Business Psychology Essay Example for Free

Business Psychology Essay In this era of globalization, every organization must design its own strategy in terms of running its business at excellent level to survive and stay in competition. Trigger factors of higher demands that addressed to organizations are; emergence of free market which means that competitors are not only from the local market but also come from organizations all over the world, technological advances that developed rapidly over time also has role in higher demands that has been exposed to organizations in determining that everyone inside the organization must be compatible with the rapid development of technological advances at their workplace. Intense competition environment as already mentioned above certainly lead to tendencies for organizations in emerging innovations, creativities, enhancement of added value, service excellences, competitive prices and acceleration of process business plot as an objective to be â€Å"the winner† in competing with other organizations. A paradigm shifting in the design of the organizational strategies is necessary to be developed by organizations in order to survive in spite of the free market enforcement. One of the strategies that can be applied is building an effective team in the organization, the transformation in working method from individual to team work as the main focus must bring psychological effects for every individual in the organization. Every member in the organization is forced to be part of their team, regardless to their preference to work as individual or as a team. This phenomenon also brings the â€Å"domino effect†; each member in the organization will be evaluated not only for their field competencies related to their job performance, but also personal competencies related to perform effectively as a team member (team work competencies) will be evaluated by the organization. In the realization  of forming an effective team, more than one strategy related to competencies in team building, which are parts of the business psychology area, must be combined in a synchronous way. Business psychology can be use as a source in designing and implementing an organizational strategy, especially for the accentuation in understanding individual behavior and self improvement basis when they are put and work together in a team. There some business psychology focuses that can be used in designing a strategy which at the end also can be used as references in building personal competencies needed in order to perform as an effective team. These are the beneficial focuses: 1. Perception and personal reality Every individual has cognitive limitation in responding to information that they received, as a result of that phenomenon, they are forced to pick information selectively regarding to which received information associated as valuable and which is invaluable, which data that will be taken to the next level of information process. Related to selectivity process, individual tend to use heuristic process, an information processing which characterized by incomplete usage of given data, only based on general issues and experiences, and all those information processed quickly. This information processing form has potential in bringing biases, misunderstanding, and inaccurate result in processing information. Based on the implementation of information processing above, in interacting with other individual, stereotypes and expectations emerged. Stereotyping is a judgment processing of someone that made only based on perceptions to the group where they can be categorized. Expectations from each individual not always positively responded by the other party where they are interacting with each other. Expectations also correlate with communication styles that will be used in interactions. 2. Team ship In building an effective team, many approaches must be used and collaborated in a synchronous way. Defining roles in each team member is an important aspect for balancing the roles of team members in order to optimize the team’s outcomes and coherence. One of the models that can be used in describing team roles in details is â€Å"team roles model† by Belbin : An effective team, in the process basis is characterized by these indication processes; active listening, sharing leadership, taking turn-not interrupting, positive reframing, rescuing eac other’s views, spontaneous and open praise and elaboration of ongoing ideas. In terms of their task performance, an effective team is characterized by these indication processes; analyzing, focus on results, reflecting, open rejection-goal oriented, open rejection-based on data, seeking opinion, seeking clarification and closure. There are some important key behavior in an effective team, such as: open communication, mutual respect, shared output responsibility, agreement through consensus, active disagreement, clear individual responsibilities and roles, subordinate own goals to group objectives, engender high team morale, receptive to new ideas and change, and constructive and supported feedback. There are two applicable models that can be useful in order to design the strategy for establishing an effective team, and they are: Jungian model and Tjosvold model. a. Jungian Model b. The Ideal Team System