MGMT210:7:Online Introduction to Project Management

Discussion 3.1

1. Why might a contractor company perform a SWOT analysis prior to bidding on a potential project? 

Discussion 3.2

2. How are risks, assumptions, and constraints related?

Discussion 4.1

Go to an Internet search engine (e.g., Google) and type in "project communication plan." Check three or four that have ".gov" as their source. How are they similar or dissimilar? What would be your conclusion concerning the importance of an internal communication plan?

Midterm Assignment

1. When should relationship building between the project manager/other core team members and important stakeholders occur?

2. List the items that go into a project team meeting agenda and tell the purpose of each.

3. What is the first step in developing a project scope management plan?

4. List the major sections that should be included in a change request form, and tell why each is important.

Discussion 5.1

Why are accurate estimates critical to effective project management?

Discussion 5.2

Define what a "white elephant" is in project management? Provide a real life example.

Discussion 6.1

How are WBS and project networks linked? Why bother creating a WBS? Why not go straight to a project network and forget the WBS?

Discussion 6.2

Why is slack important to the project manager? What is the difference between free slack and total slack?

ENGL101:7:Online English Composition I

Module 4 Midterm Exam – Writing Projects Rehetorical Analysis

MIDTERM EXAM Writing Projects Rhetorical Analysis Choose one to write about: 

1. Select a classic speech, such as Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address or Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and write a rhetorical analysis of it. Use one of the frameworks described in this chapter for your analysis. Assume your audience to be your classmates or others who might be interested in rhetoric and oratory. (You can easily find lists of famous speeches by searching online.) 

2. Alternatively, analyze a contemporary speech you have heard, such as an address given on your campus by a guest speaker or a speech from a current political campaign. (Such speeches are often available on YouTube or news websites.) 

3. Do a rhetorical analysis of promotional materials from an organization or agency that is involved in some kind of public advocacy—for example, on public health or environmental issues, social issues such as bullying, or a similar issue that interests you. The document you select for your analysis might be a flyer, direct-mail campaign letter, a public service announcement, a website, or an advertisement. For your analysis, conduct research to learn more about the organization and the issue it addresses. Select a framework for analysis that you think is most appropriate for the kind of text you are analyzing—or use a combination of frameworks. Based on your analysis, make recommendations to the organization or agency about how they might make their materials more persuasive. 

4. Do a rhetorical analysis of your college or university website (or one section of that website). Based on your analysis, make recommendations for revising the website to make it more appealing to students and other potential audiences.

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ENGL101:9:Online English Composition I

Midterm Revision and Evaluation

Read the feedback from the essay you wrote last week. Make changes to improve your essay and re-submit it. Then fill out this  self-evaluation form.

Revision suggestions:

-Check the organization of your essay. Do you have a clear argument in your introduction? Do you have a clear topic sentence for each body paragraph?

-Check the development of your essay. Do you have support and evidence in each body paragraph? Do you use your own ideas, examples, and opinions (not just research)?

-Check grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure, etc. 

Rhetorical Analysis Assignment

Step 1: Choose one of the articles from the book to read and analyze. You don't have to agree or disagree with the article, but choose something that sounds interesting to you.

The Perils of Trashing the Values of College by Margaret Spellings

The Bad News About Good News by Alexander Nazaryan

A Tale of Three Cities by Kolundi Serumaga

Check-the-Box Training Won't Work. Communities of Color Must Drive Policing by Ron Johnson

Supporting the Gender Expansive Student by Shannon Sheldon

Mapping My Mother by Anna Kushner

Step 2: Answer the five questions below to start preparing for the full written literary/rhetorical analysis. 

1. Briefly summarize this passage in a few sentences. Describe the main idea and some of the major points in your own words.

2. Ethos is proof that a writer is someone we can trust. Discuss the author's ethos in a few sentences. Is there any proof that this writer is an expert on this topic?

(Look for clues like: the author is a professional writer, has a job related to the topic, has done a large amount of research on the topic, etc. You might be able to Google the writer for more background information or find information at the bottom of the article).

3. Logos is logic and supported evidence. Discuss the author's use of logos. What are some examples? 

(Look for: detailed explanations, quotations from experts and other sources, statistics, studies, examples that support a point, etc.)

4. Pathos is related to emotion and connecting to the readers' feelings. Discuss the author's use of pathos. What are some examples?

(Look for: sentences that are written to make readers feel sad, angry, excited, passionate, nostalgic, etc. Personal stories that connect with the audience or make the writer seem like a relatable person can also be pathos).

5. In your opinion, does this writer need more ethos, pathos, or logos? Is there anything effective or ineffective about this writing? (Write 2-3 sentences. You can add more to your opinion in the writing assignment next week). 

Hint: If you are having any trouble identifying ethos, pathos, and logos, look at the examples  here . Some essays don't have many examples of all three.

Reading Reviews

Do you often read reviews of movies, products, restaurants, etc.? Why or why not? 

Write a paragraph or so discussing your ideas.

Comparison Reading and Discussion

Read the comparison essay below. Then post your answers to these questions:

1) Why do you think someone would read an essay like this? Who is the audience?

2) What is another difference between a 'good' and 'bad' boss that is not mentioned in this essay. Briefly explain it.

