Free Essays on The Gift

The Gift I am presenting an analysis of The Gift, a fictional novel by Danielle Steel. I will give a basic summary of the story line, and I intend to show the omniscient narrator’s point of view in analysis of the characters. I greatly recommend this novel for anyone to read, as it affected my emotions in several ways. I laughed and cried within the first chapter. The entire book makes you think long and hard about life, how precious it is, and how quickly it can be taken from you. We are all given gifts of different kinds in our lives. We have to learn to recognize and appreciate those gifts and mourn them when they are no longer with us. A happy home in a small town is shattered by tragedy. A young healthy five-year-old named Annie senselessly and suddenly dies. Her parents’ marriage begins to unravel upon her death. Her sixteen-year-old brother is going downhill. Suddenly, a pregnant stranger stops in town and decides to stay. The 16-year-old brother falls in love with the pregnant teenager, and hope springs anew in the unfortunate Whittaker family. Life is a gift revealed in this novel that evokes many emotional tears and lots of laughter. The ending leaves you wanting to write the author and beg her to tell you what happens next. The omniscient narrator’s point of view allows the reader to feel the emotions of all the characters, as well as see both sides of a conversation as it is happening. The setting is in a 1950’s small Midwestern town. Children play in the streets, on the skating pond, and attend the movie house. The story is told over a time period of several months, from De cember 1952 through December 1953. The book opens with the story of the death of the five-year-old who is adored by her family. The novel ends with a surprise gift to that family. The omniscient narrator’s point of view reveals all the thoughts and emotions of each character, making it very easy to empathize with them.... Free Essays on The Gift Free Essays on The Gift The Gift I am presenting an analysis of The Gift, a fictional novel by Danielle Steel. I will give a basic summary of the story line, and I intend to show the omniscient narrator’s point of view in analysis of the characters. I greatly recommend this novel for anyone to read, as it affected my emotions in several ways. I laughed and cried within the first chapter. The entire book makes you think long and hard about life, how precious it is, and how quickly it can be taken from you. We are all given gifts of different kinds in our lives. We have to learn to recognize and appreciate those gifts and mourn them when they are no longer with us. A happy home in a small town is shattered by tragedy. A young healthy five-year-old named Annie senselessly and suddenly dies. Her parents’ marriage begins to unravel upon her death. Her sixteen-year-old brother is going downhill. Suddenly, a pregnant stranger stops in town and decides to stay. The 16-year-old brother falls in love with the pregnant teenager, and hope springs anew in the unfortunate Whittaker family. Life is a gift revealed in this novel that evokes many emotional tears and lots of laughter. The ending leaves you wanting to write the author and beg her to tell you what happens next. The omniscient narrator’s point of view allows the reader to feel the emotions of all the characters, as well as see both sides of a conversation as it is happening. The setting is in a 1950’s small Midwestern town. Children play in the streets, on the skating pond, and attend the movie house. The story is told over a time period of several months, from De cember 1952 through December 1953. The book opens with the story of the death of the five-year-old who is adored by her family. The novel ends with a surprise gift to that family. The omniscient narrator’s point of view reveals all the thoughts and emotions of each character, making it very easy to empathize with them....

