The Issue Of Illegal Immigration Essay - 977 Words

Securing Our Borders Illegal immigration is an issue that plagues the border states and it must be controlled. What should be done with illegal immigrants has been a hotly contested issue in the news and also during the current election process. In â€Å"Obama’s Numbers April 2016 Update†, Brooks Jackson states that in 2014, 11.3 million illegal immigrants came into the US. The Democrats and Republicans debate on whether amnesty or mass deportation is the better alternative on what to do with these illegal immigrants. I personally believe that mass deportation is a more effective means of dealing with illegal immigration due to it being more cost effective than amnesty, removing potential criminals with ties to the cartels, and is unfair to people that have or wish to come into our country legally. The costs of amnesty is far too high to be a real solution to the illegal immigration issue. â€Å"The Immigration Bill’s ‘$6.3 Trillion Price Tag’†, Robert Farley states that the cost of amnesty ranges from $6.3 to $5.3 trillion over the next 50 years.Thatà ¢â‚¬â„¢s about $126 billion to $106 billion per year. In â€Å"Trumps Deportation Plan ‘Prohibitively Expensive†, Dolla Estevez states that Trump’s deportation plan would require the federal government to spend â€Å"roughly $400 billion to $600 billion to deport 11.3 million undocumented immigrants and prevent future unlawful entry into the U.S. over a 20 year time period,† (Estevez). This is a much easier pill to swallow, as it will only cost $30Show MoreRelatedIllegal Immigration Issues1082 Words   |  5 PagesIllegal immigration is quickly becoming a big issue in this country. With the country divided on whether to call for improved border security and reform for illegal citizens to be naturalized, there is something that needs to be done. Illegal immigration in the United States is something the government needs to begin focusing on and reaching a decision to help improve the wellbeing of this country. There are too many people in which are affected by this issue for it not to be at the top of CongressesRead MoreThe Issue Of Illegal Immigration1523 Words   |  7 PagesThe issue of illegal immigration has become one of the most important issues of concern to the international community and the countries that represent a source of migrants as well as countries that receive them it is worth mentioning that there is a close link will appear in the coming days between the global financial crisis and the issue of illegal immigration; since that crisis will push millions of young people to the lists of unemployed to increase their number in developing countries, andRead MoreThe Issue Of Illegal Immigration1420 Words   |  6 PagesOne of the most controversial issues in politics today is that of illegal immigration. â€Å"Immigration has been a constant source of economic vitality and demographic dynamism throughout our nation’s history.† (CAP Immigration Team, 2014) There are thousands of immigrants that arrive in the United States each year. Over the years, illegal immigration has been growing despite policies made to prevent this growth. In my opinion, immigration will continue to be a social issue that is fiercely debated duringRead MoreThe Issue Of Illegal Immigration1623 Words   |  7 Pagesbecome very popular, illegal immigration. The primary question that is asked is, â€Å"How will you deport and limit the number of illegal immigrants in the United States?† This question got me thinking, If I were in their position what would I say in response? The following essay will illustrate the ideas on illegal immigration. Facts Immigration has always been a problem ever since we put a border between the United States and Mexico. In the beginning it really was not as big of an issue that it is todayRead MoreIllegal Immigration Is Not The Issue961 Words   |  4 PagesUndocumented Issue Often when I dive into almost any political debate or national issue I find that people love to argue over the symptoms of an issue and almost never the root cause. Illegal immigration is just one of these symptoms, however I prefer the more accurate term of undocumented immigration. Illegal immigration is not the issue at hand, the issue at hand is that the state and federal governments do not want people working that are undocumented. First of all, what makes one an illegal immigrantRead MoreIssues of Illegal Immigration2970 Words   |  12 Pagesa hotbed for illegal immigration issues, so the news flew under the radar. Last year, the state enacted immigration reform of its own after tiring of seeing politicians of all stripes kick the problem down the road. But heres the thing the reforms worked. The states unemployment rate fell 0.6%, and a lot of those new jobs that were created were specifically attributed to companies hiring Americans after shedding their illegal workers (Munro, 2011). So what is it about immigration reform? EverybodyRead MoreThe Issue Of Illegal Immigration Essay2314 Words   |  10 PagesImmigration Immigration has been a controversial topic for decades. It began a long time ago when slaves were brought in from the atlantic as a response to the increasing demand for labor in the United States. There were no legislative restrictions on immigration until the 1800s. Immigration began to become more of an issue as more and more people began to enter the United States, and as more people were found to be living illegally, the problem of illegal immigration arose. There are manyRead MoreThe Issue Of Illegal Immigration1069 Words   |  5 PagesIllegal immigration has become an explosive issue in the U.S. Many people have debated fervently in their disapproval of illegal immigration, whereas others defend it just as ardently. The church and Christian religion/theology has been drawn into the fray over illegal aliens as well, with Christians on both sides seeking to validate their positions based on their own individual