How to Relieve Stress and Anxiety Through Yoga Essay Example for Free

How to Relieve Stress and Anxiety Through Yoga Essay Stress is an inevitable part of life. Our jobs, families and friends are constant potential sources of stress in our lives. People are constantly on the search for ways to deal with their stress. Yoga has been proven as a means of dealing with stress so in this essay I will discuss how yoga has been used to deal with stress and anxiety. By definition, Yoga is; â€Å"a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation†. I feel that it is a very calming and soothing form of exercise that also manages to improve health, flexibility and thought-processing skills. When people are stressed or suffering from anxiety, they tend to think less logically, sleep less, eat unhealthily and practice less exercise. However, dealing with ones stress is the best idea in improving ones lifestyle so, yoga is a practical solution for these issues. Specifically, yoga is more than just stretching. It loosens up the tense muscles in the body (due to the vast amounts of stretching) especially (the high stress areas); the neck, the shoulders and the back. It combines a loosening the muscles with regular deep breathing and relaxation of the mind. When practicing yoga, one must always â€Å"stay in the moment†, it is one of the key phrases of the activity. When people are stressed they constantly think of their next upcoming deadlines rather than focusing on the now. Yoga manages to relax the person by allowing you to think solely on the moment. When in a yoga pose you only think of the current pose and how it should match your breathing, thinking and balance. You cant think of your pose if youre thinking of your problems therefore, the poses are designed to make you think about the moment so you can successfully accomplish them. In doing so, you become so involved in your pose that you forget about the issues which caused you stress in the first place. Also, yoga emphasizes slow deep breathing which, in itself, is a means of dealing with anxiety therefore already helping the person to relax. This means that one of the core features of yoga is already a means of solving anxiety. Breathing is the key to yoga stress management. Instructors encourage people to focus on their breathing because it allows you to focus on something other than your stress. Listening to your own breath makes your problems seem further away because you pay more attention to your core self rather than your external issues. Every yoga class ends with a corpse pose. This pose is designed for deep relaxation. After undergoing several challenging poses that really stretch out the tense muscles, the corpse pose (or â€Å"playing dead†) allows your body to re-adjust whilst also relaxing the mind. Whilst â€Å"playing dead† I tend to not think about anything and just flow with the music like â€Å"a pebble flowing in the river†. This is possibly the most relaxing phase of yoga because of motionlessness of the body after an intense session. This phase can be so relaxing that many people even tend to fall asleep. This is clearly a sign that yoga works because, stressed people do not sleep easily. As college students, yoga can be very useful at peak times such as; before class, before a test or before going to bed. Before a test you can easily do some neck and shoulder rolls and relieve yourself. Before bed, if you have a lot of things on your mind, you can do a few stretches (maintaing them for 3 to 4 full breaths) and thus relax yourself enough to sleep comfortably without any impending thoughts. In conclusion, I feel that yoga is very useful for stress and anxiety relief. In my personal experience, yoga has helped me become a less stressed and thus more comfortable person because I have found an escape as a college student from the, occasionally, mundane and monotonous routine.

