The White Umbrella free essay sample

The narrator of The White Umbrella, a girl who seems to not like the way her family goes about things. She seems like she has not found herself yet. She does not like her mom having to work. She wants to fit in with all the other people her age instead of just showing herself. She thinks that she needs extra things like the other kids to let her self show. After showing her insecurity, something happens for her to realize that she does not need extra things in life for her to show herself. She then realizes just how important of a role her mom plays in her life. In the story The White Umbrella, the narrator, a young girl Chinese girl that goes to school with Americans, and has seemed that she has not completely found herself yet. Her mother and father both work. She shows her embarrassment of her mother working. We will write a custom essay sample on The White Umbrella or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page After school, her sister and her take piano lessons at Miss Crossman’s house. While she sat and waited on her turn she spotted the white umbrella. She thought that she needed to hold it to fit in with others. Her mother has told her that they can not afford extra things for them to have. She wants to have things like others instead of just showing herself and accepting that she can not have all the extra things like other kids. When her turn came to play the piano she tries’s her best to try and impress Miss Crossman. The narrator shows her insecurity by not accepted Miss Crossman’s ride, instead of walking in the rain. After piano lessons they waited outside in the rain. She offered them to come inside and she refused to do it. Mona, the narrator’s sister finally decides to go inside. Miss Crossman goes outside and talks to the narrator. The narrator lies to Miss Crossman and tells her that her family drives a Convertible, and that her mother, a concert pianist, will come to pick them up anytime. Miss Crossman gives the white umbrella to her. She tells Miss Crossman that she wishes that she would have been her mother. The narrator begins to feel guilty, and that the Umbrella shows her disobedience towards her mother. After their mom finally shows up, she hides the umbrella underneath her clothing so that her mother does not see. They get into a car wreck on the way home. She sees that her mom’s eyes are closed. She begins to think her mother may have died. She decides to scream. Then she sees that her mom just closed her eyes because things have frustrated her. When her mother gets out the car to talk to the other people in the accident, she throws the umbrella down the sewer. This shows that you should never show ungratefulness for what you have. It does not matter about what you need to fit in with the people around you. It only matters what you need to live well. The white Umbrella, an informal story, it gives a life lesson. It can also entertain anyone who wants to read it. The narrator now knows how important her mother’s role has on her life. Hopefully she will show herself for now on instead of trying to carry on like others around her.

The Most LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges in The Country

The Most LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges in The Country SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In general, colleges are consistently becoming more LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) friendly. Young people are more accepting of different sexual orientations and gender identities, and those attitudes are reflected at a growing number of US colleges. However, there are still many college campuses that have reputations for not being inclusive or safe for members of the LGBTQ community. If it's important to you to be at a school with a vibrant LGBTQ community, you should consider looking at specifically LGBTQ-friendly schools. In this article, I'll do the following: Define an LGBTQ-friendly school Explain why you should consider an LGBTQ-friendly college Provide lists of LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities Give advice for how to use those lists and do effective research to determine if a school is LGBTQ-friendly What Is an LGBT-Friendly College? An LGBT-friendly college makes its LGBTQ students feel safe, accepted, and comfortable on campus. It offers plentiful resources to provide support and counsel for LGBTQ students. Furthermore, the students at LGBTQ-friendly colleges are accepting and supportive of members of the LGBTQ community. LGBTQ students feel at ease expressing themselves around non-LGBTQ students, and the student body treats LGBTQ students with tolerance and respect. If you're looking for specific orientations like gay friendly colleges, generally colleges that I say are LGBTQ-friendly are gay friendly as well. Why Should You Consider an LGBTQ-Friendly College? If You're an LGBTQ Student If you go to an LGBTQ-friendly college as an LGBTQ student, you'll be in a more accepting, supportive environment. Being in an inclusive place can have a positive impact on your quality of life and academic performance while you're in college. Also, you'll be around more LGBTQ students who are out. LGBTQ students at LGBTQ-unfriendly colleges often don't feel comfortable coming out and expressing their sexual or gender identities. Perhaps most importantly, at an LGBTQ-friendly college you'll have more support services, organizations, and programs designed to help you as an LGBTQ student. You'll be able to befriend other LGBTQ students in LGBTQ student groups and get mentorship and counseling from an LGBTQ resource center. Many LGBTQ-friendly colleges even have orientation programs specifically