Leadership, power, influence, director- it can defined in many ways The WritePass Journal

Leadership, power, influence, director- it can defined in many ways Introduction Leadership, power, influence, director- it can defined in many ways IntroductionConclusionRelated Introduction Leadership, power, influence, director- it can defined in many ways, but most commonly Leader is a person who influences the thoughts and behaviors of others; a leader is one who establishes the direction for others to willingly follow. One person can serve as a leader or several persons might share leadership. A person may be appointed as leader or may be elected by people within his circle. Leaders play vital role in standardizing performance. Leaders can influence other to perform beyond the expectations. Managers plan, organize, lead and control so that â€Å"leading† and â€Å"managing† are inseparable, they are both integral part of each other. If one do not able to influence and inspire others to work willingly towards aims then all planning and organizing will be ineffective. Similarly setting direction is usually not enough, no matter how inspiring one can be, management skills are crucial. Leaders will simultaneously fill many roles interacting, motivating group members, solving conflicts as they arise. Leaders set vision, strategies, goals, and values in order to guide for desired action and behavior. Leaders are characterized by certain traits which distinguish leaders from non-leaders includes Drive, desire to lead, honesty, cognitive ability, self-confidence and knowledge. Effective leaders must have two major qualities: knowledge and communication competence. Leader needs knowledge of issue and the ways of effectively leading a team. This knowledge will enable leader to identify alternatives available. He also needs to be an effective communicator as equally listener and speaker. Leaders should acquire qualities of flexible, openness, empathetic, courage, interactive, and positive attitude. An effective leader generally values people, listen actively, gives credit to others, have consistent behaviors, admits mistakes, have a sense of humor and above all they set a good example for their followers. I have been working in refractory company called Magnezit in Russia. Magnezit LTD Company is one of the biggest Company in Europe which mine the product called magnezit. There I have developed three major departments of Production, Finance and Marketing. I have developed a seven-member team, which is headed by me. We usually came across discussing major issue related to finance, production and marketing. We made plans, had discussions, and generate ideas. My job out there was to design the agenda, set priorities, follow-up the discussions, and made our session meaningful. At the same time I performed simultaneously role of interacting, motivating group members, solving conflicts as they arise. During our sessions we set vision, developed strategies, and evaluated our past perf ormance in order to guide ourselves for desired action and behavior. Being a leader of the firm I had dual responsibilities to organize and develop a culture of selflessness. A failure of my team member was the failure of me. I had to do my work selflessly and biggest challenge for me was to get my team members also work selflessly for our firm. Each of our team members felt as he/she was the owner of the firm and we did our work for firm success, we should not to stick it for earning livelihood. That was the most admiring change, which I strove to bring about. The hardest job for me was to set myself as an example for my all fellows. I am not a leader based on how well I work with others or how admired I am. I am a leader based on my actions and how I affect the world around me. I try to never stray from this design because being a positive role model and doing the right thing is the best way to live your life. Being a leader is much more than just being the guy or girl with the ideas or plans. Being a leader is something much more than being the person with their act together and knowing what to do at a moment’s notice. â€Å"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.† By doing the right things I live my life as truthfully as I can. I keep my mind on the things that matter most to me: university, family, sport, my future and all the things that make me who I am as an individual. Conclusion All such exercises have made me able to actively contribute towards Master of Science in Management program. MSM program will provide me an opportunity to further develop a broader understanding of management/leadership and enhancing my analytical skills. This program will also provide me with the hands-on study and learn from varied backgrounds. My prior leadership experience will provide me a feedback while attending MSM program. This will provide me an opportunity to share my experiences with others. Also this program will enhance my leadership traits and enable me to learn and develop my capabilities as becoming successful leader. Moreover, it will improve my communication skills and gain more knowledge through the experiences of group members. These learning will help me to improve my attitude and behavior that would be helpful in my leadership career. I am fully confident that MSM program has the potential to make me able to achieve my challenge to bring an organizational cultu re of selflessness.