Secret of Greatness Essay Example for Free

Secret of Greatness Essay Hard Work and Opportunity Gets You Further Than Natural Talent â€Å"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.† ― Stephen King. Hard work and dedication is what will get you to the top. A person can have all the talents in the world but that can only get you so far. If you do not have the drive, determination, and dedication to succeed in whatever you do you will not succeed or conquer it as you would if you had put in the hard work to get better. Talent is overrated and overreacted. It is something that you are born with not something you have actually worked toward. The quote by Stephen King explains a lot it tells us that not only is talent cheap or something that is not worked for but it tells us that it is given and also it tells us what separates a talented individual from success is hard work which is something not given at all. Hard work is something you have to want for yourself and you have to go after it with everything you have to succeed. Also in the book â€Å"Outliers† it is said that working hard and practicing will get you further than sheer talent and that if you practice 10,000 hours you will be excellent at your sport or activity. The main thing that I took from this was work ethic, because in order for you to be excellent at something or the best you have to have a great work ethic which brings success. Take Tiger Woods for instance. He was a born winner right? Ever since Tiger was three years of age he had a golf club in his hands. He had competed many times and made a great impact at the professional level. But Tiger may have never got to the professional level if he had not worked. Ever since being a child to an adult he had worked toward his profession critiquing his skill making himself the athlete he is today. At a young age also Tigers father had instilled Tiger with a great deal of discipline which Tiger had carried with him as he worked toward his profession and devoted hours and hours into hard work in dedication. Through his use of discipline and hard work he had to remake his swing twice but he knew in order to be the best he would have to do so. A person that works hard is respected and looked up to because of the time he or she devotes to be the best. A person  that takes talent for granted and does not work hard is looked down upon. Talent is something that people are born with but if you do not take the opportunity to get better then you will not be the best. Opportunity is such a big word because it gives you the chance to succeed or be the best when we talk about hard work increasing your talent. Michael Jordan which is one of the best basketball players to ever live, but he may have never been the best player to ever live if it was not for opportunity and hard work. Michael Jordan was placed on the junior-varsity team at Laney High school in Wilmington N.C from the misrepresentation of his former coach Clifton â€Å"pop† Herring. Coach Herring had made this decision because most of the upperclassmen were guaranteed there starting positions on the varsity squad. At the time underclassmen hardly had played but Coach herring had made an exception for Michael`s fellow teammate Leroy Smith who had stood 6`7 and had made the varsity team. Even though Michael did not make the Varsity team he continued to ball out on his Junior Varsity team and make the best of it. However Over the summer he grew four inches taller and had worked hard t oward his goal to make his high school basketball team. His junior year, Michael had an opportunity to make the team and not to give up on his goal and that’s exactly what he did. Because of Jordan`s opportunity to strive for his goal to be the best, he had gone on to be known as one of the best players to ever step upon the court. I understand that people may say. â€Å"Well if the talent is there, why should I work?† And that in some sports it is kind of about talent more than work, but what I am arguing is that hard work and dedication will get you further than natural talent does. The outcome of a talented individual succeeding more than the hardworking individual in not as great as a hardworking individual succeeding over a natural born talented athlete or talented individual of any kind. In life you have to work hard to be at the top. Many people who sit back and rely on their natural abilities tend to pay the price because they never had that drive, determination, and work ethic. Many athletes are gifted in many ways and have lots of talent but they tend to lose sight of what is important and that is the hard work that you put in. Many of us are faced with many struggles in our lives but in order to overcome our struggles we have to be prepared to work hard and go after what we want. Things in life are not going to be given to you and people that use their natural ability and never  work hard tend to experience many struggles because they have no preparation to conquer the task at hand. Take Bill Gates for instance a money making machine who started out as just an intelligent, ambitious, and determined kid that had been known as the smartest kid on campus. Bill Gates talent was his broad spectrum of knowledge. As a kid he was enrolled in a private school for his outstanding efforts in the classroom. Bill then was introduced to computers and began to take a huge interest in technology. Since then Bill had lived on computers, working on them and spending many strenuous hours critiquing his skill. He then was put in a programmer`s group, they found a new way to apply their computer skill at the University of Washington. In the next year, they got their first opportunity in Information Sciences Inc, in which they were selected as programmers. They were allowed free computer time for exchange to work on a piece of software that could be used to automate company payrolls. Bill