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