ENG 121 Week 2 Assignment Help | Wilmington University
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- 06 Feb 2021
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ENG 121 Week 2 Assignment Help | Wilmington University
Week 2 Essay Structure Assignment
Read the article “How to
Debate Ideas Productively at WorkLinks to an external site.” on the Harvard Business Review website.
After reading the article, download and complete the attached Essay Structure assignment.
For this assignment, you will examine an article that does not
have a formal structure and identify the important elements of an argumentative
essay (thesis, claim, support) use the information that you identified to fill
in a basic outline for a formal essay.
Once you have completed the assignment, upload your document for
evaluation.
How to Debate Ideas Productively at Work
https://hbr.org/resources/images/article_assets/2019/01/Jan19_17_103808270.jpg
Summary.
Research tells us
that cognitive diversity makes a group smarter. Two heads are, indeed, better
than one, and many heads are even better, especially when everyone is willing
to share their expertise and opinions. While diverse thinking and disagreements
can be uncomfortable, they are more likely to lead partners or a team to make
progress, innovate and come up with breakthrough solutions than consensus and
“nice” conversations in which people hold back what they think. But how do you
have a productive debate? By reminding your group to follow four general rules:
Remember we’re all on the same team. Keep it about facts, logic, and the topic
at hand. Don’t make it personal. Be intellectually humble.close
Not long ago, I
gave a speech at a company that had been recently acquired and since gone from
300 employees to 1,400. Rapid changes are hard for any organization, but when I
asked these leaders what their biggest challenge was they didn’t say “scaling
our tech infrastructure” or “hiring good people fast enough” or “integrating
with our parent company.”
They were
worried about how many damn fights their people were having. The company had “a
culture of arguing,” they said — starting at the top — and, given the group’s
ballooning size and new ownership, they were worried those patterns of behavior
weren’t sustainable or productive.
I told them that
arguing could be a very good thing — perhaps the key to their success —
if they could train people to do it in a healthy way.
Research tells
us that cognitive
diversity makes a group smarter. Two heads are, indeed,
better than one, and many heads are even better, especially when everyone is
willing to share their expertise and opinions.
Studies also
show that most mergers and acquisitions don’t fail because of conflict. They
fail from the “organizational
silence” that stems from the fear
of conflict. This is the same reason that, if you’re looking
for signs that a romantic couple is about to split, “not talking” is a better
leading indicator than “fighting a lot.”
While diverse
thinking and disagreements can be uncomfortable,
they are more likely to lead partners or a team to make progress, innovate, and
come up with breakthrough solutions than consensus and “nice” conversations in
which people hold back what they think.
In theory this
means that a group such as, say, the U.S. Congress, ought to be pretty good at
solving problems. The hundred members of the U.S. Senate come from 50 different
states and several generations and should thus have a variety of viewpoints.
(Perhaps they still don’t have enough variety, but we’ll leave that discussion
for another day.) And boy do they argue. But the way they argue is rife with intellectual dishonesty.
And the “rules” that govern their debates, especially on television, are
ineffective at encouraging productive debate.
Unfortunately,
most of the rest of us fall into similar pitfalls. We get sucked into trying to
“win”— so we look good or don’t make the group we represent look bad — which
leads us to ignore logic and evidence that go against our original beliefs. And
so we fight without making much progress.
We can change
this dynamic, moving toward more effective discourse (exchanging diverse ideas)
and debate (arguing honestly for and against the merits of those ideas), by
training people to adopt the right habits. Here’s how:
Remember
we’re all on the same team. Just about all
debates fall into one of three categories: The kind where the goal is to
persuade people you’re right; the kind where the goal is to look better than
your opponent; and the kind where the goal is to find better solutions
together. The third is the one that helps us get the most out of a group’s
cognitive diversity. To steer people in that direction, set the stage by
kicking off the discussion with a shared goal, a spirit of inquiry, and
emphasis that everyone is on the same team. Offer these reminders:
- We’re here together in
the spirit of inquiry, as comrades, not adversaries.
- Our shared goal is to
find the best way to do [x].
- All viewpoints in service
of this goal are welcome.
- There is no “winner.” The
team wins if we make progress.
- Everyone is an equal
participant; there is no hierarchy or special weight given to one person’s
viewpoint over another’s.
Keep
it about facts, logic, and the topic at hand. One
of the most difficult — and crucial — elements of a productive debate is
keeping it on one track. Arguments tend to fracture, especially when people
feel like their ideas or identities are coming under attack. Unfortunately,
when people feel strongly about their opinions, they tend to, often
subconsciously, resort to logical fallacies, question dodging, bad facts, and
outright deception. Or they bring in outside issues to bolster their points and
distract people from counterarguments. It’s important for leaders (and
participants) to be vigilant, so none of these bad behaviors sneak into debates.
Tell people to follow these rules:
- The debate is not about
who cares more, who’s loudest, who’s most powerful, or who’s most
articulate.
- No tricky rhetorical tactics.
- Distinguish between facts
and interpretations (stories people have about the facts).
- Identify logical
fallacies, and rewind.
- Check the validity of
assertions of fact, and analyze the quality of
the evidence, not just the evidence.
- If the debate veers into
other topics, acknowledge it and reset.
Don’t
make it personal. Arguments tend to fracture
when people feel like their ideas or identities are coming under attack.
Emotion and ego begin to play a much bigger role and everyone becomes less
likely to appreciate others’ points of view, which greatly reduces the
potential for innovation or problem-solving. To ensure that debates don’t
get sidetracked in this way, we need to explicitly depersonalize our
arguments. In other words:
- No name calling or
personal attacks.
- Stay away from questions
that cast judgment on people, rather than their ideas. Instead of
questions like “how could you believe that?” or “why can’t you see?”, pose
“what” questions instead, such as “what makes you feel that way?” or “what
has led you to that conclusion?”
- Give people the benefit
of the doubt. Assume that everyone’s intentions are good.
- Nobody loses face for
changing their mind.
- Reward people for
carrying the group forward, rather than being “right.”
Be
intellectually humble. For a debate to
truly be productive, participants need to be willing to respect every viewpoint
and change their minds when necessary. This is what psychologists call intellectual humility,
and it’s one of the most important skills a good leader — and productive
debater — can develop. This rule breaks down like so:
- Don’t take things
personally.
- Listen to and respect
every person and their viewpoint, even if you disagree.
- Admit when you realize
you’re wrong, and cheerfully concede when others have good points.
- Be curious. Even bad
ideas can be useful; they can help us find new and better ideas.
It’s important
for everyone involved in a discourse — whether it’s a one-on-one over coffee or
a public discussion in a board room — to exemplify these habits. But leaders
(or whoever has the most power in the room) should be the first to hold
themselves accountable to them.
The key to
breakthrough problem solving isn’t getting along well. It’s not getting along —
well.
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