Understanding Elements and Characteristics of a Trend

WHAT IS A TREND?

A pattern of gradual change in a condition, output, or process, or an average or general tendency of a series of data
points to move in a certain direction over time, represented by a line or curve on a graph.

MEGATRENDS AND MICROTRENDS

Megatrends entail a major restructuring (a reorganization of a company with a view to achieving greater efficiency
and profit, or to adapt to a changing market); they are a larger pattern of broad trends that reshape and transform our
lives.
Microtrends advocate localization as opposed to globalization, recognizing that people and communities have never
been sophisticated and more knowledgeable about the choices they make in their everyday lives.

EXAMPLES OF TRENDS:

Facebook – is the most common social network website where you can share information about yourself and
communicate with other people.
Twitter – it lets you see what is happening around the world, from breaking news and entertainment, sports and politics
to big events and every day interests.

Trendspotting

Trendspotting is attempting to see the future in the present (Rehn and Lindkvist, 2013). Being able to predict a trend is
a valued skill for the global citizen. Trendspotting is sometimes called cool-hunting and trend analysis.

Trend analysis is the widespread practice of collecting information and attempting to spot a pattern, or trend, in the
information.

Trend spotting is the identification of new trends or attempting to see the future.

Trend spotter is a person who notices and reports on new fashions, ideas, or activities that are becoming popular.

Differentiating a trend from a fad

Both trends and fads can play an important role in an organization’s success – but they must be treated
differently. If they are not, leaders risk burning out adapting to every fad, and critical trends required for an
organizations’ survival may be missed. Let’s start by looking into fads and trends individually.
Fad is a new thing that people are doing. The easiest way to categorize a fad is one word: short-lived. Trends
have a much longer lifespan than fads. In fact, trends can continue to be fashionable for years and even decades.
Trend is significant, have broad implications in all aspects of society, identifiable and explainable while fad is
transitory or quick, affect only particular group of people without impact and driven by emotions.

What are the differences between patterns and trends?

The identification of patterns and trends are techniques used by analysts studying the supply and demand of an asset
traded on an open market. A trend is the general direction of a price over a period of time. A pattern is a set of data that
follows a recognizable form, which analysts then attempt to find in the current data.

The three basic types of trends are up, down and sideways. Trends may be discovered in the short, medium and the long
terms. Generally, investors take positions in assets that will be profitable as long as the current trend continues. Taking
positions that profit only if a trend reverses is riskier. Analysts use trendlines and channels, which are essentially
boundaries for price fluctuations, in an attempt to spot and define trends. Upward trends are characterized by an asset
price hitting a series of higher highs and lows, while downward trends are marked by lower highs and lows.

A pattern is a series of data that repeats in a recognizable way. It can be identified in the history of the asset being
evaluated or other assets with similar characteristics. Patterns often include the study of sale volume as well as price.
Patterns can occur within a downward or upward trend or as marking the beginning of a new trend. There are
bottoming, topping and continuation patterns. A "follow-through day" pattern is used by some analysts to identify
market bottoms. The "head-and-shoulders" topping pattern is popular among day and swing traders. Continuation
patterns include the "cup with handle," "flat base" and "three weeks tight."
UNDERSTANDING LOCAL NETWORKS

A network is a group of people whom we interact daily. Our relationships are networked. If you look at nature, networks
are everywhere. The cellular network in the human brain, for instance, is an amazing network that makes human life
possible.

But what are networks? Networks are a ‘set of nodes and set of ties’ (Brass, 1994: 42). The things that are connected
are usually called nodes. A node might be a person, a computer or even a hyperlinked text. The connections between
hubs are called “associations” and here and there called “edges”. They are relations that bind the tie or even make the
ties suffer. It is imperative for leaders and managers to precisely see the system relations that associate individuals and
to effectively oversee them. Awareness concerning social networks is important to the extent that people are uncertain
who is connected to whom. It is a means of developing contact and exchange of information. It provides us the
opportunity to interact with people outside of our regular social circle. It is vital also to entrepreneurs, professionals,
and job seekers.

Networks are analyzed in terms of density, hierarchy, multiplexity, interdependence and embeddedness (Kilduff and
Tsal, 2003, pp.3off).

Density- The density of a network is based on the number of connections between and among the actors. According to
Kilduf and Tsai, the higher the number, the denser the system.The density of a network depicts the potential
associations in a system that are genuine associations while a potential connection is an association that could possibly
exists between two “hubs” paying little respect to regardless of whether it really does.
Hierarchy- Actors in the network can pull their investments in social relations by establishing relations with a diverse set
of groups in the community (preferably groups that are not connected to each other), rather than establishing all of
their relationships with members of one group.
Complexity- Complexity is the extent to which a link between actors served a multiplicity of interests in the community.
The more complex relations have considered have higher tie strength. Complexity also represents the extent to which
two people are bound to each other in different social grounds.
Interdependence- The ties in the network can be useful in facilitating change and reform. The interdependence of social
ties in a community produces benefits for actors and members. Interdependence facilitates cooperation and creates
social capital necessary for the progress of the community. Social capital is the accumulated benefits as a result of the
maintenance of a positive relationship between different groups and associations in the community.
Embeddedness- The networks of relations within each person is rooted include family, friends, and acquaintances. To be
sure, business associations themselves are held together by formal relations of power as well as by casual connections
that interface individuals crosswise over departmental and progressive limits.

Strategic Analysis

 The process of conducting research on the business environment within which an organization operates and on
the organization itself, in order to formulate strategy.
 Why use it?
to take advantage of the path of least resistance to achieve your goal.
 When to use it?
when you are planning to make a change in your organization, and you need to determine the best path to take.

Tools of Strategic Analysis

 A number of tools are used in the process of strategic analysis, including PEST, SWOT analysis, and Michael
Porter's five forces model.
1. PEST Analysis
 PEST analysis stands for "Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis" and describes a framework of
macro-environmental factors used in the environmental scanning component of strategic management.
2. SWOT Analysis

 SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture
or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that
objective.
3. Porter Five Forces Analysis

4. Value Chain Analysis

 Value chain analysis is based on the principle that organizations exist to create value for their customers. In the
analysis, the organization's activities are divided into separate sets of activities that add value.
 The three steps for conducting a value chain analysis are:
1. Separate the organization's operations into primary and support activities
2. Allocate cost to each activity.
3. Identify the activities that are important to customer’s satisfaction and market success.

