Sequence Analysis Free Essay Example, 1500 words

These heuristic approaches apply word matching and hash tables in their implementation unlike dynamic programming that are rigorous mathematical approaches. Computational biology attempts to compare nucleotide or protein sequence to analyze either their difference or similarities at the level of bases or amino acids. This information is gathered with the objective of inferring structural, functional and evolutionary relationship among the sequences being analyzed (Baxevanis and Oullette, 2001). Sequence alignment enables one to map residues (nucleotides or amino acids) of two or more sequences. There are two methods of sequence alignment, pairwise alignment and multiple alignments. Whereas pairwise alignments involve two sequences, multiple alignments involve more than two sequences. In sequence alignment, various alignments are made to cater for the differences between any two or more sequences being aligned. Residues which are aligned but not identical may represent substitution in the evolution path. In other cases regions of the sequences where they aligned with other sequences in the alignment but they have no common residues may represent insertion I the evolution process. Sequence alignments will represent regions that are highly identical (highly conserved) than other alignment regions. We will write a custom essay sample on Sequence Analysis or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now These areas are suggestive of residues which may play crucial role to the structural and functional integrity of the expressed gene product either an RNA or protein. Materials and Methods Dynamic Programming Provided with two sequences AGQDEASY and AGCDEESW, an identity relation was used to construct a comparison matrix (1 if i=j, 0 otherwise). The dynamic programming method proceeded through three stages. Firstly, the two sequences were placed on two axes of a grid and the matrix filled to indicate the relationship between each residue in sequence 1 with all residues in sequence 2. Then, the comparison matrix is converted in to the ‘maximum match matrix’, which indicates the highest scoring path starting from a given residue. Here we start from the bottom right hand corner of the comparison matrix; the score in a particular grid point is added to the highest scoring box in the following row and column. Once this has been done, the highest scoring path can be extracted from the matrix, defining the alignment. Comparison Matrix A G Q D E A S Y A G C D E E S W Maximum match matrix A G Q D E A S Y A G C D E E S W Sequence and structure analysis Pairwise alignment of the provided two protein sequences was implemented using Blastp algorithm available at the NCBI websites (Altschul et al. , 1997).

Absurdity Between Kafka and Camus - 4307 Words

This paper seeks to compare and contrast the philosophical views of two great philosophers, namely Albert Camus and Franz Kafka. The works involved in this argument are Kafkas The Metamorphosis and Camus The Outsider. The chief concern of both writers is to find a kind of solution to the predicament of modern man and his conflict with machines and scientific theories. Death, freedom, truth and identity are themes to be studies here in the sense of absurdity. Kafka was born in Prague in 1883. On the Surface, it would seem that he led a very uninteresting life. He grew up in German-speaking Jewish family. His father was very oppressive towards him which made Kafka increasingly isolated. Kafka thought of writing as both a curse and a†¦show more content†¦Or is there some sort of transition to an afterlife? However, most philosophers are skeptical about these questions. Hereinafter, I will verify the conservative assumption that death is annihilation, or permanent nonexistence in relation to both, Camus and Kafka. In a universe suddenly divested of illusions and lights, man feels an alien, a stranger. His exile is without remedy since he is deprived of the memory of a lost home or the hope of a promised land. The divorce between man and his life, the actor and his setting, is properly the feeling of absurdity. To become god is merely to be free on this earth, not to serve an immortal being. Above all, it is drawing all the inferences from the painful independence. In a sense, The Outsider is a parable of Camus philosophy, with emphasis on what is required for freedom. Mersault, the hero of The Outsider, is not a person one would be apt to meet in reality. Mersault does not achieve the awakening of consciousness, yet he has lived his entire life in accordance with the morality of Camus’ philosophy. What is morality? And what are the qualities necessary for freedom, which Mersault manifested? First, the ruling trait of his character is his passion for the absolute truth. While in Mersault this takes the form of a truth of being and feeling, it is still the truth necessary to the conquest of the self and of the world. This passion is so profound that it obtains truth even whenShow MoreRelatedExistentialism And How This Philosophical Theory Has Developed Over The Years1443 Words   |  6 Pagesprecursors of this movement. Other major philosophers like Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre and Martin Heidegger also deny any association with the movement yet their work is pivotal in bringing this theory to the world. Writers like Fyodor Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka also discuss this theme in their work, thus creating literary work on existentialism and developing this theory further. Existentialism taken up by Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Simone de Beauvoir in the 20th century in their literaryRead MoreThe Absurdity Of Existence Of The Book The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka And The Stranger 1732 Words   |  7 PagesAdriana Ramirez Dr. Brueck English 148 4 May 2016 Final Paper The Absurdity of Existence In many twentieth century English literary works, but particularly in the two novellas, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and The Stranger by Albert Camus, ideas of absurdity are employed to analyze human nature and discover the true meaning of life, and death. Through the questioning of societal boundaries, both of the authors implement philosophy into their writing through their separate and unique stylesRead MoreExistentialism in Literature and Science846 Words   |  3 Pagesscientific theories alike. The literary movement of existentialism is seen heavily in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Albert Camus’ The Stranger. 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The French title, â€Å"L’hote†, translates to mean both â€Å"guest† and â€Å"host† simultaneously, which implies that the mutually respectful relationship between the mainRead MoreUnexamined Life Not Worth Living For1300 Words   |  6 Pageslife to enable them to find the purpose of things, one of those things can be their own life. However, examination can be done too much or too little. If examination is overdone one can end up in the feeling of the absurd, were there s a divorce between the actor and the setting, in other words simply saying that humans themselves can ask and ask repeatedly nor examine the purpose of the world infinitely amounts of times, and come up to a point where infinity cannot be seen as closed to the actuality;Read MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Harold Pinter s The Room 9709 Words   |  39 PagesChristopher Fry’s The Lady is not for Burning (1948), T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral (1935) and The Cocktail Party (1949) are some of the noteworthy poetic dramas of the period. A significant development which took place during the period between Word War I and World II is a decline in religious faith which according to Esslin â€Å"was masked until the end of the Second World war by the substitute religions of faith in progress, nationalism, and various totalitarian fallacies† (Pinter the PlaywrightRead Moreexistentialism Essay3317 Words   |  14 Pagesdepressing.) In The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus (pronounced â€Å"Kam-moo†) (1913-1960) describes life as a kind of hopeless, endless, uphill labor. Hence, the only true problem is that of suicide. Yet, he rejects nihilism; for the human being must fight and never accept defeat. The problem is to be a saint without a God. The last judgment takes place everyday. The human being must do his best, try for what he can within the confinements of his situation. Camus describes Sisyphus condemned by the godsRead MoreExistentialism vs Essentialism23287 Words   |  94 Pagesor goal. In this sense, humans are free to choose their own destiny.   * is a philosophical term which asserts that there is a distinction between essential and non-essential (contingent or accidental) characteristics of an object. Essentialism assumes that objects have essences and that an object’s identity is its essence. Aristotle distinguished between an object’s essence and its existence. Its essence is â€Å"what a thing is.† Its essence is â€Å"that a thing is.† An object’s essence is the collectionRead MoreAbsurdity in Beckett, Pinter and Shakespeare4998 Words   |  20 PagesFaculty of Arts Department of English Absurdity in Beckett, Pinter and Shakespeare Written by: Anas Kamal Khanfar 10507510 Supervised by: Dr.Odeh Odeh In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the B.A. Degree in English 2nd Semester – 2008/2009 Literature review Life is absurd as a game of chess which is played by a blind man and a sighted man from the point of view of the observer to the patient. In this paper, absurdity is observed and detected in a critical pointRead MoreEnglish Literature- an Episode in the Life of an Author5918 Words   |  24 Pageshappening and what they are doing. A similar kind of human situation is shown in Ionesco’s play â€Å"The Rhinoceros†. In this play of Ionesco we see that all the characters turn into rhinoceros – this tells us that gradually everyone is getting caught up by absurdity and meaninglessness. The theatre of the absurd disregards language as a means of communication as people thought that word failed to express the experience of the humans. In this play we see the same is portrayed in the incidents where we see that

