Management Blog

Fun Quiz Questions

questions for trivia quizzes and pub quizzes. For the answers click here

1. Who played Al Capone in the 1987 film, The Untouchables?
2. Which character did James Stewart play in the 1952 film, The Greatest Show On Earth?
3. Who wrote the novel On Chesil Beach?
4. What is the surname of the family in the UK TV series My Family?
5. Which instrument represents the duck in Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf?
6. Who played Richard Cunningham in the US TV show Happy Days?
7. How to Save a Life was which band's debut album?
8. Which UK TV series was based on Eric Chappell's play The Banana Box?
9. Jan Morrow and Brad Allen are characters who share a phone line in which 1959 film?
10. How many contestants' boxes feature in the (UK version) TV show Deal of No Deal?
11. By what name was rapper Christopher Wallace most famously known?
12. Who played the Russian mail-order bride in the 2001 film Birthday Girl?
13. Daisy Donovan, Iain Lee, and MacKenzie Crook were presenters on which 1990's UK TV show?
14. What is the number on the roof of the bus in the 1994 film Speed?
15. Pixel, Stingy and Stephanie appear in which children's TV programme?
16. In which year was the UK Comic Relief launched?
17. What is the name of the title character in Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman?
18. In the 1979 film Apocalypse Now which river does Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) travel up to reach Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando)?
19. What is the first name of Frank Gallagher's legal wife in the UK TV series Shameless?
20. In which US state did Buddy Holly's plane crash in 1959?
21. Nicky Hambleton-Jones presents which UK TV make-over show?
22. What was Humphrey Bogart's last film?
23. What was mixed with water to make the rain more visible on screen in the 1952 film Singing in the Rain?
24. What is the name of the family doctor in The Simpsons cartoon show?
25. Who played Domino in the 1983 Bond film Never Say Never Again?
26. Who designed the costumes for the 1997 film The Fifth Element?
27. Doctor Moriarty is the arch-enemy of which fictional detective?
28. What was the title of George Michael's first solo album?
29. Brad Pitt played one of Anthony Hopkins' three sons in which 1994 film?
30. Tall Dark and Gruesome is the title of whose autobiography?

Psychometric testing

Psychometric Testing – Dangerous and Unfair or That Little Bit of Objective Edge?

The debate about psychometric testing is polarised and emotional. But what are the real issues? Do tests help you make the right choices? Or, do we rely so heavily on tests we’ve sidelined gut feel and judgment? To help you decide, we offer a wide-ranging set of FAQs and Myths about Tests - along with strong views on the subject at our development academy site.

VAK Learning Styles

VAK - visual, auditory, kinesthetic learning styles model

The VAK (or VARK or VACT) learning styles model and related VAK/VARK/VACT tests (and for that matter the Multiple Intelligences concepts) offer reasonably simple and accessible methods to understand and explain people's preferred ways to learn. Occasionally well-intentioned people will write that the use of such models and tests can be problematical. This is true of course of any tool if undue reliance is placed on the methodology, or if the results of tests are treated as absolute and exclusive of other styles and considerations in the overall mix of a person's personality and needs.

As with any methodology or tool, use VAK and other learning styles concepts with care. The concepts are an aid, not a dogma to be followed and applied rigidly.

In addition to the VAK guide below, further VAK detail and VAK tests are available on the VAK tests page.

The explanation and understanding of Gardner's Seven Intelligences can be further illuminated and illustrated by looking at another classical intelligence and learning styles model, known as the Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic (or Kinaesthetic - either is correct) learning styles model or 'inventory', usually abbreviated to VAK. Alternatively the model is referred to as Visual-Auditory-Physical, or Visual-Auditory-Tactile/Kinesthetic. The VAK concept, theories and methods (initially also referred to as VAKT, for Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic-Tactile) were first developed by psychologists and teaching specialists such as Fernald, Keller, Orton, Gillingham, Stillman and Montessori, beginning in the 1920's. The VAK multi-sensory approach to learning and teaching was originally concerned with the teaching of dyslexic children and other learners for whom conventional teaching methods were not effective. The early VAK specialists recognised that people learn in different ways: as a very simple example, a child who could not easily learn words and letters by reading (visually) might for instance learn more easily by tracing letter shapes with their finger (kinesthetic). The VAK theory is a favourite of the accelerated learning community, and continues to feature - although not nearly as strongly as it should do - in the teaching and education of young people. The Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic learning styles model does not overlay Gardner's multiple intelligences; rather the VAK model provides a different perspective for understanding and explaining a person's preferred or dominant thinking and learning style, and strengths. Gardner's theory is one way of looking at thinking styles; VAK is another.

learning style	description
Visual	seeing and reading
Auditory	listening and speaking
Kinesthetic	touching and doing

Extract taken from Business balls

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs motivational model Abraham Maslow developed the Hierarchy of Needs model in 1940-50's USA, and the Hierarchy of Needs theory remains valid today for understanding human motivation, management training, and personal development. Maslow's ideas surrounding the Hierarchy of Needs concern the responsibility of employers to provide a workplace environment that encourages and enables employees to fulfil their own unique potential (self-actualization). 1.