had spent twenty to thirty hours a week on computers or more. This opportunity got Bill prepared and made him even more focused on his goal in life. Bill had a talent but it all goes back to his work ethic. He constantly worked hard and put up lots of hours in order to now be one of the richest men in America and he still is working and striving for even more money. We can all be like Michael Jordan or Bill Gates but we have to recognize the opportunities which are given and take full advantage of each and every opportunity and use each opportunity to strive for better. Believing that hard work will get you further then natural talent. Remembering that by working hard and putting forth one hundred percent in whatever you do you will be prepared and ready for what’s in your way ahead. By preparing yourself you will not have to pay the price of failing because of going off of natural born talent all along. Remember no one looks up to a person that doesn’t work for what God has given them, people look up to ones that strive to be the best by putting in the blood, sweat, and tears to succeed at their goals. Work Cited Colvin, Geoffrey. Secret of Greatness. 19 10 2006: n. page Golliver, Ben. High school coach: I never cut Michael Jordan. CNN.Sports, 10 January 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. . Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers, the Story of Success. Little, Brown Company

Should We Eat Pork Philosophy Essay

Should We Eat Pork Philosophy Essay Nowadays, people pay more attention on choosing what we eat. At the same time, the issue of animal rights and welfare is being raised and discussed in the society. Dogs have been considered as our companion animals for over 30,000 years (Waugh, 2012), while pigs are being considered as farm animals in most countries. Dogs are loved and cared by human; staying with us and we provide them with comfortable living environment. However, pigs live in intensive factory farms with indecent living conditions, being packed in small areas and treated inhumanely, and being treated as food to human. This situation reveals the problem of unequal treatment between pigs and dogs and it leads us to the topic: should we eat pork if we do not eat dogs? Most people against eating dog meat but they allow eating pork; they object to cruelty to dogs while enjoying the produce by cruelty to pigs. We are showing our prejudice towards pigs when we are labelling them as meat, because it turns pigs as something, and we are objectifying them as food to human (Grillo, 2012). They are both animals, but what are the differences between pigs and dogs and what is wrong in pigs that make them deserve poorer treatment? Given that pigs and dogs are both animals, then they should be given same treatment. If we refuse to eat dogs, then we should not eat pork. In the following, I will be introducing the problem of moral inconsistency, followed by arguing that indeed pigs and dogs are very similar, and the value of them should be independent of their relationship with humans. Possible arguments from the opposite side, along with some responses will be addressed in the later part. Psychologists mentioned that people are always inconsistent in our attitude and behaviour, and Elizabeth Anderson once mentioned in her book that she is puzzled and confused with moral inconsistency when she saw pet owners wearing fur coat (Herzog, 2011). We are fed with absurdity when we have inconsistent attitudes and selective empathy towards pigs and dogs, and carnisim is the invisible belief system which drives us to choose what to eat (Joy, 2011). We need to be consistent in ethics so as to avoid contraction between our beliefs, values and actions. Being consistent also reflects our integrity as human beings. There are several reasons behind moral inconsistency. The A-B-C model is a widely accepted theory which talks about our attitudes. Our attitude is guided by three components, they are Affect, Behaviour and Cognition (Herzog, 2011). Attitude is how people think and feel towards something, behaviour is your action, cognition is how well you understand that issue. Sometimes, people may encounter moral inconsistency because of keeping a pet, which they are emotionally attached to dogs or other companion animals; or they do not understand how pigs suffering during the process of slaughtering, which they do not consider it as an issue to pigs to be treated inhumanely and killed. People may refuse to eat pork once they see, smell or listen to sounds and situation in the slaughterhouse. Chris Diehm, an environmental philosopher discovered that even when people are pointed out with moral inconsistency, we often think of ways to turn personal behaviour into something reasonable and justifiable (Herzog, 2011). Some of us do realise the differences in our relationships and the way we treat different pigs and dogs; however, we remove our inconsistency by changing our beliefs instead of changing our behaviour so as to feel comfortable. People are unwilling to admit that we are inconsistent or incoherent mainly due to our interest and selfishness, some love the taste of pork and they defend eating pigs. Although Hal Herzog mentioned that moral incoherence is one of the inevitable features of human nature (Herzog, 2011), it is not an excuse of treating pigs and dogs unequally. Human nature does not justify moral incoherence; rather, our human nature, especially our ability to reason and intelligence makes us distinctive from other animals. Instead, human should make good us e of the ability to reason and morality to achieve moral coherence and consistency. Now I will turn to the reasons why pigs and dogs deserve same treatment from human. First of all, pigs and dogs are similar in two ways, both psychologically and physically. In psychological point of view, pigs and dogs are also sentient animals, which they