HOW TO RUN A KICK-OFF MEETING FOR A WRITING PROJECT THE KICK-OFF CALL - The Writers For Hire

HOW TO RUN A KICK-OFF MEETING FOR A WRITING PROJECT: THE KICK-OFF CALL In our previous blog, we discussed the importance of running a kick-off meeting when starting a new project. However, if, as in many large, dispersed organizations, it turns out that the meeting participants are in different locations, the kick-off meeting will have to be a call. While the concept of the kick-off call follows the same basic principals as the in-person kick-off meeting, there are a few differences. Before the Call First, invite participants using a scheduling and audiotaping app. Next, prepare an outline (or agenda) of what you intend to cover, including a list of questions for the client, and share it with the other team members who will be on the call. (This outline will come in handy when taking notes during the call.) You should also familiarize yourself with any materials the client has already provided and share this as well. The Call Introduce yourself and your team. Explain your role and theirs. Set the tone by reviewing the goals for the call and the order in which topics will be covered. Lead the call. Have your outline and list of questions ready. Announce you will be taking notes. This will help explain any silences on the phone and signal that you value everything the client will have to say.(You do not want the client to equate silence with incompetence and lose confidence before the project starts.) If you are physically busy, narrate what you are doing (remember they can’t see you!) If you’re catching up with notes, say â€Å"I’m sorry hold on one second, I’m taking a note.†If you’re trying frantically to find the website they are talking about, say â€Å"Give me one second, the website is loading.† If you aren’t sure what to say next, use a couple stalling tactics. â€Å"Ok, give me second to check my notes and see what I still need to ask.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Does anyone else on the call have any questions, while I check my notes?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Am I missing anything I need to know?† Don’t let the client take over the call. Don’t rephrase your questions, and don’t overexplain. If you are feeling like the client is getting impatient, make sure they recognize the benefit: â€Å"I want to make sure I get this right, so I don’t have to ask you again.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I want to make sure I understand this, so I ensure the best product.† Keep to questions not easily answered via email. For example, don’t waste the client’s time getting details like exact spellings of names and alternate phone numbers; do confirm the primary contact person – who may not be the person on the kick-off call! Let the client speak! Never interrupt the client. Don’t be afraid, however, to ask questions until you are sure you understand what the client wants. Explain the writing process. Describe the difference between big picture and little picture edits, and why proofing always happens at the end. End with next steps and specific action items. Always end the call by reiterating next steps for each party. YOU will send me/us XXX and I/WE will do YYY. Send an email recapping the call within 24 hours. If possible, send the email the same day. There’s no need to summarize the call verbatim. (If you used an app like Uber Conference, you will have a recording of the call to refer to if needed.) Stick to the key points the client raised, the next steps, and the action items.

