The 1st Armored Division (1AD) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) European District teamed up to create a Technical Engineering Skills Improvement Initiative (TESII) that temporarily placed junior officers from 1AD's Division Engineer section in the European District to develop the officers' technical engineering skills. Experience in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) 07-09 in Multinational Division--North demonstrated that our maneuver "customers" required this technical engineering expertise from their supporting engineers. This experience also clearly illustrated that our current junior officer professional education and developmental assignments are insufficient to provide the officers the required technical skill set, necessitating initiatives such as the one outlined here.
The objective of the 1AD/European District TESII is to provide engineer captains the opportunity to learn and practice technical engineering with an emphasis on hands-on project, program, and construction management work. These skills can then be carried back to the Division Engineer section for use during overseas contingency operation deployments.
This program is ideally conducted during the training period before a unit's deployment in order to train engineer captains on the skills required in both Iraq and Afghanistan. To initially test the program concept, the authors--who had deployed with 1AD during OIF 07-09--were placed with the European District as a proof-of-principle exercise to see if the developmental opportunities in the District were indeed applicable to the technical engineering requirements they experienced during the deployment. During this trial run, the 1AD engineer captains worked with multiple sections within the District, but spent the majority of their time working within the District's Installation Support Branch (ISB).
The ISB is a subbranch of project management within the European District that provides project management support for particular types of fast-order contracts to expedite those smaller, regularly occurring projects. It is the responsibility of the project manager to receive the project request from the client; manage planning and design; coordinate with the contractor; develop a project scope of work (SOW) and complete project packet; submit for bidding; award and monitor project construction; and follow each project through to completion. The project manager is the overarching coordinator on each project. The ISB acts as an extension to the Department of Public Works (DPW) for garrisons in Europe, supplementing them on projects beyond their capabilities; when the DPW cannot handle a project, they pass it off to the ISB. The ISB specializes in the implementation of projects through job order contracting (JOC) and multiple-award task order contracting (MATOC). These are large blanket contracts similar to indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contracts, which are intended to cover repetitive projects. Beyond the benefits of learning project management skills, the District has a multitude of other sections that can provide relevant experience for deploying engineers: contracting, large-scale project management, environmental management, engineering and construction, program management (not to be confused with project management), and work in the various area and resident offices.
At the end of the initial four-month trial run, the authors were convinced that the skills and experience they gained while working in the European District would have been excellent preparation for the missions and tasks they executed in support of Multinational Division--North as part of 1AD's Division Engineer section during combat operations. They found that the fast-paced work that the ISB performs was the ideal working environment in which to train the technical engineering skills junior officers need. Given this, as the summer cycle of officer moves took place, the new 1AD commander gave approval to formally continue the program by placing two new engineer captains, fresh from the Captains Career Course, into the TESII program in preparation for 1AD's next deployment.
Overall, we strongly advocate that other divisions employ a similar strategy to train their junior officers. The technical engineering skills they gain and the understanding of USACE operations will serve the division well during a deployment. It is a "no-cost" or "low-cost" solution to fill a capability gap in the professional education of our junior officers. Although the close proximity of the 1AD headquarters to the European District headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany, greatly simplified the logistics of this initiative, it is our belief that a similar arrangement between the CMS officers of a Division Engineer staff section and a local USACE area or residence office could take place at many posts, even where the District headquarters is located beyond a typical commuting range.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
7 tips for effective listening:
TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT THEIR job, internal auditors must be able to write, speak, and listen effectively. Of these three skills, effective listening may be the most crucial because auditors are required to do it so often. Unfortunately, listening also may be the most difficult skill to master.
Effective listening is challenging, in part, because people often are more focused on what they're saying than on what they're hearing in return. According to a recent study by the Harvard Business Review, people think the voice mail they send is more important than the voice mail they receive. Generally, senders think that their message is more helpful and urgent than do the people who receive it.
Additionally, listening is difficult because people don't work as hard at it as they should. Listening seems to occur so naturally that putting a lot of effort into it doesn't seem necessary. However, hard work and effort is exactly what effective listening requires.
Internal auditors must listen to explanations, rationales, and defenses of financial practices and procedures. They are constantly communicating with fellow employees whose backgrounds range from accounting to finance to marketing to information systems. In addition, explanations by fellow employees of any "unusual" practices often pose a significant challenge to an internal auditor's listening skills. Auditors can use the following techniques to improve these skills.
1. CONCENTRATE ON WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING. When listening to someone, do you often find yourself thinking about a job or task that is nearing deadline or an important family matter? In the middle of a conversation, do you sometimes realize that you haven't heard a word the other person has said? Most individuals speak at the rate of 175 to 200 words per minute. However, research suggests that we are very capable of listening and processing words at the rate of 600 to 1,000 words per minute. An internal auditor's job today is very fast and complex, and because the brain does not use all of its capacity when listening, an auditor's mind may drift to thinking of further questions or explanations rather than listening to the message at hand. This unused brainpower can be a barrier to effective listening, causing the auditor to miss or misinterpret what others are saying. It is important for internal auditors to actively concentrate on what others are saying so that effective communication can occur.
