Friday, April 10, 2020
Attachment Theory Essays - Attachment Theory, Human Development
Attachment Theory Attachment Theory Attachment or bonding is the developing relationship established between a primary caregiver, usually the mother, and her child. Attachment behaviors begin early in life. This narrow age limit is often called the critical period. This trusting relationship developed in infancy forms the foundation for a child's development. If a child has a secure attachment, he will grow up to view the world as a safe place and will be able to develop other emotions. It has become more and more apparent that a healthy attachment is most important in human development. Why do some children survive and even rebound in the face of adversity? Some children are able to adapt and rebound and develop the resources they need to cope. The basic foundations of a child's personality are formed in their early attachment to an adult caregiver. It allows the child to develop trust in others and a reliance on himself. Unless properly treated, unattached children grow up with pain and anger often vented on society. The major threat to attachment is separation. Some families do not have the strength to cope with chronic stress and repeated crises. Probably the single most important factor is the establishment of a secure attachment to the primary caregiver. The secure attachment is favored by a secure, relaxed, supported mother. Family conflict, violence and family breakdown that leads to poverty, threatens healthy child development. A caring parent with reasonable expectations is most likely to help the child develop the optimistic perspective and coping skills they need. Infants seem to rely on their caretakers long before they can indicate attachment with crying. In some hospitals, babies are scheduled to receive regular holdings and cuddling by staff members. Infants who do not receive contact comfort in infancy do not thrive and may not even survive. If the infant's physical and environmental needs are met sufficiently, the infant develops the ability to trust others and the environment. However, if the infant has not learned through attachment, he will carry this with him through life. Interventions are aimed at enhancing the adaptive capabilities and to strengthen coping skills within the client's family. Babies let their needs be known by cooing, babbling, gurgling, facial expressions and body movements. Coping with a child's demands can be exhausting to any parent, but they can help the child develop trust by paying close attention to what the infant needs. Attachment theory is important in social work. Social workers are a major provider of treatment. As a mother to an infant, a therapist who is available to their clients, and shows empathy, will provide a positive relationship. Clients are less prone to fear. There is a parallel between being a parent and a professional social worker. Like a parent, social workers do not have to be perfect, but they need to be sensitive to their client's needs. They have interdisciplinary relationships with other mental health professionals. They must be aware of the principals involved in attachment theory. Knowledge and skills related to this field of service are needed to better help the children with this disorder. Culture shapes the cycle of development or growth of the members of a family. This becomes especially important when moving from one culture group to another. Each group shares patterns of social and personal relationships. There is a heavy burden put upon some minority groups in the development of resources. Attachment is easily recognized across the world. We are all part of a nurturing system, the immediate family. It is important for social workers to understand culture differences when developing approaches to dealing with attachment disorders. Some may stress the development of independence and autonomy, while others identify a greater emphasis on maintaining relationships. By the first year of a child's life, they are supposed to become attached to certain people who have responded to their needs for physical care. Intimate relationships formed during infancy give rise to continuing relationships and individual development. This is an important stage necessary for coping. According to Bowley and Ainsworth, experts in the field of attention disorder, the love between a mother and an infant is the result of an attachment formed during that first year. This is the basis for all close
Monday, March 9, 2020
Online Social Networking Essays - Social Networking Services
Online Social Networking Essays - Social Networking Services Online Social Networking Online Social Networking BSHS/352 Technology in Human Services September10, 2012 Professor Valerie Avera, MA Online Social Networking Technology is an ever-changing field. Conversely, many businesses, and human services organizations over the world try to look for different ways to improve and be successful. Therefore, one way toward succeeding is by networking and linking themselves with similar organizations. A website, such as LinkedIn can provide any business or organization to grow and remain successful just by a click of the button. On the other hand developing into an online community helps many businesses owners and organizations stay connected to other agencies and the ability to offer more type of support services within the community. The following summary will explain how human