Groupthink

Today many consider the Cuban Missile Crisis to be the closest the Cold War ever got to escalating to an all-out nuclear war. In July of 1962 Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev responded to American Jupiter ballistic missiles placed in Italy and Turkey by placing nuclear missiles in Cuba just 90 miles off United States shores. Cuban leader Fidel Castro was eager to ally himself with the Soviet Union due to the previous failed American Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. President Kennedy discovered…

Introduction Whether you consider Dennis Kozlowski a victim or villain, one thing is for sure; his ethical and human values were somewhat lacking. He has been referred to by some as a charismatic and personable guy, to the poster boy of excess, to a ‘corporate psychopath’. He managed to work his way up to CEO of Tyco International and grow the company into a multi-billion dollar organization. His downfall would ultimately arise from greed and a need to be accepted by the social elites. There…

The Dangers of Totalitarianism A period marked by two World Wars, the Russian Revolution, and the Spanish Civil War, resulted in an unstable society oppressed by horror and despair. In the midst of chaos Europe’s dilapidated cities, ruptured economies, and tyrannical governments, became the catalyst for the Modernist movement. During the early half of the 1940s, editiors’ Jame G. Ryan and Leonard Schlup explain in Historical Dictionary of the 1940s, Modern Europe had been heavily subjected to…

representations are still the minority. Because men dominate creative departments and their outputs, everything produced subsequently lacks a female perspective. In particular, I believe that these narrow and stereotypical portrayals of women are a result of groupthink: when a group of men are brainstorming campaign concepts together, the ideas originate through a male lens with no desire to break conformity. Because the creators of media have the power to influence a mass audience, the…

GlaxoSmithKline is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Many people can say they owe their lives to this company. Not everyone can say that though, because in 2002 the FDA sued GlaxoSmithKline for over 750 billion dollars for multiple infractions. GlaxoSmithKline pled guilty to fraud, and two years later, it happened again, for which they pled guilty to distributing adulterated drugs. GSK is trying to repair their severely damaged image. It seems they have done a…

In the next few weeks I will be taking over the responsibilities of managing a new team. Though this will not be my first management assignment, this transition is a good opportunity to reflect upon my weaknesses and strengths as a manager and leader, along with management skills that I would like to implement or improve upon as I begin a new chapter in my career. During this time of self-reflection, I believe that it is important to recognize that some of my management skills may be firmly in…

The role play is set primary to deciding who plays which part in the play. The list of participants could solely exist of applicants but can also include experts. The experts inspect the participant’s behaviour and might challenge them in particular stages of the role-play. One advantage is that experts can emphasise on specific situations, which may occur often in the performed job, and therefore, examine who reacts in the most effective or professional way. Yet, role-plays require high…

Passive-Aggressive Personality How do you know you are dealing with a passive-aggressive person? An ancient Chinese proverb describes passive-aggressive behavior as “a fist hiding behind a smile.” The NYU Medical Center defines a passive-aggressive individual as someone who, uncensored, "may appear to be sympathetic.” However, after considerable reflection, the realization finally arises that they are really doing more for themselves than anyone else. A passive-aggressive is a personality…