Teams in the Workplace

    What's your favorite team?

     It should be there team that you're on.  Your team, at your place of work, should be your favorite team. Teams work separately and together to achieve success in their tasks, which serve in promoting the overall welfare and success of the organization as a whole. Teams and teamwork contribute towards organizations functioning as one unit.

     Teams within an organization are comparable to sponsored sports teams.  Currently, in the NBA, the Houston Rockets are number one
(/www.nba.com/rockets/).  Each one of those players has contributed toward their team dominating the entire basketball association.  At any point they must function seamlessly in order to win each game.  At work, team benefits aren't maximized unless every member makes team contributions. Continually pushing toward success as a member will reflect on the team.  Each one of us make the team complete.

     If you don't have teamwork skills, work on them. "Employers expect employees to be team players (https://www.thebalance.com/list-of-teamwork-skills-2063773)." Help your coworkers. Suggestions are great; utilize them. Don't hesitate to take all points of view into consideration. Communication is always the key. Model yourself for cooperation. If conflicts arise attempt to resolve them via negotiations. Learn what the entire team wants as members. If you make a commitment make sure you keep it. Avoid disruptive actions and words that cling to the memory. Successful teams practice teamwork skills.

     Anytime a group works together to accomplish a goal, you have a team.  A team is small group of people with complementary skills.  It is a group of people that hold themselves mutually accountable for performance results. Teams are also defined by those being involved in teamwork. Teamwork is the process of people actively working together to accomplish those common goals.  Teamwork is important.  Define your group.

     "Lauren McAdams, is a career advisor and hiring manager at ResumeCompanion.com.  Developing teamwork starts as soon as employees walk through the door. The most successful method for creating excellent intra-team relations is made of instilling a sense of teamwork early on in the onboarding process.  We experiment with different team-building measures.  During onboarding, we have new employees shadow an experienced coach.  The coach is tasked with helping their integration into the team. After the initial phase, we assign the new employees to shadow other people so they get to have more than one coach (https://activecollab.com/blog/collaboration/real-world-examples-of-successful-teamwork)."

     An organization is only as strong as it's weakest link.  This can also be defined as synergy.  Most employees at working with a team, or some form of it. It could be two people or one hundred people.  Organizations offer sales teams, global teams, administration teams, engineering teams, leadership teams, and project teams. There is a plethora of teams.  All is well when production flows smoothly. Synergy is the creation of a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.  There are a variety of benefits. There are more resources for problem solving. Synergy provides improved creativity and innovation. Teamwork improves the quality of decision-making. There will be greater commitment to tasks.  Higher motivation results through collective actions. There will be better control and more work discipline. Synergy improves individual satisfaction.  Don't be a weak link.

     Teams provide their members with support and social satisfaction. Satisfaction comes through those personal relationships and connections that are part of a team. Social relationships form and give coworkers a sense of security and belonging. There is emotional support. Most of all, individuals are making contacts, sharing ideas, responding to favors, and bypassing any blocks that may be plugging production flow.  Give words of encouragement to your team members.  Comradery is wonderful.

     Sometimes, social relationships have a negative slope.  Teams are victimized, suffering from lack of performance, by social loafing and other problems. Social loafing is the tendency of some people to avoid responsibility by slacking off in groups.  Teams are great but they aren't free of problems. Some personalities are very cohesive and others cause friction.  Slackers can be downsized by making them more noticeable.  Team social loafers can be subjected to peer pressure, and leader evaluation.  If group members are rewarded for their contributions, and tasks are made more interesting, then these teams are less prone to social loafing.

     There are a wide variety of teams within organizations.  Organizations operate as networks of formal and informal groups.  A former team is officially recognized and supported by the organization. An informal group is unofficial and emerges from relationships and share interests among members. There are official names for these formal groups. Some group names are departments, units, teams, divisions, and regions.  Informal teams are just as important. They can have a very positive impact on work performance. Some examples are interest groups, friendship groups, and support groups.  Pick a team.

     "Lee Fisher, is an HR manager at Blinds Direct. Teamwork should be based on solidarity, respect, communication, and mutual understanding. Our company uses ‘Role Switch’. It was launched across our web and marketing department. In this event, each team member switches roles with a colleague.  There is a deeper understanding as a result (https://activecollab.com/blog/collaboration/real-world-examples-of-successful-teamwork)

     Teams and teamwork contribute towards organizational goals.  Teams maximize individual goals.  Some examples are interest groups, friendship groups, and support groups. So, what is your favorite team?

Management: Dealing positively with Conflict

     How can we, as a business, deal positively with conflict? The workplace has different teams, agendas, and personalities.  Conflict is inevitable.  Competitions take place, and dynamics are bound to get a little complicated.  How can issues get easily resolved without any repercussions.  A negatively solved problem will ultimately result in retaliation.  Negative, in the sense that the resolution was unnecessary.  Positive, in sense that the resolution was requested.

