The benefits of mental toughness in sport

The benefits of mental toughness in sport ABSTRACT On the basis of advantages that a mental toughness can offer to a performer, the study was designed to develop the understanding of the components of mental toughness in sport. The purpose of this study was to identify the components of mental toughness as perceived by the researcher and was guided by the two questions, which are as follows: What are the components of mental toughness and To what degree those components of mental toughness are trainable or teachable to a particular player. 10 cricket players ageing from fourteen years of age to twenty years of age were selected for the research so that they have enough experience to answer the questions in the research. The procedure of this was that the research is based on the questionnaire of mental toughness given by Sparkes in 1998. Each participant had to fill the questionnaire for the purpose of evaluating the importance and trainability of twenty different components of mental toughness. INTRODUCTION Cricket is one of the most popular games having a very high viewership and followers. Cricket is basically a mental game that requires a lot of psychological skills in addition to basic playing skills. These skills make player a champion and different from ordinary player. He (champion) is able to display his psychological as well as playing skills during the course of the game. Among the various psychological skills, mental toughness is an important psychological factor that effect’s player’s performance in matches. Sometimes, cricket teams despite their talents lose their matches. The researches on these poor performance lead to the finding that the players in these teams lack mental toughness and the ability to bounce back from the setback of losses. There is an evident to prove it when cricket’s great legend Sir Vivian Richards attributed the Indian cricket team’s loss in West Indies during the cricket world cup 2007 in the first round as the lack of m ental toughness in Indian players. Loehr (1986), he popularised the term mental toughness in sports performance and contested that at least half of superior performances can be due to mental toughness. Mental toughness is regarded as the most important factor in sports to achieve the goals and perform excellent. Jones, Hanton and Connaughton (2002), they stated that mental toughness can be defined as having a natural or developed psychological edge that helps or enables a player to generally cope better than his opponents in many demands (competition, training) and specifically would be more consistent and better than the opponents in remaining focused and determined and goal oriented in his sport. Attributes of mental toughness (Sparkes 1998), he talked about twelve different attributes that a player should have to be ideally mentally tough performer. For further investigation of mental toughness, the following questions were developed to guide this research. What are the essential components of mental toughness as perceived by the cricketers? To what degree are these stated components of mental toughness are trainable or teachable? On the basis of these two major criteria, the player was asked the following questions: I can bounce back from the from the set back as a result of increased determination to succeed. I have an unshakable self belief that i possess the unique qualities that make me better than my opponents. I have an insatiable desire and internalised motive to succeed. I remain fully focused on the task in hand in the face of competition- specific distractions. I am able to regain psychological control if facing uncontrollable situations. I can push back the boundaries of emotional and physical pain, while still maintaining techniques and effort in distress in training and competition. I accept that competition anxiety is inevitable and knowing that i can cope with it. I don’t get adversely affected by other’s good or the bad performances. I can thrive on the pressure of competition. I remain fully focused in the face of personal life distractions REVIEW OF LITERATURE The present study was undertaken to explore the physiological profile of the cricket players and to find to what degree their mental toughness, goal orientation actually helps them in their performances. The result showed that there is no significant correlation between mental toughness and different types of goal orientation i.e. task orientation and ego orientation. At the same time, the motivation dimension of mental toughness was found to be significantly related to both ego and goal orientation. (Duda and Hall,2001) Moreover task orientation has been found to be positively associated with various indicators of motivation, including intrinsic motivation positive affect and the tendency to seek out the new and challenging experiences and to try hard in difficult situations. (Ntoumanis and Biddle, 1999) â€Å"The general lack of clarity and precision surrounding the term mental toughness is unfortunate, since it ism arguably one of the most important physiological attributes in achieving performance excellence. (Jones, 2002) Another study conducted by researchers stated that mental toughness is an important physiological characteristic of the game. (Gould, 1987, 1993 and 2002); (Williams, 1998);( Jones, 2002) â€Å"It appears therefore, that virtually any desirable positive psychological characteristic associated with sporting success has been labelled as mental toughness at one time or the other†. (Jones,2002) METHOD This chapter will discuss the participants, procedure, analysis and instrument used in the study. This study involves both quantitative and qualitative measures of the components of the mental toughness of sportspersons. PARTICIPANTS This, study consisted of 10 male cricketers from the division 3 and 2 category of cricket teams in the city. A mix of different teams and players were chosen to increase the diversity of the group. Each participant was needed to have a minimum of three years of playing cricket so that they can answer the questions in their knowledgeable way. INSTRUMENTATION The instrument used in this study is the questionnaire comprised of twenty questions of mental toughness. These twenty questions comprised of twelve different components of mental toughness and eight components of preservance that were given by Sparkes in 1998. Each component was assessed by participants based on their perception of: The importance of including each component in the construct of mental toughness. The degree to which each component is trainable. The participants assessed both the importance and the degree to which the component is trainable, using a 5 point scale. Besides this two additional questions were also asked which are as follows: Are there other components of mental toughness that should be included which are not there in the questionnaire? Do you believe that there is any component that could be combined to form an individual, essential component of mental toughness? PROCEDURE When the questionnaire of mental toughness (Sparkes,1998) was adopted by the researcher, he then approached 10 different cricketers and asked them to fill up the questionnaire. Researcher also made sure that the identity of the players will be kept confidential i.e. it would not be disclosed to anyone. Researcher sat down with the players and asked them the questions and marked the answers himself. 1