by Tjosvold Sharing organizational expectations, business strategies and visions, core  values, organizational cultures and organizational objectives, can be defined as envisioning. Showing interest about team member’s visions, task clearances, valuing intercultural differences, and transferring the idea of the team ship’s paradigm importance are efforts in uniting the team. Bringing out loyalties, responsibilities, knowing potential of team members and assigning them based on that, and motivate them when they need motivation are characteristics in the empowering step. After being empowered, exploration in discovering problems and focusing on finding solutions can be established, diversities can be managed in finding the best solution, and all that will raise the team’s awareness to the importance of learning over time to have the upper hand in the market competition. After the best solution is reached, reflecting what the team has been through at every step of the cycle above can be very important as the source of any plan or step that needs to be revised on the next period in order to perform as an effective team. 3. Conflict resolution There are some causes of conflicts that usually appear in organizations: competition, scarcity of resources, interdependence/dependency, conflict in objectives and tasks, differences of opinion and of influence, differences in status, cultural differences, change, misperception, miscommunication, different ways of seeing things, personal preferences, pace of response, range of response and form of response, individual differences and emotional defenses. Traditionally, from all causes of conflicts that mentioned above, individual differences and emotional defenses are the main issues in organizations. In dealing with conflicts, there are three natural reactions that are usually expected from the individuals involved: striking back (leads to escalation, potentially damaging the relationship), giving in (usually results in poor outcome, can be seen as rewarding bad behavior), and breaking off (sometimes can be beneficial, often very costly, hasty and regretted). Regarding to conflict resolution, application of negotiation competencies can be very useful. There are five stages in negotiation process; orientation, position taking, search for solutions, crisis/deadlock, settlement and finalization. It is important to each team member to identify their position in those stages that are related in optimizing conflict resolution process. By knowing and sharing their each position, they can build the same perceptions in finding the best conflict resolution scheme. Principled approach is a combined technique in negotiation from soft and hard style of positional bargaining. In this approach, participants are problem solvers, the goal is a wise outcome reached amicably and efficiently, people and the problem must be separated, must be soft on the people and hard on the problem, independent of trust is proceed, the focus is on interests not the positions, interests are being explored, having a bottom line is avoided, options for mutual gain are invented, multiple options are developed, the use of objective criteria is insisted, a result is reached based on standards independent of will, there is tendency to be open to reasons and yield to principle, not pressure. Conflicts can lead to project delays, missed market opportunities, confused communication, inconsistent information, teams fail and difficult to retain good staff. Considering the effects of unresolved conflict, there are three category : first order effects (quantifiable) can be counted by employee replacement cost, including termination costs and recruitment, second order effects (harder to quantify) which can be observed by increased supervision or management activities , and third order effect (impossible to quantify) when its already revealed in passive aggressive behaviors. Look more:  problem focused coping essay There are two types of conflict; task focused, which is characterized by differences of views and opinions, based on facts and reasoning, and related to intellectual matters. The other type is relationship focused conflict, characterized by anchored in personal differences, influenced by history/assumptions, and related to feelings and emotions. There is a model by Thomas Kilmann which explained deliberately about correlation between  assertiveness and cooperativeness in dealing with conflict. 4. Decision making There are two types of decision making process that people tend to implement, they are: width (diverging) and depth (converging). Diverging type is characterized by some points; seeking options/strategies, works with multiple perspectives, requires more options, considering new ideas, combining options/lateral ideas, and creative suggestions. On the other hand, converging type is characterized by: seeking consensus, seeking clarification, seeking structure, review based on new information, analytical, making inferences, assess consequences based on data, strong defense of viewpoint, clear decisions and outcomes. The usage of both types can be based on the situation that the decision making processes is taking place in the organization. Combination of width and depth are expected and can be the best option in decision making process.

