Role Of Decisions In The Stranger Book - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 590 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/08/16 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: The Stranger Essay Did you like this example? Making decisions is a process we do everyday but everyone makes different decisions. Some people make decisions that can lead you to good places in your life and other people make decisions that can be bad and lead you to bad places in your life. Whether you choose not to focus on your education, you decide not to listen to your parents, or even choosing the people you hang out with is an important decision to make that can come with different types of outcomes. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Role Of Decisions In The Stranger Book" essay for you Create order In the book The Stranger Meursault experiences how making bad decisions can affect your life for the worse. Just like meursault Everyone makes decisions in their life some are smaller decisions and some are bigger. Making decisions can change your life and how the outcome of it is. In the book The stranger meursaults mother dies and he really doesnt feel sad about it making people think bad about him. Meursault meets raymond one of his neighbors when he hears screaming from his neighbors apartment. He goes to see what is going on and finds out he is physically abusing a woman. Meursault makes a bad decision by agreeing to become his friend because the person he meets is influencing him to do bad things. Raymond tells meursault to lie about what happened if anybody asks him about it. There are small bad decisions throughout the book that put weight on meursault. One of the major wrong decisions he makes is when he killed a person at the beach without any discernible motive. This happened when he and the friend he had made went to the beach for a vacation. They were walking by the beach and a group of arabian men came up to them and hurt meursaults friend. Meursaults friend had also said that he didnt like them. Choosing Raymond to be his friend caused meursault to be involved in this situation. When albert killed the man he didnt know why he killed him. After he shot the man once he shot at him four more times not having a reason to do it. Meursault has chosen to do all these things because at the beginning he doesnt take time to make choices he just does stuff at the moment. Before he shot the man he said It was then that I realized that you could either shoot or not shoot(camus).Before he shot the man he realized that he could choose to do something or not to do it. Most of his life meursault did things without thinking how it would affect him or other people. In conclusion the author demonstrates through Meursaults life how decisions can affect your life. He made many bad decisions that caused bad outcomes. Meursault would do things at the moment without thinking about it or thinking of a different solution. Meursault experienced a change. Before shooting the arab guy meursault saw that he had the choice whether to shoot or not to shoot. Even though meursault made a bad decision that lead to a punishment of death he realized that he had a choice. Works Cited Carter, Ron. The Stranger by Albert Camus. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature, 2017. EBSCOhost, www.statelib.lib.in.us/inspire/authenticate-eds.asp?url=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26AuthType%3dcookie%2cgeo%2curl%2cip%26geocustid%3ds8475741%26db%3ders%26AN%3d87575438%26site%3deds-live%26scope%3dsite. Shmoop Editorial Team. Marie Cardona in The Stranger. Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 17 Dec. 2018. Camus, Albert. The Stranger. CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2015.

Why People Mirgrated West to Oregon Essay - 1513 Words

Why did people migrate west – especially to Oregon? Can you imagine how hard and dangerous it would be to take your family and move to an unknown territory, where only a handful of people have visited? Why would people even go to this new land? Well people had different motivations for traveling west, but the common cause was simple. Travelling west was an opportunity for people to start new lives. The chance for a fresh start, a better life, and the chance to make your own fortune motivated hundreds of thousands. Exploring a new territory and expanding our new nation took courage, curiosity and the opportunity to make a fortune. The idea of spreading our country from coast to coast is called Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny is the†¦show more content†¦The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutters Mill in Coloma, California. The Oregon trail bisected two major Native American tribes the Cheyenne to the North and the Pawnee to the South. The majority of Americans who made the trip to Oregon never had encountered a Native American tribe and most believed they were hostile and vicious people which was far from the truth. Most encounters with Native Americans were just business encounters. The emigrants offered clothes tobacco or rifles and the Natives offered food and horses. Some violent encounters between these two groups of people were the Bear River Massacre and the Grattan Massacre. According to(2) the Grattan Massacre happened over a cow that had roamed off and was eaten by a Sioux village in Nebraska and men from fort Laramie went to the village and the tribe offered them any of the tribes 60 horses. The men denied and asked for 25$ instead and then attacked the village. They fatally wounded Bear(chief) and then Lieutenant Grattan was annihilated. These were bloody encounters where both sides likely suffered significant losses. Other factors that affected emigrants moving west was mother nature. Whether it was the brutal cold of the Rocky Mountains and Northern Plains or the wild river rapids danger was everywhere. Its and extremely dangerous trip and in

My Bonsai Art free essay sample

I hastened to carry all my plants which were grown in chipped bowls and yogurt cans to the sunshine yard. Dandelion, wild daisy, fruit sapling and some plants that I did not know their name sprang up neatly in their pot. They looked so pretty beneath the winter sun. That day, my mother came home with a gentleman. She said he would be my father. This man was of small stature; he was a wealthy photographer. The first time I had a dad. That was great! He seemed to pay attention at my funny garden. I introduced him about my plants that he was contemplating although they were not strange and overgrew in every path with weeds. He said I had been a poor child. I moved to my dads house. It was a spacious house many bonsai plants disposed aesthetically that was out of my imagination. My dad suggested that I should leave my wild plants because they had no value. We will write a custom essay sample on My Bonsai Art or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He was always complaining about the mess I made when I did gardening. I saw his photograph taken in a Japan bonsai garden when he had a holiday. The way people make their plants was very complex and artistic. My dad said each plant had its own soul. Some symbolized for prosperity, beauty or happiness. And my dandelion symbolized for weeds. A thought was suddenly come up in my mind that if I tried arranging my plants more aesthetically, they would be very cute. After that, I started on my experiment. Waiting for the time all my seeds sprouted and the saplings sprang up as mushroom, I bonsai-ed my dandelion by plaiting, bending and even tried with the climbing plant. My dad called it my exclusive bonsai art. My bonsai plants were not solid as his plants. My dandelion photograph was put besides his collection as the prize for my art work. It was my story when I was a child. For 2 latest years, I have studied far from my house and rarely come home. Each time I came home, I had no time to look after my wild garden. Studying in a pressure environment made me usually feel being failure. Then I posted a note in my personal facebook page. Some day later, I received a package from my father. There are some photos about my garden each year, a dandelion grain pack and a message. Dandelion grows up by soil and humid. Its seed sprouts and it decays to provide nutrient for its gemma. If you do not know how to do with your dandelion, it will be just weeds. I opened the windows in turn and felt the sunshine, thought Initially, I am as grass. But I will be weeds if I do not know how to care myself and how to spend my life. Failure had its meaning, it came not to ruin me but to help my gemma sprout. If a seed always tried to avoid the sun, water because of not wanting to be rot, It might be never grow. And the most important thing, the way I grow up, the way I shape my life make my worth. As my bonsai dandelion, it grows from waste can. And it still welcome the sunshine, still be beautiful and still have its significance as the way it shape.Weeds never be weeds forever. I form them, specialize them by my dirty hands, in order to make them different. They no longer like an useless and characterless plant and overgrow unaimedly. Their value are built by my external effect and their internal energy. It is the way I create my worth, the way we bonsai our life Then I picked up my rust shovel. Several months later, I came home with a dandelion-pot with their stem plaited into the heart.

The Good of Diversity free essay sample

Ever you compare your culture with the other culture? There are some cultures that have a lot of similarities that make the culture hard to be differentiated. If we talk about culture, means that we talk about communities. In this world there are a lot of communities. Every community that lives in different place need to adapt with their surroundings in order to life, that adaptation process automatically makes their culture different and unique from the other communities. One member of a community maybe will not aware about that uniqueness, but when they go outside he community to the new community with different surrounding, they start to know and aware the diverse of the culture. I am one of those who experienced that kind of thing. Since I was small, I life in the middle of community that embrace a certain culture. As time goes by, I grew up and should get out of that community because the place I grew up cannot accommodate my needs anymore. We will write a custom essay sample on The Good of Diversity or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page And when I go outside of my community I have to meet a lot of people from different culture. Especially in Indonesia, a country with a lot of ethnic with their own uniqueness, of course it will e hard to interact with some people that have different culture in order to keep the harmonization. To keep that harmonization between people that have different culture is one of the purposes of the existence of cultural diversity as a part of learning subject in some multicultural educational institution. In this globalization era, people have to open minded to accept and respect the differences of the other people even though that people is different from us. It is because if we cannot accept and respect that every cultures are diverse, it will hard for us to continue our life. In order to fulfill our daily needs we need to interact with the other people. For example in the work place, now a days it will hard for us to find any company that embrace the monoculture in their company. So, to prepare people to face their future, cultural diversity subject is being taught in President University. After taking cultural diversity course, I become more aware about the uniqueness of some cultures that exist in the president university, learn how to act in front of diverse people and how to use that iversity for a better result when we work together. The first advantage that I get from taking cultural diversity course is I become more aware that every culture has its own uniqueness. That is right than every culture is different, but that differences is not something bad to know and learn. There are reason why that culture should be like the way it is. That is one thing that I get from culture diversity subject. If I meet with some people that have different culture, at first maybe I will feel uncomfortable when I interact with them. After I know the reason why the like that, I start to respect their culture even I also started to feel interested to learn more about the others culture. So before I know the reason why the other culture does something a bit unacceptable for me, I will not Judge it as a bad culture. The secondly, I also learn how to act in front of people that different culture with me. I know that there are some actions that I must not do in front of another people that have different culture with me because not every action can be acceptable for them. So thats why, I always be careful to choose my action and word in front of them, so I need to learn about their habit first. For example, if I speak with a Javanese, I will not speak too to the po nt. I is because it I speak too to the point and witn a loud voice, they will teel we offend them. So, I need to speak softly and with a long speech. The last advantage is I learn how to use that diversity to get a better result when I work together with some people that have different culture with me. There are always een a purpose why God make every culture different and unique. That purpose is to cover each other weakness when we work as a team, Just like a puzzle. Every piece of puzzle have its own shape that different from piece of puzzle, but if that pieces putted in the right place they will complete the picture. Just like in the society, every person come from different culture that make them have different habit and specialty. If that people find the right place and the right group, surely they will con cover each other weakness with their own uniqueness as their strength. That also means that that diversity can be used as a way to bring people from different culture together. As the conclusion, we know that every culture is different and unique. That unique will show up because the community needs to adapt with their surroundings. Then when they go outside the community, they will aware that every community has its own culture. It is also hard for the member from a certain community to keep the harmonization with the others because of those differences. That is the reason why he cultural diversity becomes one important subject to learned. By learning that subject, we also prepare ourselves to face the globalization era. I also get some advantage by learning this subject. That advantages are I become more aware and respect about the uniqueness of every cultures. I also learn abot how to act in front of a diverse group of people. The last advantage is I know that that diversity can be used to get a better result when we work together. So, by lean cultural diversity I learn how to face my future in this globalization era.