2. SEND THE NONVERBAL MESSAGE THAT YOU ARE LISTENING. When someone is talking to you, do you maintain eye contact with that person? Do you show the speaker you are listening by nodding your head? Does your body language transmit the message that you are listening? Are you leaning forward and not using your hands to play with things? Most communication experts agree that nonverbal messages can be three times as powerful as verbal messages. Effective communication becomes difficult anytime you send a nonverbal message that you're not really listening.
3. AVOID EARLY EVALUATIONS. When listening, do you often make immediate judgments about what the speaker is saying? Do you assume or guess what the speaker is going to say next? Do you sometimes discover later that you failed to interpret correctly what the speaker was telling you? Because a listener can listen at a faster rate than most speakers talk, there is a tendency to evaluate too quickly. That tendency is perhaps the greatest barrier to effective listening. It is especially important to avoid early evaluations when listening to a person with whom you disagree. When listeners begin to disagree with a sender's message, they tend to misinterpret the remaining information and distort its intended meaning so that it is consistent with their own beliefs.
4. AVOID GETTING DEFENSIVE. Do you ever take what another person says personally when what her or she is saying is not meant to be personal? Do you ever become angry at what another person says? Careful listening does not mean that you will always agree with the other party's point of view, but it does mean that you will try to listen to what the other person is saying without becoming overly defensive. Too much time spent explaining, elaborating, and defending your decision or position is a sure sign that you are not listening. This is because your role has changed from one of listening to a role of convincing others they are wrong. After listening to a position or suggestion with which you disagree, simply respond with something like, "I understand your point. We just disagree on this one." Effective listeners can listen calmly to another person even when that person is offering unjust criticism.
5. PRACTICE PARAPHRASING. Paraphrasing is the art of putting into your own words what you thought you heard and saying it back to the sender. For example, a subordinate might say: "You have been unfair to rate me so low on my performance appraisal. You have rated me lower than Jim. I can do the job better than him, and I've been here longer." A paraphrased response might be: "I can see that you are upset about your rating. You think it was unfair for me to rate you as I did." Paraphrasing is a great technique for improving your listening and problem-solving skills. First, you have to listen very carefully if you are going to accurately paraphrase what you heard. Second, the paraphrasing response will clarify for the sender that his or her message was correctly received and encourage the sender to expand on what he or she is trying to communicate.
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lindaabrams09
09/10/09 | Reported as spam
RE: Internal Auditor
Listening is not only hearing the words that what the other one speaks about but a full understanding on the content of the topic. Sometimes this is neglected by other people. It is like when you read a story aloud. You'll just notice that you get a better understanding about the story the next time you read it. You're much focused that time.
Thanks,
Linda
how to read the stock market
2
qa123
11/23/09 | Report as spam
RE: Internal Auditor
Listening should not be overlooked as a very important skill.
3
amir saeedi
03/06/10 | Reported as spam
RE: Internal Auditor
it was useful for me and i would like to add that those who think are intellegent they usually conclude quickly and it is not ofcourse a sign of intellegency
4
bhbanker
06/17/10 | Report as spam
Patrick Parhami, Wells Fargo, Studio City
"Back to the Bascis",that is a title you should listen to. Your (7&7) rules..though right in theory, are retarded in practice. You can not expect your staff to recite your bible each day, live by the standards it holds and then say "Lets pretend we are in Disneyland". Disneyland is fun Partick, work should be fun, your methods and managment tactics are
Effective listening is challenging, in part, because people often are more focused on what they're saying than on what they're hearing in return. According to a recent study by the Harvard Business Review, people think the voice mail they send is more important than the voice mail they receive. Generally, senders think that their message is more helpful and urgent than do the people who receive it.
Additionally, listening is difficult because people don't work as hard at it as they should. Listening seems to occur so naturally that putting a lot of effort into it doesn't seem necessary. However, hard work and effort is exactly what effective listening requires.
Internal auditors must listen to explanations, rationales, and defenses of financial practices and procedures. They are constantly communicating with fellow employees whose backgrounds range from accounting to finance to marketing to information systems. In addition, explanations by fellow employees of any "unusual" practices often pose a significant challenge to an internal auditor's listening skills. Auditors can use the following techniques to improve these skills.
1. CONCENTRATE ON WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING. When listening to someone, do you often find yourself thinking about a job or task that is nearing deadline or an important family matter? In the middle of a conversation, do you sometimes realize that you haven't heard a word the other person has said? Most individuals speak at the rate of 175 to 200 words per minute. However, research suggests that we are very capable of listening and processing words at the rate of 600 to 1,000 words per minute. An internal auditor's job today is very fast and complex, and because the brain does not use all of its capacity when listening, an auditor's mind may drift to thinking of further questions or explanations rather than listening to the message at hand. This unused brainpower can be a barrier to effective listening, causing the auditor to miss or misinterpret what others are saying. It is important for internal auditors to actively concentrate on what others are saying so that effective communication can occur.
2. SEND THE NONVERBAL MESSAGE THAT YOU ARE LISTENING. When someone is talking to you, do you maintain eye contact with that person? Do you show the speaker you are listening by nodding your head? Does your body language transmit the message that you are listening? Are you leaning forward and not using your hands to play with things? Most communication experts agree that nonverbal messages can be three times as powerful as verbal messages. Effective communication becomes difficult anytime you send a nonverbal message that you're not really listening.