Night by Elie Wiesel

Night by Elie Wiesel Kurtis Mayes Night by Elie Wiesel is a terrifying but powerful autobiography. Eliezer or Elie Wiesel was born in the town of Sighet in Transylvania. He was just a teenager when he was moved to the ghetto then sent away to the concentration camps. Many events in the world have been captured in history books but among the ones that we have heard about, the holocaust is the one that most of us remember. A holocaust is a destruction or slaughter on a mass scale. The Jewish Holocaust was a controlled, state financed torture and killing of roughly six million Jews by the Nazi government led by Adolf Hitler. Apart from the Jews, other groups considered inferior or anti-establishment such as Romans and Gypsies were killed. Moshe the Beadle was the first character introduced in the book Night. Moshe, some may say, served as a replacement for Elie Wiesel. Night can be read as an attack averse to silence. Many times in the book evil is preserved by a silent lack of resistance. In this case, the repeated disregarding of Moshes warning about what danger lies ahead for the Jewish people. The Nazis most definitely treated the Jewish people as less than human. The Nazis doctors experimented on the Jewish people in an attempt to create a superior race of man. The Nazis also crammed the Jewish people in to cattle cars to transport them from place to place, or they forced marched them. If one of th e people fell or went to the ground, they were killed. In the first chapter, Elie describes his father as a rather unsentimental man and told us of how He is more concerned with others than with his own family. Right away you see that Elie and his father were not that close. Elies father was one of the leading men in the community and did not approve of Elie reading the Kabbalah. The Kabbalah is the ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible, which formed a barrier of separation between Elie and his father. The first bond that Elie had with his father is when they reach the concentration camp know as Auschwitz. The first orders yelled at them is Men to the left! Women to the right!. At this point, Elie did not know he was to be separated from his mother and three sisters forever. It is now that Elie and his father start the terrifying and miserable journey of life in the camps together. Later in the book Elies mother and three sisters die at Auschwitz but Elie and his father were reinstated at Buchenwald. When Elie arrived at Auschwitz, he saw the mistreatment of killed Jews being burned in mass graves. The book states that Elie witnessed an old man getting beat with a revolver that a SS soldier owned. He knew at that point that this journey had to go through was not going to be easy and it wasnt going to be stress free. Men, women, and childrens bodies were tossed into huge piles of bodies and burned. For the Jews, meal times were the most important event of each day. After morning roll call, the Jewish people would be given their morning meal which was an imitation coffee or herbal tea. For lunch prisoners may have been given watery soup. If they were lucky, they might get a very small piece of a turnip or a potato peel. In the evening prisoners may have been given a small piece of black bread; they may also have received a tiny piece of sausage, or some marmalade or cheese. Marmalade was generally a fruit preserve made from the juice a nd peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The bread was supposed to last the prisoners for the morning also, so prisoners would try to hide it with them while the slept so that no one would steal their food and so that they can eat small bits at a time without getting yelled at or beaten. Hunger was one of the greatest problems. The deficient rations were merely intended to keep the prisoners alive. The Nazis did not provide prisoners with sufficient nutrition to carry out heavy manual work. Many thousands died from starvation or illnesses brought on by lack of nutrition. The Nazis crammed the Jews in very poorly made barracks to sleep. The Nazis spit on the Jews and they treated them worse than the Blacks were treated in the USA during the early years of building America. One of Wiesels strengths in Night is to show the full terror of dehumanization, the Jews had to go through. It is something that the Nazis perpetrated against the people they imprisoned. The tattooing of numbers on the prisoners, something that Elie notes, is important. A- 7713 is by definition an example of dehumanization because it steals the human out of the word humanity. The brutality that the Nazis committed on their prisoners is another example of dehumanization. The public beatings, the hanging of prisoners and making others walk past them, as well as the selection process are all examples of dehumanization. When Elie had to run at full speed to avoid being noticed during one of the selection processes, it is a reminder, it shows just how large dehumanization played a role in the Holocaust. Even in actions that the Nazis took towards Jewish people before the extermination, dehumanization was present. Being forced to wear the Yellow Star and the dramatic and almost immediate forced movements into the ghettos are all examples of dehumanization that the Nazis executed. Wiesel shows th e true horror of dehumanization to impact the relationships between Jewish people. Wiesel makes the claim that the terror of the Holocaust existed in how everyone dehumanized one another. Moshe the Beadle one of the first characters that get brought up in this book. His Role was not just a little boy in a book that got banished for telling myths. Moshe the Beadle is a symbol of dehumanization. During the first few chapters he is dehumanized by the people of Sighet. When he comes back to tell them what he experienced, he is dehumanized in the way that he is discredited and banished. Moshe the Beadle represents barbarize within Germany by the treatment he receives. This process continues in the train when the men on the train beat up Madame Schà ¤chter. When she exclaims that she sees fire, she is not heard. Rather, she is told to shut up and then forcibly beaten into silence. Once again, dehumanization is evident in how victims of evil treat one another. Throughout the camps, exampl es of children abandoning parents, people betraying one another, and aloneness dominating human actions until survival is all that remains are examples of dehumanization in the book. These examples show that the Holocaust happened because individuals dehumanized one another. In seeing, human beings as less than human beings, individuals were able to treat one another with a lack of dignity and voice. Elie struggled with his faith is a conflict in the book. In the beginning, His faith in god was undoubtedly pure. His belief in an almighty, benevolent God is unconditional, and he cannot imagine living without faith in a supreme higher power. During the Holocaust, His faith was definitely shaken up by the events that he had to endure. Elies belief in the divine and that God is good, his studies taught him, God is everywhere in the world, therefore the world must therefore be good. Elies faith in the good will of the world is irreversibly shaken, however, by the cruelty and evil he endu red during the Holocaust. He imagines that the concentration camps are unbelievable, disgusting cruelty could possibly reflect divinity. He thinks that if the world is so disgusting and cruel, then God either must be disgusting and cruel or must not exist at all. In one of Nights most famous passages, Eliezer states, Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. It is the idea of Gods silence that he finds most troubling, as this description of an event at Buna reveals: as the Gestapo hangs a young boy, a man asks, Where is God? yet the only response is total silence throughout the camp. After reading this book, I noticed that Wiesels work indicates that anytime voice is silenced, dehumanization is the result. This becomes its own end that must be stopped at all costs. Elie has a powerful way to explain what he had to go through to become a free person again. It just makes you wonder what pushes someone to mass murder a group of people or to turn a whole nation against one group or kind of people just because they are different.