Intuitive Thinking

- Intuition is using information and making judgments based on skills, rules, and/or knowledge without
conscious awareness
- Scientific and popular literatures span bodily reactions, feelings, pattern matching, spiritual insight, and even
ESP
Some Situations Induce Intuition

 “Management is the art of making decisions with insufficient information”

 Hammond - more cues, more redundancy, unfamiliar, presented as a whole, pictorial, little time
 you are expected to decide bigger issues
 success comes from distinctiveness rather than accuracy, e.g., macroeconomic. forecasts

Why is intuition important in strategy?

Today, many companies have done much of the hard work of catching up on quality, cost, speed and flexibility.
That is, there is little to gain from further improvements in these areas.
 We need to explore and cultivate the potential of those activities that are time-bound to a lesser extent.
 The mind is the single most important asset in this respect.
Hamel & Prahalad
Begin With the End in Mind
 Find a quiet spot to reflect for awhile and clear your mind
 Imagine you are going to the funeral of a loved one. As you walk inside you see the flowers and hear the music.
Family and friends are there. As you walk down the aisle to look in the casket, you come face to face with
yourself.
 This is your funeral, three years from now.
 As you wait for services to begin, you look at the program. There are four speakers: one from your family, one
from your friends, one from your work or profession, and one from your church or community.
 What would you like each of these speakers to say about you and your life? Look at the people around you;
what difference would you like to have made?

What are the differences between patterns and trends?

The identification of patterns and trends are techniques used by analysts studying the supply and demand of an asset
traded on an open market. A trend is the general direction of a price over a period of time. A pattern is a set of data that
follows a recognizable form, which analysts then attempt to find in the current data.

The three basic types of trends are up, down and sideways. Trends may be discovered in the short, medium and the long
terms. Generally, investors take positions in assets that will be profitable as long as the current trend continues. Taking
positions that profit only if a trend reverses is riskier. Analysts use trendlines and channels, which are essentially
boundaries for price fluctuations, in an attempt to spot and define trends. Upward trends are characterized by an asset
price hitting a series of higher highs and lows, while downward trends are marked by lower highs and lows.

A pattern is a series of data that repeats in a recognizable way. It can be identified in the history of the asset being
evaluated or other assets with similar characteristics. Patterns often include the study of sale volume as well as price.
Patterns can occur within a downward or upward trend or as marking the beginning of a new trend. There are
bottoming, topping and continuation patterns. A "follow-through day" pattern is used by some analysts to identify
market bottoms. The "head-and-shoulders" topping pattern is popular among day and swing traders. Continuation
patterns include the "cup with handle," "flat base" and "three weeks tight."
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GLOBAL NETWORKS

“Globalization could be the answer to many of the world’s seemingly intractable problems. But this requires strong
democratic foundation based on political will to ensure equity and justice.” – Sharran Burrow

Clearly, one of the goals of globalization is for the world to become more interdependent. People and countries of the
world are closely woven together especially in the economic aspect. Globalization is the most powerful source for
change in the world today affecting all societies in the planet. It entails movement of capital, free flow of goods and
services, the increased mobility of individuals, and the expansion of multinational corporations and transnational
organizations.

Globalization and Migration

The issue of globalization is linked with migration and with movement of capital and commodities. Migration is said to
be as old as human civilizations, and there is clear proof that globalization is inextricably related to it. The growing
demand for laborers of the most capitalist countries precipitated the migration of many families from the unprivileged
communities.

According to estimates, more or less 20% of the labor force in the Philippines want to leave the country in search for a
job abroad. Some of them become victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking.
What is Migration?
National Geographic defines human migration as the movement of people from one territory to another for the purpose
of taking up either a permanent or temporary residence. People migrate for various reasons. The reasons may fall under
four categories: environmental, political, cultural, and economic.

Within these categories, National Geographic categorized them as “push” and “pull” factors of migration.
Push factors – are those that motivate people to move from one place to another because of difficulty, such as food
shortage, war, flood, etc.
Pull factors – are those that motivate people to move their place to another place simply because of some desirable
reasons such as nicer climate, better food supply, freedom and others.

Types of Migration
Internal Migration – this is defined as the process where migrants look for a new residence within their own country,
state, or continent.
External Migration – moving in a different country, state or continent to a new residence
Migration – leaving one country to move to another
Immigration – moving into a new country
Forced Migration – this happens when the state or authorities forced its people to migrate for a reason

Migration, Globalization and Climate Change

The first half-decade of the twenty-first century has been characterized by incidents of disaster that brought about
massive human suffering. Regardless of location, humanity is threatened by hazards of many types. The World’s Health
Organization’s Collaborating Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) shows that hazardous events
have been on the rise around the world, which include natural and technological hazards: drought, earthquakes,
epidemics, extreme temperature, famine, floods, insect manifestations, landslides, volcanic eruption, waves/surges,
wildfires, and windstorms.

Natural calamities like earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and floods have brought varying degrees of devastation around
the world. The global consciousness that climate change may represent one of the most significant threats of the near
future has stimulated humanity’s collective interest in disaster.

“Migration, forced or otherwise, will undoubtedly be one of the most significant consequences of environmental
degradation and climate change in decades to come.” – Achim Steiner
Ecological migrants are compelled to relinquish their belongings and escape for their lives in the fallout of typhoons,
tidal waves, tremors and other grave calamities. They are displaced people who are compelled to leave their homes.
They are the ‘new’ poor people and the most defenseless in the midst of calamities which are getting more violent
because of climate change.

250 million people are permanently displaced by climate change-related phenomena, such as floods, droughts, famines,
and hurricanes.

In the Asian regions, disasters emanating from natural and technological hazards have occurred with increasing
frequency, impacting greater number of people and financial losses. In the past ten years alone, Asia had been hit by
strong earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons that resulted to the loss of thousands of lives, and left ens of thousands
homeless and in anguish.
Global ecological and environmental movements have rightly observed that a new poor called climate refugees or
environmental refugees emerges out of this situation. They are the people who had been internally displaced, not
because of war, but by disasters
In 2005, Glen Albrecht created the term “solastalgia,” consolidating solacium (comfort), nostos (return home), and algos
(torment) – the misery, dejection, or tension brought about by modified situations. He believes that the level of pain an
individual or a group encounters is associated with the loss of an endemic feeling of place.