for LGBTQ students to help them get acclimated to college life. If You're Not an LGBTQ Student If you support LGBTQ rights, you're more likely to be around like-minded people at an LGBTQ-friendly college. Generally, people tend to be happier if they're in a community with others who share their political and social views. For many college students, equality for and acceptance of LGBTQ people are important social issues. Even if you're not an active ally of the LGBTQ community, you can benefit from attending an LGBTQ-friendly college. Ideally, the college experience should broaden your horizons and expose you to diverse people and communities. At an LGBTQ-friendly college, you're more likely to learn about LGBTQ issues and befriend LGBTQ students. Lists of LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges I'm providing you with two lists of LGBTQ-friendly colleges from two different sources. Both have clearly defined criteria for their rankings, and they're reputable sources. The first list from Campus Prideis more reflective of the available resources for LGBTQ students. The second list from Princeton Review is more reflective of on-campus attitudes and treatment of members of the LGBTQ community. The only school that made both lists is Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Campus Pride Campus Pride is a non-profitdedicated to creating safer, more inclusive LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. The top 25 LGBTQ-friendly colleges are based on scores from the Campus Pride Index. The Campus Pride Index includes more than 50 self-assessment questions sent to colleges that correspond to 8 different LGBTQ-friendly factors: LGBTQ Policy Inclusion LGBTQ Support and Institutional Commitment LGBTQ Academic Life LGBTQ Housing LGBTQ Campus Safety LGBTQ Counseling and Health LGBTQ Recruitment and Retention Efforts The List The top 25 LGBTQ-friendly colleges are listed in alphabetical order. Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) Elon University (Elon, NC) Indiana University-Bloomington (Bloomington, IN) Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY) Macalester College (St. Paul, MN) Montclair State University (Montclair, NJ) Penn State University (State College, PA) Princeton University (Princeton, NJ) Rutgers-New Brunswick (New Brunswick, NJ) San Diego State University (San Diego, CA) Southern Oregon University (Ashland, OR) The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH) Tufts University (Medford, MA) University of Colorado at Boulder (Boulder, CO) University of Louisville (Louisville, KY) University of Maine at Machias (Machias, ME) University of Maryland-College Park (College Park, MD) University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Amherst, MA) University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (Minneapolis, MN) University of Oregon (Eugene, OR) University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) University of Vermont (Burlington, VT) University of Washington (Seattle, WA) University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (Green Bay, WI) Williams College (Williamstown, MA) Cornell is LGBTQ-friendly. Princeton Review The Princeton Review rankings of the most LGBTQ-friendly colleges are based on students' answers to the survey question "Do students, faculty, and administrators at your college treat all persons equally regardless of their sexual orientations and gender identity/expression?" The List Schools are ranked from 1-20 with #1 being the most LGBTQ-friendly school. However, there don't seem to be any major differences between the environments at #1 and #20. 1. Emerson College (Boston, MA) 2. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, NC) 3. Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville, NY) 4. Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA) 5. Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH) 6. Yale University (New Haven, CT) 7. Stanford University (Stanford, CA) 8. College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, ME) 9. Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA) 10. University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI) 11. Smith College (Northampton, MA) 12. New College of Florida (Sarasota, FL) 13. Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (Needham, MA) 14. Macalester College (St. Paul, MN) 15. Pitzer College (Claremont, CA) 16. Brandeis University (Waltham, MA) 17. Prescott College (Prescott, AZ) 18. Grinnell College (Grinnell, IA) 19. Mills College (Oakland, CA) 20. Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY) How Should You Use These Lists? If you want to go to an LGBTQ-friendly college, you should research the schools that interest you on the Campus Pride or Princeton Review list to determine if you want to apply to them. Keep in mind that some of these colleges have a specific focus. Mills, Smith, Bryn Mawr, and Wellesley are women's colleges. Also, Emerson is devoted to the study of communication and performing arts. Besides the school being LGBTQ-friendly, think of other factors that are important to you in a college including cost, size, selectivity, location, and the majors offered. Look at the school's website, and use guidebooks, college finders, search websites, and other ranking lists to help you in the college selection process. If possible, consult with teachers, counselors, parents, current students, and alumni. Research colleges to find the right one for you! What Should You Do if a School You're Considering Didn't Make the Cut? Just because a school didn't make either list doesn't necessarily mean that it's LGBTQ-unfriendly. If there's a school you're interested in, you can look up its score on the Campus Pride