Earning Trust vs. Learning Trust How Are You Doing

Earning Trust vs. Learning Trust How Are You Doing â€Å"Stack Trust† I remember a body work session, specifically a Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) session, that I had many years ago. Donny Epstein, the founder of NSA, positioned my head and made contact with a specific point in my spine. â€Å"Stack trust,† he said. I don’t know if it was the point he touched or the command he gave me to â€Å"stack trust,† but felt a huge shift and broke out in tears. Trust is a big deal. I have always thought of myself as a trusting person, willing to share things about myself with strangers. I don’t expect people to cheat or lie and I have done things like rent my apartment to Airbnb guests, leaving them alone in my house with all my belongings. When a friend doubted whether I was telling the truth in a recent situation, I was hurt and angry. Not only do I trust people to tell the truth about things, but I also like to think people trust my word. Learning to Trust Can trust be learned? The answer, apparently, is yes. I recently received a link to what I thought was an article about how to teach trust. It turns out it was an advertisement for a Franklin Covey training, leading me not to trust Franklin Covey all that much for having misled me. Nevertheless, the idea that trust can be taught is fascinating to me and rings true. Google searches for â€Å"Harvard Business Review Trust and Teams† and â€Å"Harvard Business Review Teaching Trust† gave me a plethora of information on how we become trusting and on how to build trust in a business. I must confess that there are some areas where my trust level is very low, and where I have some definite growing to do. When I am in charge of a project, for instance, and ask someone to take responsibility for something, I often don’t trust them to perform. If they do the job and do it well, great. They have â€Å"proven themselves† to me. But if they don’t do the job or do it well, my first instinct is that I can’t rely on them and need to do it myself. If it’s something I don’t know how to do, I easily become scared and angry. I was amazed on a recent project that when a team member did not do a task, all I had to do was write him a note and he did it immediately! I had made up that because this person was usually very responsible, and had a ton on his plate at the time, he was overloaded and would not be able to it. Where was my sense of trust? I’ve had multiple opportunities to practice trust as my new website has launched, along with a new email and client management system, Infusionsoft. As many of you have experienced, we faced many breakdowns in the implementation process. Incorrect and duplicate emails went out to my list members. Pages on my site had missing and incorrect content. New clients were directed to pages where they received 404 errors instead of the documents they needed. Leaning In While I have admittedly done my share of stressing out and blaming about all these breakdowns (my web developers can â€Å"trust† me to do that), I have also leaned on the people who can fix the issues. They have come through for me every time, including going the extra mile to give my clients assistance on weekends and on short notice. I’m learning, slowly but surely, that when someone doesn’t do something they said they would do, or doesn’t do it well, the first step is to ask them to do it or coach them to do it better. It’s amazing how well that works! Commensurate Trust Of course, some people truly are not trustworthy, and those are the people not to do business with or form close relationships with. The term â€Å"commensurate trust,† which I learned recently, tells me that one trustworthy person in a relationship, whether business or personal, does not a trusting relationship make. Both parties must be able to handle a commensurate level of responsibility, truth, and vulnerability for the relationship to work. I will be working probably for the rest of my life on my own process of â€Å"stacking trust† – becoming trusting myself, and demanding trustworthiness of others. As I have discovered, I have a lot to learn.

The Failures and Contributions of Herod the Great and the Herodians to Assignment

The Failures and Contributions of Herod the Great and the Herodians to the history of Judaism - Assignment Example Judas Maccabeus was the son of Mattathias. Maccabeus’ popularity lies not only because of his participation in biblical history but also because of his martial achievements. He proved his talents by leading the Maccabean Revolt. Judas displayed extraordinary skills as a leader, military tactician, and diplomat (Julius 2000). After attaining religious freedom, Judas and his friends turned their attention to politics. After the death of Judas Maccabeus, there came the leader Jonathon Maccabeus, the brother of Judas. Jonathan was a man of prudence and great skills (Julius 2000). As a diplomat, he could effectively utilize the internal strife of Seleucid and succeeded in expanding Jewish held territory and acquiring virtual independence. Jonathan was immediately followed after his death by his brother Simon, and he followed exactly what his brothers did. It was the strength of his military forces that forced the Seleucid king, Demetrius II to depend on Simon for help and support. The rulers followed after Simon, except the Antipater, were not much popular. Most of the leaders in the Intertestamental Period had kept secret plans with them. ...Therefore, one can identify the modern counterparts of the Judaism and the series of wars aimed at a particular sect of people or creed. Trace the history of Herod the Great and the Herodians. What were their major contributions to the history of Judaism and the Jews? What were their main failures? King Herod the Great (47-4 B.C.), first ruled as the Governor of Galilee (47-37 B.C.). He has often been regarded as a king who played a momentous role in the Herodian dynasty. Through his leadership and governing skills, he gained a proud reputation both with the Galilean Jews as well as with the Roman officials of Syria (Timothy, Gary 1998, 270). When Herod the Great became the King of the Jews, his rule created vivid reactions among the people and as such one can divide his rule into three definite periods: (1) The period o f consolidation (37-25 B.C.).  

