A500.9.4.RB_MatsonAlan

Course Reflection

                        The Leadership Foundations in Research course has been very interesting. I can’t think of an element of the course that won’t come in handy in many ways as I develop as a leader. Making well-reasoned decisions and then being able to communicate them well is critical for leaders, and this course certainly contributed to the development of these skills.

            The review of fallacies in reasoning made me think of how many times I have seen these fallacies in everyday life. Following this review I had a discussion with some organization leaders concerning a decision that had been based on a “Red Herring.” I was able to explain how the investigators in a safety issue had been mislead, resulting in a poor decision. It was eye-opening to see how good reasoning had escaped them due to this deliberate misdirection.

            Reviewing critical thinking and exercising the elements and intellectual standards seemed like a good amount of work at first, but I then came to realize that I had been using some of these elements and standards all along. A person who cares about the decision-making process and appreciates the value of fairness may tend to use at least some of these attributes of critical thinking without formal training, but the formal training certainly contributes to the process. I know that I will be driving my thoughts around the circle of elements, and screening them through the standards on a regular basis until they become fully internalized.

            At first I found the concept of “Action Research” to be a bit confusing. This probably had more to do with the article we were assigned to read on this subject, but when I came to realize that it is simply researching and arriving at solutions to problems that we as individuals face it made more sense. While it may contribute to guide others, it is created to guide oneself. This is an exercise that requires critical thinking.

            While I find “The Brain” to be an interesting concept, I don’t think I would use it for anything if I wasn’t required to do so. Maybe I will come to appreciate it more during the rest of my degree coursework, but at this point I find it to be nothing more than confusing busywork. While it attempts to simulate how the human brain works, I will say that my brain works much faster, and that I don’t need to constantly refer to a manual to operate my brain. I give this a “thumbs down.”

            The idea of ePortfolios is interesting, and I can see a day in the future when these will come to replace the physical resume for job applicants. As a manager I would love to read some of the material that a person has written for coursework, so I can get a better feel for the person’s knowledge, skills, and ability. I get very little feel for a person by reviewing a typed resume, but a website with detailed information would be great. Sites such as “LinkedIn” are one step in this direction, and they are now allowing for uploading of documents for review.

            The online folders are a good collection spot for submitted material, but it seems to be additional busy work to upload files there when we have already uploaded material in the submission area, and perhaps into The Brain. The time it takes to understand, and then set up and upload to these various sites, takes up time that could be better spent studying and absorbing the material in the course.

            To improve learning in the course I would recommend that fewer assignments be given each week. The division of effort to complete each of the assignments diffuses my thinking to the point that I end up skimming the surface on topics rather than developing a deep understanding. I tend to put in 10-15 hours of study each week, and I would much rather put deep thought into one or two assignments than feel like I have to work fast to meet the needs of all assignments.

            All of the topics were relevant to past and future courses, and other than some of the confusing instructions provided for assignments (and too many assignments), I think this course was well developed. It exposed students to a good deal of material in nine weeks and certainly kept us busy. Hopefully it will drive students to further explore and exercise their critical thinking skills as they develop as leaders.

A500.8.3.RB_MatsonAlan

Good Presentation Design

            While I am not aware of who made the original quote “less is more” it is certainly a powerful statement, and one that many people have difficulty with. It does bring to mind a quote attributed to Leonardo DaVinci that “La semplicità è l'ultima sofisticazione” or in English “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Of course, DaVinci was an artist who knew how to draw and keep an audience. My bet is he would have made a great PowerPoint developer and presenter.

            Powerful presentations grab a hold of you and draw you in. They make you want to pay attention so that you don’t miss anything. Effective presentations must be made with respect for the audience in mind. Boring them to death with slide after slide of text and bullet points shows a lack of respect.

Elements of Effective Presentation Design

            Some of the main elements of effective presentation design as described by Reynolds (2008) are:

• Presentations must be both verbal and visual.
• Too much information on a slide overloads people’s cognitive systems.
• Slides should be designed to be understood in 3 seconds.
• Slide design and delivery should help people mentally organize and integrate information.