Differences Between Good and Bad Bosses

Everyone knows how important it is to have favorable conditions at the workplace. Starting from trivial things such as air conditioners or coolers with fresh water, and ending up with flexible schedules and good relationships with colleagues—all this, as well as many other factors, impact employees’ productivity and quality of work. In this regard, one of the most important factors is the manager, or the boss, who directs the working process. It is not a secret that bosses are often a category of people difficult to deal with: many of them are unfairly demanding, tyrannic, prone to shifting their responsibilities to other workers, and so on. At the same time, there are many bosses who not only manage to maintain their staff’s productivity at high levels, but also treat them nicely, fairly, with understanding, and are pleasant to work with. Let us try to figure out the differences between good and bad managers, or bosses.       

There are numerous cases when a boss sees his or her staff as personal attendants. The scales of this attitude can vary: some bosses may from time to time ask an employee to bring them a cup of coffee—this is tolerable, and in many cases this can be evaluated as a friendly favor a coworker would do for another coworker without feeling inferior or exploited. However, there are managers whose personal demands go far beyond friendly requests. Highly qualified workers sometimes have to face humiliating demands; for example, Jennifer (the name is changed)—a finance executive in a big company—had to dress up like a Japanese woman, because her boss demanded her to do so. Or, another victim of unfair chief-subordinate relationships, Marisa, had to stay in the office late after work, because her boss required her to (attention!) trim his ear hair (Everwise).

A “good” boss would obviously not treat his or her subordinates like this. Respecting their feelings, dignity, and personal space, such a boss would not demand colleagues to do personal favors, making use of a higher position in a company’s hierarchy. As it has been mentioned before, asking for a cup of coffee or some other small favor can be tolerable if it does not harm a worker’s productivity and/or somehow infringes upon their dignity. Such favors are often made by subordinate employees for each other, and probably cannot be evaluated as exploitation. Things like those described in the previous paragraph, however, go far beyond a friendly attitude, and feel more like exploitation.

There are bosses who are typical “emotional vampires.” These people are extremely difficult to work with, and even though they may possess traits necessary for performing their duties excellently, their subordinates usually suffer severe stress because of their bosses’ psychological peculiarities. According to the clinical psychologist Albert Bernstein, vampires fall under four categories: anti-socials, who pursue excitement in all of its forms; obsessive-compulsives, who meticulously seek for the slightest flaws in their subordinates’ work and micromanage everything; histrionics, who need other people’s attention, and narcissists, who believe they are the most spectacular, valuable, and professional employees in the company (Everwise). Each of these types can be emotionally dangerous for employees. For example, anti-social bosses may provoke conflicts within the office environment, and then enjoy the emotional dramas following up; narcissists will criticize everything and everyone, never satisfied with the work their subordinates do, but never “stooping low enough” to organize it in such a way that benefits everyone; obsessive-compulsive bosses can drive employees crazy with trying to handle and regulate every little detail of the working process—implementing rules for ridiculous things like how sharp should pencils be, or what angle monitors should be. It does not mean that emotional vampires do it on purpose: rather often, such traits are subconscious behavioral patterns, but this still does not make employees’ lives easier.

A “good boss,” on the contrary, does not try to regulate everything, or put himself or herself on a pedestal. Such a person is supportive, knows the weak and the strong professional traits of each of his or her subordinates, listens to what staff has to say (and not just listens, but cares about implementing good ideas), encourages personnel, and cares not just about the work done but also about the team in general and about each of the team’s members. “Bad” bosses may be highly competent in the latest theories regarding their field of work, but it is the skill to manage personnel, to inspire rather than to enforce, which makes yet another difference between the good and the bad boss (Developing People). And even though it is important for a manager to care about the tasks his or her team must accomplish, a good manager will always consider the capabilities and skills of his or her team, instead of blatantly demanding results without regarding how people in the team feel.

All this does not mean that a good boss is one who is nice and tender to his or her subordinates, and a bad boss is one who demands too much, though. In fact, a “good” boss can possess all the traits of a “bad” one: he or she can criticize, yell, or force people to do a lot of work within a short period of time, for example. However, it is the sense of limits that makes the difference. Robert Sutton, a professor of management at Stanford University, says that: “The best bosses have that ability to sort of turn up the volume, to be pushy, to get in people’s faces when they need it, maybe to give them some negative feedback, and to back off when it’s the right time to do that as well. We want people leading us who are confident, who are competent, who act like they’re in charge, who make firm decisions, but we don’t want to work for arrogant, pigheaded bastards who can’t take input. And so what you end up with is sort of this challenge—what great bosses do is find a way to walk the line between these two things” (Business Insider). In other words, many of the “nasty” things “bad” bosses do can be done by “good” bosses as well, but a “good” boss uses such tactics only when it is necessary and knows when to stop being pushy—unlike “bad” bosses, who know no other manner of management.

The relationships between bosses and their employees greatly affect the productivity and the quality of work within any company—this is why it is important that these relationships are, if not friendly, then at least constructive and respectful. Unfortunately, not all managers know how to treat their personnel well. There are traits that indicate a bad boss with almost 100% accuracy: such bosses often treat their subordinates as personal attendants, are demanding, pushy, and offensive for no real reason, or may let their negative traits of character loose, turning the life of regular employees into psychological hell (as in the case of emotional vampires). On the contrary, good bosses treat their subordinates with respect, consider their emotions and professional capabilities, care about teamwork, try to inspire employees instead of forcing them to do something, and even when they need to be pushy and harsh, such bosses always know when to stop.

Works Cited

Giang, Vivian. “This is the Difference Between a Good and Bad Boss.” Business Insider. Business Insider, 02 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 June 2017.

“The Difference Between Good and Great Managers.” Everwise. N.p., 13 June 2016. Web. 16 June 2017.

“Good Manager vs. Bad Manager—What is the Difference?” Developing People. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 16 June 2017.

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