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep.
2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability.
3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships.
4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.
5. Self-Actualization needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking per

sonal growth and peak experiences.

The Basics of Management Exercise

We have a number of knowledge based exercises on our development academy website for online learning. This is an example .

This is a True/False exercise about the basics of motivation, discipline, management style, performance management, objectives and feedback.

1.The reason many people perform unsatisfactorily is that they fear failure.	Select: True False
2	Unsatisfactory performance should be closely monitored and documented.	Select: True False
3	There really aren't many unsatisfactory employees - but quite a few unsatisfactory managers.	Select: True False
4	One of the main reasons people become dissatisfied with their job is that they fail at it.	Select: True False
5	The best way to change unsatisfactory behaviour is to confront people with it.	Select: True False
6	If you don't like your boss, you can never be effective in your job.	Select: True False
7	The vast majority of unsatisfactory performance is caused by individuals not knowing what is expected of them.	Select: True False
8	Many managers, having once formed an opinion about an employee, are unlikely to change their mind.	Select: True False
9	Unsatisfactory performance is often the result of a lack of training.	Select: True False
10	Unsatisfactory performers should be asked to write down what they see themselves responsible for.	Select: True False
11	One of the most important questions to ask when reviewing performance is, "How do you use your time?"	Select: True False
12	A set of agreed objectives is like a contract between a manager and a subordinate.	Select: True False
13

Importance of Body Language

• How might body language be interpreted?
• Does it pay to be sensitive to non-verbal cues?

Summary:
Our feet, hands, eyes and heads are moving all the time - our bodies are "talking", communicating what we are thinking and feeling. Awareness of body language helps you find out whether you are being understood, how other people react to you, and what impact you are having on others.  For more about body language visit our development site

Even when we are silent, our bodies are speaking. Posture, gesture and expression communicate things to others whether we want them to or not. Here is an introductory guide to body language.

Our bodies are rarely still. Our feet, hands, eyes and heads are moving all the time. Our expressions change. We pull faces, rub our noses, run our hands through our hair and do all sorts of things which, when taken in isolation, seem very odd. However, what is happening is quite straightforward - our bodies are "talking"! Our movements express and communicate what we are thinking and feeling and people attuned to what is called body language can often read this. Try some examples.

On the bus or the tram, you see someone reading a book. Suddenly, they put the book down on their knees and place their hand over their mouth. What has happened?

Highest Rates of Unemployment

These make for interesting reading - the worlds's highest levels of unemployment. A European country top of the list with South Africa a close third. Not something I would have guessed.

1. Macedonia - 37%

2. Namibia - 33.8%

3. South Africa - 27.1%

4. West Bank and Gaza - 26.7%

5. Guadelope - 24.7%

6. Ethiopia - 22.9%

7. Martinique - 22.4%

8. Botswana - 19.6%

9. Poland - 19%

10. Dominican republic - 18.4%

Source - The Economist Pocket World in Figures 2006

Smoking Ban

The Health Act 2006  devolved powers to the National Assembly for Wales to make regulations for a ban on smoking in enclosed public places in Wales. This ban came into effect on 2nd April 2007. This mirrors the ban already in place in Scotland and Southern Ireland. The ban, this week, also took hold in Northern Ireland with Engalnd to follow in July 2007.

Here in Wales we've had the ban for one month - so what has happened in the workplace and of an evening in the pub. Well even though it is only a month my experience is that I have notcied a large number of people who have taken the ban as the incentive they needed to give up smoking. I would think the sale of patches and chewing gum has gone up dramatically in Wales in the last 4 weeks.

Call of the Wild own two bars - Merlins and the Bryn. We have seen no marked decrease in turnover since the introduction of the ban. Actually we have seen new faces who have commeneted that they have come back to pubs as a direct result of the ban.

In a work context  we have seen no difference in working practices. We have come across some stories where some smokers are asking for better facilities at the workplace to meet their needs such as better outside seating, patio heaters etc. However I have read that in some places this has led to resentment from the non-smokers who have also asked for relaxation areas.

Watch this space!