The Process For Firing a Government Employee

The Process For Firing a Government Employee The federal government’s disciplinary personnel process have become so cumbersome that only about 4,000 employees a year 0.2 % of the total workforce of 2.1 million are fired, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). In 2013, the federal agencies dismissed around 3,500 employees for performance or a combination of performance and conduct. In its report to the Senate Homeland Security Committee, the GAO stated, â€Å"The time and resource commitment needed to remove a poor performing permanent employee can be substantial.† In fact, found the GAO, firing a federal employee often takes from six months to over a year. â€Å"According to selected experts and GAO’s literature review, concerns over internal support, lack of performance management training, and legal issues can also reduce a supervisor’s willingness to address poor performance,† wrote the GAO. Remember, it actually took an act of Congress to give the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs the power to outright fire senior VA executives who failed to meet performance standards. As the GAO noted, the in 2014 annual survey of all federal employees, only 28% said the agencies they worked for had any formal procedure for dealing with chronically poorly performing workers. The Probationary Period Problem After being hired, most federal employees serve a one-year probationary period, during which the lack the same rights to appeal disciplinary actions – like firing – as employees who have completed probation. It is during that probationary period, advised the GAO when the agencies should try their hardest to identify and carve out the â€Å"bad word† employees before they gain the full right to appeal. According to the GAO, about 70% of the 3,489 federal employees fired in 2013 were fired during their probationary period. While the exact number is not known, some employees facing disciplinary actions during their probationary period choose to resign rather than have a firing on their record, noted the GAO. However, reported the GAO, work unit managers â€Å"often do not use this time to make performance-related decisions about an employee’s performance because they may not know that the probationary period is ending or they have not had time to observe performance in all critical areas.† As a result, many new employees fly â€Å"under the radar† during their probationary periods. ‘Unacceptable,’ Says Senator The GAO was asked to investigate the government firing process by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In a statement on the report, Sen. Johnson found it â€Å"unacceptable that some agencies let the first year slip by without conducting performance reviews, never aware that the probationary period had expired. The probationary period is one of the best tools the federal government has to weed out poor-performing employees. Agencies must do more to evaluate the employee during that time period and decide whether she or he can do the job.† Among other corrective actions, the GAO recommended the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the government’s HR department extend the mandatory probationary period beyond 1-year and include at least one full employee evaluation cycle. However, the OPM said extending the probationary period would probably require, you guessed it, â€Å"legislative action† on the part of Congress.

What is fairness (fair) and what is justice (just) Compare and Personal Statement

What is fairness (fair) and what is justice (just) Compare and contrast both - Personal Statement Example 161). It means all citizens have the same rights as anyone else, regardless of their station or lot in life. In Platos definition, justice means attending to the proper order of things in society. Justice means equal respect for the rights of everyone, without discrimination to age, gender, race, color, etc. Fairness, on the other hand, means a quality of being free from bias, inequity, injustice, or making decisions or judgments without any discrimination. To be fair means to be making the compromises necessary for all parties concerned, although it may not mean complete justice. The notion of fairness can be better understood in the norm of need. This means being fair is to help all people meet their needs according to what is just, and also based on resource constraints. Not all individuals can be given what they need, but some can partly be satisfied based on fairness. A good example is the obligation of the state to provide everyone with health insurance coverage but not everybody can be covered due to limitations of financial resources or budget cuts. In this connection, the Affirmative Action program was designed to address the fairness issue, with regards to access to educational and employment opportunities (Jansson, 2009, p. 30) and intended to counteract the discrimination suffered by some minorities or segment of society. It attempts to create an equal or level playing field, with the stated aim to achieve social

SAP implementation Project Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SAP implementation Project Managment - Essay Example illustrates the application of various project management principles and practices that are desirable for project success and are largely covered in the PMBOK. This project is quite simple, the IBM PM Team works under a well predefined scope covering major areas such as putting out fires, preventing scope-creep, and managing risks. The most important point coming out here is that the team understands what they need to do and develop the scope well in advance, it is also quite impressive that they determine the risks involved during scope development. This kind of practice is well covered in the PMBOK under the chapter called scope management where project scope definition is identified as a very important area where boundaries of the project are determined. The fact that Prakash and his team start by going to the client site, gathering the requirements, and calculating the plan schedule indicates that they are very serious with project integration management. This is well defined in the PMBOK as a chapter dealing where integration management is presented as an aid towards project planning, execution and control. The preliminary actions of the team culminating in site visit for planning indicates a deep understanding of the importance of this aspect of project management. In my opinion, this action can be enhanced by coming up with a document that clearly maps out all the actions at the site visit level and indicate the project roadmap from this time. The project also includes another very important aspect dealing with stakeholders. After award of the contract it is clear that the Project Manager start implementation by defining objectives, purpose and justifying important actions. The scope is verified to fit within a measurement developed by the team that mainly involves determination of the commitment of stakeholders, performance is good, the schedules are predictable and that the risks identified are well mitigated. It is clear that the team is putting into

