Category: Career

Introduction

There are various engineering disciplines such as mechanical, electrical and civil engineering. However, of these three engineering disciplines, civil engineering is broad. In fact, civil engineering comprises of many other smaller disciplines that can on be engineering disciplines by themselves.

The reason why civil engineering is dominant over other engineering disciplines is that it is broad and deals with many things such as design, building, and refurbishment of corporeal and ordinary built environment. Civil engineering works include the construction of houses, highways, and roads. Other major works that requires civil engineering background include the construction of canals, water reservoirs, and bridges.

Just like military engineering, civil engineering is old, and into divides into very many sub-disciplines such as geophysics, materials science, geotechnical engineering, transport engineering, surveying and many more. At least in all levels, both private and public, we see very many works of civil engineering. This paper discusses civil engineering as a professional career (Narayanan and Beeby 5-13).

History of Civil Engineering Profession

Undoubtedly, since the existence of humanity, men have done things that make their lives easier and comfortable. For example, the world has always witnessed the development of technology. Through these developments, we now have modern houses and structures, state-of-art bridges and canals, and magnificent roads.

These are civil engineering works. Many historians believe that the first civil engineering practices originated from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. During these times, people lived in shanty hoses due to their nomadic way of life. However, the need to abandon the nomadic life prompted the desire to have permanent shelter, which became their home. Additionally, transport was gradually becoming vital and with the development of wheels and sailings, for sure they needed roads.

Although the peculiarity between architecture and civil engineering become lucid in modern times, civil engineering practice was still evident in ancient days. For instance, the edifice of Egypt pyramids in 2700 BC, water management system in Qanat, the Appian Way, and other constructions prove that civil engineering is among the oldest engineering disciplines.

It is paramount to note that during the ancient times, military engineering, the oldest of all engineering disciplines, incorporated civil engineering too. However, at the beginning of the 18th century, those opposed to military engineering decided to form a society of civil engineers with their main offices in London.

They defined civil engineering as an art using natural resources and power for internationals and internal trade characterized by the construction of roads, canals, buildings, dams, drainage areas, and many more. Since then, various colleges in Britain followed by United States started teaching civil engineering. Today, many colleges and universities across the world offer civil engineering as a course and students enroll at certificate, diploma or degree levels (Narayanan and Beeby 74-76).

Civil engineering involves the use of scientific skills and principles drawn from mathematical and physics concepts. The work of Archimedes and by large extent, the Archimedes principle, which explains buoyancy is by no doubt the very first application of mathematical and physics concepts in the practice of civil engineering. This and many more concepts that are scientific opened the world of civil engineering.

For instance, in the ancient times, carpenters, artisans and stonemasons were the professionals behind civil engineering. However, as knowledge advanced, the incremental complexity of various structures required engineering background. This is the main reason behind the development of civil engineering as a profession. Civil engineering is an extensive profession that has a swathe of sub-disciplines.

As noted earlier, civil engineering involves, design, construction, and maintenance of structures. Therefore, some of the sub-disciples that inform the edifice of structures include the environment, geography, and materials science. Other sub-disciplines include geology, mechanics, surveying, geodesy, and many more (Griggs 30-33).

Areas of study in Civil Engineering

Civil engineering is a broad discipline with no specific career path. Once a person graduates from the civil engineering school, the professional will start with junior roles that do not require much responsibility. They need time to gain experience and competence in their professional roles.

Civil engineering deals with the interface of construction projects. It is paramount that human fashioned preset projects requires various professionals such as surveyors and cite engineers to amalgamate all works in one project. For instance, in constructing a municipal market, the project needs professionals in different works such, sewer experts, electrical and communication fitters, designers, surveyors and environmental specialists. Areas of study in civil engineering include-

Materials Science and Engineering

This is one of the major sub-disciplines of civil engineering, which involves materials such as aluminum, asphalt, cement, concrete, carbon pipes, and ceramics. Students study the properties and characteristics of materials and their applicability in the design and construction industry. This branch also involves the study of alloys, and recently, there is attention in nanotechnology.

Environmental Engineering

This area of study of civil engineering deals with environmental issues such as green engineering, chemical and biological substances, waste management, elimination of pollutants, and sanitization of water. Additionally, this area also gives more information regarding environmental assessments and impacts before the construction of projects.

Geotechnical Engineering

It deals with the study of properties and variability of rocks, soils and soil sedimentation compositions. Soil testing is paramount before starting any project in order to have a glimpse of design foundations, the strength of the walls, and the place to dispose waste (Shroff and Shah 1-2).

Geodesy

This area of study of civil engineering deals with the precise measurement and depiction of properties of the earth such as polar and crustal motions, gravitational field, control system by using datums and coordinate networks.

Surveying

This is an area of study of civil engineering, which coalesces on various earth measurements such as slope distances, theodolites levels, and angular variations. Information realized is paramount before beginning any construction work.

Transport Engineering

Transport engineering is an area of study of civil engineering that explains the movement of people and goods from one location to another. There is no doubt that movements require infrastructure such as roads, bridges, airports. Thus, students study transport planning, urban and traffic engineering, and the modalities of managing the developed infrastructures.

Structural Engineering

This is also one of the dominant areas of study of civil engineering, which deals with structural design and analysis of infrastructure such as roads, canals, sewer, bridges, buildings and many more. Here, engineers study the strength versus load such as wind, earthquake, and climate changes. This area also deals with other dynamics such as stability, constructability, stiffness, stiffness, cost, and sustainability of infrastructures.

Civil Engineering program objectives

The program objectives of this career are many and can lead one into successful professional practice. For instance, with a degree in civil engineering, one is already an expert in the specialized branch of civil engineering and will assume various roles in the construction industries. They will also become part of the active civic appointment, gain more experience in specialized schooling and earn certifications (Oakes, Leone and Gunn 13-26).