Victorian Furniture of the Middle Class :: Victorian Era

Victorian Furniture of the Middle Class According to the Middle Class Victorians, less was definitely not more. In fact, in the case of the Victorians, the more ostentatious and packed a house was, the higher the status of that family. A house in the Victorian Era would most likely be cluttered until nothing else could fit. Not only was there clutter, but the rooms were "quite dark with busily patterned wallpaper (Victorian Home Life Changes)" and lots of gold garnishments. Fashions of Furniture and Their Influences Beginning in the 1830's, the first influences of Victorian furniture were from the English architect, Augustus Pugin. These were of the "Neo-gothic Design (Sometimes More is More)" characterized by dark woods, pointed arches, trefoils and other Gothic cathedral carvings. By incorporating previous influences from cathedrals, furniture represented morality in the Victorians lives (Sometimes More is More). A trefoil looks like a three-leaf clover and is found in wooden furniture. By the 1850's, a new inspiration came from the "Rococo Revival." This was a more "romantic form (Sometimes More is More). " It was characterized by "swirling lines, natural motifs like fruit and flowers, and dark woods like mahogany, rosewood and black walnut (Sometimes More is More)." The design came from France and included the use of not so dark wood and looked more natural. The Rococo Revival ended around 1870. Meanwhile, during that time period, around 1860 until 1880, the Renaissance Revival took place. Instead of having expensive, richly made furniture, the Victorians merely began placing expensive additions to inexpensive, poorly made furniture. During the 1850s, mass production of carpeting took place as well as patterned wallpaper (Sometimes More is More.) This allowed the Victorians to decorate their houses with even more colors and clutter. Who Decorated the House and What Were Some Typical Pieces of Furniture Overstuffed divans and couches were a staple in most middle class houses (Furniture).

Homeschooling: Academics, Socialization and College Admissions Prospect

Homeschooling: Academics, Socialization and College Admissions Prospects Homeschooling is probably one of the least known and least understood issues in education. Many people tend to think that most homeschoolers are religious conservatives or extremists. However, the truth is that people from all walks of life are joining the homeschooling bandwagon (Ray, 2004). The main misconception is that homeschooled children don’t get the same academic and social education as traditionally schooled children. Contrary to popular perception, homeschooled children have the same, if not better academic opportunities, social opportunities and college admissions prospects than traditionally schooled students have. According to Mary Griffith, author of the book The Homeschooling Handbook, the concept of homeschooling is nothing new to society. It is only in the past 150 years that public school system as we know it came into effect (Griffith, 1999). Prior to that, â€Å"†¦the family was the basis for social life†¦the home was where children learned what was necessary to function in their community† (1999). By the mid-1970s, there were barely any people practicing homeschooling (Ray, 2004). However, over the past twenty years there has been a resurgence in people choosing homeschooling (2004). There has been a 500 percent increase in homeschooling from the 1990-1991 school year to the 2002-2003 school year (2004). The National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) estimates â€Å"that between 1.7 and 2.1 million students were being homeschooled in the U.S., in every grade level from kindergarten through twelfth grade†¦Indications are that the growth rate is between 7 percent and 15 percent per year † (2004). People choose to homeschool for a var... ...s and traditional school graduates. Journal of College Admission, Spring 2004, p17. Klicka, Chris (2002) Socialization: homeschoolers are in the real world. Issue Analysis, Home School Legal Defense Association. Retrieved April 10, 2005 from www.hslda.org. Kochenderfer R, & Kanna E. (2002). Homeschooling for success: How parents can create a superior education for their child. New York NY: Warner Books. Ray, Brian D. Ph.D (2004). Worldwide guide to homeschooling: Facts and stats on the benefits of home school. Nashville TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Saba L., & Gattis J. (2002). The McGraw-Hill homeschooling companion. New York NY: McGraw-Hill Publishers. Zehr, Mary Ann. (2003). Home school students adjust to new homes on college campuses. Education Week, Vol. 23, Issue 2, p6. Retrieved April 22, 2005 from Academic Search Premier database.