Gender Stereotypes on Television

Gender Stereotypes on Television Television advertisement perpetuates gender stereotypes through their advertising. This is through reinforcing the traditional gender roles assigned by the society. The traditional stereotypes about being a man is being business minded, tough, independent while being a woman means being passive, sensitive, and submissive, having beauty, elegance a good homemaker.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Gender Stereotypes on Television specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Television commercials are most likely to be run at the time when the advertisers think the target audience is watching television to sell their products. For instance, during daytime advertisers will run commercials about food, beauty products cleaning agents and so on in soap operas or dramas that have more women viewers than men viewers have. On the other hand, in sports programs commercials for things such as beer, vehicles and property are run because the a udience for such programs are mostly men. Gender stereotyping in television commercials is a topic that has generated a huge debate and it is an important topic to explore to find out how gender roles in voice-overs TV commercials and the type of products they are selling to the public are related. From many findings, it is clear that advertisers use gender to sell different products during different times in broadcasting. Many studies in content analysis have been done on television commercials. The studies have focused on gender stereotyping but many have ignored the economic motivation behind the stereotyping in commercials. Advertisers want to make most of their advertisement and run the ads when the target audience is likely to be watching certain television programs. For example during soap operas advertisers will run ads on things like diapers. This product is hardly seen during programs watched mostly by men for instance sporting programs. While some advertisers may not cons ider the age and sex of the audience some do so because it is cost effective as they are able to reach most people in the target group using one commercial (Craig 1). Gender roles stereotyping comes in when advertisers choose to run ads on products aimed at women during daytime. This is considered the best time to reach this target group, as most women are likely to be at home taking care of their children or just housekeeping. These young women are more likely to buy the products advertised than the older women who are largely ignored by the advertisements, as they are not considered as big buyers. During prime time, the advertisements changed and target women who usually work. To make the advertisement more economical; advertisers run ads that target a wider audience of both men and women. Thus during this time products that appeal to both gender are more likely to be advertised. During the weekend most television stations run sporting events, they are mainly targeted at men, and thus products aimed at men are advertised during these programs. Products such as cars, beer are advertised (Craig 1).Advertising Looking for essay on gender studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is also important to note that television programs are also gendered. There are programs created primarily with a specific gender in mind. During these programs, the advertisers get a good opportunity to sell their products to their target audience. The programs are made in such a way that they help to sell the products being advertised. This is achieved by portraying the characters in the programs with traits that are desirable to the target audience. This in turn makes the target audience desire those traits and thus are more likely to buy products advertised during such times (Craig 3). For example, men are portrayed as dominant, autonomous; in occupations that are prestigious on the other hand, women are shown as c aring, compliant or in domestic settings. Therefore, women will be shown in ads about domestic products while men will often advertise outdoor products or business related products (Chandler 1). In voice-overs, the gender stereotypes are reinforced and maintained. The program or advertisements makers use voice-overs that represent the products they are advertising and that fit the society’s stereotype of gender roles. In voice-overs, regarding authority male voice-overs are used. The males do voice-overs for products that are masculine in nature. The male voice-overs are also used in various product advertisements unlike their female counterparts who are mostly used in doing voice-overs for domestic products such as food, cleaning agents or female beauty products. The female voice-overs are often gentle, sensitive, and dependent or even submissive (Chandler 1). If men are used in advertising home products, they are often shown as being unable to handle the task. For example, a man may be unable to operate a washing machine and a woman comes over and shows him how to use it with so much ease. This advertisement although not breaking from tradition and having a man advertise at the end a woman comes and she is the one who is able to run the washing machine successfully thus reinforcing the traditional gender roles that homes are best run by women as men cannot be good homemakers. On the contrary, advertisements about men have male figures that work very hard. These males are often rewarded with a beer at the end of a day’s hard work.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Gender Stereotypes on Television specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The stereotype type being propagated in such an ad is that men work very hard outdoors or in businesses and thus need a reward at the end of the day. Some ads may also show a man who is successful as having many women and thus reinforces they notion that a man can have a woman as long as he works hard. This kind of ads objectify women (Limpinnian 1). We are in the 21st century and even though the role of women has shifted drastically from that of being care givers to professionals the stereotypes still persist in television advertisement. This may be attributed to the patriarchal society in which males dominant every aspect of life. Interesting enough children tend to learn these stereotypes from the advertisement they see on television. Girls are often used in fewer ads than boys are and in those advertisements that are used to portray the traditional roles of women. For example, the girls will be used in doll ads or in cooking fat ads to show that their role is in the home. Conversely, boys are portrayed in ads as being care free with toys cars and tough. This means that the boys and girls grow up to fit into gender behaviors shown in the advertisements (Bradway 1). Finally, the gender roles in voice-overs in television commercials and the type of products advertised by different genders all seem to reinforce the traditional stereotypes. The advertisers do not want to shift from gendered advertising because they would not want to upset the status quo in the society as the products they produce are produced with a target market in mind. Bradway, Jacquelyn. Stereotypical Gender Roles Portrayed in Childrens Television Commercials. Web. Chandler, Daniel. Television and Gender Roles. Web.Advertising Looking for essay on gender studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Craig, Steve. Men’s men and Women’s Women: How TV Commercials Portray Gender to Different Audiences. Web. Limpinnian, Danielle. The Portrayal of Men and Women in TV Ads. Web.

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

English - Essay Example The effect is devastating to health. One out of three children who were born from 2000 will contact early onset of diabetes and among the minorities, that will be one in two or 50 %. Outbreaks of E-coli are already common that takes toll to our health due to unnatural way of growing and processing this foods which are demanded by fast foods. Second Paragraph: Hidden Cost in Encouraging Locally Produced Food (perhaps you have to re-evaluate this, I saw the movie and this does not fit) The hidden cost in encouraging locally produced food is that is that it is more healthy because it is grown by farmers in the natural way and as such organic and healthy. When the food that you buy does not have to travel that long, no preservatives are added to it to store it longer. It will also discourage multinational corporations, especially the fast food corporations, to control and demand how the food industry should be produced. When their control is weaken in the food industry by encouraging loc ally produced food, the mechanization of the food industry will also be discouraged. Third Paraghraph: Hidden Cost in Encouraging Others to Shop Locally Shopping locally will create demand for the local produce of the farmers and will make their products more viable in the market. As the movie puts it, the answer should not be David fighting Goliath but local producers should be like Goliath.