beliefs. I interviewed many different people with equall y varying opinions on the matter. Over the past few months, manyRead MoreThe Issue Of Illegal Immigration1519 Words   |  7 PagesNo issue in any immigration policy kindles more dispute than the issue of illegal immigration. Unfortunately, some people confuse legal and illegal immigration. Legal immigrants are here legally. They have the proper, legal documents that allow them to live and work in the U.S. without complications. Illegal immigrants are defined as anyone who was born in a country other than the U.S. to parents who are not official U.S. citizens; they enter the U.S. without legal documents to prove their legalRead MoreThe Media And The Issue Of Illegal Immigration777 Words   |  4 Pages Paper #1: Discuss how the different media outlets frame the issue of illegal immigration? It is commonly known that media coverage of anything controversial can be faulty, and biased. ABC News and CCN News could cover the same story, in different ways. This is amplified in cases that affect different audiences (as in age, race, financial class), because certain stations are aimed towards a certain audience. A great example of this is FOX and FOX Latino. The two stations, though sister stations

Black Ops Vs Marvel Baby Groot Bop It - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1191 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2018/12/26 Category Entertainment Essay Type Review Level High school Did you like this example? A game can be defined as a structured form of play, normally undertaken for the purpose of having fun and may also apply as a tool for education. Games have been part of different cultures since the ancient era. In most cases, games help to facilitate the learning as well as the development of children. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Black Ops Vs Marvel Baby Groot Bop It" essay for you Create order Moreover, as an educational tool, games also teach children how to master skills, overcome obstacles and reach certain goals. In addition to that, games also tend to help maintain social connections with other individuals. Moreover, even though games are always considered to be a leisure activity, some games are always undertaken by individuals to be professional occupations. Therefore, this paper will compare and contrast marvel baby Groot Bop it! With another controversial serial game set known as Black Ops in categories such as ratings, purpose or goals of the games as well as the levels of violence in each game. Marvel baby Groot BOP IT is a popular electronic Bop it! Game loved by kids. The game has a Marvel guardian twist. The games edition is also designed to look like the baby character Groot. During the game, the players press and twist the characters head and also pull his legs to play the game. The game also combines the sounds made by the rocket raccoon with a classic Bop it! Play! Sometimes the players may try to keep up with the commands of the games, however, when they hear the game call outPass it, they have to hand over the game to the next person. Moreover, this game is great for playing with friends or for players who want to challenge themselves. Black Ops is an epic campaign story which takes the player to a variety of locations as well as conflicts across the globe. The game involves a first-person shooter with a tactical aspects of play which puts the player in the role of a shadow soldier who fights in a variety of fictional black ops missions of the cold war period. The game is one of the biggest first-person controversial action series of all time. Moreover, black Ops will take the player behind the enemys territories as a member of a special elite force unit, which engages the player into a covert warfare, classified operation procedures as well as explosive conflicts across the world. Moreover, following the players access to exclusive weapon equipments his or her actions will take place at the most dangerous time of mans life. The modern warfare blockbuster having being initially created with the input of actual Black Ops soldiers, the game consists of a mix between a traditional call of duty tactical shooter with a new game play option designed to expand the experience of the player. Purpose or goal of game In most cases, majority of the video games are designed for the purpose of entertaining people. However, there are other video games which are designed with a specific purpose. The purpose of the games tend to vary based on the nature of information itself. For instance, the main purpose of Black Ops is to promote science, education and social change. Moreover, by watching or playing such a game one is able to learn the actual life lessons. On top of that, the main goal or the purpose of Marvel baby Groot Bop it! Is to promote social change, educate and entertain its viewers. Comparison Both games promote entertainment, social change and education to the player. Moreover, the player is also able to learn the aspects of life. Contrast In Black Ops the player is able to learn concepts such as science, while in Marvel Baby Groot Bop It! The player cannot. The players or the viewers are able to learn more about social change in Marvel Baby Groot, something which they cannot learn in Black Ops. The level of violence Since we are all in agreement about the cultural as well as the economic significance we can no longer argue thatit is just a game. The level of violence applied in both games appears to be different. For instance, in Black Ops, the first thing a player sees once he or she gains control of the unit is a man burning alive inside a box. Later in the same unit the player discovers an abducted agent of the CIA trapped in a shipping container for days which is a useful way for the player to think about a better way of playing the game. However, the last thing the player sees on the game, is a man pouring gasoline on himself and lighting himself on