have emotions and they have the ability to experience happiness and sadness. Pigs can be both optimists and pessimists, and their living environment is one of the factors affecting their emotions (Berkoff, 2011). Furthermore, both of them have long term memory of their experience in pain and pleasure, especially for pigs, they not only suffer their own pain, but witness and remember pain of others (PETA, 2013). It has been proved in different scientific reports that both pigs and dogs are very intelligent. They can also develop complex relationships with other species, and they care what happens to them (Grillo, 2012). Each animal, including pigs and dogs has their unique personality and characteristic. In biological point of view, according to the classification of living things, pigs and dogs belong to the clas s of mammals. They have many common characteristics, such as being vertebrates, warm-blooded, having furs and hairs and sweat glands, as well as they undergo internal fertilization. In terms of physical appearance, they have similar teeth and heart structure. They can also perform simple tasks that children are able to do, and doing different tricks like jumping hoops, bowing and standing (Angier, 2009). It is also found that both pigs and dogs have certain preferences towards temperature, such as under cold conditions, dogs need to wear clothes, and pigs can turn on the heater when they are given the chance and turn it off when they feel hot (PETA, 2013). There are a lot misunderstandings or unknown facts about pigs that makes them inferior to dogs. Regarding the psychological and physical similarities, differences in biological structure or emotions do not justify unequal treatment towards pigs. Secondly, some people hold the idea that human are superior to other animals, so that we have the right to treat them according to their relationships with us, and their values depends on how close we are. Paul Taylor brought out the idea of species egalitarianism and biocentrism on the ground that not only are animals members of the community, they are also teleological centres of life that each animal is a unique individual pursing its own good in its own way (Taylor, 1986). Generally, there are three kinds of values being identified in animals, which are the commodity, amenity and moral value (Norton, 1988). Commodity value refers that species can be made into products and being sold in market, for example wool and alligators for making clothes and handbags. Amenity value refers to the presence of animals which improves our lives in a recreational way, such as fishing, hunting or watching performances. Moral value refers to values in species themselves, which includes intrinsic an d inherent value; and that value is independent of human (Regan, 2006; Taylor, 1986). The moral value is a universal value, which can be found in all species and it is the same in all species. Unlike commodity and amenity value, moral value does not come in any degree (Regan, 2006). Therefore, animals have their own life and they do not fully depend on human although different species are interdependent in some way. Even if their values depend on human, it would be a mistake if we overlook their own moral values and independence. Moral value of animals is highly related to the problem of moral inconsistency. Most people responding to some questionnaires stated that they treasured and valued the independent value of animals, which they agreed animals exist independent of any use (Randall, 1986). In spite of the findings from the questionnaires, human place commodity and amenity values on top of moral value of animals in most of the time. Those three values should come together in parallel, and hold equal importance. Furthermore, animals with further relationship with us do not mean that we should or have the rights to treat them unequally and inflict harm on them. We do not know someone does not mean we should hurt that person, and the same applies to animals. Pigs and dogs are independent creatures; they do not live for us. Despite pigs and dogs are highly similar and they have independent moral values, people hold the opposite view have other arguments that they believe it is fine to treat pigs and dogs in different way. In the following, I will be presenting their objections and some responses why their arguments do not stand. Some people may argue that pigs and dogs are very different in nature, which means they are not the same when they are born to and born for. People mean that dogs are bred to be friends and companions of human, while pigs are bred as farm animals to be food and meat to feed human. The ones holding this view consider both dogs and pigs as means to human. We should not consider pigs and dogs as tools to serve and satisfy human needs since we are not the only species on the world (Regan, 2006). They do not live for us as mentioned previously that animals have independent moral value from us. The nature indeed does not shape animals distinctively for different purposes or uses; it does not separate animals from animals into different categories. It is our intuition or practices which lead us to the idea that pigs and dogs are different. Using the example of human, we are not born to be someone; it is our experience that shapes us. Therefore, it does not make sense in claiming that pigs a nd dogs are born differently. People may say that history and our own culture contributes to the differences between pigs and dogs and the act of eating pork, it makes nothing wrong in following our customs. We develop our practices by learning from our ancestors and parents, copying their way of living including their eating habits. However, following culture and customs does not mean we are acting rightfully or the act is ethically good. For example, racism, gender inequality and slavery existed since long time ago; do we say that