Forbes business

     Conflict occurs as disagreements over substantive and emotional issues. Substantive means important.  Most emotional issues are important, too.  Conflicts morph into complaints. These complaints will have to be resolved at some point.

     For example, in our society cost of living is as important as anything else. Low pay rate as opposed to another job that would offer more, is a substantive issue.  Low pay rate can be balanced with a variety of fringe benefits. Complaints will arise when the benefits disappear, though. If the two appear in conjunction with one another, there will be a deep concern for employee respect.

     These are some important issues that would have to be resolved in the workplace.  Some emotional issues would include too much bureaucracy, possibly a poor mentoring process, racism, sexual harassment, and any other issue that has emotional attachments. These are issues which have to be resolved at work. There is a wide array of conflicts that occur.

     Modern levels of conflict are functional for performance and creativity.  Too little, or too much conflict becomes dysfunctional. A modern level of conflict would be disagreements over football teams, hair colors, or even political issues. Higher-level conflict are mentioned in the employee guidlines issued by your employers. As mentioned, too little conflict means lots of idle time to play and take part in activities other than work.

     Well taught superiors and managers understand that conflict may be managed through structural approaches that involve changing people, goals, resources, or work arrangements.  People respond to interpersonal conflicts through different combinations of cooperative and assertive behaviors. These two tendencies work together. Being cooperative helps satisfy the others' needs while being assertive helps satisfy your own needs.  

MSN money

     Personal conflict management tactics include avoidance, accommodation, compromise, competition, and collaboration.

     Avoidance-
     Complete withdrawal.  Personal conflict management avoidance tactical withdrawing from a conflict requires little effort from the other party. This tactic is uncooperative and unassertive.  Management withdraws from the situation and remains neutral at all costs. By avoiding the conflict, you, as management, essentially pretend that it never happened.  The conflict doesn’t exist. Some examples of avoidance or withdrawal include pretending there is nothing wrong, stonewalling, or completely shutting down.

     Accommodation-
     Smooth out the problem.  Personal conflict management accommodation tactics are genuinely kind hearted. Management is cooperative, but unassertive. Differences are simply overlooked in order to maintain harmony. Accommodating the other party requires cooperation. You agree to accommodate the other party by acknowledging and accepting employee point of view or suggestion. This tactic might be viewed as letting the other party have its way. While this can lead to making peace and moving forward, it can also lead to the accommodator feeling resentment toward the other party.

     Compromise-
     Each party involved wins a little bit and also loses a little bit.  Compromising is a big step toward conflict resolution. Both courage and consideration are used when both parties look for common ground. You agree to negotiate larger points and let go of the smaller points; this expedites the resolution process. Occasionally, the person compromising might use passive-aggressive tactics to mislead the other party, so beware.

     Competition-
     This is authoritative command. Stand your ground and be courageous. Be cautious with being inconsiderate. Competition requires being uncooperative but assertive. By standing your ground, you are essentially competing with the other party. Management will use anything to ensure that you win the battle. The fact is, a competitive approach offers short term rewards, but in the long term effects can be detrimental to your business.  This is a win-lose competition exercised through authority.

     Collaboration-
     Complete problem solving. Management is cooperative and assertive, simultaneously. Collaboration plays a major role within conflict resolution and requires great courage and much consideration. Collaborating with the other party involves listening to their side, discussing areas of agreement, reviewing goals, and ensuring that all parties understand each other. Collaboration requires thinking creatively to resolve the problem, without concessions. Collaborators are usually admired and well-respected. Everyone wins.

     During a lose-lose conflict nobody wins and the problems were essentially unaffected as a result. In a win-lose conflict, one-party achieves its desired outcome while the other party does not. In a win-win situation there is a favorable outcome by everybody, and everybody benefits.

     Utilize your advanced skills and powerful credentials.  Successfully implement effective conflict resolution techniques. Make resources available.  Appeal to higher goals.  Change the people.  Change the environment.  Use integrating devices.  Provide training.  Also, change rewards systems. Demonstrate that you have what it takes to excel in an executive management role.

Bacteriophages

     "Bacteriophages are viruses that invade bacterial cells.  These phages disrupt bacterial metabolism and cause the bacterium to lyse, or destruct. Phage Therapy is the therapeutic use of lytic bacteriophages to treat pathogenic bacterial infections (http://www.phagetherapycenter.com/pii/PatientServlet?command=static_phagetherapy).

     We can compare the handy work of phages to antibiotics.  Phages kill bacteria.  This function harnesses a wide range of applications which could lead to being a better alternative to antibiotics.

     Phage therapy is also used to treat respiratory infections, such as pneumonia.

     There are different types of respiratory infections.  There are upper and lower body infections. 

     "Acute respiratory infections, ARIs, are classified as upper respiratory tract infections, URIs, or lower respiratory tract infections, LRIs. The upper respiratory tract consists of the airways from the nostrils to the vocal cords in the larynx.  This includes the paranasal sinuses and the middle ear. The lower respiratory tract covers the continuation of the airways from the trachea and bronchi to the bronchioles and the alveoli.