Free Essays on Macbeth Essay

and phrases, such as  ¡Ã‚ §thick night ¡Ã‚ ¨,  ¡Ã‚ §the dunnest smoke of hell ¡Ã‚ ¨,  ¡Ã‚ §keen knife ¡Ã‚ ¨ and  ¡Ã‚ §peep through the blanket of the dark to cry ¡Ã‚ ¨ (25), to further enroot Lady Macbeth ¡Ã‚ ¦s enviousness into the... Free Essays on Macbeth Essay Free Essays on Macbeth Essay Committing a murder isn ¡Ã‚ ¦t an easy task. It ¡Ã‚ ¦s not only about a knife and an alibi; but also involves a brew of inner-struggle and guilt that are often buried under the stereotypical image. Shakespeare successfully separates Macbeth from these stereotypes, which appears startling among these hackneyed murder tales. In Macbeth, Shakespeare digs into the raw side of murderers, placing their inner struggle and guilt in the limelight. The characters, mainly Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, experience surprising stages of emotional metamorphosis - peaceful loyalty, cold-blooded murder, and hateful revenge  ¡V which, in the end, gradually replace their original behavior with their antithesis. In the early scenes, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth believe in different sets of morals. A Loyal Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth, in Lady Macbeth ¡Ã‚ ¦s words, is  ¡Ã‚ §too full o ¡Ã‚ ¦th ¡Ã‚ ¦milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way. ¡Ã‚ ¨ (23) He is too decent and squeamish to murder Duncan for the crown, and even if he does, his face  ¡Ã‚ §is as a book where men may read strange matters ¡Ã‚ ¨. (27) Shakespeare uses a handful of metaphors and imagery to portray Macbeth ¡Ã‚ ¦s loyalty and decency, which Lady Macbeth considers as cowardice. However, his lack of self-confidence is made up by the opportunism of Lady Macbeth, which Shakespeare reveals with the use of dark metaphors and imagery. Lady Macbeth reveals her evil and ambitious character by hoping the evil spirits will  ¡Ã‚ §come to [her] woman ¡Ã‚ ¦s breasts and take [her] milk for gall ¡Ã‚ ¨.(25) She even further reveals her ambitious and opportunistic personality by her wish of being  ¡Ã‚ §unsexed ¡Ã‚ ¨ and  ¡Ã‚ §filled from the crown to the toe topfull of direst cruelty ¡Ã‚ ¨.(25) Shakespeare uses strong, ominous words and phrases, such as  ¡Ã‚ §thick night ¡Ã‚ ¨,  ¡Ã‚ §the dunnest smoke of hell ¡Ã‚ ¨,  ¡Ã‚ §keen knife ¡Ã‚ ¨ and  ¡Ã‚ §peep through the blanket of the dark to cry ¡Ã‚ ¨ (25), to further enroot Lady Macbeth ¡Ã‚ ¦s enviousness into the...

Spring Poems (Classic and Contemporary) Collection

Spring Poems (Classic and Contemporary) Collection Our anthology of poems celebrating spring begins with a selection of classics: Tu Fu,â€Å"A Spring View† (c. 750), translated by Witter Bynner Li Po,â€Å"Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day† (c. 750), translated by Arthur Waley William Shakespeare,â€Å"Spring,† song from Love’s Labors Lost (1598) Thomas Nashe,â€Å"Spring, the Sweet Spring,† from Summer’s Last Will and Testament (1600) William Shakespeare,Sonnet 98 - â€Å"From you have I been absent in the spring† (1609) John Webster,â€Å"Vanitas Vanitatum,† from The Devil’s Law Case (1623) Thomas Carew,â€Å"The Spring† (1640) Robert Herrick,â€Å"Corinna’s Going a-Maying† (1648) Matsuo Basho,â€Å"Spring Rain,† â€Å"Spring Air† and Four Haiku (c. 1680) William Blake,â€Å"To Spring† (1783) Robert Burns,â€Å"Composed in Spring† (1786) William Wordsworth,â€Å"Lines Written in Early Spring† (1798) Kobayashi Issa,â€Å"Three Spring Haiku† (1804, 1818) Samuel Taylor Coleridge,à ¢â‚¬Å"Work Without Hope† (1825) Christina Rossetti,â€Å"Spring Quiet† (1847) Walt Whitman,â€Å"These I, Singing in Spring† (1860) Emily Dickinson,â€Å"A Light exists in Spring† (#812) Emily Dickinson,â€Å"A little madness in the Spring† (#1333) A.E. Housman,â€Å"Loveliest of trees, the cherry now† (1896) Robert Frost,â€Å"A Prayer in Spring† (1915) Robert Frost,â€Å"Two Tramps in Mud Time† (1934) D.H.  Lawrence,â€Å"The Enkindled Spring† (1916) Amy Lowell,â€Å"Spring Day† (1916) Robert Louis Stevenson,â€Å"Spring Carol† (1918) Gerard Manley Hopkins,â€Å"Spring† (1918) John Clare,â€Å"Young Lambs† (1920) Carl Sandburg,â€Å"Three Spring Notations on Bipeds† (1920) e.e. cummings,â€Å"in Just-† (1920) William Carlos Williams,â€Å"March† (1921) Edna St. Vincent Millay,â€Å"Spring† (1921) A.E. Housman,â€Å"Spring Morning† (1922) To which we’ve added a selection of the new poems on spring themes we’ve received from contemporary poets around the world: Denis Dunn, â€Å" 6:13 march morning† Michael Graves, â€Å"Poem to Spring in a Time of Global Warming† Dorothea Grossman, â€Å"Spring† Ruth Hill, â€Å"Light Advancing Through Trees† and â€Å"Awe† Doug Holder, â€Å"Spring On School Street. Somerville, Mass.† Margaret James, â€Å"Sunday† and â€Å"March 18† Wayne Jarus, â€Å"The Flower Garden† Guy Kettelhack, â€Å"Dithyramb for Springtime† Christine Klocek-Lim, â€Å"First Crocus† Steve Meador, â€Å"The Morning After† Justine Nicholas, â€Å"Quinquagesima† and â€Å"Magnolia† Jack Peachum, â€Å"Virginia in Spring† and â€Å"Epiphany in Carolina† Don Rehling, â€Å"Mountains Melting† Lisa Shields, â€Å"Calling Card† and â€Å"Pinked† Larissa Shmailo, â€Å"Spring Vow† Ingrid Toth, â€Å"Spring 1946† Melissa Varnavas, â€Å"Ashley’s Garden† Bill Vartnaw, â€Å"Sprin g† Enjoy these poems of the season!

Revolutionary Nature of Romanticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Revolutionary Nature of Romanticism - Essay Example Augustan literary ideals were opposed by Romanticism ideals. Emotions and imaginations were the most important for Romanticism. A power of mind gradually decreased and there was a need for sublime and something innovative in poetry. Wordsworth, Coleridge and Rousseau Wordsworth underlined a revolutionary manner of Romanticism. On the example of Coleridge’s â€Å"Lime-tree bower† and â€Å"Frost at Midnight† we can see a perfect example of a revolutionary spirit of a new poetry. Wordsworth also claims that representation of different things in an unusual manner allows a poet to represent his feelings to others and identify them with the feelings and emotions of others. For example, in the poem â€Å"This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison† Coleridge continues to show him Nature in a unique manner. His friends are walking but he is enchanted by the beauty of Nature around him. In the first lines the poet is depressed: â€Å"lost / Beauties and feelings, such as woul d have been / Most sweet to [his] remembrance† (Coleridge, This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison) and is afraid of losing his friend forever. The friends around the poet have the ability to experience a beauty of feelings about Nature and when he feels a friend’s empathy, he confesses that his low mood has become better. The following lines of the poem are filled with joy and he appreciates beauty of Nature around him even better. The main concern of the poet about Nature underlines another major tendency of Romanticism, when poets should reflect their feelings with regards to Nature and be closer to it. The poem is written in the blank verse in order to reflect a conversational nature of the poem more exactly. Moreover, Coleridge describes a kind of journey along the Nature and intimacy of relations with his friends is much important for him than a severe following the rhyme. The When a lime-tree is reflected as a kind of a prison, the author loses a felling of love to Nature . The poem is full of beautiful feelings and it is very pleasant to read. He is in despair and feels lonely. Nevertheless, only when the poet is alone he is able to feel the beauty of Nature to the fullest extent. A way from pity to joy depends on the poet’s ability to experience the deepest feelings. The poet refers to sublime and Nature worshipping thus creating a religious theme the central one for his poem. God is everywhere and Coleridge appraises God: â€Å"As veil the Almighty Spirit, when he makes Spirits perceive his presence† (Coleridge, This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison). He draws parallels between the Nature and Divine. In the lines by Wordsworth’s poem â€Å"It is a beauteous evening† we can see the poet’s worshipping of Divine and God: Thou liest in Abraham's bosom all the year; And worship'st at the Temple's inner shrine, God being with thee when we know it not (Wordsworth, It is a beauteous evening). Thus, we can see that Nature is div ine for Wordsworth as well. He is inspired by the innocence of his daughter, by her childhood. His ideas and emotions are sublime. Therefore, a nature of a child is also divine and religious for Wordsworth. Being inspired by Rousseau’s Emile, romantic poets believed in an immense power of education through nature and an ability of a child to stay above daily turmoil. In the poem by Coleridge â€Å"Frost at Midnight† we can see this tendency. This is a kind of a conversational poem as well. He speaks about the necessity of education of a

The UK government is right to listen to claims that large banks should Essay

The UK government is right to listen to claims that large banks should be broken up - Essay Example The impediment is that every niche of this argument is based on a myth. The first misleading notion is that the materialization of huge, universal banks- uniting investment banking with commercial banking- was an unnatural or artificial development. This disjointed market means that banks could not accomplish the economies of scale or simply supply clients on a global or national level. The market needs stimulated the consolidation and gave birth to an evolution towards greater competency in the banking sector.3 A second erroneous belief is that these universal, large institutions were primarily to give guilt for financial crisis. As most grave observers recognize, an amalgamation of risk management and bad lending by poor regulation, bank management and poor-advised consumer performance all played a role. A third misleading notion is that huge financial institutions have become too intricate to supervise. A firm of any size needs strong management and control to supervise complication. In reality, big global institutions have frequently proved more elastic than others because their expansion in business model makes sure that loss in one department of enterprise can be stifled by revenues in other departments of the organization. In some instances, intricacy can be a remedy to risk, instead of a reason of it. 4 The opponents of huge banks that are seldom aired similar to they don’t qualify for examination. Critics point to the excessive influence huge banks mostly has on the political procedures. They panic that those regulators are intimidated by a big bank’s power and position. These opponents appear to consider that regulators are not capable of coming up with independent verdicts. In the practical world, this instance is not true. That supposed, it is genuinely right and mandatory for politicians and regulators to employ with industry and experts practitioners to be trained about these issues. These

