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Media Integrity. Data stored in analog formats cannot be reproduced without degradation. The more copies made, the worse the copies get. Digital data, on the other hand, do not suffer such deterioration with reproduction. For instance, movies, videos, music and audio files in digital format can be copied and distributed with a quality that is as good as the original.

Media Integration. One of the major limitations of many conventional technologies is their inability to combine media types. Telephones, for example, can send and receive only sound. Similarly, you can’t watch television and expect a character to answer a question you pose. However, with digital data, it is easy to combine media. Thus, phones with video, or interactive sound with pictures, become possible. Hence the term multimedia.

Flexible Interaction. The digital domain supports a great variety of interactions, including one-on-one conferences, one-to-many broadcasts, and everything in between. In addition, these interactions can be synchronous and in real time.

Transactions. The ability to combine the transactional capability of computers and computer networks with digital media is another interactive advantage of the digital domain. Placing an order and finalizing a transaction becomes as easy as filling in an electronic form and clicking a button. Movies-on-demand (where you pay for movies that you choose to watch on your TV screen) is just around the corner.

Tailoring. Software developed for digital communications and interaction is designed so that users may tailor their use of the tool and the media in a manner not possible with conventional analog technologies.

Editing. The conventional alternatives for manipulating text, sound, images, and video are almost always more cumbersome or limited than the new digital tools. Years ago, Francis Ford Coppola said that the day would come when his young daughter will take a home video camera and make films that would win film awards. Coppola’s prediction is fast becoming a reality. Computers with the right software and minimal hardware can do today what thousands of dollars worth of film and video editing equipment did in the past decades.

By Emmanuel & Margaret.

101 English Conversation # 2.

Effective Leadership Principles
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What is Effective Leadership?

Effective leadership is about having empowering vision and mission and then translate those vision and mission into actions plan so that those vision and mission can be realized. How can you be a good leader if you don’t have such an empowering vision and mission to inspire your followers? You can be a good leader only if you have something better in your mind already and communicate those vision and mission to your follower.

How to inspire the followers to follow the leader?

The leader must already something which is clear in his/her mind eyes. It is something that far better than the present condition and the ability to translate the leader’s empowering vision and mission into massive and coordinated actions. The leaders must have the ability to communicate the vision and mission in such effective way and therefore enable the followers to do the right things to achieve those vision and mission. Good leader is a good communicator.

How to be a good communicator?

To be a good communicator you must be a good listener. Great leaders have the ability to listen and understand the aspiration of the followers. When the leaders are willing to listen, the followers will feel appreciated. Building rapport between leaders and followers in the essential first steps. A good leader is a good listener.

What Do You Mean by Empowering Leadership?

Empowering leadership is the leadership principles that enable the followers to achieve their the collective potential and at the same time contribute to the achievement of individual potential. The key to empowering leadership is the ability to balance between achieving the collective potential and individual potential. In this case, a leader must understand the uniqueness of each individual then use that uniqueness to achieve the collective goals. Balancing individual and collective needs is the factor that will empower tho followers to get the jobs done.

What are the principles of effective leadership?

Leader must be honest and straight forward. A good leader must make the decision based on the true-north principles. Everything that a leader do will be judged by the followers. A good leader will lead by giving the example, by walking the talk, by making and keeping promises. Integrity is the number one principle in effective leadership. You can be a great leader if you are a man of integrity who can keep the promise you’ve made. You must lead by giving great examples to your followers. You simply cannot ask your followers to quit smoking if you are smoking.

Thank you very much for giving us great ideas about effective leadership principles.

It’s my pleasure to share with you about effective leadership principle.

Copyright: Martin W. All Right Reserved.