3. AVOID EARLY EVALUATIONS. When listening, do you often make immediate judgments about what the speaker is saying? Do you assume or guess what the speaker is going to say next? Do you sometimes discover later that you failed to interpret correctly what the speaker was telling you? Because a listener can listen at a faster rate than most speakers talk, there is a tendency to evaluate too quickly. That tendency is perhaps the greatest barrier to effective listening. It is especially important to avoid early evaluations when listening to a person with whom you disagree. When listeners begin to disagree with a sender's message, they tend to misinterpret the remaining information and distort its intended meaning so that it is consistent with their own beliefs.
4. AVOID GETTING DEFENSIVE. Do you ever take what another person says personally when what her or she is saying is not meant to be personal? Do you ever become angry at what another person says? Careful listening does not mean that you will always agree with the other party's point of view, but it does mean that you will try to listen to what the other person is saying without becoming overly defensive. Too much time spent explaining, elaborating, and defending your decision or position is a sure sign that you are not listening. This is because your role has changed from one of listening to a role of convincing others they are wrong. After listening to a position or suggestion with which you disagree, simply respond with something like, "I understand your point. We just disagree on this one." Effective listeners can listen calmly to another person even when that person is offering unjust criticism.
5. PRACTICE PARAPHRASING. Paraphrasing is the art of putting into your own words what you thought you heard and saying it back to the sender. For example, a subordinate might say: "You have been unfair to rate me so low on my performance appraisal. You have rated me lower than Jim. I can do the job better than him, and I've been here longer." A paraphrased response might be: "I can see that you are upset about your rating. You think it was unfair for me to rate you as I did." Paraphrasing is a great technique for improving your listening and problem-solving skills. First, you have to listen very carefully if you are going to accurately paraphrase what you heard. Second, the paraphrasing response will clarify for the sender that his or her message was correctly received and encourage the sender to expand on what he or she is trying to communicate.
1234Next
INSearch
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Share your ideas and expertise on this topic
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1
lindaabrams09
09/10/09 | Reported as spam
RE: Internal Auditor
Listening is not only hearing the words that what the other one speaks about but a full understanding on the content of the topic. Sometimes this is neglected by other people. It is like when you read a story aloud. You'll just notice that you get a better understanding about the story the next time you read it. You're much focused that time.
Thanks,
Linda
how to read the stock market
2
qa123
11/23/09 | Report as spam
RE: Internal Auditor
Listening should not be overlooked as a very important skill.
3
amir saeedi
03/06/10 | Reported as spam
RE: Internal Auditor
it was useful for me and i would like to add that those who think are intellegent they usually conclude quickly and it is not ofcourse a sign of intellegency
4
bhbanker
06/17/10 | Report as spam
Patrick Parhami, Wells Fargo, Studio City
"Back to the Bascis",that is a title you should listen to. Your (7&7) rules..though right in theory, are retarded in practice. You can not expect your staff to recite your bible each day, live by the standards it holds and then say "Lets pretend we are in Disneyland". Disneyland is fun Partick, work should be fun, your methods and managment tactics are
Friday, June 25, 2010
LIONS
The lion (Panthera leo) is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight,[4] it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with a critically endangered remnant population in Gir Forest National Park in India, having disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. They were found in most of Africa, much of Eurasia from western Europe to India, and in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru.
Lions live for ten to fourteen years in the wild, while in captivity they can live longer than twenty years. In the wild, males seldom live longer than ten years, as injuries sustained from continual fighting with rival males greatly reduce their longevity.[5] They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually socialcompared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. Lions are apexand keystone predators, although they scavenge as opportunity allows. While lions do not typically hunt humans selectively, some have been known to seek human prey.
The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of thirty to fifty percent over the past two decades in its African range.[6] Lion populations are untenable outside of designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Lions have been kept in menageries sinceRoman times and have been a key species sought for exhibition in zoosthe world over since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic subspecies.
Visually, the male lion is highly distinctive and is easily recognized by itsmane. The lion, particularly the face of the male, is one of the most widely recognized animal symbols in human culture. Depictions have existed from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascauxand Chauvet Caves, through virtually all ancient and medieval cultures where they historically occurred. It has been extensively depicted in literature, in sculptures, in paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature.
CHILDHOOD OF MICHEAL JACKSON
Early life and The Jackson 5 (1958–1975)
Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe. Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a child.Michael stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success. Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had a fat nose on numerous occasions.[6] In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain child-like throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child.[7]Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children to an African American working-class family, in Gary, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters:Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy.[1] A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.
In an interview with Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but was nonetheless a "genius", as he admitted his father's strict discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you".
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed toThe Jackson 5. The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin' circuit", where they often opened stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motown hits and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record label Steeltown in 1967, before signing with Motown Records in 1968. Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts," writing that he "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer." The group set a chart record when its first four singles ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Between 1972 and 1975, Jackson released four solo studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There and Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as "Got to Be There", "Ben", and a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin". The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.
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