History of Psychology-John Locke and John Mill Essay Example for Free

History of Psychology-John Locke and John Mill Essay Psychology as a recognized science is a fairly new revelation, falling into favoritism only within the past century. Philosophy bears the roots of psychology, and philosophers have been pondering the inner workings of the mind and body for many centuries before psychology came in to favor. One of the key philosophers crucial in the development of psychology in to a formal discipline was Descartes. Their writings influenced more modern Western philosophers such as John Locke and John Mill. From this point, psychology grew into the science it is now recognized as. The Philosophers The 17th century is the cornerstone of philosophy evolving into psychology. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) is often considered to be the inspiration for and credited to be the father of our modern philosophy, and psychology. He is most famously quoted for â€Å"I think, therefore I am† (Descartes, 2006). A human’s ability to reason is the only to find truth. Descartes would also not accept anything to be truth unless there was no discernable reason for doubt. â€Å"The only way to get to the certainty of truth is to arrive at oneself, relying on the clear use of one’s own reasoning powers† (Goodwin, 2008, p.33). Disenchanted with the philosophy he was taught, Descartes found nothing in his learning that could not be left to question. He was said to only believe as truth what could not be doubted and Descartes pursued to find the knowledge he could find within himself (Goodwin, 2008). Descartes was a rationalist and dualist, making him firm believer in the mind and body being two completely separate entities. His beliefs on this are debatable in philosophy and psychology and have been so in the centuries following his life. Philosophers and psychologists to this day are still trying to find the connection between the mind and the body. Western Influences John Locke John Locke was a 17th century British philosopher who is credited with being the founder of Empiricism, the idea that our experiences are our only true source of knowledge. Locke’s view on the formation of ideas was sensation and reflection is the only foundation on which we form ideas. He believed we acquired all of our knowledge form our experiences in the world and in life. Locke compared the human mind to a sheet of white paper. Over the course of life, all of our experiences are recorded upon this paper, our sensations. These sensations can later be recalled, in reflection, to add to new sensations and to acquire new compounded knowledge. John Mill John Mill is considered to be the most important contributor during the British Empirical movement. His contribution stated all knowledge is attained through experience and inborn ideas do not exist. Mill also believed a man should be able to do anything desired as long as the actions do not harm or hurt fellow man in the process. This also affected his views on the necessity of government. â€Å"The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community against his will is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. † (Mill, 2008). Mill found the government to only be necessary for the protection of the people in defense of a war, safety against violence, and to prevent cheating or fraud. Modern Psychology The evolution of philosophy into the science of psychology rapidly took shape in the 19th century. The world was also rapidly changing; the Industrial Revolution created new technologies to help in the advancement of many facets of science. Moving into the next century, advances in the knowledge in anatomy and of the brain further assisted the progress of psychology being a science. Robert Watson was crucial in the study of the history of psychology. Founding a new division of the American Psychological Association, he encourages a study of the history of psychology. As a result, nearly all psychology programs today require a course in psychology’s history. (Goodwin, 2008) Conclusion. Psychology as the science we recognize today is barely more than a century in the making. When following the links to the past and the minds that have gotten us to where we are in psychology today, much it to be learned. From modern medicine and science all the way back to ancient philosophers, psychology is a longstanding and diverse study. References Descartes, Rene (2006). A discourse on method/ by Rene Descartes [Kindle DX version]. Retrieved from Amazon. com Goodwin, C. J. (2008). A history of modern psychology [3rd ed. ]. Mill, John S. (2008). On liberty/ by John Stuart Mill [Kindle DX version]. Retrieved from Amazon. com.

Changes In Democracy: From Early Athenian To Present Day Politics Essay

Democracy: From Early Athenian To Present Day Politics. When following current events we can’t help but witness politicians use terms such as â€Å"defending freedom†, â€Å"liberty†, or â€Å"democracy†, but one is simply left wondering if the general public, or even the politicians themselves, know what those terms really mean or where they come from. The reality is that most don’t. The ideals of living in a democracy have been drastically changed from their original meanings and diluted into persuasive political language to become mere rhetoric as opposed to meaningful concepts of ethical and moral value.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The word democracy is thrown around to make convincing, patriotic speeches that many times are utilized to usurp the rights and property of peoples in the name of this most sacred of political concepts in the history of western civilization. In order to better understand the true meaning of this idea we must go back to its roots and search for the original intentions behind it. We must find the similarities and differences between Greek democracy and modern day democracy. By separating the two we can see how distant they are from each other. Without a clear understanding of the history involved we are easily blinded by the eloquence and charisma that politicians utilize to control the populace.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Democracy dates back to the Golden Age of Greece or the Classic Period. Not yet an organized, centralized nation Greece was made up of warring city-states none of which possessed full control over its neighbors. During this period and under these circumstances there was a tremendous advancement in Greek thought encompassing philosophy, politics, medicine, mathematics, and the sciences to name just a few areas of influence that still maintain a strong Greek legacy today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of all the Greek city-states it was Athens that gave birth to many of the political philosophies that still survive today. At around 600 B.C.E Athens was in severe economic, social, and political crisis. It was then that a rich aristocrat named Solon emerged to produce for Athens its first comprehensive set of political rules and regulations, overhauling the constitution, reining in the plutocrats, and giving decent measure of power and responsibility to the moderately well-off non-aristocrats. He also provided some legal... ...of a city (Minogue, p.11).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unfortunately we have not kept the best of these ideas. In modern day politics rationality is no longer paramount. It is the reason we see the influence of politicians full of arrogance, believing in the superiority of their own authority trying to amass power through the use of the ancient Greek political concepts. Modern day politicians, mostly American, attempt to use emotion, not reason when addressing the American people. It is with great sadness that as we have witnessed with the last election this notion succeeded and now under the banner of â€Å"values† and fear will exploit the ignorance of the general public. Cartledge, Paul. The Greeks: Crucible of Civilizations. New York: TV Books, 2000 Freeman, Charles. The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of The Western World. New York: Viking Penguin, 1999 Martin, Thomas, R. Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric To Hellenistic Times. London: Yale University Press, 1996 Minogue, Kenneth. Politics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995 Pomeroy, Sarah, et al. Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999

I Have A Dream Speech Essay

Throughout the speech, King frequently appeals to pathos, but he uses all three of the Aristotelian appeals effectively. He uses appeal to pathos to let his audience realize what type of condition the African Americans are in. He uses another appeal to logos to persuade the African Americans to take actions and also to use it for transitions. He also uses appeal to ethos to keep the readers and the audiences to be interested. According to King’s speech, he stated, â€Å"But one hundred years later, the Negro still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination†¦.And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.† This quote means that after one hundred years free from being slaved, African Americans were still not free through discrimination and segregation. That’s why hundreds of thousands of African Americans came at the Lincoln’s Memorial to dramatize these conditions. King uses anaphora on this quote to emphasize the repetition of the phrase at the beginning of the consecutive sentences to let the reader or the audience know what happened after ‘one hundred years.’In paragraph one to six, the purpose of this section was to introduce the information to the audience about what they needed to know. According to King’s speech, he stated, â€Å"†¦a great American†¦signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves†¦.. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free†¦. We’ve come here to dramatize a shameful condition†¦. In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a bad check†¦.., that has come back marked as â€Å"insufficient funds†. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.† This quote means that the Emancipation Proclamation was the greatest hope for all African Americans to be free. But after one hundred years, they were given a ‘bad check’ because they were facing through many discriminations and segregations. In the second section, the purpose of it was to inform the African Americans what actions they should take and the avoidance in order to gain freedom. In the text, it says, â€Å"Let us not seek satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.† This quote means that the African Americans should not take actions with hatred and bitterness. Instead they should have dignity and discipline to gain freedom. In the third section, the purpose of this section was to describe  the changes and call to action. According in the speech, King stated, â€Å" I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi and other parts of the world that suffered through inequality and oppression, will change into freedom and injustice. King uses the writing framework because his speech has a beginning – an introduction, a middle – theme, opposition, and change, and an end – call to action.