service professionals can use social networking to connect with the community and further business opportunities whereas staying connected with other human service professionals. In addition, the summary will also explain how affiliating with the professional communities online can help offer more support services or quality refe rrals to clients and how attending approved training sessions provided by the online groups can keep human service professionals up-to-date and competitive in their field. The LinkedIn network system is a popular well-known site used by many businesses professionals around the world. This site provides business professionals and other types of organizations the ability to exchange information and other networking types of opportunities. Created by five founders, LinkedIn?s website officially took in 2003. The five founders asked 350 of their closet contacts to join their site and within the first month they had approximately 4,500 members in the network. By, the end of 2003 they had 81,000 members and to this present-day more than 41 million members has joined the networking website (?LinkedIn Company History,? 2011). After creating and reviewing the health care profile sites on LinkedIn the three chosen reputable professional business groups was Lighthouse Emotional Wellness, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Helping Hand Rehabilitation Center in Countryside IL. Lighthouse Emotional Wellness is a premiere center that offers a traditional combination of clinical services whereas a unique and holistic workshop program. The organization additionally offers integrative therapies sessions to treat the everyday physical, emotional, and mental struggles most individuals endure throughout life. In addition, according to their website blog Lighthouse Emotional Wellness belief is that ?wellness achieved facets of a person?s life, whereas the clients emotions can be a guide throughout his or her process of change, leading to greater happiness and better relationships? (?Lighthouse Emotional Wellness,? n.d.). The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a grassroots educational advocacy organization. Additionally they array of services also provides self-help support to family and consumer with enjoying the quality of life of individuals with severe mental illnesses. Moreover, NAMI also provide the community with access to services advocates, treatment, supports, and research. This organization is also steadfast in its commitment to raising awareness and building a community of hope for those in need. In which, according to the organization web-site blog they offers training and education programs for family members, consumers, and the public that includes peer-to-peer support and counseling within a family-to- family- setting and giving referrals for many public networks ("National Alliance On Mental Illness,? 2012). Helping Hand Rehabilitation Center in Countryside IL, conversely, they do not offer continuing education opportunities or credits for licensed professionals. On the other hand they do offer employment networking for their clients through an agency called Employ Alliance, which specialize in job placement assistance. They match quailed individuals with targeted employers hiring people with disabilities. Helping hands also offers outpatient clinics for mental health (?Helping Hand Rehabilitation Center,? n.d.). Unfortunately, not all three companies offer monthly or yearly public meetings to network with other professionals in the health care. In the past people use to communicate by using the postal service or over the phone. When the public first became aware about online communication it made communicating faster and easier. Sites such as LinkedIn which allows their members to maintain a list of contact details of people with whom, they have some level of relationship, called Connections. Members can also invite anyone to become a part of his or her connection list. However, to stay connected within a professional community using a social
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Risk Assessment Practices at Happy Valley Play School Essay
Risk Assessment Practices at Happy Valley Play School - Essay Example Happy valley recognizes its obligation to protect the well-being of all children and youngsters, via a commitment that protects them. This paper will examine the risk assessment at Happy Valley Pre-school. The policy at Happy Valley Pre-school recognizes that the wellbeing of a child is paramount. All children irrespective of age, gender, disability racial, heritage, religious belief, identity or sexual orientation have an entitlement to equal safeguarding from all kinds of abuse or harm. To achieve this, Happy Valley preschool operates in partnership with parents, children, young people, caregivers as well as other agencies crucial in upholding young people’s wellbeing. The objective of the policy is to afford fortification for the young people and children who obtain Happy Valley services, together with the kids of adult affiliates or users. The policy also provides volunteers and staff with direction on processes they ought to embrace upon the event they suspect a young person or a child could be undergoing, or may be at harm or risk of. The policy applies to all staff, paid staff, agency staff, seasonal and volunteers workers, students and everyone else working in the best interests of Happy Valley preschool(Gandy 2008). The chosen senior associates of staff have to attend legal child safety training prescribed by the regional safeguarding children panel. The stipulation must guarantee every staff obtains child safety training fitting to their responsibilities and roles, particularly staff that are new to the school, every three years. Each staff whether voluntary or paid, supply workers, students, are subjected to CRV (criminal vetting) (Dept. of Ed. UK 2012). Happy Valley pre- school aids in preventing abuse through identifying as well as providing prospects for young people and children to cultivate concepts, skills, knowledge and attitudes that enable them to