H.D.: The Fusion of Classicism and Modernity Essay -- Hilda Doolittle

H.D.: The Fusion of Classicism and Modernity With foundations rooted deeply in an appreciation for and understanding of classicism, H.D. fused ancient Grecian literature, thinking and mythology with modernistic feminism, bisexuality and psychoanalysis to establish for herself a prominent voice among her contemporaries. Born Hilda Doolittle in 1886 to Helen and Charles Doolittle, her education was fostered by the intellectual curiosity of her parents (an artist and an astronomer, respectively) and the proximity of The University of Pennsylvania. Closely associated with poet Ezra Pound, she spent much of her adult and professional life surrounded by literary contemporaries. Doolittle was a woman whose work was not limited to a single interest but instead expanded to envelop several of the most outstanding facets of modernism: the exploration of women within a literary movement, the exploration of homosexuality and the exploration of self through psychoanalysis. H.D.’s major contribution to modernism is most often recognized as her use of poetic imagery. After only two years at Bryn Mawr, H.D. moved to England, where much of her poetry was written. Pound, a close friend and twice-fiancà ©e not only facilitated her acceptance into the literary circles of expatriate American writers, but also her entrance into the literary world. Affixing the signature "H.D., Imagiste," Pound submitted H.D.’s early verses to Harriet Monroe’s Poetry Magazine, which were accepted and published (Scott). Her poetry remains at the forefront of the imagist branch of modernism, a division whose writers dedicate themselves to the direct treatment of the subject, the prohibition of any word that not essential to the presentati... ...://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/HD.htm http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=238 Works Cited â€Å"A Brief Biography Of H.D.† < http://www.imagists.org/hd/bio.html> Bryan, Marsha. â€Å"Modern American Poetry.† Doolittle, Hilda. Asphodel. Editor: Spoo, Robert. Durham; Duke University Press, 1992. pp. ix-xix. Doolittle, Hilda. Collected Poems 1912-1944: Martz, Louis L. New York; New Directions. Pp. 39, 118, 128, 281. â€Å"H.D. Poetry Exhibit† <http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=238> Levertov, Denise. †H.D.: An Appreciation† Modern Critical Views H.D.: Bloom, Harold. New York; Chelsea House Publishers. Scott, Bonnie Kime. â€Å"About H.D.’s Life and Career† Bryan, Marsha. â€Å"Modern American â€Å"Poetry.† <http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/g_l/hd/life.htm>

