Is Your Politeness "Automatic?"

Anyone can be polite and nice when things are all going great. They real trick is being polite no matter what, and the only way to do that is to make politeness an "automatic response."

This past weekend I was visiting a friend who lives in an apartment building. I get on the elevator and push the button for my floor. Just as the doors begin to close, I hear a rather sharp, semi-high pitched voice call out, "hold the elevator!"

Note: What did I not hear? "Hold the elevator, please." Or, "Could you please hold the elevator." Heck, I would have taken, "Hold the please elevator." Sure, it makes no grammatical sense, but at least it would have been an attempt at politeness.

I of course reach down and push the "open" button which, unsurprisingly, makes the doors open. A young woman walks on the elevator, avoids any and all eye contact, turns to face front, and pushes the button for her floor.

Note: What did she not do? Offer even the hint of a "thank you." She didn't say it.

She didn't mumble it. She didn't even give me that half-hearted semi-nod and smile we all know to mean, "thanks." Nope. Nothing.

What.

The.

Heck.

No "please." No "thank you." What is this world coming to?

Perhaps she was preoccupied. Perhaps she was having a bad day. Perhaps she avoids talking to all men on elevators because she is afraid they will all start hitting on her (though the story in my head goes that she was so overwhelmed with my awesome attractiveness that she was too flustered to talk. Yeah, that's what it was). Or perhaps she just is not a person who says "thank you" automatically when someone does something nice for her.

Sadly, I think a lot of people fall into this final category.

They just don't have basic polite responses wired into them so they often forget the little things.

In this example there was no real consequence to her not having basic politeness. But how about in business? How about in your business or company?

Do you and your people automatically maintain great levels of politeness and courtesy? Before you answer with a super quick, "of course!" take a second and think about it. Then pay attention for a day or two to the people you interact with at various places of business. While there are plenty of people who are courteous, polite, and helpful, you are sure to see examples of people being rude, impolite, and thoughtless.

Maybe those people were having a bad day or were preoccupied. But can your organization afford to deal with the consequences of your people having an "off day?"

The Lesson:
Make the polite response "automatic" (i.e. not something people think about doing and not something they remember from a script). Then even when a person has a bad day they will still deliver a great experience.

And the next time you ask someone to hold the elevator for you, say "thank, you." 'Cause the next time someone asks me to hold the elevator for them and doesn't, I'm shovin' them off before the doors close!

Political Term Papers Topics

Political tem papers are on of those papers that get the highest attention of the masses. For the reason that in order to write political term papers, one needs a lot of information and knowledge about the political issues and the current problems that are faced in the state or the world politically, political term papers writers are looked upon as much esteemed individuals. For this reason, you should make a decision to write your term papers on the political issues. One of the most complex hurdles in the world of political term papers writing is their term paper’s titles and you should select such topics for your term papers that would give you the result you want. Here are some fantabulous political term paper topics for you to choose from.

* Analyze what the federalism actually means and also define the reasons that can be there to be adopted as the core structure of a state.

Tell what issues the federalism solves and what issues the federalism itself pose to a political structure. You should add practical examples in your federalism term papers following with proper in text citations of the sources used.

* Democracy is a wide-ranging concept for a governing course but can have different demonstrations. Scrutinize the different forms democracy makes. Is there a center to its main concept? To what degree is the democratic precept inherently limited by the practical realities of any political arrangement?

* Write a comparing and contrasting term paper in a way that it discusses the main ideologies which are; socialism, liberalism, conservatism and other. Also tell if these have changed from their origins to the contemporary or not. To what level has this ideology transmuted itself?

* Discourse what the word `ideology' in the political system that differentiates the uses and abuses to which it may be put in a form of government.

To what degree can ideology serve as a blueprint for governmental actions and to what level does a ruler's ideology practically function as a public reasoning for conclusions reached for other, less-noble causes?

* Why are ‘interest groups’ existent and what are their core functioning? Also analyze and explain the positive and negatives of their operation processes. Deeply describe how the interest groups compliment and undermine the institutional channels and political parties for the political decisions-making.

* Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing a proportional representation electoral system by discoursing the basics of electoral system and how it should be designed to achieve success. You should utilize the examples so you can back up all of your claims that you used through out your term papers. In the conclusion part, tell your audiences why a state should utilize one electoral system by giving it preference on another.

* Write your term papers about what are the different roles of violence in the political structure. Tell about both the maintaining of a particular political order and in the upbringing of the political change. Furthermore tell when the violence can take place and how it can be stopped.

I am sure these political term paper topics will help you out in writing your term papers.

Office 2007 Politics Gates

Even if you missed Bill Gates on the Daily Show Monday night, you probably know what he speaks. Today is the launch of Windows Vista, so Gates and Jon Stewart spent half the time talking about the new Microsoft operating system and half in jest about the password of Gates and interactive television. Not once mention the other Microsoft products that are debuting today, Office 2007. It is no accident. Why Gates is not campaigning for you to buy Office again? Because he did not have to.

The real test is the price. You can update your Windows XP PC to Vista for as little as $ 100. The Cheap Microsoft Office 2007 costs $ 150. It has Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Do you want Outlook? That will be another hundred dollars for an update package.

(You can upgrade to Vista and Office 2007 separately, or products the other is required.)