Islam’s View on Suicide Essay

Islam views human life as a gift and something sacred that should be protected for the sake of Allah Ta’ala. No Muslim should take his or her life for granted. In the Qur’an, Allah speaks to His followers and educates them on their purpose of life: â€Å"And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)†. (Adh-Dhariyat: 56). This indicates that humans should continue living to worship their Lord. Through other verses, Muslims are protected from death through various forms of worship. â€Å"He has forbidden you only the carrion (flesh of dead animals), and blood, and flesh of swine, and that which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah (or has been slaughtered for idols, on which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned whilst slaughtering). But if one is forced by necessity without wilful disobedience nor transgressing due limits, then there is no sin on him. Truly, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. â€Å"(Surah Al-Baqarah: 173). These forbidden foods can only cause harm upon a person in the long-run and therefore a Muslim is forbidden to consume them. Consumption of prohibited substances will only entice death. Similarly, alcohol, cigarettes and drugs are explicitly shunned in Islam. During the one month fast of Ramadhan, Muslims appreciate hunger during the day. At the end of the month, they appreciate the life that they are given the opportunity to live with the bounty that Allah bestows upon them. Muslims believe that death is ordained by Allah and no person will die until his or her time is duely prescribed: â€Å"And no person can ever die except by Allah’s leave and at an appointed term† (Imraan: 145). Suicide in Islam Suicide is prohibited in Islam. As killing is prohibited in Islam, killing one’s self amounts to murder. Strict warnings appear in the Qur’an as relayed below: â€Å"Do not take life, which Allah made sacred, other than in the course of justice,† (al-Israa’: 33); and If anyone kills a person – unless it be for murder or spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he killed the whole of humanity (al-Ma’idah :32) Suicide, generally, is seen as a result of cowardice. Someone who wishes for an easy way to escape from stress and related difficulty in his or her life, sometimes entertain suicide. This type of mentality is frowned upon in Islam as Muslims believe that Allah would never burden a believer more than he or she can bear. It is through a Muslim’s intellect and perseverance, coupled with a lot of faith, that he or she should continue to overcome worldly obstacles by submitting to the Creator. More importantly though, many factors can lead to suicide. Among them are depression, substance abuse, personal losses and problems, personal health and disability. (a) Depression Depression is a medical condition that needs to be treated. A person who has an isolated and detached lifestyle including mental ability, sleeping patterns, the inability to socialise, eating disorders and a dangerous aptitude of stress is most likely to fall under the category of depression. If this person still has the ability to decide for him or herself, treatment should be sought immediately. Alternatively, friends and family who suspect this person is entertaining thoughts of suicide, must seek help from medical practitioners. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) reminded his followers that â€Å"Allah had not created any disease (except for cancer) without a cure for it,† (Bukhari). It is therefore vital for a person suffering from depression to seek medical attention. (b) Substance abuse Substance abusers can be often lead to suicide through overdoses. Anything that harms a human’s health is considered as haraam (prohibited). Substances that are intoxicating, such as cigarettes and alcohol have no benefit to mankind. On the contrary, they are harmful to the user and those who surround him or her. Even if this person does not overdose in the short run, steadfast addiction to either can cause cancer in the long run, a disease that does not have a cure. The same ruling applies to the use of drugs. â€Å"Every intoxicant is Khamr, and every Khamr is haram,† (Muslim) (c) Personal losses and problems The loss of a loved one can spark suicidal tendencies. Practicing Muslims however accept death as part of life. The saying â€Å"inna lillahi wa innalillahi rajiun† implies that Muslims accept that from Allah they originate from and to Allah they will return. Muslims accept the passing of a loved one calmly with prayers for his or her happiness in the after life. Personal problems are amass in today’s society. Many people are especially burdened by mounting financial debt. This is usually due to poor planning of resources. Though difficult to overcome, emerging from a financial difficulty is possible. Muslims are prohibited to leave debt when passing, so it is only wise to eliminate debt rather than end one’s life. The first step would be to remove the element of riba (interest) from financial holdings – whether they are assets or liabilities. Pay off all interest first. In assets such as savings accounts, remove all interest income by donating them to charity. When interest is removed, it will be easier to pay-off loans and an opportunity to start saving money will also unfold. Allah condemns usury, and blesses charities. Allah dislikes every disbeliever, guilty. O you who believe, you shall observe Allah and refrain from all kinds of usury, if you are believers. If you do not, then expect a war from Allah and His messenger. But if you repent, you may keep your capitals, without inflicting injustice, or incurring injustice. If the debtor is unable to pay, wait for a better time. If you give up the loan as a charity, it would be better for you, if you only knew. (Baqarah: 276-280) Engaging in a professional financial planning service will induce healthy spending tendencies. (d) Personal health and disability Again, Muslims are not to be disheartened by continuous pain and suffering endured in life. In fact, these experiences expatiate sins. The more suffering a Muslim is subjected to during his life-span, the easier his condition will be during the hereafter. Suicide is not an option. â€Å"Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods, lives, and the fruits of your toil. But give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Those who say, when afflicted with calamity, ‘To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return. ‘ They are those on whom descend blessings from their Lord, and mercy. They are the ones who receive guidance. † (Baqarah:155-157) Patience is prescribed for Muslims undergoing undue stress. There are blessings in overcoming hardship and the first step to doing this is to patiently accept the course of obstacles with determination and strength. There are cases where a patient who is enduring continuous pain, and is most probably bed-ridden, requires his or her life to be terminated. This is called euthanasia, or mercy-killing. In some cases, a family member or close friend â€Å"feels† that the patient will be better off deceased, and requests for his or her life to end. Muslims are disallowed from practicing euthanasia. â€Å"And do not kill yourselves. Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you†. (An-Nisa: 29). Assisting a person to terminate his or her life is unlawful in Islam as this translates into assisting suicide. There are blessings in suffering and a person’s life is still as valuable as it would be should he or she be perfectly healthy. A person must continue living until his or her time is due. â€Å"And take not life, which Allah has made sacred, except by way of justice and law,† (Al-An`am: 151). In a case where a person is proclaimed as brain-dead and does not feel any pain, a doctor may recommend terminating the use of the life-support machine. This machine is keeping the patient â€Å"alive† when he or she is actually is not. If there is medical justification that there is nothing in the power of the practitioners to be able to cure the patient in question, it is permissible for families of the patient to discontinue the use of the life-support machinery and allow nature to take its course. Suicide in the news: Suicide Bombing Suicide bombing is synonymous with Muslim followers in the mainstream media. Suicide bombers reap more attention than those who illegally invade countries, causing the lives of innocent civilians – some in their own homes. Suicide bombing entails a person killing him or herself through an explosion of a bomb. This explosion also encroaches of lives around the suicide bomber. Countries like Palestine and Iraq have been warped with suicide bombing. Islam, no doubt, is a religion of peace, and never condones any form of violence. Having said that, Islam disallows oppression in any way. It is not permissible for a Muslim to be an oppressor nor is it allowed for him to be oppressed and remain to be oppressed without seeking options of overcoming such violation of basic rights. A Muslim thus, is required to seek mediation and negotiation with the oppressing party, to release him, his family, his community and country from the shackles of violence. Since Muslims are bound only by Allah’s law, it is prohibited for a country to have the nation’s freedom curbed by an illegal invasion, all in the name of justice. Should there no means of disentangling a country’s operation from being ruled by a foreign party, Muslims sometimes do have to resort to violence in order to regain their rightful land. War is allowed in Islam when a Muslim party requires to defend their land, property and family. Defending a country for the sake of Islam, is mandatory upon every Muslim, man or woman. For example, in the case of Iraq, inhumane sanctions are being imposed on innocent civilians of the country. There are no medical facilities to allow recovery from alien bombs and fire. Children are being killed every day. Women are sexually assaulted. Iraqis are being beaten, wrongly imprisoned and killed by the minute. The country is constantly under attack by missiles and bombs that are released from the air. How are Muslims in this care required to fight? Suicide bombing here is reflected as a need to curb attacks upon innocent people. The Islamic Fiqh Academy affiliated to the OIC, in its fourteenth session, held in Duha (Qatar) 5–13 Dhul-Qi`dah1423 A. H., 11–16 January 2003 C. E. states: The Islamic Fiqh Academy stresses that martyr operations are a form of jihad, and carrying out those operations is a legitimate right that has nothing to do with terrorism or suicide. Those operations become obligatory when they become the only way to stop the aggression of the enemy, defeat it, and grievously damage its power. According to a fatwa issued by Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi, deputy head of the European Council of Fatwa and Research (ECFR), not only are these suicide bombers unassociated with suicide, they are neither terrorists. In fact, these suicide bombers are known as martyrs: those who risk their lives in defense of their country, property, family, and foremost, religion. It is not befitting for a suicide bomber in this context to be condemned. Allah Ta’ala narrates: â€Å"And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction; but do good; for Allah loveth those who do good,† (Baqarah: 195). In the case of Palestine, civilians suffer from displacement of their own kind to aggressive occupation. Such occupation has been in operation for years on end. All Israeli civilians who are occupation of Palestine, are seen as oppressors. In this case, Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi stresses that the demise of non-aggressive Israelis through suicide bombing also constitutes martyrdom and not terrorism. He continues to state that though Muslims should target military personnel over the lay-civilian, every Israeli who is living in hostility on Palestinian land should also be removed as they themselves continue to violate Muslims right to Holy land and to the Holy Masjid of Al-Aqsa. According to Sheikh Faysal, Muslims should retaliate the way they are too, being attacked, and in this case, attacked with great injustice. â€Å"If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted. â€Å"(An-Nahl: 126). Muslims living in the West Just because the Islamic Fiqh Academy defines suicide bombing as an act or martyrdom and does not associate it with terrorism or suicide, Muslims in countries that do not live under the realm of war, are not entitled to exploit the ruling. Muslims are not allowed to cause harm to other people, regardless of their faith, who are not oppressing Muslim brothers or sisters. On the contrary, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), and the president of the International Association of Muslim Scholars (IAMS) advises that all Muslims are to act in full kindness and convey the beautiful message of Islam to the best of their ability. Muslims in the West are not allowed to cause destruction in their country of residence, even though Muslim brothers and sisters fall victim to hands of violence. Muslims living under peaceful conditions should take full advantage to speak up on unfair dealings through interfaith dialogues, charity runs, neighbourhood gatherings and through other social events. Muslims should not resort to violence when there is none surrounding them. â€Å"O you who believe! Stand out firmly as Allah’s witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety and fear Allah. And Allah is well acquainted with all that you do. † (al-Ma’idah: 8) This whole world is made by God. Anything that exists in this world is also made by God. We all are made by God and for God. God has made this earth on which we are living, and the sky. He sends rain to the earth. He has created different kinds of fruits for us to eat like grapes, dates, mango, banana, orange, apple, papaya, pineapple, custard apple and many more. He also created different kinds of vegetables for us to eat like onion, spinach, tomatoes, lemon, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, ginger, garlic etc. Then He also created different kinds of meat that we eat like chicken, beef, mutton, fish etc. There are also other many different kinds of food we eat, unlimited and uncountable on this earth. Can we live without water? It is created by our Lord. We need water to drink, we need water to grow vegetables, fruits, rice, wheat and other plants. We need water to cook food, we need water to clean ourselves, we need water to clean our houses, wash clothes, wash dishes and then there are much more uses of water. We on this earth can’t live without water. It’s a fact and we known this fact. This water is created by our God so that we can survive on this earth. That is, we cannot survive if there will be no water on this world. This means that we are really and solely dependent on our Lord for His mercy on us, we cannot live or survive without our Lord and His mercy. Can we live without air and oxygen? It is also given to us by our Creator, our Lord. God has sent to us on this world for some purpose in life. He has created all these things and shown His mercy on us for some reason. There is some valid genuine reason for which we sent to this world. We’re not created purpose less. How can we know our purpose in this life then? We can only know this by His books, He has sent to us and learning from His prophets. After sending us to this world God hasn’t left us alone in darkness. From His book we know that when He expelled Adam from paradise, He told Him, â€Å"Go down to earth, and some of you will be enemy of others, and you will live there for small period of time, then you’ll have to come back to me one day. I’ll keep sending you my commandments, whoever will obey me, I’ll take him to paradise, and whoever will deny me and reject my commandments, I’ll reject him and take him to hell. † (Al-Quran, The Cow) From these lines now we know that our purpose of existence is only and only for God. We’re not only created by God but for God. He said in His book, â€Å"I’ve created mankind to worship me and to recognize me. † (Al-Quran) God has created all these things for us on which we’re dependent like food, water, earth only and only to submit to our Lord. We should show our respect to God, be dutiful to Him and become His obedient. Muslims should not be overbearing upon non-Muslims and force them to understand Islam. Lecturing and preaching to followers of other faith must always be done with tact. A more effective method of da’wa would be to lead by action through constructive community projects and general amiable behaviour. Muslims who resort to suicide bombing in countries that do not harbour war, are not considered as martyrs. In fact, they have committed suicide and in turn, have also killed innocent civilians. â€Å"Let therebe no compulsion [or coercion] in the religion [Islam]. The right direction is distinctly clear from error. † (Baqarah: 256) Killing other people just as a form of expression, or rather to merely make a point, is not a trait of a Muslim. â€Å"Allah forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not out from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal justly with them. Lo ! Allah loveth the just dealers. † (Al-Mumtahanah: 8) Different hadith from Prophet Mohammad (salalaho alaihay wasalam) also stresses the same view that suicide is not permitted and extremely prohibited in Islam. References 1. Http://www. inter-islam. org/prohibitions/suicide. html 2. www. therevivial. co. uk 3. www. readingislam. com 4. www. islam. about. com 5. www. submission. org 6. www. islamonline. net.

The eNotes Blog New Quizzes fromeNotes!

New Quizzes from! Hi, everyone! While some of you might already be preparing for  the next quiz youll be taking at school, some of us over at have been having (way too much) fun trying to   make some. Dont worry, though- none of these quizzes will affect your grade. Have a look at the list below to see what weve added to our collection so far! 1. Take the  Shakespearean Deaths Quiz  to figure out which tragedy has the highest body count, where you can read about revenge in the form of unwitting cannibalism, and more!   Why, William why?! 2. If you take the   Authors and Animals Quiz, be prepared for more than beloved dogs and cats of various authors. There may or may not be a lobster involved. Oh, also a bear.   Fluffy? 3. At some point in your life, you might  have  encountered a book for which your hatred  now burns  with the fire of a thousand suns.  Well, you are not alone in your passionate distaste for certain literature. Take our  Author-on-author Insults Quiz  to learn about the scathing remarks authors have  made about other authors and their work. Lame! 4. Remember that bit about people sharing your hatred? Well, not everyone is just content to rant about it at the next book club meeting. Some books offend people so deeply that they  start throwing around the dreaded b-word- banned, that is. Our Banned Books Quiz  contains questions that highlight some of the silliest reasons for banning books, quotes from authors who disapprove of censorship, and other fun tidbits about the baddest books in the business. A warning to those with weak constitutions: one of the books in this quiz features two rabbits getting married.   Wont someone please think of the children? 5. Last but not least, theres a little something to brighten your day and give you a nice change of pace if you happened to have already taken the first and admittedly morbid quiz on this list. The  Love Quotes from Famous Authors Quiz  is sure to give you some warm, literary fuzzies.  What did Mark Twain have to say about matters of the heart? Who loved so deeply he longed for a new set of  words to express his devotion? Take the quiz to find out!   Daww.

