Organisational transformation in practice Essay

Organisational transformation in practice - Essay Example The behavior of organisational leadership identifies how successful leaders will be at attaining the values, objectives and goals of the organisation (Tsai, 2011). It is worth mentioning that in order to remain competitive it is quite significant for an organisation to continuously assess its values and practices to ensure that they are aligned with the developed corporate strategies. With this concern, a culture audit permits an organisation to map and to assess its organisational values and current practices. It can also be utilised to evaluate the gap existing between the benchmark and the organisation’s actual behaviour in relation to its desired values emphasising on the fact that whether executives and employees practice the way they state (Cha & Edmondson, n.d.). According to Kets de Vries (2011), most of the organisational changes arise as a result of a stream of interaction between the numerous stakeholders in the systems, each of which is considered to be complex in its own way. In the contemporary times, one of the significant challenges that the leaders might face can be identified as related with managing their organisational culture in order to impede mounting happenings of corporate wrong doings. In this regards, they are supposed to assemble the market needs by making sure that internal environment of the organisation is aligned with the external forces (De Vries, 2011). In my organisation, cultural change took place because of the change in the organisational structure. I have experienced such changes numerous times in my recent past performances. However, most of the colleagues were not ready for such change in the organisational culture. With my personal experience upon change, I was aware of the fact that change in the workplace is inevitable. Such changes will have an influence upon all parties who tend to be involved with the organisational process. Yet, if the change in not managed properly, it might lead to several difficulties fo r the organisation. From my past experiences, it came to my understanding that when change takes place in an organisation, the most significant way of coping up with such changes is the ability of leadership to lead the organisation properly. In other words, it can be stated that during the time of change taking place in the organisation, leaders have a significant role to play (Bell, 2006). When the employees have complete faith on the capabilities of the formal leaders, they tend to expect high from the leaders for numerous aspects. For instance, when drastic changes take place, employees will expect that the leaders are going to demonstrate effective and sensible planning, proper decision making and complete communication in a timely way. I also noted the fact that when change takes place, employees will perceive leadership as sympathetic, concerned and devoted towards their welfare. It can be stated that playing the role of a leader is not at all easy. The leaders not only have the responsibility to lead; rather, as an employee themselves, they are supposed to deal with their own reactions to change and their role in the process (Ledez, 2008). From my past experiences, I further understood that communication also has a significant role to play in resolving most of the issues at the organisation. It is highly crucial for the leaders of the organisation to communicate regarding the mission, vision, goals and objectives of