After playing with Vista and Office in recent weeks, which can condense my thoughts into one sentence. Upgrading to Vista is mostly painless but not necessary, upgrading to Office 2007 is painful but inevitable. Vista out of their way to smooth the transition from Windows XP. As I wrote earlier this month, Vista installer let me know that applications do not run and what gadgets not yet supported. If I wait a couple of weeks for new device drivers, I’ll have no conflict at all. Office 2007, however, seems out of their way to make the transition as difficult as possible. By default, the files in Word, Excel and PowerPoint to create is not open for people who have earlier versions of the software. Sure, you can save in “Office 97 to Office 2003″ format, but will lose some of its format.

Microsoft offers a conversion program for people with the old Office. And only works in Office 2007 Ultimate, however, not work at all on Macs. (Apple users will not receive an updated Office Compatibility for another year or so.) My office has two computers, a Mac with Office 2004 and a PC with Office 97. I’ve never needed upgrade for the job. Unless you buy the new office, I’ll be out of luck when it comes to the files of the editors and publishers who do not save in the old format.

Upgrading software is always risky. My fingers and toes twitch from the time I click OK until I’ve convinced myself everything’s working. Will it break my computer? Will it work right? I winced and held my breath throughout the Vista installation, then forgot the pain and anxiety quickly when I saw Vista worked mostly like a tidied-up version of XP.For more information,visit http://topsoftsell.com.

Political Correctness

Those people who are demanding that Victory Day should be abolished in Rodhe Island miss the point of the holiday. Political correctness and a desire to not offend anyone take away from the sacrifices of a generation of Americans who fought and sacrificed their lives for the survival of this nation.

 

As Rhode Island communities prepared to celebrate Victory Day on August 14 in recognition of the allied triumph over the Japanese Empire during World War II, "concerned" citizens opposed to the holiday began lobbing criticisms at event organizers around the state. Rhode Island, which is the only state that still celebrates Victory Day, or V-J Day as it is sometimes called, suddenly found itself at the center of the politically incorrect universe.

 

Critics of the holiday charge that it is discriminatory and want to remove all references to Japan and the Japanese people.

The Associated Press quoted former Rhode Island State Representative George Lima as saying, "This is a stigma against the Japanese whom we do business with and are allies." Mr. Lima, who was responsible for a failed attempt to get rid of the holiday while serving in the state legislature during the 1980s, is a perfect example of the many out-of-touch-with-reality individuals who are so concerned they might offend someone else that they often miss the real motivation behind whatever it is they are opposing.

 

Responding to critics clamoring for political correctness and sensitivity, Rhode Island lawmakers made several attempts to either get rid of the holiday or, in the absence of its elimination, at least change its name.

Each time the tremendous opposition of the state's citizens caused them to abandon their efforts. Three separate legislative bills introduced during the 1990s by State Senator Rhoda Perry attempted to change the title of the holiday to Rhode Island Veterans Day. "It was absolutely a no-winner," Perry was quoted as saying. "I did not have support, period."

 

In the true spirit of political correctness, though, the Rhode Island General Assembly did pass a resolution designed to ease some of the concerns of those critical of the holiday. The resolution, which was approved in 1990, declared that Victory Day was not a celebration of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or of the death and destruction caused by President Truman's decision to use nuclear weapons. Bowing to the demands of the touchy-feely, can't-we-all-get-along crowd, the members of the General Assembly managed to change the focus of the debate on the holiday.

 

Proponents of the celebrations argue that Victory Day is necessary so that Rhode Islanders, and all Americans, can remember the sacrifices made during the Second World War. Not surprisingly, veterans groups are among the most ardent supporters of the holiday. They, unlike the main stream politically correct crowd, understand why Rhode Islanders are steadfast in their commitment to celebrate V-J Day.

 

Critics like George Lima and Rhoda Perry, who want to abolish the holiday or even change its name, have lost focus on why the holiday even exists. Here's a reminder. In a surprise attack on December 7, 1941, over 300 airplanes from the Japanese Navy bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, resulting in over 3,500 dead and wounded sailors, soldiers, and marines and over 100 dead and wounded civilians.

 

That attack propelled the United States into a brutal war against Japan in the Pacific, a war in which our military was forced to conduct an island-hopping campaign against entrenched Japanese soldiers determined to fight to the death. Fighting in the Pacific theater resulted in some of the bloodiest battles of a war that cost us over 300,000 killed and almost 700,000 more wounded.

 

The celebration of Victory Day in Rhode Island is not about the Japanese people. It is about the generation of Americans who sacrificed so much in a terrible global war that threatened the very existence of our country. It is about honoring them for what they did, and not about offending our Japanese business partners and allies.

 

In a country where handicapped is often replaced with handi-capable, and where Happy Holidays gets substituted for Merry Christmas, it is imperative that we not let the idea of being politically correct cause us to lose focus on what is important to us as Americans. For now, at least, the people of Rhode Island are standing their ground and serving as a shining example of political incorrectness to the rest of the nation.

 

Greg Reeson is a frequent contributor to The Land of the Free and Associated Content. His columns have appeared in several online and print publications, including The New Media Journal, The Veteran's Voice, The American Daily, GOPUSA and Opinion Editorials.com.