Using Para in Spanish With an Infinitive

Using Para in Spanish With an Infinitive See how para is used twice in this selection. First paragraph of a news story: 349 euros. No hay un smartphone similar por ese precio. Para encontrar algo de tal calidad hay que pagar 300 euros ms. Es el nuevo smartphone de Google, que fabrica la surcoreana LG, y que, para ahorrar costes en intermediarios, solo se vende en la tienda de internet Google Play y sin planes de operadoras de por medio. Se llama Nexus 5. Source: Spanish newspaper El Paà ­s, dateline Nov. 1, 2013. Suggested translation: 349 euros. There is not one similar smartphone for that price. To find something of such quality it is necessary to pay 300 euros more. Its the brand-new Google smartphone, manufactured by South Korean LG. To save on middleman costs, it is sold only at the Google Play Internet store and not through phone carriers plans. It is called the Nexus 5. Key Grammatical Issue The preposition para is usually used to indicate purpose. When followed by an infinitive, as it is here both times, para often means in order to. However, in English, in order, when it precedes the to form of the verb, can almost always be omitted without any change in meaning. In this selection, para encontrar could have been translated as in order to find, and para ahorrar could have been translated as in order to save. This translation, in the interests of brevity, left out both cases of in order because it is implied in English. When translating to Spanish, however, the para is not optional. To say I eat to live, for example, you would use Como para vivir. Como vivir simply would make no sense. Here are brief examples of this phenomenon: Tomà ³ una pastilla para dormirse. He took a pill (in order) to fall asleep.Necesito un tenedor para comer. I need a fork (in order) to eat.Para estudiar vamos a la biblioteca. (In order) to study, we are going to the library.Estamos listos para salir. We are ready (in order) to leave. In some contexts, although not here, para infinitive can better be translated as for -ing verb form. For example, Es un libro para leer could be translated as It is a book for reading. Other Notes on Vocabulary and Grammar Smartphone was italicized in the original, indicating that it is viewed as a foreign or unusual word rather than standard Spanish. Such a device is also known as a telà ©fono inteligente, although smartphone (pronounced much as in English) is quite common.Hay is the typical way of saying there is or there are. However, the phrase hay que usually means it is necessary to or it is necessary that. Hay is a form of the verb haber.The preposition por is usually used when saying that something is sold for a certain price.Ese is a demonstrative adjective usually meaning that.Tal followed by a noun is a common way of saying such or this kind of.Que fabrica la surcoreana LG is an example of an inverted word order. Fabrica, a conjugated form of fabricar (to manufacture), is the verb for subject LG. The translation used manufactured by the South Korean LG rather than the literal which the South Korean LG manufactures because the former sounded more natural.The long sentence beginning with Es e l nuevo has been divided into two sentences in the translation because a single sentence in English here would have been cumbersome. Nuevo means new. By placing it before the noun, smartphone, the writer gave nuevo extra emphasis, which brand-new also does.In traditional Spanish, solo would have been spelled with an orthographic accent: sà ³lo. Under modern rules, however, the accent is optional.Se vende is an example of a reflexive verb.Internet can be written correctly in Spanish with or without the initial letter capitalized.Sin is the preposition for without.De por medio is a phrase that usually means in between. The emphasis here, which does not come across as strongly in the translation, is that the phone carriers charges, if the phones were sold by them, would come in between Google and the customer, thus increasing the costs.Although dictionaries dont list operadora as having a different meaning than operador except when it applies to a female operator (that is, a female who operates something), it appears to be fairly common to refer to a telephone company using the feminine noun operadora rather than th e masculine form used for many other types of businesses. The longer-term operador de telefonà ­a is also sometimes used. Llamarse is usually used when telling what something or someone is named.

Universalism and Particularism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Universalism and Particularism - Essay Example Universalism tends to focus more on the community rather than individuals and thus neutral as it is evident in McCain’s argument on security of the U.S. In a universalistic state, one cannot just go astray or out of normal order just because no one is watching them since one is compelled by law to act in order always. Universalist individuals honor their words no matter the circumstances, and know a deal or a contract cannot be violated. As it is evident in the article, cold war historian, John Lewis Gaddis, presents how in a universalistic nation, every individual is treated equally and fairly. Clearly, this promotes peaceful co-existence among the people and promotes a sense of belonging and security. In the article, particularism is quite evident. The main emphasis is on individuals and their interests. Individuals can modify a situation due to circumstances to suit their friends or relatives. Scoblete’s article shows how a particularistic believes that relationships are developed and created by events. If one is able to change his or her view, point of argument, agreement and so forth, just for the sake of those he or she has an interest in or those who have interest in him, then that is a real particularistic.

How the environment plays a role in learning Research Paper

How the environment plays a role in learning - Research Paper Example (Dr. Maria Montessori) INTRODUCTION The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines learning as â€Å"the act or experience of one that learns†, â€Å"Knowledge or skill acquired by study† or modification of a behavioral tendency by experience (as exposure to conditioning). The two ideas central to the process of learning are one that knowledge is inborn and two, that it is acquired through experience. Though the relative contribution of these two factors still remains debatable, there is no doubt to the fact that an individual’s environment does influence the learning process (Ireson, 2008). For a child the major environmental factors in order of appearance in his life are parents or family, media, peer group, and classroom or school. The author intends to discuss the influence of each of these factors on the learning process in this paper. EFFECT OF ENVIRONMNET ON LEARNING The major factor determining the influence of environment on learning is related to observational and imitative learning which emerges in the early stages of child development. Beyond imitation, children are also seen to assess the implication of behavior and more likely to imitate behaviors which are rewarded. Thus factors such as thinking and reason come in to force in determining the path of learning process. However, environment remarkably influences these aspects of learning as well. Home environment: Parents & Family It is well recognized that home background effects learning process by exercising a multidimensional influence on the child. The four major variables that render the home environment educative, non educative or anti-educative are socioeconomic variables, family configuration (structural and educational aspects) as well as achievement levels, parental characteristics and home process variables (www.adi.org). The importance of home environment is underlined by the fact that the initial period of child development with exclusive and later predominant influence of home is the most rapid phase of development. Interventions at this stage are likely to have more impact on learning process compared to similar interventions at later stages. Even at later stages home remains a determining factor with continuous influence on social, nutritional, and emotional aspects of the child, thus affecting the learning process. Media Media in form of television, internet is knocking at the doors of childhood long before the child is introduced to any of his real friends. The animation characters and the advertisement jingles lure and influence them more than any of the peer group. The influence in some aspects is immediate and obvious such as vocabulary building and introduction to violence. Certain aspects may be gradual such as learning the technology and making children inquisitive as well as better informed. The creative use of media for imparting education, offering audio visual aids facilitating the learning process is being explored and exploited for m ainstream as well as special needs children. The optimal use of these aids is repeatedly stressed in researches. Caution needs to be exercised in the excessive use of media since it might lead to distractions and thus decelerate the learning process. Researchers such as Richard Clarke have argued against the effect of media on learning, declaring it as mere means of communication, thus considering the content as influencing the learning p

Employment and Discrimination Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Employment and Discrimination Law - Essay Example These laws are called the employment laws and they have proved effective in enhancing proper business conduct within the business world. Some of these laws which have been in place include those that govern employee dismissal, child labour, employee benefits and labour contracts among other contracts and their applications in various business enterprises have worked well in ensuring the well being of both the employers and their employees. In the course of business conduct, employee - employer relationship is crucial in determining the success of each of the two parties in the business world. However, sometimes achieving a cordial relationship becomes impossible with the eruption of personal issues that come in a day to day basis. This has sometimes led to discrimination and in this case it is the employee who suffers the brunt sometimes leaving the employer to go scot-free after committing some unfavourable and inhumane acts against his/her employee. The case of Anne is a similar one where she is forced to unfairly suffer the consequences of being in bad terms with her boss. Employer retaliation, like in Anne's case is an aspect of employment law in which a lot of emphasis has been put and attorneys have had to defend their clients in regular basis under such circumstances. As an attorney, I would consider Anne's case as a solid one and which she is capable of winning should she press legal charges against her employer. (Robert Hill, Nick Dent and Adam Lambert: Labour and Employment: United Kingdom: Associative Discrimination). Also According to The ACAS statutory Code of Practice on discipline and grievance, the proper procedure for disciplining Anne would not put her career at risk but to hold a meeting with her and discuss the issues. Her boss would be recommended to express his grievances directly to Anne after which he would make clear his decision to give poor reference to Anne which according to the law is not encouraged. In dealing with such a case, it is important to consider whether Anne's employer informed her of her employment rights as postulated in the labour law. This law which is concerned with the rights of employers demands that all employers should take charge and sensitize their employees considering the rights which they hold as workers in their workplace. Freedom from retaliation is one of the major subjects which are dealt with in this law. In a case whereby the employer had not informed Anne and maybe other employers of their rights as his employers, Anne should be able to sue him of that as the first offence committed against her by her employer. Anne would then go ahead and sue Jim, her boss for the offence of hindering her from exploring and obtaining other employment opportunities on grounds of unfounded accusations (Office of Public Sector Information (united kingdom) Employment Rights Act 1996, chapter 18). Jim has definitely committed an offence against Anne. With regard to the employment and labour law, Anne should seek legal redress since as an employees and a human being for that matter, she has her rights regarding the choice of how she relates with other individuals either within or without her office environment. In order to establish a concrete case against the crime of employer retaliation which Jim committed against

