The Power of Perspective
All I needed was a bow tie. Everything else was packed, and I was ready for the weekend, except that I needed a new bow tie. I assumed that some store on Boston’s posh Newbury St. would have one, and sure enough I found a store that sold tuxedos and wedding dresses. Upon entering the store, I noticed soothing classical music playing in the background as the few patrons meandered through the thoughtfully arranged display room. The sole operator of the store was busy with a customer, so I waited for some assistance. Being a scruffy college student, I apparently didn’t invoke any sense of urgency in the store clerk. After a few minutes, he asked me if I needed any assistance in a tone that suggested that I had rushed him through his previous sale, and that he didn’t think I would buy anything of significant value. If that was his assumption, I confirmed it when I informed him that all I wanted to buy was a bow tie. He reacted by saying, “You must be a waiter?” I felt like saying, “Actually, I own my own tux, and I need a new bow tie for a black tie wedding in Virginia that went $25,000 over its $50,000 flower budget.”, but that would have been obnoxious, so I held my tongue.
I’ve waited tables for many summers, so I was doubly insulted that he referred to my being a waiter in a derogatory manner. Walking away from the store, I thought a lot about what had happened. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and I hadn’t shaved in a couple of days, so I looked like your generic college student (Boston is filled with about 100,000). I also only wanted to purchase a bow tie, which leads to two likely conclusions. I either owned my own tuxedo, or I needed it to complete a waite...
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...e media’s ever-powerful influence. One of my aunts from Belgium was in recently in the U.S. for business and I was interested to speak with her about the current crisis. She was concerned because she viewed our news coverage as having an American filter, and thought that that might allow the American Government to take advantage of the country’s grief and fears.
Now more than ever people have to be careful and try to understand that their perspective can be manipulated by outside forces. To stop the warping effects of groupthink, people have to take a step back from their position and really conduct introspective contemplation. It is very hard for people to try to change their perspectives, because it is part of who they are, but it’s not impossible. People need to be more conscious about how they interpret information, and avoid having a selective memory.
Groupthink was coined by Janis and is defined as “a psychological phenomenon in which people strive for consensus within a group”(Cherry). So people will essentially forgo their beliefs to conform to the group to obtain harmony or if they don’t agree with a group idea they will simply keep quiet about it rather than challenge ideas. Janis classified eight different “symptoms” of groupthink. They are Illusions of invulnerability, which leads the members of the group to take part in risk-taking and become overly optimistic. Unquestioned beliefs, leads the members to ignore the possible aftermath that their decisions can make. Rationalizing, hinders members from recognizing warning signs and from reexamining their own beliefs. Stereotyping, leads the members of the group to criticize or write off any other group who may have differing opinions. Self-censorship, makes group members who may have differing opinions not disclose them to the group. "Mindguards",certain members of the group who are self-appointed censors that withhold information they find may disrupt group consensus. Illusions of unanimity, leads the members of the group to think that everyone believes the same things. Direct pressure, this is put on members to conform when they do end up expressing their own opinions or the rest of the group feels as if they are having differing opinions. Janis’s work was influential because it helped us examine the
According to Cnet.com,” When congress passed the Energy Independence and security Act of 2007 (EISA). The incandescent bulb’s days officially became numbered. The law mandated strict new energy standards for lighting designed to kick-start a new era of greener, longer-lasting,more cost-efficient light bulbs and this meant kicking outdated, inefficient bulbs to the curb”(Crist). Led is the replacement for incandescent light bulbs. LED lighting is the future now. They are also long lasting, it saves you money and does not pull lots of energy.
Taylor Mali, an American slam poet and teacher, wrote a poem titled, “What Teachers Make”. In this poem, he rhythmically tells about other professions criticizing teachers based on their choice of occupation. While teachers will never earn six figure incomes, they make a difference. Teachers dedicate their lives to leading, inspiring, and educating future generations, all while earning meager pay. Though teachers form foundation of education, their pay does not accurately represent their skills. Using merit pay systems will properly assess how much a teacher should be paid, based on their teaching ability.
First, the role of the media is to represent the public and intervene between the public and the government. The media is a mirror, which re...
Point of view is an essential element to a reader's comprehension of a story. The point of view shows how the narrator thinks, speaks, and feels about any particular situation. In Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson," the events are told through the eyes of a young, mischievous girl named Sylvia who lives in a lower class neighborhood. The reader gets a limited point of view of view because the events are told strictly by Sylvia. This fact can influence the reader to see things just as she does. The strong language gives an unfamiliar reader an illustration of how people in the city speak. Bambara does this to show the reader that kids from lower class neighborhoods are affected by their environment due to lack of education and discipline, that how different one part of society is from another, and that kids learn from experience. We also get an insight of Sylvia’s feisty, rebellious nature and her lack of respect towards people with an education.