Knowledge Management Free Essays

Knowledge management in an organisation means to capture the knowledge that is critical to them, constantly improve it and make it available in the most effective manner to those who need it. There are two types of knowledge explicit and tacit. Explicit knowledge is a kind of knowledge that can be expressed in formed E. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now g following a procedure. Tacit knowledge is influenced by emotions and beliefs E. g Respect, relationships. Bovis case study throws a light how knowledge management can be difficult for organisations operating globally. There is friction in transfer of knowledge due to cultural factors and sometimes even due to language barriers. Bovis model helps reduce these frictions. In his model group cohesion among members of the knowledge mnanagement team was promoted so that communication barriers are removed. There was weekly conference calls, also team meeting every 6 months in different geographic locations. To remove language barrier english was made as the base language and e-mail acted as a mechanism that communicated queries and solutions in a commom base vehicle. Hoarding of knowledge is a common practice which can lead to limitations to successful communication of knowledge between providers and seekers. Bovis model helps to mitigate these limitations through motivational tactics and linking employee usage to performance reviews. The success of the bovis model lies in the knowledge management team structure and the method he adopted to monitor the success of the knowledge management initiative. Bovis model shows how complex isuues associated with successful implementation of knowledge management in business can be dealt. How to cite Knowledge Management, Papers Knowledge management Free Essays string(40) " what happens between one’s ears\." Prussia core tenet of any organizational learning project is that without detecting and correcting errors in â€Å"what we know† and â€Å"how we learn,† an organization’s knowledge deteriorates, becomes obsolete, and can result in â€Å"bad† decisions. Because systematic attention to knowledge management is relatively recent, it is particularly important to detect these errors so that knowledge management does not become yet another management fad that promised much but delivered little. If we do not identify and try to resolve these errors, â€Å"what we know† about knowledge management may become little else but mythology. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge management or any similar topic only for you Order Now As a consequence, we will be faced with the ultimate knowledge irony: efforts to manage knowledge are themselves based upon faulty knowledge principles. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to a set of pervasive knowledge management errors. These reflections are based on the authors’ observing or partaking in over one hundred knowledge projects over the past five years or so. The focus is on fundamental errors, that is, errors that if left unredeemed inhibit genuine knowledge from being developed and leveraged. These are errors associated with he concept of knowledge itself: how knowledge is understood in organizational settings and how that understanding impedes knowledge management. Error l: Not Developing a Working Definition of Knowledge If knowledge is not something that is different from data or information, then there is nothing new or interesting in knowledge management. Yet many managers seem determinedly reluctant to distinguish between data and CALIFORNIA MANAGEMENT REVIEW VOLVO, NO. 3 SPRING 1998 265 The Eleven Deadliest Sins of Knowledge Management information on the one hand and knowledge on the other; and, more importantly, hey seem reluctant to consider the implications of these distinctions. The tendency to avoid grappling with what knowledge is should not be surprising. There is little in the education, training, or organizational experience of managers that prepares them for the deep-seated reflection and understanding required by the concept of knowledge. Moreover, this situation is exacerbated by some recent popular management literature that directly advocates not making distinctions between these concepts. The argument advanced by these authors is that contemplation of such extinctions distracts managers from the necessary task of managing,’ However, reflection upon concepts and the distinctions among and between them is the essence of the process of â€Å"knowing† or learning. This is a critical error. It contributes directly to all of the errors noted below. Also, avoidance of grappling with a working understanding of knowledge leads to a dysfunctional environment for knowledge work. Many executives have told us they were extremely reluctant to even use the knowledge word and that they felt the anti- knowledge culture of their organizations compelled them to do knowledge work by dealt. â€Å"We had to disguise our knowledge project within a data warehousing architecture plan† is a true and representative response. In fairness, firms have been assaulted, at least since the asses, with multitudes of theories and nostrums that have often proved to be of questionable value. This has made many executives skeptical, if not downright hostile, to new ideas and programs. Error 2: Envisaging Knowledge Stock to the Detriment of Knowledge Flow When knowledge is equated with information, it should not be a surprise to find it defined principally as a stock rather than as a flow. It is viewed as a thing or object that exists on its own, that can be captured, transmitted among individuals, and stored in multiple ways within the organization. Indisputably, this â€Å"stock† perspective tends to dominate organizations’ thinking about knowledge. This has come about in part because several early examples of knowledge â€Å"success† focus on articulated and documented stocks of knowledge such as Dhow’s work on patent values and Muckiness’s rapid-response system. The notion of flow, however, suggests a radically different conception of knowledge. It is in constant flux and change. It is central to day-to-day doing and being. Individuals create it and it is largely self-generating. Moreover, it connects, binds, and involves individuals. In short, it is inseparable from the individuals who develop, transmit, and leverage it. The prevalent view of knowledge as stock is grounded in large measure in the thrust of every educational system from grade school through university: learn the facts and regurgitate them as required in the relevant examination. 266 VOLVO 40, NO. 3 This orientation is in turn reflected in and reinforced by the pervasive information genealogy approach to the management of data and information: capture, store, retrieve, and transmit. Although organizations obviously need to manage their data and information using these technology-centered models, knowledge is a substantially different thing and thus needs different models. The implications for how organizations approach all facets of knowledge management are profound. In many firms, knowledge simply becomes another object to be managed. It is viewed as something separate from the organizational processes that help generate and nurture it. Not surprisingly, therefore, managers all too often do not see themselves s part of the knowledge process, but rather see it as happening outside of them. Error 3: Viewing Knowledge as Existing Predominantly Outside the Heads of Individuals Implicit in the observations above is that any discussion of knowledge is meaningless in the absence of a â€Å"knower,† Knowledge is what a knower knows; there is no knowledge without someone knowing it. Knowledge therefore must be viewed as originating â€Å"between the ears† of individuals. Taken literally, the need for a knower raises profound questions as to whether and how knowledge can exist outside the heads of individuals. Although knowledge can be represented in and often embedded in organizational processes, routines, and networks, and sometimes in document repositories, it cannot truly originate outside the heads of individuals. A Nor is it ever complete outside of an individual. In this view, knowledge is shaped by (among other things) one’s initial stock of knowledge, what goes on inside one’s head (that is, how one reasons), and the inflow of new stimuli (such as new data and information). Flow, therefore, is also central to what happens between one’s ears. You read "Knowledge management" in category "Papers" Yet organizations seem to view knowledge as if it has a life of its own. They dub strikingly mundane databases as â€Å"knowledge bases,† they talk of search engines as if they were human brains, and they extol executive expert systems as if the human mind were incidental to their construction and use. This attempt to dress up decades old technologies and concepts in new â€Å"knowledge† clothing is one of the more serious distractions faced by knowledge advocates. In conjunction with an emphasis upon knowledge as stock, this error reinforces organizational tendencies to manage and massage ever more complex and interconnected databases and to construct even more elaborate information structures. This would not be so bad except that it shifts the focus of knowledge and knowledge work away from individuals?without whom knowledge can be neither generated, transmitted, nor used. VOLVO 40, NO, 3 267 The Eleven Deadliest Sins of Knowledge Management Error 4: Not Understanding that a Fundamental Intermediate Purpose of Managing Knowledge Is to Create Shared Context If knowledge exists ultimately within individuals, and it is individuals participating simultaneously in multiple group processes who make and execute key decisions, then a fundamental purpose of â€Å"managing knowledge† must be to build some degree of shared context. Shared context† means a shared understanding of an organization’s external and internal worlds and how these worlds are connected. Shared context is dynamic: knowledge as flow implies that any shared understanding is likely to change over time, and sometimes may do so suddenly. In the absence of shared context, individuals’ differing perspectives, beliefs, assumptions, and views of the future are most likely to collide and thus immobile decision making. Yet many organizations still appear so caught up in the model of knowledge as stock that explicating, challenging, and aligning distinct views receives little systematic attention. In short, individuals’ understanding of the world around them?perhaps the most critical link between knowledge and decision making?is ignored. This error obviously stems from a â€Å"stock† view of knowledge, but its roots lie deep in the prevailing cultures of most organizations. Establishing, challenging, and aligning shared context requires decision makers to engage in open, honest, supportive (and yet critical), and reflective dialogue. ‘ However, knowledge is a direct outcome of experiences, reflection, and dialogue?three activities that use up that most precious managerial asset: namely, time. Few firms feel they can afford to budget directly for these activities, yet little knowledge is ever developed without them. A disregard for shared context means that the generation, transmission, and use of knowledge is not seen as an activity that brings individuals to deeper understanding through dialogue. As a result, information remains simply a pattern of disjointed and ill-structured data points or events. Without such dialogue the path from information to knowledge is difficult to traverse. Error 5: Paying Little Heed to the Role and Importance of Tacit Knowledge A â€Å"head centered† (or perhaps, more accurately, an embodied) view recognizes the central role of tacit knowledge in shaping and influencing explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge entails a body of perspectives (e. G. , our view of customers is framed by our firm’s experience in North America), perceptions (customers seem disinclined to try our new product), beliefs (investment in new technology will lead to breakthrough new products that will create new customer needs), and values (do what is right for the customer). Tacit knowledge is the means by which explicit knowledge is captured, assimilated, created, and disseminated. 268 VOLVO. 