Compromising Values or Reasonableness in Outcomes

Conflict inevitability brings about two sides of a perspective that must be fused together in a way that leaves a lasting solution. This doesn't always happen as two sides seek to dominate each other. While they seek a superior position they bring forward their arguments and counter the other side's arguments in a pathological manner.  Eventually they must choose between compromising their values or seeking a reasonable outcome.

Compromising values means giving up what you believe in by believing in a lower standard. One must grudgingly accept that their values should be watered down and have less of an important position in their life. Reasonableness of outcome means that you are accepting that based on the current situation and understandings that there must be a compromise of some type to make important gains.

Compromise doesn't mean watering down of ideals. The values stay in tact while the outcome is negotiable. Holding closely to your values is a process that can go on for a long time with multiple situations and outcomes. In negotiations it is an eventual goal, not the actual outcome, that maintains its integrity.

With that being said, there are times when values should hold fast and not be compromised during the negotiation process. This occurs when the opposing party makes a gross violation of ethics and values and doesn't want to reach for a higher standard. Holding onto ones values becomes an issue of principle more than an issue of practicality. However, there are those who set the standard for the rest of us.

The Upper Body Workout of Kayaking

Kayaking gets you out enjoying the water and helps you increase upper body strength. If you are an outdoor enthusiast and like to stay in shape kayaking is one activity that crosses over a different personal and fitness bounds. It won'd seem like your working out at all.

In places like San Diego you can rent a kayak for cheap or buy one for a few hundred dollars. If you search online there are often used ones for sale.

A couple of times a week and your upper body will start to change. Your arms, chest and shoulders are used for paddling while the stomach and back core are used for stabilization. It provides a solid work for the triceps and biceps. Your hands and forearms will also be involved in the process providing for a unique exercise.

Sports like kayaking are also useful in the sense that you can kayak to destinations of interest. For example, I have kayaked across Mission Bay to Mission Beach to frequent the coffee shops and stores. Did a few errands and got some work done all while exercising. The total kayaking time is 40 minutes there and 40 minutes back.

The advantage of incorporating outdoor activities like kayaking in your workout is that it is a natural exercises that doesn't seem like your working at all. You are simply enjoying life while staying in shape. It will provide the benefits of being outdoors with healthy mind and body.

How Aesthetics Improves Business?

Beautifully run businesses help customer return over and over through the aesthetic charm that enhances their experience. Customers don't just eat at a restaurant for food, they eat there because of the atmosphere and social experience. Each time they come they build a bank of memories and feelings that associate them closer to the brand.

Aesthetics is completely dependent on the type of business you are running. If you are a low cost taco provider a few displays and pictures might suffice. If you are a high end fresh fish restaurant you will want to make sure the ambiance and environment provokes the right kind of feelings.

Think of how our environment impacts our moods. Low lighting and candles will increase romanticism while bright lights and colors increase our arousal. The type of furniture, smell, decor and uniforms will all make a difference in the impression of the business.

While it may seem subtle aesthetics play a big part in how we feel about a business. Most of our judgments about a place and how we feel about it are subjective. Sure....we might consciously consider the cost and taste of the food  in our evaluation but our overall impressions are dependent on a deeper psychological process based on our past experiences.

Improving positive moods associated with a business requires thinking about all the ways in which people perceive information and expanding the product beyond the sale and into the environment. Most businesses are selling a feel and memory and not necessarily a product. How we feel both during and after contact with the business makes all the difference in repeat sales. Aesthetics helps us enhance that possibility.

Supporting Art While Supporting Charity

Art is a passion that helps us see the world in a new way and explore new avenues of understanding. Unless you are in advertising, or one of the great artists, you are unlikely to make much money in the artistic fields. Because art is a poor man's, or gal's, occupation but is beneficial to society it is possible to support art and your favorite charity at the same time.

Artists might have a hard time selling their works on their own but if they give half of their revenue to a charity they could create more passion for their work and a more interested clientele that is willing to open their check books.

It is beneficial to offer a percentage of your sales to charity; the higher the percentage the better. When a patron makes a purchase they are doing two beneficial things for society. They are supporting the artist and the charity.

There is no difference between this and a company that is a good corporate citizen that offers 10% of their sales to support some beneficial cause. People who donate and buy art are often cut from the same cloth based on their aesthetic appreciation for life.

Empathetic people who are in tune with their emotions are moved by the grace of the artists stroke in the same way they are moved by kids in poverty or those suffering from diseases. Their feelings and desires for a better world motivate them to make a purchase.

You are tapping your primary customer demographics by highlighting a good cause and to the meaning of your art. Art has been used for charity auctions for a long time. Offering a percentage of the purchase price to a charity is a helpful act to the field and society.

The Need for Variability in the Higher Education Market

Higher education is in the process of self-reflection where the form of our universities will be decided based on how we vote and legislate. There are those that call for more government oversite and those that discuss the need to allow for more variability in the market. While quality is important point of discussion so is the need for allowing different kinds of institutions to meet the  needs of our growing population.