Index. The Campus Pride Index scores schools from 1-5 stars. Schools that get a 5-star rating are the most LGBTQ-friendly. However, many schools don't take part in the Campus Pride Index, including Stanford, which ranks as the #7 most LGBTQ-friendly school in the Princeton Review rankings. Contact a representative from the LGBTQ resource center or student group to get more information about the atmosphere on campus. Usually, you can find those contacts on college websites. If there isn't an LGBTQ resource center or student group, it's probably not an LGBTQ-friendly school. Also, you can consult other sources that evaluate how LGBTQ-friendly a college is. On Niche, you can search for a specific college. Under "diversity" for each school's guide, there is a category called "gay pride" that describes the atmosphere for LGBTQ students on campus. Similarly, on the College View finder, you can search for schools that are LGBTQ-friendly. Additionally, if you look at a specific college's profile, you can see whether the school has gay and lesbian organizations. Finally, The Gay and Lesbian Guide to College Life is a good resource. This book from the Princeton Review doesn't identify LGBTQ-friendly colleges, but it does offer advice from students and administrators at more than 70 of the nation's top colleges about how to excel on campus as an LGBTQ student. What's Next? Because financial concerns often influence the college selection process, check out this list of colleges that meet 100% of students' financial need. Also, learn more about the 28 best liberal arts colleges in the country, many of which are LGBTQ-friendly. Finally, to make sure you get into the college of your dreams, read this post on the important college application deadlines you can't miss. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

American football positions Essay Example for Free (#2)

American football positions Essay Football, it is not just a sport or some game. It is my whole life. Every year I have one goal and that is to make it to football season. Playing in each of those games gives a special feeling that no one can get enough of. Winter, Spring, and Summer do not even compare to what Fall is like, not only is it one of the most beautiful times of the year but the most intense, most exciting sport seasons to anyone with a pulse. I prepare for it all year long, doing different sorts of exercises such as running, lifting, jumping rope, and anything that I could think of to help me be the best athlete I could possibly be. No matter how hard someone could prepare for football there is only one thing that will truly make someone the best they could ever be and that my friend is heart. If they do not have heart they will not make it anywhere, not only in football but in life. With heart and dedication there is nothing that cannot be accomplished. Some days I just dream about playing football on the next level. The thrill of just suiting up in that jersey means the world to me. Playing underneath those blinding lights, that lights up the whole field like the sun. There are so many different ways to win games but there are a basic few that will definitely do the trick. Some offense will really put points up on the board to show how good the team is. A whole lot of defense will win the game; it will stop the other team from putting the points up. One of my favorite quotes â€Å"Offense sells tickets; Defense wins championships†Ã¢â‚¬â€œCoach Paul â€Å"Bear† Bryant Jr. There is always Special Teams too without it there would be no kickoffs, no field goals, and without it the game would not be complete. Morgan 2 The Offense, I would not say it was my favorite thing but I play it to help put points up on the board. There are so many different positions on the offense and over a million different plays and formations. There is the offensive line, which is one of the most rough and intense places I have ever been. There is punching, kicking, and anything to show superiority, if I did not know any better I would think I was fist fighting somewhere in those trenches. There is the running backs and the quarterbacks. They get all of the glory because they are the ones who score the touchdowns. The running backs and the linemen work together to score, one wrong move by one of the linemen and our running back gets tackled. The linemen block the defensive players to stop them from tackling our running back, if we succeed we score. The Defense, my all-time favorite thing, this is where they separate the boys and the men. I love going out and just smashing some people’s helmets in. There are a so many different positions like defensive tackles, cornerbacks, safeties, and my favorite line-backers. No matter where the plan is going there will be someone there to stop them. Like that quote said defense wins championships and that is 100% true without defense it just be a track meet. This is just me but I would rather sack a quarterback than score a touchdown, but some people they are not like that. The one thing that wins and loses games is the special teams. The field goal is one of the most important things in some cases this can win the game. I have seen it send teams into the winner circle and I have seen it send teams down loser lane. There is also kickoffs where every time the team scores they kick it off to the other team. There is a punt when the team does not succeed to make a first down in the four downs they are giving. Morgan 3 All of these things can make or break the team but, the one team that can do each and everything better than the other team will be victorious. If they do not play the best they can always look forward to next week. American football positions. (2017, Jun 01).