French and English

Many philosophers with their struggle in understanding the behavior of human beings developed different means in which ethics can be approached and this leads to various conclusions. According to Palatal (2006), ethics is involve with the systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Thus, it could be said to be the principles, norm, values which indicates what is fair or unfair, true or false. This could be argued that the right is seen to be ethical and the wrong is seen as unethical.Hence, when it comes to being ethical doing the right thing is the best action that serves the idea of honesty, integrity, morality and good management practices (Palatal, 2006) The nature of ethics can be liken to deal with individual induct which is voluntarily carried out and not because of the circumstances in which one find themselves. Hence, there is total choice of freedom and freewill attached to any of their decision making. In any organization, ethical practi ces should be applicable to any organizational behaviors because there are rules which governs the activities of the organization which may be Judged.The moral standard of any organization can be applied to the organizational policies, behavior and institutions. Milton Friedman had believed that the â€Å"primary and the only responsibility is making profit† while abiding by the law. Others argued that any company with self-interest pursuing profit will automatically benefit the whole society. Edward freeman in his argument said shareholders should not only benefit from the business but the benefit should be extended to the employees, customers and suppliers, families and also the operations of this businesses.Ethical businesses offers the company a competitive advantage and also makes the consumers loyal to ethical brands no matter the situation. Building customers' loyalty is one of the source to a long-term business. Thus, the reputation for an organizations' ethical behav ior can help to create an image that is positive in the marketplace and can also serve as an advertisement for the company. On the other hand, bad reputation due to unethical act may hurts the company. The societies in which we live in has a big influence on moral, customs and values by passing on to next generations their culture through the process of acculturation.Hence, this leading to a distinctive set of morals surrounded by every social group: relativism. Although it is sometimes argued that moral varies. So many times, there are question as to whether the societal morals being absolute can be Judged or not: absolutism. In trying to analyses the context of ethical relativism, ethical absolutism and ethical pluralism. Moral absolutism sees its culture to be right and the best which cannot be challenged. In other words, there is no right nor good culture at which could be preserved.In this context following this morality could be dangerous and this could lead an organization or someone into radicalism. For example, Muslims in some part of the world who either killed or punished people who are not Muslims. Moral relativism says you believe in your culture and I believe in my culture. Here, there is no right or rang, because different has a different moral, in other words if a culture is seen as valid or invalid, this will totally depend on that time in which the culture had existed.For example, the biblical Jesus which is seen as the son of God by the Christians and also Mohammed which is also seen by Islam as God's messenger. There is absolutely nothing wrong in this, the main issue here is, respect should be given to all culture without trying to consider if or not harm will be done to someone or not. Another example is the tradition of circumcising women in most part of Africa or the Hinduism tradition which allows women to burn themselves after the death of their husband. In moral pluralism, it is believe that every culture should be given limited room to exist.For example people from different backgrounds no matter their ethnicity all over the world is permitted to live in Canada and also maintain their culture and languages peacefully, although Canada has its official language as French and English. Pluralism believes that we cannot be 100% right as human beings. The concept of pluralism respects and value other opinion which will lead to he enrichment of the society. However, as earlier stated, there is limits to pluralism. A harmful culture to a person is not allowed in pluralism.An example will be the circumcision of women and women burning themselves is not acceptable in Canada. A UTILITARIAN PERSPECTIVE: this concept was developed by Jeremy Beneath and John Stuart Mill. Its main goal is to provide the greatest number which is guided by the value, â€Å"utility'. ( Mullahs, 2010). Here, making decisions is purely on the basis of outcomes or consequences. Utility perspective take a look at action as right if it rings happin ess to the people involve. Although there are some issues involve with this view, utilitarian perspective is also concerned with the costs of a particular action.It thus, tries to make the evaluation of ethics precise by way of accumulating every ones happiness and thereby taking away their unhappiness. As seen in the case of Swiss Bank, the credit Issue had admitted guilt and plead guilty for their action, thus, this serves as a form of moral reasoning. Utilitarian perspectives believes that the moral right of any action course in any situation should generates infinite above harm to every person affected. The management of Swiss bank did not care if the profit the bank was making was as made under lies and deceit to the general public or not.Thus, utilitarian perspective does not consider that so long as it is beneficial to all the party involve. Using utilitarianism perspective in the case of credit Issue, Swiss Bank was acting in a way that will maximize the benefit of their cus tomers. A practice is good or bad if it leads to the best possible balance of good consequences over bad ones (Bà ©chamel and Bowie, 1997:22) cited in Camel Mullahs t al (2010). Many philosophers has argued about the utilitarian perspective as it involve the substantial reproduction of a better society is being maximized.The utilitarianism assumption centers on when difficult choice is being face, the right thing to do is trying to ensure that the possible best outcome is affected by bulk people so long as it is not resulting to being suffered by the minority. In the case study given, the entire organization takes blame for the act by resulting to pay fine given. In business world today, and the frequent operation of utility today, the odder neo-classical economists tend to refer to expected utility as the key mechanism that drives individual choice. Mullahs, 2010). Organizational choices should be that each of its decision should help in the minimization of the organizational util ity. Human resource managers view consumers as utility and the become self-centered. The case of credit Issue, their basic aim was to maximize their utility whether as citizens, consumers, shareholders or organization in competition in the marketplace. THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE: this perspective hold that individual has certain basic entitlement. (Mullahs, 2010). This perspective has to do with the language of rights.They are right to freedom of association, free speech, and employees' rights and so on. The USA independence declaration emphasized that every man is given unalienable rights (Velasquez, 2014). According to Velasquez, (2014), moral right are Justified by moral standards in which most people acknowledge, but which are not necessarily codified in law. Thus this standards are being interpreted differently by different people. To some the idea to rely on right as a guide to ethical action could not be match. Right in other words can be negative, Hereford pacing more emphasize o n moral right rather than legal rights.In Cant's philosophy, morals together with notion rights gives a theoretical foundation in which human resources in other to evaluate and reformulate ethical practices. According to Karma and Seed (2012), what a person deserves or is entitle to can be evaluated using rules or law that is related to the principles of equality, fairness and retribution, and non-discrimination. It has been argued that, many do not have the fundamental freedom to exercise their right which means that there is need for some right to be limited. As in the case of Swiss bank, THE VIRTUE PERSPECTIVE: virtue perspective is also use in resolving issues in workplace.According to Karma and Seed (2012), virtue ethics is concern with the actor rather than the action. The word virtue could not be mention without linking to the Greek philosopher Aristotle. It is believe that every human being has potential virtue in them. This approach, ethically tried to over rid the criticis m of people knowing what to do but choose not to as in the case study. Human resource managers sometimes trying to use this framework may face difficult choice to make. In relation to the case study, the managers has the right to protect customer's asset and wealth, and also being loyal to is one of the bankers/ customers right.The virtue perspective, once its in the organization, it will enable the workers to compete favorably without thinking of unethical practices. THE CARE PERSPECTIVES: this approach is distinct from the moral philosophy of Kant together with others. This framework is used as an alternative approach to solve problems and it recognizes, response to the well-being of other's needs. In analyzing the Swiss case, there is equal treatment for all the customers. The customers and the employers were treated in the same way. There was no discrimination among the customer as the case did not mention.The Swiss bank, plead guilty and was charge with a fine and did not discl ose the information of the customers involve. This is like the example of the case of the one eye mother who gave her one eye to the son and the child grew up hating her because she has Just an eye. A NON-ESSENTIALIST PERSPECTIVE: there is need for ethical operations in workplaces. Although sometimes organization which operates under ethics can be associated with less profit and still ill like to stay in the competition whereas large organization has large profit which will enhance their reputations.Still there is needs for ethical behavior and also understanding the culture different is paramount in the society. Swiss bank helping their customer might be ethical in some part of the society an unethical in other part. As managers views for moral being different in the organization the find themselves so is their decision making policies different. Ethical practices should be more focus, once this is achieve, there will be positive returns. What goes around comes around (Brattiest , T. Lass lectures. CONCLUSION: Business ethics as earlier discuss are said to be issues which are said to be identifying problems or identifying situation or opportunity and looking for means actions which could be used in solving them. This is also seen as set values norms and responsibility in which members of the same organization recognizes and share same. This also relate to the way business owners conduct their business in order to make profit. A business is said to be ethical when it gives positive contribution to the society without causing any damage to its environment or in any case exploiting it Rockford.In the corporate business world, culture and tradition and strong value are being taken under condition. Corporate business organizations are part of the society, so there are certain expectations in which people are willing to see. There are corporate ethics trend in the world today, business which are socially liable respond quick to public demand in order to improve eff iciency. RECOMMENDATION: As an international human resource manager there is need for the organization to adopt ethical code of conduct which will help the organizational development.The ethical code of the organization will help the organization to obtain the organizational core values and meet it objectives. This will bring about transparency and a true and fair value. Thus giving the organization respect in the society. Leaders in organization should also understand the different in culture, language, trade union of the environment in which the business operate. There is need to improve motivation in order to achieve goals and objective of the organization.In international resource management, different culture sees and perceive thing fervently, so there is need for organization to always try to improve their brand and image in other to attract new and retain old customers. International managers has different views when it comes to moral principle, also hiring of good manager is advice. This principle should be inculcate into the workforce and strive ethically for increase and put more focus on the organizational corporate level strategies. The organization should be able to fish out bad eggs in workplaces, it is normally said a journey of hundred miles begins with a step.