Slavery and sectionalism, between the North and South Essay Example for Free

Slavery and sectionalism, between the North and South Essay To what extent did the American Civil War succeed in removing the two main causes of conflict: slavery and sectionalism, between the North and South? The causes of the Civil War are a subject that have fascinated historians for generations, provoking many different interpretations. From my study I have found slavery and sectionalism to be the most important causes. In the short term, the war did not succeed in eradicating these causes of conflict and actually incited further problems, such as racism and violence. The Reconstruction period failed to achieve its main aims, which were to re-unite the two sections of North and South into the Union, and to help the Negro to infiltrate that country as a citizen, and not a slave. I also aim to show that these forces are still evident in American society today, and therefore bring the historical argument up to date. Sectionalism is a multi-faceted cause, and many historians have stressed different aspects of this sectionalism as the cause of conflict. Cultural and social historians emphasise the contrast between the civilisations and values of the two regions, whereas progressive historians stress the economic gulf between the North and South, and Marxist historians believe the class difference was the overriding cause of conflict. These views are valid as a detailed insight into particular areas of sectionalism, however their narrow viewpoint ignores other contributing factors. The most reliable view is provided by Kennet M Stampp, who demonstrates that sectionalism was a culmination of these factors which together were a major cause of conflict. He uses a variety of sources, both contemporary and secondary, to provide a balanced evaluation. This is juxtaposed to other historians who may have used a limited range of sources or been influenced by the predominant view of the time. Other historians, however, have singled out slavery to be the cause of the sectional crisis, and indeed the war. Northern historians such as James Ford Rhodes particularly uphold this view: of the American Civil War it may safely be asserted that there was a cause, slavery Slavery certainly was a huge force in America. In 1860, four million people were slaves with more that three million of these working in the South. Nonetheless, revisionist historians have argued that slavery was not the main cause of the Civil War. This could possibly have been due to a new influx of evidence, or a particular historical debate. However, recently, historians have criticised these accounts for failing to appreciate the moral urgency of the slavery issue, and have given renewed emphasis to slavery as the cause of the conflict. Despite these different interpretations, it was both the multi-faceted nature of sectionalism and slavery, which caused the Civil War. According to law, slavery was removed after the American Civil War with the Emancipation Proclamation of September 22 1862: All persons held as slaves within any state, or designated part of a state shall be forever free This however, did not free them from the racism and discrimination that their emancipation incited. The Southern image of the Negro was shaped by their slave past, and therefore the image had not changed despite the war. For example, Brogan says: the mind of the section is continuous with the past Cash and his book are themselves strong evidence of the continuation of these ideas, even one hundred and forty years later. Other historians are in accordance with this view: Southern bitterness ran deep People still believed that what they had fought for wasnt morally wrong and that Africans were meant to be slaves. Thus, as Cable writes the ex slave was not a freeman, only a free Negro. These ideas were furthered by evidence from sociologists, anthropologists and psychologists who presented what they regarded as convincing evidence of the innate racial traits of Negroes, indicating that they were intellectually inferior to whites. For example Dr J C Nott, a leading Southern ethnologist in the 1850s said: The Negro races stand at the lowest point in the scale of human beings. These ideas were also passed on through the government, for example Alexander H Stephens (vice President of the Confederacy) said: equality does not exist between blacks and whites. The one race is by nature inferior in many respects, physically and mentally to the other. Thus, white people were indoctrinated by superior, and who they believed to be trustworthy figures of the time. This contemporary evidence is extremely useful to the modern historian to understand how the belief of the inferiority of Negroes was continued, and indeed reinstated, after the war, hence causing the degradation of the blacks. Economic degradation of the Negro also strengthened the white mans belief in their innate inferiority. Emancipated Negroes were potential social and economic competitors, particularly owing to the rapidly rising population of the South; therefore white men felt that they had to keep them at the bottom of the caste and economic system. This was achieved through sharecropping. Useless land was given to blacks who could take a share of the crop. The planters could therefore bring land to production without paid labour, whilst at the same time giving the chance for the black man to work under his own supervision and to sell his share of the crop to eventually buy his own land. However the blacks received poor treatment, were often cheated out of their money and remained under the control of the whites. Hence in all but appearance this was the same as the old plantation and slavery had effectively not been removed. Derrick Murphy upholds this view: Sharecropping.. kept them [the Negroes] in a position of poverty and social inferiority. Indeed sharecropping continued into the 1940s in some areas of America, such as Alabama, therefore it was another eighty years before slavery was abolished in the farms. The black codes also endorsed this idea of the black remaining under whites control. For example, a leading Northern liberal, Carl Schurz, remarked that the codes embodied the idea that although individual whites could no longer have property of the individual blacks, the blacks at large belonged to the whites at large. This could be seen as a prejudiced evaluation as Schurz is a Northerner remarking on Southern principles. However, this viewpoint is supported by fact. The black codes prohibited Negroes serving on juries or testifying against white men, disallowed Negroes marrying whites and stated that the Negroes were not allowed to leave their place of work without permission. The codes therefore limited their freedom, and reduced them to a state of pre-war slavery. Schurzs analysis is indeed correct, that the Negroes were far from being emancipated as they still belonged to the whites. Whites disallowed blacks the right to better their position through education. Post war public education was only provisioned for whites, as they believed that the education of blacks was a waste of effort, or even dangerous (Degler). All over the South in 1865-7 any white person who attempted to instruct Negroes was subject to attacks and violence. Therefore the blacks were further denied rights, much the same as they were under slavery. Under the driving will of the Radical Republicans, the fourteenth and fifteenth Amendment of 1866 and 1869 were adopted to the Constitution. These allowed the blacks to be full citizens, and equal in rights and voting privileges with white men. This threat of possible black power to white supremacy caused an upsurge of hatred towards the blacks, and an outbreak of violence and intimidation at the ballot box. Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Knights of White Camelia, The White Brotherhood and The Pale Faces began to emerge. Their aim is shown in the official charge to the new recruits of the Ku Klux Klan in 1867: Our main and fundamental objective is the maintenance of the supremacy of the white race in this Republic. Therefore we can see that the emancipation of the slaves actually provoked worse reaction towards the Negroes, and made their life one filled with terror, which it had net been to the same extent before. However, there were also some positive moves towards equality of blacks in the Reconstruction period. Radical Republicans believed that all sons of Adam and Eve are equal in the eyes of God and therefore that it was morally wrong for Negroes to be discriminated against. They pushed for the Force Acts passed on May 31st 1870, and February 21st 1871. These said that force or intimidation used to prevent citizens from voting would be punished by fine or imprisonment. A third Force Act, the Ku Klux Klan Act of April 20th 1871, imposed heavier penalties on persons who shall conspire together, or go in disguise for the purpose of depriving any person or any class of person of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges or immunities under the laws. They also pressed for a longer life span of the Freedmans Bureau, which provided food, clothing and medical care for refugees and Negroes. According to the original act, the bureaus work was to terminate within a year after the end of the war. However, through the work of the Congressional Committee on Reconstruction and the radicals, the Freedmens Bureau Bill was passed in February 1866, which indefinitely extended its life span. However the bureau was hated by most Southern men, and was subject to much criticism, for example that it was stirring up discontent among the Negroes and giving false hopes, or that the bureau employed corrupt and incompetent administrators who wasted federal money. Some of this is true, however a more trustworthy evaluation of the bureaus work is that of historian Kenneth M Stampp, who believed the bureau played a constructive role in the transformation of the Negro from slave to citizen and that the tradition that the bureau was rife with corruption and incompetence is an exaggeration. His evaluation can be regarded as more trustworthy owing to the fact that as a modern historian he is less likely to be influenced by past war views and the use of evidence as propaganda. More than likely much of this corruption will have been exaggerated by Southern propagandists to try and close the bureau down and stop any aid to the Negroes. Stampp also has a wider range of source material and t he value of hindsight to provide a more balanced argument. However, the bureau did not manage the complete transformation especially as Congress stopped its activities in 1869. Thus ended the one modest Federal effort to deal directly with some of the social and economic problems confronting the post-war South, as written by Stampp. The Radical Republicans began to decline, and were replaced with stalwarts, who were concerned with the maintaining the status quo. This meant that they were no longer concerned with the issue of Negroes, and that its crusade had lost vitality. Brognan writes, by the end of the mind 70s the Negro was seen, at best, as a bore and a nuisance. Thus, by the end of the Reconstruction Period, the Negro remained a lower caste, economically discriminated against, faced with violence, and in a position no better than that of the pre-war slavery period. Towards the end of the nineteenth century their position became worse as they faced segregation. I t began with a movement led by Mississippi Constitutional Convention of 1890, which insisted on poll taxes and literary tests to remove blacks from the voting registers. This initiated a period of segregation in hospitals, theatres, cemeteries, housing, prisons and even with water fountains. This was not helped by the fact that the North had begun to look at a Negro through Southern eyes. The post-war era may have united the Northern and Southern beliefs about the Negroes, however it caused a greater void between the two sections in other respects. The Civil War destroyed two thirds of Southern wealth, which was worsened by a population rise in the South, thus impoverishing the South. This was in direct juxtaposition with the North, who got economic benefits from the secession. It became easier for the North to go ahead with construction, for example of the transcontinental railway, without the South opposing it, and during the war years Northern wealth had grown by 50 percent. Thus, the war actually exacerbated the pre-war problems by creating an even greater economic gulf. Slavery had also hindered the training of artisans and craftsmen, and education remained a low priority for the south. Any educated Southerners would travel to the North to go to university, thus draining the South of its intelligence, and possible makers of wealth. This therefore maintained the divisions between the two sections of the country. The war also did not change the attitude of the two sections towards one another. If anything it strengthened them, and created patriotic ideas of either section: Four years of fighting for the preservation of their world, and their heritage, four years of measuring themselves against the Yankee had left the South more aware of their differences and of the line which divided what was South and what was not. Cash here provides a valuable and reliable view of the Southern viewpoint for an outsider. However, it is only a reliable view of the traditional Southern stance. Throughout his book it is interesting to note how revisionist ideas are not explored. This can be viewed in a positive manner however, in that we are given deep insight into one type of historical viewpoint, a view that many post-war Southerners would have held, one that evidently still exists today. This idea of Southern nationalism was deeply rooted in their fear of losing their traditions and therefore the status quo of the section. It was an unwillingness to change into a section like the North. They had their stereotypical views of the North, thus to change they felt they would incite moral and Physical ruin. Therefore it can be seen that not only was slavery still apparent in America after the Civil War, but also the divisions between the sections still existed. Thus the reconstruction had failed in most of its aims, and the Civil War had not succeeded in removing its causes on conflict. Even in todays society, one hundred and fifty years later, the causes behind the war are still evident in America. We can see that when the causes relate to the opinion, habits and traditions of the people they are extremely difficult to remove, and the mid set is often passed down through generations. The range of sources that I have used have all been unanimous in one aspect: they all acknowledge that the Civil War has been and will continue to be one of the most influential events that America has ever experienced, and that it is difficult to assess whether the divisions underlying the war will ever be fully removed from American society.

