...Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is a book written by Malcolm Gladwell. This book introduces the concept of “thin slicing”. The concept refers to how in a split second or blink of an eye people can make an unconscious and accurate assessment of someone. Using the concept of thin slicing we can determine what is really important within the first few seconds when meeting someone. Malcolm Gladwell explained that first impressions or spontaneous decisions can be just as important as decisions that are made carefully and planned out. According to Gladwell, people make better decisions with quick judgments than they do with a lot of analysis. Gladwell believes that the power of thin slicing is not just something certain gifted people can do, it is something that everyone has the ability do. Gladwell also explains that our first decisions or first impressions can be easily corrupted by our likes, dislikes, prejudices, and stereotypes. We are thin slicing all the time according to Gladwell. Throughout the book Gladwell gives us many examples and experiments that support his concept of “thin Slicing”. Some of these examples include; predicting divorce, speed dating, gambling, malpractice suits, movies, military war games, and music. One of the important things that I have learned from reading this book is how important the process of decision making can be as a leader in business. As a business leader making...
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...Critical Essay – Short Essay Option Our second mind is not as simple as it seems. Blink is a behavioral economics book written in 2005 by British-Canadian Journalist Malcolm Gladwell, focusing on our ability to ‘’Thin Slice’’. He explains through this ability we are able to determine what is truly important from a narrow experience, suggesting our spontaneous decisions are often better than the ones we consider. Using several engaging examples, he warns however that this ability of ours is challenged by personal likes, dislikes and overload of information, and is in our best interest to train our first impression to understand this reality through experience. The lack of scientific research in Blink also suggests that it is anecdotal, but Gladwell accepts this reality himself and thoroughly explains every point he makes in regards to this single flaw. Drawing scenarios that practice this rapid cognition from science, advertising, medicine and many others, he is also able to directly engage the reader’s subconscious by random screening and thought provocation. Malcolm Gladwell’s theory brings awareness to the power of our unconscious decision-making and proposes various strategies that offer a solution to its fallacy, maintaining his veracity in the research presented despite the lack of scientific method. Malcolm Gladwell’s theory brings awareness to the power of our unconscious decision-making. Decisions made quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously. A...
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...Based on “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell, decisions made quickly and instantaneously can be just as effective as decisions made with careful consideration and long thought. The saga of the Getty Kouros relates to the thesis of the book because of the swift, unconscious decisions that trumped the decision that was made cautiously by examining the piece over time. Gladwell uses this example, accompanied by many to prove his thesis. In addition, he further explains why the conscientious decision that was made with such caution turned out to be so wrong. He proposes two reasons that explained why it resulted that way. Gladwell states, “That is partly because the scientific data seemed so compelling… But mostly it’s because the Getty desperately wanted...
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...Malcolm Gladwell’s famous novel, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, opens up a new idea of how first impressions truly have a major impact within our minds. Gladwell is not only a well known best selling author, having all five of his books on New York times best selling list, but also a respectable journalist. Gladwell introduces his idea of “thin-slicing” through situations with both good and bad outcomes. “Thin-Slicing” is the idea that humans are able to make accurate judgments based on solely a “thin slice” of knowledge. Gladwell’s notion supports humans can make decisions with merely a blink of an eye and be accurate. These snap decisions are made unconsciously. Throughout his book, Gladwell shows that “thin-slicing” is the...
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...Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, written by Malcolm Gladwell is about first impressions and snap judgments. Gladwell has three main objectives in this book: “to convince you that “decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately,” “to learn when to listen to that powerful onboard computer and when to be wary of it,” and “to convince you that our snap judgments and first impressions can be educated and controlled.” Gladwell starts off with the story of a kouros, an ancient Greek statue that was close to being purchased by the Getty Museum in California. After 14 months of in depth research to verify the authenticity of the statue, the Getty determined that it was authentic and went ahead with the purchase. That was until one...
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...Eating, drinking, breathing and especially thinking are actions we perform in our daily life without actually noticing the effort put forth. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell, explains exactly how the subconscious mind works to the average audience. Despite the difficulty level in explaining the mind’s magic, Gladwell uses multiple experiments that demonstrate the power of impressions and other psychological occurrences to guide the audience through the nonfiction piece. The author helped altered my viewpoint on the decisions I take and also kept me engaged throughout. It is quite devastating when I second guess my decisions but end up being correct the first time. Because of Blink, I changed the doubt I once...