Through the Fog :: Short Stories Essays

Through the Fog The morning sun rose higher in the overcast sky; the dense town of Cloisterham came into the eerie state of existence of a new day. The mysterious haze that rolled in overnight strangled the town. The sun appeared, as if it were trying to burn through a fogged window; the brightness of the day was merely the glowing of the haze. A sluggish day it would be, as the townsmen awoke slowly. The few early risers stomped like walking dead on the cold streets, neither a sleep, nor awake, dead or alive. The stiffness of the haze shrouded the town with an uncertain mysteriousness, like a dark figure lurking around the corner. Jasper fell into the every new day, which had become a hell to him. With the ominous anniversary pushing closer every minute, no longer did daylight provide freedom from his nightmares. Previously, he had only been vulnerable during his sleep, which currently, he rarely received. Lately he held had no safe haven, his nightmares consumed the days. The two years of pain melted into one horrible day, repeating itself over and over again. After resigning from his position as choirmaster, he spent every day wading through his deep depression, his great conscience sat upon him, suffocating him of the little life he still held. He had few visitors, but many watchers. So frequently he checked over his shoulders that concentrating on any task became impossible. As the murderous haze swept in under his door and billowed against the window, he enclosed himself in a world of fears, which proved never to release him. Below the postern stairs, Mr. Datchery prepared for a new day. He opened a cupboard door to retrieve a cup and grinned when he saw the hundreds of chalked lines. At this great score, he knew that the truth would soon surface. A knock on his door interrupted his thought, opening, Helena walked into the room. Surprised, Datchery exclaimed, â€Å"What are you doing here? Someone could see you.† â€Å"I got word that you needed to speak with me. I became worried, so I couldn’t wait until later.† â€Å"Soon these two years of work will fall into place. There exists no way of telling what will happen, alas, it will be very dangerous. All the more so if you refuse to leave town†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 