English class journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

English class journal - Assignment Example Logos as a means of persuasion refers to using reasoning to convince the audience or the reader. This method of persuasion requires the author to back up the arguments with logical reasoning that can convince the reader. Bono’s Georgetown speech on social activism was a powerful speech that inspired students and many others who attended the function. The speech incorporated the three methods of persuasion discussed above. Logos means of persuasion is quite evident when bono spent over one hour explaining his point â€Å"why it is wrong to give rock stars microphones at higher learning institutions.† Bono’s opening remarks when he jokes about assuming the role of a professor can be cited as ethos. The sense of humor at the beginning made the audience interested on what he had to say in other words likes the character. The manner in which Bono discussed poverty issues was quite moving which captured the audience emotions and this being a good example of pathos as a persuasion means. This made the audience sympathize with the poor in the

Analysis on Quality Improvement in Federal Prison Essay Example for Free

Analysis on Quality Improvement in Federal Prison Essay Introduction In the light of establishing a furnished description of the subject tackled on this paper quality improvement (QI) is an organized approach to planning and implementing continuous improvement in performance. Although QI holds promise for improving quality of care and patient safety, federal prisons that adopt QI often struggle with its implementation. This article examines the role of organizational infrastructure in implementation of quality improvement practices and structures in the federal prison.   The author gives more attention specifically on four elements of organizational support and infrastructure for QI-integrated data systems, financial support for QI, organizational integration, and information system capability. Further, these macrolevel factors provide consistent, ongoing support for the QI efforts of clinical teams engaging in direct patient care, thus promoting institutionalization of QI. Results from the multivariate analysis of 1997 survey data on 2,350 federal prisons provide strong support for the hypotheses. Results signal that organizations intent upon improving quality must attend to the context in which QI efforts are practiced, and that such efforts are unlikely to be effective unless appropriate support systems are in place to ensure full implementation. This paper addresses these gaps by examining the role of multiple elements of organizational infrastructure in implementation of QI practices and structures in the federal prison. Our results are intended to provide managers with information about the kinds of resource commitments and structural changes that enhance the value of their investment in QI, and to help policy makers identify policies or incentives that would help the federal prison management reach its utmost desire in the sagacity of Time Quality Management and other sort. Analysis This section consists of a continuous improvement model and the tools of improvement arranged in a logical flow to get the desired results. The emphasis is on all employees. This model and the basic tools utilized can be learned and effectively applied by everyone. There are many statistically based programs that are helpful for driving improvements on very technical problems. These programs are good for what they are designed to do. The limitation is that often they only engage a small percentage of the workforce. Typically, a few managers and a few technologists or engineers will be involved. There are also some good problem-solving techniques available that, all too often, are applied only after a customer-upsetting incident has occurred. Most organizations have, literally, tons of data, and yet very few of them are using it effectively. Within this continuous improvement teaming, you will learn how to convert data into information. The tools that will be used to do this are Pareto diagrams, histograms, scatter diagrams, and charting. Where more information is required, you will learn how to design and implement check sheets to gather the data required to provide the sought-for information. In the beginning of a continuous improvement program, one only needs to have the visibility with regard to the effect of things which are not being performed well in the provision of high quality product or service to the subjects.   