they are justifiable because our culture and customs that treat people in different manners and ways? We should not make judgements only base on culture and customs, but also our morality, critical mind and rational thinking. It is undeniably difficult to change our practices and beliefs in a short period of time. A person is easily being tempted when the idea of treating pigs and dogs first comes to his mind; and it certainly takes time to change our habit (Herzog, 2011). Another argument which is likely to be given by pet lovers who eat meat is that dogs have higher instrumental value. In the past, dogs hunt for human and they are being considered as loyal since long time ago. They stay with us during our ups and downs, offering love and companionship. They can protect human, our property and children, dogs are also being used to detect bombs and drugs (Wogrinrich, 2011); while pigs are only being considered as food to human. Although dogs seem to have higher instrumental values in our life, actually they are equipped with all those talents because they are trained. Some may say dogs can recognise drugs because of their sensitivity in smelling. However, when we look deeply on how dogs identify different types of drugs, it is because they are being taught by human. If they are not trained, their strengths could not be expressed. It is because we human choose them to be taught rather than pigs, it does not mean that pigs cannot perform those tasks and actions, pigs are also trainable as they are intelligent. Pigs can also be our companion animals and we can keep them in our homes. We stereotyped pigs as stupid and dirty, which refrained people from getting close with them in the past. In this way, we cannot support the argument that we do not eat dogs because they are useful, it is human who makes them useful, and we can also provide pigs with skills so that they can have higher instrumental value. Rick Dove, an animal welfare campaigner once said Its an idiotic double standard: you cant kick a dog, but you can lock a pig up in a small crate and take her piglets away before she can nurse them properly, as any mother is programmed to do. This is mans insane inhumanity at its worst. (Kirby, 2010); dog lovers who claim that they love and care about animals are contradicting if they eat pork, who truly love animals should not be morally defending causing one harm and suffering to satisfy their own pleasure. It is hypocritical to love one but totally neglecting the other. If we agree to eat pork, we should accept eating dogs as well regarding their similarity and moral values. If we refuse to eat dogs, then we should not eat pork. Years ago, people have not thought of refusing to eat shark fins due to our traditions and customs, yet people are asking others stop eating shark fins now. Some may not think of treating pigs and dogs and other animals consistently and coherently similarl y. Value changes as time passes, it is the matter of time that people should put this matter into practices. Not only between pigs and dogs, but the other animals should also be given same treatment to show our respect to them as one of the members in community.

Aviation Industry Essays -- Informative, Aviation

General Aviation Brief History: The civil aviation world consists of two categories according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): scheduled airline service and general aviation (FAA, n.d.). The Aviation industry as we know it today was born from General Aviation (GA), and both their histories are inextricably linked. People’s ambition to fly stretches back to ancient times, of tales and legends passed down from Greek civilizations, and a passionate drive to master the sky. It is in this same spirit that GA currently resides. The enthusiasm people have for aviation is arguably, unrivalled. There’s a strong sense of camaraderie within the GA industry, a sense of bravado that lends itself to any such death defying occupation. The current GA industry is comprised of two parts: Private operators, described as those who fly without compensation and Charter operators, describes as those who operator for compensation (FAA, n.d.). As of today, general aviation makes up more than 1 percent of the U.S . Gross Domestic Product and supports almost 1.3 million high-skilled jobs in professional services and manufacturing and hence is an important component of the aviation industry and the economy as a whole (AOPA, n.d.). The aforementioned divisions of GA can be further defined, per the FAA’s Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR), as Part 91 and Part 135 operators: ïÆ'â€" Part 91: These regulations are in place for aircraft owners that operate for non-commercial purposes. These are typically private individual or corporations that fly without compensation. ïÆ'â€" Part 135: These consist of aircraft that fly for commercial, ‘for-hire’ purposes. These are typically ‘charter’ flights which are compensated. Comparable to Part 121(Commercial Airlines... ... a ‘grass-roots’ approach by which each individual is given a portion of the responsibility for security. This method commonly practiced in airports, where regular concerned citizens report suspicious activity and items to security personnel. This method has proven successful in the realization of lowered accident rates in the GA community as stated by Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nicolas Sabatini "This record is due to a dedicated commitment to safety by everyone in general aviation." (Sweet 2006) It is important to keep a level headed perspective when dealing with issues of security, especially in the aviation field. At times, the knee-jerk reactionary rules imposed by the TSA may, very well, ensure the security of the issue, but a careful balance must be struck between this dogged need for security and essential opportunity for nurtured growth.