Red Lobster case analysis Essay

Should Lopdrup make Experientials the target segment and modify Red Lobster’s positioning accordingly. If so, how should he change its marketing mix (4P)? Red Lobster originally was founded in 1968 and gained tremendous popularity back then by offering fresh seafood for everybody. They made it easily accessible and approachable. However, over several extremely successful decades of rapid growth and many new restaurants, Red Lobster in 2004 was becoming out of date and out of touch with today’s customer. The company with more than 40-year experience in seafood restaurants, with its new leading CEO Kim Lopdrup now has invested in extensive market research. The results of the market research reveal a surprisingly exciting opportunity for the company to shift its target customer segment. The chain at the moment is taking its first steps of an elaborate 10-year rejuvenation plan under the lead of its CEO Kim Lopdrup. Back in 2004 when he took over as a CEO of Red Lobster, the company was closing down restaurants and going through a major decline in sales. Furthermore, customer satisfaction had dropped significantly as well by then. Though, in 2010, even in a period of recession, the sales results are slowly starting to improve. As a result, the whole chain itself is improving as well. A recent market research study has revealed rather unexpected results that 25% of Red Lobster’s customers are â€Å"experientials,† people looking for pleasure, good service and high-quality food. Which is very different from Red Lobster’s traditional core customer who just wanted big portion sizes of decent seafood and does not worry about nutrition or upscale atmosphere. Lopdrup is currently thinking of possible re-positioning to attract more â€Å"experientials†, thereby also changing the company’s target segment. But would this be a good step? Back in 1968, the brand gained popularity by making fresh seafood that was not very accessible back then. However, times have changed now. Customers now have an abundance of choices when it comes to fresh seafood, which makes it very hard for Red Lobster to differentiate from other brands only offering ‘approachable, fresh seafood’. Moreover, lately it has been associated with frozen and fried, unhealthy food, not fresh seafood. The recession has had a bad impact on the restaurant and there has been a major drop in customer count. Instead of focusing on winning the price war within the highly competitive casual dining category, Kim Lopdrup instead has decided to focus on rejuvenation, following a differentiation strategy. The plan is to aim for higher quality, drive a higher frequency of visits and make the brand be seen as good quality seafood, where people could get a pleasant dining experience for affordable prices. In my opinion, Red Lobster must indeed focus on experientials, start fresh and show customers it is really doing things differently now. A new look, a new menu, improved service and better communication to let people see Red Lobster in a fresh, new way. They should embrace the 21st century by using more social networking (facebook, twitter, youtube), mobile apps, yet stick to its basic principles of providing fresh seafood from good fisherman, hire skillful grill masters and friendly staff, which are all core values for ‘experientials’. Moreover, these are values and expectations not only for ‘experientials’ but for the mass market in general. This way, they could achieve the highest reach and drive traffic to their restaurants. They must get talked about and become more visible by investing in a complex marketing campaign that would go in waves. A good quality television campaign would be highly appropriate. Regarding it’s 4PS, they should adjust its current market mix by really thinking about the target group’s wants and needs. Experientials are well educated and will not tolerate bad service. They go out to restaurants to connect with friends, family, and colleagues. So the company should definitely think of ways to improve its service. Renovation of the restaurant space, hiring of friendly employees that Red Lobster would continually educate about the latest trends and menu offerings. It is very important for the brand to have a welcoming, human face. And honest, communicative employees that will give a personal experience for each customer will take the brand image further away from its current corporate image. Regarding the products, it is also very important to communicate the source of their fish, its good quality chefs, daily offerings of ‘daily fresh catch’ to let people know that Red Lobster has ‘stepped up’ their game and only offering the highest-quality fresh crab from the best farmers. Perhaps they should do an acquisition with a wine company in order to offer experientals more wines to choose from, since they like to enjoy new food and menu items. They are motivated by culinary expertise and wine and food goes hand in hand with each other. Regarding the price, they could increase the price a little bit, since experientials are not overly ‘price sensitive’. They are well educated with a high income, though they als o like to eat out often. So a mid-range price would be the most appropriate. By focusing on experientials, Red Lobster could significantly increase profitability and get more loyal customer that return for more. The positioning should stay ‘approachable, fresh seafood’, since they have so many locations everywhere. The menu should be more frequently updated. Prices could be higher for ‘specials’, and they should communicate keywords like ‘quality, freshness, seafood lovers’, have cooking demonstrations. Invest in TV promotional ads to achieve mass awareness, hirepassionate people, focus on continuous improvement.