Why performance appraisal is important

Why performance appraisal is important The aims of the performance appraisal are to provide the employees with the feedback on their performance. Performance appraisal also helps in identifying the training needs of the employees. The performance helps the organization provide the proper rewards and recognition to the deserving employees. It also provides the opportunity to the organization for the diagnosis and development. It also helps the organization to better the communication between the employees and the administration. (Thomas F. Patterson,1987). There are various methods that are employed to measure and evaluate the performance and appraise the employees. The appraisal system of the organization may have the common practice of measuring the performance of the organization in the form of the numerical or the scaling system. (Armstrong, Michael,2006). The managers are asked to assess the individuals on the scale on the various objectives and attributes. In many companies employees may receive the assessment from their peers, managers, subordinates and customers which is also known as the 360 degree performance appraisal. (Smit, Martin E.J.H.,2006). Tuckman and Oliver, 1968 : This study illustrate how feedback is the efficient tool which valued the most for crucial decision making process. Receiver will be benefit from the various people surrounding him by feedback system if the sources have ample of knowledge about task performance of the recipient. According to study conducted student versus supervisor feedback to teachers proved that students were more effective efficient to improve the performance of the teacher rather than the supervisor. In explanation the author says that teacher spend more time with the students rather than the supervisor. Along with that multiple feedback system correctly shows the potential of the person by reducing biasness or malice practice which is usually part of the corporate. Seniors or supervisor generally or constantly focus on the scope of the improvement, underestimating the achievement. DeNissi and Mitchell, 1978: According to him middle upper management spend a huge amount of time with their peers. Hence the peers have maximum opportunity to know about attributes, qualities rather than supervisor or the boss. Hence its more important who spend the maximum time as well as who observe the concern person in many different dimension of work behavior that persons opinion is quite important. Mintzberg (1973) : This literature review gives us details about how manager use the opinion of the staff, supervisor or peers as effective tool to evaluate or appraise of the employee which is completely unbiased in the nature. According his study middle level manager, peers and subordinates are more qualified to evaluate the performance rather than supervisor because the they have more information about the working style, working environment rather than the supervisor. It helps to enhance the supervisory behavior. Hegarty, 1973: Many experimental studies already proved that multiple feedback not only improve the supervisory quality but also brought transparency in the complete appraisal system. According to him top level people think that peers were at best position to evaluate the personal traits as well as personal achievement. Implementation of 360 degree employee assessment is fair practice which help to reduce the discrimination biasness help to motivate the the employee to perform better productive. Implementation of multiple feedback system helps to improve to qualities in individual level as well as professional level. Bernardin (1986) : Though peers subordinates were in the best position to evaluate the performance but major challenge is the problem of anonymity. Its very difficult to share the correct information about the peers with whom you have a good rapport. Hence some time the multiple feedback system become ineffective biased. The Essence and Functions of Performance Appraisal Systems by Newman, Warren McGiIl, 1987: Job performance evaluation is an integral part of an any organization. It is basically management decision to control the organizations which consist of the control standards, measurement, and corrective actions. Control Standard is the first foremost thing which based primarily upon the mission of the organization or individual short term goal of the every department. It indicates the crucial contribution of the performance appraisal system in the organization. Measurement which is a quantitative analysis or process depends upon many steps like appraisal criteria/ technique consist of the attributes or parameters, appraisal timing. The appraisal criteria are predefined by the organization which varies from organization to organization. The appraisal method or technique plays a crucial role in this process. Generally appraisal depends upon the performance of the candidate along with lot of qu alities like team skill, soft skill, analytical skill, domain knowledge and so forth. Feedback is most crucial essential part of the appraisal process which cannot ignore any time. Corrective measures are taken after feedback receive from the different sources. The appropriate corrective action should be taken to if there is any discrepancy between actual performance and performance standard. It not only a check guard for an employee to attain certain standard or level but also help to motivate the employee to perform better and productive manner. It built or reinforces trust among the team members or employees. According to this study it creates a value which help to motivate the employees to perform better. Ilgen, Barnes-Farrell, and McKellin (1993): According to authors four important aspects should be considered to appraise the performance of the individual, those are purpose of the performance appraisal, characteristics of the rates, nature of the scale used for the rating purpose and the impact of influence of this appraisal on the organization as whole. Chu (2002): Though his study compare performance appraisal system in two industries i.e. manufacturing and service industry but it widely applicable to all the industry. According to him comprehensive framework of the performance appraisal include six category which are purpose of appraisal, personnel whom to appraise, criteria or attribute for the appraisal, methods involve for that, appraisal timing, feedback of the appraisal. Cleveland, Murphy and Williams (1989): According his study there is a positive correlation exist between the organization characteristics and the performance appraisal. Organization culture and structure are two ingredients of the performance measurement system. When organization more leans towards to the decentralization, performance standard more concentrates towards the results, where organization is centralized one it more leans towards process of management functions. Jobber, Hooley Shipley (1993): According to them, a large organization and small organization adapt different methods for performance evaluation. Pre determined performance standards which are more formalized and quantitative in nature adopted by the large or multinational organization where as small organization generally follow qualitative and informal appraisal methods. According to this study, the performance appraisal system differ from industry type to industry type but still there is a relation between organization characteristics and function of performance appraisal system. Ouchi (1981): The study carried out the performance appraisal system in region wise rather than industry type wise. According to his study American organizations are more focused about individual performance, while Japanese organizations are more focused about group or team performance. 2.2 The Performance Appraisal Process Performance appraisal is planned, developed and implemented through a series of steps, Establish performance standards: Appraisal systems require performance standards, which serve as benchmarks against which performance is measured. To be useful, standards should relate to the desired results of each job. In situations pertaining to embarrassment, performance standards must be clear to both the appraiser and the appraisee. The performance standards or goals must be developed after a thorough analysis of the job. Goals must be written down. They must be measurable within certain time and cost considerations. Communicate the standards: performance appraisal involves at least two parties; the appraiser who does the appraisal and the appraisee whose performance is being evaluated. Both are expected to do certain things. The appraiser should prepare job description clearly; help the appriasee set his goals and targets; analyse results objectively; offer coaching and guidance to the appraisee whenever required and reward good results. The appraisee should be very clear about what he is doing and why he is doing it. For this purpose, performance standards must be communicated to appraisees and their reactions should be noted down right away. If necessary, these standards must be reviesed or modified. As pointed out by De Cenzo and Robbins, too many jobs have vague performance standards and the problem is compounded when these standards are set in isolation and do not involve the employee. Measure actual performance: After the performance standards are set and accepted, the next step is to measure actual performance. This requires the use of dependable performance measures, the ratings used to evaluate performance. Performance measures-to be helpful-must be easy to use, reliable, and report on the critical behaviours that determine performance. Four common sources of information which are generally used by managers regarding how to measure actual performance are personal observation, statistical reports, oral reports and written reports. Performance measures may be objective or subjective. Objective performance measures are indications of job performance that can be verified by others and are usually quantitative. Subjective performance measures are ratings that are based on the personal standards or opinions of those doing the evaluation, and are not verifiable by others. Subjective criteria include ratings by superiors, overall goals, and socio-cultural values of the environment. Compare actual performance with standards and discuss the appraisal: actual performance may be better than expected and sometimes it may go off the track. Whatever be the consequences, there is a way to communicate and discuss the final outcome. The assessment of another persons contribution and ability is not an easy task. It has serious emotional overtones as it affects the self-esteem of the appraisee. Any appraisal based o subjective criteria is likely to be questioned by the appraise and leave him quite dejected and unhappy when the appraisal turns out be negative. Taking corrective action, if necessary: Corrective action is of two types: one puts out the fires immediately, while the other destroys the root of the problem permanently. Immediate action sets things right and get things back on track whereas the basic corrective action gets to the source of deviations and seeks to adjust the difference permanently. Basic corrective steps seek to adjust the difference permanently. Basic corrective steps seek to find out how and why performance deviates. 2.3 CONFIDENTIAL SYSTEM AND OPEN SYSTEM OF APPRAISAL 2.3.1Confidential System In most of the organizations confidential reports are considered to be confidential documents. The individual is communicated if there are any adverse ratings or remarks in C.R for a particular year. Communication aspect does not work well in most of organizations due to reluctance on part of assessor to communicate to employee about what he thinks of him. The greatest advantage of the confidential system is that it fails to honor the right if the individual to be heard in matter in which he has very high stakes. 2.3.2Open System The open system suggests that all aspects of assessment should be processed with the full knowledge of assesses. This will help him to understand his deficiencies and he will be able to appreciate what the organization is doing for his development. Whatever system suits the organization depends on culture and social conditions of the organization. In times to come, the confidential system will gradually give the way to open system. The need for involving assesses in the process of appraisal can be seen from different angles. One is the need to allow participation by the employee in the process of evaluation. Another need is involving him in setting his goals or targets. Whether the individual should be given an opportunity for self-appraisal as part of reporting process or whether this opportunity should be given to him through an appraisal interview is matter of policy for an organization. What is that opportunity should be given to have a say as to what he himself thinks about his own performance. The chances of getting a good report or bad report are same, as there is no guarantee that the assessment reports would be written on basis of real performance. Often a reporting officer who wants to give a good report about a poor performer would Emphasize the potential aspect of the individual while a very potential may get an adverse report based on his performance. However, a person who is initially connected with day-to-day work of employee concerned should do performance appraisal. This immediate superior should have an important say in evaluating his performance. Self-appraisal should not form the sole basis for any final decision. Self-appraisal should only form part of a sound appraisal system. 2.4 METHODS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL The performance appraisal methods may be classified into two categories, namely the Traditional and Modern methods, TRADITIONAL METHODS MODERN METHODS Graphic Rating Scales 1. Behaviorally Anchored Ranking Method Rating Scales Paired Comparison Method 2. Assessment Centre Forced Distribution Method 3. Human Resource Accounting Checklist Method 4. Management by Objectives Critical Incident Method 5. 360 degrees appraisal Grading Method Forced Choice Method 2.4.1 TRADITIONAL METHODS Graphic Rating Scales method is a printed form which is used to evaluate the performance of the employee. A variety of traits may be used in these types of rating devices the most common being the quantity and quality of work. The rating scales can also be adapted by including traits that the company considers important for effectiveness on the job. From the graphic rating scales excerpts can be obtained about the performance standards of employees. The rating scale method is the most common method of evaluation of an employees performance today. The graphic rating scale may however, suffer from a long standing disadvantage, i.e., it may be arbitrary and the rating may be subjective. In Ranking Method: the ranking of an employee in a work group is done against that of another employee. The relative position of each employee is expressed in terms of his numerical rank. It may also be done by ranking a person on his job performance against another member of the competitive group. The quintessence of this method is that employees are ranked according to their relative levels of performance. While using this method, the evaluator is asked rate employees from highest to lowest on some overall criterion. Though it is relatively easier to rank the best and the worst employees, it is difficult to rank the average employees. Under Paired Comparison Method the appraiser ranks the employees by comparing on employee with all other employees in the group, one at a time. This method results in each employee being given a positive comparison total and a certain percentage of the total positive evaluation. Forced Distribution Method is developed to prevent the raters from rating too high or too low. Under this method, the rater after assigning the points to the Performance of each employee has to distribute his ratings in a pattern to confirm to frequency distribution. Check list Method consists of a list with a number if statements about the worker and his behavior. Each statement of this list is assigned value depending upon its importance. Both statements and their values are derived from preliminary research in which the pooled judgments of persons familiar with the job are used. No restrictions are put on the rater as to the number of statements he should mark. The workers final rating is taken as the average of the scale values of all statements that his superior has checked in rating him. Under Critical Incidents Method, the supervisor continuously records the critical incidents of the employee performance or behavior relating to all characters (both positive negative) in a specially designed notebook. The supervisor rates the performance of his subordinates on the basis of notes taken by him. Grading Method, this method certain well-defined grades are established in advance. Generally; three different grades are used i.e., out standing, satisfactory and unsatisfactory. Employee performance is compared with the defined grades and each employee is allotted a grade that best describes his/her performances. The main limitation of this method is that the rater may rate most of the employers on the higher side of their performance. Forced Choice Method, J.P Guilford developed this method. This method contains a series of statements and the rater rates how effectively a statement describes each Individual being evaluated. The main limitation of this method is that it takes a lot of time and effort to construct several evaluating statements. Under Group Appraisal Method, an employee is appraised by a group of appraisers. This group consists of the immediate supervisor of the employee, other supervisors who have close contact with the employees work, manager or head of the department and consultants. The head of the department or manager may be the chairman of the group and the immediate supervisor may act as the coordinator for the group activities. In Confidential Reports Method, superior appraises the performance of his subordinates based on his observations, judgments and intuitions. The superior keeps his judgment and report confidentially. 2.4.2MODERN METHODS Behaviorally Anchored Rating scales (BARS) method combines elements of the traditional rating scales and critical incidents methods. BARS are a sophisticated method of evaluating employee performance based on employee behavior rather than attitudes or assumptions about motivation or potential. BARS are numerical scale that is anchored by specific narrative example of behaviors that range from very negative to very positive descriptions of performance. BARS are difficult and time-consuming scale to develop. Each job must be analyzed and a list of critical incidents developed by the experts in the job. Once the critical incidents are developed, they are then scaled from effective to ineffective performance. The BARS technique offers high degree of inter rater reliability and objectivity because of its emphasis on behavior. In the Assessment Centre Method, individuals from various departments are brought together to spend two or three days working on an individual or group assignment similar to ones they would be handling when prompted. Observers rank the performance of each and every participant in order of merit. The Human Resource Accounting, deals with cost and contribution of human resources to the organization. Cost of human resources may be taken as standard. Employee performance can be measured in terms of employee contribution to the organization. This technique has developed and still it is in the transitory stage. The concept of Management by Objectives, requires the management to set specific, measurable goals with each employee and then periodically discuss the latters progress towards these goals. This technique emphasizes participatively set goals that are tangible, verifiable and measurable. MBO focuses attention on what must be accomplished rather than how it is to be accomplished. It is, thus a kind of goal setting and appraisal programme involving six steps: Set the organisations goals Set department goals Discuss departmental goals Define expected results Performance reviews Provide feedback Under 360 degrees Appraisal, The 360 degrees appraisal method was first developed and used by General Electric Company of USA in1992. Today, the Indian companies like Wipro corporations, Infosys, Reliance Industries follow this method. In this method, his superiors, subordinates, peers and customers with whom he interacts in the course of his performance appraise an employee. All these appraisers provide feedback on employee by completing survey questionnaire designed for this purpose. And then reports are prepared, and then presented to the employees being rated. 2.5 ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS OF AN EFFECTIVE APPRAISAL SYSTEM Performance appraisal system should be effective as a number of crucial decisions are made on the basis of score or rating given by the appraiser, which in turn, is heavily based on the appraisal system. An effective appraisal system should possess the following essential characteristics: Reliability and validity Job relatedness Standardization Practical viability Training the appraisers Open communication Employee access to results 2.6 MULTI-SOURCE RATINGS IN TEAM PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Recent trends in organizational behavior and the structural changes of organizations have facilitated an increase in the use of teams (Fisher, Schoenfeldt, Shaw, 2003). As traditional bureaucratic hierarchies have been replaced by flatter structures, teams have become commonplace in most organizations (Cascio, 1998). As with individual performance appraisal, performance rating in team settings is complicated by a host of issues regarding the most appropriate method for measuring it, including the appropriateness of rating sources. Team performance appraisal is further complicated through working with others as a necessity for the successful completion of work. The performance dimensions relevant to team performance differ from the task-specific performance typically evaluated in individual performance appraisal. In general, interpersonal aspects of contextual performance become more relevant, if not necessary, for successful team performance (Levy Steelman, 1997). Most conceptualiz ations of team performance integrate contextual performance dimensions into formal appraisal. Across the literature, a lack of agreement exists regarding what the specific targets should be in team performance appraisal and how the ratings should be applied. Although the teams effectiveness is the ultimate goal, the performance of individuals and the team as a whole should be evaluated. Levy and Steelman (1997) argue that the traditional supervisor-rated methods of performance appraisal are not appropriate for team settings. Ratings should instead come from all sources in cases where they have adequate opportunity to observe the teams behaviors. Aside from opportunity to observe, the raters relationship with the team may influence his or her perspective; in other words, whether the rater is a team member, team supervisor, customer, etc. Regarding the effectiveness of each rating source, each has advantages and disadvantages. The criteria evaluated by the majority of the literature were inter-rater agreement, agreement with hard criteria, and rating acceptance. From the literature reviewed, the majority of research on rater effectiveness in team settings evaluates rater congruence. This may not even be an appropriate measure of effectiveness, since multi-source appraisal generally proposes that each source affords a unique perspective for evaluating the targets performance. Therefore, rating sources may not agree and still be accurate (Murphy Cleveland, 1995). Overall, the effectiveness of multi-source ratings in team performance appraisal has yet to be definitively answered through empirical research. Of the various theoretical models and empirical studies, one common area of agreement is that team performance should be appraised using multiple raters. Still, a lack of research exists regarding the effectiveness of each rating source. In general, the practice of team based performance appraisal has far outpaced empirical research (Jones, 1997). Research in the domain of team performance appraisal is filled with questions and characterized by a lack of agreement on many fronts. Overall, team performance management is a research area with a great demand for future development.