Groupthink is an attractive theory by the virtue of its ability to explain irrational decisions made by rational and intelligent groups of individuals. However, the theory does not predict group behavior and merely reexamines past events and applies a rubric of eight “symptoms” that comprise Groupthink. These eight symptoms include illusions of invulnerability, collective rationalization, belief in inherent morality, stereotyped views of out-groups, direct pressure on dissenters, self-censorship, illusion of unanimity, and self-appointed “mind-guards” (McCauley 1998). Illusion of invulnerability occurs when members overestimate their own ability and irrationally believe that everything will work out for the group because it is unique or different. The belief in inherent morality is when members automatically believe their cause is justified, without any proper basis. Collective rationalization occurs when members dismiss any mistakes or challenging views by creating false and often logically flawed explanations. Out-group stereotyping describes the group’s tendency to disregard all opposing ideas and arbitrarily denounce people outside of the group. Self-censorship is responsible for discouraging members from talking about their ideas and findings if the ideas challenge status quo. Illusion of unanimity is reached when members falsely believe that group silence signifies that the group is in agreement. Direct pressure on dissenters is the fear within the group that disagreeing signifies disloyalty. Lastly, self-appointed mind-guards are members who voluntarily prevent the group from discussing controversial topics or ideas.
Groupthink is the psychological phenomenon in which groups working on a task think along the same lines which could have drastic results. It is the result of group polarization where discussions are enhance or exaggerate the initial leanings of the group. Therefore, if a group leans towards risky situation at the beginning of the discussion on average they will move toward an even riskier position. (Marks, 2015). The idea when everyone think the same no one is really thinking. The drastic outcomes result from people trying to avoid conflict with one another, being highly cohesive, and results is questionable decision making (Oliver, 2013). Houghton Mifflin publication of Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions
To what extent do those around us affect the way we think; they we perceive a situation; or they way we form our prerogatives? There are many different trains of thought, some of which are adopted, others of which are taken into account based on experience and periods of introspection, but there is one that lies with it, a fundamental difference in comparison to others: the group mind. To which it involves several individuals, a group mind is in essence, a collective following to a set of beliefs and/or practices, usually brought together through forms of social pressure and preconceived notions of moral obligation. Furthermore, these groups are often characterized by the absence of individualism and a sense of obliviousness towards how their unspoken rules influences their view of the world as a whole. Moreover, group minds also involve social pressures, often enticing some to forsake their opinions to fit the given status quo of the group. Indeed, humans are social creatures that want to feel as if their participation in a group has value, but without the awareness of how social pressures affect their ability to make decisions and how one can overcome such pressure, they are nothing more but mental toxins, or in other words, group minds.
The Hidden Relationship Between Government and Media Rather than being a neutral conduit for the communication of information, the U.S. media plays an intricate role in shaping and controlling political opinions. Media is extremely powerful in the sense that without an adequate functioning media, it is virtually impossible for a sophisticated social structure like the U.S. Government to exist. Henceforth, all known sophisticated social structures, have always been dependent upon the media’s ability to socialize. The U.S. government generally exploits the media, often times manipulating the enormous power of the printed word. Ultimately empowering the U.S. government, strengthening it with the ability to determine and control the popular perception of reality.
LED lights have revolutionized and made life much easier since it was invented. LED lights last on average of 50,000 hours which is up to 6 times longer than a CFL and way more than an incandescent light. LED lights are beginning to make a widespread around the world. LEDs emit light through a diode when electrical current from the 2 terminals feed it. CFL lights work through chemical reaction once it gets fed with power through the 2 terminals. Incandescent lights work through a wire filament which produces heat which is light. There are many benefits of using LEDs, for example, since LEDs are energy efficient they save a lot of money for the customer.
One of the fundamental roles of the media in a liberal democracy is to critically scrutinise governmental affairs: that is to act as a watchdog of government to ensure that the government can be held accountable by the public. However, the systematic deregulation of media systems worldwide is diminishing the ability of citizens to meaningfully participate in policymaking process governing the media (McChesney, 2003, p. 126). The relaxation of ownership rules and control, has resulted in a move away from diversity of production to a situation where media ownership is becoming increasing concentrated by just a few predominantly western global conglomerates (M...
According to Irving Janis, “Groupthink refers to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment that results from in-group pressures”(Mathern, 2013). Groupthink and the affect it has on groups have been studied for many decades. Research has been conducted to find out exactly how prevalent groupthink is in today’s society. Group dynamics have especially been studied in relation to groupthink. It has been hypothesized that, “all members should have an equal influential role within the group” (Mathern, 2013). Mathern (2103) also states that this theory is not always true because people with stronger social skills will feel like they have more of the authority to speak up. Mathern (2013) then goes on to discuss how this then leads to the symptoms of groupthink since the people with weaker social skills do not always want to disrupt the harmony of the group.
... not been possible with conventional technology," concludes Ered Schubert (Hecht). LED lights are the future of lighting. We should not wait any more, but replace our old, energy wasting bulbs for LED ones. They cost us much less over time and they provide safety environment for our families. At the same moment, we can enjoy our homes in modern, color-changeable, wonderful light.
Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm's sales operations. It is an important business function as net sales through the sale of products and services and resulting profit drive most commercial business. The sales management process monitors and measures each staff member's ability to either support sales or do the actual selling to customers. An effective sales management strategy includes setting goals, providing sales support and training, creating or updating the sales strategy, and monitoring results.
"Teaching Salaries Based on Degrees Earned & Location com." Teaching. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2014. .