40, NO. Yet in spite of the emphasis upon tacit knowledge in both traditional epistemology and the recent knowledge management literature, organizations seem especially reluctant to grapple with its management. One unfortunate consequence is that in redoubling their commitment to managing explicit knowledge, organizations discover to th eir dismay that their efforts are thwarted by the very phenomenon they choose to downplay or ignore. As more emphasis is placed upon refining and extending customer satisfaction surveys, managers’ perceptions, projections, and values intervene to preclude any genuinely new insights into customers’ behavior. The most profound reason for this error is that managers simply do not understand the nature of tacit knowledge, its attributes, or its consequences. Thus, although they admit it is â€Å"there,† they fear it is inaccessible and impossible to influence. Thus, their own tacit knowledge about knowledge serves to limit their understanding of the real nature of knowledge?both tacit and explicit. If this error persists, the development and leveraging of explicit knowledge is largely stifled. Consider the following case. One organization considered its extensive services to be the dominant reason its customers continued to do more business with it. In in-depth interviews with many of these customers, however, service was ranked as only the fifth or sixth most important purchase criterion. Yet, key members of the management team not only refused to believe the interview findings, they steadfastly refused to entertain the possibility that their long-held semi-tacit assumption might be wrong. Error 6: Disentangling Knowledge from Its Uses Knowledge is about imbuing data and information with decision- and action-relevant meaning. This is the vital role of human intervention. Information about customers becomes knowledge when decision makers determine how to take advantage of the information. In this way, knowledge is inseparable from thinking and acting (see Error 7). Yet many organizations disconnect knowledge from its uses. A major manifestation of this error is that so-called knowledge initiatives, projects, and programs become ends in themselves. Data warehousing, customer satisfaction surveys, and industry scenarios degenerate respectively into technological challenges, management games, and clashes among proponents of different scenario methodologies. Their relevance for decisions and actions gets lost in the turmoil spawned by debates about appropriate data structures, best survey designs, and alternative techniques for imagining specific industry futures. This error arises directly from a number of decisively false assumptions in the way many organizations approach knowledge management. First, access to information is not equivalent to insight, value, or utility. Examples of managers recognizing in retrospect how they should have derived insight from particular data and information are legend in every company. Second, the value of data 269 ND information is often anything but obvious. Sometimes it is only after considerable discussion and dialogue that the decision relevance and usefulness of data and information becomes evident. Discerning the appropriate marketing strategy responses to new requests of key customers often requires extensive analysis and detailed projections of the forces shaping customers’ behaviors. Third, a common tendency to firmly segregate knowledge users (â€Å"decision makers†) from many of those involved in generating knowledge further serves to separate knowledge from its potential uses. The universal use of the term â€Å"knowledge worker,† s distinct from workers who presumably don’t have or use knowledge, is a prime indicator of how common this sort of error is. A recent survey by Mark Fruit on how knowledge is understood and valued at Toshiba points out the fatuousness of these labels. ‘ A critical implication of this error is that the knowledge efforts of many organizations are misdirected. In short, they frequently commit extensive resources and time to refining and perfecting data and information at the expense of deriving decision and action implications. This tendency is vividly manifest in the extraordinary lengths to which many organizations go to ensure that their customer surveys meet every statistical standard, that unbiased questions are posed, and that the data collection process does not influence the results. Only later is it discovered that the data generated is not terribly helpful in many critical marketing decisions and actions (such as the design of new products, changes to current marketing strategy, or development of rapid responses to the actions of competitors). Error 7: Downplaying Thinking and Reasoning Knowledge generation and use at the level of individuals and groups is a never- ending work-in-progress. At its core, however, getting to different states of knowledge development requires some form of reasoning. For example, a sequence of observations about how customers use a product may lead to insights about desired product modifications, potential new customer solutions, or ways in which existing products might be better customized to specific customers’ needs. Explicating thinking and reasoning processes is especially critical in the case of explicit knowledge. Yet it is always a shock to observe how little attention is paid by allegedly well- managed organizations to their modes of reasoning: the nature of the analytics inherent in points of view or arguments; the assumptions underlying particular models and metaphors; or the relationship between a mode of reasoning and its â€Å"logical† outcomes and consequences. Organizations are thus often unaware why changes occur in a particular stock of explicit knowledge. Hence, they are unable to test the rationales for or validity of such changes. While there are many organizational causes of this error (e. . , an organization’s culture does not tolerate articulation and consideration of conflicts in reasoning), the dominance and pervasiveness of tacit knowledge is one of its 270 principal direct sources. Managers’ deeply held, widely shared, and largely untested perceptions of and assumptions about customers’ changing behaviors overwhelm data describing customers†™ responses to a competitor’s new product introduction. The following words might be heard: â€Å"Customers will quickly see how inferior the competitor’s product is to ours. As soon as they do, they will return to our fold. What goes undeveloped and untested is a set of alternative explanations of the documented customer behaviors and their implications for the organization’s marketing strategy. The obvious implication is that both tacit and explicit knowledge solidify and ossify. Unless distinct modes of reasoning?such as alternative explanations of customers’ responses to a competitor’s new product introduction?are articulated and assessed, radical disjuncture in knowledge content or breakthroughs in insight are considerably less likely to emerge. In short, unless the â€Å"frames†? points of view embodied in perceptions, beliefs, assumptions, and projections about the future? are broken by challenging prevailing modes of thinking and reasoning, knowledge generation and use will be severely restricted. Error 8: Focusing on the Past and the Present and Not the Future If the intent of knowledge is to inform and influence decision making, then its focus must be on the future. Although we cannot know the future, every strategy, decision, and action is, by definition, premised upon some view of the future. Knowledge, as distinguished from raw data and information, can create a shared context for organizational members to address the future. Yet in most organizations, knowledge is still predominantly used for understanding past and present change. The implications of such change for future decision making and action receive only secondary attention at best. A Although some organizations are becoming more enforceable in developing â€Å"memories of the future† through the use of scenarios and other techniques,’ it is still the rare organization that explicitly makes discussing the future the driving focus of its knowledge work. Of course, it hardly needs to be noted that database and information management generally devote little explicit attention to consideration of the future. A number of causes for this error warrant particular attention. First is the greater comfort and ease with which individuals are able to collect data and generate information about the past and the present. Creating explicit projections unavoidably entails making Judgments about the future. The strong natural tendency to avoid the personal, political, and organizational risks associated with exposing one’s thinking and reasoning about the future often conspire to stop development of â€Å"future knowledge† right in its tracks. Second is the common misunderstanding of knowledge and the future: the goal is not to know the future, rather it is to know what projections of the future inform management’s 271 thinking about its strategies and actions. Third is a failure to recognize that alternative projections of the future enlighten our understanding of the present. Moreover, what we take to be knowledge about the present may be largely illusion. As a consequence, the value of our knowledge efforts for decision makers may be far less than we presume. Error 9: Failing to Recognize the Importance of Experimentation Experiments are a crucial source of the data and information necessary for the invigoration of knowledge, and in most respects, the creation of new knowledge. Experiments include trying new approaches to analysis, initiating pilot projects, doing things on a trial-and-error basis, and allowing individuals to assume additional tasks and responsibilities. Customer experiments might include directly involving customers in specific stages of product development, asking and supporting customers to use the product in different ways, and testing new ways to deliver solutions to specific customer segments. Although experiments are a naturally occurring phenomenon in every organizational setting, few organizations explicitly seek to continually create and leverage experiments for knowledge purposes. Indeed, a failure to recognize the potential experimental value of ongoing activities is all too evident in most organizations. For example, many firms now document their â€Å"best raciest† as a means of encapsulating knowledge at work and disseminate such descriptions and results to a wide range of potential internal users. However, such documentation also tends to suppress any inclination to track and monitor improvements and innovations in each best practice as it is applied and enhanced by various user groups. The use of technology tends to result in standardized approaches to collecting and structuring data and to transferring information. This tendency is reinforced by command-and-control, hierarchy-driven organizational cultures that specify precisely what individuals can (and cannot) do. The result is an emphasis on exploitation over exploration. ‘ Organizations invest time and resources in improving current modes of data gathering, enhancing the efficiency of IT, calibrating information structures, and involving more individuals in information and knowledge routines. One consequence of this is an emphasis on simply refining and sharpening what we already know. What is downplayed, and often dismissed entirely, is the willingness to explore: to do new things, to do old things in new ways, and to learn from both these activities. Distinctly new knowledge stems from experimenting. 272 Error 10: Substituting Technological Contact for Human Interface The veritable explosion of information and communication technologies has created the means to capture and transmit data and information at rates and speeds that were unimaginable merely a few years ago. Data warehousing, search engines, groupware, and newly emerging client-server systems are only the tip of the iceberg. Information technology budgets continue to escalate, vendors are sprouting up like mushrooms, IT professionals are increasingly assuming knowledge titles, and many knowledge projects quite rightly depend upon intensive technology use. There is outspread tendency to validate significant investment in IT by reference to its contribution to developing and leveraging knowledge in new and effective ways. Unfortunately, one pivotal error underlying some uses of IT severely limits its potential contribution to organizational knowledge: technological contact is equated with face-to-face dialogue. Although IT is a wonderful facilitator of data and information transmission and distribution, it can never substitute for the rich interactivity, communication, and learning that is inherent in dialogue. Knowledge is primarily a function and consequence of the meeting and interaction of minds. Human intervention remains the only source of knowledge generation. This in turn has produced immense frustration on the part of executives. One result of this frustration is further investment in IT, which without the requisite change in the understanding of knowledge, in turn only leads to further frustration and disappointment. Error 1 1 : Seeking to Develop Direct Measures of Knowledge A reasonable and sensible question now being raised by many concerned senior managers is: How will we know if our efforts to manage knowledge produce satisfactory results? Or, stated differently, where is the pay-off to knowledge projects? Regrettably, it seems that an increasing number of organizations seek to measure knowledge directly rather than by its outcomes, activities, and consequences. Thus, they emphasize the scope, depth, number, and quality of databases; the numbers of individuals, units, and departments connected technologically; the number of requests or â€Å"hits† pertaining to intranets, key knowledge sources, and information pools; and the number, variety, and extensiveness of knowledge projects or initiatives. Yet a moment’s reflection will convince even the most diehard metric devotee that such indicators do not provide any sense of an organization’s stock or low of knowledge or its contribution to decision making and organizational performance. However, some firms have developed â€Å"proxies† for showing the outcomes or consequences of knowledge-based activities. These metrics include patents, new products developed and introduced, customer retention, and process 273 The Eleven Deadliest Sins o f Knowledge Management innovation. Yet it seems fair to suggest that in their thirst for metrics and measures, an embarrassing number of organizations still put the measurement cart before the knowledge horse. This vain pursuit of metrics reinforces many of the errors How to cite Knowledge management, Papers