Protein Thermal Stability Essay example -- Research Analysis, Isolatio

Isolation techniques for protein take the least refined forms of the protein and develop a highly concentrated product. A concentrated protein product allows utilization of functional properties of proteins without fat, moisture, or carbohydrate contributing to or inhibiting the system. For example, through the use of isolation techniques, the starting concentration of soy flour or grit, 40-50% protein, can increase to more than 90% (Petruccelli 1995). When other substituents such as starches and fats are present in a system, water absorption generally occurs within the carbohydrate instead of the protein (Wolf 1970). As a result, isolation plays a two-fold role in concentrating the selected protein as well as eliminating unneeded or undesirable constituents in a food product. Soy protein holds desirable, functional properties. Such properties of isolated soy protein include the formation of gels and emulsions. The protein’s hydrophilic properties make it an ideal component in confectionary and baked goods because of its water retaining properties and ability to maintain freshness. Additional uses in food stuffs include aeration, an adhesive in meat products, color control, and inhibition or promotion of fat absorption (Wolf 1970). These functional properties have allowed soy protein to become an emerging protein and usable food constituent. Whey, an important by-product of milk, contains almost all of the milk carbohydrate and about one-fifth of milk’s protein (Smithers 1996). Isolated whey’s value, however, derives from its protein content. Its unique functional properties provide opportunities for a variety of applications. For example, whey proteins, because of their stability to acidic conditions, are an integral part of ... ...ments DJ. 1997. Physical properties of whey protein stabilized emulsions as related to pH and NaCl. J Food Sci 62(2):342-347. De Witt JN. 1990. Thermal stability and functionality of whey proteins. J Dairy Science 73(12):3602-3612. Petruccelli S, AÃ ±on MC. 1995. Soy protein components and their interactions. J Agric Food Chem 43(7):1762-1767. Smithers GW, Ballard GW, Copeland AD, De Silva KJ, Dionysius DA, Francis GL, Goddard C, Grieve PA, Mcintosh GH, Mitchell IR, Pearce H, Regester GO. 1996. New opportunities from the isolation and utilization of whey proteins. J Dairy Sci 79(8):1454-1459. Thompson, L.D., Dinh T. 2009. FDSC 4303/5305 food chemistry lab manual. Lubbock, Tx.: Texas Tech University, Department of Animal and Food Science. Wolf, WJ. 1970. Soybean proteins : their functional, chemical, and physical properties. J Agric Food Chem 18(6):969-976.