What to go through to get a BA in Civil Engineering

Normally, a BA course in civil engineering takes five academic years to complete. Before enrolling for a BA in civil engineering, one has to have mathematical, physics and chemistry skills. Next is to find an accredited civil engineering program and enrolling. Depending on the area of specialization, one will start with the general theories and applications of the curse.

Progressively, the lecturers will introduce students to the common practices in civil engineering. Course units will range from hydrology, materials design and analysis, environmental assessment, mechanics and sustainable design. It will depend on ones area of specialization. Upon finishing the course and graduating, the graduate will look for a professional body for licensing. Thereafter, one can offer professional services to the public (Griggs 34).

Works Cited

Griggs, Francis.Amos Eaton was Right! Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice 123.1 (1997): 3034. Print.

Narayanan, Raman, and Beeby Anderson. Introduction to Design for Civil Engineers. London: Spon, 2003. Print.

Oakes, William, Leone Les, and Gunn Craig. Engineering Your Future. Michigan: Great Lakes Press, 2001. Print.

Shroff, Arvind and Shah, Dhananjay. Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. London: Taylor & Francis, 2003. Print.

Audience

This report is meant for my fellow consultants working with Career Consultants Incorporated, who will be joining me as me be acting as career advisors in my career field of specialization. The report has been requested by my boss Geraldine Schliemacher who will present it to them.

Purpose of the report

The main aim of the report is to enable the career consultants who will be acting as career advisors to be able to understand my career field and in the process, they will be able to know the occupational outlook of the different graduates all over the world in my career field.

Career to be researched

The career to focus this research on is Electrical and Electronics Engineering.

Sources

Ryder, J., & Fink, D. (2006). Engineers and Electrons. New York, NY: IEEE Press.

Tunbridge, P., & Lord, K. (2001). His Influence on Electrical Measurements and Units. London, UK: The Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Weber, E., & Nebeker, F. (2004). The Evolution of Electrical Engineering: A Personal Perspective. New York, NY: IEEE Press.

Basic Information

Definition

Electrical and electronics engineering is a career that deals with the study and applications of electricity and how it is influenced by electromagnetism (Ryder & Fink, 2006). The electrical part deals with the study of heavy electrical machinery that uses heavy current such as power transmission while electronics deal with the study of light currents such as in small electric components or devices like computers and integrated circuits.

Electrical and electronics engineering has different options where one can further specialize in; telecommunications systems, control systems, power systems, and computer systems (Tunbridge & Lord, 2001).

Education Requirements

For one to be able to follow this career path as an electrical engineer, they need to have a minimum of if an electrical engineering degree from any university that is recognized by the commission for higher education (Weber & Nebeker, 2004). Other qualifications such as Cisco certified network associate, masters degree, project management, and Cisco certified network profession are added advantages that may give a cutting edge among their peers.

Occupational Information

This career majorly entails designing a new system that is power efficient as well as faster. Such a system may be; a power transmission line, network systems especially for telecommunication system option, maintaining and servicing industrial control systems, and finally coming up with new programs and software that address current emerging issues especially for the computer system option. The career can also involve the supervision of graduate trainees, more so if the concerned engineer has been working in the organization for a long time, they may be needed to mentor new and young employees (Dorf, 2005).

Personality types

To be able to make a good engineer, a graduate must have a positive attitude towards their job. They should be able to easily adapt to their environment by being flexible.

Reliability is also another important trait a person should possess as it ensures that can meet deadlines and thus meeting the customer demands. This makes them dependable.

A graduate should also exhibit the willingness to learn and to be taught. This ensures they easily grasp concepts that they may not be familiar with or may not have been taught during their time in university (Blockley, 2012).

Placement Opportunities

There are so many opportunities that can be filled with graduates in this field both in the private sector and in the public sector. These graduates can work as network engineers in telecommunications firms, power engineering in the electric power transmission station, the chief and assistant engineers in the government as well as work as consultants in their private firms (Undeland & Robbins, 2003).

References

Blockley, D. (2012). Engineering: a very short introduction. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Dorf, R. (2005). The Engineering Handbook. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC.

Undeland, N., & Robbins, W. (2003). Power Electronics: Converters, Applications, and Design. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Appendix

1. Resources
   1. The consultants will be able to learn more about this course by visiting:
      1. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers website at which is a professional body that regulates and supervises the work of engineers all over the world.
      2. National Society of Professional Engineers website which provides details of how the practicing engineering in the real world with their day to day activities.
   2. The course is offered as a Bachelor of Science degree or a bachelor of engineering degree in Electrical and Electronics engineering. The consultants can visit the:
      1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
      2. Stanford University.
2. Graphics
   1. Fig. A. Web.
   2. Fig. B. Web.
   3. Fig. C. Web.

A Resource Library

In varying degrees, counselors in educational settings such as high schools, colleges, and communities will encounter clients having problems with their career development. Therefore, tools in a resource library are intended to aid career development counselors who work with high school students, college students, or veterans of the military in their client relationships. The contents of a resource library equip them with the knowledge they need to counsel their clients as they look for information about joining the workforce or potential career transitions. This resource library is therefore organized according to the potential needs target demographic, which includes high school students, college students, and veterans of the armed forces.

Potential Needs of three Target Populations

High School Students

The intensity of academic achievement increases as students progress from middle school to high school. As a result of this increase, there is a greater need for high school pupils to take part in academic and career planning services during their four-year high school experience (Edwin & Prescod, 2018). High school students may have the following career development needs:

• Determining occupational priorities and articulating career/lifestyle options.
• Decide whether one wants to go to college/university, trade school, join the military, or enter the workforce after high school.
• Have a good sense of their career opportunities and career comprehension applicable.