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...Reflective Essay I first heard the term sustainability while I was doing my undergraduate in Electronics and Communication Engineering. We were taught that any system which is in stable equilibrium is sustainable and any system which is in unstable equilibrium is unsustainable. That concept made me wonder about when a sustainable system gets altered into an unsustainable system. After finishing my undergraduate degree I started working for a major manufacturing firm in India. There the term sustainability meant to decrease the scrap or waste from the manufacturing process in order to reduce cost. After working for a year I decided to pursue my Masters in Human Resource Management from XLRI which is located in India. Here again sustainability had a different interpretation and it essentially meant how long an implemented recommendation would hold under varied circumstances. As part of the course I had an opportunity to go for an exchange program to Aston University Birmingham. I had an option to choose from over 30 different modules as I was doing the masters exchange program. I wanted to select a module which was related to sustainability as I still did not have clear idea about what the word meant. Moreover, I wanted the module to integrate it with different aspects of the business, i.e. be interdisciplinary in nature. Hence I chose strategic business sustainability with the objective of understanding the true meaning of sustainability. To be honest before the course I never...
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...Book Review: The TIPPING POINT HOW LITTLE THINGS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE ByMalcolm Gladwell Table of Contents Introduction and Summary…………………………………………………………………… Page 2 Objectives of Study…………………………………………………………………………….Page 2 Method of Study…...………………………………………………………………………….. Page 2 Chapter wise summary and Critical Analyses……...…...…………………………………….. Page 3 Theoretical Framework………...……………………………………………………………… Page 6 Relating Theories to Practical Aspects……………………….……….………………………. Page 7 Learning and Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….... Page 9 “The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate.” -Malcolm Gladwell Introduction and Summary Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Pointis a compilation of compelling ideas and innovative thoughts in a field of study which so far had been considered mysterious and unquantifiable.The book challenges this premise and provides its readers with insights through real life examples and case studies which indicate how societies and individuals in a society can be influenced in order to tip ad existing trend and establish a new one. He decries the process with three key rules- the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context, with...
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...The Power of Packaging Alice Louw & Michelle Kimber The Customer Equity Company* In recent years packaging has developed well beyond its original function as merely a means of product protection and now plays a key marketing role in developing on shelf appeal, providing product information and establishing brand image and awareness. As packaging’s role in the marketing mix gains momentum, so research into this arena becomes increasingly important. Given the potential for packaging to successfully achieve marketing goals; does research into packaging truly reflects its value within the marketing mix? Do we fully understand the role that packaging plays in a marketing environment and how best to leverage this tool to influence consumers? If packaging is so important, what is the best way to measure its effectiveness? * The Customer Equity Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of TNS (UK) which has been set up to develop the marketing sciences and support brand equity and Commitment modelling worldwide. 1 What is packaging? The definitions of ‘packaging’ vary and range from being simple and functionallyfocused to more extensive, holistic interpretations. Packaging can be defined quite simply as an extrinsic element of the product (Olson and Jacoby (1972)) - an attribute that is related to the product but does not form part of the physical product itself. “Packaging is the container for a product – encompassing the physical appearance of the container and including...
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...“No pain, no joy.” -Carlos Eire “A bend of the road is not the end of the road… unless you fail to make the turn.” Where these words originate from, I can’t say, but I can say the I have never understood them more because of the inspiring story of Carlos Eire. The memoir of Carlos Eire, Learning To Die in Miami, is a first hand account of a young Cuban refugee boy’s escape from Fidel Castro’s, Castrolandia in 1962. From start to finish Eire recounts as many memories as his conscience and subconscious will allow. In his memoir he focuses heavily on his “nine months and two weeks,” at the “Palace Ricardo.” It is evident to me that Carlos was molded and changed from the experience. In this essay I will focus on this time in Carlos Eire’s life and expose those defining moments from his, “Palace Ricardo” Phase, and argue that not only did it alter his life, it also prepared him and awakened him to his life and years to follow by learning to “bend with the road”. I will also draw from other sources to further illuminate his path to success through this difficult time. To set the tone; when Carlos Eire began his experience at “The Palace Ricardo”, he had already been air lifted from his parents and home in Cuba and shuffled from refugee holding grounds surrounded by strangers where he ate strange food in a strange land. Then he was given to a Jewish foster family. From this place of comfort he grew to love, he was quickly thrown into a house that his parents never hoped for...