Change in Retirement since life expectancy increased Essay

Change in Retirement since life expectancy increased - Essay Example Americans are living longer and therefore financial security becomes imperative. It is coming to a point where investment plans need to be addressed on the day when one gets the first job. Retirement planning is becoming a matter of significance as it is this saving that prevents an individual from facing financial hazard. People who have been working all through their lives are aware and keep themselves fit and busy as long as they can even in the late seventies. On the other hand, some individuals face financial crisis and then in old age they look for some source of earning to fulfill their needs for day-to-day activities as well as to meet their health expenses. Observation reveals that some of the retired individuals get only meager from their retirement savings and so they work more in old age to fulfill their necessities. In certain cases if individuals entered late in work force they may not have saved enough and therefore they have to work till the later age. Appropriate financial planning is therefore important to secure the

Position Statements (Outline) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Position Statements (Outline) - Essay Example Wal-Mart sells Chinese manufactured products due to which local manufacturers have experienced a decrease in demand and this has led to shutdown of manufacturing plants which in turn leads to unemployment in manufacturing sector. i. According to Redovich, when federal agencies conducted a raid on Wal-Mart, they figured out that the organization is hiring illegal immigrants who charge less and work without health benefits (Redovich 41). Due to this the likely hood of US citizens getting a better paying job at Wal-Mart decreases. 5. Wal-Mart is one of the oldest and one of the largest retailing businesses within US and it has provided various benefits to the US economy including: increased tax contribution, increased employment levels, better wage rates, higher amount of benefits, environment friendly operations and higher number of choices of goods for consumers. Mitchell, Stacy. "Wal-Mart to Create 22,000 Jobs — and Destroy Many Thousands More | Institute for Local Self-Reliance." Institute for Local Self-Reliance. N.p., 12 June 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2012.

Alternatives for Capitalism in a Globalised Economy

Alternatives for Capitalism in a Globalised Economy Essential for globalized economy: Communism or Capitalism In this globalized economy now it is a big question for us that, what is the perfect economic system: communism or capitalism? By globalization we can understand cross boarder market. There is an international exchange of labor forces, ideas, capitals, knowledge, products, and services. Now we will focus on capitalism and communism and try to find out that in this globalized economy capitalism or communism, what is best suited? Is Communism applicable in globalized economy? Communism is a concept, in that ownership of land, capital and industry cannot be owned or controlled by the individual. However, under Communism the control of these things is not by a local community but by the State Government. Under this system the government has total control of everything produced and control what is made, and who will receive the goods and services produced. Under this system you are not allowed to own your own home, your own car, your own furniture, or even the food you eat. The State decides what you can use and where you will work. So, we think it is an obstacle for global economy. Because if the country determine what will be produced, how will be produced and for whom will be produced, then developed countries may notbe interested to invest in that country. At the same time Communism kills the will to work, competition, innovation and creativity, where these are the main characteristics of a worker in this modern globalized economy. Why compete to work? You wont make any more money. Why spend time innovating new ideas, or being creative, there wont be anything in it for me. As a result they fail to provide goods and services for their citizens. The Soviet Eastern Communist countries of the 20th century were noted for not having much goods and services for their citizens. Yet, the ruling class always had plenty of everything, and it was usually imported from capitalist countries. While we have rich people in America, we also have a large middle class that live comfortable lives. Even many if not most poor people in America have refrigerators, TVs, and food on the table. Since Communism controls all goods and services, the individual is at the total mercy of the State. You have no rights except those granted by the State. The old Soviet Union was a police state, with total control over its citizens.West Germany was full of cars on the Autobahns. The streets in East Germany were mostly empty, with an occasional person on bicycle, even in the middle of winter. Freedom of travel is restricted in a Communist State because they control who gets what and for how long. If you were lucky enough to get a car in East Germany, it was usually a worthless piece of junk. But, we may face a question that if communism creates hindrance to global economy, then how China runs its global economy as we know it is a communist country? Then our answer will be†¦ While China’s government may be officially communist, the Chinese people express widespread support for capitalism. And since 2002, the Chinese have been one of the strongest proponents of capitalism, even more so than Americans and Western Europeans. During last 30-35 years China has brought enormous changes to its economy. In the late 1970s, the government started opening the economy to foreign investment and privatization. With these changes came sky-high economic growth – an average of 10% since 1980. And now about 76% people of China agree that most people are better off in a free market economy. Listverse showed 10 benefits of Capitalism: Happiness If you look at this happiness map published by scholars from the University of Leicester, you can clearly see that the foremost democratic, capitalist countries like the USA, Canada, New Zealand and the whole of Europe are the happiest in the world. This is because in these countries, thanks to the free-market, whatever products people want, they can get. ViableAlternatives Perhaps the strongest argument working in favor of democratic capitalism is that there is no alternative politico-economic system which has proved itself to work in our modern age. Almost every attempted implementation of communism has failed (China – abandoned total communism long ago and are slowly creeping towards capitalism). America became socialist and imposed many strong measures on corporations to regulate their behavior, the largest companies (Trans-National Corporations) would most likely move their industry elsewhere, and potential entrepreneurs would be scared to invest in capital, irreparably damaging America’s economy. So as you can see, changing the economic system isn’t even an option. Growth Capitalism allows the economy to grow exponentially. It is a basic fact of economics that the more money a firm makes, the more it can invest in production, and the more it invests in production, the more money it makes. So long as no unfortunate events befall the firm, this growth can, obviously, continue indefinitely. Many see a problem arising with this: there are only a finite, or ‘scarce’ amount of resources on Earth, so this huge growth of production will one day run to a halt. Health There is greater awareness than ever of the importance of fitness due to government campaigns. All of these contribute to an extremely fit society, and, in desperation, one can always resort to liposuction or some other sort of surgery. Social Good It might seem at first glance that everyone is selfishly working for their own money, but dig a little deeper and it becomes apparent that every job has a benefit for someone else. Factory workers produce the products that we can’t live without; hairdressers perform a service that benefits us body and soul; and the police work to protect us and make sure we live in a lawful society. Even unpopular and ‘overpaid’ professions such as city bankers and sportsmen have a positive effect on society, whether it be helping us manage our money, entertainment or something else. Equality No matter where you start in life, everyone has an opportunity to make it big. The basic principle is that the harder you work, the greater your reward. Human Nature Being the Best Freedom Built on Democracy (Nunno, Jed Rachael, 2014) An authoritarian communist party controls Vietnam. Its true. But its founding ideology appears all but gone from the hearts of Vietnams people. Vietnam, in fact, may actually be one of the most pro-capitalist countries on Earth. Almost all Vietnamese people — 95% of them — now support capitalism, according to the Pew Research Center, which polled nearly 45 nations late last year on economic issues. No other country in the poll cracked 90%. Even in the United States — where socialist can be used as an insult — only 70% agreed that a free market economy is the best kind of economy. (Winn, 2015) References Nunno, Jed Rachael, 2014. Listverse. [Online] Available at: http://listverse.com/2010/12/24/top-10-greatest-benefits-of-capitalism/ [Accessed 24 April 2015]. Simmons, K., Spring, 2014. Global Attitude Survey, Washington, DC: PEW Research Center. Winn, P., 2015. USA TODAY. [Online] Available at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/03/13/vietnam-capitalism-global-post/70261770/ [Accessed 24 April 2015].