PLANETARY NETWORKS: CLIMATE CHANGE

Global Warming
"The ecological crisis is a moral issue…. Respect for Life and for the dignity of human person extends also to the rest of
creation… We cannot interfere in one area of the ecosystem without paying due attention both to the consequences of
such interference in other areas and to the well-being of future generations." – John Paul II 1990
One of the most important issues of our time is in relation to the environment. Humanity has disturbed the
fundamental beat of nature. Some of the problems that relate to environmental issues: air and water pollution, toxic
wastes, improper garbage disposal, destruction of wildlife habitats, deforestation and mining. These problems were
indeed devastating. The pollution of international waters, the irreversible destruction of the world’s forests and
increased toxic emissions in the air we breathe, among other things, leave us to ponder our relationship with the
environment.
"The most important about global warming is this: Whether humans are responsible for the bulk of climate change is
going to be left to the scientists, but it is all our responsibility to leave the planet in better shape for the future
generations that we found it." – Mike Huckabee

The fact remains that people’s lifestyles have largely contributed to some of the environmental problems that
confront the world today remains. One concrete effect of this lifestyle is global warming. The use of coal and oil in
generating electricity for industrial and residential settings is a big factor in increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere, which contributes to the warming of the planet.

Climate Change
One of the big questions in the climate change debate: Are humans any smarter than frogs in a pot? If you put a frog in a
pot and slowly turn up the heat, it won’t jump out. Instead, it will enjoy the nice warm both until it is cooked to death.
We humans seem to be doing pretty much the same thing. – Jeff Goodell

The United Nations Forum Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate change as “a change of climate
which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere.” The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted that over the past 200 years, the burning of fossil fuels and the
destruction of forests have caused the concentrations of heat-trapping of the greenhouse gases to increase significantly
in our atmosphere. With more of these gases in the atmosphere, more radiation is absorbed and radiated back to Earth
as heat. Thus, as the concentrations of these gases continue to increase in the atmosphere, the Earth’s temperature also
continues to increase.

Today, the impact of climate change is one of the most significant environmental challenges facing the global planet.
“Mitigating this impact requires profound changes in energy production and use, since emission of greenhouse gases
from combustion of fossil fuels is the dominant human contribution to climate change.” – Nick Hanley and Anthony
Owen on The Economics of Climate Change

It is clear that human activities are driving the current rate of climatic change. When people burn fossil fuels to heat
their homes or fuel their cars, and when land is converted from forests to the other uses, greenhouse gases are emitted
to the atmosphere.
As reported by experts, the effects of climate change will not be the same across sectors, the world, or even within
many countries. Some areas could have benefits while other could have damages. Some sectors may see ‘positive’
effects while other sectors may see ‘negative’ effects. Effects may also evolve as climate change continues, altering the
nature and distribution of these effects across sectors and regions.

Climate Change Solutions

The last two decades have witnessed expanding political and economic discussions over the ways of reducing
greenhouse gases or, at least, exploring ways of adapting to the predicted climatic changes. In order to avoid the most
serious impacts of climate change, humans will have to significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions
being put into the atmosphere. There are different approaches to make these decreases, including optimizing vehicles
proficiency, expanding access to and utilization of open travel, overhauling building protection, supplanting fossils with
renewable energy, and diminishing deforestation. Numerous legislatures, organizations, and people are starting to
execute some of these techniques and hence gradually decreasing emissions. The use of cleaner production
technologies and change of lifestyle are desired to impact a change in climate.

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Activity:
A. Group 1
1. Give examples of various activities in one’s daily life that show the concrete effects of globalization.
2. What are the effects of globalization? Explain
3. Show the interconnectedness of peoples and nations
4. What are the benefits of collaboration and cooperation?

B. Group 2
1. What are the the different contributions of the parts to a whole? What is the importance of parts to a whole?
2. Stress the important role of the creative imagination in putting together the various parts of a whole
3. Create a map to show the origins of the different component s of a gadget, business enterprise,
industrial/technological/agricultural product, etc. Write a reflection essay on the insights generated from the map.

C. Group3
1. List activities that exemplify care for the environment
2. What are the effects of consumption and production patterns that contribute to the problem of climate change?
3. Explain and illustrate personal contributions that can actually solve the problem of climate change.
4. Do you agree that the consequences of one’s action affect the lives of others and the environment? Explain

DEMOCRATIC INTERVENTIONS

"Democracy is one of the most important principles for

a better world. In its truest sense, a democracy is a
community in which all members have an equal say in
the running of that community. Unfortunately in reality,
democratic societies have fallen short of this ideal.
Nevertheless, because of its very nature, once a
democracy is established, its citizens can work together
to make their society more and more democratic, if
they choose to do so." – Robert Alan Silverstein

POLITICAL CORRUPTION
There is an increase disenchantment of the state of
society in our globalized world. In a study about
democratic participation in different countries in the
globe, 44 out of 47 countries that took part in the study
asserted that the conditions of a good society were not
met (Barry Knight: 2002, p. 107)

Undemocratic practices breed social ills that haunt societies in the planet. Dissatisfaction of citizens with their
governments include: a. failure to meet their basic needs that create profound insecurities; b. failure to protect them
from the sweeping winds of economic change where they lose their customs and traditions; and c. failure to involve its
citizens in its policies and programs.

Basic Needs
Failure to meet basic needs is a common complaint among many societies in the world today. There was a growing
gulf between rich and poor droving the former to extra-legal activities such as theft and prostitution.

Association
Undemocratic practices undermine the traditional bonds of family and kinship threatened by the pressures of work,
urbanization and migration. The distancing of government concerns from the lives of ordinary people weakened
customary forms of accountability and led to a highly corrupt, self-seeking, inefficient, and partisan state.

Participation
Citizens play their part by (1) engaging in collective action to perform voluntary work with others in order to tackle
problems and (2) participating in political processes to play an active role in relation to the state in order to ensure that
the state opened itself up to the influence of citizens.

Activity:
1. Explain and analyze the reason for your preferences.
2. Illustrate the benefits of democratic participation.

PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY

Democracy is a type of political system that requires a popular vote (representative election) to take place to elect the
leader of the country and other officials. Simply put, the leaders are chosen by the people.
Participatory democracy is a process of collective decision making that combines elements from both direct and
representative democracy: Citizens have the power to decide on policy proposals and politicians assume the role of
policy implementation.
Many of the most successful countries in the world, including the US, operate under a democratic form of government.
While democracy is noted as one of the most efficient government systems ever, it is, however, not without any
downsides. Let us take a look at its advantages and disadvantages.
 Advantages of Democracy
1. It protects the interest of citizens. As previously stated, the citizens in a democratic country are given the right to
vote on political, social and economical issues, particularly the representatives they want to be in charge of making
major decisions, such as the president. This can greatly protect the people from anything they would disagree to occur.
2. It prevents monopoly of authority. Due to the fact that the government is bound by an election term where parties
compete to regain authority, democracy prevents monopoly of the ruling authority. And, the elected ruling party would
make sure their policies will work for the people, as they will not be able to remain in power after their term with bad
records—they will not be re-elected.
3. It promotes equality. Generally, democracy is based on the rule of equality, which means that all people are equal as
far as the law is concerned. Every person has the right to experience and enjoy equal political, social and economic
rights, and the state is not allowed to discriminate him on the standard of sex, class, religion and property.
4. It makes for a responsible and stable administration. When there are elected and fixed representatives, a more
responsible government is formed. Thus, democracy can be efficient, firm and stable. Its administration is ruled and
conducted with a sense of dedication, and people under this system discuss matters and problems thoroughly to come
up with sensible decisions.
5. It brings a feeling of obligation towards the citizens. The ruling authorities owe their success to elections by the
citizens, so they would feel grateful to and socially responsible for them. This can serve as their motivating factor to
work for the citizens, for they have the right of choosing their government.
6. It imparts political education to the people. One argument in favor of democracy is that it can serve as a training
school for citizens—they are driven to take part in state affairs. During elections, political parties propose their programs
and policies in support of their candidates through public meetings, demonstrations, television, radio, posters and
speeches by their leaders to win public favor. All of these can impart political consciousness among the people.
7. It helps make good citizens. Democracy aims to create the ideal environment that is conducive to personality
improvement, character cultivation and good habits. As per the experts, this political system seems to function as the
first school for good citizenship, where individuals can learn about their rights and duties from birth to the time of
death.
8. It allows a little chance of revolution. Since this system is based upon public will, there will be little to no chance of
public revolt. Elected representatives conduct state affairs with public support, and if they do not work efficiently or do
not meet the public’s expectations, they will probably not do well during the next elections. Democracy or other popular
governments often function with consensus, thus the question of revolution would not arise.
9. It promotes change. This political system can promote changes in the government without having to resort to any
form of violence. It tries to make citizens feel great and even provides them with a good sense of participation and
involvement.

Disadvantages of Democracy
1. It might allow misuse of public funds and time. Democratic governments can lead to wasted time and resources,
considering that it takes a huge amount of time on formulating laws and requires a lot of money to be spent during
elections. It is also highly possible that the country will be ruled by incompetent and irresponsible leaders who will just
spend public funds for their own tours and recreation.
2. It instigates corruption. Those who are elected to power might resort to unethical means for personal interests and
engage in corrupt practices. During their tenure in office, they might take advantage of authority for personal gains,
putting the interests of the masses at the backseat.
3. It risks the wrong choice of public servants. Truth be told, not all individuals under a democratic government are
aware of the political and social circumstances in their country. In a voting system, majority wins, and there is no
distinction between the votes cast by the literate and the illiterate. People may favor a candidate based on other factors
other than pure and required capability. Taking these things into consideration, the elected official may not always be
the perfect person for the seat, leading to erroneous decisions.
4. It allows not exercising the right to vote. Sadly, in some democratic countries, people fail to exercise their right to
vote. Perhaps, they are reluctant to do it or are just less aware about the impact of their votes. Or, perhaps they do not
see it as a privilege and take the process less seriously.
5. It may put more emphasis on quantity, rather than quality. Another disadvantage of democracy is in terms of
providing services—it tends to put more emphasis on quantity, rather than quality. Also, considering that the system
might be governed by irresponsible and incompetent leaders, equality might be in question for only the rich and famous
might be prioritized more than the poor.
6. It can take long to make decisions. Because it takes long to make decisions, it will also take long to implement them.
Unlike in a monarchy where one person is making decisions that are implemented quickly, democracy requires majority
voting in implementation, thus it is relatively less prompt in taking actions.
7. It may involve immoral practices during elections. To lure the masses, election campaigns might involve immoral
practices, where candidates would use muscle power to draw the majority of votes, even trying to tarnish their
opponents’ reputation. Money and power may be abused to influence the people to disregard opposing parties.

Conclusion
It is important to take note that political systems have their own downsides, and people have different views about
them. But by weighing their advantages and disadvantages, which in this case is democracy, you can come up with a
well-informed understanding if it is best for the people or not.

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Activity:
1. Give 5-10 examples showing democratic participation.
2. Using graphic organizer, illustrate the benefits of democratic participation.
3. Explain the importance of participation in democracy.
 PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY VS REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

Demokratia—from the Greek word meaning rule of the people

Representative Democracy—this process involves an electorate selecting and voting on political candidates and/or
political parties, who in turn make policy. Citizens entrust their elected leaders to act in accordance to how they wish to
be represented. Candidates who behave irrationally or unethical will likely not return to office after losing favor with the
voting public. In practice, this system of governance is also referred to as a republic, which is what the United States is
classified as.

Representative democracy is the most prevalent system of government in the Western world. It varies from
constitutional monarchies (United Kingdom) to parliamentary republics (Canada or Germany) to constitutional republics
(United States). In each scenario, there are parallels. For example, most elected officials are constrained by a
constitution, which codifies a system of checks and balances to curtail any significant centralization of power. This is
usually supported by an independent judiciary (which determines what is and isn’t constitutional) and an elected
legislature (which drives policies and legislation). In most cases, the legislature is bicameral, meaning there are two
separate political institutions for legislation to pass through before becoming law.

Though representative democracy has been generally considered favorable in comparison to the oligarchies and
tyrannies of yesteryear, it still hasn’t necessarily promised the highest degree of freedom. Even political revolutions built
on the ideas of liberty produced checkered results when it came to full enfranchising its citizenry. Voting rights were
predominately in the hands privileged elites and did not include ethnic minorities and women until the past century. In
addition, many argue that representative democracy produces a class of professional politicians who are beholden to
the agendas of the economic elite who finance their campaigns. The sometimes unholy union between political power
and economic wealth reproduce the plutocratic or oligarchical tendencies of past failed governments.

