Blink Book Review Essay - 1969 Words

Blink is a book that analyzes the way people make decisions. According to the author, Malcolm Gladwell, people use one of two strategies to come to a decision. The first strategy is a conscious one. When using this strategy, people think about what they have learned and develop an answer. The second is an unconscious strategy in which a persons brain reaches a conclusion in a matter of seconds, often times without awareness. These conclusions are what we generally refer to as hunches or instincts and, it is the development and reliability of these types of conclusions that Gladwell focuses on in this book. In doing so, Gladwell sets out to accomplish three tasks. The first is to prove that decisions made very quickly can be as†¦show more content†¦Now, most members of a board of directors would never admit to having a bias toward tall males. However, this research states otherwise. Most rational people would agree that short people and tall people are equally capabl e of making sound business decisions. However, if this is the case, why is this population of CEOs dominated by a minority of American males? It is Gladwells argument that these types of biases live in the human unconscious and people act on them without even realizing it. From our readings in the text, we have learned that a stereotype is the belief that all members of specific groups share similar traits and behaviors. Gladwells research suggests that, whether knowingly or unknowingly, people who hire for positions of leadership consider height to be a trait of successful people. If managers are to put Gladwells theories into practice, they must abandon a certain degree of top-down decision making. In our textbook, Greenberg defines top-down decision-making as an approach that puts the power to make decisions in the hands of managers, leaving lower level workers with little or no opportunity to make decisions. Gladwell also recognizes that in order for people to make effective split-second decisions, they must be given the right set of inputs. In other words, employees must be properly trained before they can trust their instinctive decision making ability. However, once employees have been givenShow MoreRelatedBlink - Book Review1614 Words   |  7 PagesLabour Relations Institute Managing Human Behaviour Assignment Blink by Malcolm Gladwell A book review by Narendran Santhanam (G10031) Contents Introduction 3 A brief summary 3 Evaluation 5 Conclusion 5 Introduction â€Å"Blink† by Malcolm Gladwell is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant – in the blink of an eye – that actually aren’t as simple as they seem. The book deals with the smallest components of our everyday lives—the contentRead MoreBlink : The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking1724 Words   |  7 PagesMajed Osman ENTR 305 – Creativity and Innovation Book Review October 2015 Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell Whilst entering a bar that your friend recommended, a shady looking guy brushes your shoulder and gives you a strange look, you immediately develop a sense of discomfort and question your friend’s taste in bars. What do you do? You decide to walk in anyway and ask for a drink, a stranger then sits next to you and starts to engage in conversation. You are immediatelyRead MoreChaim Potok s Most Prolific Work952 Words   |  4 PagesThe Chosen was Chaim Potok’s most prolific work. Written in the 1960’s, this novel analyzes and discusses the numerous branches of Judaism through the eyes of a young man, Reuven. 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That is, Individuals throughout the years have become more comfortable with sharing their experiences and voicing an opinion such as blogs, reviews, and testimonials. The fact is the Internet providesRead MoreFoster Care and Its Effects Essay1283 Words   |  6 Pagesages end up in the foster care system year after year. Their hardships influence them to feel really depressed and stoic. Many people do not read autobiographies, but the book, Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter teaches people about the complications of a first-hand foster child, how the foster care system is, and book reviews of famous authors and well-known magazines, as well. The story gives hope to people who believe there is no way out anymore, and it influences upon the world’s cultureRead MoreThe Problem Of Pop Culture1503 Words   |  7 Pageseffect on one’s self-esteem. Let’s now focus specifically on what these dreaded tests value: rapid cognition. Malcolm Gladwell points out something many people don’t realize, â€Å"Snap judgements and rapid cognition take place behind a locked door† (Blink 51). In other words, Gladwell says you don’t know why your body tells you to do something or not to do something because those decisions are made â€Å"behind a locked door.† The ACT and SAT force their contenders to make numerous, rapid decisions becauseRead MoreEssay on Celebrities in the American Media1325 Words   |  6 Pagesto experience the assault the first time but also she was reminded of the day every time she saw that picture. Overall, the media helps the public to make rash decisions regarding public figures. Gladwell talks about first impressions in his book Blink by saying that in an instant a judgement is formed about the person you meet. Television broadcasts and magazine articles tend to influence this instantaneous judgement sometimes in an unfavorable way. As in the Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya HardingRead MoreHow Did The Odessa Steps Sequence Influence The Theory Of Montage1144 Words   |  5 PagesEisenstein believed that meaning within motion pictures is generated by the collision of opposing shots. The power of montage enabled him to manipulate not only the emotional responses of the audience, but also the perception of time. In the book, The Blink of the Eye (2001), film editor Walter Murch said that ‘The visual reality we perceive is a continuous stream of linked images’. Theoretically, Eisenstein challenged this conclusion in soviet cinema and created a media far beyond chronological