My Preferred Learning Style Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Preferred Learning Style - Personal Statement Example Learning styles are more concerned with one’s preferred learning style rather than what learners learn. A student shows consistency in learning style by reacting to and employing stimuli in relation to learning. Keefe (1979) defines learning styles as the â€Å"composite of characteristic cognitive, affective, and physiological factors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how a learner perceives interacts with, and responds to the learning environment† (as cited in NW Link, 2011). Stewart and Felicetti (1992) define learning styles as those â€Å"educational conditions under which a student is most likely to learn,† thus, stressing on the role of preferred learning styles (as cited in NW Link, 2011). According to the principles of the Dunn and Dunn learning styles system, students always prefer to learn in their learning style and perform better. From the teaching point of view, if teachers follow students’ processing styles out of the global-analytical continuum or any of their preferred styles from kinesthetic, tactile, auditory, and visual, the learning process can be made faster among students (Dybvig and Church, 2010). Generally, it is noticed that students cannot learn faster because they are not taught in their preferred and distinct learning style. Ideally, students need to inculcate the various leaning methods so that learning does not become an arduous task for them by depending solely on their preferred learning style only, although they may excel in talent and intelligence possessing above average sharpness in comprehending the learning process (Dybvig and Church, 2010). Students need to strengthen various learning ways where they are not competent enough.  

Impact of social media on management of information systems Research Paper

Impact of social media on management of information systems - Research Paper Example Social media has a great impact on management of information system because it allows easy gathering of knowledge and gives a connection between image, text and video. Social media is practically changing the way we communicate and it has transformed the information technology of business within and outside the company boundaries. Social media has been integral to finance and human resource management and for the understanding of consumer preferences, peer to peer marketing and demand prediction. The management of information system is an important function in an organization as it collect and process many data relevant to a business. Management of information system has achieved great height due to many social media like face book, Twitter and Linked In. The business management and consumer and suppliers have become more interactive and responsive. Social media is an interactive platform and allow input and output of data along with smooth communication. Social media has a large role to play in management of information sytem. Social media is the interaction on a virtual platform where people create, share or exchange information. The different social media like Face book, Twitter and Linked In have been the best informative sites since technology has ever created. As per (Daniel) â€Å"Media is an instrument on communication, like a newspaper or a radio, so social media would be a social instrument of communication†. Now social media has specific importance in every sphere of life especially in the business world. Since globalization, social media has become more and more significant as it is medium through which people in various countries communicate and share information. Social media is of so much importance because of its reach, quality, frequency usability and performance. Social Medias can be internet forums, social network sites, blogs, and content communities. The most famous social media like Face book, Twitter, You Tube and Linked In has

James Stills River of Earth: A Neglected American Masterpiece Essay

James Still's River of Earth: A Neglected American Masterpiece    James Still's River of Earth is a novel about life in Appalachia just before the Depression. Furthermore it is a novel about the struggles of the mountain people since the settlement of their region. However great it may be at depicting Appalachia's mountain people and culture, though, Still's novel has remained mostly invisible compared to other novels of the period which depict poor white southern life, such as John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and Erskine Caldwell's God's Little Acre (Olson 87). As scholar Ted Olson notes, there are several reasons for this neglect. First of all, Still's novel has been labeled as "regional" and therefore not as "universal" in its concerns and subject matters. And in 1940 when it was first published the American people were running low on desire to plod through more regional novels; even Faulkner was hardly read at this time (Olsen 92). In addition, we were at a period as a nation when people were coming off a decade of extreme poverty and did not want to hear or read about more poverty. Still, in many ways it is hard to explain the longterm success of Grapes of Wrath and the longterm fadeout of River of Earth. To begin, Steinbeck's novel, which tells the story of the plight of a poor white family in Oklahoma during the Depression, is no less "regional" than Still's chronicle of poor white life in eastern Kentucky . Yet somehow Grapes of Wrath escaped the "regional" stereotype and went on to become an American classic. Ironically, though, when the two novels were released, Still's grabbed more critical acclaim (Olsen 89). Though Grapes of Wrath did earn some rave reviews and was called the "great American book" by... ...people anywhere. And refreshingly, Still's characters do not spend all their time trying to "rise above" their poverty. Instead they love their mountain world and take pleasure in the small but important things in life like a simple meal or a good laugh. They are not weighed down by the glittery world or overindulgent trappings of Jay Gatsby. Maybe that's the real reason most Americans couldn't handle the book then and now. Instead of presenting them with the excesses of a gilded age, it told them about a people content to enjoy a great spiritual wealth even if their economic conditions were supposed to make them "poor." Works Cited Cadle, Dean. "Man on Troublesome." The Yale Review 57 (December 1967): 236-255. Olsen, Ted. "`This Mighty River of Earth': Reclaiming James Still's American Masterpiece." Journal of Appalachian Studies 1.1 (Fall 1995): 87-98.