fire. This game shows that there is a lot of torture in Black Ops. In some instances, Hands are stabbed, knees are shot, the faces of the victims are slashed, and there is menace of the children. In addition to that, a woman in a short dress also gets shot in the game. However, the difference in the level of violence between black ops and marvel baby Groot bop it! Is quite large. For instance, Groot is a terrestrial monster from planet X who comes to earth to capture human beings. The creature speaks a language that is difficult to understand due to the stiffness of their laryngnes, thus causing the speech to sound as if it is being repeated. The story reveals that other creatures similar to Groot have been abducting beings from other planets, including a young girl known as Hannah. However, after Groot catches a glimpse of Hannah, he realizes that they were doing was wrong. He manages to save the young girl but due to his disobedience, baby Groot is exiled from his planet and is forced to wonder around the earth until he meets the Rocket Raccoon several decades later. Even though there is violence involved in both games, the level of violence involved in Black Ops is much higher compared to the level of violence involved in Marvel Baby Groot Bop i t! The level of torture in the controversial serial game appears to be high compared to the electronic game. Comparison The concept of violence has been involved in both games, however, the level of intensity in Black Ops is much higher compared to Marvel Baby Groot Bop it. Ratings Black Ops has been rated 4.3 out of 5 stars, while Marvel Baby Groot Bop it has been rated 4.1 out of 5 stars. Conclusion This essay compares and contrasts two games namely Black Ops and Marvel Baby Groot Bop it! What parents need to know is that Black Ops is a violent military first person shooter game which the player used several weapons and explosives to kill the enemies as well as human controlled avatars. The game features violent combat scenes and lots of blood spills. Moreover, Marvel Groot Bop it is an electronic game with a marvel twist. The game is mostly loved by small kids who watch it for the purpose of entertainment and social change. Work cited Geraghty, Tony. Black Ops: The Rise of Special Forces in the C.i.a., the S.a.s., and Mossad. , 2012. Internet resource. https://www.walmart.com/ip/MARVEL-BABY-GROOT-BOP-IT/172393322

Vampire Academy Chapter 10 Free Essays

TEN â€Å"EXCUSE ME, MR. NAGY? I CANT really concentrate with Lissa and Rose passing notes over there.† Mia was attempting to distract attention from herself – as well as from her inability to answer Mr. We will write a custom essay sample on Vampire Academy Chapter 10 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Nagy’s question – and it was ruining what had otherwise been a promising day. A few of the fox rumors still circulated, but most people wanted to talk about Christian attacking Ralf. I still hadn’t cleared Christian of the fox incident – I was pretty sure he was psycho enough to have done it as some crazy sign of affection for Lissa – but whatever his motives, he had shifted the attention off her, just as he’d said. Mr. Nagy legendary for his ability to humiliate students by reading notes aloud, homed in on us like a missile. He snatched the note away, and the excited class settled in for a full reading. I swallowed my groan, trying to look as blank and unconcerned as possible. Beside me, Lissa looked like she wanted to die. â€Å"My, my,† he said, looking the note over. â€Å"If only students would write this much in their essays. One of you has considerably worse writing than the other, so forgive me if I get anything wrong here.† He cleared his throat. † ? ®So, I saw J last night,’ begins the person with bad handwriting, to which the response is, ? ®What happened,’ followed by no fewer than five question marks. Understandable, since sometimes one – let alone four – just won’t get the point across, eh?† The class laughed, and I noticed Mia throwing me a particularly mean smile. â€Å"The first speaker responds: ? ®What do you think happened? We hooked up in one of the empty lounges.’ â€Å" Mr. Nagy glanced up after hearing some more giggles in the room. His British accent only added to the hilarity. â€Å"May I assume by this reaction that the use of ? ®hook up’ pertains to the more recent, shall we say, carnal application of the term than the tamer one I grew up with?† More snickers ensued. Straightening up, I said boldly, â€Å"Yes, sir, Mr. Nagy. That would be correct, sir.† A number of people in the class laughed outright. â€Å"Thank you for that confirmation, Miss Hathaway. Now, where was I? Ah yes, the other speaker then asks, ? ®How was it?’ The response is, ? ®Good,’ punctuated with a smiley face to confirm said adjective. Well. I suppose kudos are in order for the mysterious J, hmmm? ? ®So, like, how far did you guys go?’ Uh, ladies,† said Mr. Nagy, â€Å"I do hope this doesn’t surpass a PG rating. ? ®Not very. We got caught.’ And again, we are shown the severity of the situation, this time through the use of a not-smiling face. ? ®What happened?’ ? ®Dimitri showed up. He threw Jesse out and then bitched me out.’ â€Å" The class lost it, both from hearing Mr. Nagy say â€Å"bitched† and from finally getting some participants named. â€Å"Why, Mr. Zeklos, are you the aforementioned J? The one who earned a smiley face from the sloppy writer?† Jesse’s face turned beet red, but he didn’t look entirely displeased at having his exploits made known in front of his friends. He’d kept what had happened a secret thus far – including the blood talk – because I suspected Dimitri had scared the hell out of him. â€Å"Well, while I applaud a good misadventure as much as the next teacher whose time is utterly wasted, do remind your ? ®friends’ in the future that my class is not a chat room.