Job Satisfaction and Emotion in Workplace

Question: Discuss about the Job Satisfaction and Emotion in Workplace. Answer: Discussion on the Purpose of the Article This article Workplace Emotions: The Role of Supervision and Leadership by Bono et al. (2007), addressed the role of business managers and leaders on emotional experience of their employees. Topic addressed by authors was, ways of association of the supervisors and way of transformation of employees emotions in different situations (with coworkers and colleagues). Moreover, emotional links between organizational leadership and their followers has also been discussed in the report. In addition to this, effect of the leadership that buffers its employees from the regulation of negative emotions is also contained in it. Even though it is believed that, supervisors are responsible for its employees bad moods and their mood swings at work place, but according to the authors of chosen article, primarily there are two reasons for this. The purpose of the chosen article review is to check whether there is any effect of leaders and supervisors on emotions and stress of employees at workplace. Chosen article also tried to determine the effect of employees emotional regulation and stress on their job satisfaction (Bono et al. 2007). Since performances of employees are evaluated by supervisors therefore it can be considered as a cause that increases the level of anxiety of employees at workplace. On the other hand it is observed that need for autonomy at workplace by individual employees is also a reason for their stress. Due to different constraints of leadership this need is not fulfilled. The authors reviewed Gross, Richards John (2006) and derived the following hypotheses. 1. For each and every individual, emotional regulation is negatively associated with job satisfaction. 2. Moreover, regulation of emotion is positively associated with experienced stress at work place. Again by reviewing the John and Gross (2004), Fitness (2000), authors assessed two theories. This two theories are self determination theory and goal self concordance model. These theories states, when an employee regulates their feeling, then it are possible that they have feeling of depersonalization and separation from themselves. Authors also suggested that, managers in transformational leadership can provide much more social support to their employees. Identification and Brief Description on the Research Methods In order to support their theories, authors collected data from the workers of a health care facility. Data is collected using experience sampling method and paper survey method. In this method two types of data were collected, one is survey data and other is experience sampling data. Paper Survey was done to collect two types of data in a two week time period. One is survey data and another is experience sampling data (Miner, Glomb and Hulin 2005). In this process 79% of employees affirmed to attend an information session related to this topic. The employees were given a PDA in which they have to respond twice in a day in the week days for ten days. Each time they have to respond according to their level of stress and job satisfaction at work place. The leadership behaviours of supervisors are measured by using a 20 item multifactor leadership questionnaire. The results of this survey mainly addressed points like job satisfaction, work status and interactions, affective emotional experience and stress. Moreover, it is argued by Glas and Einarsen (2006) that, the leadership has an ongoing influence on enthusiasm and optimism of employees. At the end authors discussed different limitation. Such as, they do not have a proper sample size in order to divide them in subgroups for detailed research. Moreover the authors assumed the work environment as standard. Therefore the results of the survey may vary if the environment is supportive or abusive (Fitness 2000). Key theme addressed by authors in the chosen journal Author in the chosen article tried to check whether the emotional regulation co varies with the level of stress of employees (Gross, Richards and John 2006). Authors presented a table based on the result of the survey. After analyzing results of the survey, authors found that, leadership, managers and supervisors has a powerful role controlling the emotions of employees of an organization (Brief and Weiss 2002). In the journal authors examined the link between employees affective experience, direct effect transformational leadership behaviour on employees. Moreover, the association between emotional regulation and stress at workplace are also argued in the journal. The authors had addressed in the article are such as emotional regulation of individual has link with the job satisfaction in negative way (Sy, Ct and Saavedra 2005). The second issue that the author tried to put in front of readers is if the supervisor is engaged with the transformational leadership behavior weakly then the relationship between the job satisfaction and the emotional regulation is weaker. Discussion on the Practical implication of the journal Transformational leadership challenge devotees with an alluring vision and attach that vision to a methodology for its accomplishment. The practical implications of this journal article can be stated as, if all the conditions like positive influence of leaders, supervisors on employees, standard and positive work environment at the work place then employees of an organization can work efficiently and without stress (Brief and Weiss 2002). This will help any organization to achieve its desired efficiency in its business processes. They draw in and spur adherents to relate to the association's objectives and qualities. John and Gross (2004), presented the definition of the transformational leadership as a particular style of leadership in which the leader work along with the employees for recognizing the required change as well as creating vision for guiding the change. The main drawback of the article that the author failed to analyze the information accurately as the information gath ering was done from only one organization (Glas and Einarsen 2006). The article has strongly presented the information of the emotional regulation and transformational leadership (Bono et al. 2007). The selection of the participants was bad as the chosen participants were from only one organization. The selection of data to be gathered was good. Both the data survey and experience sampling assisted the author to identify the required stress and job satisfaction data along with memory stress and affective experience. The article successfully described the role of the managers in establishing the employee mood. References Bono, J.E., Foldes, H.J., Vinson, G. and Muros, J.P., 2007. Workplace emotions: the role of supervision and leadership.Journal of Applied Psychology,92(5), p.1357. Brief, A.P. and Weiss, H.M., 2002. Organizational behavior: Affect in the workplace.Annual review of psychology,53(1), pp.279-307. Fitness, J., 2000. Anger in the workplace: An emotion script approach to anger episodes between workers and their superiors, co-workers and subordinates.Journal of organizational behavior,21(2), pp.147-162. Glas, L. and Einarsen, S., 2006. Experienced affects in leadersubordinate relationships.Scandinavian Journal of Management,22(1), pp.49-73. Gross, J.J., Richards, J.M. and John, O.P., 2006. Emotion regulation in everyday life.Emotion regulation in couples and families: Pathways to dysfunction and health,2006, pp.13-35. John, O.P. and Gross, J.J., 2004. Healthy and unhealthy emotion regulation: Personality processes, individual differences, and life span development.Journal of personality,72(6), pp.1301-1334. Miner, A., Glomb, T. and Hulin, C., 2005. Experience sampling mood and its correlates at work.Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology,78(2), pp.171-193. Sy, T., Ct, S. and Saavedra, R., 2005. The contagious leader: impact of the leader's mood on the mood of group members, group affective tone, and group processes.Journal of applied psychology,90(2), p.295.

Mortality film, The Hours

Theory Of Planned Behavior Example

Theory Of Planned Behavior Example Theory Of Planned Behavior – Coursework Example Theory of Planned Behavior Part A After a series of struggle and determination, I was able to take a stand to make my own decisions. Making my own decisions has been a behavior that I have longed for a long time to attain. Being a married woman, I was under the control of my husband for 18 years. Ajzen’s theory of behavior’s components of behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and controls beliefs have been my steering factors (Value Based Management.net, 2009). Behavioral beliefs dictate the possible consequences of the behavior while normative beliefs focus on expectations of others especially with respect to some norms or code of conduct. Control belief construct of Theory of Planned Behavior on the other hand helps an individual to understand and identify factors that facilitate or impede performance of the behavior (Value Based Management.net, 2009). I came to realize that once I understood the likely consequences of being independent from the behavioral belief, th e societal (normative) expectations of my environment, and the various factors that may facilitate or impede taking an independent stand; it was easier to change my behavior. However, despite the fact that I managed to change from being controlled to being independent, I have tried in vain to quit smoking. I have applied numerous ways like the gum, doctor prescribed pills and lollipops that have a less nicotine in them, and E cigarettes but can’t seem to quit totally. The controls belief factor of addiction has prevented me from quitting the behavior (Bledsoe, 2005). I have looked at the impediments to quitting smoking against the facilitators only to realize that the former overweigh the latter (Han, Hsu, 1271-1276Han, H., Hsu, L., & Sheu, C. (2010). Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to green hotel choice: Testing the effect of environmental friendly activities. Tourism Management, 31(3), 325–334.Value Based Management.net. (2009). Theory of planned behav ior. Retrieved on April 5, 2012 from valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_ajzen_theory_planned_behaviour.html

Comparative Business Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparative Business Systems - Essay Example German’s economic condition entails a service sector, which offers a contribution of 70% of GDP and industry sector that offers 29.1% contribution, while the agricultural sector offers 0.9% (Mundi, 2010, 3). Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product has grown from 7.5% in 2010 to 2.7% 2011, and despite to the global hold back, the domestic market in Brazil have become strong, hence reducing vulnerability to the external crisis (The World Bank Group, 2012, 1). Conversely, Germany attracts foreign investors by providing an open market without restrictions to operate any business (Pugh and Hickson, 2007, 20). Therefore, the citizens of Germany and Brazil are benefiting from the stability of their economic growth, with relatively low inflation rate and improved social well-being (Chandler, 1984, 473). This paper will focus on comparing the business systems in Brazil and Germany. On the other hand, in Brazil there are limits of potential growth and significant advances in the economy, which are attributed to institutional reforms, noninflationary growth that is derailed by barriers, regulation and insufficiency in infrastructure and poor business climate (Jimenez, Gomez Sabaini and Podesta, 2010, 38). However, the condition is better in Germany, since the government has established necessary reforms to improve their economic conditions (Hall and Soskice, 2001, 36). Quality of Brazilian government services concerning the expenditure is relatively lower than other middle-income countries, and country launched a growth acceleration plan in 2007, which focused on increasing investment in infrastructure, and offering tax incentives to facilitate economic growth (Whitley, 2007, 30). In Germany, people are taxed on their income, especially individual residents; in fact, income tax rate have a range of 15% to 45% during the year 2010. Furthermore, Germany presented an initial general tax-free amount of 8,004 Euros during the year 2010 and 16,008 Euros for people, who ar e not married; thus, Germany has subjected corporation to 15% corporate income tax and a solidarity surcharge of 5.5% and it results to an entire rate of 15.8% (Mundi, 2010, 5). In Brazil, the plan led to a 7.5 % growth in 2010, and resilience to the crisis experienced in 2009, and insignificant recession among developed and emerging economies in 2011 (OECD, 2011, 4). Role of the National State in the Economy German’s economic condition has contributed significantly to production based on engineering; for instance, there is production of automobiles, machinery, metals and chemical products. Moreover, Germany has been renowned manufactures of wind turbines and solar power technologies (Mundi, 2010, 7). In fact, this country offers the largest international trade fairs every year; in fact, this congress has been held severally in cities such as Hanover, Frankfurt, and Berlin. On the other hand, the growth in Brazil has facilitated challenges, whereby the country is anticipating hosting the World Cup in 2014 and Olympics Games, in 2016, hence this is requiring significant investment in urban and social development, and transport infrastructure. Moreover, Brazil has experienced substantial regional differences in the social indicators like health, infant mortality and nutrition (Morgan, Campbell, Crouch, Pedersen and