Developing strategic thinking Essay

Introduction My research interest in strategic thinking started in 1993 when I interviewed 35 senior executives for a longitudinal study on the changes in strategic planning and strategic management in large organisations between 1982 and 1993. These senior executives were responsible for strategic planning, strategic management or corporate development in 35 of the 100 largest manufacturing companies in Australia. The interviews lasted between three and four hours and one of the questions I asked concerned the problems that they had experienced with their strategic planning or strategic management approach in the preceding five years. The main problem identified by the majority of senior executives was strategic thinking. Interestingly, strategic thinking was a problem regardless of whether the companies had a formalised strategic planning system or used a non-formalised approach. For example, one senior executive from a company with a formalised strategic planning system stated: Our senior exec utives tend to get carried away by details and lose their strategic perspective. Abstract Lack of strategic thinking by senior managers has been identified as a major shortcoming in organisations. Draws on concepts in management and psychology to present a framework that can be used to remedy this situation. Argues that strategic thinking needs to be addressed at two different, but interrelated levels: the individual level and the organisational level. Organisations that successfully integrate strategic thinking at these two levels will create a critical core competency that forms the basis of an  enduring competitive advantage. Europe, East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States† (p. 242). The ability to think strategically, however, is crucial to remaining competitive in an increasingly turbulent and global environment. Considering that the average life expectancy of US Fortune 500 companies is only between 40 and 50 years (de Geus, 1997) and that only 49 percent of the 100 largest manufacturers in Australia in 1982 were still among the top 100 manufacturers in 1993 (Bonn and Christodoulou, 1996), the need for strategic thinking has never been greater. This paper presents a framework that can be used to increase strategic thinking in organisations. It argues that strategic thinking needs to be considered at two different, but inter-related levels. Organisations that successfully integrate strategic thinking at these two levels will create a critical core competency that forms the basis of an enduring source of competitive advantage. The debate on strategic thinking There is no agreement in the literature on what strategic thinking is. A number of authors have used the term interchangeably with other concepts such as strategic planning or strategic management. Wilson (1994) for example notes that: Similarly, a senior executive from a company without a formalised planning system reported: It is a major challenge to get our decision makers to think in strategic rather than operational terms. This lack of strategic thinking is not restricted to organisations in Australia. As research from the Institute of Directors in London has shown, 90 per cent of directors and vice-presidents â€Å"had no induction, inclusion or training to become a competent direction giver of their business† (Garratt, 1995a, p. 242). According to Garratt (1995a), this percentage â€Å"seems to hold good in The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www.emerald-library.com/ft This continuing search for improvement has profoundly changed the character of strategic planning so that it is now more appropriate to refer to it as strategic management or strategic thinking (p. 14, italics in original). Other authors have focussed on strategic management processes and either stated explicitly that good strategic planning contributes to strategic thinking (Porter, 1987) or assumed implicitly that a well designed strategic management system facilitates strategic thinking within an organisation (Thompson and Strickland, 1999; Viljoen, 1994). Mintzberg (1994) suggested a clear distinction between strategic thinking and  concepts such as strategic planning. He stated that â€Å"strategic planning is not strategic thinking† (p. 107) and argued that each term focuses on a different stage in the strategy development process. In his view, strategic planning focuses on analysis and deals with the articulation, elaboration and formalisation of existing strategies. Strategic thinking, on the other hand, emphasises synthesis, using intuition and creativity to create â€Å"an integrated perspective of the enterprise† (p. 108). He claimed that strategic planning is a process that should occur after strategic thinking. Garratt (1995b) argued along similar lines. He defined strategic thinking as a process by which senior executives â€Å"can rise above the daily managerial processes and crises† (p. 2) to gain a different perspective of the organisation and its changing environments. Heracleous (1998) made the distinction between strategic planning and strategic thinking by an analogy to single-loop learning and double-loop learning. In his view, the former is analogous to strategic planning, the later to strategic thinking. He claimed that single-loop learning involves thinking within existing assumptions and taking actions based on a fixed set of potential action alternatives. Double-loop learning, in contrast, challenges existing assumptions and  develops new and