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Presidential Powers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Presidential Powers - Assignment Example President of America is the head of the state as well as the head of the government whereas in India, president is the head of the state whereas the prime minister is the head of the government. Being the head of the state and head of the government, American president enjoys a variety of powers in internal as well as external matters. Article II of the American Constitution, grants numerous powers to President of America. The power of president can be divided into two broad categories; one with respect to Domestic affairs and the other with respect to Foreign policy. This paper analyses the power of American president in through various perspectives. Type of powers of President of America â€Å"Article II of the Constitution vests the powers of the executive branch in the President of the United States and details the powers of that office†(Presidential powers, 2007). In other words, executive power is vested up on the president of America. All the governmental agencies are w orking under the president and these agencies taking instructions from the president. For example, president is the commander in chief of the armed forces in America and these forces function based on the instructions of the president.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
The Inspiration And Reliability of The Bible Essay Example for Free
The Inspiration And Reliability of The Bible Essay The Bible is not an ordinary book in circulation. In fact, because of its ordinary features, the Bible has been in question and had been greatly criticized for many years. It was not only the atheists and the liberals who were the greatest of its critics but the list also includes the religious non-Christian community. It is not however the responsibility of the Christian community to defend the Bible against its critics. This is because the Bible itself can prove its integrity and reliability. It is for this reason that the Bible is held extraordinary, inspired and reliable book. The Christians’ responsibility is to believe.            In this paper, this writer aims to provide several but essential points that will prove the integrity of the Bible. This writer also explored several writings by respected and reliable theologians, archeologists and writers who worked on finding the answers to the questions and criticisms which aimed to disprove the truth of the Bible’s reliability. TEXTUAL QUESTIONS ON THE BIBLE            Critics have been consistently claiming that there is a great possibility that the Bible passages have been copied and transmitted from generation to generation (C. Blomberg). Critics therefore point to the question whether the Bible has been accurately translated and transmitted. Craig Blomberg referred to this as the Bible’s textual question. The textual questions include the occurrence of textual variations and the claims that the Bible has lost some truths.            There are several evidences available to us that prove these claims wrong. First, there are evidences that the Bible can be reconstructed from the original texts. Rabbi Glenn Harris, in his article entitled, Why the Bible is the Word of God: Can I Trust the Bible?†made a good comparison of Homer’s â€Å"Iliad†and the Bible’s New Testament in order to stress the textual integrity of the Bible. Of the 20,000 lines content of the New Testament, only 40 lines are said to be in question and that is about just a half percent. As with Iliad, which is said to be the second ancient Greek/Latin literature having the most number of manuscript testimony, have 764 lines in question out of its 15,600 lines. IN comparison, the lines in question account for five percent. It is still to be noted that the textual criticisms of the New Testament will sum up to a matter of missing letters and misspellings that are too insignificant to alter the essence of the texts involved. Another point of comparison is on the number of manuscript evidences relative to the two ancient writings. Relative to the New Testament, there are more than 24,000 manuscript copies existing to date, 10,000 of which were in Latin versions and the rest were in other early versions. The Iliad had only 643 surviving manuscripts (F. Kenyon). HISTORICAL QUESTIONS OF THE BIBLE            The Bible, especially the Old Testament, is full of stories- narratives that place the Bible in question. However there are archeological evidences that prove these events, places and Bible characters to have been actually taken place and existed. Of the long list provided by archeologists and Bible scholars, Bryant Wood has provided some of them. King Solomon, for example, who was made famous for his great wealth have been proven to have actually existed. Archeological records have proven his wealth exactly as the Bible described. The land of Canaan was also in question as to its existence but writings on clay tablets recovered in Syria in 1970s in the Ebla archive proved it to be true. The Assyrian king â€Å"Sargon†mentioned by the prophet Isaiah was proven to have actually lived when the king’s palace was discovered in Khorsabah in Iraq. In the same discovery also the proved the occurrence of the capture of Ashdod by its records in the walls of the palace exactly as how Isaiah had recorded. Upon the discovery of the Hittite’s records and their capital at Bogazkoy in Turkey that proved the Bible’s records of their existence.            