† He tossed the paper back on to Lissa’s desk. â€Å"Miss Hathaway, it seems there’s no feasible way to punish you, since you’re already maxed out on penalties around here. Ergo, you, Miss Dragomir, will serve two detentions instead of one on behalf of your friend. Stay here when the bell rings, please.† After class, Jesse found me, an uneasy look on his face. â€Å"Hey, um, about that note†¦you know I didn’t have anything to do with that. If Belikov finds out about it†¦you’ll tell him? I mean, you’ll let him know I didn’t – â€Å" â€Å"Yeah, yeah,† I interrupted him. â€Å"Don’t worry, you’re safe.† Standing with me, Lissa watched him walk out of the room. Thinking of how easily Dimitri had thrown him around – and of his apparent cowardice – I couldn’t help but remark, â€Å"You know, Jesse’s suddenly not as hot as I used to think.† She only laughed. â€Å"You’d better go. I’ve got desks to wash.† I left her, heading back for my dorm. As I did, I passed a number of students gathered in small clusters outside the building. I regarded them wistfully, wishing I had the free time to socialize. â€Å"No, it’s true,† I heard a confident voice say. Camille Conta. Beautiful and popular, from one of the most prestigious families in the Conta clan. She and Lissa had sort of been friends before we left, in the uneasy way two powerful forces keep an eye on each other. â€Å"They, like, clean toilets or something.† â€Å"Oh my God,† her friend said. â€Å"I’d die if I was Mia.† I smiled. Apparently Jesse had spread some of the stories I’d told him last night. Unfortunately, the next overheard conversation shattered my victory. † – heard it was still alive. Like, twitching on her bed.† â€Å"That is so gross. Why would they just leave it there?† â€Å"I don’t know. Why kill it in the first place?† â€Å"You think Ralf was right? That she and Rose did it to get kicked – â€Å" They saw me and shut up. Scowling, I skulked off across the quadrangle. Still alive, still alive. I’d refused to let Lissa talk about the similarities between the fox and what had happened two years ago. I didn’t want to believe they were connected, and I certainly didn’t want her to either. But I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that incident, not only because it was chilling, but because it really did remind me of what had just happened in her room. We had been out in the woods near campus one evening, having skipped out on our last class. I’d traded a pair of cute, rhinestone-studded sandals to Abby Badica for a bottle of peach schnapps – desperate, yes, but you did what you had to in Montana – which she’d somehow gotten hold of. Lissa had shaken her head in disapproval when I suggested cutting class to go put the bottle out of its misery, but she’d come along anyway. Like always. We found an old log to sit on near a scummy green marsh. A half-moon cast a tiny sliver of light on us, but it was more than enough for vampires and half-vampires to see by. Passing the bottle back and forth, I grilled her on Aaron. She’d fessed up that the two of them had had sex the weekend before, and I felt a surge of jealousy that she’d been the one to have sex first. â€Å"So what was it like?† She shrugged and took another drink. â€Å"I don’t know. It wasn’t anything.† â€Å"What do you mean it wasn’t anything? Didn’t the earth move or the planets align or something?† â€Å"No,† she said, smothering a laugh. â€Å"Of course not.† I didn’t really get why that should be funny, but I could tell she didn’t want to talk about it. This was around the time the bond had begun forming, and her emotions were starting to creep into me now and then. I held up the bottle and glared at it. â€Å"I don’t think this stuff is working.† â€Å"That’s because there’s barely any alcohol in – â€Å" The sound of something moving in the brush came from nearby. I immediately shot up, putting my body between her and the noise. â€Å"It’s some animal,† she said when a minute went by in silence. That didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous. The school’s wards kept out Strigoi, but wild animals often wandered into the outskirts of campus, posing their own threats. Bears. Cougars. â€Å"Come on,† I told her. â€Å"Let’s head back.† We hadn’t gone very far when I heard something moving again, and someone stepped out into our path. â€Å"Ladies.† Ms. Karp. We froze, and whatever quick reactions I’d shown back by the marsh disappeared as I delayed a few moments in hiding the bottle behind my back. A half-smile crossed her face, and she held out her hand. Sheepishly, I gave the bottle to her, and she tucked it under her arm. She turned without another word, and we followed, knowing there would be consequences to deal with. â€Å"You think no one notices when half a class is gone?† she asked after a little while. â€Å"Half a class?† â€Å"A few of you apparently chose today to skip. Must be the nice weather. Spring fever.† Lissa and I trudged along. I’d never been comfortable around Ms. Karp since the time she’d healed my hands. Her weird, paranoid behavior had taken on a strange quality to me – a lot stranger than before. Scary, even. And lately I couldn’t look at her without seeing those marks by her forehead. Her deep red hair usually covered them but not always. Sometimes there were new marks; sometimes the old ones faded to nothing. A weird fluttering noise sounded to my right. We all stopped. â€Å"One of your classmates, I imagine,† murmured Ms. Karp, turning toward the sound. But when we reached the spot, we found a large black bird lying on the on the ground. Birds – and most animals – didn’t do anything for me, but even I had to admire its sleek feathers and fierce beak. It could probably peck someone’s eyes out in thirty seconds – if it weren’t obviously dying. With a last, halfhearted shake, the bird finally went still. â€Å"What is that? Is it a crow?† I asked. â€Å"Too big,† said Ms. Karp. â€Å"It’s a raven.† â€Å"Is it dead?† asked Lissa. I peered at it. â€Å"Yeah. Definitely dead. Don’t touch it.† â€Å"Probably attacked by another bird,† observed Ms. Karp. â€Å"They fight over territory and resources sometimes.