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Picture of Orji Anyianuka
by Orji Anyianuka - Friday, 28 May 2021, 2:34 AM
Anyone in the world


In the modern business environment, leaders are not expected to use their authority to force others to carry out tasks. Rather leaders are expected to influence action through persuasion, and business audiences expect persuasion to be rational and not primarily emotional. 


To appeal to others through reasoning, leaders have to use arguments, which is a way of reaching a conclusion by using evidence. Evidence comes in different forms - they could be qualitative or quantitative facts, calculation, inferences, theoretical knowledge, personal experience, and expert opinion. 


An argument consists of three elements: 1. The evidence, 2. The Assumption, and 3. The conclusion. Oftentimes, only the evidence and conclusions are presented together. For example, in the statement ‘our cost rose by thirty per cent in the last year, we must reduce our cost’, the evidence is ‘our cost rose by 30 per cent in the last year’, and the conclusion is ‘we must reduce our cost’. The assumption is missing in the statement, but it is implied. The assumption could be ‘the increase in cost reduced our profit', but that may not be the case. It is also possible that the profit increased by 100 per cent, against the 30 per cent increase in costs.


The quality and strength of an argument lie in the assumptions. If the assumptions are wrong, then the argument is incorrect, and if the argument is not acceptable by the audience, it will not yield the desired results. It is important to note that an argument might be incorrect and be accepted by the audience and that an argument might be correct and yet rejected by the audience.



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[ Modified: Sunday, 13 June 2021, 11:15 AM ]

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    Picture of Osatohanmwen Dibor
    by Osatohanmwen Dibor - Thursday, 27 May 2021, 11:19 PM
    Anyone in the world

    Defensiveness is the quality of being anxious to challenge or avoid criticism. 

    Defensive behavior can hurt relationships, individual well-being, ability to make decisions and productivity.

    To achieve being less defensive in relationships is learning how defensiveness really works and how to manage it in a healthy way. Momentarily managing defensive behavior in is a bit more difficult. 

    The first step to managing your own defensiveness is to know your defensive signs. Common signs include fast heart beat, stuttering, raising your voice, First take note of the way this manifests physically..

    Steps

    • Acknowledge it
    • Slow down
    • Check negative self talk
    • Create an Action step
    • Start over




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    [ Modified: Thursday, 27 May 2021, 11:25 PM ]

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      Picture of Adefolake Adewusi
      by Adefolake Adewusi - Wednesday, 26 May 2021, 2:21 AM
      Anyone in the world

      Grit is a ruthless, stubborn, single-minded determination to achieve a goal.

      So, I once had this appointment for 1pm and believe you me, I left my location 2 hours earlier for the 45 minutes ride to have ample time to meet up with the appointment. But you know how it’s said that life is never straight especially when you need it to be, right?

      As (mis)fortune would have it, rain decided to fall that day and if you are Lagos based like me, you know that rain and traffic are like 5 & 6.

      So here I was, driving through the traffic, listening to music and naively telling myself that ‘this too shall pass.’

      But would you believe it, that 30 minutes to the appointment time, Google Maps told me I still had another 53 minutes to arrive at my destination because well, traffic. Rain was also still drizzling enough to make one stay put indoors if one didn’t really need to go out. Refusing to let panic mode set in because this was a really really crucial appointment, I knew I had to be creative but also knew I couldn’t carry the car on my head.

      So you know what? I made a detour, parked the car in a supermarket, got out, picked the materials I needed for the appointment including tissue paper to dust off inevitable dirt and with my black suit and black spiky heels, flagged down an Okada (motorbike) because well, necessity is the mother of invention. As you may have imagined, the more trendy Gokada I had ordered with my phone, was taking forever to arrive.

      Of course, I was aware of the HSE risk of riding an Okada in the drizzling rain over a distance of 11km but I had more to lose by remaining in the traffic. Besides, what’s life without calculated risks huh?