A Complete Cleopatra Essays -- Cleopatra Different Perspectives Essays

A Complete Cleopatra In the tragic play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare comments, â€Å"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other word would smell as sweet† (2.1.85-86). A word can have many meanings depending on a person’s perspective. Cleopatra is a â€Å"rose† that has been depicted under many names. Throughout history numerous authors have sought to depict her character and their differing opinions have made her name one which resounds in very different ways. The Roman historian Plutarch created Cleopatra the political manipulator; John Dryden illustrated Cleopatra the ultimate sexual woman; George Bernard Shaw offered Cleopatra the uneducated impetuous young child-queen; and, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote of Cleopatra the martyr of love. The character of Cleopatra presented by Shakespeare is a complex combination of each of these traits and is thus the most memorable and meaningful depiction. The Cleopatra that emerges from Plutarch’s writing is a manipulative and scheming political woman who dominates both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. In his Roman Lives, Plutarch offers a biased historical account of Mark Anthony with frequent references to Cleopatra. According to M.S. Mason, Plutarch does not fulfill his role as an objective historian and deliberately vilifies the character of Cleopatra (Mason). It is almost a completely negative portrayal of the Egyptian queen. She is referred to as a â€Å"charmer† (Waterfield 343) with â€Å"devastating effects on Caesar† (514). Her â€Å"eloquence [and] argumentative cunning† (382) are described as a means of drugging and bewitching her men (392). Plutarch describes one situation when Cleopatra is afraid of Octavia’s political power and she goes about weeping and starving herself to manipulate... ...the Egyptian queen, it can be found in the character that emerges in Antony and Cleopatra. Bibliography: Bernard Shaw, George. Three Plays for Puritans. London: Penguin Books Ltd., 2000. Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. The Norton Shakespeare: Tragedies. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1997. Helvarg, David. â€Å"Cleopatra: What Kind of a Woman Was She, Anyway?† American Theatre 14:4 (Apr. 1997): 5-8. Jones, Chris. â€Å"Still Seductive After All These Years.† American Theatre 14.4 (Apr. 1997): 4. Mason, M.S. â€Å"The Allure of Cleopatra.† Christian Science Monitor 93.297 (25 Jan. 2002): 13. Noyes, George R., ed. Selected Dramas of John Dryden. Chicago: Scott, Foresman & Company, 1910. Percival, Florence. Chaucer’s Legendary Good Women. New York: Cambridge UP, 1998. Waterfield, Robin, trans. Plutarch: Roman Lives. New York: Oxford UP, 1999.