This is where participatory democracy enters the picture. Many argue that if democracy is to be considered a fully
liberating ideology, then it should remove the “middle man.”

Participatory democracy—also known as direct democracy puts policy responsibilities directly in the hands of the
citizenry.

Mutualism and Cooperation—where participatory democracy is based on since it has the unique power to build
communities, turning all constituents into equal stakeholders.

Democracy is often criticized – and has been for centuries – for vesting too much power in the collective hands of
general public. Winston Churchill said, “The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the
average voter.” Early advocates for republicanism, who wished to invest more power in the individual, equated the
practice of democracy to the “tyranny of the majority” and “mob rule.” Critics joke that democracy is the equivalent of
two wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner. Regardless of the criticisms, the impact of democratic movements
across the world throughout history is uncanny. A large majority of the world – whether those living in a democratically
shaped country or those living under tyranny who yearn for democracy – strive for many of the principles (e.g., free
speech, practice of religion, etc.) that make democracy an exceptional political system.
http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/politics/difference-between-participatory-democracy-and-representative-democracy/

Activity:
1. Conceptualize /formulate what can be a viable alternative to undemocratic practices by:
a. Advertisement/campaign (groups 1 &2)
b. Graphic Organizer (group 3)
c. Role Play (group 4)
 INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)
The twenty-first century has been characterized as the information age.
No doubt, one of the greatest achievements of this age has something
to do with the technology, especially the increasing power of
communications. ICT is providing an extra-ordinary opportunity to hone
our critical thinking and problem-solving skills. communication skills,
creativity and innovation.

How has ICT positively affected the life of the members of the society or
the digital citizens? The following can serve as an example:

Education – Many educators are already using and infusing technology

as a teaching-learning pedagogy through the use of different platforms.
Business – Most entrepreneurs are making use of the internet and different social networking sites to promote their
businesses and products.

Government – In the Philippines, many transactions with government offices are now possible and available online.
Application for birth certificates, passport, NBI, and like is maximized by some Filipinos.

Computers, e-mail, internet, fax machines, mobile phones are only among the information communication tools that
can be considered an integral part of work activities in almost all companies or institutions in the Philippines and abroad.
The development and access of different technologies like wireless networking and mobile devices significantly
transformed user into content producers.

ICT and Global Networks

With ICT in our schools, learners are not only consumers but content creators as they write, edit, publish, participate, co-
create and collaborate with others through the use of technologies. ICT hastens global and democratic network across
the planet. The Internet is an apparatus for causal connection as well as open spaces where individuals can voice out
their issues. ICT can generate global social awareness through social network sites. Social networking sites also facilitate
the mobilization of grass root movements and advocates especially among the younger generation. ICT promotes social
development by sharing knowledge, fostering cultural activity, increasing democratic participation, and enhancing social
cohesion. Technological advances have improved life and brought the world’s people closer.

http://darrentnct.blogspot.com/2017/02/information-communication-technology-ict.html
Vocabulary:
grass root—the most basic level of an activity or organization.
"the whole campaign would be conducted at the grass roots"
synonyms: popular, of-the-people, bottom-up, nonhierarchical, rank-and-file
"a grassroots movement"
ordinary people regarded as the main body of an organization's membership.
"you have lost touch with the grass roots of the party"
Activity:
1. Give 5 benefits of technology in business, education, and government. (Group 1&2)
2. Compare 5 situations in the past and present in business, education, and government where ICT plays an important
role. (Group 3&4)
THREE DIMENSIONS OF INFORMATION SYSTEM

An information system represents a combination of management, organization, and technology element. To fully
understand information systems, a manager must understand the broader organization, management, and information
technology dimensions of systems and their power to provide solutions to challenges and problems in the business
environment.
Hence it incorporates an understanding of the management and organizational dimensions of systems as well as the
technical dimensions of systems as information systems literacy. Information systems literacy includes a behavioral as
well as a technical approach to studying information systems. Computer literacy, in contrast, focuses primarily on
knowledge of information technology. These dimensions can be explained as follows

Organizational Dimension

Information systems are part of organizations. Information systems will have the standard operating procedure and the
culture of an organization imbedded within them. The organization dimension of information systems involves the
organization’s hierarchy, functional specialties, business processes, culture, and political interest groups. In reality today
information systems affect a much larger part of the organization itself, such as organizational products, objectives, and
structure. Powerful computers, software, and networks, including the Internet, have helped organizations become more
flexible, More and more business activities at all levels involve the use of information systems.
There is a growing interdependence between the organization and its information systems. An organization’s present
and future accomplishments depend in many respects on what its systems will permit it to do now and later, thus a
change in the business's strategy, rules, or procedures requires changes in the information systems software, hardware,
databases, and telecommunications.

Management Dimension of Information System

Managers perceive business challenges in the environment, they set the organizational strategy for responding and
allocate the human and financial resources to achieve the strategy and coordinate the work. The management
dimension of information systems involves leadership, strategy, and management behavior. Information systems supply
tools and information needed by managers to allocate, coordinate and monitor their work, make decisions, create new
products, and services and make long-range strategic decisions. Information system helps to make teamwork and
collaborative work environments. Information systems help to drive both daily operations and managerial strategies.
Information systems can help management to obtain periodic reports, These reports can be obtained from different
systems such as sales./marketing systems, Human resource systems, accounting systems. The systems assist managers
in making decision making such as by having What-if" questions on decision support systems.
Also helps senior management to tackle and address strategic issues and long-term trends both in the firm and in the
external environment. Their principle concern is matching changes in the external environment with existing
organizational capability

Technology Dimension

The technology dimensions consist of computer hardware, software, data management technology, and
networking/telecommunications technology (including the Internet).Management uses technology (hardware, software,
storage, and telecommunications) to carry out their functions. It is one of the many tools managers use to cope with
change. Computer hardware is the physical equipment used for input, processing, and output activities in an information
system. It consists of the following: the computer processing unit; various s input, output, and storage devices; and
physical media to link these devices together. Computer software consists of the detailed preprogrammed instructions
that control and coordinate the computer hardware components in an information system. Storage technology includes
both the physical media for storing data, such as magnetic or optical disk or tape, and the software governing the
organization of data on these physical media. Communications technology, consisting of both physical devices and
software, links the various pieces of hardware and transfers data from one physical location to another. Computers and
communications equipment can be connected in networks for sharing voice, data, images, sound, or even video. All of
these technologies represent resources that can be shared throughout the organization and constitute the firm's
information technology (IT) infrastructure re. The IT infrastructure provides the foundation or platform on which the
firm can build its specific information systems. Each organization must carefully design and manage its information
technology infrastructure so that it has the set of technology services it needs for the work it wants to accomplish with
information systems.