Living the Holocaust by the Survivors Essay example -- Germany Jews Wa

Living the Holocaust by the Survivors World War II ended in Europe on May 7, 1945, but to many survivors of the Holocaust, the war would remain with them for the rest of their lives. Not only had it brutally stripped them of their families, but also of their own humanity. As the survivors came to realizations that their families would not return to them and the initial hardships of returning to a normative life wore off, the memories of the concentration camps and the shock of brutal separation from family came flooding back into their minds. These memories often caused radical change in mental behavior and, to a degree, somaticized themselves into the â€Å"survivor’s syndrome.† (Niederland 14) The symptoms seen in â€Å"survivor’s syndrome† are what would normally be seen in a typical patient of post-traumatic stress disorder: psychological â€Å"imprint† of the disaster, anxiety, guilt, a degree of somatization, etc. (12-13). These personality changes would persist even in the rearing of the children of the survivors, to which Melvin Bukiet referred as the â€Å"Second Generation†. (13) The children wondered why their parents were not like other adults in terms of personality, behavioral quirks, obsessions, and having tattooed numbers. (14) As the Second Generation realized why their parents were the way they were, it began to feel a sense of sharing the inheritance and tried to develop coping mechanisms, such as writing and retelling, to carry on the message of their parents. (16) Art Spiegelman has developed a unique method of retelling the story of his father, Vladek, as well as his own—of his tense relationship with Vladek and his personal problems. In Maus, Spiegelman uses cartoon strips to dramatize these ... ...ut that person’s life, even branching into family life, this genre helps Artie to find his own place in history and to what degree he â€Å"owns† it. In these respects, he is truly a â€Å"real survivor† (44) in that for him, â€Å"the beginning was Auschwitz.† (Bukiet 13) Works Cited Bukiet, Melvin Jules. Nothing Makes You Free. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2002. Nielander, William G., M.D. â€Å"The Psychiatric Evaluation of Emotional Disorders in Survivors of Nazi Persecution.† Massive Psychic Trauma. New York: International Universities Press, Inc., 1969. Spiegelman, Art. Maus: a Survivor’s Tale. I: My Father Bleeds History. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986. Spiegelman, Art. Maus: a Survivor’s Tale. II: And Here My Troubles Began. New York: Pantheon Books, 1992. Trautman, (first name not known). Psychopathology of Concentration Camp Victims.