Character of Curley’s wife in Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Character of Curley’s wife in Of Mice and Men Essay The novel Of Mice and Men was written in the 1930’s by a man named John Steinbeck. The book is set in America and at a time during the Great Depression. This was when the stock market had crashed some years prior, lots of companies went bankrupt, the banking systems failed and a massive soar in unemployment was witnessed. Also during this period of the Great Depression droughts were seen in the southern and western states of America with failed harvests in Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. The fertile grassland that once was, became desert like and the area became known as the â€Å"dust bowl†. During this time the women fitted into this society as the home keepers, the men would go out to earn money whilst the woman stayed home to ensure things ran along smoothly there. The key terms that I will be evaluating in this essay, is how Steinbeck portrays Curley’s wife and how he attempts to make the reader either feel dislike or sympathy towards her. In chapter two Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife as a â€Å"tart†, this is a derogatory term used to describe a female who could possibly be â€Å"loose† or â€Å"promiscuous† even if they are not. Even before the reader is introduced to Curley’s wife, Steinbeck begins to tempt the reader to dislike her. Further on in the chapter when she is being introduced for the first time, Steinbeck uses imagery to describe Curley’s wife, he writes about her â€Å"full rouged lips†, her â€Å"red finger nails†, the â€Å"bouquets of red ostrich feathers† and the â€Å"red mules† she is wearing. Here the reader can see that Steinbeck is using connotations of the colour red. Red is seen as a provocative or seductive colour, it can also be seen as a colour of warning or danger. Here Steinbeck could possibly be trying to foreshadow future events to come. From this the reader may begin to already form a dislike towards Curley’s wife as it appears that she attempting to attract the attention of the workers on the farm, this would be an un-natural way for a married woman to behave. In chapter three Steinbeck continues to describe Curley’s wi fe in a negative manner. Steinbeck uses the term â€Å"jail bait† when she is being spoken about by the farm workers. The term jail bait is a metaphor as you cannot literally be a piece of bait that will end another up in jail. A woman who is described as jail bait is somebody who attempts to look older than they  actually are, and are possibly attempting to attract a suitor to take the bait, if this event comes to fruition the suitor could find himself serving a lengthy prison sentence. Further on in chapter three, Steinbeck writes about Curley’s wife as having â€Å"the eye† all the time, Steinbeck again is using a metaphor to descried Curley’s wife actions towards the farm workers. You cannot actually have the eye, what Steinbeck is doing is attempting to show the reader that she is always looking for attention and has to act in a provocative manner to obtain this. The reader may begin to feel strong dislike towards Curley’s wife now, as this is not the way any married woman should act. However it also begins to show the reader what a lonely existence it was for women during this era and possibly all that Curley’s wife actually craved was social interaction which is a basic need for any human being. Steinbeck again could possibly be foreshadowing future events to come. In chapter four Steinbeck begins to touch more on the lonely existence for a woman during this period of time. Curley’s wife speaks about wanting to â€Å"talk to somebody ever once in a while† this again represents the loneliness that she may be experiencing and again possibly the cause for her acting in the manner that she does around the workers. Steinbeck here uses imagery as the reader can imagine Curley’s wife being completely alone from female contact and only having Curley to speak to and the farm workers when Curley is not around. Steinbeck could also be possibly foreshadowing future events to come. Further on in the chapter Steinbeck also creates an element of fear towards Curley’s wife, this is seen when she is talking with Lennie and Candy. Curley’s wife states to Candy that she could get him â€Å"strung up† on a tree when she is challenged by him. Steinbeck a gain is using imagery and a metaphor to describe what will have. Being strung up is a referral to being hung, this would be done by making a noose at one end of a rope and hanging it over a branch and tying it to a tree, unfortunately a person then has the noose put over his head and then the rope is pulled tight and the person is effectively â€Å"strung up†. From this the reader may begin to feel a strong dislike to Curley’s wife even though she could possibly be lonely, the way she is going about getting the attention she craves is not the way to win people over. Making threats to a person who already may not get the best treatment, will only make them fear the consequences more if they are found out. In chapter five Steinbeck uses imagery to describe the way  Curley’s wife quietly approached Lennie in the stable, the reader could feel that this is a sneakily way to get close to Lennie and then before he can get away from her she is upon him. Steinbeck also describes Curley’s wife as having little â€Å"sausage curls†, Steinbeck is using personification to describe her hair, as in reality you would not have sausage as curls in someone’s hair, and again may be attempting to sway the reader to dislike her, also from this the reader may feel that Curley’s wife can be quite sly and cunning at times, the way that she approaches Lennie in the barn is not the norm if you are just strolling about, it must be a calculated act, knowing full well that she will catch Lennie alone. From this the reader may feel a strong dislike towards her, this is due to the fact that although she is married, she is still attempting to get one of the farm workers alone. It is almost like she cannot resist the temptation. And ultimately in the end if anything was to happen, the worker would move on and she would have knew victims to try and entice. Throughout the novella the readers opinions of Curley’s wife may slightly sway from dislike to sympathy, this is because the way Steinbeck uses imagery to describe her at the beginning it is that of a loose and easy woman, craving the attention of men on the farm in an almost sexual and provocative manner even though she is recently married. This theme continues throughout the majority of the story at different intervals. She enjoys to wear red, she is always asking if anyone have seen her husband, she seems to relax more if they have not and enjoys the attention she attracts. The reader may also feel sympathy for her as when Steinbeck describes her wanting company, this could possibly be a reason for her always hanging around the worker and looking for Curley. Ultimately I feel the reader will show great dislike towards her, the way she acts is not the correct way for a woman to act regardless of loneliness. I feel that Steinbeck is attempting to draw attention to how lonely life must have been for any person during that period of time. The struggles that they must have come over and lengths that some people would have gone to achieve that.