† Lissa knelt down, compassion on her face. I wasn’t surprised, since she’d always had a thing for animals. She’d lectured me for days after I’d instigated the infamous hamster-and-hermit-crab fight. I’d viewed the fight as a testing of worthy opponents. She’d seen it as animal cruelty. Transfixed, she reached toward the raven. â€Å"Liss!† I exclaimed, horrified. â€Å"It’s probably got a disease.† But her hand moved out like she hadn’t even heard me. Ms. Karp stood there like a statue, her white face looking like a ghost’s. Lissa’s fingers stroked the raven’s wings. â€Å"Liss,† I repeated, starting to move toward her, to pull her back. Suddenly, a strange sensation flooded through my head, a sweetness that was beautiful and full of life. The feeling was so intense, it stopped me in my tracks. Then the raven moved. Lissa gave a small scream and snatched her hand back. We both stared wide-eyed. The raven flapped its wings, slowly trying to right itself and stand up. When it managed to do so, it turned toward us, fixing Lissa with a look that seemed too intelligent for a bird, its eyes held hers, and I couldn’t read her reaction through the bond. At long last, the raven broke the gaze and lifted into the air, strong wings carrying it away. Wind stirring the leaves was the only sound left. â€Å"Oh my God,† breathed Lissa. â€Å"What just happened?† â€Å"Hell if I know,† I said, hiding my stark terror. Ms. Karp strode forward and grabbed Lissa’s arm, forcefully turning her so that they faced each other. I was there in a flash, ready to take action if Crazy Karp tried anything, though even I had qualms about taking down a teacher. â€Å"Nothing happened,† said Ms. Karp in an urgent voice, her eyes wild-looking. â€Å"Do you hear me? Nothing. And you can’t tell anyone – anyone – about what you saw. Both of you. Promise me. Promise me you won’t ever talk about this again.† Lissa and I exchanged uneasy glances. â€Å"Okay† she croaked out. Ms. Karp’s grip relaxed a little. â€Å"And don’t ever do it again. If you do, they’ll find out. They’ll try to find you.† She turned to me. â€Å"You can’t let her do it. Not ever again.† On the quad, outside my dorm, someone was saying my name. â€Å"Hey, Rose? I’ve called you, like, a hundred times.† I forgot about Ms. Karp and the raven and glanced over at Mason, who had apparently started walking with me toward the dorm while I was off in la-la land. â€Å"Sorry,† I mumbled. â€Å"I’m out of it. Just†¦um, tired.† â€Å"Too much excitement last night?† I gave him a narrow-eyed look. â€Å"Nothing I couldn’t handle.† â€Å"I guess,† he laughed, though he didn’t exactly sound amused. â€Å"Sounds like Jesse couldn’t handle it.† â€Å"He did okay.† â€Å"If you say so. But personally, I think you’ve got bad taste.† I stopped walking. â€Å"And I don’t think it’s any of your business.† He looked away angrily. â€Å"You made it the whole class’s business.† â€Å"Hey, I didn’t do that on purpose.† â€Å"Would’ve happened anyway. Jesse’s got a big mouth.† â€Å"He wouldn’t have told.† â€Å"Yeah,† said Mason. â€Å"Because he’s so cute and has such an important family.† â€Å"Stop being an idiot,† I snapped. â€Å"And why do you even care? Jealous I’m not doing it with you?† His flush grew, going all the way to the roots of his red hair. â€Å"I just don’t like hearing people talk shit about you, that’s all. There are a lot of nasty jokes going around. They’re calling you a slut.† â€Å"I don’t care what they call me.† â€Å"Oh, yeah. You’re really tough. You don’t need anyone.† I stopped. â€Å"I don’t. I’m one of the best novices in this fucking place. I don’t need you acting all gallant and coming to my defense. Don’t treat me like I’m some helpless girl.† I turned around and kept walking, but he caught up to me easily. The woes of being five-seven. â€Å"Look†¦I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m just worried about you.† I gave a harsh laugh. â€Å"I’m serious. Wait†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he began. â€Å"I, uh, did something for you. Sort of. I went to the library last night and tried to look up St. Vladimir,† I stopped again. â€Å"You did?† â€Å"Yeah, but there wasn’t much on Anna. All the books were kind of generic. Just talked about him healing people, bringing them back from the edge of death.† That last part hit a nerve. â€Å"Was†¦was there anything else?† I stammered. He shook his head. â€Å"No. You probably need some primary sources, but we don’t have any here.† â€Å"Primary what?† He scoffed, a smile breaking over his face. â€Å"Do you do anything but pass notes? We just talked about them the other day in Andrews’ class. They’re books from the actual time period you want to study. Secondary ones are written by people living today. You’ll get better information if you find something written by the guy himself. Or someone who actually knew him.† â€Å"Huh. Okay. What are you, like, a boy genius now?† Mason gave me a light punch in the arm. â€Å"I pay attention, that’s all. You’re so oblivious. You miss all sorts of things.† He smiled nervously. â€Å"And look†¦I really am sorry about what I said. I was just – â€Å" Jealous, I realized. I could see it in his eyes. How had I never noticed this before? He was crazy about me. I guess I really was oblivious. â€Å"It’s all right, Mase. Forget about it.† I smiled. â€Å"And thanks for looking that stuff up.† He smiled back, and I went inside, sad that I didn’t feel the same way about him. How to cite Vampire Academy Chapter 10, Essay examples

Developing Effective Communication Skills