innovative solutions, leading to potentially more appropriate actions. Heracleous argued that like single-loop learning and double-loop l earning, strategic planning and strategic thinking are interrelated in a dialectical process and are equally important for effective strategic management. This article supports the view that strategic thinking and strategic planning are two different concepts and that strategic planning is a process, which takes place after strategic thinking. My analysis in the following sections demonstrates that strategic thinking manifests itself at two different levels: the individual level and the organisational level. This approach integrates the micro domain’s focus on individuals and groups with the macro domain’s focus on organisations and their context. In other words, it acknowledges the influence of individual characteristics and actions on the organisational context and vice versa, the influence of the organisational context on individual thinking and behaviour. As Chatman et al. (1986) have argued: When we look at individual behaviour in organizations, we are actually seeing two entities: the individual as himself and the individual as representative of this  collectivity . . . Thus the individual not only acts on behalf of the organization in the usual agency sense, but he also acts, more subtly `as the organization’ when he embodies the values, beliefs, and goals of the collectivity. Thus, understanding strategic thinking requires a dual-level approach that investigates the characteristics of an individual strategic thinker as well as the dynamics and processes that take place within the organisational context in which the individual operates. For instance, to obtain an accurate picture of the effects of differing leadership styles on strategic thinking, we can look at their impact on individual managers and on the way they influence the wider organisational climate, culture and structure. Strategic thinking at the individual level Strategic thinking at the individual level comprises three main elements: 1 a holistic understanding of the organisation and its environment; 2 creativity; and 3 a vision for the future of the organisation. Each of these  elements will be addressed in the following sections. A holistic understanding of the organisation and its environment A crucial element of strategic thinking is the ability to take a holistic perspective of the organisation and its environment. This requires an understanding of how different problems and issues are connected with each other, how they influence each other and what effect one solution in a particular area would have on other areas. As Kaufman (1991) has expressed it: Strategic thinking is characterized by a switch from seeing the organization as a splintered conglomerate of disassociated parts (and employees) competing for resources, to seeing and dealing with the corporation as a holistic system that integrates each part in relationship to the whole (p. 69). Taking a holistic approach requires the ability to distance oneself from day-to-day operational problems and to see how problems and issues are connected to the overall pattern that underlies particular details and events. Senge (1990) has called this approach â€Å"systems thinking†. He argued that: We must look beyond personalities and events. We must look into the underlying structures which shape individual actions  and create the conditions where types of events become likely (p. 43). Such an attention to the underlying structures of complex situations requires thinking in terms of processes rather than events to enable a reconciliation of apparent contradictions and the development of innovative solutions. Mastering complexity in organisations also requires managers to be familiar with the dynamics of organisational life. Stacey (1996) argued that managers need a thorough understanding of how organisations and managerial actions  change over time and of the feedback processes that lead to such changes. This includes being sensitive to the subtle interactions between the different parts of the organisation and understanding the structural causes of behaviour and their effects on other parts of the organisation. Finally, a holistic view requires recognition that organisations are components within large and complex systems, such as markets, industries and nations. Strategic thinkers need to understand how organisations are embedded within this wider context and h ow they are influenced by the dynamics, interconnection and interdependency of these systems. Strategy is about ideas and the development of novel solutions to create competitive advantage. Strategic thinkers must search for new approaches and envision better ways of doing things. A prerequisite for this is creativity, in particular the ability to question prevalent concepts and perceptions (de Bono, 1996) and to recombine or make connections between issues that may seem unconnected (Robinson and Stern, 1997). According to Amabile (1998), creative thinking refers to â€Å"how people approach problems and solutions  ± their capacity to put existing ideas together in new combinations† (p. 79, italics in original). This involves challenging the â€Å"tyranny of the given† (Kao, 1997, p. 47) by questioning prevailing beliefs or mental models in the organisation. Senge (1990) has described mental models as â€Å"deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures or images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action† (p. 8). He argues that