Individual Outliers Essay Sample

An outlier is an person who behaves in an unusual mode. “a scientific term to depict things or phenomena that lie outside normal experience. ” This is the definition Malcolm Gladwell uses to depict a successful individual. In this book. subtitled “The Story of Success. ” Gladwell attempts to explicate why some people are more successful than others. He does this by placing cultural and societal factors that contribute to chances in individual’s lives. Through a series of instance surveies he insists that society has fostered the outlook that successful people are self-made. Conversely. Gladwell claims that they “are constantly the donees of concealed advantages and extraordinary chances and cultural bequests that allow them to larn and work difficult and do sense of the universe in ways others can non. ” These successful people are on top of the pyramid because of the combination of chance and clip. The first portion the book focuses partly on chances that arise as a consequence of the clip that is dedicated to the activity in which one wants to win. a construct Gladwell refers to as “The Matthew Effect. ” Part two emphasizes cultural advantages.

Gladwell demonstrates the “The Mathew Effect” by using The Beatles. which were non native musical masterminds who succeeded merely after 10. 000 hours of pattern. This instance reveals. non merely how the sum of clip dedicated to practising an activity can take to success. but besides how timing can act upon the likeliness of success. Similarly. Gladwell utilizes instance surveies. in the 2nd portion of the book. to represent his thoughts sing cultural advantages. He examines the cultural bequest of failure and how certain fortunes can transform failure into success. Overall. the point of view that Gladwell intends for his readers to understand is that success arises from a balance of accrued benefits: “When and where you are born. what your parents did for a life. and what the fortunes of your upbringing were. ” These factors appear to hold a significant consequence on how persons perform in the universe. One of the chief subjects discussed in this book is the impact that a person’s civilization has on his or her success. Persons are ever intrigued by the properties that constitute a successful individual. They think that personal qualities and features such as the type of personality. degree of intelligence. type of life manner. or the presence of particular endowments are the factors that have aided them in making success. Outliers. was written to confute these wide-held premises.

It illustrates that alternatively of these personal qualities. we need to cognize where the individual is from in order to understand how he succeeded the manner they did. It is non merely of import to understand where successful persons came from. but besides the timing of the happenings in their lives play of import functions. In organisational behaviour there is a theory called “Cultural Theories” . which concentrations on the experiences. cultural values. attitudes. and beliefs shared by the people within an organisation. A successful organisation is nourished by the organisational civilization that accompanies it. Gladwell gives an illustration of air hoses and how the civilization of the air hoses affects the company’s success. Towards the terminal of the book he dedicates a chapter to shave clangs and how the quality of a pilot is dependent upon the pilot’s beginning and the cultural values he has been exposed to. This is because parents play a immense function in learning their childs to be confident and standing up against those in charge. Parents teach their kids behaviours that will be utile in life. but there are besides behaviours that are learned through observation. these enhance the individual’s personality.

To exemplify his point of view. Gladwell employs Hofstede: Power Distance Index ( PDI ) which predicts who is prepared to stand up to their foreman when something goes incorrect. The grounds that is presented aids to understand the manner that the incidence of national plane clangs relates closely with Hofstede’s PDI. He concluded that a high PDI means that the junior crew is improbable to oppugn the captain when he makes a error or even if they are perceived to be in problem. This is what Gladwell refers to as civilization determining the success of an organisation. If the people in the organisation are from different civilizations it will be difficult for them to pass on with each other and it will make jobs. which in bend affects the organisation. In his illustration it led to shave clangs and people losing trust in the air hose company. In order for person to boom they need to understand where they come from and tie in their civilization with those around them. Gladwell made a strong accent on civilization in his book. but he besides stressed timing.