REFERENCES
Laudon, K. & Laudon, J. (2006); Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, 9th edition. Prentice Hal
http://www.aiu.edu/publications/student/english/Management%20Information%20Systems.htm (Accessed 24th march
2015)

Activity:
1. Identify dimensions of technology that are enabling and not inhibiting.
2. Give 3 ways to utilize technology effectively rather than be enslaved by it.
3. Give 3 examples of each dimension.
4. Based from the 3 dimensions, identify weakest link in a system using strategic and intuitive thinking by means of
graphic organizer.
 HOW POLITICAL AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS FORM ON THE INTERNET AND HOW THEY CHANGE OVER TIME

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are facilitating collective action in ways never thought possible.
Although the broader political climate may have a powerful influence on the success or failure of emerging social
movement organizations (SMOs), the Internet is enabling groups previously incapable of political action to find their
voices. Whether this shift is offering greater relative benefit to previously underrepresented or incumbent political
fixtures is subject to debate, but it is clear that like-minded people are now able to better locate and converse with each
other via many Internet media. As a result, the distance between talk and organized action has grown smaller.

The Internet is a locus for all types of groups to communicate, collaborate, and cooperate. This technology is, in
principle, value neutral: it can be a channel for both positive and negative connections. In other words, cyberspace is a
place for people with a wide range of interests including radical groups interested in fomenting social and political
discontent. Yet, the methods each group uses to mobilize could be similar. What follows is a summary of the literature
on the role of the Internet in social and political mobilization, with the goal of examining concepts, theories, and findings
that may be relevant to understanding the potential role of the Internet in radicalization.

ICTs Alter the Collective Action Environment

Scholars have always analyzed channels of communication to understand how people mobilize for collective action. The
channels themselves, the content of the messages, the actors who are sending and receiving the messages, and the
feedback to those messages all play a part in understanding how and why people organize themselves.

It is clear that the Internet enables new grassroots movements to spring up quickly and operate for a time, but many
doubt whether such Internet-based efforts can persist. Bimber (2001) suggests that perhaps this may become the model
for new SMOs: transient, decentralized groups will spring up and remain active through a single political effort, content
to fade away afterward with the knowledge that should the need arise, a similar group can quickly be built up again
(Garrett, 2006, p. 211).

The following sections look at cyberspace from a variety of perspectives based on the collective action literature: first,
the Internet as a space in which people meet; second, the types of organizations that go to the Internet and how they
communicate internally; third, how these groups use technology to communicate externally; and fourth, how social
networking sites are affecting Internet-based mobilization. We conclude with some thoughts on the future of online
mobilization.

Activists Meet, Connect Online

Despite its size, the passive nature of the Internet means that users discover only what they seek, and people normally
find information that merely reinforces their interests or beliefs. However, this structure likely streamlines the process
of political mobilization because likeminded people can connect more easily (Rogerson, 2009).

For example, petitions, a common action for the nascent social movement, are quite easy to conduct online, especially
compared with the time a similar effort takes offline. Free petition setup/hosting services, such as PetitionOnline
(http://www.petitiononline.com/), further simplify the process, enabling even basic computer users to access this
technology. And Internet users have taken notice: in its first 8 years of operation, the PetitionOnline service hosted tens
of thousands of petitions and collected more than 47 million signatures (Earl, 2007). This type of activity can begin to
rally supporters and be the first step in creating a new online network. As an example, MoveOn.org, a progressive public
policy advocacy group with more than 4 million members, began as an online petition in 1998 (Earl & Schussman, 2008).

Decentralized, Horizontal SMOs Coalesce Online

“E-movements” are social movements that emerge entirely online; these are to be distinguished from traditional SMOs
that have augmented their normal activities with an online presence. Traditionally, SMOs have been organized into a
centralized, vertically hierarchical command structure. E-movements, however, have the freedom to operate in a
different fashion.

The same enhanced ICT capabilities that allowed an alternate leadership profile also ease some of the organizational
restrictions that have shaped traditional SMOs. Online movements can now operate successfully without the
hierarchical, centralized command structures of the past, and leaders can even act with more freedom within the
movement. As demonstrated by the Strategic Voting Movement, e-movements are less fettered by standard social
movement constraints. For example, in a traditional group, movement leaders might face pressure from members for
different leadership styles. In contrast, in an e-movement many different entrepreneurs can approach the primary
objective with their preferred styles and methods, providing a multitude of pathways for interested individuals to
participate and achieve the broad goals of the movement (Schussman & Earl, 2004). In addition, a “leader” may just be
the member who proposed the best course of action.
Today, there are rapidly assembled self-organizing online groups of protesters, “meet ups,” and viral e-mail lists that
quickly and organically coordinate horizontally, without central leadership (Bimber, Flanagin, & Stohl, 2005). Because
their members communicate, coordinate, and conduct their plans together without a rigid chain of command, online
SMOs are more heavily interconnected in a nebulous structure not dissimilar to that of modern terrorist cells (Weimann,
2006a). These decentralized SMOs are more robust, adaptable, and maneuverable in their respective conflicts because
actions are linked by a common political agenda rather than a central leadership (Garrett, 2006, p. 211).

SMOs Use the Internet to Access and Bypass Mainstream Media

The Internet has dramatically streamlined internal communications, but successful SMOs must communicate externally
as well. A political movement may control only a small portion of what adherents and especially the general public see,
hear, and read about the movement (Gamson, 1988). The Internet enables efficient, low-cost, direct communication
from the group and is a medium to potentially influence broader media coverage. SMOs seek media coverage to amplify
their concerns and frame pertinent issues for the public (Hasse-Reed, Kushin, & Koeppel, 2007). Most social movements,
regardless of their size, believe that they cannot succeed without media coverage (Haase-Reed, Kushin, & Koeppel,
2007).