Final Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Final Project - Assignment Example With the success of their product in the local US markets, they are thinking of catering to a wider region by penetration in the bigger markets of US and global markets too. In order to do so a major study has to be undertaken while deciding about the expansion of the market. A faulty expansion step can, not only account for a dip in profits but also be a threat for the whole existence of the business. Thus, a market plan is a serious necessity for market expansion. With the question of market expansion, the most widely used method used to analyze the decision aptly is that of SWOT analysis. It is majorly done to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the particular business proposal. In this case, SWOT analysis is required to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the organization with respect to the idea of global expansion and also the opportunities and threats it may face from the external resources while expanding their business in the global forum. Another study which would be quite handful in this project would be the Porter’s Five Force Model. The Porter’s Five Force Model mainly takes into the account the major forces which affect the functioning of the firm namely the suppliers, competitors, substitutes, barriers to entry and buyers’ powers. A thorough study is to be made regarding all these heads so that it could be well understood that whether the decision taken of expanding their business in the global markets is really viable or not (Kotler, 2009). With the progression of the case all such topics would be covered under different heads. Each and every essential detail for entering into a global market with relation to the case will be analyzed in details and probable solutions will be provided. The nature of the product is a determining factor while decision regarding market expansion is taken that too globally. In this case, the major product is that of

Food Process Technology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Food Process Technology - Assignment Example In each of the industry above, there are different heat exchangers used. Below is a discussion of these different types of heat exchangers used in different industries (United States, Hodgson, Hunziker, & Dahlberg, 1942). In fruit and vegetable processing industry, there are a number of heat exchangers used. The first is the juice pasteurizer. These are machines used for pasteurizing fruit juices and preserving fruits in the processing industry (Burch, Rickson, & Lawrence, 1996). In most cases, they are made of stainless steel, has a large heating capacity and suitable for large scale use. The advantages of these pasteurizers are; the equipment manufactured today are highly automated, they are supplied on a modular designed on the principle of plug and play, they are supplied with a control manual to ease the control process, they are designed with the latest microprocessors capable of controlling and holding the required temperatures, and are made of stainless steel which prevent it from wearing out. The second heat exchanger is the blending and mixing vessels. They are used in blending and mixing different types of fruit juices to give birth to new blends. They have different volumetric capacities depending of the financial ability and manufacturing capacity of the firm. They can be single or multiple walled and are purchased to suit the processing industry needs. Some have insulators and others do not. They are fitted with mixing turbines for the purpose of mixing. They also contain two speed scrappers moving in opposite directions to facilitate quality and fast mixing. Depending on the taste of a particular industry owner, they are either supplied with conical or flat bottom and top. In case no one of the vessels suits the client’s preferences, the manufacturing industry can design one for him/her from scratch (Fiore& Severini, 2011).This

Effect of Interventions on Mental Health of Offshore Workers

Effect of Interventions on Mental Health of Offshore Workers 5.3 Study 2 – Qualitative Insights Research Question: what is the effect of Intervention policies, from the perspective of the offshore industry, on the mental health of offshore workers? Based on the views of the offshore representatives who participated in this study, this research identified five themes which aim to explain the effect of intervention policies on the mental health of offshore workers. 5.3.1 Theme One: Mental Health Awareness Upon reflection of the quotes associated with theme one, it can be seen that P1 is able to expand on how mental health problems can arise, not only from personal experiences but from the workplace itself. According to Mind (2011), employer awareness of mental health at work in the UK is poor, with most senior representatives vastly underestimating the scale of the problem and how it can affect companies worldwide. Awareness of mental health conditions amongst management and their employees, through education, training and communication can reduce negative attitudes and stigma attached to the adjustments being put in place (Department of Health 2012). Educating people on mental health conditions is seen to be an effective method to fight stigma. A study conducted by Pinfold et al (2005) used mental health awareness programmes in schools in UK and Canada to combat stigmatism and to educate young people on misinformation surrounding mental health conditions. The study provided evidence to suggest that short educational workshops can produce positive change in young people’s views of mental illness. Whilst, this cannot be applied directly to the Oil and Gas industry, it highlights the benefits of ‘awareness raising’ sessions. However, on the contrary OECD (2012) suggests that increased perceptions of mental health problems i.e. increasing rates of disability benefit, has changed the view of the work capacity of people with mental disorders. This implies that better awareness has led to further exclusion from the workforce. These findings are similar to those discussed in the literature review; whereby Stuart (2006) suggests prejudicial attitudes from employers remain a barrier for those suffering from mental health. 5.3.2 Theme Two: Macho Culture Organisational culture has been defined as the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization† (Hill and Jones 2001 p?). According to Wright (1994) (cited in Lindoe et al 2014 p. 65) the oil industry in western society has always been dominated by a macho culture, meaning that macho type values, beliefs have governed the way in which offshore workers think and behave. This supports the secondary findings, as Ely Meyerson (2008) identified ‘Macho culture’ to be significant barrier when getting males to admit to their mistakes which may have caused or had the potential to cause an accident. However, the present study highlights that this macho culture and masculinity ideals from an organisational perspective are a significant barrier to their psychological help seeking. Deal and Kennedy (1982) identified four distinct culture types, determined by a combination of two parameters: feedback (praise, rewards) and risk (uncertainty). One of the cultures identified is the Tough Guy Macho Culture. They believe that this culture involves an organisation of risk takers that receive quick feedback on whether their actions were right or wrong. Culture is learned and reinforced (refer to learning theory) – the Oil and Gas industry has existed for decades, for this culture to remain prevalent in contemporary society speaks volumes. It is important for the industry to ignite a cultural change, because this macho culture no longer fits the ever changing environment. Cummings Worley (2005) have conducted research which suggests the following guidelines are effective for introducing cultural change. This first is to formulate a clear strategic vision, display Top-management commitment, model culture change at the highest level, modify the organisation to support organisational change, select and socialize newcomers and terminate deviants and finally to develop ethical and legal sensitivity. 5.3.3 Theme Three: Environmental Downfalls The participants acknowledge that mental health problems amongst offshore personnel can be linked to the environment, which as discussed in the literature review is isolating and environmentally challenging (Gardner 2003). Several sources of stress and anxiety identified in relation to the isolated location of several North Sea Installations are; sleeping patterns, shared living, lack of privacy, financial insecurity etc. However, Cooper and Sutherland (1987) stated that the key contributor to lower mental well- being was the stress associated with being away from one’s spouse or partner, a factor which was identified within the transcript. http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/othpdf/500-599/oth523.pdf 5.3.4 Theme Four: Reliance Reluctance It is clear from the findings in Chapter 4, that both participants are in agreement that in order for interventions and support mechanisms to be put in place the employee needs to disclose their mental health condition. However, it was highlighted by Stuart (2006) that prejudicial attitudes from employers remain a barrier for those suffering from mental health, hence the reason why employees are reluctant to disclose their psychiatric history. According to Haslam et al’s (2005) study, the reason for employee reluctance is because they feel they may be judged by their employer because the stigma attached to mental illness. Moreover, lack of promotional to show they are encouraging people to seek help? This was supported in the qualitative researcher findings by P1? However, there appears to be a dissension between P1 and P2 in regards to their organisational reluctance to promote the existing interventions methods to the workforce. 5.3.5 Theme Five: Promotional Shortcomings The results of the present study suggests that the aim of health promotion in the Oil and Gas industry should be focused on: (1) communicate the intervention methods that currently exist i.e. EAP (2) promote cultural change and encourage a culture whereby offshore workers did not feel ashamed to disclose their mental health condition (3) change the beliefs employees have about their employers regards for their well-being. Communicating mental health intervention methods shows the workforce that as an organisation they are not afraid to broach the subject, this in turn will encourage employees to come forward and seek the help available to them. Eisenberger et al (1986) stated that employees develop beliefs about the extent to which their organisation cares about their well-being. These beliefs help create an employees’ assessment of whether their employer will reward greater effort and help them to complete their jobs and cope with stressful situations. Taking a social exchange perspective, such beliefs will be reciprocated through employee behaviours and deference. Evidence suggests that beliefs about an organisation’s concern for employee well-being have a positive impact on an individual’s workforce performance, which, in turn, influences organizational performance (Podsakoff et al., 2000). 5.4 Limitations There were a number of notable methodological limitations in this research and it is important that these are highlighted before going on to make any conclusions or future recommendations. Firstly, the lack of time and money accessible for the study hindered the amount of research that could be carried out. For example, the researcher would have liked to have used other participants such as OIM’s or Counsellors to collect more detailed data. Furthermore, another possible improvement that could have been implemented is that rather than giving a questionnaire to participants, personal interviews would have elicited greater information regarding their knowledge and attitudes towards mental health and their organisations current intervention methods. However, the researcher would not have been able to capture as many responses if this qualitative method was used. Chapter 6 – Conclusion and Recommendations 6.1 Recommendations 6.1.1 Recommendations for the Oil and Gas Industry From the study it is clear that stigma continues to influence the ways in which offshore personnel deal with their mental health condition. The results convey that levels of depression, anxiety and stress are experienced amongst offshore workers, with high levels of stress being associated with the negative opinions of the current intervention methods in place. Therefore, to maximise support and to ensure the duty of care is being directly adhered to, Oil and Gas companies worldwide should promote and educate offshore workers, onshore staff, and management about mental well-being. To do this, Management or those in a supervisory role should be provided with an opportunity to attend a two day Mental Health Training courses which are available across the UK, some of which are free and some cost up to  £100. This course covers a range of areas surrounding mental health, but most importantly it helps teach individuals to spot the signs and how to approach and intervene if necessary. Furthermore, prevention and early interventions should be the key focus when improving mental health within the workplace. There are three different types of prevention including; Primary prevention (prevent the onset of the disorder), Secondary prevention (Detect early signs and intervene early) and finally, Tertiary prevention (Early effective treatment to prevent disability) (Martel 2009). Martel (2009) suggests that the above prevention strategies are essential when preventing work-related mental health problems. However, in order to undertake any preventative program, it is essential that management are committed to change factors within their control and to implement action plans continuously. 6.1.2 Future Research Recommendations The data set obtained in the present study provides opportunities for future research, which could throw further light on how mental health is experienced in the offshore environment and how the oil and gas industry as a whole reacts to these psychological mishaps. Combining the present data with medical history records of offshore personnel and formally reported mental health conditions to employers would be valuable to see whether or not appropriate actions were taken. Furthermore, the present study did not attempt to identify the specific aspects of the offshore environment which may account for high levels of depression, anxiety and stress. If future research was to be conducted it may beneficial to investigate the key causes of psychological distress in an offshore working environment, so that employers are able to tackle the issues at the forefront with appropriate interventions.