Exploratory Essay Kids in Competitve Sports

Many parents who put their kids into sports at a young age often grew up playing ports. They see themselves In their children and want them to be as good If not better than they were. It's very hard for a child to enjoy the sport If they constantly have their parents over their shoulders to practice and win. Parents pushing kids to win or be the best isn't exactly what a kid wants to do. Growing up kids need to experience a fun sports game, so much intensity at an early age may cause the kid to want to quit the sport.Most kids can handle the pressure of parents pushing their kids to win. A lot of kids are naturally competitive but â€Å"they sometimes feel (perceive) that they ill not be able to perform adequately to the performance demands of competition (Humphrey 23). † A big concern with competitive sports is the emotional stress that can affect a child's physical well-being. Competitiveness makes one team successful and the other team a failure. Because losing can be a thr eat to one's self-esteem, the negative emotion and anxiety can be personally threatening.Once kids adapt to these negative feelings, the negative aspects can stay with them for life. If parents encourage their kids that real winners love to play for fun. Then it encourages the kids to try their hardest and not be so stressed out and be as upset if they were to lose the game. Self-efficacy is defined as the â€Å"can do† attitude. It isn't based on a person's skill, but it's based on how one judges their own skills. It gives kids the ability to try out many other skills, and even if they aren't as good at one as the other, It gives them the motives to take on new challenges.Kids Like to discover many things they are pretty good at. Whether or not kids are naturally talented with an athletic ability, physical education has become a part of the core curriculum in primary education. Students are required to take a physical education class for a grade. It's a great way for kids to adapt to friendly competitiveness against their classmates in scrimmages. Because it isn't a constructed team, kids are able to really play for fun, and not worry about pressure from other teammates, coaches, or parents. When children are playing with classmates for fun, they don't focus on the competitive aspect of the sport† (Griffin 68). They really get to learn what the love of the game is about. â€Å"By requiring physical education is the school systems it not only gives kids the opportunity to indulge in some friendly competition, but it also gives the kids a good exercise† (Schoenberg 42). Since child obesity has become a major issue in the past decade, a kid participating in a sport that is fun to play, helps them to enjoy working out, and contributes to the distinction of childhood obesity.Sport and physical skills learned during play, physical education and sport contribute to the holistic development of young people. Through participation in sport and physi cal education, young people learn about the importance of key values such as: honesty, teamwork, air play, respect for themselves and others, and adherence to rules (Humphrey 83). Kids playing sports in school classes can encourage them to try out for a competitive team. Once on a competitive team, the student can then acquire many useful skills that can actually contribute to their work ethics in school.Once a student is on a daily routine then they can start to develop time management skills. With these skills they can schedule time to do homework, and hang out with friends. Being involved in an extracurricular activity actually helps kids in school because then they an have defined time to work on homework, rather than Just procrastinate. Not only will it help them in time management, but being a part of a team helps develop social skills and friendships that are stronger than others. They aren't Just your friends, they are your teammates.Being on the Carolina Girls Dance Team an d in the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority, I have made many friendships with many girls. But since the dance team has to compete together, my bond with them is way stronger than it is with my sorority sisters. Since I grew up in a competitive atmosphere dancing, I can completely relate to he reasons why parents may be skeptical to enroll their kids in competitive sports teams. Vive learned that it is definitely beneficial in most cases for kids to be involved in competitive sports as long as coaches and parents help their kids stay positive.