Eating Out In Restaurant

I’d like the menu please.
Please give me the menu.
What are the special menus for today?
What is the best seafood restaurant in this town?
That restaurant serves good food.
Where is the nearest restaurant around here?
What would you like to eat for dinner?
What would you like to have for lunch?
What would you like to drink?
I want my steak well-done.
What kind of vegetables do you have?
What would you like to order?
I want white wine please.
I’ll have corn and mashed potatoes.
Please give me cauliflower and asparagus.
Do you want some coffee?
I prefer coffee to tea.
Please give me spoon.
This spoon is dirty; please give me a clean one.
Which would you rather have – fried chicken or steak?
What would you like to drink?
What do you want to drink?
Is there avocado juice here?
What would you like for desert?
This coffee is taste so good.
Hmm, it smells so good.
Please give me chocolate ice cream.
We have apples, strawberry, and oranges.
What is the finest restaurant in this town?
Let’s eat in a fine restaurant.
Please give more coffee.
Are you ready for the main course?
Would you please pass that sugar?
Would you please give another cup of coffee?
That restaurant serves delicious seafood.
What would you like to drink?
I’d like a glass of lemon tea, please.
I’d like some ice cream and cake.
We invited some friends out to dinner.
Wine was served with the steaks.
A bowl of fresh fruit is served.
We had chocolate ice cream for dessert.
Would you like fruit for dessert?
Let’s eat out in a fine restaurant.
Let’s go home now.
May I help you?
Do you want a cup of coffee?
Please give me the bill.
Please give the bill please.
I want the steak very well done.
This is the most delicious chicken stick I’ve ever eaten.
I’m on a diet because I want to lose weight.
I’m really hungry. I want a big portion.
I want a complete dinner: fried chicken with green beans, mashed potatoes, and ice cream for dessert.

Business Administration or Business Management is social, technical and art science that deals with planning, organizing, directing and controlling of resources (human, financial, material, technological, knowledge, etc.) of an organization to obtain maximum benefit. This benefit can economic or social, it depends on the aims of the organization.

Modern business management focuses on strategy and customer requirements.

Planning : The process that begins with the vision, mission, goals, strategies and policies, strategic map. The strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats face by organization need to be taken into account and put in the context, which is called SWOT analysis. Planning can include long-term (5, 10 or more years), medium term (between 1 year and 5 years) and the short term where it develops the current year budget in more detail.

Organizing : Answer the questions, Who will perform various business tasks. Organizing involves the designing of the organizational structure of the organization by defining responsibilities and obligations; How to perform the task? When the tasks will be performed using the design of Business Process? Use flowchart to set out the way it should perform and the right timing. In short, get organized to coordinate and synchronize all the business activities.

Leading : It is the influence, persuasion exerted through the leadership of individuals to achieve objectives; based this on the decision-making models using logical and intuitive for Decision Making.

Controlling : This test measures the performance of what was done, comparing with the objectives and targets set, the deviations are detected and taken steps to correct them. Control is at the strategic, tactical level and operational level, the entire organization is evaluated through a system of management control , on the other side also hire external audits, analyzing and controlling the different functional areas of the organization.

The subject of study of the administration are the organizations and therefore is applicable to companies both private and public, institutions and public agencies state, and various private institutions. For example, churches, universities, governments and municipal, provincial, national, hospitals, foundations, etc., and all types of private companies and even families and homes.

Adapted from Wikipedia

Many studies searched for a limited set of personal attributes, or traits, which would make someone be viewed as a leader and be successful as a leader. Some traits that are consistently related to leadership include intelligence (both mental ability and emotional intelligence), personality (extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, self-esteem), and integrity. The main limitation of the trait approach was that it ignored the situation in which leadership occurred. Therefore, it is more useful to specify the conditions under which different traits are needed.

When researchers failed to identify a set of traits that would distinguish effective from ineffective leaders, research attention turned to the study of leader behaviors. Leaders may demonstrate task-oriented and people-oriented behaviors. Both seem to be related to important outcomes, with task-oriented behaviors more strongly relating to leader effectiveness and people-oriented behaviors leading to employee satisfaction. Leaders can also make decisions using authoritarian, democratic, or laissez-faire styles. While laissez-faire has certain downsides, there is no best style, and the effectiveness of each style seems to vary across situations. Because of the inconsistency of results, researchers realized the importance of the context in which leadership occurs, which paved the way to contingency theories of leadership.

The contingency approaches to leadership describe the role the situation would have in choosing the most effective leadership style. Fiedler’s contingency theory argued that task-oriented leaders would be most effective when the situation was the most and the least favorable, whereas people-oriented leaders would be effective when situational favorableness was moderate. Situational Leadership Theory takes the maturity level of followers into account. House’s path-goal theory states that the leader’s job is to ensure that employees view their effort as leading to performance, and to increase the belief that performance would be rewarded. For this purpose, leaders would use directive-, supportive-, participative-, and achievement-oriented leadership styles depending on what employees needed to feel motivated. Vroom and Yetton’s normative model is a guide leaders can use to decide how participative they should be given decision environment characteristics.

