oversimplied solution for a worldwide problem. I will not agree with the soltion provided because of certain reasons.
The foremost reasoning is that the above statement assumes that terrorists use only internet for getting information or planning their activities. It seems there are no other medium apart from internet to coordinate and plan terrorist activities. How would you then justify the terrorist activities at Iraq who are illiterate and has no knowledge or access to internet service, but still they have troubled US for decades. Are we oblivion of the fact that we are living in a world of hitech communication ?
How many sites are we going to close? An average of 100-200 new sites come up everyday. It likes trying to stop the water from leaking from a huge water tank which has multiple holes opening up as soon as you close one. Further, lets accept the assumption that the terrorist depend heavily on internet for their hidden operation, but how does it make sense that by regulating Internet will eliminate terrorism. How do you filter the contents in the ocean of internet world where milions of information traverse from one end of the world to the another end of the world.Further more, terrorist would not simply publish on their website something like "Mass destruction on America on 9/11". They will definitely encode the info and decoding it from our end would require extraordinary skillset and expertise. This further calls for major research and development involving millions of dollars.
Finally, not every nation in this world is affected with terrorism, so how can we assume that international bodies will cooperate us in curbing the internet access. For a moment say that they may do it, but are the major nations ready to invest in such an ambitious project?
Next question is how do you distinguish what kind of information to be barred from view. Even wikipedia contains a lot of info on guns and weapons which any Internet Users either terrorist or a non-terrorist would be generally interested.
After penning all my thoughts above, I want to conclude that in the current scenario, controlling internet activities and contents is not only impractical but not advicable too. Govt. bodies need to come up with alternative and sound measures to curb the terrorist activities.
international body regulate the internet so that sites which provide information to terrorists should be eliminated.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the above opinion. Support your opinion
with reasons and examples.
The above statement claims that by regulating internet activities, terrorism can be eliminated. I think this is an oversimplied solution for a worldwide problem. I will not agree with the soltion provided because of certain reasons.
The foremost reasoning is that the above statement assumes that terrorists use only internet for getting information or planning their activities. It seems there are no other medium apart from internet to coordinate and plan terrorist activities. How would you then justify the terrorist activities at Iraq who are illiterate and has no knowledge or access to internet service, but still they have troubled US for decades. Are we oblivion of the fact that we are living in a world of hitech communication ?
How many sites are we going to close? An average of 100-200 new sites come up everyday. It likes trying to stop the water from leaking from a huge water tank which has multiple holes opening up as soon as you close one. Further, lets accept the assumption that the terrorist depend heavily on internet for their hidden operation, but how does it make sense that by regulating Internet will eliminate terrorism. How do you filter the contents in the ocean of internet world where milions of information traverse from one end of the world to the another end of the world.Further more, terrorist would not simply publish on their website something like "Mass destruction on America on 9/11". They will definitely encode the info and decoding it from our end would require extraordinary skillset and expertise. This further calls for major research and development involving millions of dollars.
Finally, not every nation in this world is affected with terrorism, so how can we assume that international bodies will cooperate us in curbing the internet access. For a moment say that they may do it, but are the major nations ready to invest in such an ambitious project?
Next question is how do you distinguish what kind of information to be barred from view. Even wikipedia contains a lot of info on guns and weapons which any Internet Users either terrorist or a non-terrorist would be generally interested.
After penning all my thoughts above, I want to conclude that in the current scenario, controlling internet activities and contents is not only impractical but not advicable too. Govt. bodies need to come up with alternative and sound measures to curb the terrorist activities.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Food service workers be periodically trained or not ???
Statement
The food service workers in our fast food restaurants supervise the ordering, preparation and serving of breakfast, lunch and dinner to people of all ages. The federal government should implement a program of continuing education for these people. If food service workers were required to attend a three-day workshop each year, covering topics such as recent developments in nutritional theory and new methods of food preservation, as a condition of employment, the quality of the food eaten by the general public would be greatly improved.
How persuasive do you find this argument? Explain your point of view by analyzing the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. Discuss also, what, if anything would make the argument more persuasive or would help you better to evaluate its conclusion.
My Argument :
I fully agree with the proposal of periodic training for the food service workers (from now will be called FSW).
With growing commercialization people have more money to spend a lot on recreation activities, out of which eating outside along with children has became very popular. So it becomes mandatory that the quality of food be really good, safe, uncompromising and eco-friendly. Keeping these things in mind, we need professional FSW to regularly oversee the quality of food. This will offer FSW more exposure and they can make better judgments in future. The 3 day training should be mandatory as mentioned, because this will give a chance to various FSWs to share their work experiences along with the other benefits they gain. The training should be more interactive in nature. Another suggestion would be to rotate the FSWs among the restaurants in certain intervals. Like in any profession, a person working for a long time tend to forget a lot of theoretical aspects, so a 3 day training program like this will act as a refresher course and it would yield better result.
Last but not the least, not only the above suggested practice will implicitly strengthen the safety aspect of the general public but it will also give a boost to FSW’s career to remain updated.
The food service workers in our fast food restaurants supervise the ordering, preparation and serving of breakfast, lunch and dinner to people of all ages. The federal government should implement a program of continuing education for these people. If food service workers were required to attend a three-day workshop each year, covering topics such as recent developments in nutritional theory and new methods of food preservation, as a condition of employment, the quality of the food eaten by the general public would be greatly improved.
How persuasive do you find this argument? Explain your point of view by analyzing the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. Discuss also, what, if anything would make the argument more persuasive or would help you better to evaluate its conclusion.
My Argument :
I fully agree with the proposal of periodic training for the food service workers (from now will be called FSW).
With growing commercialization people have more money to spend a lot on recreation activities, out of which eating outside along with children has became very popular. So it becomes mandatory that the quality of food be really good, safe, uncompromising and eco-friendly. Keeping these things in mind, we need professional FSW to regularly oversee the quality of food. This will offer FSW more exposure and they can make better judgments in future. The 3 day training should be mandatory as mentioned, because this will give a chance to various FSWs to share their work experiences along with the other benefits they gain. The training should be more interactive in nature. Another suggestion would be to rotate the FSWs among the restaurants in certain intervals. Like in any profession, a person working for a long time tend to forget a lot of theoretical aspects, so a 3 day training program like this will act as a refresher course and it would yield better result.
Last but not the least, not only the above suggested practice will implicitly strengthen the safety aspect of the general public but it will also give a boost to FSW’s career to remain updated.
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