      I will spare you the rest of the details of the eventful journey and will conclude by saying that though I arrived 10 minutes later than scheduled, I met the appointment. Before sashaying in for the appointment in my all black attire, black spiky heels and under-stated black accessories looking like the power lady I know I am, I cleaned off the evidence of the Okada ride with my tissue paper. Because again, you never need to look like anything (rough) that you have been through.

      I rode a Gokada afterwards to pick my car.

      The end.

      Adefolake

      #MMBA2


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        Picture of Emmanuel Madubuike
        by Emmanuel Madubuike - Tuesday, 25 May 2021, 10:46 PM
        Anyone in the world
        To succeed on the mission, we must learn to burn the bridges behind us.  
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        [ Modified: Friday, 28 May 2021, 7:27 PM ]

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        • Picture of Adefolake AdewusiAdefolake Adewusi - Wed, 26 May 2021, 2:24 AM
          Interesting perspective Emmanuel🤔I would have thoughts it’s better not to burn bridges ‘cos one never knows whether they will be needed on the journey...
        • Picture of Emmanuel MadubuikeEmmanuel Madubuike - Fri, 28 May 2021, 9:08 PM
          Folake, thanks for the comment. But, it's better to burn the bridge if it's a battle you must fight to the end to win or be killed. You keep the bridge if you have the alternative to run from the battle if it becomes fierce. The statement is for critical missions that must be won.
         
        Picture of Nkiruka Sowari
        by Nkiruka Sowari - Tuesday, 25 May 2021, 2:06 PM
        Anyone in the world

        temperance definition from oxford dictionary

        Temperance is simply self-restraint or moderation.

        There is a story I heard in my childhood that has stuck with me. That the difference between an animal and a human is that a human applies sense and can be temperate.

         For instance an untrained animal will see food, it is hungry and it eats. Simple! Where as a hungry human will see food then begin to ask himself some questions. Is this food good for my current diet? Am I the owner of this food? Was this food prepared in sanitary conditions? Do I feel like eating this kind of food? Can I afford this food? There lies the difference. We as humans have the ability to apply restraint. Do we?

        The moment we lose that restraint and feel like we need to get every single thing that tickles our fancy,  we lose a part of what makes us human. We have no self mastery.  No ability to say no. 

        We move where the wind blows us, the latest iphone, the fanciest car, the heaviest gold, the hottest babe(even though we are not a commodity, some people think we are, so let me humor them). You name it, there is an abundance of alluring material goods and we all have our opium.

        A temperate person trains the will to be able to master the instincts and direct sensitive appetites towards what is good. Temperance puts order to emotions and affections while ensuring equilibrium in the use of material goods.

        Saying no brings an internal victory that is a source of peace. When last did you say no? Are you exhibiting human or animal tendencies?
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        Picture of Orji Anyianuka
        by Orji Anyianuka - Tuesday, 25 May 2021, 12:30 PM
        Anyone in the world


        Correlation measures the degree to which two things are related to one another. For example, I will expect there is a correlation between the level of education and the salary earned. When one goes up, so does the other. Some relationships will be the other way round. Maybe, the correlation between the weight of people and the number of times they exercise in a week.


        Two variables (measurement of things)  are positively correlated if a change in one is associated with a change in the other in the same direction, such as the relationship between height and weight. Taller people weigh more (on average); shorter people weigh less. A correlation is negative if a positive change in one variable is associated with a negative change in the other, such as the relationship between exercise and weight.


        The power of correlation as a statistical tool is that we can summarize an association between two variables in a single descriptive statistic: the correlation coefficient, a single number ranging from –1 to 1. A correlation of 1, means that every change in one variable corresponds with an equivalent change in the other variable in the same direction. A correlation of –1, means that every change in one variable is associated with an equivalent change in the other variable in the opposite direction.


        The closer the correlation is to 1 or –1, the stronger the association. A correlation of 0 (or close to it) means that the variables have no meaningful association with one another, such as the relationship between car accidents in a year and the volume of fish imported.