The Modernization of America Essay -- essays papers

The Modernization of America The Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869. The telephone was invented in 1876. The first practical system for a radio was developed in 1895. The Wright brothers created a flying machine in 1903. The first gas powered automobile, the assembly line and the refrigerator were produced in the early 20th century. These are all very important steps in laying the foundation for the modernization of America, but I would argue that the first truly modern period in American history would have to be the 1920s. The 1920s brought a capitalistic population who, as a nation, leaned toward isolationism. In two main fields, the 1920s modernized American society to reflect the America of the 21st century more than any era before it. These fields are media and business. Along with a new decade came a new attitude from the media. By 1922 there were 22 magazines in circulation and by the end of the 1920s, 40% of Americans owned a radio. The first tabloid magazine appeared in 1919. The media that we know today spawned from this growth in the 20s. This new type of mass media permitted the spreading of national trends or obsessions, such as flagpole sitting. A 21st century equivalent to this type of rather bizarre behavior of national trends could be the Christmas â€Å"Tickle me Elmo† or â€Å"Furby† craze over the last few years. The national connection that the mass media provided also allowed for fashion to become important and for heroes in th...

Influence on the General Motors Corporation Essay

This report analyzes the primary internal and external influence on the General Motors Corporation and the influence of changing political environment on policy making and response of the corporation. Then the report discusses the changing political environment in and its influence. The influences of political environment on policies and decision making to the corporation are analyzed. The corporation response to the political environment changing is critically evaluated. At last, some improvement suggestion for the corporation in the response of the changing political environment is demonstrated. IntroductionGeneral Motors Corporation is the largest automobile manufactures in the world. The corporation, which is located in Detroit, employs more than 260 millions people and sells cars and trucks in about 35 countries. The corporation has a dominant influence in automobile market in the United States and other developed market such as the United Kingdom, Canada and so on. The corporation also enjoys a large market share in the rapid growing market of developing countries such as China and Brazil. However, the corporation is in face of changing internal and external environment. Discussion and AnalysisIn the first part of the report, the primary internal and external influence is analyzed following the SWOT Matrix, which is a modern tool for analysis of internal and external environment. In the SWOT Matrix, the S stands for strengths, W for weaknesses, O for opportunities, and T for threats. The strengths and weaknesses are the analysis of internal influence while the opportunities and threats stand for the influence of external environments. In the following part of the report, the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats that have influence of the organization is discussed one by one. Internal influence: Strengths This section analyzes the internal strengths of the corporation. The General Motors are rich in brands and product lines. The General Motors Corporation acquired and mergers many brands and auto companies in the early stage of its history. The General Motors Corporation acquired Buick and Oldsmobile after it is founded. Then it brought Cadillac, Elmore and Oakland and so on. As a result, the corporation owns many brands  which are fit for different segmented markets. Comparing to Ford’s only providing black Model T cars in the early years the General Motors Corporation provides various models, colors and brands for different markets. For example, the practical and economical Chevrolet are designed for entry level consumers, the Buick are make for middle class buyer and luxury Cadillac for high end consumers. (Warell, 2008) The advantage of multi brands strategy is to satisfy the needs and wants of different group of consumers to enter more segmented markets. The multi brands make GM a giant automaker and enjoys large market share. The General Motors Corporation has the strength that it governs the advance technology and has an influencing power in the distribution channel. The General Motors Corporation has developed for a century since it is founded in 1908. During the time, the technology and channel influence is accumulating and increasing. The technology is of great importance in the motor industry, but the technology accumulating needs a long period. The General Motors Corporation now governs the advanced technology that it can make more sophisticated automobiles which are more durable, more safety, and have a rapider speed. On the other hand, the General Motors Corporation has a dominant power in the distribution channel. The General Motors Corporation has been the top automobile manufacturer for a long time accordingly it has a strong bargaining power in the distribution channel. The corporation can distribute it product in the United States and all around the world. The technology and distribution chan nel can be a great assistant in the further development of the organization. Internal influence: Weaknesses This section analyzes the internal weaknesses of the corporation. One of the most significant weaknesses is that the cost of production is too high. The Japanese automakers such as Toyota are dangerous competitors for the General Motors Corporation and the have scrambled for quite a large part of market shares if the GM in America and the global markets. The Japanese competitors cut down the cost tremendously by lean production. However, the production cost is still high in the General Motors Corporation. And the inefficiency of production cause the high price of its automobiles and the market share shrinks accordingly.  (Coffey, 2005) Especially in face of the financial crisis, the General Motors Corporation has much to learn form lean production to cut down its production prices. The bureaucratic culture is another weakness in the corporation. The General Motors Corporation employs more than 260 millions staff, which composes a huge and complex organization. The General Motors Corporation had taken the lead in organization. For example, the corporation had injected into matrix organization that combined the functional and project patterns of department in the same corporation in early years. The General Motors Corporation also organized with strategic business unit that classified products and product lines in the same independent business department in ahead of other corporations. The decentralization makes each department a profit centre. However, after ages of development the departments and business units concerns more on their own benefits and become bureaucratic. The well defined division of departments and united became deficiency and resistance to change. Formal and informal networks formed in the corporation. The bureaucratic culture is accumulating and hander the further development of the corporation. External influence: Opportunities This section analyzes the external opportunities of the corporation. The emerging markets of developing countries provide a great opportunity for the General Motors Corporation. The market of developed countries is fully covered and closed to saturation in the modern days. For example, in the United States there are two cars in a family in average so the market can not keep a rapid growing rate. On the country, market in developing countries shows their potential. The sales volume in China and Brazil is second only to the market of the United States. Many international automaker groups are scrambling for these markets. The large and potential markets of developing countries will provide opportunities for the corporation. The achievement in technology is a great opportunities for the General Motors Corporation. The technology makes breakthrough achievement in fields of information, manufacturing, fuel and so on. The advance of information  technology and implementation of management information system make it possible to collect and analysis accurate data and information all around the huge organization. The computers and instant communication tool help the corporation to organize and manage the supply chain. The new methods in manufacturing, such as lean production, can increase the efficiency of production while cutting down the cost. The leading edge achievement on fuel and new energy engine can promote the upgrade of automobiles. The General Motors Corporation is huge enough to afford the cost of R&D center and the implement of new technology, which in turn can raise the competency of the corporation. (Sengi et al, 2004) External influence: Threats This section analyzes the external threats of the corporation. The increasingly growing price of petroleum is a threat to the General Motors Corporation. On the one hand, consumers turn to other transport tools when they can not afford the high petro price. On the other hand, they want to purchase energy saving automobiles. Many products of the General Motors Corporation are large in size and heavy in weight and they are high fuel consumption motors. The fluctuation of oil price has a negative effect on the sales volume of the automobile of the General Motors Corporation. Some political affaires such as wars and conflictions in the Middle East, the â€Å"oil shock† caused by OPEC with economic and political purpose, the environment protection organizations anti-automobile movement and so on, enhance the threats of oil price turbulence. The competition, both in the United States and the global market, is a vital threat to the General Motors Corporation. There are three automaker giants in the United States. They are the General Motors, Ford, and Daimler Chrysler. They compete fierce in the United States and in global market. In the Europe, there are strong competitors such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Peugeot etc. In the 1970s, with the raising of oil price, some Japanese automakers gradually seized the automobile market shares. The low cost and energy saving cars, such as Toyota, Honda and so on became world famous brands. More and more automobile brands enter into the United States and they also scramble the global automobile market. (Loomis, 2006) They compete and try to meet consumers’ different needs and wants with lower production cost. The competition in and abroad America is fierce and threats the  survival of the General Motors Corporation. The following is the second part of the report. This section of the report discusses the changing environment in and aboard the United States. First, the influences of political environment on policies and decision making to the General Motors Corporation will be analyzed. Second, the corporation response to the political environment changing will be critically evaluated. At last, some improvement suggestion for the corporation in the response of the changing political environment will be demonstrated. Influence on policies and decision makingThis section analyzes the influence of political environment change on the policies and decision making of the corporation. The political environment has great influence on the operation of the General Motors Corporation. One of the key political influences of the General Motors Corporation and automobile industry is the increased protectionism for fear of the decline of employment in the industry. The major automakers employ so many employees that the decline of automobile sales volume will cause the significant increase of unemployment in a country. As a result, many governments tend to support the automobile industry, no matter in the form of fund assistant, protective tariff or quota. The government of the United States has a tradition of protecting its automobile industry. For example, the America government used high protective tariff to protect the automakers from the competitors from Europe and Japan in the last century. The government also gave financial assistant to the automaker that is at the verge of bankruptcy such as Chrysler. In the modern time, the automakers fall into trap again and the financial crisis enhance the tendency. The America government aims to give a large quantity of money to the automakers and use other protection methods to protect the automobile industry. It can be seem that the changing of political environment has significant influence on the policy and decision making of the General Motors Corporation. (Bowler et al, 1996) However, different presents and its government in the United States may have different attitudes on the protectionism of the Automobile industry. The General Motors Corporation should take serious consideration on the change of political environment and make full use of it. The Country Alliances and Economic Blocs and other regional cooperation organizations are another main tendency of the political environment. The competition extends form national to blocs, even global. (Cho, 1998) The North American Free Trade Agreement, which including the United States, Canada, and Mexico, formed in 1994 with the purpose of freeing the trade, eliminating tax barriers and promoting fair trade in the North America. The NAFTA also extended to Free Trade Area of the Americas, which including country in the North America, Latin America and Caribbean countries. Many European countries ally with each other to form the European Union. After years of development, the union own 27 membership countries and creates a common economic area, in which people move and trade freely. There are many other Country Alliances and Economic Blocs such as Association of Southeast Asian and so on. The political tendency of regional cooperation requires the top managers of the General Motors Corporation to consider and resolve the benefit conflicts between one power countries blogs and another when making decisions and policies. The Country Alliances and Economic Blocs and other regional cooperation organizations provide opportunities for the automobile manufacturers but the organizations in other area also became threat to the United States. The decisions and policies makers of the General Motors Corporation have to make strategy to cope with the tariff and nontariff barriers within and between the Country Alliances and Economic Blocs. The corporation should rethink its strategy. (Tay, 2007) The structure of the corporation according to different regional cooperation organizations should be considered when making decisions and policies. (Sastry, 1997) The new staffing and leading methods to deal with culture diversity also influence the policy and decision making of the Genera l Motors Corporation. The labor union, environmental organization and other political groups are gaining more and more power. The United Auto Workers is a key labor union in the automobile manufacturing industry. The union fights for the benefits of workers such as less working hours, more salaries, health insurance and pensions and so on. The labor union cause the high cost of the General Motors Corporation. The total expense on employees is almost twice as much as the workers in other industry in the United States, and much more than  the employees in competitors’ factories, such as Honda and Toyota. (Benders and Morita, 2004) The union is blamed as the reason of the uncompetitive of the General Motors Corporation and the crisis of the automobile industry. However, the methods to deal with the strong political power are the problem to the policies and decisions makers of the General Motors Corporation. In 2007, the United Auto Workers went on a strike against the General Motors Corporation, which causes tremendously negative effects on the General Motors Corporation. So the policies and decisions of the corporation should balance the interest of the employees. The environmental organizations are gaining more and more power. With the increasingly dangerous environment problems, many green groups, which become independent and influencing political power, claim for the protection of the earth. Motor vehicle exhaust is considered as the main effects of the greenhouse effect. Some green groups are against the using of automobiles, which cause the decline of the automobile sales volume. As the increasing of environment protection power and the widely acceptance of the green opinion, the managers should make new policies and decisions such as designing alternative fuels vehicles. Evaluation of GM’s responseThis section critically evaluates the corporation’s response to the changing political environment. In face of the dynamic changing political environment, the General Motors Corporation makes some responses accordingly. The General Motors Corporation makes full use of the protectionism policies and financial assistance of the government to maximize its benefits. In order to be more influence in political, the General Motors Corporation spends a lot of money on political contributions. Statistics shows that the General Motors Corporation spent quite a lot of money as the political contribution for both the Democrats and the Republicans. The spending on lobbying the members of parliament is also quite large. Besides the political contributions, the General Motors Corporation also spends plenty of money on charities. For example, the General Motors Corporation is the exclusive financial source of â€Å"Safe Kids Buckle Up† program, which p rotect the children through education and inspection. The political and charitable contributions are positive and active response to the changing political environment. On the one hand, the General Motors Corporation strengthens its influence and enhances the  connection with the government. On the other hand, the corporation undertaken its social responsibility, which wins the corporation positive reputation so the General Motors Corporation can easily get the support when in crisis and consumers tend to purchase automobiles of the corporation. In the behavior of giving political and charitable contribution, the General Motors Corporation well response to the political change and gain more political influence, which helps the corporation get protection from the government. The Country Alliances and Economic Blocs and other regional cooperation organizations are a main political change these decades. In order to minimize the hindrance and the conflict between different Economic Blocs, the General Motors Corporation makes trade strategy, ally with other automaker group, and establish joint venture in some countries. For example, the United States and China have different ideologies and economic situations and they belong to different Country Alliances and Economic Blocs. The Chinese government forbids the wholly foreign owned subsidiary in the automobile industry. The China customs also charge tariff on the automobiles. In order to enter the market of other Country Alliances and Economic Blocs, the General Motors Corporation establishes joint venture with Chinese company. The Shanghai GM joint venture is created by the General Motors Corporation and a Chinese company, in which the automobiles of China’s market were manufactured. The General Motors Corporation brings advance technology, operation experience to the venture. The joint venture employs local workers whose salaries are quite low comparing with the workers of the United Auto Union. The joint venture brings profits for both sides and the General Motors Corporation avoids the high tariff and nontariff protection between different countries and different Economic Blocs. The General Motors Corporation makes an effective response to cover the gap between the Country Alliances and Economic Blocs. The labor union and environmental organization become increasingly influencing political powers. The General Motors Corporation tries hard to response properly to the increasingly strong power of the labor union. The United Auto Union is blame as the cause of uncompetitive of the General Motors Corporation for the members’ salaries in the union are much higher than its foreign competitors. The General Motors Corporation tries to cut down costs of the workforces in face of the financial crisis and problem of the automobile industry. The General Motors Corporation makes a policy of eliminating the lifetime health benefits of the white collar retirees. It is a hard decision after negotiation to response the political environment change and the automobile industry crisis. The General Motors Corporation has a long way to go, but it has taken a constructive step to response to the changing of political environment. In response to the political force of green groups, the General Motors Corporation designs energy saving vehicles which implement alternative fuels and electric. The corporation researches and designs some alternative technology vehicles and some flex fuel burning vehicles. The General Motors Corporation also builds an automotive battery laboratory to research on battery for the electric vehicles. The hybrid electric vehicles are a more practicable automobile in the future. The General Motors Corporation introduced the hybrid concept vehicle in 2005. Up to now, the corporation owes several hybrid electric automobile models and even all electric vehicles. The General Motors Corporation does a good job in developing alternative fuels and electric vehicles in response to the environment protection political power. Areas for improvementThis section demonstrates some areas for improvement of the corporation. The General Motors Corporation does well in response to the challenge of changing political environment. However, there are still some areas for improvement for the corporation. The most important improvement area is to raise the manufacturing efficiency. The average cost of manufacturing in the General Motors Corporation is high comparing with its main competitors such as Toyota. The Toyota is scrambling the market share of the GM little by little in the United States and all around the world. The competitiveness of Toyota come form the low cost caused from lean production. The core spirit of lean product is more value with less work. The purpose of production is to provide value to the final consumers. The expense for other goals is considered as a waste, by which the waste of resource is eliminated and the manufacturing efficiency promoted. It can introduce advance assembly line and reorg anize the logistic department,  through which the supply chain is organized. (Kochan, 2003) The lean production and be combined with six sigma quality and total quality management to maximize the efficiency and cut down the cost. (Dahlgaard and Dahlgaard-Park, 2006)The General Motors Corporation can make a reform on culture. It can build a harmonious culture as in Japanese automobile manufacturing factories to coordinate the relationship and benefits between managers and workers. On the one hand, the harm of the Union Auto Workers can be minimized and the cost of manufacture can be cut down. On the other hand, the harmonious culture can promote the efficiency of manufacturing. The General Motors Corporation also needs to fight against the bureaucratic culture. The organization structure can be reformed and reconstructed break out the barriers between different departments and stimulate the cooperation of different profit centers. Different methods can also be implemented to motivate confidence, communicate and collaborate between staff in different level. ConclusionThis report analyzes the internal and external environment of the General Motors Corporation in the first paragraph and then discusses the changing political environment of the corporation. In analysis, the strengths of branding strategy and advantage in technology and channel, the weaknesses of high production cost and bureaucratic culture, the opportunities of emerging markets and achievement of technology, and the threats of petroleum price fluctuation and strong competitors are analyzed with the SWOT model. In the second part of the report, the influence of political environment change is discussed in three perspectives. They are the protectionism from government, the tendency of Country Alliances and Economic Blocs, and the growing in strength of labor union, green groups and other political groups. Their influence on policies and decision making and the response of the corporation are analyzed and critically evaluated. Then some suggestions are given on several areas for improvement of the corporation. Recommendations As is analyzed in above, the General Motors Corporation can improve in two ways. First, the corporation can introduce new manufacturing methods, such as the lean production, the six sigma quality and total  quality management and so on. By implementing advanced manufacture methods, the corporation can promote its efficiency in manufacturing while reducing the cost. Second, the corporation can build a harmonious culture and fight against the bureaucratic culture, through which the barriers between different departments are broken while the staff in the corporation is motivated. Reference: Benders, J. and Morita, M. (2004), ‘Changes in Toyota Motors’ operations management’, International Journal of Production Research, 42(3), pp: 433-45. Bowler, S. et al. 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