The Pros and Cons of Contracting Out In The Public Sector Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Contracting Out In The Public Sector Introduction Many public agencies in recent years have followed the trend of privatization, or contracting-out. Activities and functions that were once performed, or services that were once provided, by public employees are now being performed by private sector employees (Lyons). Vehicle towing, health services, police protection, and solid waste collection are among the many services and functions that government has contracted out. A survey in 1995 that was sent to mayors or city managers of America's largest cities (based on population) revealed that only three of the 66 cities that responded to the survey had not privatized any city services. http://fpac.fsu.edu/parbaby/pdf/1997/janfeb/dilger.pdf This trend translates to not only an administrative concerns but a staffing concern faced by many managers. Privatization As A Staffing Concern Replacement Of Civil Servants By Contract Employees Privatization of governmental functions has a direct relationship with the number of contract employees in government and an inverse relationship with the number of civil servants. As privatization has become more acceptable, contract employees are being hired to do the jobs, thus, replacing civil servants. As indicated by Gregg Lodan, Assistant Administrative Analyst for the City of Long Beach Community Development Department, approximately 20% of the department’s employees are contract employees, as opposed to approximately 5% three years ago. He stated that other departments and other cities might have even higher percentages because functions of whole departments or individual functions are now being considered for privatization (Lodan). In India... ...3. International City Management Association. Service Delivery in the 90's: Alternative Approaches for Local Governments: Washington D.C.: International City Management Association, 1989. Lodan, Gregg and Jesus Gomez. Personal interview. November 18, 1998. Lyons, James. "Contracting Out for Public School Support Services." Education Urban Society, Feb. 1, 1995: 154 Pinchot, Gifford, and Elizabeth Pinchot. The End of Bureaucracy & the Rise of the Intelligent Organization. San Francisco: Berrett, 1993: 180. Rehfuss, John A. Contracting Out in Government. San Francisco: Jossey, 1989 Wolfe, Michael N. "That's Not an Employee, That's an Independent Contractor." Compensation & Benefits Review, July-August, 1996: 60-64. Nigro, Lloyd G., and Felix A. Nigro. The New Public Personnel Administration. Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., 1994.

Language and Imagery in Punching Out Essay example -- Punching Out Ess

Language and Imagery in Punching Out In the critical praise for the poetry of Jim Daniels which fills the back cover of the anthology, Peter Stitt of the New York Times praises Daniels’s ability to "articulate the feelings of inarticulate people," in his clear and often creative free verse style. But the culture which Daniels illuminates in his poetry is far from inarticulate, as the critic indicates; more precisely the culture articulates its feelings and emotions in a vernacular unfamiliar to those outside it and to those accustomed to the eloquence and expression of loftier themes in traditional poetry. Daniels simply distills the essence of these feelings through a gesture, a thought, an image or a scene more adroitly than the blue collar workers which surround him, using poetry to meet the hardships, hopes and concerns of this culture on its own terms. Throughout the poems contained in Punching Out, Daniels creatively manipulates the poetic devices of imagery, allusions, language and rhythm to vividly portra y the oppressive environment of the factory and the demoralizing effects of the repetitive labor on its workers. One image which Daniels frequently co-opts to highlight Fords’ ironic approach to its workers is the manufacturer’s slogan. Quality appears to be job one in Daniels’s portrayal so long as it does not impede on the bottom line. Buying a cheap radio from a merchant who assures him that he is purchasing "Quality Merchandise", (author’s italics) the author curses the mal-functioning machine, remarking to himself that he should "know all about quality by how." The shrewdly placed slash in the title of "Quality/Control", again highlights the company’s ambivalent stance on quality versus profits. In the poem,... ...over portrays the utopian vision of a fresco by Diego Rivera showing all type of workers, black and white, young and old working together for the common cause of the auto industry. Jim Daniels’s more disturbing vision shows that the industry’s real leveling effect comes not from some Socialist Unity of the workers of the world, but by stripping every worker equally of his or her human dignity. Daniels is able to capture, by the simplest of gestures and stories, the desperation of the auto workers’ lot. In "Old Green, he tells of the worker retiring after nearly half a century of dedication to the company, given an aerial photo of factory. "As hard as you look you’ll never find him," notes Daniels, and all of his poetry eloquently reflects this plight of the worker. Works Cited Daniels, Jim. Punching Out. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990. Â   Â   Language and Imagery in Punching Out Essay example -- Punching Out Ess Language and Imagery in Punching Out In the critical praise for the poetry of Jim Daniels which fills the back cover of the anthology, Peter Stitt of the New York Times praises Daniels’s ability to "articulate the feelings of inarticulate people," in his clear and often creative free verse style. But the culture which Daniels illuminates in his poetry is far from inarticulate, as the critic indicates; more precisely the culture articulates its feelings and emotions in a vernacular unfamiliar to those outside it and to those accustomed to the eloquence and expression of loftier themes in traditional poetry. Daniels simply distills the essence of these feelings through a gesture, a thought, an image or a scene more adroitly than the blue collar workers which surround him, using poetry to meet the hardships, hopes and concerns of this culture on its own terms. Throughout the poems contained in Punching Out, Daniels creatively manipulates the poetic devices of imagery, allusions, language and rhythm to vividly portra y the oppressive environment of the factory and the demoralizing effects of the repetitive labor on its workers. One image which Daniels frequently co-opts to highlight Fords’ ironic approach to its workers is the manufacturer’s slogan. Quality appears to be job one in Daniels’s portrayal so long as it does not impede on the bottom line. Buying a cheap radio from a merchant who assures him that he is purchasing "Quality Merchandise", (author’s italics) the author curses the mal-functioning machine, remarking to himself that he should "know all about quality by how." The shrewdly placed slash in the title of "Quality/Control", again highlights the company’s ambivalent stance on quality versus profits. In the poem,... ...over portrays the utopian vision of a fresco by Diego Rivera showing all type of workers, black and white, young and old working together for the common cause of the auto industry. Jim Daniels’s more disturbing vision shows that the industry’s real leveling effect comes not from some Socialist Unity of the workers of the world, but by stripping every worker equally of his or her human dignity. Daniels is able to capture, by the simplest of gestures and stories, the desperation of the auto workers’ lot. In "Old Green, he tells of the worker retiring after nearly half a century of dedication to the company, given an aerial photo of factory. "As hard as you look you’ll never find him," notes Daniels, and all of his poetry eloquently reflects this plight of the worker. Works Cited Daniels, Jim. Punching Out. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990. Â   Â  

History Genocide Alert in Sudan Essay

Recently, newspapers and journals discussed the plight of the millions of people of Sudan as there has been the government sponsored genocide. This victimization of a few people has been discussed in the press as well as in the various websites. These various forums have condemned the atrocities committed against the innocent people. Hence, at different levels one can find the call for alert regarding the indiscriminate killing of large number of the people in Sudan. The Sudanese government has indirectly and sometimes directly sponsored the atrocities committed against the civilians. The government has encouraged the local militias to loot, murder and rape the innocent people in the southern region of Sudan. They have attacked the churches, buildings providing relief to the victims, and the market places. Ethnic and tribal warfare in the southern Sudan has been encouraged in order the keep the south divided. The government has destroyed the food supplies which have led to the death of large number of people due to starvation. People are persecuted based on their race, ethnicity, and religion. The main reason for this atrocity is that these people have opposed the imposition of extreme form of Islamic law. The government has been persecuting non Islamic and non Arabic people in an attempt to destroy those people who were politically opposed to the plans of the government. An important reason for this persecution is the attempt to control the oil fields which have been owned by the victims of the genocide atrocities. In fact, after the government signed agreements with the foreign oil companies, the atrocities against the civilians have increased. The government has used all the armaments and military vehicles to destroy the villages and areas inhabited by those people who opposed the government policies. Consequently, many civilians have been forced to leave their land as their villages, lands, churches, and schools have been destroyed due to the bombings. This government attempt to clear these lands has been termed as â€Å"scorched earth strategy†. (Survivors’ Rights International, 2001) However, the new settlements of displaced Sudanese have been earmarked for the future oil exploration which would imply that in the future the government may attack the people in this region. With the help of this genocide, the government has been able to multiply its oil revenues. However, a major part of this revenue has been spent on military machinery. Unfortunately, the government of Sudan believes that it can win the war with the help of oil money. This has led to killing of more than 2 million people. In addition to this, 4 million people have suffered internal displacement. Another 3 million people are facing starvation. In such a situation, international community including USA should pressurize the Sudanese government to stop its atrocities. (Survivors’ Rights International, 2001) The victims have argued that the government of Sudan has targeted the â€Å"blacks† as there is attempt to destroy the all the black population. This shows the racial and ethnic discrimination of the government actions. In the region of Darfur, even now thousands of people are dying due to the military attack and food shortage. This genocide has been noted by the US government agencies, international human rights bodies, and the United Nations. The displaced people are afraid of returning to their homeland because they are afraid of persecution. The Sudanese government has mainly attacked the Africans belonging to Fur, Zaghawa, and the Masaalit ethnic groups. The government sponsored militia is also termed as the Janjaweed who belong to the Arab tribes. Due to the ethnic wars, the civilians are suffering. This crisis has continued to bother the international human rights activists. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2005) Many international government and non-government organizations have established their associations to fight against the atrocities committed against the particular ethnic and racial component in Sudan. For instance, one can notice the establishment of Genocide Intervention Fund (GIF) which is a non government association of the civilians. GIF has supported the UN supported African Un ion Mission in Darfur. The main aim of this association is to support the peace keeping forces to protect the life of the innocent civilians in Darfur. In fact, African Union needs greater funding in order to manage the financial requirements to send the troops, supply food, and equipments to the peace keeping soldiers fighting for the lives of the people in Sudan. GIF has started the campaign to protect the lives of the Sudanese from the government attack. In fact, it aims to send 100000 letters to the government officials urging them to take action against the Sudanese government. This organization has requested the support of the government officials and civilians to raise $100000 to fight against the atrocities of the Sudanese government. The UNO has commissioned few committees to submit report regarding the nature of atrocities committed by the Sudanese government. In January 2005 International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur report was published. This report gave information regarding the recent developments in Darfur. This report can be used by the international agencies to take action against the government of Sudan. However, there is difference of opinion among the permanent members of the Security Council. The US government wants to create an ad hoc tribunal for Darfur. However this can delay action for many months. Further, Russia and China, which have strategic trade ties with Sudan, also halted the decisive action against the Sudanese government. However, the US senior officials have accepted that genocide is being committed in Sudan. In spite of this realization, international organizations are reluctant to take action against the government of Sudan. (Preventgenocide. org, 2005) In spite of the statistics available regarding the genocide in Sudan, media did not give much importance to these events. However, the film maker Jen Marlowe decided to present the human face of the disaster in Sudan. This film is given the title: â€Å"Darfur Diaries: Message from Home†. Marlowe visited Darfur and the refugee camps in the neighboring region of Chad. Marlowe obtained information by interviewing the victims of the government sponsored genocide. The filmmaker has discussed with the children regarding their sufferings. Marlowe considers that children are the most vulnerable groups in the society. Further, it is necessary to provide protection to the lives of large number of civilians who face the threat of losing their lives and properties due to the government policy. The attempt of Marlowe has succeeded in providing a human face of the genocide in Darfur. This has also showed the failure of the journalists to cover this topic as very few journalists have covered the story narrated by the refuges in Chad. (Ellis, 2005) Recently, attempts have been made to redress the grievances of the victims. However, most of these attempts have failed due to the increase in the intensity of the conflicts and the international organizations have failed provide aid to the victims. Ellis, 2005) I learnt from the above research that greatest importance should be given to protect the lives of millions of people in Darfur. To achieve this objective, the members of the international organizations such as UNO should take immediate action against the Sudanese government. Secondly, the associations should increase the funding to help the peacekeeping forces to provide aid to the victims of genocide in Darfur. The media also should give more coverage to the developments in Darfur.

How to Form Latin Superlative Adjectives

How to Form Latin Superlative Adjectives Using a superlative form of an adjective takes the basic sense of the adjective to the extreme, so the superlative of basic would be most basic. Identifying Superlatives Latin superlative adjectives are usually easy to identify. Most contain -issim- (e.g., suavissimus, -a, -um most charming). If they dont have -issim-, they will likely have -llim- (difficillimus, -a, -u most difficult) or -rrim- (celerrimus, -a, -um swiftest) in them. This double consonant -im- precedes the case ending. Translation of Superlatives Superlatives are usually translated into English with -est or most. They can also be translated with very or extremely. Difficillimus means most difficult or very difficult. Celerrimus means fastest or very fast. Declension of Superlatives Superlative adjectives are declined like first and second declension nouns. Superlatives are adjectives and as such must agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case. The endings are added to the base of the adjective. These endings are not new or different, but theyre here for convenience: Singularcase M. F. N.nom. -us -a -umgen. -i -ae -idat. -o -ae -oacc. -um -am -umabl. -o -a -o Pluralcase M. F. N.nom. -i -ae -agen. -orum -arum -orumdat. -is -is -isacc. -os -as -aabl. -is -is -is Example: Clarus - Clarissimus -a -um Clear - Clearest Singular case M F Nnom. clarissimus clarissima clarissimumgen. clarissimi clarissimae clarissimidat. clarissimo clarissimae clarissimoacc. clarissimum clarissimam clarissimumabl. clarissimo clarissima clarissimo Plural case M F Nnom. clarissimi clarissimae clarissimagen. clarissimorum clarissimarum clarissimorumdat. clarissimis clarissimis clarissimisacc. clarissimos clarissimas clarissimaabl. clarissimis clarissimis clarissimis Unusual Superlatives If an adjective ends in -er for its masculine singular nominative in what is called the positive (e.g., for the Latin adjective pulcher beautiful, pulcher is the positive form), its superlative form will end in -errimus, -a, -um. If the masculine singular nominative form of the adjective ends in -ilis (e.g., facilis easy), the superlative form will be -illimus, -a, -um. Singular case M F Nnom. pulcherrimus pulcherrima pulcherrimumgen. pulcherrimi pulcherrimae pulcherrimidat. pulcherrimo pulcherrimae pulcherrimoacc. pulcherrimum pulcherrimam pulcherrimumabl. pulcherrimo pulcherrima pulcherrimo Plural case M F Nnom. pulcherrimi pulcherrimae pulcherrimagen. pulcherrimorum pulcherrimarum pulcherrimorumdat. pulcherrimis pulcherrimis pulcherrimisacc. pulcherrimos pulcherrimas pulcherrimaabl. pulcherrimis pulcherrimis pulcherrimis Irregular Superlatives (Translation) Positive Comparative Superlative (Big, Bigger, Biggest) magnus, -a, -um maior, maius maximus, -a, -um(Small, Smaller, Smallest) parvus, -a, -um minor, minus minimus, -a, -um(Good, Better, Best) bonus, -a, -um melior, melius optimus, -a, -um(Bad, Worse, Worst) malus, -a, -um peior, peius pessimus, -a, -um

Free Essays on Learning Theories

There are those that say that Jean Piaget was the first to take children’s thinking seriously. Although Piaget never thought of himself as a child psychologist his real interest was epistemology, the theory of knowledge, which, like physics, was considered a branch of philosophy until Piaget came along and made it a science (2000). Children and their reasoning process fascinated Piaget. He began to suspect that observing how the child’s mind develops might discover the key to human knowledge. Piaget’s insight opened a new window into the inner workings of the mind. Jean Piaget has made major theoretical and practical contributions to our understanding of the origins and evolution of knowledge. Looking at Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in more detail we find that he based it on two biological tendencies. Those tendencies are organization, and adaptation. Organization as Piaget saw it said that humans are designed to organize their observations and experiences into coherent sets of meanings (Eggen, 1999). This organization of observation makes the thinking process more efficient. If a person can put the things they observe in some sort of order the easier it is to remember and apply their observations. If we did not organize our observations and experiences we would have little bits of information floating around in our brains with no connection between them. Adaptation is according to Piaget’s theory is the tendency to adjust to the environment. Adaptation is a process by which we create matches between our original observations and new ones that might not exactly fit together. Our original observations and conceptions are called our schemas. To ad apt to new observations and experiences into our schemas we use one of two techniques. We can assimilate that information by putting it together with old schemas or conceptions. If the observations don’t fit nicely into our existing schemas we use the second of the ... Free Essays on Learning Theories Free Essays on Learning Theories There are those that say that Jean Piaget was the first to take children’s thinking seriously. Although Piaget never thought of himself as a child psychologist his real interest was epistemology, the theory of knowledge, which, like physics, was considered a branch of philosophy until Piaget came along and made it a science (2000). Children and their reasoning process fascinated Piaget. He began to suspect that observing how the child’s mind develops might discover the key to human knowledge. Piaget’s insight opened a new window into the inner workings of the mind. Jean Piaget has made major theoretical and practical contributions to our understanding of the origins and evolution of knowledge. Looking at Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in more detail we find that he based it on two biological tendencies. Those tendencies are organization, and adaptation. Organization as Piaget saw it said that humans are designed to organize their observations and experiences into coherent sets of meanings (Eggen, 1999). This organization of observation makes the thinking process more efficient. If a person can put the things they observe in some sort of order the easier it is to remember and apply their observations. If we did not organize our observations and experiences we would have little bits of information floating around in our brains with no connection between them. Adaptation is according to Piaget’s theory is the tendency to adjust to the environment. Adaptation is a process by which we create matches between our original observations and new ones that might not exactly fit together. Our original observations and conceptions are called our schemas. To ad apt to new observations and experiences into our schemas we use one of two techniques. We can assimilate that information by putting it together with old schemas or conceptions. If the observations don’t fit nicely into our existing schemas we use the second of the ...