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        [ Modified: Sunday, 13 June 2021, 10:31 AM ]

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          Picture of Faith Muwar Mpara
          by Faith Muwar Mpara - Tuesday, 25 May 2021, 12:11 AM
          Anyone in the world

          Dear Future, I have looked forward to meeting you

          Day after day, month after month, year after year

          Like a mirage you were a trick to me

          You’ve been the carrot and like a donkey, I have followed you

          It’s been a running after the wind

          A rat race

          An escape from the now.

          A flight from the reality of my humanity

           

          But guess what, dear future

          We will meet when we do

          I’m officially old and retired

          I am finally drained and tired

          And even though it is unlike me, I give up.

           

          I have got a new friend

          The gift that you sent

          It is NOW

          It is what I have

          It is where I have a say

          It is where I make impact

          It is my power to limitless possibilities

          It is my freedom from the illusion of “Someday”

          It is the joy of being present

          It demands full engagement

          The call to fully absorb every passing moment

          Because once it’s gone, it’s lost

           

          What is longed for is non-existent, what is NOW is reality

           

          Dear Future, I finally make peace with you

          And so I dive into the NOW of eternity


          [ Modified: Tuesday, 25 May 2021, 12:12 AM ]

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            Picture of Orji Anyianuka
            by Orji Anyianuka - Monday, 24 May 2021, 5:42 AM
            Anyone in the world


            There are two types of statistics: descriptive and inferential statistics. Organizing, summarizing, and presenting data in an informative way is usually referred to as descriptive statistics. For example, Nigeria’s population is usually reported as 200 million people. This information is descriptive statistics. It is also descriptive when we calculate the percentage growth from one year to another. However, it would no longer be descriptive if we want to use the current population figure and the yearly percentage growth to estimate the population in the next ten years because we are no longer summarizing past populations but estimating future populations. 


            The main interest in inferential statistics is finding something about a population from a sample taken from that population. Oftentimes statisticians are not able to study a total population, so they study a sample of that population and then make a smart guess of the total population based on the results obtained from the sample.  The method used to estimate a property of a population on the basis of a sample is called inferential statistics.



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            [ Modified: Sunday, 13 June 2021, 10:07 AM ]

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              Anyone in the world

              As more state and federal governments are increasingly broke, chief executives are intensifying efforts in two major focus areas to sustain the state:

              • Initiatives to increase internally-generated revenues (IGR), and
              • Reducing expenditure

              Current fiscal realities require government to operate more efficiently and do more with less. We understand that given the rising need to achieve other fiscal objectives and improve service delivery to the citizens, state governments desire to diversify their revenue base and strengthen their IGR - as overdependence on allocation from the federal government has capacity to stifle the pace of development and frustrate the state governments’ ability to respond to the needs of their people.

              By making intelligent use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) systems, state IRSs can better manage the state’s IGR collection processes and minimize revenue loss. Core processes for tax and revenue collection are driven by documents and forms—from submitting tax forms to processing refunds and deposits to managing risk. Automating these processes could be challenging for state governments, many of which suffer opaque and inefficient bureaucracies. In these cases, the struggle to develop electronic systems goes beyond information technology issues, encompassing the need for full assessment and re-engineering of revenue collection administration, record keeping, and knowledge management systems. Reforms such as these encourage accountability, transparency, and trust in the government’s ability to deliver services to citizens.


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                Picture of Olabisi Ometoruwa-Miyebi
                by Olabisi Ometoruwa-Miyebi - Sunday, 23 May 2021, 11:07 PM
                Anyone in the world

                DA class taught me something quite important : Forecasting is not the only projection that can be made.. There is Nowcasting and Backcasting.. 

                Can you just bear that?? I'm learning much more than i could ever imagine! 

                I remain your humble expert, no semi expert ❤️❤️❤️

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