Social Networking Sites Facilitate Faster, Real-time Protest

Social networking sites (SNS) like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have altered communication via the Internet into
something much more real time with greater possibility for visual connection. This has provided SMOs with more tools.
Powerful examples can be found surrounding Iran’s election in June 2009. The government not only brutally limited
press operations in Tehran, it also blocked access to pro-opposition Web sites and SNS. Iranians took to the streets of
Tehran in the following weeks, but demonstrations also took place in Washington, London, and Toronto while tens of
thousands of additional protesters added their virtual voices on social-networking sites (CNN, 2009). Iranians abroad
also staged protests in numerous European capitals (Albawaba, 2009). The mainstream media reported what they could,
but with government censorship in place and restrictions on journalist travel, technologically connected individuals were
the ones reporting events and indeed were the subjects of most mainstream media coverage; the government could
restrict conventional media outlets, but Internet activism incited rapid protests around the world.

Virtually overnight, Twitter became an accidental but valuable agent of digital protest. Iranian government agents did
what they could, even posting false information that opposition candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi had conceded the
election and called off the protests with a phone number for a “safe house.” It was quickly discovered that this was a
government agent, attempting unsuccessfully to lure protesters into custody. But the international Twitter community
formed an e-movement that rallied around Iranian users; by changing their personal information and time-zone settings
to make it appear they lived in Iran, users in other countries foiled Iranian attempts to track bloggers by time-zone
searches. This movement spawned organically with no centralized leadership, simply spreading by word of mouth and
morphing to respond to developments as they arose (Gross, 2009).

https://sites.duke.edu/ihss/files/2011/12/IRW-Literature-Reviews-Political-and-Social-Movements.pdf

Activity:
1. Provide issues in Philippine setting in ICTs Alter the Collective Action Environment, Activists Meet, Connect Online,
Decentralized, Horizontal SMOs Coalesce Online, SMOs Use the Internet to Access and Bypass Mainstream Media,
and Social Networking Sites Facilitate Faster, Real-time Protest
2. Explain how information communication technology can facilitate social relationships and political movements.
Relate this to Philippine setting. Use graphic organizer to better explain your answer.
3. Make or propose a creative intervention to improve human life.
 NEURAL AND SOCIAL NETWORKS

Neural networks (also referred to

as connectionist systems) are a computational
approach, which is based on a large collection of
neural units (AKA artificial neurons), loosely
modeling the way a biological brain solves problems
with large clusters of biological neurons connected
by axons. Each neural unit is connected with many
others, and links can be enforcing or inhibitory in
their effect on the activation state of connected
neural units. Each individual neural unit may have a
summation function which combines the values of
all its inputs together. There may be a threshold function or limiting function on each connection and on the unit itself:
such that the signal must surpass the limit before propagating to other neurons. These systems are self-learning and
trained, rather than explicitly programmed, and excel in areas where the solution or feature detection is difficult to
express in a traditional computer program.

Neural networks typically consist of multiple layers or a cube design, and the signal path traverses from front to back.
Back propagation is where the forward stimulation is used to reset weights on the "front" neural units and this is
sometimes done in combination with training where the correct result is known. More modern networks are a bit more
free flowing in terms of stimulation and inhibition with connections interacting in a much more chaotic and complex
fashion. Dynamic neural networks are the most advanced- in that they dynamically can, based on rules, form new
connections and even new neural units while disabling others.
The goal of the neural network is to solve problems in the same way that the human brain would, although several
neural networks are more abstract. Modern neural network projects typically work with a few thousand to a few million
neural units and millions of connections, which is still several orders of magnitude less complex than the human brain
and closer to the computing power of a worm.

SOCIAL NETWORKS

A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors

(such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and
other social interactions between actors. The social network
perspective provides a set of methods for analyzing the structure of
whole social entities as well as a variety of theories explaining the
patterns observed in these structures. The study of these structures
uses social network analysis to identify local and global patterns,
locate influential entities, and examine network dynamics.

Social networks and the analysis of them is an

inherently interdisciplinary academic field which emerged from social
psychology, sociology, statistics, and graph theory.

Georg Simmel authored early structural theories in sociology emphasizing the dynamics of triads and "web of group
affiliations". Jacob Moreno is credited with developing the first sociograms in the 1930s to study interpersonal
relationships. These approaches were mathematically formalized in the 1950s and theories and methods of social
networks became pervasive in the social and behavioral sciences by the 1980s. Social network analysis is now one
of the major paradigms in contemporary sociology, and is also employed in a number of other social and formal
sciences. Together with other complex networks, it forms part of the nascent field of network science.

http://darrentnct.blogspot.com/2017/02/neural-and-social-networks.html

Activity:
1. Illustrate how the brain or neural network works. Use graphic organizer.
2. Compare the neural networks with social networks. Give 3 situations.
3. Demonstrate how thinking processes are shaped by social relationships.

IDENTIFY AND USE NETWORKS AND RELATIONSHIPS

A network includes a group of people who cooperate with each other. This
implies people working closely together and with some crossover or connection
in their purpose.
Consider whether the following constitute a network:
 work team
 regional meeting of staff in the same profession
 union meeting at workplace
 two staff members organizing a colleague’s farewell

The Importance of Networking

Networking is about recognizing and taking advantage of valuable relationships to get things done and to achieve a goal.
It also involves working closely with other workers to be aware of potential and future needs or problems and devising
strategies to address them.

Networking is also related to participation. Through the process of participation in issues in the workplace (people in the
workplace joining together to discuss concerns and have a say in developing solutions), relationships and networks are
established between people and workers in the organization (or even in the community if your organization provides
services to the community). Networks potentially build a sense of common destiny and support. Thus, they help to
empower individuals and strengthen the work team and the organization itself.

Workers network to:

 achieve outcomes
 establish credibility with relevant service providers
 advocate about issues
 maintain contact with other professionals
 debrief about issues
 have access to information about what other organizations are doing, especially those providing similar services
 provide information about your own service and organization
 work collaboratively to better meet the needs of clients
 establish new contacts who you may work with in the future
 learn about the role, services and resources of other organizations
 support joint programs or activities
 provide information for policy development.

Identifying Work-Related Networks

Networking can occur on a formal or informal basis.

Formal networks

Formal networks involve structured meetings or processes. Think of some of the formal networks you will encounter in
your work. An example of a formal network is your work team. For example:
If you work in the sterilization unit, your work team would be responsible for ensuring that the surgical instruments that
come out of an operating theatre are logged, washed, disinfected, sterilized, packaged, logged again and stored.
Your network, in this work situation, would include your supervisor (or team leader) and your colleagues.
Here is another example of a formal network:
A small hospital has been having temporary problems implementing best practice standards in cleaning, disinfection and
sterilization—due to a break-down in equipment.
The head of the sterilizing services unit attend a meeting with the manager of a larger unit in a regional hospital to
discuss out-sourcing of work (to the larger unit).