Graphic Design Principles

            Reynolds (2010) describes fours primary principles of design that a presentation designer should keep in mind. These are contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity.

            Contrast is basically described as difference, and it is used to help the viewer determine the difference between what is important to look at and what is unimportant to look at. This could be by use of color or shading, but is essentially a way of making the main point stand out.

            Repetition is the reuse of design elements throughout a presentation. The subtle use of this principle creates presentations that appear as a consistent product rather than disjointed slides. While some people may think of the basic PowerPoint templates as meeting this principle, those are rather old and tired material that people have seen many times. Remember, we don’t want to bore people!

            The principle of Alignment is that “nothing in your slide show should look like it was placed there randomly.” (Reynolds, 2008). Alignment creates unity on a single slide, compared to repetition which is concerned with the entire set of slides. As Reynolds (2008) states “slides that contain elements in alignment look cleaner.”

            The principle of Proximity according to Reynolds is “about moving things closer or farther apart to achieve a more organized look.” This principle takes advantage of the human tendency to group similar items that appear near each other into a single unit, while seeing items that are separated from one another as not being part of a logical group.

Summary

            Well designed presentations properly delivered can have a lasting effect on an audience. Poorly designed and delivered presentations can put them to sleep. Keeping things simple, clean, and well organized is important. Employing the four primary graphic design principles can go a long way helping to ensure a good presentation, and we must keep in mind that visuals are far better than bullet points. Don’t be guilty of “death by PowerPoint.”

Reference

Reynolds, G. (2008). Presentation zen: Simple ideas on presentation design and delivery . San Francisco, CA: Peachpit Press.

A500.7.3.RB_MatsonAlan

Quantitative Research Defined

            While qualitative research looks to provide an understanding by answering the “how” questions, quantitative research looks to provide explanations by answering the “why” questions (Mamia, n.d.). These methods are considered complimentary, so they can be used together to provide the most thorough answers and solutions to problems.

Elements of Quantitative Research

            Some of the main elements of quantitative research as described by Mamia (n.d.) are:

• It is based on the idea that phenomena can be quantified, measured, and expressed numerically
• The information about the phenomenon is expressed in numeric terms that be analyzed by statistical methods.
• Observations can be direct numeric information or be classified into numeric variables.
• Observations are transformed into a data matrix with observation units in individual rows and variables in individual columns.
• The data matrix is the starting point for analysis.

            The variables mentioned above must have an observable and measurable characteristic that varies among the different units being measured. Observation units could be such things as various elements of a pilot proficiency check, where the variable would be either a score or a pass/fail rating that measures performance on a task. An example of this can be seen Table 1.

Table 1

Total Count of Tasks Completed with Unsatisfactory Performance Count and Percentage

TASK	COUNT	UNSAT #	UNSAT %
Normal Takeoff	4809	3	0.06%
Crosswind Takeoff	4804	3	0.06%
Instrument Takeoff	4795	3	0.06%
Takeoff with Engine Failure	4739	19	0.40%
Rejected Takeoff	4723	5	0.11%
Area Departure	4776	8	0.17%

Note: UNSAT stands for unsatisfactory completion of a task.

            Information such as shown in Table 1 can be used to provide comparisons between individuals who were included in the study, as well as across time periods to track change and explore the reasons for that change. This also illustrates where qualitative analysis could join the analysis effort, as we try to determine how we arrived at the scores shown.

Summary

            Well designed quantitative research can provide clear causal links between observed elements and the related variables. It is a great approach for quantitative comparisons between individuals and groups. A weakness of this type of research is that it only applies to measurable phenomena. When combined with qualitative research a more complete picture can emerge.

References

Mamia., T. (n.d.) Quantitative research methods, Retrieved from:    https://erau.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-11654631-dt-content-rid-       38257535_4/institution/Worldwide_Online/MSLD/MSLD_50

A500.6.3.RB_MatsonAlan

Qualitative Research Defined

            Denzin and Lincoln (2005) state that “qualitative research involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach to the world.” Qualitative research involves interpreting subjects of study using a naturalistic approach, where “problems tend to be framed as open-ended questions that will support discovery of new information.” (Hoepfl, 1997). Qualitative research is useful for gaining new perspectives on things that may have previously been studied, and for gaining understanding concerning subjects about which not much is known. The open-ended nature of qualitative research doesn’t lock the researcher into a set of parameters such as would be the case with quantitative research, which makes qualitative research a good starting point for further study, which may include quantitative research.

            An example of an effective use of qualitative research would be when studying the variety of social interactions between leaders and followers. A question asked may be “What effect does non-work related social interactions have on a follower’s chance of advancement in an organization?” This type of question would be difficult if not impossible to research using quantitative analysis, but lends itself well to qualitative research. This type of question also leads to many other questions, an example of which would be “What types of non-work related social activities are most likely to have a positive effect on a follower’s career advancement?”

Elements of Qualitative Research

        Some of the main elements of qualitative research as described by Hoepfl (1997) are:

• It uses the natural setting as the source of data.
• The researcher is the instrument of data collection.
• Researchers predominantly use inductive data analysis.
• Reports employ descriptive and expressive language.
• Research is interpretive in nature, with the researcher’s interpretation of meaning as a focus.
• Qualitative research is emergent in nature in that it leads to more questions, and is focused on the process as the outcome.
• Standards of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability apply.

Summary

            While it seems that qualitative research is less structured than qualitative research, this is actually its strength. The fact that qualitative focuses on the emergent process as much as the product allows for many new questions to be explored by the researcher. The open-ended questions employed in qualitative research provide both answers and more questions. As long as the standards of this research method are met, the results can be considered a worthy contribution to our body of knowledge on a subject.

References

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). The sage handbook of qualitative research. (3rd ed., p. 3). Sage Publications, Inc.

Hoepfl, M. C. (1997). Choosing qualitative research: A primer for technology education readers. Journal of technology education, 9(1), Retrieved from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals

A500.5.3.RB_MatsonAlan

Critical Thinking about Critical Thinking

            When I began this course I had a rough idea about the thinking processes involved with critical thinking, but I had no idea that it was a field of study unto itself. In various personality reviews I have received about myself over the years, I have been identified as a person who likes to put a good deal of thought into things before taking action. Some people have considered this to be a weakness, in that I may miss opportunities as a result of taking so much time to think before acting. I have always considered this trait to be a matter of my choice to adequately weigh the alternatives prior to making important decisions.

Example        

            An example of this tendency of mine comes from my days in the U.S. Army. My performance during training events always placed me at the top of the class. My superiors noticed this and asked me if I would like to attend the prestigious military academy, West Point. They didn’t put a timeline on my decision, which allowed me to put a good deal of thought into the offer. After a lengthy review of my options and having considered input from others who had attended military academies, I made the decision to turn down the offer. The fact that I was nearing my end of service date also played heavily in this decision.

            From what I have learned in this course so far, I think I could have benefited much from employment of better critical thinking skills in my illustrated decision about West Point. I can see that I had very limited information about the impact that attending West Point would have made in my life, and that my considerations were neither sufficiently broad nor deep.

Changes        

            My thinking processes have changed as a result of the techniques and concepts I have absorbed as part of this course. Internalization of the techniques and concepts of critical thinking can be said to take place when my actions are in accordance with my knowledge. While I wouldn’t say that I have mastered critical thinking, I do find myself thinking about the elements and standards when making decisions.

            For lasting, positive changes to occur in my way of thinking I will need to make it a habit to think through the elements and standards of critical thinking. Habits are formed by purposefully doing something until you no longer need to think about it ahead of time. The knowledge of critical thinking can be said to have become internalized once I use the techniques and concepts on a regular basis as a part of habit.

A500.4.3.RB_MatsonAlan

The Art of Choosing

            Dr. Sheena Iyengar’s presentation on the art of choosing is very illuminating. She points out that, as Americans, we have been raised to believe that it is important that we make our own choices, as this is seen as a “private self-defining act.” (Iyengar, 2010). She also points out that Americans tend to believe that having more options will lead to better choices, and that we should never say no to choice. I very much agree with her assumptions in this regard. Americans are raised believing that individual choice is important, and we seem to be flooded with options. Americans would complain loudly if we were told that our choices are going to be limited.

Cultural Differences

            Dr. Iyengar makes clear illustrations of cultural differences in the art of choosing, beginning with her discussion of the difficulty of ordering sugar with her green tea while in a Japanese restaurant. Her action research brought her to understand that there are alternative ideas concerning the art of choosing, and that some cultures see choosing as a collective act that creates a sense of community and harmony.

Effect on Leadership              

            A leader should find these insights to be very useful, because a large part of being a leader is building highly-effective teams who will work together for the good of the organization, or in other words for the collective good. Team building requires convincing people who value making their own choices that they now need to choose based on a common good. As stated in Leadership: Theory, Application, and Skill Development  “the synergistic benefits of teamwork are such that members of a team working cooperatively with one another can achieve more than working independently.” (Lussier /Achua , 2010).

            One of the functions of a team is to review the available choices and narrow them down to the best possible alternatives. Here is where the large number of choices desired by Americans can work against the team, as these choices need to be reduced to a manageable number to facilitate an effective decision that works for the common good.

            When leading others we should point out the tendency to view making choices as private and self-defining, and have our followers consider making choices as a collective act that fulfills the goals of the organization.

References

Iyengar, S. (2010). The art of choosing [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/sheena_iyengar_on_the_art_of_choosing.html

Lussier /Achua. (2010). Leadership: Leadership: Theory, application, and skill development. (4^th ed., p. 280). Mason, OH 45050: Cengage Learning

A500.3.4.RB_MatsonAlan

            The Hunt Library has a feature called EAGLEsearch that allows for a Basic Search and for an Advanced Search. The Basic Search area has selector tabs allowing the user to search for books, articles, videos, and for research help. This feature allows for a fairly quick search for material that is related to the key words entered in a search box.

            Clicking on the Advanced Search link takes the user to a screen that allows for searching for material with key words, but also for far more refined searching by designating an author, a title, the ISBN or ISSN for a book, the name of a publication, and even the volume and issue of a publication. Even further it allows for material based on publication dates.  There are also numerous content types to select that further narrows a search. You can also designate such things as whether the full text on the material is online and whether the material has been peer reviewed.

            Conducting a Basic Search for leadership material using EAGLEsearch results in a large number of links to all sorts of material related to leadership, and a magnifier button allows the user to preview each of the links. Conducting an Advanced Search using the advanced refinement tools allows the user to find more pertinent material much faster.

            By contrast, Google searches for leadership material brings the user to a screen filled with links to any number of sources of material. A quick scan of the links shows that a user could select from some respected sources, such as Psychology Today and the U.S. Air Force, but there are also some unknown and perhaps dubious sources of information. Digging through these links would most likely prove frustrating and may provide less than scholarly information.

            For scholarly research I would find the Hunt Library a far more useful source of information that would very likely speed up my efforts at conducting research.

A500.2.3.RB_MatsonAlan

Important Standards

            The standards that are most important in my life are integrity and reason.    I define integrity as doing the right thing at all times, even when it may have adverse personal consequences. If a person does not do this it is my belief that they cannot be trusted with important matters. They may act in their own self-interest at the expense of others or of the organization.

            In order to do the right thing a person has to have the ability to reason well, or in other words to use critical-thinking skills well. Decisions as to the right thing should only be made after gathering all of the available information and then thinking things out to a degree that allows for reasonable answer or solution to a problem.

            An example of why integrity and reason is so important can be seen in the functioning of our national lawmakers. While there are no doubt a number of senators and representatives who have integrity and reason, the gridlock that we see happening today is the result of a significant lack of integrity and use of reason. Self-interest is apparent in party affiliations, project funding and in compensation plans that these lawmakers create for themselves. If these people had integrity they would use their ability to reason to identify the right thing to do for all Americans, rather than identifying the things that serve themselves the best.

            Integrity and reason does not mean that we should always tell the truth. If a crazed killer shows up on our doorstep looking for one of our loved ones and he asks where that person is, the right thing to do would be to not provide that information. It would be best to lie and say that that person is not in right now (but thanks for stopping by). So in other words, not telling the truth for the right reason is doing the right thing and shows the use of reason.

How did you acquire those standards?

I think that I began to acquire my standards of integrity and reason when I was in the military. Those standards were taught to us as ideals that we should seek to exercise, and that we would be held to those standards. At first I believed that most people would act accordingly, but was soon disillusioned by the many people who acted entirely in their own self-interest. I further developed my thinking through self-study and through participation in leadership instructing in the Civil Air Patrol.

How have they changed over the years? 

Over the years I have held onto my belief that if people acted according to the principles of integrity and reason that we would have a much better world. I have come to accept the fact that many people will never find their way to act according to these principles, but I teach them to Civil Air Patrol cadets all the time. I am very proud to say that a number of my cadets have gone on to considerable success in their chosen fields as a result of the standards to which they held themselves.

A500.1.6.RB_MatsonAlan

Intellectual Perseverance and Leadership

            Intellectual perseverance, the relentless pursuit of insights and deep understanding regardless of the obstacles placed in our way, is critical to anyone who is attempting to develop a true understanding about anything in life. There is much misleading information out there that can lead a person astray, and there is much resistance to truly rational thinking. While it would be far easier to simply take someone else’s word for the truth without question, or accept what is considered as common wisdom, doing so would be a failure in our pursuit of true understanding and knowledge. As we pursue our understanding of leadership, and attempt to exercise our new skills, we will certainly need intellectual perseverance.

            At first glance the subject of leadership may seem simple, but one only needs to look at the large number of leadership failures that have been displayed in the world, both in history and today, to understand the complexities involved in truly effective leadership. I have been a casual student of leadership for many years, and have received awards for providing leadership to others, but I still face numerous challenges when trying to lead others.

            Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was once quoted as defining leadership as "…the art of getting someone else to do something you want done—because he wants to do it." (Butt, Jr., 2008). How we go about learning this art is very important. Intellectual perseverance will be important in developing a further understanding of leadership, and putting that new knowledge to work to influence others to achieve the goals of our organization.

            When reading the definition of intellectual perseverance I am reminded of the number of times that I have faced challenges to ideas that I have presented to organizations. While I always take considerable time to think things through before presenting ideas, and try to anticipate any resistance that may come up, I am sometimes astounded at the reasons people come up with for why they think my ideas will not work. Many of these reasons are nothing more than fallacies of reasoning due to the egocentrism of the person resisting change. When reading through a list of fallacies I recognize many that have been used against my ideas, and I also recognize some that I have employed myself.

            Overcoming irrational resistance to new ideas can be very daunting, and requires considerable perseverance in many cases. I take heart in the fact that even the greatest minds have seen irrational resistance. Albert Einstein (n.d.) once stated “"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre minds. The latter cannot understand it when a [person] does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses their intelligence." Obviously, Einstein saw the need to demonstrate his intellectual perseverance in the face of difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations. We need to be aware of the fact that irrational resistance to new ideas will always be an obstacle, so we must always be willing to exercise our intellectual perseverance.

            In closing, I leave you with another quote from Einstein that should provide inspiration to those who may be intimidated by all of this critical thinking material. He once said “It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.” In that statement we see the essence of intellectual perseverance.

References

Butt, Jr., H. (September 28, 2008). Eisenhower on leadership. The High Calling.  Retrieved October, 18, 2012, from http://www.thehighcalling.org/audio/leadership/eisenhower-leadership

Einstein, A. (n.d). Albert Einstein quotes. Albert Einstein Site Online. Retrieved October, 18, 2012, from http://www.alberteinsteinsite.com/quotes/einsteinquotes.html