Human Resources And Organizational Development - 1046 Words

Human Resources and Organizational Development Employee Empowerment Working together may be crucial since the individual functions of these two departments are not the same. The most important function of Organizational Development is to align the mission, values, and culture of the entire organization to create partnerships between employees and management. Their emphasis is on connecting the employees and departments to work as a team by instilling the company’s main beliefs. Many employers feel employee development should be the full responsibility of Organizational Development because of their specialized skills and training in talent management. They feel this strategy should not be HR’s responsibility because Human Resources main†¦show more content†¦Increasing employee satisfaction can be as easy as changing the culture to empowerment in the workplace which begins with communication, encouraging feedback and giving team members the ability to make more decisions. This approach will have a direct relationship between empl oyee satisfaction and overall performance. As the team member’s performance improves so does the individual’s confidence and commitment to the company. That confidence in empowered employees can also be andisadvantage for organizations. Leaders have concerns of increased arrogance in individuals because encouraging employee empowerment creates a sense of overconfidence in team members. They are making important decisions without supervision and taking more risks. Although this is all a part of the empowerment principles, taking risks can be successful and they can also be failures. â€Å"Employee empowerment requires a strong and lasting commitment from an organization’s management† (p. 2) and that may require changing the culture or management style of the organization (Emerson, 2012). 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