With the use of this certain flow of organizational improvement, it shall be easier to make us of a diagram which illustrates the essence of conjunction and brainstorming, hence, not undermining the other external and internal functions bereft the subjects under study.   The poor effects of the organizational strategies which has been utilized may give light on the sagacity of improving the organization’s standards and the elimination of the unnecessary ideas for that instance. Aside from that, if the certain causes are found to be that which is isolated to specific are, person, or time period within the operation, the it will most likely be easier to get a through glimpse of the operation thus learning an echelon of stratification techniques and other unique case which shall be pondered on by the launchers of the study. The factors which have been stated may be that which are implicitly defining the crucial state of improvement and other sort of the like.   However, such does not dente weakness, but rather an innate sense of quality analysis as shown in the diagram below[1].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even though the diagram is that which is not focused on the federal prison arena, still, the idea is the same.   The improvement process is a cyclical form hence, having internal and external collaborations.   As stressed by Lewis and Clark in the improvement process, it is important to bear in mind that improvement itself does not stop in a certain peak.   Nevertheless, all state should be equally given consideration and in order to achieve the summit of total satisfaction, it must not only dwell on the ability of the tangibility of entities, but behavioral realms as well. Conclusion Reflecting the growing emphasis on organizational systems of care, QI is an organized approach to planning and implementing continuous improvement in performance. QI emphasizes continuous examination and improvement of work processes by teams of organizational members trained in basic statistical techniques and problem-solving tools who are empowered to make decisions based on their analyses of the data. Like other systems-based approaches, QI stresses that quality depends foremost on the processes by which services are designed and delivered. The systemic focus of QI complements a growing recognition in the field that the quality of the care delivered by clinicians depends substantially on the performance capability of the organizational systems in which they work. While individual clinician competence remains important, many increasingly see the capability of organizational systems to prevent errors, coordinate care among settings and practitioners, and ensure that relevant, accurate information is available when needed as critical elements in providing high-quality care. We argue that implementation of QI in federal prison settings can be facilitated by organizational structures, resources, and operational systems that provide a supportive context for enhancing both the scope and intensity of clinical QI efforts. Scope refers to the extent or range of application of QI philosophy and methods, and, as such, it indicates the pervasiveness with which QI practices permeate organizational structures and routines. QI emphasizes organization-wide commitment and involvement because most-if not all-vital work processes span many individuals, disciplines, and departments (Berwick, Godfrey, and Roessner 1990; James 1989). Intensity refers to the strength of application or degree of focus on QI philosophy and methods and therefore, indicates the degree of development of the QI effort. In a well-developed QI effort, continuous improvement becomes an integral part of the daily work life of organizational members, as opposed to an intermittent or circumscribed activity (Berwick 1990; Deming 1986; Ishikawa 1985). While quality control remains important, continuous improvement becomes the primary goal (Berwick).    References:   Creech, B. (1995). The Five Pillars of TQM: How to Make Total Quality Management Work for You. New York: Plume. Foss, N. (1996). Towards a Competence Theory of the Firm (1 ed.). New York: Routledge. Schwab, D. P. (2004). Research Methods for Organizational Studies (Second ed.). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum. Williamson, O. E. (1995). Organization Theory: From Chester Barnard to the Present and Beyond (Expanded ed.). New York: Oxford University Press, USA. [1] Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI); Lewis and Clark Model.