Question: Discuss about the Developing Effective Communication Skills. Answer: Introduction It is often believed that having groups in making decisions is an essential idea as different ideas can lead to outcomes that a single person cannot accomplish. Once a decision has been made, the group finds it easier to get along in the implementation process as it is often believed that group decisions are fairer. However, Benjamin (2016) denotes that there are many complications that face the effectiveness of group performance and preventing them from achieving the full potential. It is hence essential to understand the steps that we can take in making groups that we are involved in effective. This paper focuses on a detailed discussion of communication as an aspect of the group success. It presents how the lack of proper communication can lead to dysfunctional behaviors in a group, recommendations for improving group performance, as well as steps that can be adopted to remove the dysfunctional behaviors in a team to ensure effective performance. Communication is an essential aspect when considering the possibility of effective performance between individual or group relationships. Camacho (2016) denotes that in making decisions, it is vital that effective communication is adopted by members of a team as well as the chosen leaders. It is a major determinant of clear decision-making in balancing the authority and input of the members and the leaders in finding solutions to possible challenges affecting the team according to Riordan (2016). Effective communication hence enables a team to evaluate possible challenges and differences, finding agreements, and breaking impasses when occasions demand (Rogers Creasy, 2016). Through effective communication, conflicts and issues are handled and delivered an effective and straightforward manner rather than underground where they are likely to destroy or taint the trust and dynamics of group performance. Functional and Dysfunctional behaviors in a team In a team, a functional behavior is defined as a group aspect that promotes the effective performance and efficient interaction of the team members in working towards achieving its goals and set objective. Such a group has all the physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional aspects of the group intact and united towards achieving a healthy fulfillment of tasks. According to Derue and Paul, (2015), such a group is often coupled with healthy communication and good relationship between the members and the leaders. In such a group, the members value each other, view their performance as a learning experience, are flexible to positive adjustments, and value each other as unique and essential to the success of the team (Sarkissian, 2016). On the other hand, a dysfunctional behavior is an abnormal behavior that is contrary to the expected or a vivid sense of the group performance diverting from the normal. Dysfunctional behavior is substantially harmful to the successful performance of a tea m and leads to the diminishment of the success of the team. According to Jackson and Joshi (2011), dysfunctional behaviors always create negative emotions among the members that hence diminish the performance. However, these consequences can disappear when the team members refrain from negative feelings. Effective communication is hence a key to preventing the detriments in team performance (Fortin, 2016). Dysfunctional behavior is a common experience leading to social undermining, antisocial behavioral changes, blame games, eventually the fall of a team, and is often tied to poor communication in solving the challenges that a team faces. For instance, as a team player and lover of economic development, I joined a group consisting of fifteen members, most of which are my colleagues from school and at work. As the foundation of the team, we had an objective of economic balance and stability. Members decided that each of us will be contributing a certain amount of money, with a minimum of $50 which will be channeled to a particular group account for savings as most of the members had an interest in venturing on small businesses. From the savings, we would be able to acquire loans for our small businesses. It was a great idea that picked off well at the beginning. Barely two years later, issues of mistrust started to arise with others having a fear that we had not thought well and the whole idea was not focused towards achieving something. We started getting unconfirmed rumors that the signatories were planning to disappear with the savings after secret withdrawals after realizing some few weaknesses in our constitutions that in the real sense only required some adjustments. Currently, we are still battling with finding the best solution to the issue. On the other hand, I also belong to a football team that is very effective and is performing very well. With football as my hobby, our team is very stable and functional where every team member values the contribution of the other players. With good leadership and effective communication, we are often able to sort our differences and work towards the goals, being the winners in every match. The two teams differ in the manner that they deal with the challenges and the negative emotions expressed by the members. In the first team, the members are implicitly or explicitly encouraged to express their negative feelings blowing off the steam and morale of performance of the members. The team is hence imprisoned by frustration and anxiety resulting to dysfunctional behavior. Even though the team members are exhausting their resources in trying to cope up with the negative feelings and challenges they are facing, lack of effective communication between the leaders and among the members themselves is leading to the decline of the overall performance. On the other hand, the football team operates differently with every member knowing that the success of the team is the success of everyone. In contrast to the first team, the group members tend to withhold their expression of negative thoughts and battle up their game as the feelings can only make things worse during a match. Inste ad, players remain focused towards the tasks at hand enabling the team to retain the level of its performance. At the end of every task, the team meets to discuss everything that transpires during their matches and