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...marketing 2/5 Ever since marketers acknowledged that there’s too much advertising (so people have learned to tune it out), and too many media channels (which makes it harder for advertisers to reach their now-fragmented audiences), they’ve been looking for alternative ways to get consumers to buy into their brand and buy their products. Most of the solutions being explored try to re-engage and interact with consumers in an old-style, ‘top-down’ approach, whereby Above-The-Line (ATL) mainstream media activities focusing on the brand are driving the communication. [Figure 1.] Yet one of the most credible solutions to the ‘much advertising no longer works’ problem is word-of-mouth marketing, whose raison d’être is encapsulated by Malcolm Gladwell: “The most powerful selling of products and ideas takes place not marketer to consumer but consumer to consumer.” The 21st century, ‘bottom-up’ word-of-mouth marketing approach focuses on personal experience of the brand and is driven by consumers. [Figure 2.] Above - Figure 1: ‘20th Century Marketing Paradigm’ Below - Figure 2: ‘21st Century Marketing...
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...UTAH SYMPHONY AND UTAH OPERA: A MERGER PROPOSAL Case study prepared by Kristian Alexander for Professor John Oesch. © Rotman School of Management, Kristian Alexander, 2004. ____________________________________________________________ _______________________ 1. The case1 Unlike major arts organizations in Europe and Canada that rely heavily on government agencies for their funding, orchestras and opera companies in the United States operate according to a very different financial model and generate income primarily through ticket sales (approximately 46%) and individual contributions (approximately 36%). Since September 11, 2001, all arts organizations in the United States had experienced a dramatic decline in public and government subsidies that had led to revenue loss and major operating deficit. To compensate for the decline in attendance, ticket prices had been slightly increased but this did not stop the stagnation in the arts organizations. Utah Opera was formed in 1976 by the renowned European operatic talent Glade Peterson who served as a General Director until his death in 1990. The following year Anne Ewers was named General Director. Under her direction, the opera continued to 1 Case study written by Professor Thomas J. DeLong and Ph.D. Candidate David L. Ager, Harvard Business School, No. 9-404-116, Boston, MA, 2004. 1 grow, increasing its number of annual productions and the number of young people attending the performances of the...
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..............................................................................8 Monitoring the Environment .........................................................................................9 Formulating and executing strategy ...........................................................................10 Conclusion .................................................................................................................12 1 Introduction The following assignment with the title “Strategic Leadership by Executives” will cover the integration of the executive theory in the strategic leadership theory. There are several important differences in the theory, which separates the executive leadership from other leadership. A first objective of this scientific paper is to give the reader a broad overview of the most important theories. Inserting the relevant literature and...
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...In: Raimo P. Hämäläinen and Esa Saarinen, eds. 2007. Systems Intelligence in Leadership and Everyday Life. Systems Analysis Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo. CHAPTER 11 Reasons of Systemic Collapse in Enron Matti Rantanen This article studies the moral development at Enron from the perspective of its long-term CEO and chairman Ken Lay. I focus on some critical decisions in the early years of Enron and speculate why Lay chose in favour of non-systems intelligent solutions in leading morale. According to the outlook developed it is plausible to think that immoral behaviour at Enron stemmed not so much from Lay’s immoral character but from his Christian values. Neglecting opportunities to change his value structure Lay avoided tough decisions that marked loss for others. Consequently, unable to make decisions objectively based on systemic rather than individual motives, he lost his opportunity in creating coherent corporate values promoting moral integrity. If the suggested causality is true, it underlines the importance of conscious moral leadership as an everyday discipline. Introduction This article discusses the story of Enron, the infamous American energy company that December 2, 2001 filed the largest bankruptcy case in US history, totalling losses around 66 billion US dollars,1 forcing 4,000 unemployed,2 and bringing down Arthur Andersen, 3 its auditing company. For many of the “bad” and publicly convicted Enron executives it has been the...
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...Overseas sourcing, without risk Here are some rules to keep your supply chain problem-free and avoid negative publicity at home and abroad Zero tolerance Shut the door firmly on illegal activity johnkworks/Shutterstock.com Managing fraud and corruption risk and protecting brand reputation is becoming increasingly important when sourcing from overseas destinations. With the changing enforcement milieu, extra-territorial statutes and zero tolerance around acts of bribery and corruption, brands need to constantly monitor their supply chains. These supply chains transcend international boundaries, with business partners (suppliers, vendors, service providers and such) being located across geographies, having different cultures and work ethics. Therefore, it is a challenge for any company to know and curb supply chain risks. To implement the code of conduct uniformly throughout the supply chain, companies have to change the mindsets of employees and business partners overseas through continuous learning and development. Winning and expanding business overseas could be a time-consuming and arduous task in some cases. Facilitation payments and kickbacks are easy quick fixes. Many sourcing destinations are countries that rate low on the Transparency International index, where vulnerabilities around vendor kickbacks and bribery of officials are prevalent. Mounting business pressures, aggressive timelines to complete projects and high costs involved have the tendency to spur unethical...
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