Erdogan, Berrin, , and Talya Bauer. Organizational Behavior. 1969 . Flat World Knowledge. 14 Nov, 2009. .

The debate over school uniforms is complicated, so we’ve included highlights from both sides for you to consider:

Professional:

Some say that a child in a school uniform is more likely to take school seriously. Putting on the school uniform signals he or she is going to school just like dad dresses up to go to work. Schools report that when students dress in “work clothes” rather than “play clothes” they take a more serious approach to their studies.

Promotes Good Discipline:

Many think that school uniforms help maintain school discipline, decreasing the amount of discipline problems. The argument is that children today are lacking in self-discipline because parents refuse to discipline them. This makes it more difficult on the teacher who has to deal with classes of 25-30 students at a time.

Reduces Fighting and Violence:

Schools report that school uniforms decrease fighting and violence that arrise out of arguments over fashionable clothes. Children invariably tease those who do not have trendy clothes. Those who can’t afford name brand clothes are often sensitive about their clothing. Schools struggling with gang problems report that school uniforms help ease tensions.

Distractions:

Many parents believe that students wearing school uniforms look nicer and that a school uniform policy ensures that children will come to school in appropriate clothing, avoiding distractions such as fads considered to be outlandish or overly revealing. Some students have turned school into an unending fashion show. This disctracts from learning, as some kids spend more time focused on thier clothes than on homework.

Values:

School uniforms stress that individuality and self-expression are not determined by designer clothing or the latest fashion fad.

Low Cost:

School uniforms are a bargain. They are becoming far less expensive than many other clothes. Schools argue that school uniforms are economical, especially compared to designer clothing, and parents agree given school uniform durability. They say school uniforms last longer because they are made for repeated wash and wear. Many schools capitalize on this by starting used school uniform stores or swap meets. Parents can get used school uniforms at discount prices, or just use them as hand-me-downs between siblings.

School Spirit:

Some feel wearing a school uniform helps build school spirit. It instills a feeling of belonging. As the Beach Boys said, “Be true to your school.” Schools report an increase in school pride.

Individuality:

Supressing individuality is the most commonly cited objection to school uniforms. Educators argue that an academic program encouraging students to pursue individual thought is much more important than what they wear. They inhibit creativity and self-expression, forcing students to conform.

Causes Discipline Problems:

Some students reject any rules. Forcing them to wear school uniforms only aggravates their rebelious spirit. They alter their school uniform by tightening, widening, shortening, or lengthening them, and teachers are given the impossible task of policing the students on a daily basis.

Little or No Relationship to Academics:

Opponents insist that their is no credible evidence that school uniforms improve school discipline or promote higher academic acheivement. The principal argument is that some great students are terrible dressers. Dress does not necessarily improve learning.

By Isaac Grauke
———————————————————–
About the Author:
Isaac Grauke is manager of sales and marketing for Hall Closet
Uniforms and Apparel, http://www.hallclosetuniforms.com

Journaling as a Developmental Tool

What exactly is journaling?

Journaling refers to the process of writing out thoughts and emotions on a regular basis.

Why is journaling a good idea?

Journaling is an effective way to record how you are feeling from day to day. It can be a more objective way to view trends in your thoughts and emotions so you are not simply relying on your memory of past events, which can be inaccurate.

Simply getting your thoughts and ideas down has been shown to have health benefits as well such as lowering the writer’s blood pressure, heart rate, and decreasing stress levels.

How do I get started?

The first step is to get a journal or create a computer file where you can add new entries on a regular basis. Set a goal for how many minutes per day you want to write and stick to it.

Experts say at least 10 minutes a day is needed to see benefits, with 20 minutes being ideal. The quality of what you write is also important.

Write your thoughts down clearly and specifically while also conveying your emotions in your writing. After you have been writing for at least a week, go back and examine what you have written.

Do you see patterns in your interactions with others? Do you see things you like and things you’d like to change about yourself? If so, great! These are the things you can work on and reflect on. Over time, you will also be able to track changes in yourself, which can be motivating as well.

Erdogan, Berrin, , and Talya Bauer. Organizational Behavior. 1969 . Flat World Knowledge. 23 Sep, 2009. .