Assignment 4 Celta

Assignment 4 – Lessons from the Classroom The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. I decided to take the CELTA because it seemed like a fairly easy way to make some money while I traveling. However, a mere month's exposure to teaching has given me the confidence to pursue teaching English as a serious career alternative, should I ever get sick of political antics and swindlers' conspiracies. All through my life, people told me I would make a decent teacher. Now, I believe it. I believe it because I have braved the utterly nerve-racking schedule of assignment submissions and lesson planning and teaching without falling apart. Though I learned a lot from our wonderful trainers (full credits to Gabbi and Maureen) and my absolutely wonderful classmates, I really have miles to go before I sleep (literally). A month is a very short time to learn something but it is admirable that all of us have had such a tremendous growth curve. Personally, I know I have become much more confident about standing in front of a classroom full of students and talking about the finer points of the English language. Not many noticed it, but I avoided writing anything on the board the first afternoon we had Teaching Practice (TP) because my hands were shaking so vigorously. I have definitely come a long way since then. I have learned a lot from the critique and feedback by classmates and tutors, observation of peers and experienced teachers, and from self-reflection. I discovered the very first day that it was important to establish a good rapport with the students and be comfortable talking with them. Observing Darin during his first lesson taught me a very valuable lesson – I learned it was important to engage students in conversation rather than assume the role of a traditional teacher. Though Maureen commented on June 23, the first day of TP, that I established a good rapport with the students, I really feel that I felt more comfortable from the second lesson onwards. Observing Porter in the first week of the class was a big bonus. He was so much at   ease in class, so much at home. He made the students feel comfortable and involved his Advanced English students in the process of teaching and learning. I worked hard on planning from the beginning and mostly produced solid plans. On June 2, Maureen mentioned that I had a very detailed lesson plan and good language analysis. I adjusted well to the different levels of students within the class. When I was teaching elementary level classes, I made it a point to explain concepts to the weakier students and help them during the tasks if they had any difficulty. After Teaching Practice on June 26, my classmates who had observed me teaching commented that I had monitored weaker students like Carlos and Jessica well throughout the class. I think I did well in class management from the beginning. I made sure I kept all students on their toes and working hard. From the first week, when Maureen commented that I managed my classes well, till the third week, when Gabi as well as my classmates commented that I taught a good lesson to one truant students – I think my class management skills have only improved. From the beginning of Teaching Practice, both Maureen and Gabi commented that I successfully established a good rapport with the students. On the first day, Maureen wrote in my Teaching Practice Evaluation, â€Å"You established a nice rapport with the students, very friendly and confident. † When we switched levels, Gabi wrote in my Evaluation, â€Å"You built a good rapport with your new SS. † Even though I have switched to the Intermediate level, some of the Elementary level students often come up to me with doubts and questions. I have to mention that observing Darin while he taught was a fantastic experience because he has always establishes such a comfortable rapport with his students. I had a problem with excessive TTT from the very beginning. I think a major reason for this is that the Indian educational system tends to have very teacher-centered classrooms. from the beginning, the tutors and my classmates have pointed out that I need to reduce TTT and make the lessons more student-centered. Though I have tried hard to do this, I still have a long way to go before I become a minimalist talker. I do earnestly believe that student-centered learning is far more effective. It was great to observe Porter because it showed how minimalist TTT can be super effective in the classroom. Porter allowed the students to lead classroom discussion and complete his sentences. He elicited a lot of information without being verbose. I analyzed language items well before presenting them in class. On June 24, Maureen commented that I had a â€Å"detailed analysis of the grammar operation of the target language. † In the beginning, I had some trouble organizing the stages of clarification of meaning and grammar form. However, I think I improved significantly in latter classes. On July 2, when I taught relative classes, Maureen said that I used effective CCQs and did a â€Å"thorough analysis of the form and meaning. † I did help students with improving their pronunciation by doing both choral and individual oral drilling. However, I think this is one area in which I have a lot to improve. I have tried to correct students' pronunciation errors, especially at the intermediate level, but I think I should do more of this. Fernanda consistenly drills the students a lot and tells me that it is very important for them to repeat the sounds again and again before they can be comfortable with them. I think I did well in giving students practice in receptive skills of reading and listening during my lessons. On June 26 Maureen commented, â€Å"I think students received some useful reading comprehension practice, and you adapted the materials creatively. † I do have a problem with linking the stages during receptive skills lessons. As Gabi commented on July 8, I need to link tasks more clearly so students know why they are doing the activities you ar giving them. I haven't done a very good job at providing productive practice to students because I don't time my lessons too well. Most often, students don't have enough time for speaking or writing at the end of the lesson. Wilson did a fantastic job at timing his lesson on July 14 – the students had more than 15 minutes of freer speaking practice at the end of his lesson. My goals for the future are to make my lesson more student centered, to reduce TTT and to improve my timing. These have been my most significant weaknesses throughout the course. I need ot hold back and let go of my control over the class. This will help me reduce TTT while at the same time making the lesson more student-centered. To achieve this aim, I will let the students discuss everything before I step in with suggestions and clarifications. This will also make the lesson more interactive and fun for the students. I will work hard to be economical with my instructions and explanations by planning my lesson to the last detail. Timing the lesson is also a matter of careful planning. I also need to be very aware of the ticking clock. With this aim in mind, I will invest in a large clock placed strategically in the classroom so I can't miss it.