Nebular Time :: essays papers

Nebular Time Log Date, 2490 We’re traveling past the new system Plutonomy at Warp 2. I have been informed that there is a new nebula forming past the 6th planet. They say there is valuable plasma gas inside. My plan is to be the first there to collect it all and sell it so I can stop wandering in space. Log date, 2492 Two more days have passed and my co-pilot and I have been hearing about a race to be the first there. We are in the lead and shouldn’t have a problem getting there. I have also decided that I should get some new food on board. The coffee from the replicators is getting old. Log date, 2495 The nebula is now in sight. George, my co-pilot, has decided that it will be best if we drop some of our extra knick knacks so we can hold more gas. I agree. Who really needs 1000 co-processors that are 15 years old? Log date, 2499 Today we reach the nebula. I have decided to start collecting plasma. END LOG â€Å"George, if you don’t mind, hand me that extra co-linear compressor.† â€Å"No problem, Captain,† he responded.I have told myself time and time again that capturing gas is a stupid thing to do, but when you’re a vagabond like me, taking risks is what sets you free. George has said that he has gotten some strange electrostatic readings coming from this nebula, but we have ignored them. Right now we are working on compressing the plasma gas we have collected.â€Å"Captain, come quick and look at this!† George yelled. The readings are off the scale; it looks like some charge has gotten into our EPS relays. â€Å"George, get back quick! It’s going to blow!† I screamed. We both turned and†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.I was abruptly awakened. I looked up and saw that I was in a shabby, square looking room. I could recall seeing something of this nature in my history book. Suddenly an odd looking lady walked in. I quickly said, â€Å"Hello, do I know you?† â€Å"Ahhhh! Who, what†¦ what are you doing in my house, lady?† she asked. â€Å"First of all, I’m not a lady. My name is Mr. Jumpers, and if I knew what I was doing here, I would tell you. Just a few minutes ago, I was in my ship collecting gas,† I replied.

Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt Essay

Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt is the story told by an Ogalala Lakota Sioux of his life in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Yet Black Elk is reluctant to tell â€Å"his† story because he does not separate himself from all life, â€Å"my friend, I am going to tell you the story of my life, †¦ It is the story of all life that is holy and good to tell† (Neihardt 1). Within the Lakota there is a sense of community that is both innocent and refreshing. For Black Elk the community includes all life, â€Å"of us two-leggeds sharing it with the four-leggeds and the wings of the air and all green things; for these are the children of one mother and their father is one Spirit† (Neihardt 9). The community was the earth and everything that lived on it and the great spirit above. Prior to the arrival of the Waischus, the Americans moving from the east, the Lakota life seems idyllic, â€Å"once we were happy in our own country and we were seldom hungry, for then the two-leggeds and the four-leggeds lived together like relatives, and there was plenty for them and for us† (Neihardt 9). Contrast this â€Å"universal community† with that in O! Pioneers by Willa Cather. The community of the pioneers in Nebraska was much more tightly focused into increasingly smaller groups: the community, the neighbors, the family and the individual. This smallness of community did not lead to a community of satisfied people sharing a life together. Instead, it seemed to lead to a desire to compete for more and more land. Yet, when they had worked hard for their land, they didn’t find happiness, they weren’t satisfied, they just wanted more. When people begin to talk about Alexandria’s friend Carl who was staying with her and people are saying that Alexandria is going to give him her money. Her brothers are angry, they had planned that Alexandria would leave her property to her nieces and nephews. â€Å"‘Give him?’ Lou shouted. ‘Our property, our homestead?'† (Cather 142). It wasn’t their land but they wanted it, they wanted if for the money it would make, not because their money and property had made them happy, for it hadn’t, but just because they didn’t want someone else to have it (Cather 140-147). The Lakota did not own property, but they were happy. They lived with it. They took what they needed and left the rest. Despite the prominence of the community in Black Elk Speaks, there is an acceptance of what is different. When Black Elk told his father of his vision, his father accepted it immediately and began helping him develop his power. Contrast this with the treatment of Crazy Ivar in O! Pioneers. Crazy Ivar was a man who chose to live alone in a sod house, wore no shoes, ate no meat and spent his time reading his Norwegian Bible or building a pond where migrating birds could rest. People were afraid of Crazy Ivar because he was different. They were frightened of him and wanted to put him in an asylum (Cather 84-5). Unlike the Lakota, the Waischus wanted to acquire land and they fought to change it and mold it into the way they wanted it to be. Alexandria, in O! Pioneers is an admirable woman. She is strong, courageous, and self-sufficient. Alexandria was in many ways the ideal American pioneer who worked hard and gained her fortune. Even today the American public is much more likely to admire a self-made millionaire than they are a man who leads a simple life and is happy. Despite this attitude, the fast-paced life of the hardworking American today seems to lead to anger, road rage, and frustration. The damage that has been done to the planet in the last century will take years to repair, if it can ever be done. Given these things, one wonders if the Waischus chose the right path. Works Cited Neihardt, John G. Black Elk Speaks. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1932.    Cather, Willa. O Pioneers!. Los Angeles: LRS, 1997.   