College Students

Todays college students do not proceed straight from high school. They depict a more diverse collection of their backgrounds, attributes, developmental stages, and career development necessities than ever before in higher education history (Edwin & Prescod, 2018). Because of the diversity of the population of students, these pupils have a wide range of career development counseling needs, including:

• Self-awareness  this can be achieved using evaluations to assist the student in discovering their strengths and points of interest.
• Career planning  to assist students in understanding the steps required to achieve and preserve their career choices.

Military Veterans

Due to the militarys retrenchments, career counselors are being called upon to assist military veterans in adjusting military careers back into the civilian workforce (Edwin & Prescod, 2018). Military veterans have unique requirements for a career counselor, which include:

• Evaluating their military skills and determining how they will apply them in the civilian workforce.
• Determining what available funding is for acquiring the skills required for the transition.
• Evaluating the services required to assist veterans in transitioning from stressful battle lifestyles to civilian life.

Resources for the Three Targeted Populations

Resources for High School Students

CareerShip

For students in middle and high school, CareerShip offers a free online career discovery journey. Students can evaluate jobs by cluster, review the highlighted career, correlate professions to their interests, or conduct a search on the website, which is very user-friendly. Pupils will have access to a range of material for each career, including:

• Tasks
• Wages
• Career Outlook
• Interests
• Education

Teachers and counselors can give this website to specific kids or use it as a resource for the entire class. For students looking into their career prospects, the website offers a great deal of information.

Petersons

Petersons is amongst the worlds biggest educational services companies, devoted to advancing education beyond high school. From culinary school to medical school, and everything in between, Petersons can help an individual with how to identify, plan for, and finance their education. High school students can find a plethora of information on Petersons website to help them with college planning and research. The website is incredibly user-friendly and offers numerous college-related services such as financial assistance, exam preparation, college campus photography tours, and institution exploration.

The Balance Careers (Web)

The Balance Careers website makes it simple to navigate a persons career. It is staffed by experts who offer clear, practical tips on job searching, resume writing, wage negotiations, and other career-related topics. Therefore, whether a high school student is looking for a new job, wants to advance in their current position, or wants to explore new opportunities, the websites 20-year-old library which is user-friendly and of over 10,000 pieces of content will assist them in taking their career to the next level.

Resources for College Students

Bureau of Labor Statistics-Occupational Outlook Handbook (Web)

The Occupational Outlook Handbook is an excellent resource for college students who want to learn about current job trends. This website also offers information on a variety of jobs, such as the education required, pay rates, the number of new jobs expected, the growth rate in a certain field, and so on. It is a fantastic site for college students to look into career options they are interested in and see what they will need to do to get into that specific field of work.

Lamar University Career and Testing Services (4400 S. MLK Jr. Pkwy Galloway Business Building, Suite 102 Beaumont, TX 77705)

Career and testing services are a great service offered by Lamar University to their graduates and undergraduates. The center offers resume and resume writing critiques, performance assessments and interview guides, career evaluations, employer interconnection, and career consultations as part of its career preparation services. Their services are provided at no cost and are readily available to students. The Center also supports the advancement of professionalism and excellence in the delivery of testing programs and services.

Glassdoor (Web)

Glassdoor, which was established to enhance workplace transparency, provides information on the employee experience based on millions of corporate reviews and ratings, salary claims, and the most recent job openings. As a result, college students on Glassdoor are better prepared and more knowledgeable about the positions and businesses they are considering to apply. To help them find and hire qualified individuals at scale who remain longer, thousands of businesses from all sectors and size ranges turn to Glassdoor and its mobile apps are accessible from anywhere.

Resources for Military Veterans

U.S. Army Website (Web)

The website of the United States Army contains a lot of information and materials for former military personnel. Their website is user-friendly and makes it simple to find what an individual is looking for. Military veterans can get help from the website, which aids in transitioning to civilian life, finding a job, and getting an education after leaving the military. Those individuals who are willing to change their career from the military can visit the website and choose from diverse tools on what they may be willing to do.

Vets2Industry (Web)

Vets2Industry breaks the circle of misunderstanding by listing enterprises that have employment options for veterans, have particular military hiring programs, and are on the 100 Military Cordial companies list. The goal is to offer free resources to all 220,000 to 240,000 transitioning service members and their dependents each year to ease their transformation and life needs, and, more pertinently, to provide hope. The website is user-friendly and can be accessed at any time based on ones will.

Military-Transition.Org (Web)

This website is committed to assisting military service members in effectively transitioning back to civilian life and locating fulfilling jobs. It involves Veterans who contribute their experiences to the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP), Solider for Life (SFL), SFL-TAP, Transition GPS (T-GPS), and other military initiatives. The Department of Defense (DoD), the armed forces, Hiring Our Heroes (HOH), HireHeroes, or the Hiring Heroes program are not linked with this website. The information provided on the website is easy to access and will allow those who served military make informed judgments about their transition.

Reference

Edwin, M., & Prescod, D. (2018). Fostering elementary career exploration with an interactive, technology-based career development unit. Journal of School Counseling, 16(13), n13.

The scientific and technological revolution has had a strategic impact on modern occidental civilization in regard to gender relationships. The revolution has helped to change the roles ascribed to men and women and weakened this dichotomy altogether, rendered it outdated. Contemporary progressive values, the fruits of work of the best minds of humankind, and the expansion of the scope of human activities could not but alter the place that women have occupied for ages. These factors have prepared the foundation for an increase in attention that social sciences pay to the problems of women in general and to the issues of women that belong to different ethnic minorities specifically. The processes of globalization and industrialization made possible the extension of feminist movements across the world and contributed to the development of gender and queer studies.

Nevertheless, the ambivalence of this complex process should be emphasized: several issues that women are accustomed to encountering have persisted, worsened, or mutated. These issues could not be eliminated within the framework of patriarchal approaches in the situation of a globalized human society, and its incorporation into a single social whole. Taking into consideration that the patriarchal structures limit the progress of womens rights movements, the devaluation of the traditional patriarchal paradigm is becoming increasingly apparent. As a result, new conflicts and contradictions appear in occidental cultures that initiate the tendency to move to a quality-wise new level in societal development.

It should be noted that womens sphere of interests has been limited for a long time to the sphere of family and childrens upbringing, and it remains so in some ultraorthodox societies. This inherent bias determines the need for women to partially leave the private sphere in order to enter public spaces, strengthen their social mobility and introduce further womens experiences and values into the discourse of contemporary societies. Incorporating feminist values into the basic human ethics system is necessary for the formation of a sociocultural climate that would be adaptive to further changes in the public discourse regarding the role and status of women.

Whereas in some spheres and professions, feminism made relatively rapid progress, some of them remain to a degree resistant to transformations. For instance, in the movie business, women may be treated in an objectifying manner, and their careers largely depend on the patronage of the powerful man within it. The poignancy of the issue in the movie business is emphasized by the emergence of the Me Too movement.¹ It is worth noticing that the campaign may suffer from several pitfalls and may need some improvements in its strategies and positions. It even endured negative comments from those for whom it is supposed to be beneficial: Catherine Deneuve has called the movement a witch hunt and expressed her general dissatisfaction with it. ² Nevertheless, Me Too seems like a necessary tool to promote equal opportunities inside the movie industry.

On the other hand, it seems like women increasingly appear more often on the wide screens in the leading roles. They began to occupy more prominent places in action movies and not just as sidepieces or love interests for the male protagonists. Still, Hollywood producers may prefer to see more women on the screen than to work with them on the set, and there are no specific premises for this trend to cease. The discourse around the status of women in film production has been enhanced by Me Too, and the desire to incorporate more women directly into decisionmaking processes within the industry has been expressed.

The movie industry is not the only one, where women may face challenges entering or making career progress. It seems fair to state that for a long time, business as an activity was regarded mainly as a sphere dominated by men, and this shared vision still perseveres till nowadays. A lot of obstacles that women have to overcome while creating their business or participating in an established one are associated with gender stereotypes. A certain number of enterprises are mainly described as the kingdom of women  flower industry, sale of cosmetic and household items, and beauty salons are on this list. Nevertheless, the idea that these domains are possibly women-oriented should not limit the space that female entrepreneurs occupy. In this way, it is necessary for the female sphere of employment to reflect womens involvement and success in fields such as engineering, IT, industrial chemistry, or metallurgy  those that are typically associated with men.

In contemporary oriental societies, the status and place assigned to women in business may be considered minuscule in comparison to the position of women in the occidental ones. Nonetheless, the entrepreneurship becomes more and more widespread, but access to it based on gender is still more restricted in some countries. For instance, Maden reports that in Turkey, women entrepreneurs face a number of impediments, including a lack of societal supports, prejudices, troubles obtaining capital, insufficient training, and shortage of information. ³ These obstacles occur in spite of the fact that the modernization movement that took place approximately in the twentieth of the last century elevated the standing of women in Turkey. ⁴ Thus, inequality of opportunities in the labor market is an issue that women all around the world face, even though to different degrees.

Seemingly, the creation of working conditions that would promote equal opportunities is not entirely dependent on individual women, but to a degree on those who find themselves high on the corporate hierarchical ladder. Besides some evident propositions as applying a positive discrimination strategy and employing more women over men, enhancing the inclusive atmosphere at a workplace and encouraging corporate culture devoid of sexists premises are steps helpful in increasing workplace inclusiveness. Nonetheless, even though the progress may be obtained faster if prompted by authority figures, the initiative should also come from the bottom-up. It is indispensable for individual women workers to know their rights, be vocal about their conditions, and actively participate in the equal rights movements. As Baum notices, chronicling womens progress for equal rights and fair treatment helps to remind generations of the struggles that women have endured to create a better future for generations to come. ⁵ Still, not all women have the opportunity to employ the strategies to navigate safely and securely in their work as expressing nonconformist behavior may be actively discouraged and lead to the loss of a job.

During the lockdown, the call to stay at home to protect oneself has become the conventional wisdom; nevertheless, home is not the safest place for everyone. Under current conditions of lockdown, women have to face complications of pre-existing systematical issues. Except for increasing unemployment among women, as they tend to work in customer-oriented services more and this part of economy was especially damaged by imposed protective measures, domestic violence rates also increase.

At the early stages of the lockdown, homicide news has begun to emerge in a number of affected countries. Whether it is the result of focused media-attention or an actual increase is questionable to some researchers as they propose to wait till the end of lockdown to draw a conclusion.⁶ Nevertheless, it is common for the reported cases to be a small percentage of the actual ones, and the emerging number of domestic violence incidents shows additional longterm consequences for victims.⁷ Thus, it is essential to take action to mitigate the effect that the pandemic has on domestic violence victims, for instance, by raising concern and bringing attention of authorities to the problem in these times of crisis.

The growing prestige of feminist slogans indicates a shift in the perception of the movements for equal rights in the general public discourses. The inclusion of feminist values, to the basic value system of society is a step that took a century to be made. The elaboration of the mechanism for adapting these values to the socio-political situation of a particular time was necessary to ensure parity of the active participation of women in all spheres of society. These processes, viewed as shocking at the beginning of the last century at the beginning of this one, comparatively, became a norm in the occidental countries. Despite the progress made, the current situation provoked by the pandemic requires the movement to adapt to new challenges.

Bibliography

Bradbury-Jones, Caroline, and Louise Isham. The Pandemic Paradox: The Consequences of COVID-19 on Domestic Violence. Journal of Clinical Nursing (2020): 1-7.

Baum, Bernadette.  Workplace Sexual Harassment in the MeToo Era: The Unforeseen Consequences of Confidential Settlement Agreements. Journal of Business and Behavioral Sciences 31, no. 1 (2019): 424.

Otero, Daniel. How Me Too Hollywood Types Destroyed Feminism. Journal of Arts & Humanities 7, no. 11 (2018): 5057.

Maden, Ceyda. A Gendered Lens on Entrepreneurship: Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 30, no. 4 (2015): 312331.

Footnotes

1. Otero, Me Too Hollywood Types, 52.
2. Otero, 52.
3. Maden, A Gendered Lens on Entrepreneurship, 317.
4. Maden, 314.
5. Baum, Workplace Sexual Harassment, 18.
6. Bradbury-Jones and Isham, The Pandemic Paradox, 4.
7. Bradbury-Jones and Isham, 4.

Based on the results of the assessment, I can be described as a strategist, relator, achiever, focused, and futuristic person. The activity based on strengths turns out to be the most effective, respectively, and the persons achievements are maximum. By knowing which strategies help me achieve the best results and where it is especially evident, I can develop faster. This knowledge also helps me in the very choice of the direction of activity. That is, knowing that, according to my personality type, I should engage in technology and innovation, I will sooner find for myself a kind of activity in which my unique talents will be revealed brighter. When people rely on strengths, they feel satisfaction and fulfillment, a surge of power, as well as self-confidence and security. Many spend most of their productive time at work. Therefore, feeling satisfied at work can affect how comfortable people are in their lives in general.

Building a career based on strengths involves answering several questions. In particular, it is necessary to identify whether there are talents and how to develop them. In my opinion, increasing ones value as part of a team is possible by focusing on what one does best. People also need to declare to the team that they can solve emerging problems and express themselves as leaders. In this case, regular work on ones own mistakes and self-improvement are essential.

My strategic skills allow me to calculate the possible variants of events needed in team management in advance. I can predict at what stage of the project my employees will have difficulties and prevent this in advance. My focus on the future also helps me in this: I always think about the potential challenges that may await my team. In addition, I do not just set goals but make sure that they are met accurately and on time; this is my achievable nature. I have no illusions about the challenges I face, and I also do not overestimate the skills of the people I work with. At the same time, I follow a pre-drawn-up action plan in a focused and directed manner, retreating from it only in case of objective necessity.

Once, when I was working in a small company, the management announced that a software update was planned. Many employees took the news negatively, as they worried that they would not cope with the new equipment. However, having shown my leadership qualities and passion for technical innovation, I headed a mini-project on employee adaptation, which was entrusted to me by the leaders of the company themselves. I enjoy testing software that my company is starting to use. I found a problem with the project management and progress tracking program being rolled out. In addition, I trained employees on how the new program works, thereby making their work life easier.

Leadership is a key tool for effective team administration. Moreover, it is a specific method of managerial influence based on a combination of power, organizational interests, and peoples motivation to achieve common goals. Leading a team is critical to its effectiveness. The success of team leadership depends on several factors:

1. The leaders personality and its preferred style;
2. The maturity of the team members and their awareness of the upcoming project;
3. The importance and urgency of the management task.

Performance improvement occurs when managers actively interest the teams ability to perform work competently. A successful team leader pays attention to three main components: achieving goals, developing skills, and team building. Ignoring one piece will inevitably negatively affect others.

For example, insufficient attention to task completion confuses the team and creates a feeling of dissatisfaction in each of its members. Likewise, over-focusing on one area can lead to an oversight in others. A leader who is overly concentrated on solving a problem may forget to ensure the corresponding individual development of employees. Such an executive may also become too carried away with the progress of team members, which will lead to the fact that the end goal being overlooked.

To formulate and solve the teams tasks, the manager needs to consider the variety of intentions provided by the teams goals. Consideration should also be given to the dilemmas associated with purposes. They should form a visible framework for solving many problems while maintaining the flexibility and volatility necessary to adapt to changing circumstances (Groover & Gotian, 2020). At the same time, they must be inspiring and workable. The goals should comply with the development of the individual and the team while fulfilling the organizations tasks.

From the point of view of my strategic thinking, I will try to find even more effective methods of assessing the available circumstances. I also plan to explore how to more efficiently, ethically, and intelligibly propose ideas to colleagues to change the projects content. As a realtor, I find it necessary to learn how to communicate errors found in their work to employees and accept my own mistakes. With focusing being my strength, I will be more intense in ensuring I balance work and rest next time. Tomorrow I will be in control of my desire to set unattainable goals, which is dictated by my achiever strength. I will keep in mind that the focus on the future should not be a reason to ignore the current problems.

Reference

Groover, S., & Gotian, R. (2020). Five power skills for becoming a team leader. Nature.

Intersectionality is a framework describing the ways in which the overlapping social identities of individuals relate to such structures as racism or oppression. When applied in conjunction with barrier theories, intersectionality allows for the understanding of the limitations that individuals of a particular race, class, gender, sexual identity, ethnicity, or disability experience in their access to various opportunities (Rice et al., 2019). For example, the interplay between intersectionality and barrier theories will suggest that a queer woman of color will experience barriers in personal, educational, or occupational attainment because of her social identity. Thus, applying the notion of intersectionality to barrier theories can provide a comprehensive understanding of the unique experiences of marginalized individuals.

Within its interplay with barrier theories, intersectionality makes a note of various systems of gender and racial oppression, which entail the unjust treatment or control of certain populations. Intersectionality allows connecting the social identities at work on different levels, which results in unique experiences, opportunities, and barriers. The oppression that takes place due to pressure placed on the identity, not its parts but the entire system as a whole. This means that oppression itself cannot be reduced to only one component of ones identity, as each oppression shapes the other and depends on it. Understanding intersectionality is instrumental for dealing with the interwoven prejudices and barriers people face in their personal and professional life.

African American women represent a population group that is significantly affected by the barriers related to intersectionality. Specifically, some theories on perceived barriers have suggested that the challenges that the group experiences in personal, educational, or professional attainment are experienced by marginalized groups more than their counterparts that are not being oppressed (Fekedulegn, 2019). When considering the experiences of African American women, the marginalized group is discriminated against in ways that do not fit within the specific categories of either sexism or racism (Smith, 2016). Rather, it is the combination of racism and sexism as systematic oppression mechanisms that present significant barriers to their opportunities.

African American women can experience racist and sexist microaggressions in various settings, which, in turn, leads to the formation of counter-spaces used to respond to their marginalization in such settings. For instance, Hilson (2020) suggested that Black women cannot resolve domestic abuse encounters due to the oppressive structures of race, class, and gender. These barriers make it nearly impossible to negotiate the institutional limitations they face when attempting to secure themselves in positions of safety. Thus, survival for African American women depends on their ability to find places to describe their experiences within their groups, as the existing policies are not supportive of their safe spaces.

The barrier theories are critical for generating an understanding of the systematic disadvantages African American women experience as opposed to the advantages that their white counterparts experience. To address the barriers that prevent the groups from educational, professional, or personal attainment, it is imperative to recognize the fact that racism is endemic to life in America (Lee et al., 2019). It calls for recognizing the experiential knowledge of women of color in analyzing society. The implications for social change and improvement include the potential for enhancing equal opportunities for African American women seeking life opportunities, and policymakers must take the responsibility to eliminate structural barriers.

References

Hilson, K. (2020). The intersectionality of domestic abuse: Law enforcement barriers Black women face. CrimRxiv. Web.

Lee, R., Perez, A., Boykin, M., & Mendoza-Denton, R. (2019). On the prevalence of racial discrimination in the United States. PLOS One, 14(1), e0210698.

Fekedulegn, D., Alterman, T., Charles, L. E., Kershaw, K. N., Safford, M. M., Howard, V. J., & MacDonald, L. A. (2019). Prevalence of workplace discrimination and mistreatment in a national sample of older U.S. workers: The REGARDS cohort study.SSM  Population Health, 8, 100444.

Rice, C., Harrison, E., & Friedman, M. (2019). Doing justice to intersectionality in research. Cultural Studies  Critical Methodologies, 19(6), 409-420.

Smith, S. (2016). Black feminism and intersectionality. International Socialist Review, 103.

Career choice in bioscience

Biological science is related to many areas that play an important role in the lives of many people. Yet, I would like to pursue career in such field as microbiology. This choice can be explained by several factors. First of all, people, who work in these areas, must have expertise in various aspects of bioscience and their tasks can be both challenging and rewarding. Moreover, I believe that in this way I can help people by making discoveries that can be used in medicine, agriculture, food production. The knowledge of microbiologists can be of great value. Finally, I have to admit the work and skills of these professions is well compensated. This is why I want to consider this career path.

Microbiology industry

On the whole, microbiologists conduct studies that are aimed at examining various characteristics of microorganisms, for instance, molds, viruses or bacteria (Echaore-McDavid 2009, p. 5). They attempt to understand how these microorganisms function, grow or replicate (Echaore-McDavid 2009, p. 5; Edmonds 2012, p. 2). As a rule, these professionals work in a laboratory setting. The most challenging aspect of this profession is that the work of microbiologists can sometimes be too monotonous, but at the same time, they can make unexpected discoveries that can be of great use to many people.

These people may work in various organizations or companies; for instance, one can mention hospitals, food industry, or environmental agencies (Winter 2004, p. 20). These organizations will be most important employers of microbiologists. This person can work in such fields as agriculture, medicine, or industry (Echaore-McDavid 2009, p. 5). Thus, one can say that this person can work in many areas. Certainly, I do not expect that one can easily understand various aspect of microbiology. However, this profession will always be required by employees. This is one of its most important advantages.

Overall, there are several educational requirements that I will have to meet in order to become a professional microbiologist. For example, I will have to obtain at least Bachelors degree in microbiology or some other discipline that is related to it. In some cases, these professionals have to do postdoctoral studies (Echaore-McDavid 2009, p. 5). These are the most important educational requirements. Apart from that, such an individual should have well-developed skills in other sciences such as mathematics or statistics. Moreover, microbiologists should understand the principles of project management, because these professionals often have to coordinate the work of other people.

Unfortunately, I did not have many opportunities to work as a microbiologist. Yet, I did some volunteer work. In particular, I participated in various research projects that took place in my school. In the future, I intend to take a more active part in different research projects that are organized in the university. This experience can help me in the future especially when I will have to seek employment.

When I was researching the information about microbiology, I used the websites of such educational organizations as Weber State University (2012) and UT Health Science Center (2012). Apart from that I used several books related to the careers in microbiology. Each of these sources has been of great use to me. I can also tell that by learning more about the future profession, a person can better prepare oneself for future challenges.

References

Echaore-McDavid, S 2009, Science, Infobase Publishing, London.

Edmonds, P 2012, Unfolding of My Career Promoting the Science of Microbiology, AuthorHouse, New York.

Weber State University, 2012. Careers in Microbiology. Web.

Winter, C 2004, Opportunities in Biological Science Careers, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York.

UT Health Science Center, 2012. Careers in Microbiology, a Primer and Checklist. Web.

Growing up in the suburb of London in a family of English father and Jamaican mother is not a perfect background for success. However, all the professional ambitions of Zadie Smith were within the artistic field. The childhood dreams of becoming an actress, singing jazz at the university to make money, and plans to take up journalism ended in a literary career. At the moment, she has about twenty literature awards for her short stories and novels, some of which are bestsellers.

The world of Zadie Smith opened up for me a couple of years ago. I have been looking for a book to take on vacation and found the novel On Beauty. I thought it was a common love story and did not expect much. However, it took my attention, and by the end of the vacation, I found myself reading Smiths first novel White Teeth together with critiques on her works.

The suburban London depicted by Zadie Smith is both multi-class and multiethnic. The characters represent the connection between generations and cultures. Smith knows this world from inside since she grew up there. She said, My life is black and white and mixed. My mothers a Rastafarian, my dad was a short white guy  its not an affectation. Its also the lives of millions of people throughout the world. That is why one penetrates the suburb life while reading. White Teeth presents the suburb as absurd to some extent, exaggerated and stereotypical place. The novel captures a reader with its explicit humor and comic situations which seem to be inspired by Dickens. One of the concepts in the story is the need for a change in human relations. This piece of writing is rich in unpredictable situations like accidental meetings, successful rescues, fatal happenings, or unusual conditions. They just depict life as it is. The issue of change is connected with the personality of the character who lives life by accident. The randomness is probably related to the character of the suburb which is the accidental gathering of diverse representatives of cultures and nations. The comprehension of the accident as a standard of modern society is also connected with the racial and cultural mixture discovered by the author. On the whole, White Teeth give the idea of the suburb as a chaotic but friendly place that is diverse and surprising.

The first novels of Smith sound optimistic. Still, the critiques point out some despair that appeared in the more recent stories. Smith, who was claimed as the one promoting multiculturalism in her early works, describes this aspect differently probably due to the impact of global migration nowadays. Thus, a later novel Capital is the reflection of the up-to-date suburban people who are isolated in their homes and do not interact much. Another view of the modern suburb is traced in the novel of 2012 NW. Here it is a place that should be escaped at the first possibility. It is not able to become a real home, provide the feeling of unity, traditions, and succession. People who live there lack a sense of identity.

The concept of racial and cultural identity is traced to the majority of her works. Even in On Beauty which seems to be concentrated on the issues of beauty, both physical and abstract, together with family and gender relations, the aspect of social split on the racial basis is regarded.

Zadie Smith is considered a new voice of contemporary British Literature. She continues the tradition of writing in the suburbs started by Dickens. Although actively criticized at the beginning of her career, she is now recognized as a worthy representative of modern literature. Her outstanding choice of language, humor, and character reflections do not leave anyone indifferent.

Smiths novels and short stories have been analyzed and criticized by many researchers. Still, I suppose that there is a sphere of her writing that did not receive enough attention. I would like to concentrate on her essays, articles, and interviews on contemporary problems. Her reflections on politics, for example, contain interesting observations.

Investigation of human behavior during the commission of crimes always was of great interest for criminologist, but nowadays, the significance of victims as participants of crimes is commonly recognized as well. Victimology is the science aimed exactly at the analysis of the phenomenon of victimization and characteristics of victims behavior. Victimology is a relatively modern science, yet its theoretical multidimensionality and practical utility may help victimologists to make their own contribution to the development of the science and social welfare.

While criminology is concerned with crime in a broad sense of the term, including the regularities associated with the particular crimes, and implications of individual or mass criminal behavior, victimology focuses on the investigation of multiple aspects of victims behavior (Karmen, 2013). Initially, victimology occurred within the boundaries of criminology as a result of studying the interrelations between offenders and their victims. However, this science has gradually evolved. Nowadays, its object of study includes the common definition of victim regardless of the nature of a caused harm, i.e. accidents, natural disasters, etc. But criminal victimologists continue to investigate the problems of victim-offender interactions, individual characteristics of victims within and outside of the context of a committed crime, relation of victims to latent criminality, etc. (Karmen, 2013).

Crime is a social phenomenon, and it is deeply interrelated with social and cultural backgrounds of criminals and victims (Karmen, 2013). Through the investigation of distinct interrelations between the social factors of crime, victims behavior and offenders motives, victimologist attempts to comprehend social and individual aspects of victimization and impacts of victims behavior on development and outcome of crime attempts. Comprehension of these aspects may help to design the practices for a victimological prevention of crimes which may be considered the major purpose of victimology.

The job of victimologist is associated with a wide range of activities from research and cooperation with law enforcement detectives to victim counseling and support (Fisher & Jerin, 2014). However, despite the selected direction of career growth, victimologist should demonstrate profound knowledge in law, criminal justice, sociology, and psychology. Experts in victimology should exploit their skills for the prediction of criminals behavior and management of complex situations while dealing with victims from different social backgrounds.

Since the practice of victimology is related to cooperation with people  victims and their families  during vulnerable and even tragic periods of their lives, it has many ethical implications. Victimologists should demonstrate psychological and cultural sensitivity to avoid misunderstanding during conversations with victims and misinterpretation of data collected through interviews. Consideration of multiple ethical principles, such as confidentiality, informed consent for counseling and assessment, etc., help to increase the overall efficiency of work (Pros and cons of a career as a victim advocate, n.d.).

Crime is an individual psychopathologic phenomenon, and victim is an active participator of a criminal offense (Karmen, 2013). The dynamics of offender-victim interaction may significantly influence the course of a crime. Based on this, through the investigation of victim-criminal relations, victimologists contribute to understanding the factors affecting crimes and help to develop methods for the prevention of criminal activity through the intervention of victim behavior. Moreover, counseling victimologists assist people exposed to crimes in overcoming distress and facilitation of social adjustment. In this way, by performing a psychological aspect of professional practice, specialists help victims to improve the quality of their lives.

However, a career in victimology may have some disadvantages. For example, work with cases of violence and victimization is associated with high level of stress that may cause victimologists burnout and result in psychological and physical health problems which, in their turn, may interfere with professional efficacy and personal well-being (Basbeth & Sachrowardi, 2015).

Victimology helps to evaluate each crime objectively considering multiple aspects of personality, and the findings of victimology are frequently used to support decision making in multiple domains of criminal justice. In their daily professional activity, victimologists attempt to resolve the most topical theoretical and practical issues of fighting crime. In this way, victimologists fulfill the major purpose of their science  development of practices for the prevention of victimization.

References

Basbeth, F., & Sachrowardi, Q. (2015). Ethical challenges of expert witness on sexual violence in Islamic perspective. International Journal of Ethics, Trauma & Victimology IJETV, 1(2). Web.

Fisher, B. S., & Jerin, R. A. (2014). The evolution of victimology: Pedagogy, research, services, and advocacy. Journal Of Criminal Justice Education, 25(4), 403-404. Web.

Karmen, A. (2013). Crime victims: An introduction to victimology. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.Pros and cons of a career as a victim advocate.(n.d.). Web.

Outline

In this paper, the life and leadership traits of Herb Kelleher are to be discussed and their effects on SouthWest Airlines as these were the airlines that are the most liked by the customers. In addition to this, the main values that reflect the leadership traits of Herb Kelleher that are being observed at SouthWest Airlines are to be discussed in this paper.

Abstract

Success stories in the business world are well known but there are few whose lives are an example. These are the examples that have made greater changes in the businesses and have created revenues large enough to be estimated. The shining businessmen are those who believe in values being practiced in the workplaces where Herb Kelleher had his presence.

Introduction

Life of Herb Kelleher

Haddon Heights has been known to be the birthplace of Herb Kelleher. A graduate of New York University, Herb Kelleher and one of his clients are the founders of the famous airlines today known as Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines thereby came into being in the year 1971. The client who worked along with Herb Kelleher was Herberts law client and a businessman in Texas (Drexler 10). After facing the toughest of competitions and challenges, Southwest airlines gained the greatest customer support as it offered the best of services with the lowest fares as Herbert knew that eliminating the unnecessary services can be strategic and this paid off (Porras 25).

Leadership traits in Herb Kelleher

Owing to the pleasant personality of Herb Kelleher and being the chairman of Southwest Airlines, it was made sure that the corporate culture was created at Southwest Airlines. During this time it was noticed that the employees enjoyed working at the Airlines and the times of the flights were seldom announced in a singing manner, often following the tunes of the famous songs at that time (Peterson 28).

Southwest Airlines

Herb Kelleher has been known to have the most charismatic leader and his leadership has made Southwest Airlines the best place to work at as has been said by Fortune magazine. This is the airline that has been seen as a representative of the vision that Herb Kelleher had. The dynamic and flamboyant personality that Herb Kelleher has made him one of the most talked-about businessmen in the world of great organizations (London 58).

According to Herb Kelleher, his greatest influence has been his mother as he mentions that the Second World War had been the time when he had lost most of his family members and at this time his mother had exhibited the strongest of her will and determination in order to keep together what was left (Fenster 75).

It has been seen that although Herb Kelleher is loud by nature still he had a windowless office at the Dallas headquarters of SWA. All of the employees at the airlines were made aware of their true worth and were being treated equally and this made them work with diligence and wholeheartedly at the airlines (Drexler 45). Kelleher used to work daily seven days a week. It has been known that Herb Kelleher had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in the year 1999 but still, he used to fly from Houston to Dallas to get his radiations and then back to work, this is the diligence that has paid off. Moreover, the leadership traits that have been reflected by Kelleher are to be good to others whether they are the employees with the lower ranks or the higher authorities. The culture that was being followed at the SWA was that all the employees felt at ease at work (London 12).

The values that have been emphasized to be practiced at SWA by Herb Kelleher include passion. During a speech at the University of Texas, the importance of passion while working was highlighted by Kelleher. In addition to these, consistency, focus on work, and informal communication are being practiced and emphasized by Herb Kelleher to be practiced at SWA.

Herb Kelleher has stepped down from the chairmanship of SWA in the year 2007 and the talks are already in the air if the new chairmanship can sustain the same rates of success as had been maintained by Herb Kelleher at SWA (Pearce 45).

Conclusion

Values that have been observed at SWA as introduced by Herb Kelleher are the ones that have made Southwest Airlines one of the most recommended airlines in the United States. The charismatic personality of Herb Kelleher along with the passion and dedication that he has for his work, are the factors that have made him one of the best CEOs in the United States.

Works Cited

Drexler, M. Kateri. Icons of business: an encyclopedia of mavericks, movers, and shakers, Volume 1 Greenwood icons. Greenwood Press, 2007.

Fenster, M. Julie. In the words of great business leaders. Wiley, 2000.

London, Gernstein, Joanne., and Kelleher, Herb. Fly Now!: A Colorful Story of Flight from Hot Air Balloon to the 777 Worldliner -the Poster Collection of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Travel Series. National Geographic Society, 2008.

Pearce, A. John., and Robinson, Braden, Richard. Strategic management: formulation, implementation, and control: Business week. 7^th ed. Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2000.

Peterson, Sturken, Barbara. Bluestreak: inside JetBlue, the upstart that rocked an industry. Portfolio, 2004.

Porras, I. Jerry., Emery, Stewart., and Thompson, Mark. Success Built to Last: Creating a Life That Matters: Financial Times Series. Wharton School, 2006.