He said that being born in the right era/decade helps you fit your accomplishments. He gave an illustration of success for childs playing hockey correlatives strongly with being born before January 1. If an person is born prior to January. he played with childs. This meant he was bigger. stronger and more co-ordinated and gave the childs an advantage to better themselves. Those that were born closer to January were the 1s to maximise their accomplishments. These childs had an chance to win because of when they were born. However. in an article written in the Ivey Business Journal by John S. McCallum. McCallum discusses how much timing truly affairs in success. he even states “Don’t state me what to purchase ; state me when to purchase it. ” Timing should be at the top of every executive determination. The inquiry should non merely be if the determination is right. but if the clip is right for the determination to be made to make success in the company. The information provided by Gladwell in his book is based chiefly on historical facts and events. He wrote about scientific research. but does non accommodate an academic position to it. On the other manus. he calls upon subjective grounds to depict constructs in a general manner for others to understand. In the epilogue. Gladwell’s point of view displacements to a more personal one.

He begins to depict his ain Jamaican heritage by besides. using the theory of success that he himself has developed. He describes the chance and cultural facets that allowed his female parent to acquire to where she has. and how that has given him the chance to be where he is today. I feel that the information provided in this book has been based on sound research. However. there is some of that information that can be skewed. I say this because there is ever an exclusion to the regulation and I think that the constructs set 4th by Gladwell have adequate information to be back up as true. but besides can be flipped upside and proved wrong. Not everything that we see comes out the manner it is expected to. The impact that this book has made in my every twenty-four hours life or even in the workplace is that it has allowed me to see success in a different manner. I thought that success was achieved through difficult work and committedness. but Gladwell has expanded that train of idea. Harmonizing. to the information in his book success is something that happens out of chance. Although difficult work and committedness can be utile to obtain success. there are factors that can heighten the chance to win.

For illustration. I feel that if I live by “The 10. 000- Hour Rule” I can accomplish my ultimate end. Gladwell claims “If you work hard plenty and asseverate yourself. and utilize your head and imaginativeness. you can determine the universe to your desires. ” I have understood that one time you work towards what you want to accomplish and set the best of yourself you will prevail. One of the most of import things that will assist me in my mundane life is to retrieve. “Practice isn’t the thing you do one time you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good. ” I believe this quotation mark is the overall kernel of this book. It helps to understand the practical value that is needed to win apart from all of the facets that Gladwell states as enterprises to be successful in this universe.

Ultimately. the single must retrieve that it is non them that made them who they are. but it was with the chances they had that granted them the fortune that accompanied them. Consequently. I wouldn’t urge anyone to read this book. Don’t acquire me incorrect it is a great book. and it gives first-class accounts overall as to why some persons are more successful than others. I feel. nevertheless. that it concentrates excessively much on the accounts of these grounds of success. Although this provides for a better apprehension of Gladwell’s point of views. it is more of a book to plane through and a have a general cognition about success visual perception as it does non supply a formula for success. Alternatively. it merely informs the reader as to why certain people were more successful than others rendering their personal experiences instead than comparing a population at big.

Plants Cited

Gladwell. Malcolm. Outliers “The Story of Success” . New York: Small. Brown and Company. 2008. McCallum. John S. Outliers: Malcolm Gladwell Does It Again. January 2010. Ivey Business School. March 25. 2012 hypertext transfer protocol: //www. iveybusinessjournal. com/departments/viewpoint/outliers-malcolm-gladwell-does-it-again. Gladwell. Malcolm. What is Outliers about? 16 Dec. 2008. Gladwell. com. March 25. 2012 hypertext transfer protocol: //www. gladwell. com/outliers/outliers_excerpt1. hypertext markup language. Five large thoughts from Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers. 30 Jan. 2011. Tough Guide To Work. March 25. 2012 hypertext transfer protocol: //toughguide. blogspot. com/2009/01/five-big-ideas-from-malcolm-gladwells. hypertext markup language.

Organizational Behavior Theories. 19 Oct. 2011. Organizational Behavior Theories. March 25. 2012 hypertext transfer protocol: //www. organizationalbehaviortheories. net/ .