training so as to find solutions to possible challenges, an aspect that ensured the team is intact. It is hence evident that effective communication leads to dysfunctional team behavior as it determines the way they express their feelings (Liden, 2015). Recommendations for improving group performance In their study, Goodwin and Halpin (2013), Yetton and Bottger (2015), and Bufanio (2014) recommend the following procedure as effective in improving the functionality of the group. Once there is a realization in the dysfunctional nature of the team and possible toxic behaviors that might affect performance, it is recommended that the team adopt a simple four-step process that will help re-directing the team into the right direction. However, the claim of the procedure is not saddling mindless formulaic steps to be adopted but to help the team think about their course of action in a more detailed manner. It is hence a strategy that will ensure the team interventions targets the real toxicity while not just dealing with the symptoms. Glen and Maria (2016) claim that following these steps with initiating full understanding of the issues that will help the team in underpinning the team toxicity issues and increase its chances of being functional. These steps include; Finding the toxic behaviors and their impacts that are causing the team to be dysfunctional Claiming and assigning responsibilities Choosing or making decisions on possible interventions Implementing and monitoring the performance First, it is essential to identify the dysfunctional nature of the team while evaluating every toxic behavior as well as the impacts it has caused in a group. With the help and contribution of every team member, the team leader should begin by listing the most troubling behaviors. The list does not need to be very exhaustive nor should the team start analyzing them yet. According to Glen and Maria (2016), generating a good list will require the team member to find answers to the questions such as what areas do most of the team members complain about, what bothers the leader most, or what are the possible excuses that people often use. The whole of the team should be held in a brainstorming conversation together to find possible answers to these issues and concerns. Riordan (2016) denotes that the team then needs to analyze the meaning of the behaviors regarding how they impact operations, emotional response of the team, and the assumptions that often arise when they occur. The second step often involves claiming and assigning responsibilities by rethinking blames and conflicts while adopting effective future-oriented approaches. In this case, the ability of the team leader to create a challenge or allow it to fester and accurately see his responsibility will help in choosing the right intervention and be the example for the team of what it means to take responsibility. Glen and Maria (2016) denote that a dysfunctional team is like a broken system where an individual cannot be responsible for the descent of the team into toxicity. In a healthy group, inconsistent behavior of one person towards the groups expectation should either be corrected or rejected Jackson and Joshi (2011). Healthy teams do have social norms acting like the immune system to reject irresponsible behavior instead of allowing it to multiply since unhealthy team often protect any toxic status quo. The third step requires the team to choose a direction and intervention that will help in solving the issues identified. However, care needs to be taking in the evaluation of the principles of intervention adopted. For instance, the intervention adopted need to address the behavior, not assumptions or emotions. The intervention should also make a visible, forceful, symbolic break from the past as pointed out by Derue and Paul, (2015). Through the interventions adopted, the team members need to see the better future instead of the dark past. Depending on the behaviors identified, the options of the interventions adopted can be individual, collective, or structural. Individual interventions might be having a private conversation with responsible team members about their behavior and the expectations of the team for future behavior. A specialist can as well be hired to work with the individual on sorting their behavioral issues. However, the threat can as well be issued or demotions in extreme cases Goodwin and Halpin (2013). The collective interventions will affect the entire group since they are collectively visible and will help in establishing a shared sense of what behavior is expected. These can include communicating to everyone about the acceptable behavior, holding offsite meetings aimed at addressing team values, adopting training sessions and team-building arrangements, as well as the establishment of written formal ground rules for acceptable behaviors. A structural intervention can be restructuring the roles of the team and reassigning to fill the roles. Fourth, the success of the team is dependent on the implementation and monitoring the communication intervention of choice. Increasing the chances of survival and success hence require the team to enlist key players who can be entrusted with different roles and responsibilities of the discussed issues (Derue and Paul, 2015). These should have a future focus, acknowledgment of emotions to diffuse them, being clear on what is acceptable and what is unacceptable, focusing on the selected principles, and a relentless follow-up. Removing dysfunctional behaviors and enhancing functional behaviors Many studies and reviews on effective team performance denote that serious strife within teams is often a common challenge according to Yetton and Bottger (2015). The same study denotes that among individuals, strive can arise as a result of poor productivity, low job satisfaction, despair, physical ailments, anger, and team discord that causes stress. For a team, these factors can impair