Ludlow And Dudley Castle :: Papers

Ludlow And Dudley Castle Ludlow Caste was built around 1085. Castles built around this time were mostly Motte and Bailey. This made a good defence but was not typical of castle defences. Ludlow Castle was the first stone castle, which was unusual. Because of its Royal Connections a lot of money was spent on Ludlow Castle especially on better defences. Dudley Castle on the other hand is different and is a Motte and Bailey castle. Motte and Bailey castles are typical and were common. Later on Dudley Castle was demolished and remade into a stone castle. Dudley Castle is built on a natural hill, which is a good defence whilst Ludlow Castle is not built on a hill but has a steep 100ft drop. A steep drop makes it harder for the enemy to climb up or attack. This defence is not typical because no other castle will have a 100ft drop. This is an excellent choice of location and makes an ideal defence. Dudley Castle has evidence of a Motte running around because I noticed a pond and ditch like features. Ludlow Castle only had a ditch around the inner bailey. We know this is not a Motte because it has a door room inside the ditch; this is probably where they went through to collect the dead bodies of their enemies. Both castles have barbicans and both castles also have high walls. Ludlow Castle has a river and so has a drawbridge. Dudley and Ludlow Castle both have crenellations. Ludlow Castle also has machicolations this meant that it was well defended as they could throw missiles from the flanking towers above. The most typical thing about both castles is that they both have a Keep, which was the most important part of the castle. Most of Ludlow Castles' defences are typical but it has a few which are original. For example the 100ft drop. I think Ludlow's defences are very strong and it would be hard to conquer. [IMAGE] [IMAGE] Sirrvet Bukhari 11W Ludlow And Dudley Castle Coursework

Human Resource Development and Strategy Essay

Abstract The purpose of this portfolio project is to assess the learning experienced and my development during my group project. Also, to explain the methods and approaches implicated in completing the training plan; my involvement and participation in the group project. This Final HR Portfolio Project will present the reader a thorough analysis of my contribution to the group project. Final HR Portfolio Project Introduction The purpose of this portfolio project is to assess the learning experienced and my development during my group project. Also, to explain the methods and approaches implicated in completing the training plan; my involvement and participation in the group project. I will conduct a self-evaluation of my participation in the project and express my beliefs and perceptions. In addition, I will answer the following questions: †¢Was the training program the team developed effective in meeting the written objectives †¢The challenges the team and I met and the actions I took to address and resolve the problem †¢I will explain how the interpersonal relationships within the team change from the beginning to the end of the project †¢Convey the effectiveness of the overall team project to me as an individual learning activity and what I learnt that was totally new to me †¢What I would do differently if I had it to do all over again and why? †¢I will describe how could the project have been a better learning process? With specific thoughts on improving the course. †¢Lastly, particular attention will be given to the team experiences and the effectiveness of communication Statement about my own perceptions I went into this project not knowing the amount of work it takes to assess, design, develop and evaluate a training program. I believe that I emerge from this project with new profound knowledge and I learnt how to enhance my training program development for future training needs of my employees. Self-evaluation for participation in the project In completing a self-evaluation for my participation in the group project, I found that I had put forth a lot of time into completing this project. My strengths in the project were as follow: I was able to research my part of the project efficiently and I found some very useful information, I compiled and refined the paper. My weakness in this team assignment was my impatient with the team’s leader continuous duplicate posting of the same information, but I the end of the day, I had to remind myself that it was her managing style and to bring the project to fruition, I had to overcome my impatience. I believe that I have done this assignment to the best of my abilities and if I could have improve my part of the assignment, it would have to be instead of having done so much research that was not even use in the final project; I should have had research only the key points that was going in the slides. Lesson learned and I now know better for next time. Effectiveness of team meeting written objectives The training program strategy our team developed epitomizes the approach that the Dell Company need to implements to make sure that presently and in the future, the call center customers interactions support the attainment of its goal of customer satisfaction by widening the skills and aptitudes of the call center’s employees and managers alike. I judge that it can be expressed that the team’s training program development has indeed met its written objectives and if Dell HR strategically implements the plan, then I believe the group’s training program should be successful. What challenges did you and your team meets? What actions did you take to address and resolve the problem? Whenever a team assembled together there bound to be some challenges and the action and reaction of each individual member of the team can make or break the team. Such a statement is true in the case of my involvement in this group’s training program plan. Since I was the compiler for this group project; I believe one of our major challenge was the fact that