By dating the manuscripts, the Bible can prove itself historically reliable. A well-known archeologist said that â€Å"the average gap between an original composition and the earliest available copy is over 1,000 years for other works of manuscript†(N. Geisler). The New Testament autographs, according to Harris dated 40 to 100 A.D. while its earliest copy was printed about 125 A.D. The gap of 250-300 years between the said dates therefore corroborates with the average gap. AS with the Old Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 must be sufficient enough to prove its integrity. Including a copy of Isaiah’s scroll, the Dead Sea Scrolls also revealed a 95 percent similarity to the said texts of our Modern Hebrew Bible. The remaining five percent of the text, according to Gleason Archer â€Å"accounts for the obvious slips of the pen and variations of spellings†(G. Archer, 1974). It is thus fair to conclude that â€Å"archeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of the Old Testament Tradition†(F. Albright). THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS OF THE BIBLE            The Bible is not merely a historical book that records the events relative to the foundation of Christianity. The Bible, more importantly, is a book that contains moral guidelines and ethical religious standards set for all mankind. Simple analysis will therefore answer the question why the Bible has been theologically criticized. Since the Bible by itself is authoritative, in the sense that there were not few rules and regulations contained therein, there are people who will be made morally guilty, and if not, uncomfortable. It is but a natural reaction of the concerned ones to object to the Biblical doctrines and by all means, to have it rendered as a myth. The Bible is therefore held in the situation where it has to prove itself true and reliable.            Having the Bible in an acid test, let us first look into the reliability of the prophecies contained therein. The Bible has so far fulfilled 2,000 of its 2,500 prophecies to date (H. Ross). It is true that it is the fulfillment of his prophecies that distinguishes a genuine prophet with that of a mere fortuneteller. The Bible has been proven to have the genuine prophets as by the fulfillment of their prophecies with 100 percent accuracy. Hugh Ross in his article entitled â€Å"Prophecy: Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible†presented thirteen independent prophecies and their fulfillment. This writer, for the purpose of discussion, would like to have five of the well-known prophecies and the fulfillments.            The Prophet Daniel’s prophesied of the coming Messiah and the account of his death. After the restoration of Jerusalem in 458 B.C, Jesus Christ’s ministry began 483 years later, exactly as had been prophesied. His death, according to the prophecy, will occur before the destruction of the Jerusalem, which had actually happened in 70 A.D. The birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem is a historical fact which happened exactly how prophet Micah foretold. The Land of Edom, now part of Jordan, has been foretold by the prophet Jeremiah, to become a barren and uninhabited wasteland. Examining the area in our time, the prophet had it accurately described. The prophet Isaiah prophesied that Cyrus will destroy the mighty Babylon, including Egypt, and will make the Jews free without ransom. After 150 years, Cyrus was born, had conquered Babylon and won over Egypt after 30 years. The Jewish exile also occurred according to what the prophet predicted. Another prophecy that has been historically proven to have been fulfilled was the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. As had been prophesied by Zechariah, Jesus was betrayed in exchanged for 30 pieces of silver, the sum of which were used to purchase a piece of land as place of burial for poor aliens. THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE            The evidences and proofs of the Bible’s integrity and historical authenticity as have been explained and mentioned in the above sections. These evidences are enough to prove itself worth as infallible and divinely inspired. However, there are still doubts that the Bible is just a compilation of the writings of ordinary human beings who lived before and after the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. This claim can be disputed by mere presentation of the obvious facts about the Bible. The authors of the forty authors of the different books of the Bible were persons of different socio-economic and educational backgrounds. Those authors came from the different continents of Africa, Asia and Europe and who wrote in different languages-Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. The said authors were kings like Solomon, political and religious leaders like Paul, ordinary fishermen like Peter, physician like Luke and many others. The fact that their works were written in different styles and forms and were actually written with a thousand years time span, it is but hard to question how the views and events they have recorded came in harmony even if they have not personally met. If the Bible is not divinely inspired, it would be hard to imagine how the different books will come together in harmony, relative to its content. Here is one formidable foundation of establishing the reliability of the Bible:            Jews preserved it as no other manuscript has ever been preserved. With their massora, they kept tabs on every letter, syllable, word and paragraph. They had special classes of men within their culture whose sole duty was to preserve and transmit these documents with practically perfect fidelity†(R. Bernard, 1949).            J.C. Ryle, in his â€Å"The Inspiration of the Bible†has carefully explained few of the many reasons why one should have faith on the fact that the Bible has been divinely inspired. This writer adapted the five listed facts on the said article as follows:            The extraordinary depth, fullness and richness on the Bible’s contents- Ryle had specially mentioned the intangible spiritual things that were importantly discussed in the Bible. Since the Bible is not just a record book, it has special accounts of the soul, eternity, the Holy Spirit, the Heaven and the Hell, eternity and many more. These things are beyond man’s imagination and man’s capacity to explain and yet these things are true and existing. If the Bible has been man’s own ideas and feelings, it would have been a compilation of the things that he can comprehend. If the Bible is just a mere religious writing, then it should have included man’s own criticisms on the other religions that contradict to what it fosters as Christian doctrines. The Bible has also a complete account of the world’s beginning and end including its inhabitants and the other creatures and things in the universe. It has accounts of both good and bad conditions and the means of getting along with it. To sum it up, the Bible is complete in the sense that it has treated all the aspects of human existence and the things and events that affect the whole world.            The Bible has the extraordinary unity and harmony in its contents. This is despite the fact that the Bible has different authors in different walks of life, who lived in different periods and eras, who spoke different languages and written in different forms and styles. â€Å"They all write as if they were under one dictation†(C. Ryle).  In whatever way they have expressed the ideas, they all unified to one central thought: the relationship of man and God.            There is extraordinary wisdom and majesty in the style of the Bible that makes it unique among all writings that existed and still existing. The Bible cannot be compared to other readings in any aspect because it stands on its own: unique and proven reliable and true. The Bible speaks of wisdom and not just mere knowledge. Without using internal evidences, that is, by using its own words, the Bible has been proven its unquestionable integrity. As Ryle said, â€Å"there are no weak points, and motes, and flaws, and blemishes.†If we are to look into the laws, the rules and regulations it had set forth for man, we can clearly draw the fact that the Bible speaks with authority. It has truth and the Bible is determined to foster the truth and to reveal what God wants of the human race. The Bible speaks without doubt and sort of uncertainty as to its stand and views on every little thing. The Bible has the element of accuracy and preciseness in its presentation of facts. With God as the central figure in the Old Testament and His Son, Jesus Christ in the New Testament, the Bible had established and made shine the Majesty of God. What the Bible teaches cannot be bought and acquired anywhere and with any other means other than reading the Bible and with faith in God.            The Bible contains spiritual things that suit the need of mankind. Man is not a mere creature that can be compared to robots. Man is a moral creature, unique to other creatures for its feelings, reasoning ability, the spirit and his relationship with God. It is therefore vital for man to have his spiritual needs to be satisfied and that these cannot be given by even the writings of the most intelligent human being on earth. What I am trying to point out is that the Bible has the purpose of guiding man towards building and taking care of his personal relationship with God. The Bible distinguishes the food of the body from the food of the soul.            There is also the extraordinary fact of the Bible’s effect on the nations where it was written, taught and read. As has been said earlier, the Bible does not only aim to educate and to inform. It has also the vital purpose of satisfying the spiritual needs of every human being that no other book can provide. The Bible is the only book that speaks accurately of the facts of the future, the present and the future of the world the human race. CONCLUSION            By discussing the different questions and criticisms about the Bible, we were able to establish the fact of its integrity and reliability. By using external evidences like archeological records and discoveries, we were able to prove that the Bible is historically reliable. By looking at the prophecies and comparing them to the fulfilled ones, we were able draw out the conclusion that the Bible has in fact ninety five percent textual reliability and has one hundred percent accuracy on its prophecies. Relative to its inspiration, we have proven that the Bible is divinely inspired as evidenced by its fair and complete presentation and treatment of ideas and things even those beyond what the human mind can comprehend. In is therefore but fair enough to conclude that even without defending the Bible, it can by itself stand firm enough to prove its integrity and reliability. WORKS CITED Archer, Gleason L. â€Å"Survey of Old Testament Introduction†. Chicago: Moody Press, 1974. Blomberg, Craig. â€Å"Can the Scriptures be Trusted?†Retrieved on May 29, 2007 from http://www.dtl.org/bible/article/trusted.htm Harris, Glenn. â€Å"Can I Trust the Bible?†Retrieved on May 29, 2007 from http://www.gospeloutreach.net/bible.html Kenyon, Frederick G. â€Å"The Bible and Archaeology†. Harper Row, New York, ,1940, p. 288. McDowell, Josh. â€Å"Evidence That Demands a Verdict† San Bernadino, CA: Heres Life Publishers, 1979. Ramm, Bernard. â€Å"Can I Trust My Old Testament?†The Kings Business, Feb., 1949 pp. 230, 231. Ross, Hugh. â€Å"Fulfilled Prophecy: Evidence of the Reliability of the Bible†Retrieved on May 29, 2007 from http://www.gospeloutreach.net/bible4.html Ryle, J.C. â€Å"The Inspiration of the Bible†Retrieved on May 29, 2007 from http://www.biblebb.com/files/ryle/inspiration_of_the_bible.htm Wood, Bryant. â€Å"In what ways have the discoveries of archaeology verified the reliability of the Bible?†Retrieved on May 29, 2007 from http://christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a008.html  Zeolla, Gary F. â€Å"Science and the Bible†Retrieved on May 29, 2007 from http://www.dtl.org/bible/article/science.htm Zeolla, Gary F. â€Å"Have the Precious Truths Been Lost from the Bible?†Retrieved on May 29, 2007 from http://www.dtl.org/cults/article/precious.htm
Monday, January 20, 2020
Drug Legalization Essay -- Drugs Argumentative Use Essays
This paper will prove that America’s drug laws are ineffective and cause more harm than good. The notion that a state of freedom exists in America is completely voided by narcotic laws. Narcotic laws cause a black market, which raises the prices of drugs to astronomical levels. These high prices cause drug addicts to turn to crime in order to support their habit. There exists substantial evidence that marijuana is less harmful than legal product like alcohol or nicotine. The war on drugs is comparable to the Vietnam War in its harm on the current generation of minorities. The government avoids ending anti-narcotic legislation because of the vast amount of capital which is spent on the war on drugs in terms of law enforcement and prison systems. Also there are many legislators whose campaign corner stones are often getting tough on drugs, to make an about face would mean political suicide. Yes, drugs are illegal. This very fact is what discourages many Americans from using drugs. However the illegality of the substances in question do not stop all people from using. Despite the severe punishment users of illicit drugs face if caught, illicit drug use is widespread in the United States. â€Å"According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse's 1992 National Household Survey, more than one in three Americans (36.2%) have used illegal drugs at least once in their lifetime, nearly 28 million Americans (11.1%) used them in the previous year, and almost 14 million Americans (5.5%) used them during the past month†(Skolnick 3). This is clear evidence that the war is not working. Drug addicts will continue using drugs regardless of the penalties associated with procession, simply because they are addicted to these dangerous substances an... ...nment run store where drugs would be sold only to adults. Much the same as the way liquor is sold in many areas of the country today. Drugs would for the most part be out of the reach of children. Drugs would be relatively inexpensive, and within the reach of addicts, who would no longer have to turn to crime in order to obtain them (when was the last time you heard of someone getting mugged in order for the perpetrator to buy beer). People would be allowed to freely grow marijuana and or hemp. Treatment for addicts would be free and easily obtainable. Money would be spent on improving the conditions of schools, roads and other things that Americans really need. There would exist much the same laws for operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs as exist for operating under the influence of alcohol today. There would once again be a state of freedom in America.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Chapter 10 Review Questions Essay