Top 100 Common Job Interview Questions

Top 100 Common Job Interview Questions SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Job interviews are a key part of the hiring process. They can also be incrediblynerve-wracking! The best way to calm anypre-interview jittersis to prepare well-crafted responses to the major questions comingyour way. While you can’t predict exactly what the hiring manager will ask you, you can come upwithanswers to the most common questions. This guide contains the top 100 questions that hiring managers ask in a job interview. Before getting to the list, let’s consider why it’s so important to prepare for job interview questions, rather than just winging it. Why Should You Prepare for Job Interview Questions? Interviews are important; there’s no getting around that. They’re often your first opportunity to communicate directly with a hiring manager and advocate for yourself as the best person for the job. While some interviews are more conversational than others, none of them feel like the most natural socialdynamic. The interviewer’s going to ask you some open-ended, some specific questions about your skills and experiences, and you should be prepared to answer them in a strategic way. The last thing you want to do is go blank or start rambling about your childhood dog. To excel in your interview, you should prepare your responses to common interview questions.With enough mock interview practice leading up to the real thing, you can make sure your answerssound natural and leave an excellent impression. For more on how to answer common interview questions, check out our guide with tips and sample responses! For now, let’s go over how this list of 100 questions is sorted into categories. How Does This List Work? No interviewer's going to ask you 100 questions in a row unless they possess King Joffrey levels of cruelty. However, they might sample a few questions from each of the below categories to get a full sense of your skills and experiences. There are five categories of questions in this list: traditional, behavioral, cultural fit, logistical, and curveballs. Traditional questions are the ones with which you might already be familiar. They tend to be open-ended and ask about your background, goals, and work style. Behavioral questions are some of the trickiest, because they ask you to provide specific examples that illustrate an achievement, a learning experience, or even a failure. Cultural fit questions are also common, and they’re particularly important for organizations that place high value in workplace culture. These may feel more personal or creative, but your answers should still be tailored to the organization at hand. Logistical questions tend to focus on your work history, how long you plan to stay, and salary expectations. Curveball questions are the random ones that you might expect during an icebreaker on your first day of summer camp. Don’t dismiss these questions as unimportant, though, as they’re an opportunity to let your personality shine through. Curveball questions can also be another way that the manager gauges cultural fit. You’ll find 99 questions sorted into these five categories. As for the special 100th question? That one’s at the end of the list, and it’s a virtually universal question that every interviewee must be prepared to answer! Before getting to that final essential question, plus some extra tips on how to prepare, let’s start in with some of the most common traditional job interview questions. The "tell me about yourself" prompt is an old classic, like apple pie at Thanksgiving. Don'tbe surprised if your interviewer brings it to the table. Traditional Questions: Who Are You? What Are Your Qualifications for the Job? The questions in this category are fairly common interview questions that interviewers have been asking for years. They’re often some of the first questions in an interview that get the conversational ball rolling as the interviewer explores your professional skills, attitudes, and experiences. Check out the traditional job interview questions below, and then scroll down for some tips on how to prepare for these types of questions. Common Traditional Job Interview Questions 1. Tell me about yourself. 2. What do you consider to be your greatest professional strengths? 3. What would you say are your weaknesses? 4. Why do you want this job? 5. Why should we hire you? 6. What would you contribute to this job? 7. If you had a personal mission statement, what would it be? 8. If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be? 9. What do you feel makes you unique? 10. What do you find motivating? 11. How do you define and measure success? 12. Where do you see yourself in five years? 13. How does this position fit in with the career path you see for yourself? 14. Would you consider yourself a big-picture person or a detail-oriented person? 15. What are some of your hobbies? 16. What were some responsibilities in your previous job? 17. What’s your work style like? 18. What were some of your favorite things to do in your last position? 19. What were some of your least favorite things to do in your last job? 20. What would your manager say are your best strengths? 21. What would your manager say are areas that you need to develop more? 22. How do you make decisions? 23. What could you contribute to make this company better? 24. What are you looking for in your next position? 25. What’s your style of management? 26. Can you describe the best boss you ever had? 27. Can you describe the worst boss you ever had? 28. How do you manage your time? 29. What are you looking for regarding career development? 30. What’s a goal you have for self-improvement in the next year? 31. How has your education gotten you ready for your career? 32. If you got this job, what would some of your goals be? 33. How do you keep yourself organized? 34. Do you prefer working in a team or alone? Tips for Answering Traditional Questions As you can see, traditional questions tend to ask about your skills and what you would bring to the job. While some of the questions may sound more personal, like â€Å"tell me about yourself† or â€Å"what makes you unique?† they’re all openers to advocate for your professional qualifications. Your answers, therefore, should be tailored to the job and organization. A common mistake is to talk onlyabout your own goals and what you’re looking for in a new job. While a hiring manager does want to see your motivations and passions, she's also concerned withmaking a successful hire. She needs to see not just what you want, but what you could do for her organization. As you prepare your responses, then, you should consider the job description and what the company seeks. If one of the core competencies, or main skills, of the job is teamwork and collaboration, then you probably shouldn’t start talking about how much you prefer to work alone. You should bring in the core competencies of thejob in your responses, albeit in a natural-sounding way. In addition to tailoring your responses, a second tip for answering these questions is bringing in specific examples. Who doesn’t like to hear a good story? Even if the question doesn’t ask for a specific example, you could often benefit from sharing one, especially if you're someone who tends to drift into vague language. To make your answers more concrete, you could pinpointparticularinstances from your past. The next category, behavioral questions, explicitly asks you to bring in specific examples. Unless you’re a pro at thinking on your feet, these can be some of the most difficult questions to answer on the spot. Luckily, you’ll be prepared with your examples before you walk in the door! Interviewers ask behavioral questions so that you'll give specific examples oftimes that you succeeded, handled conflict, or, like this tired corkscrew, went above and beyond the call of duty. Behavioral Questions: How Do You Acton the Job? As someone who struggles to come up with a specific example when put on the spot, I think behavioral questions are pretty much the worst. At the same time, they’re also super common. Chances are, you’ll get asked a bunch of behavioral questions in your job interview. Hiring managers don’t just want to hear abstract ideas about your work ethic or skills. They want to hear about specific times when you achieved something, managed conflict, or bounced back after a failure. One rationale for these questions is that past behavior indicates future behavior. By gaining a sense of what you’ve done in the past, the hiring manager has a clearer vision of how you’ll perform in the future. The other reason behind these questions is that behavioral questions and answers are simply more interesting. They call for specific stories, and these stories make your candidacy more memorable and colorful. You want to leave a great impression, and intriguing anecdotes are one way to accomplish this. Below you’ll find some common examples of behavioral questions, followed by some tips for answering them. Common Behavioral Questions 35. Can you describe a time you demonstrated leadership? 36. Can you speak to a time that you had to handle criticism of your work? 37. Tell me about a time when your workload was especially heavy and how you dealt with it. 38. What would you do if you were asked to take on more assignments than you could conceivably finish by the expected deadlines? 39. Can you give me an example of a time you had to follow a policy with which you didn’t agree? 40. Tell me about a time you went above and beyond expectations at work. 41. Have you ever worked on a time when someone was not pulling his weight? What did you do? 42. Have you ever had trouble working with a manager? 43. Can you tell me about a time your boss disagreed with something you did? How did you deal with it? 44. How do you handle difficult customers? 45. How do you deal with stressful situations? 46. Have you ever had to deal with a coworker who put you down at work? What did you do? 47. Can you tell me about a time that you faced a difficult situation with a colleague? 48. Give me an example of a time that you failed. 49. Have you ever had to give someone tough feedback? How did you go about that? 50. Have you ever gone against official policy or directives? Why? What were the results? 51. Can you give me an example of a challenge or conflict you faced at work? Describe how you handled it. Tips for Answering Behavioral Questions As you can see, behavioral questions explicitly ask you to give specific examples. Your mission, then? To highlight success stories that show you possess some of the core competencies the interviewer is looking for. Just as all your answers should be tailored to the job at hand, so too should your examples be chosen based on the job description and organization. If problem-solving is a big part of the prospective job, then choose an example, if possible, that demonstrates your problem-solving skills. Similarly, if you’re asked to provide a failure, don’t choose a story where you failed because you lack one of the core competencies. If the position wants you to be highly organized, don’t go on and on about your problems with organization. In fact, you could subtly highlight the opposite; maybe there was a time you failed to look at the big picture because you were too concerned with details of organization, and you’ve since learned how to balance the two. As you know by now, you should tailor your responses, but don’t just tell the interviewer what you think she wants to hear or choose a cop-out answer, like â€Å"I work too hard† or â€Å"I care too much.† You still want to be authentic and true to yourself. The best way to ace these behavioral questions is to show up with a few prepared success stories in your mental suitcase. Perhaps you can packfour or five that relate to the most common questions - a time you showed leadership, a challenge you faced, a story about teamwork, an example of problem solving, and an instance of failure. One final tip about that â€Å"describe a time that you failed† prompt - don’t focus too much on failure. Be honest about the failure, but show how you saw it as a learning opportunity. Talk about how you acknowledged, addressed, and grew from your mistake. Your attitude toward setbacks may be just as important as the story you share. Now that you have a sense of those tricky behavioral questions and how to prepare for them, let’s look at the next major category: questions that aim to gauge your cultural fit. Maybe your ideal workplace values teamwork, innovation, or indoor climbing walls. Let the interviewer know what draws you to itsculture. Cultural Fit Questions:Do You Share Our Values? Organizational culture has always been important for employees, and today it seems tobe even more so. Many private companies, in particular, pay a ton of attention to workplace values and the happiness levels of employees. Good morale and workplace perks can improveindividual performance, retention, andteamwork, as well as prevent workplace conflict. Many hiring managers, therefore, will ask interview questions aimed at gaining a sense of your cultural fit. Check out some of the questions below, and then read on for a few tips on how to prepare for them. Common Cultural Fit Questions 52. What does teamwork mean to you? 53. What three qualities do you look for in a workplace? 54. How would you deal with a coworker you don’t get along with? 55. How well would you say you adapt to change? 56. What are you passionate about? 57. Describe your ideal company culture. What four or five characteristics does it have? 58. Who inspires you and why? 59. What motivates you to come into work everyday? 60. What was it like working at your last company? 61. What are some of your workplace values? 62. Do you prefer a more structured work environment or one where you can be more entrepreneurial? 63. What personality types would you say you work best with? 64. What are some activities you like to do outside of work, and how do they benefit your day-to-day job? 65. What would your friends tell me about you? Tips for Answering Cultural Fit Questions As you can see, a lot of these cultural fit questions focus on workplace values. They also bring out soft skills, like communication, flexibility, motivation, passion, and outside interests. While these questions are opportunities to let your personality shine through, don’t forget that you’re in a job interview. You still want to customizeyour answers to the organization, and the best way to do this is to research its culture online and, if possible, by speaking to its employees. The company website’s a great resource, as well as sites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor. If you know any people who work there, definitely reach out and ask them about their experiences. These cultural fit questions work two ways. The manager wants to see how you’d fit in, but you also want to make sure the culture aligns with your values and work style. Make sure it’s the sort of place you’d like to work and could be successful. Find out about values, and, if you share them, reflect this understanding and alignment in your responses. Logistical questions might ask about a gap in employment or a career change, such as, "Going from a dog walker to a NASA astronaut seems like a big change. Could you speak on that a bit?" Logistical Questions: Employment History and Salary Expectations Logistical questions tend to be straightforward. They might ask about details on your resume, your professional goals, or your salary expectations. Some of these questions, especially about salary, may show up later in the hiring process, like in a second interview. You should be prepared to discuss them, though, just in case. Below are some common questions that fall into this logistical category. Common Logistical Questions 66. You worked at your last company for a long time. Will it be difficult moving to a new firm? 67. Why have you changed jobs so often over the past few years? 