     Upper respiratory tract infection, URI, represents the most common acute illness evaluated in the outpatient setting. URIs range from the common cold—typically a mild, self-limited, catarrhal syndrome of the nasopharynx—to life-threatening illnesses such as epiglottitis (http://emedecine.medscape.com)."

     Phages are beneficial.  Phages do not harm the useful bacteria that live in and on the body.  They are harmless to human beings.   Phages multiply at the site of the infection until there are no more bacteria. Then, they are excreted. They're active against bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics.

     Individual components of phages, called lysins, can also be used as antibiotic substances.  Phages can be used for combating harmful bacteria in fattening animals and food.  Numerous animal experiments demonstrate the efficacy against different infections. The first studies on humans are taking place.

      Phages multiply as long as bacteria are present.  In some cases, it only takes a few phages in an inaccessible location in the body to bring about healing. It appears that phage therapy is best suited for infected sites such as wounds, where phages can be easily applied.

     Phages could take the place of antibiotics.

Hydrogen Batteries

     Have you ever wondered why you can't get a lot of life out of your battery?

There's variety ways to maximize your battery is potential.

battery conditioning instructions-

-charge your extended battery 8-10 hours every single time you charge it

-keep your smartphone updated

-etc.

     We might not have to worry about battery maximum usage, anymore.

"Hydrogen has drawn backing from big energy companies from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Uniper SE in addition to carmakers BMW AG and Audi AG. They’re supporting research into how the element can be used to store energy for weeks or even months beyond what lithium-ion batteries can manage."

(https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2017-09-05/better-than-a-battery-big-energy-backs-hydrogen-power-storage)

What are hydrogen fuel cells?

    Hydrogen fuel cells can be found in many different places today. The technology is still developing.  

     Most fuel cell applications have been for demonstration projects. Applications have included small handheld devices, such as cell phones and laptop computers, electric vehicles, from passenger cars to buses, and stationary power for office buildings, hospitals, and other large commercial and institutional facilities. They are particularly useful in indoor warehouses to power forklifts because they don’t emit any noxious fumes. They are also used in remote places where access to a conventional power supply is limited or impossible, such as off-grid home-sites and field weather stations. 

     As of today, fuel cells can be found in the space shuttles, and below the ocean surface in recent submarines.

     Wouldn't it be awesome if we did not have to worry about battery maximum usage?

Gonbup Comics©2017

Joke:

The interviewer:
Everything seems to be okay but I have a question about the relocation on your application. What happened?

The interviewee:
The company relocated, but they didn't tell me where.

Gonbup Comics©2017

Innate Immunity and Immune System Infection

     The immune system is our internal defense.

     There are many potentially dangerous viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. They occur in the air, in the food, and in the water. There are also cells that abnormally develop into cancer. Our immune system has developed two types of defense against these threats. They are innate immunity and acquired immunity. 

     Let's look at innate immunity.

     Innate immunity is the kind of defense that is mediated by phagocytic (uptake) cells, antimicrobial proteins, the inflammatory response, and natural killer (eliminates tumors and viruses) cells. It is present before exposure to pathogens and is effective from the time of birth.

     The first lines of defense are the external defenses.  Intact skin and mucous membranes form physical barriers that bar the entry of microorganisms and viruses. Mucus produced by cells in these membranes, the low pH (acidic ranging from 3-5) of the skin and stomach, and degradation by lysozyme (emzyme that digests bacterial cell walls) also deter infection by pathogens.

     The second lines of defenses are the internal cellular and chemical defenses. Phagocytic cells (white blood cells) injest microbes that penetrate external innate defenses and help trigger an inflammatory response. Phagocytes attach to their prey via surface receptors that bind to certain structures found on many microorganisms, but not on normal body cells.  Complement proteins, interferons, and other antimicrobial proteins also act against invading microbes. In local inflammation, histamine and other chemicals released from injured cells promote changes in blood vessels that allow fluid, more phagocytes, and antimicrobial proteins to enter the tissues. Although heat and swelling are uncomfortable sensations, the enhanced blood flow and vessel permeability that cause them are critical to innate defense.  Natural killer cells induce the death of virus-infected cancer cells via apoptosis (programmed cell death).

     Invertebrate immune mechanisms are present, also.  Insects defend themselves by mechanisms similar in many respects to vertebrate innate defenses. The insect equivalent to blood, the hemolymph, contains circulating cells called hemocytes. Antimicrobial peptides and phenolooxidase are insect innate immune defenses.

     Defenses in vertebrates can be divided into innate and acquired immunity. If an invading pathogen reaches the body's external innate defenses, various internal innate defenses quickly come into play. The defenses provided by acquired immunity against specific pathogens develop more slowly. Some components of innate immunity also function in acquired immunity.