What is the difference between leading and managing a project? Leading involves recognizing and communicating the need to change course and direction of the project, aligning people to this new direction, and motivating the team to overcome obstacles to achieve the new objectives. Managing is about formulating plans and objectives, designing procedures to achieve those objectives, monitoring progress, and taking corrective action. Managing is about putting out fires and maintaining the course. Leading is about change, and altering the course of a project. 2.Why is a conductor of an orchestra an appropriate metaphor for being a project manager? What aspects of project managing are not reflected by this metaphor? Can you think of other metaphors that would be appropriate? There are many parallels between conducting an orchestra and managing a project. Conductors and project managers integrate the contributions of others. Each is dependent upon the expertise and talents of others. They facilitate performance rather than actually perform. Project managers orchestrate the completion of the project by inducing participants to make the right decision at the right time. Both control the pace and intensity of work by coordinating the involvement of players. Finally each has a vision of performance that transcends the music score or project plan. The conductor metaphor works best in describing how a project manager interacts with project members to complete the project. The metaphor fails to capture the intricacies of dealing with all of the project stakeholders (government officials, contractors, top management, customers) that impact the project. Other metaphors that emerge from class discussions include: quarterback, steering wheel, and ship’s captain. 3.What does the exchange model of influence suggest you do to build cooperative relationships to complete a project? According to the exchange model of influence, the primary way to gain cooperation is to provide services and resources to others in exchange for future resources and services (quid pro quo). The key is to find out what you can offer others that is of value to them so that they will feel obligated to reciprocate. Here the notion of influence currencies is useful in identifying different ways to gain cooperation from others. A second key is building a positive â€Å"bank account†with those whom you are dependent upon so that they are inclined to cooperate with you. 4.What differences would you expect to see between the kinds of influence currencies that a project manager in a functional matrix would use and the influence a project manager of a dedicated project team would use? This question is designed to explore the impact that the project management structure has on the ability of project managers to exercise influence over team members. The key point is that the project manager of a dedicated team has more formal authority over the participants and the project and, therefore, greater access to influence currencies than the project manager in a functional matrix. For example, the dedicated project manager is responsible for assigning project work, while functional managers do so in a functional matrix. A dedicated project manager will have greater access to position-related currencies. Since dedicated projects are used for high priority projects, the dedicated project manager is likely to develop inspiration-related currencies. Project managers in a functional matrix compensate for their lack of formal authority by exercising informal influence through the use of relationships and personal currencies. 5.Why is it important to build a relationship before you need it? People are likely to be more cooperative if they know you, and you have developed a personal relationship with them. When people view you as pleasant, credible, and helpful based on past contact, they are more likely to be responsive to your requests for help and less confrontational when problems arise. The key is building a positive credit in the relationship that you can tap into when you need help. 6.Why is it critical to keep the project sponsor informed? The project sponsor is a powerful ally who uses his/her influence to protect the project when it comes under attack in higher circles of management. Project sponsors need to be kept informed so that they can defend the project to the best of their abilities. 7.Why is trust a function of both character and competence? Character alone is not likely to engender trust. People must have confidence in the other person’s abilities and competence. For example, you are unlikely to follow someone who has the best of intentions if he/she has a track record of failing to get things done correctly. Conversely, one will not trust someone who is very competent but has a doubtful character. For example, you are unlikely to follow someone who is quite competent if you believe he/she is only looking out for what is best for him/her. 8.Which of the eight traits/skills associated with being an effective project manager is the most important? The least important? Why? This question is designed to generate discussion rather than a definitive answer. Most students will pick either emotional intelligence, systems thinker, skillful politician, or personal integrity. Having students debate their choices can lead to a spirited discussion, especially between those who picked skillful politician and personal integrity. The key is to get students to think about how these traits relate to being an effective project manager. For example, personal integrity is important because it leads to trust which facilitates more effective interaction. Alternatively, being a skilled politician is necessary to deal with different stakeholders with conflicting agendas. Students should come to the conclusion that while some traits may be more important than others, all are important to being an effective project manager.
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