learning, collaboration, productivity, and survival of the group. Discord can lead to an increment of the organizational operation costs when an organization needs to invest in performance management, medication, conflict resolution, and coaching. Goodwin and Halpin (2013) also point out that the toxicity of a group can greatly affect the group members as well as the organizational performance. However, the following can be adopted to help a toxic group recover from any dysfunctional behavior; The group leaders need to initiate a crucial group conversation In his study, Fortin (2016) denotes that the ability of a leader to address team conflicts is an essential aspect of the effective performance of a team in resolving any existing toxicity. Ideally, the team leader should be able to address every issue that comes and is likely to result in a conflict. However, in case the leader is also part of the problem, it will call for the need of an external person to initiate the conversation. Sarkissian (2016) denotes that a true mettle of a group or team goes into a test through observation of how it deals with violated expectations and bad behaviors, while the success will depend on how the leader handles the issues. Therefore, leaders that often avoid crucial conversations in fear of damaging their relationships ultimately pay the price of a damaged team performance and morale. Stopping bullying to focus on accountability Once a leader has initiated a conversation, Benjamin (2016) denotes that it is essential for the team members to join and take responsibility for their actions and roles in causing the toxic aspects affecting the team. It is often far easier to join and blame others than to take responsibility for ones offense as other members can bully others to get their way. At times, it can take the form of yelling, glaring, humiliating, spreading rumors, interrupting, making unfounded accusations, undervaluing, glaring, or sabotaging other group members. In his study, Fortin (2016) denotes that such actions only result in creating miserable working environments. Instead, members need to focus on engaging in behaviors that can help the team to move forward and achieve results. For instance, sports team often call players only in meetings that will help them to turn around losing situations, rebuild teamwork, and raise morale, strategies that will often see the team through winning sides even with out the help of a coach. Work on conflict, communication, and problem-solving ideas and skills Just as a person can need assistance with personal relationships, a team can also need help in sorting and developing positive and beneficial relationships. Intense cases, people often make rash decisions and judgments and assign blames. However, Jackson and Joshi (2011) point out that professionally facilitated occasion can help in the airing of basic issues so as to help to make better team relationships and effective performance. Creating shared goals and shared visions Having clear goals along with a shared vision with the larger purpose behind the goals gives the team a structure and direction as well as a context within which decisions can be made by members. The goals setting process should as well involve the team to increase the buy-in ability of each member, their commitment, and proper planning aimed at achieving the individual goals. In the dysfunctional and toxic satiations of a team, Riordan (2016) denotes that everyone needs to focus and move beyond the past by forgetting but learning from the past mistakes and pressing on together for greater future achievements. Developing a proper and strategic social contract for team behaviors With the help of the team leader, every team needs to set the ground rules that will govern the behavior of the team, information sharing, decision making, and support towards the ideas and shared objectives of each group member as pointed out by (Fortin, 2016). The same study denotes that social contracts can also set the norms for the interaction of the team. Members hence need to prescribe positive behaviors such as honesty, candid, transparency, and be careful of from being influenced by negative thoughts such as negative communication blasts to other team members. Recognizing that disagreements should not be used as a form of revenge Having differences in opinions, cognitive conflicts, and respectful debates can make contribute to a healthy team as pointed out by Yetton and Bottger (2015). Also, debating and discussing on serious issues regularly affecting the team can at the result into better team decisions. However, such issues can be very detrimental to the group when they get personal. It is this recommended that the team members need to know when to stop complaining or fighting and start more listening and gathering for more evidence. The leader should encourage the team members to remain open to new ideas, explore opinions, accept inputs from other people, and work towards achieving the win to win solutions. In doing so, every team member needs to accept the issues discussed and the chosen outcome and not harbor grudges against other members depending on the decisions made as well as their opinions. Conclusion The above literature analysis on the dynamics and effects of a group dysfunction points out that it can lead to devastation. It hence required that team members should recognize the fact so as to avoid missing opportunities for having great achievements that cannot be achieved by an individual but with a team as a whole. It is the reason for the common say that no one, not software billionaires, not professional athletes, not rock stars, and not even the geniuses and the sharp minds can make it alone. Getting the team working together in every stage of making decisions, it is possible to dominate any industry in the dynamic market against any competition. References Benjamin, D. R. (2016). 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