Reflective Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reflective Paper - Assignment Example The following discussion is how the concepts in the book helped our group negotiate areas that might have led to a breakdown of communication or worse. Discussion Process Elements The first concept that will be explored will be the concept regarding process elements. Young et al. states that group members may interact in different ways to create new elements that might affect problem-solving. One of the process elements is participation, and Young et al. is careful to note that, while communication between group members is crucial, also crucial is that time-wasters and conversational bullies are kept to a minimum within the group. He also notes that there is a multi-cultural element to participation, in that certain group members from certain cultures will be less likely to participate in group discussion than would other members from different cultures. For instance, some individuals may come from a culture that respects elders and leaders, and would be, therefore, less likely to ch allenge the group leader or to play devil's advocate with members of the group. One thing that I did notice in my group, which was a four member group of three undergraduate students, and one graduate student, me, was that the three members of the group deferred to me a great deal. ... So, my ideas were less challenged than were the other members of the group. I also did not really deal too much with conversational bullies and time-wasters, although there was one person in the group who enjoyed gossiping and talking about subjects off-topic. I was usually able to steer the conversation back to what we were working on, which was a children's book, so our group was successful in this regard. I was able to take a procedural role in the group, which is another aspect of process elements. Everybody was assigned a role, although our overall group was collaborative. Young et al. states that everybody in the group should have a role, which is what makes the group run smoother. Rather this role consists of organizing the work, leading the group, or managing interpersonal relationships, everybody should take a role that helps the group run. My role was administrative; another person's role was time-keeping, in that this person would ensure that our group was on-task for the minutes that were allotted to each task; another member was the unofficial diplomat of the group, and that person smoothed out conflicts, while discouraging any kind of group behavior that might undermine the group, such as egocentric and attention-seeking behavior; and other members of the group were more like the creative directors, people who were able to facilitate our creativity on the project, and keep us on task for every element of the project. Active Listening Another aspect of the group process was that all of us were taught to actively listen. Young et al. states that this is a process that is crucial to group development and cohesion. Following the rules that Young et al. states

The Opportunity Cost of College Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Opportunity Cost of College - Case Study Example Suppose you are paying $6,000 this year for in-state tuition, fees, and books at a public college (paying out-of-state rates would add another $6,000 to that, and attending a private college would add about $15,000). The opportunity cost of paying for tuition, fees, and books is what you and your family could otherwise have purchased with that money. How about room and board? Expenses for room and board are not necessarily an opportunity cost because, even if you were not attending college, you would still need to live somewhere and eat something, though these could cost more in college. Likewise, whether or not you attended college, you would still buy goods such as CDs, clothes, and toiletries, and services such as laundry, haircuts, and DVD rentals. Your spending for such products is not an opportunity cost of attending college but the personal cost that arises regardless of what you do. So for simplicity, assume that room, board, and personal expenses are the same whether or not you attend college. The forgone earnings of $10,000 plus the $6,000 for tuition, fees, and books yield an opportunity cost of $16,000 this year for a student paying in-state rates at a public college. Opportunity cost jumps to about $22,000 for students paying out-of-state rates and to about $31,000 for those at private colleges. Scholarships, but not loans, would reduce your opportunity cost (why not loans?). This analysis assumes that other things remain constant. But if in your view, attending college is more of a pain than you expected your next best alternative to be, then the opportunity cost of attending college is even higher. In other words, if you are one of those people who find college difficult, often boring, and in most ways more unpleasant than a full-time job, then the cost in money terms understates your opportunity cost.