Consider now how very traditional schools are accepting online education as part of their core offerings in an effort to attract working adults. A demographic shift that has forced them to accept the benefits of virtual classrooms outside of the traditional 18 year old model. They saw the merits of a new way of doing things and incorporated them into their traditional model.

That would not have been possible unless some variability was allowed in the market to create avenue for developing an online educational system. At first stakeholders didn't like the idea but then accepted their ideas. The debate seems to have shifted from online to organizational structure as a method of determine outcomes.

I wonder what happened to outcomes and quality output?

One size does not fit all when it comes to higher education. New products, services and ideas need an avenue to grow and peculate outside of heavily bureaucratic institutions that have multiple layers of approval before something gets tested and used. Our education process should main its ability to be innovative and serve the needs of a changing population.

Think of variability in the market as a living lab. Ideas are tested on the fringes because large institutions don't have a strong enough early stake to try them out on their own. Individuals within those institutions have invented these products but getting university to use them is a different process--alternative places are sought.

Traditional institutions are protected by legislature, tax dollars, culture and public support insulating them from the need for change. New higher education institutions must do things different to survive. They have to differentiate themselves. American education is falling behind our European counterparts and doing more of the same isn't going to get us into a leading position.

Imagine if we legislated out of the system all variability. We might have found ourselves in a place where online education never came to exist on a mass scale, our population might be less competitive because they can't gain access to education that keeps their skills relevant, and as a nation we would stay behind the market.

A certain percentage of variability is beneficial to traditional and non-traditional institutions. It helps them explore new possibilities and how those discoveries can be adapted for the benefit of everyone. Non-traditional institutions have the capacity to change and accept new methods based on their entrepreneurial mindsets and have a place in the market.

How Economics Will Reform Some American Institutions

Economics filters throughout our lives and impacts just about every aspect of national identity. Both institutions and people function in an environment where economics impacts the choices we make and the institutions we live in. As the global economy changes we will find pressure being placed on our institutions in a way that will likely transform them.

All systems need resources to survive. As the financial resources change institutions will also change to meet new market realities. The availability of resources will make a difference in they way in which these organizations function and adapt. That adaptability will keep them thriving as positive contributors to society.

As a nation must pick up its capacity to compete in a more complex world it will also need to adjust its internal operations. Those operations come in the form of our institutions that seek to process information, resources, and people to beneficial outcomes. Reform will be through them and how they impact the environment.

Consider how national competitiveness draws in new resources through the exportation of products and services that are sold on the market and draw back income used to finance our institutions. When an economy is competing well it will create paying jobs and increase tax revenues leaving more resources for everyone.

The problem is that when the competitiveness of the nation changes so does its ability to muster resources to support its institutions. Chronic budget crisis will ensue. There will be change because the economics will force change as the nation ponders the ramifications of the risk of being the worlds second largest economy.

Leadership will need to think more on the lines of how to draw in international investment, reduce expenses that do not serve an institutions purpose, and to create more opportunities for people to succeed. Institutions will be seen as a support to that change and adjustment and will often be the first targets of reform.

National competitiveness and institutional reform should be a major concern in our economy. Whether we are discussing law enforcement or healthcare we will need to ensure that institutions help us become more competitive. Their purpose, process, and accountability are part of any reform process to ensure the greater system, based on our principles, flourishes.

The Health Benefits of Eating Organically and Fresh

Food is likely our number one biological priority that requires constant care and attention. In ancient times, we foraged most of the day and spent a large amount of energy keeping ourselves alive. Today, food is abundant and we can eat when we want. That creates a new problem with what we are eating and the long-term impact on our bodies.

The first argument is that the more you prepare your food the worse it will be for you. Processed foods that taste great because of the butter and batter end up clogging your arteries and packing on the calories. The preparation of the food and the type of oils and add-ons make all the difference in food quality.

A lean piece of meat is very different then a burger. The same can be said for fried fish and natural fish. All foods are subject to the same degradation process when they are overly processed and lose their natural benefits. Just because our body craves highly fatty foods doesn't mean we should eat it.

The second argument is that processed foods contain a lot of chemicals, hormones, and byproducts. Opting for less processed and organic foods helps reduce some of the negative influence of the environment and the industry that seeks to maximize poundage for profit. A vicious cycle of hormones, more sales, and health costs ensues.

Companies use a common growth hormone called rBGH which helps to improve productivity. It would be hard to feed the world unless the fish and cows we eat end up producing more than their natural cycles will allow. This has been shown to influence the factors that increase other risks of cancer, obesity, and a wide range of other medical conditions.

When given the option to choose between a highly processed food and ones that are less processed; choose the later. If you can get organic for a descent price at your local food store I would suggest you go ahead and move in that direction. Eating healthy is about the many small choices we make each day. These small choices add up over time.