Orphans in 19th Century Victorian England :: Victorian Era

Orphans in 19th Century Victorian England The Victorian Era was a time of social evolution as well as technological and economic advance. A distinct, unique middle class was formed alongside the traditional working class and wealthy aristocracy. However, there were certain individuals that fell outside this model of Victorian society. The â€Å"abandoned child† was society’s scapegoat- a person without a past, without connections, without status. They could appear in any class, at any time. The upper and middle classes often had a somewhat romantic perception of them, due to their prevalence in Victorian literature. Novels like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights made heroines/heroes out of orphans, portraying them as respectable yet troubled (Cunningham,â€Å"Orphan Texts†). However, orphans were also often treated with disdain and distrust, due to their reputation as â€Å"criminally prone† individuals. They were a victim of classic â€Å"Victorian contradictions† that characterized most aspe cts of Victorian society. Victorian Definition of â€Å"Orphan† When we hear the word â€Å"orphan† we imagine a child whose parents have both died tragic deaths. Indeed, there were plenty of these pitiable creatures in Victorian society – the living and working conditions of the poor were so unsanitary and crowded that diseases such as typhus and tuberculosis often spread unchecked, sending many of their victims to the grave (Czarnik, â€Å"Living Conditions†). However, children were often considered â€Å"orphans† if they had one surviving parent, had been abandoned by their family, or were forced out into the world because of overcrowding at home (Cunningham, â€Å"Orphan Texts†). In 1861, it is estimated that 11% of children had lost a father by the age of 10, 11% a mother, and 1% had lost both parents (Czarnik). Adoption A very common fate of orphans was adoption. They were often taken in by relatives or neighbors, and even, on occasion, strangers wishing to raise them as their own children. In England, there were no laws concerning adoption until the 1920s, so most adoption was informal. Children who were adopted by their own social class were usually treated fairly and equally†¦ however, if they were adopted by a family whose status was above and beyond their original class, they were frequently mistreated and neglected. Children of different social classes were not encouraged to fraternize, so if an orphan was taken into a household where higher class children lived, they could be forbidden to even speak to them (Czarnik). Education Orphans sometimes met another fate†¦ being placed in an educational institution. Many philanthropists donated money to these â€Å"schools† for the express purpose of boarding and educating orphans.