68. If you got this job, how long would you plan to stay with us? 69. What did you earn at your last job? 70. What are your salary expectations? 71. Why do you have a gap in your job history? 72. Why do you think you can lead a team without any previous managerial experience? 73. Why do you want to join our company? 74. Why do you want to move from an academic field to the business world (or vice versa)? 75. Why should we give you the job over other applicants? 76. Would you jump ship if you received another offer? 77. What other companies are you applying to? 78. Why did you freelance for a long period of time? 79. What caused you to leave your last position? 80. Why do you want to leave your current position? 81. Why did you take a job that seems unrelated to your career path? Tips for Answering Logistical Questions While you may have already talked about your skills and experiences, these logistical questions will get you talking specifically about your professional history. Be prepared to speak on your last job, its responsibilities, and your reasons for applying elsewhere. If you have any gaps in employment or are making a career change, you should also be ready to speak on that. As for salary, interviewers may save this question for later in the hiring process, like a second interview. You shouldn’t be dishonest about what you’ve made in the past, but you may decline to share by saying that the two jobs are so different, you don’t feel your last salaryappliesto the current situation. If you’re just not sure, do some research on the company website and sites like Payscale and Glassdoor to see what you could expect from a comparable position. I’ve found these sites sometimes have such a big range it’s hard to be sure, but you can look at the available information and then decidewhat's a reasonable range for you. Again, as you should in all your responses, make sure to communicate your enthusiasm for the position and commitment to the organization should you be hired. Finally, let’s consider the fifth category of questions, the curveballs. Don't get thrown by randomquestions, like, "If you were a vacation, would you be a camping trip, agrouptour, or a luxury spa?" Actually, maybe that one's from a Buzzfeed quiz. Curveball Questions: The Odd and Unexpected We've reached the quirky curveball questions. Like they sound, these questions run the gambit of total randomness. They tend to be odd and imaginative, and are mainly asked to gain a sense of your personality and ability to think on your feet. Of course, if you've already prepared for the right ones, then you won’t have to think on your feet! Some questions aim to root out your entrepreneurial qualities or vision. Others seek to see how you self-reflect and make decisions. Others, well - it’s hard to say what some of these are getting at. That’s why I decided to call them curveballs! Check out some potential curveball questions below, along with tenreal-life examples that interviewers from big companies, like Dropbox and Trader Joe’s have asked prospective employees. Then check out some tips on how to prepare for the unexpected! Potential Curveball Questions 82. If you could live your life over again from the beginning, what’s one thing that you would change? 83. If you could be an animal, which one would you be and why? 84. If you could relive the last 10 years of your life, what would you do differently? 85. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? 86. What’s one new thing you taught yourself in the last year? 87. What would the name of your app be? 88. You have two minutes. Teach me something. 89. Why do people climb mountains? 90. From Space Exploration Technologies: When a hot dog expands, in which direction does it split and why? 91. From Whole Foods Market: Would you rather fight 1 horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses? 92. From Dropbox: If you’re the CEO, what are the first three things you check about the business when you wake up? 93. From Urban Outfitters: What would the name of your debut album be? 94. From J.W. Business Acquisitions: How would you sell hot cocoa in Florida? 95. From Hubspot: If I gave you $40,000 to start a business, what would you start? 96. From Trader Joe’s: What would you do if you found a penguin in the freezer? 97. From Boston Consulting Group: If you were a brand, what would be your motto? 98. From Delta Air Lines: How many basketballs would fit in this room? 99. From Uniqlo: If you had $2,000, how would you double it in 24 hours? Source of questions 90-99: Glassdoor.com Tips for Answering Curveballs Is it possible to prepare for the unpredictable? Sure, to some extent. While you may not know exactly what questions you’ll get asked, you can hone your skills of thinking on your feet. Improv actors, for example, don’t just get up on stage and see what happens. They keep their imaginations active and flexible with improvactivities. You might similarly try a rapid-fire question and answer practice session to see what you come up with. You should find that your answers come easier and more creative the moreyou warm up. As with all your other answers, you might be able to tailor your responses to the job. For instance, if you get asked about what kind of animal you would be, you could choose one that’s associated with leadership, like a lion, cleverness, like a monkey, or strong work ethic, like an ant, depending on what the job's looking for. At the same time, try not to overthink these too much. They’re more lighthearted and chances to reveal your personality and sense of humor. And if you find your mind totally goes blank, you could try to buy a little extra time with the old trick of, â€Å"That’s a great question. I’ll have to think about that for a second...† Now that you’ve read over 99 common interview questions in the five major categories, let’s take a look at the final question that almost every interviewer asks at the end of your meeting. Even if your interviewer doesn't ask you any of the previous 99 questions, you can be pretty sure that she'll ask you this next one! Final Crucial Job Interview Question Finally, you’ve made it to the end of the list and have seen 99 of the most common traditional, behavioral, cultural fit, logistical, and curveball questions that might come your way in the job interview. But we promised you 100 questions, and saved the nearly universal question for last. This question is an absolute must for your interview preparation. Almost every interviewer asks it, and there’s definitely a way that you can answer it wrong. Here it is: 100. Do you have any questions for me? Tips for the Final Question This final question’s not a particularly hard one, but it is very important. The biggest mistake you could make here is to say, â€Å"Nope!† The answer to this question should always be yes, and you should have at least two thoughtful questions to ask your interviewer. You may be sick of reading about how your answers should be tailored to the job and organization at hand, so I’ll just say it one last time: your questions should be tailored to the job and organization at hand (sorry). Your questions are one more opportunity to show your interest and enthusiasm. You can show that you’ve researched the organization and have a strong understanding of its culture and mission.Don’t ask questions that can be easily answered with a Google search. Similarly, don’t ask ones that you just talked about ten minutes before. What you already know about the company can inform your questions, though, as it shows you’ve done some digging. You might say, "I saw on your website that one of your long-term goals is xxx. Could you tell me about some of the specific steps you’ll be taking in the next few months to work toward this?" You couldask about a typical day in the office, what your team members would be like, or what qualities the company values most in its employees. For more suggestions on questions to ask at the end of your interview, check out this question and answer guide. So there you have it, one hundred of the most common questions that get asked in job interviews. In closing, let’s go over thekey pieces of adviceto remember as you prepare to rock your job interview. Here's one piece of advice: Do yourpreparation before you get to theinterview! Preparing forInterview Questions: FinalWords of Advice Interviews can be an intimidating hurdle in the hiring process, but believe it or not, they can also be exciting! They’re your opportunity to speak with your next potential manager and teammate, learn more about an organization, and show that you’re the best person for the job. With enough preparation, you can give succinct, thoughtful responses to any interview question. While you may not be able to completely eliminate all the unknowns, you can definitely reduce them considerably. As you consider how you would answer the above questions, make sure you keep thesefourmain guidelines in mind. Research the Job, Organization, and Your Interviewer In order to give a good interview, you mustbe knowledgeable about the job you’re applying for and the organization you wish tojoin. This knowledge will help youprepare tailored responses and present yourself as the best candidate for the job. You should thoroughly read the job description and learn about the organization from its website. You might read about it in news articles or reach out to current or former employees for their views.Once you have a clearer understanding of the job and workplace culture, you can start to analyze your own skillset to see how it matches up. This process of deconstructing the job description is an important step in customizing your answers, as you'll read below. Beyond researching the job and company, you should see also seek to learn more about your interviewer. You might track the person down on LinkedIn or via a bio on the company's website. You might discover a shared interest or personal connection that could spark conversation, whether you bring it up explicitly or not. I have a friend who learned that his next interviewer grew up on a military base in Georgia. When he interviewed, my friend used a bunch of military-related metaphors when describing his ideal management style. Apparently, his interviewer loved it, and my friend got the job. You don'twant to creep out your interviewer by repeating her LinkedIn profile back to her, but you mightdiscover a shared interest and work it into the conversation. In addition toshowing your enthusiasm for the job and organization, making a personal connection with your interviewer can never hurt! Collect Your Success Stories Have you ever heard the phrase, "Show, don't tell"? It means that you should give specific, illustrative examples and avoid vague, abstract language. It's a good rule forimproving your writing, and it's a good rule for improving your interview answers, too. Anyone can talk about how detail-oriented they are, but only people who actually possess this quality can share specific examples. Not only will anecdotes prove what you say about yourself, but they'll also be more memorable to the interviewer. As you read above, behavioral questions are all the rage these days. Interviewers want to get beyond the basics and dig into your past behaviors and experiences. They want to learn about how you've met a challenge, handled conflict, or interacted with your team in the past to get a clearer vision of how you'll behave in the new role. To answer these questions, you should be prepared with a few tried-and-true "success stories" from your past. These may come from your past job, or, if you're new to the workforce, from your education or perhaps volunteer work. You should be prepared to speak on some common themes, such as a time that you showed leadership, solved a problem, collaborated with your peers, faced a challenge, handled stress and pressure, or resolved conflict. As for the questions that ask about conflict or failure, try to choose an example that you learned. Frame itless as a failure and more as an opportunity for growth and improvement. Consider the context of your examples, like what led up to them and what the ramifications were.The interviewer may very well ask follow-up questions,so you should prepare to speak at length about your stories. This brings us to the next point, preparing for follow-up questions. The interviewer may be happy to follow your lead once the conversation gets flowing. Prepare for follow-up questions on your responses. Prepare for Follow-Up Questions An interview's not an interrogation. Most interviews aren't just going to shoot one question at you after another with nothing more than a nod in response to your answers. While the questions are important, the interviewer is also seeking to have a conversation and get to know you in a relatively brief period of time. Just as you can expect from any conversation, you'll probably get follow-up questions based on your responses. Your interviewer might ask you to give some more detail or provide some more context. If you talked about a challenge at work, the interviewer might ask what situations you think led up to that challenge or what changes in procedure you've made since. Once you've prepared your responses, consider what the interviewer might ask as a follow-up. What details could you elaborate on? How could your response branch into a related, but distinct direction? Just as you don't want to sound too rehearsed, you don't want your responses to be so tightly structured that you can't add additional ideas and details. If you find you have little to say about one of your success stories, then consider choosing onewith a bit more substance. Customize All of Your Answers As you read in the tips above, you can try to customize just about every one of your responses to the job at hand. Focus on your skills as they relate to the job description. In other words, what you say should not just be about you. It should also very much be about them. In most circumstances, the interviewer wants to make sure her next new hire possesses certain core competencies. Figure out what those core competencies are, and then reflect them in your responses. On the flip side, you might leave out other skills that aren't relevant. Highlight the ones that are most important in this particular context. Even if you don't have direct experience, you can show that you have skills that would transfer well to the role. By highlighting your transferable skills, you can show that you'd be successful in the new role, with or without previous experience. This idea of tailoring your answers to the job and organization is pretty much the fundamental overriding principle of all your interview prep. Aim to be knowledgeable, specific, and prepared to speak at length about what makes you the best person for the job! What’s Next? We’ve picked out the top interview questions to help you prepareyour best answers. Check out this guide with tips and sample answers to the most common job interview questions. What else can you do to rock your job interview? Check out this guide with tips for acing your interview, from picking out your power outfit to following up with a personalized message. Are you on the job hunt? This guide will help you write an excellent cover letter with a step-by-step template and six free cover letter samples.