such models are often tacit and beneath our level of awareness, yet they have a strong influence on organisational behaviour: . . . new insights fail to get put into practice because they conflict with deeply held internal images of how the world works, images that limit us to familiar ways of thinking and acting (p. 174). Thus, the ability to reflect on mental models and to challenge prevailing assumptions and core beliefs is crucial for the development of unique strategies and action programs. This requires strategic thinkers to understand their own behavioral patterns as well as existing concepts and perceptions within the organisation. Strategists should enjoy the challenge of thinking â€Å"out of the box† and of using imagination and creativity to explore whether there might be alternative ways of doing things. De Bono  (1996) has made this point very clear: Without creativity we are unable to make full use of the information and experience that is already available to us and is locked up in old structures, old patterns, old concepts, and old perceptions (p. 17). Creativity is a process that begins with the generation of ideas. As de Bono (1996) has noted . . . strategy is too often seen solely as a reduction process in which various possibilities are reduced to a sensible course of action (p. 72). Creativity Creative thinking is needed to imagine multiple possibilities and to search for alternatives to conventional approaches. The creative process also involves the selection and development of ideas. Good strategists are able to recognise the potential of a new idea at a very early stage. To visualise the value of an idea that has been put forward by people from different organisational levels might be even more important than the generation of original ideas by the strategist. As Robinson and Stern (1997) have observed: The larger the company, the more likely it is that the components of creative acts are already present somewhere in it, but the less likely it is that they will be brought together without some help (p. 15, italics in original). Finally, there is the need for translating the new idea into practice. Senior management must provide the resources that are needed to implement the idea. As Amabile (1998) has noted: . . . deciding how much time and money to give to a team or project is a sophisticated judgment call that can either support or kill creativity (p. 82) A vision for the future Strategic thinking should be driven by a strong sense of organisational  purpose and a vision of the desired future for the organisation. A genuine vision  ± as opposed to the popular â€Å"vision-statements†  ± conveys a sense of direction and provides the focus for all activities within the organisation. For Senge (1990), a genuine vision is â€Å"a calling rather than simply a good idea† (p. 142, italics in original). In his view, visions are â€Å"pictures or images people carry in their heads and hearts† (p. 206). They represent what one truly wants, based on fundamental intrinsic values and a sense of purpose that matters deeply to the people in the organisation. Evidence for the importance of a clear vision has been provided by Collins and Porras (1998). Their research showed that visionary companies outperformed nonvisionary companies significantly. One dollar invested in a general market stock fund on January 1, 1926 would have grown to 415 dollars by December 31, 1990, while the same dollar invested in a visionary company stock fund would have grown to 6,356 dollars, a difference of over 1500 percent. According to Collins and Porras (1998), the visionary companies did not attain this extraordinary long-term performance because they wrote one of the elegant vision or mission statements that have become popular in recent years. They pointed out that â€Å"Just because a company has a `vision statement’ (or something like it) in no way guarantees that it will become a visionary company!† (p. 201, italics in original). Instead, leaders in visionary companies place strong emphasis on building an organisation that has a deep understanding of its reason for existence and of its core values, those fundamental and enduring principles that guide and inspire people throughout the organisation and bind them together around a common identity. Thomas J. Watson, Jr. (1963), former IBM chief executive, made this point very clear: I firmly believe that any organization, in order to survive and achieve success, must have a sound set of beliefs on which it premises all its policies and actions (p. 5). consistent alignment (p. 229, italics in original). Developing a genuine vision and building it into the very fabric of the organisation must be a central element of the daily work of strategic thinkers. A vision that is shared throughout the organisation fosters commitment rather than compliance and creates a sense of commonality that permeates the whole organisation. It inspires people’s imagination and provides a focus that allows individuals to contribute in ways that make the most of their expertise and talents. Ultimately, as Collins and Porras have shown, a genuine vision helps to achieve superior performance in the longterm. Strategic thinking at the organisational level The organisational level provides the context in which individual strategic thinking can occur. Organisations need to create the structures, processes and systems that: 1 foster ongoing strategic dialogue among the top team; and 2 take advantage of the ingenuity and creativity of every individual employee.