Business Communication Essay

Q 1. Describe any situation that you experienced where the communication went wrong because the listening was faulty. Analyze the situation by explaining the type of listening barrier. . How could this barrier be overcome? (10 marks). The following example illustrates an organizational barrier to communication. By the time the message is passed down from the Chief to the lower level Executives, it is distorted completely, so much so that the original message is interpreted differently by each level in the organization. Memo from CEO to Manager: Today at 11 o’clock there will be a total eclipse of the sun. This is when the sun disappears behind the moon for 2 minutes. As this is something that cannot be seen every day, time will be allowed for employees to view the eclipse in the parking lot. Staff should meet in the lot at ten to eleven, when I will deliver a short speech introducing the eclipse, and giving some background information. Safety goggles will be made available at a small cost. Memo from Manager to Department Head: Today at ten to eleven, all staff should meet in the car park. This will be followed by a total eclipse of the sun, which will appear for 2 minutes. For a moderate cost, they will be made safe with goggles. The CEO will deliver a short speech beforehand to give us all some information. This is not something that can be seen everyday. Memo from the Department Head to Floor Manager: The CEO will today deliver a speech to make the sun disappear for 2 minutes in the form of an eclipse. This is something that cannot be seen everyday so staff will meet in the car  park at ten or eleven. This will be safe, if you pay a moderate cost. Memo from Floor Manager to Supervisor: Ten or eleven staff are to go to the car park, where the CEO will eclipse the sun for 2 minutes. This does not happen everyday. It will be safe, and as usual it will cost you. Memo from Supervisor to Staff: Some staff will go to the car park today to see the CEO disappear. It is a pity this doesn’t happen everyday. Communication was filtered or misinterpreted because of the following barriers: Organizational Barriers – In organizations that are too hierarchical, that is, where there are multiple â€Å"layers†, messages may have to pass through many levels before they finally reach the receiver. Each level may add to, modify or completely change the message, so much so that it becomes distorted by the time it reaches the intended receiver. In other words, there is likely to be loss of meaning and the message may not reach the receiver in the same way as it was intended by the sender. Another type of organizational barrier is a departmental barrier. This means that each department in an organization functions in isolation and there is no co-ordination or communication between them. This barrier could be overcome by the following methods: 1. Encourage Feedback – Organizations should try to improve the communication system by getting feedback from the messages already sent. Feedback can tell the managers whether the message has reached the receiver in the intended way or not. 2. Create a Climate of Openness – A climate of trust and openness can go a long way in removing organizational barriers to communication. All subordinates or junior employees should be allowed to air their opinions and differences without fear of being penalized. 3. Use Multiple Channels of Communication – Organizations should encourage the use of multiple channels of communication, in order to make sure that messages reach the intended receivers without fail. This means using a combination of both oral and written channels, as well as formal (official) and informal (unofficial) channels of communication. The types of channels will be discussed in detail later, in a separate unit. Q 2. Select a business article from any business publication. Evaluate it in terms of : a) Appropriate level of readability b) Use of jargon, slang and metaphors c) Use of simple vs. complex words. Is it well or poorly written, in your opinion? Attach a copy of the article with your response. (10 marks) World Markets Rise As Double-Dip Fears Ease: World stock markets advanced modestly Monday as investors rode momentum from Friday, when an upbeat U.S. jobs report eased fears that the global economy could slip back into recession. With Wall Street closed for a holiday, however, trading was expected to remain light. Markets took heart after official data last week showed private employers in the U.S. added 67,000 jobs in August, more than analysts expected. The figure bolstered optimism that the U.S. will maintain a slow but steady recovery from last year’s recession and avoid another economic contraction later this year. By mid-afternoon in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.3 percent at 5,446.17, Germany’s DAX was 0.3 percent higher at 6,153.31 and France’s CAC-40 was up 0.3 percent at 3,684.20. Asian indexes closed higher and trading on Wall Street was to remain shut for Labor Day weekend after closing higher on Friday. With most major governments reining in economic stimulus measures and many pushing through austerity spending cuts to reduce deficits, investors worry the global economy would be pushed into a double dip recession, particularly  as the U.S. slows down quickly. Because the U.S. economy is the world’s largest and consumer spending there accounts for a fifth of global economic activity, the stronger-than-expected jobs data on Friday helped calm investors’ frayed nerves after weeks of worrying indicators. â€Å"The renewed flight to safety we have witnessed over the past month is overdone and risks an equally large reversal when the worries over a double dip subside,† analysts from Rabobank said in a report. â€Å"As the unexciting, steady and below-trend global recovery continues, it’s important not to confuse it with a double dip recession.† Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index climbed 2.1 percent, or 187.19, to 9,301.32 and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7 percent to 1,792.42. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.8 percent to 21,355.77. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8 percent at 4,575.50. Markets in mainland China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia and Singapore were also higher. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 1.2 percent to close at 10,447.93 on Friday. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.3 percent to 1,104.51. Shares in the U.S. ended the week in the positive, the first time that has happened in a month. The early gains in September mark a stark turnaround from August trade, when shares fell on doubts about the global economic recovery. The dollar fell to 84.24 yen from 84.27 yen on Friday. The euro was slightly lower at $1.2880 from $1.2895. Benchmark oil for October delivery was down 40 cents at $74.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 42 cents to settle at $74.60 on Friday. Jargon refers to technical terms or specialized vocabulary. Some of the  technical terms mentioned above are â€Å"rode momentum, Kospi, FTSE, CAC, DAX, calm investors’ frayed nerves, etc.† More complex words and phrases are written in the above article and this reduces the level of readability when read by a common man. The above article is well written, however, the reader of the article should have a certain amount of knowledge in the field of stock trading and world financial markets. Q 3 List out and briefly explain five â€Å"do†s and â€Å"don’t’s† for each of participants and chairperson of a meeting. (10 marks). Before the Meeting As pointed out earlier, meetings need to be planned in advance, so that they are successful. Before any planning can be done however, a basic question to be asked is whether to hold a meeting at all. The answers to the following questions would help to decide whether a meeting is necessary in the first place – -Can the matter be decided or discussed over the telephone? -Can the matter be expressed in writing, in the form of a memo, or an email message? -Are key people available to attend the meeting and are they prepared? -Is the time allotted for the meeting sufficient? If the answers to the first two questions are yes and the answers to the other two questions are no, there is no purpose in calling a meeting. Once the need for a meeting has been determined, the next step is to start planning the meeting. First of all, the type and number of participants should be decided. A problem solving meeting should include representatives from all departments, since the decision would otherwise be incomplete. Shareholders, who are the owners of the company, should also be included. In terms of numbers, the size of the group could be anywhere between seven and eleven members. An exception to this is an information sharing meeting, where the numbers could be larger, so that a maximum number of people benefit from the information. The second and most important step in planning a meeting is to indicate the purpose or agenda of the meeting to the participants in advance. An agenda  is essentially a list of topics that will be discussed during a meeting. In the words of Adler and Elmhorst, â€Å"A meeting without an agenda is like a ship at sea without a destination or compass: no one aboard knows where it is or where it is headed.† An agenda is prepared by the Chairperson of the meeting, or the person who calls the meeting. During the Meeting: The task of conducting and moderating the meeting rests with the chairperson. He or she must be well versed with the procedures for opening the meeting, encouraging balanced participation, and solving problems creatively, concluding the meeting and managing time efficiently. We shall discuss each of these procedures in detail. 1. Opening the Meeting – The manner in which the meeting is opened is important, since a good opening will ensure that the rest of the meeting will proceed smoothly. There are different ways of opening a meeting. Generally, it is best to sum up what has been stated in the agenda – including the goals, background information and expectations of the participants. It is also a good idea to provide an outline of how the meeting will proceed, as well as a time budget. 2. Encouraging Balanced Participation – It is also the responsibility of the chairperson to encourage silent members to contribute to the meeting and to moderate the dominant members, so that they do not â€Å"hijack† the meeting. There are several techniques to encourage participation –  · Encourage Participation in the Reverse Order of Seniority – This means getting the junior members to speak or air their opinions first. If the senior people speak first, they may feel suppressed or be afraid to disagree with their superiors.  · Nominal Group Technique – In this method, the meeting participants are encouraged to work and contribute their ideas independently 3. Managing Time – There is no prescribed length for a meeting. The duration of a meeting will depend on the type and purpose of the meeting. Generally, problem-solving meetings will take longer than other routine meetings. In any case, the chairperson should set a time budget for the meeting, depending on the agenda and ensure adherence to the time limit. 4. Keeping the Meeting Focused – Often, a lot of time is wasted during meetings by going off track and by discussing topics that are irrelevant. In such situations, it is the responsibility of the chairperson, or the person moderating the discussion to make sure that the discussion remains focused on the topics mentioned in the agenda. 5. Ensuring â€Å"Convergence† – Convergence means hearing the points of view of all the members and then arriving at a decision. It is again the responsibility of the chairperson to bring the meeting to a point where an opinion emerges on each item of the agenda. 6. Summing Up – This means summing up the different points of view, the decisions and the actions to be taken. This should be done by the chairperson, identifying the role of each person on each item of the agenda, along with a specified deadline. Example – Chris will take the responsibility of contacting the media and sending material for advertisements and press releases by March 13th. 7. Concluding the Meeting – The way a meeting is concluded is as important as the opening, since it will influence the follow-up action taken on decisions made during the meeting. The chairperson should know when and how to conclude the meeting. The meeting should normally be concluded at the scheduled closing time, unless important issues still remain to be discussed and members are willing to extend the meeting. Sometimes meetings may be concluded before the closing time, when key decision makers are not present, or when important information such as cost figures are not available. 8. Keeping â€Å"Minutes† of the Meeting – Since meetings are called to take important decisions concerning the organization, it is important to maintain a permanent written record of the proceedings, which can be referred to at a later stage, or serve as a guide for action. Such a record is known as â€Å"minutes† of the meeting and may be done in an informal or formal manner, depending on the type of meeting.