Informal networks

These networks may be internal or external networks. They are the relationships you develop and build up over time
with and colleagues. These networks carry lots of information in the form of facts, gossip and rumor about issues
affecting your work—such as government policy initiatives, local developments or changes in services.

Skills and attitudes for participating in networks

Professionalism

When you are participating in a network, whether it is formal or informal, external or internal, you need to be mindful
that you are a professional worker representing your organization. You are ‘the face’ of the organization and your
conduct, the impression you make, the information you provide and the message you communicate needs to be clear
and appropriate.
Skills to network effectively — problem solving
Have a look at the scenario below.
Suppose you work for in the sterilization services unit of a hospital. There have been major concerns about the standards of
practice and quality control in sterilization services at a national level. Failure to implement best practice standards and
quality control has serious implications for transmission of infections to patients and there is also the risk to the community
in general. There has been a number of media reports of patients infected while in a number of hospitals in the nation.
Management is concerned about poor workflow and inadequately-trained sterilization services staff and has decided to set up
committees to find solutions to these problems. You are part of a small committee comprising sterilization technology
workers and your team’s task is to suggest ways to solve the workflow problem among sterilization services technology
workers.

How do you go about solving the problem?

Identify the problem

First find out what precisely is the problem. For instance, could it be that staff are not familiar with work practices? Or
do staff know what to do but have been taking ‘short-cuts’ as they under a lot of pressure to complete daily work
targets? Do individual staff feel overworked? Do they feel unsupported?

Problem solving skills are essential to the networking process, as we need to be able to accurately identify problems
so that we can assist our colleagues or work team. If you are going to suggest that certain training (or services) may
help your work team, for instance, you need to be sure about what the problem or issue is in the first place. The
following steps outline a problem solving process to follow.

Collect data

To accurately identify and define the problem, we need to collect data (or information) about the problem. This will
primarily be collected by talking to your colleagues about their situation and gaining an understanding of their
perception of their problem (or problems). Good interpersonal communication skills are integral to this process too.
You would want your colleagues to be as objective as possible about their perception of the problem. This can be quite
challenging if you do not know your colleagues well, you do not have a trusting relationship with them.

Basic information will need to be collected, such as the person’s name (if they feel comfortable telling you that) and
where they live. How much information you collect depends on the complexity of the problem and the person’s
willingness to share information with you. You should only collect information that is relevant to the issue, otherwise
you may appear to be ‘stickybeaking’ (Definition: pry into other people's affairs. Example: "I don't mean to stickybeak,
but when is he going to leave?".)

Note: We always need to respect when people are unwilling to share information with us. You need to make clear the
purpose of collecting the information, how the information will be used and how confidentiality will be maintained.

Assess the data for relevance or importance

Depending on the complexity of the situation, there may be many issues that are of concern to the colleagues you talk
to. However, you need to help them decide on their most important priority. You need to have a starting point.
It may help to ask questions such as:
 What are your main concerns right now?
 What kind of help do you need right now to help you complete your work tasks?
You also need to identify the people involved and their needs and concerns.

Identify and assess potential solutions

One you have gathered relevant information and analyzed the needs and concerns of the people involved, the next
step is working out the possible solutions and which solution is the most appropriate one.

This step will utilize your knowledge of what services are available in the community and also requires research skills.
Further on in this topic, you will learn about different ways to find out what is available.

Identify additional information required

You may find in the course of the discussion with your colleagues that additional information is required in order to
determine the best possible solutions.

Sharing the information

The final step is to decide how to present your work team’s suggestions for solutions to management.

Gathering information
Suppose you had to gather data about the Australian standards that your unit has to comply with.
We have acknowledged that gathering information is an essential aspect of networking. There are different ways to
gather information which we are going to explore. These include:
 using the telephone book
 using the telephone
 approaching people personally
 writing letters
 accessing the Internet
 using a library
 asking friends and colleagues
 using a resource folder or contacts list.

Writing letters
Suppose you are writing to inform small hospitals and clinics about what your service has to offer. You will need to be
professional and impressive so you get lots of responses.

Letter writing is also an important networking skill. Sometimes a letter is the first communication or contact point in a
relationship with your colleagues, so you need to give the right impression. You may use letters to gain access for
your client to important services that they require or are entitled to.

One of the difficult tasks that faces most workers when they sit down to write a letter is that they have to decide what
information to include and what to leave out. Often clients will tell you a whole lot of details about their lives, feelings,
impressions and thoughts. The best way to decide what to include in a letter is to think about the purpose of the letter
(what you want to achieve) and only include information that is relevant to that purpose.

Recognize the Value of Networks and Other Work Relationships in

Providing Benefits for the Team and the Organization

The workplace is a ‘social system’. It is a myriad of networks and

relationships (system) between people (social). As in any other system,
there are dependent and interdependent relationships.

If the workplace is a ‘social’ system, then relationships at work seem to

be a very natural outcome from the ‘intent’ of this social system. Look
for a moment at the aspect of support coming from relationships at
work; support in the form of resources including other people’s
experiences, allies for your point of view, loyalty and standing up for
others during conflict.

Working Together
Emerging from team or group work is an inclination for individuals to collaborate, rather than work alone. Collaboration
is a term you may have heard of before. Put simply, collaboration is working with other individuals or groups to achieve
an outcome. Organizations in Australia seem to be more inclined in the modern era to encourage collaborative
relationships through team structures than ever before.
When people work effectively with each other they are more motivated in their roles and are more likely to work
collaboratively with others. An off-shoot to the activity of collaboration is relationship building or networking. Many
organizations actively encourage positive relationship building within teams and across the organization (eg through
sports clubs, morning teas).

Activity:

1. Suppose you work in an office, and you want to request for a sick leave. What are the main protocol (a set of rules
and procedures) you think you would need to adhere to? –refer to The Importance of Networking
2. Now list what you think are some of the specific skills you need to network effectively.—refer to Work-Related
Networks (kills Illustration)
3. Identify the networks you are familiar with in your workplace or school. Provide examples and explain whether they
benefit the team and organization.—refer to

https://sielearning.tafensw.edu.au/MCS/9362/Sterilisation%20disk%203/lo/7377/7377_00.htm#ID0EHBAC