we misunderstood the direction given by the instructor and some group member’s portion of the research for the project were somewhat off topic, some were trying to evaluate the training program (when the directive stated otherwise) and some of the suggestions were not helping moving the project forward. Another challenge was the fact that we ended up with a vast amount of data from different team member and most of them were unusable. The action I took to address and resolve the challenges were by omitting some of the data and ensure that the remaining information was suitable to satisfied the requirement of the training program Interpersonal relationships Changes The interpersonal relationships within the group did change somewhat. But to put this into prospective, after taken many upper-level courses for my BS program here at Walden, which required my involvement with group projects–I had my share of interpersonal relationships changes and some were never amended. However, the changes that occurred during this group project were minor, compared to others and the team experience/interaction was pleasant. Nadler (1998) point out: â€Å"Develop and communicate a clear image of the future state† (Nadler, 1998). To be specific, Nadler’s point of communication was taken to whole new level during this project. For example, one interpersonal relationships change that transpired during the beginning to the end of the project were the fact that the project leader did not give the team members a chance to select their own question(s) to answer; she assigned the questions and some of the roles without the prior agreement from the te am members. Additionally, when the timeline set forth by her was not followed down to the minute, she sent constant emails and posted many messages on the group discussion board that went unanswered by most of the team members. Nonetheless, for the sake of completing the project on a timely manner, our interpersonal nuisances were resolved, team members had became more flexible and useful, members were offering helpful suggestions for the completion of the training program plan and at the end of the project, the group discussions were more lively and our training program plan were effective. How effective was this overall team project to you as an individual learning activity? What did you learn that was totally new to you? The group project Rubric stipulated the context and design measurements for the competition of the group’s project, which, in conjunction with our groups’ own research, led to the development of the call center training program plan. The training program design, development, instruction, and evaluation were further enhanced with each individual contribution to ensure that the training program meets all design requirements and capable of accomplishing the call center staffs training needs. As Honey et al (1996) defined learning as: â€Å"Learning has happened when people can demonstrate that they know something that they did not know before (insights, realizations as well as facts) and when they can do something they could not do before (skills)† (Honey et al, 1996). I believe that I have gained plenty of knowledge from this group project experience. From the training program development, to the detailed training program, I judge that it was indeed effective for my individual learning endeavor and I learned the mechanics necessary to create a successful training program. What I learned that was totally new was the formatting of the contents for the training program utilizing PowerPoint. What would you do differently if you had it to do all over again? Why? Having the chance to redo this project all over again, I probably make myself available to be the project leader and direct the team to focus their attentions toward the requirements of the project. By doing so, I would be able to filter out any unnecessary tension between the group members. How could the project have been a better learning process? I believe that as a team, we could have made better use of the tools available to us to streamline the completion of the project and tools such as the chat-room, and file sharing could have been incorporated to foster a smoother workflow. As far as improving the project itself, I am not able to provide any clear assessment because of the fact that I do not have any other groups to compare our work with ¬Ã¢â‚¬â€œfor as such has been my experience here at Walden. On the other hand, I do think that the formation of the groups should be done at the end of the first week of class to allot plenty of time to the group members to get acquainted before the start of the project. If such a suggestion is not feasible, then changing the due date for submission of the project could better the learning process. Conclusion The group training program plan has outline all the essential assessment, design, development, instruction, and evaluation (ADDIE) of training development planning and the proper implementation of the training program will ensure that the call center will be effective. In addition, in case of decreased in the call center productivity or an increased in customer dissatisfaction, could force the organization to take a careful look at its training program, Dell should put together a systematic way to evaluate and do a retraining assessment of the call center staffs to help lessen the number of customer issues. Additionally, our team did a great job creating the training program plan and our instructor’s feedback made a big difference. References Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2010). Effective training: Systems, strategies, and practices (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall. Honey, P., & Mumford, A. (1996). The Manual of Learning Styles (3rd ed.). Maidenhead, NJ: Honey Publications. Nadler, David A. (1998). Champions of change: How CEOs and their companies are mastering the skills of radical change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass