get the facts about bullying

The sleeping dragon is waking up! Although bullying at work has always existed, community awareness, media interest, inept management practices and victim injuries are encouraging this dragon to roar. The results are reflected in huge payouts, media outings and the high costs of poor productivity and employee disengagement within organisations.

Two of the key harmful factors are lack of awareness for targets and lack of validation by managers. They are sustained by the myths that create and sustain workplace bullying. Here are some samples....

1. Bullies are bad

How and why teachers should start blogging

By Amy Dominello on August 1, 2011 

Blogging can be a tricky minefield for teachers to navigate.

However, it’s also an outlet for teachers to build awareness about issues, share information and best practices with one another and bring about systemic change in education, panelists said during a session at theNational Board for Professional Teaching Standards Conference.

The Growth and Future of Business Anthropology

From:  http://openanthcoop.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-growth-and-future-of

     Varieties of surveys have indicated that employers look for the skills that undergraduate training in anthropology provides. The subject matter of anthropology is intrinsically fascinating; as such, it offers valuable preparation for careers in journalism, politics, public relations, or public administration, fields that involve investigative skills and working with diverse groups. Today, many students use anthropology as the liberal arts foundation for professions such as law, education, medicine, social work, and counseling.
     The ever-fast advanced technologies along with the globalization of the world’s economic systems in particular have changed the world we are living.  The new trends of technology advance and globalization have been deeply influenced everything in the world b.  Anthropology as a social science field of study by no means can get rid of the influence of these new trends.  In such a background, when we discuss the future of anthropology in general, and the future of business anthropology in particular, we must think in broader terms of global political economy, local demographic trends, prevailing cultural preferences, and the social and ethnic backgrounds of consumers. After this complex series of considerations we have to rethink, how we might fit if we want this discipline to continue as a practice oriented entity.

Anthropology: What Is It?

Fromhttp://businesseducation.co.in

Anthro Links

 

A list of top 25 Anthropology blogs by Blog Rank

more links follow

Throwing Yogurt: what if the only ammo was Greek?

......Why couldn't we just throw yogurt? In the anthropology of possibilities, wouldn't we all be better off to emulate the Greeks at their protests earlier this month? I mean we are more than happy to reinvent the gifts of the Greeks in every "Western Civ" class that I have ever encountered. And we loved the hell out of them in "My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding". Plus, I understand that Greek yogurt sales are way up in America over the past two years. The package pictured above was purchased at our new Whole Foods with a dollar off coupon....see, we can get it on sale and it might even be cheaper than that other kind of ammo. And...it washes out.




What would it take us to "go Greek"?

http://teachinganthropology.blogspot.com/2011/07/throwing-yogurt-what-if-only-ammo-was.html

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Top 10 Providers Of Free Online Training

From e-Learning

1. How to Create a Cartoon in After Effects: Excellent  and detailed tutorial showing how you can create funny and semi-complex cartoons using Adobe After Effects.
2. CBTcafe.com: Some great free training demonstrations. They also resell inexpensive e-Learning tutorials.
3. GCF Learn Free Organization: GCFLearnFree.org® is supported by the Goodwill Community Foundation, Inc.
4. Free Microsoft Office  Online Training Courses (by Microsoft): Courses developed and offered by Microsoft.
5. Small Business Association (government): SBA is dedicated to helping you and your small business succeed. There are a variety of online trainings which cover many business topics for you to learn.
6. Free Online Conversvation Training: Learn more about this facinating subject. This conservation training is an online course system focused on conservation-based training, created and maintained by the Nature Conservancy in partnership with other conservation organizations.
7. Lynda: A popular provider of e-Learning covering a wide range of areas
8. Free OSHA Training: OSHAcademy online safety and health training is endorsed by theNational Safety Management Society and approved for the accredited Associate Safety Health Manager (ASHM) certification through the Institute for Safety and Health Management. We provide free online safety courses and low cost certificate programs. We also conduct training throughout the world by independent Authorized Trainers.
9. Free Training Power: TrainingPower is committed to connecting individuals and companies to valuable free resources, getting them started with long-term training initiatives. TrainingPower has added valuable usability and effectiveness functions to free government-published content and is offering a selection of free courses to workers, trainers and employers on its FreeTrainingPower.com web site.
10. Online First-Aid Training: Everyone who loves someone should know first-aid. Do you and your fellow employees need or want first-aid training? Try this great free resource.
11. Free Online Safety Training: Offering a wide range of free and fee-based online Safety courses.
12. eLearning Center

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Gen Y and Customer Service:

Gen Y, the Millennials, Young Un's whatever you want to call them are your youngest employees. The oldest ones turned 30 in 2010 (I wish I turned 30 in 2010!). And some of them just might need a little help in the people skills department. Now, let's not stereotype an entire generation, but let's not ignore what obsessive use of technology can do. If you grow up communicating primarily via text and e-mail, how can you master crazy skills like making eye contact? After all, you haven't looked anybody in the eye since that mean man at the hospital spanked you into existence. It doesn't even occur to you that texting at work is inappropriate you've been doing it at the dinner table for years.

Most of the workforce consists of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, and depending on what business you're in, probably most of your customers as well. These people expect their co-workers and the people who serve them to have some people skills. If you are a manager, it is up to you to make sure your youngest employees have these skills.

Why People Hate Training

Why People Hate Training By Denise D. Ryan

Commentary: Well, do people really hate training? I don't know. I suspect the author is tilting at straw men to mix metaphors, but, this article contains some useful hints about how to get better results from seminars.
Most employees view training as medicine or worse, as punishment. As an outside trainer, I work with hundreds of groups in a wide variety of industries and most people enter the training room as if they are going to the gas chamber. They might not expect death, but clearly some horrible form of torture. There are exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far between. Why is this and what can we do about it?




It starts at the top. Too many times managers blow off the session because they don't need it (of course). This sends a strong message to all their followers: this training is not worth my time. If leaders haven't attended the training themselves, how can they reinforce the message? I see this in medical environments all the time - the nursing staff has to attend customer service training, not the doctors - they are way too important. Guess who treats both the nurses and the patients poorly? The doctors. What kind of message does this send to the nurses? No wonder they don't want to go to training.
Make it better: If you are going to have training for your people, you should go through it yourself. When you are there, support the trainer and your learners.
Exception: The only time you may want to consider not attending is if you want your people to interact freely with the trainer without your possibly intimidating presence. This is a very valid reason for not being there. If that's the case - tell your people. Tell them you think the training is important and why you are not going.
No one likes boring training. Make sure the training is good and has value for the attendees. I know this seems obvious, but something horrible has happened to people. They have had to sit through boring sessions and they hate it. There are enough good presenters out there that you can find someone with high energy, humor and great information. Take the time to check out your trainers. If you are using internal trainers, make sure they don't get burned out and bored with their own material. Take good care of them-they have a big impact on your employees.
Make it better: If you people are laughing, they are not in pain. Good training can help with morale and retention. Don't settle for boring.
They don't want to be embarrassed. Make it fun, but don't make attendees feel stupid or uncomfortable. I do a lot of customer service training. Very few attendees are excited about coming. Leadership is seldom there and it's often held after hours. People think they are somehow being punished for not doing their jobs. It's a tough crowd and I know I have to win them over and get them to drop their defenses fast. That's why I have my Elvis theme. Right away they know this isn't going to be like any customer service training they've had before. And before they know it, they're laughing. I do not make them do any Elvis impersonations; they are never embarrassed or made to do anything that would make them uncomfortable. It's interactive without putting anyone on the spot. If anybody acts silly, it's me.
Make it better: Most adults are terrified of looking like idiots. Training should be fun and safe or your people will dread it.
Attendees-you are not off the hook! You should come with an open mind. Hey, if you have to be there, you might as well have fun! Most of us have never been to a class where we learned nothing. In this life, you're either growing or you're dying. Take the chance to grow and learn. It's the best way to improve.
Denise Ryan, MBA, is a Certified Speaking Professional, a designation of excellence held by less than 10% of all professional speakers. She is a blogger http://motivationbychocolate.blogspot.com Her website is http://www.firestarspeaking.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Denise_D._Ryan
http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-People-Hate-Training&id=1694740

Cognitive Anthropology

Cognitive anthropology expands the examination of human thinking to consider how thought works in different cultural settings. The study of mind should obviously not be restricted to how English speakers think but should consider possible differences in modes of thinking across cultures. Cognitive science is becoming increasingly aware of the need to view the operations of mind in particular physical and social environments. For cultural anthropologists, the main method is ethnography, which requires living and interacting with members of a culture to a sufficient extent that their social and cognitive systems become apparent. Cognitive anthropologists have investigated, for example, the similarities and differences across cultures in words for colors.


http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/#Ima

Cognitive Science & Learning

By na - Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of mind and intelligence, embracing philosophy, psychology, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, linguistics, and anthropology. 


Its intellectual origins are in the mid-1950s when researchers in several fields began to develop theories of mind based on complex representations and computationalprocedures. 


Its organizational origins are in the mid-1970s when the Cognitive Science Society was formed and the journal Cognitive Science began. 
Since then, more than seventy universities in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia have established cognitive science programs, and many others have instituted courses in cognitive science


http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/

Tracking Employee Training - Measuring Training Effectiveness with KPI's

By Albert Lilly - Tracking employee training and measuring training effectiveness is a key objective of any training and development department. Naturally, you want to ensure your investment in training of new hires and current employees delivers the expected results. One of the ways to assess the effectiveness of employee training is by establishing quality Key Performance Indicators (KPI). When created and tracked properly, they serve as a benchmark to measure and improve progress towards a set of broader based goals or objectives.

Evaluating Cognitive Training Outcomes: Validity and Utility of Structural Knowledge Assessment

By Journal of Business and Psychology, Volume 18, Number 2 - Conventional approaches to evaluating cognitive outcomes of training typically use paper-and-pencil tests that emphasize gains or differences in declarative knowledge. Yet a key factor in differentiating expert and novice performance is the way individuals organize their knowledge. Accordingly, the acquisition of meaningful knowledge structures and methods of assessing structural knowledge are potentially important issues for designing and evaluating training programs. Two studies were conducted to examine the validity and utility of one structural assessment technique called Pathfinder (Schvaneveldt, Durso, & Dearholt, 1989). Results from academic and organizational samples indicated that Pathfinder measures of structural knowledge quality predicted individual differences in performance self-efficacy. After controlling for differences in declarative knowledge, measures of structural knowledge quality added to the prediction of performance self-efficacy in the student sample, but not in the organizational sample. The unique features and potential advantages of structural assessment for training evaluation are discussed. 

Training Puzzles

From Thiagi
For more than 10 years, we have been experimenting with instructional puzzles. Check out our samples..

Training Puzzles

• How many Conflict Management terms can you name?
• What are some of the most important Facilitator Characteristics?
• Can you name these Performance Improvement Interventions?
• Can you identify ten Interactive Strategies?

Training Games

From Thiagi
This section contains more than 250 ready-to-use training games and activities. Most of them were published in the Thiagi GameLetter.
If you like these games and activities, please visit the endorsers' area to leave your comments. Thiagi may use these comments as blurbs for his future publications.
Thanks!

Use this process to create a training knowledge base

By Lauri Elliot - A knowledge base can be a highly effective, inexpensive tool when traditional user training isn't an option. Here's a case study from an IT consultant and trainer that will teach you how to create and manage a training knowledge base.

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/use-this-process-to-create-a-training-knowledge-base/1039435

Classroom Presentation Checklist

By na - A basic evaluation type checklist for classroom presentations that contains 16 items. Can be used in a number of ways, but we include it here to be used as a basis for customizing.

Tools For Trainers

By na - This is actually a short evaluation tool that can be used if working with a coach or trainer who you might be supervising. It's also a good basis for doing some self-feedback

Coaching Checklist

By na - This is a short very basic checklist that can be used to prepare for coaching an employee. Before conducting a coaching session answer all of the questions below about the employee and the situation. Doing so will help you focus on what to say.Before conducting a coaching session answer all of the questions below about the employee and the situation.  Doing so will help you focus on what to say. 

Induction Check List

By BusinessBalls - Induction training is another term for onboarding, or new employee orientation. Here's an article you can use as a checklist on this topic, that explains what should be included, ways to make it enjoyable. 

Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution

Business leaders can't develop and execute effective strategy without first gathering the right information, says Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons. In his new book, Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution, Simons explains how managers can identify holes in their planning processes and make smart choices. Here's an excerpt outlining the seven questions every manager should ask.

1. Who Is Your Primary Customer?

The first imperative—and the heart of every successful strategy implementation—is allocating resources to customers. Continuously competing demands for resources—from business units, support functions and external partners—require a method for judging whether the allocation choices you have made are optimal.

The BestWork™ People - The Keys to Cultural Change

The BestWork™ People - The Keys to Cultural Change

The BestWork™ People - The Master Moves™

The BestWork™ People - The Master Moves™

The Psychology of Liking

I couldn't help but bring forward the powerful notion of belonging which anthropologists have written about at length.

So here is view of the sense through the facebook "like" experience.

The Psychology of Liking

We all know that person on Facebook. The one who Likes everything—let's call him Mike. Whether your cat got sick or you got a raise or went for a walk or had sushi for dinner, are feeling blue or just biked five miles, it's all Likable to Mike. How can we understand Mike's affability? As we use social media tools more frequently to connect with and communicate with others, the act of Liking is a means of creating alliances. But can Mike over-use this tool?

The Facebook Like button began as a quick and easy way to interact with others. If someone posts anything mildly positive, all Mike has to do to acknowledge the moment is click the Like button and his commentary and recognition are duly noted with a thumb's up sign. The Like button lets Mike reaffirm his connection online. It tells the person that he is an active node in the social network, and that he wants to be connected with the poster. Liking presents a means of belonging or securing attention online. To Like something announces Mike's presence loudly and connects not only to the poster, but also to the poster's connections. The entire network is made aware of Mike's relationship to the poster.

However, it's important to Like appropriately, which unfortunately many in the social sphere don't seem to understand. If Mike Likes simply for the sake of Liking, he can quickly be labeled an interloper. In the absence of a close relationship, Liking every single thing that someone posts sends a message of being inauthentic, particularly if Mike Likes statements that warrant some sympathy. If the relationship is not a close one, then Liking major events (e.g., an engagement, new job, new home, obvious excitement) adds to the connection. Liking the random, everyday events shared by a poster is reserved for more familiar connections. It is noticeable and a bit strange when someone within the network with weak ties to the poster, Likes or comments on a post.

As the Like feature filtered through the web, Liked items have become an extension of one's digital persona. The items affiliated with your Like "signature" construct your reputation online. Liking items that others within your network already Like, reaffirms your connection with the group by identifying points you hold in common. So there may be pressure to Like. Some of this pressure may account for large responses to major events; there may be certain points that even peripheral members of the network need to acknowledge. This could then lead to a shaping of Liking so that you choose to Like only items that create a specific image of you. If you over-Like—both personal items and items from the web—then there can be questions about the nature of your digital profile.

Take a moment to consider what you may have Liked lately, and the message that your Likes may be sending about your personality.  Do you pay attention to who Likes your statuses? What's your reaction when it's a peripheral member of your network?

Ethnography

One cannot understand a culture without becoming its component part. Therefore we have to live with the people we study, learn from them and listen to them. These are the basic rules of ethnography as the basic anthropological research method. Based on interviews, group discussions and particularly participant observation and fieldwork, we study how people (co)operate and what the relations are between them. The essence of ethnography is in the presence of the researcher or counsellor in the environment they wish to explore. This environment can be very diverse as the researcher may explore organisations, foreign markets and new target groups as well as works among customers and employees, i.e. in any group of people that might be interesting for the client.

http://www.ergo-institut.com/en/316/Ethnography.aspx

Culture

The notion of culture can be explained in many different ways. However, when transferring anthropological knowledge into the business world, the trouble with definitions is quite limited since culture is understood as an endless and constantly changing process of people's activity and consideration. Typically its limits are not clearly defined, it has no geographical or national limitations.

 It is therefore impossible to comprehend and understand, if not explored professionally. Only when proper methodology is used, we can analyse and interpret cultural differences and similarities, and explain the influence of cultural particularities on the business environment, consumerism, relationships within organisations, as well as needs and desires of customers.

Business Anthropolgy

Business anthropology

Anthropologists are experts in people and their habits, their particular research approach enabling them an “inside” view on cultures. 

Business anthropology  transfers anthropological approaches into companies and  organisations  utilizing traditional anthropological methodologies  inclusive of  participant observation.


Anthropologists are of the view that everything is connected

Business anthropology is significant in solving the following issues:

• What consumers want?
• User Analysis
• Customers
• User Experience
• What is your competition like? 
• Competition
• Competitive Products
• Product Design
• Reatail Positioning.
• How should the company, service or product be adapted to unknown cultures? 
•  analyse foreign markets  
• new target groups  
• prepare strategies of service and product adaptation
• How to bridge intercultural differences in a company? 
•  explore the cultural particularities of various groups within the company and find the best way for them to cooperate with each other
• Providing pathways to alignment
• How to provide user-friendly products or services? 
•  participate in product and service development, paying regard to user experience and particularities of the cultural environments, which the products and services are intended for.

In the USA and some other parts of the world, activities from the field of business anthropology have been integrated into companies successfully for more than 30 years, whereas in Europe this applicative science has been slowly developing. Whilstin australia we are seeing the emergence of anecdotes (storytelling) as a significant medium to determine approaches culture and strategy illumination.

Digital Media Culture

Dr. Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology and Digital Ethnography for Kansas State University explains a very interesting subject. 
A look into Digital Media Culture.