Why a President Must Persuade

According to Richard E. Neustadt, ‘The power of the American president is to persuade. ’ I am going to analyse this statement in my essay, by answering why a president must persuade, looking at the relationship between the president and government, giving examples of when persuasion has worked and when it hasn’t, focusing on other ways the president can influence and finally ending with a conclusion. Firstly, why is it important for the president to persuade? The power to persuade is seen as an informal power as it is not clearly expressed in the constitution. It is important as presidents need to persuade other branches of government to influence policy; they even have to do this in their own branch (the executive) e. g. influencing cabinet secretaries. Due to all the branches of government, it means that power is dispersed and concentrated in different places; this can make it complex for the president to exert his own influence especially if there are opponents. Without the support of the Senate or the House of Representatives the president has only slight power, due to the checks and balances imposed on the president, power is reduced. Persuasion needs to take place in order to influence all sectors of the government so they can facilitate their policies, this supports the conception that the power of the American president is to persuade. Where has persuasion worked? When Bush was justifying the Iraq war, Colin Powell spoke in his favour and he furthered bi-partisanship with Democrats, who was the opposing party at the time. By showing this alliance, it meant that policies would have no problem going through Congress (reducing deadlock), this supports Neustadt. Where persuasion has not worked? An example was when President Eisenhower failed to persuade a governor. At the time were African-American students were not allowed in a school, which lead to a Supreme Court case (Brown vs. The Board of Education) and it resulted to the students being allowed to attend. Sadly, the governor did not agree and so Eisenhower had a meeting with him and failed to persuade him to allow them to attend, this showed that Eisenhower was not even good at persuading those in his own government, showing he was a ‘weak’ president. If persuasion is not acquired, it means that power is reduced, which reflects how the president is portrayed. For the president to be persuasive they must be charismatic and have the ability to influence the voters and those who can make their legislative goals happen. If a president has the ability to influence then it shows great leadership. Neustadt focuses on three traits a president must have to be successful: having the power to persuade, a good professional reputation and public prestige, with all these components put together they would be seen as a strong president. Professional representation, the term Neustadt used was ‘Washingtonians’ who are people in government (governors, military leaders, congress etc). The better the reputation of the president, the easier they will find it to negotiate, pass legislation and implement policy. I mentioned earlier that power is dispersed everywhere due to the separation of powers, meaning that it could be possible that someone may have great power and influence other than the president, which can be a problem for the president this means he must always be aware of them.

The 5th Wave Review

They had one goal. To wipe out all humans and take over our planet. The first wave that came through was an EMP that fried any electronic equipment. All the planes flying in the air crashed, all the cars driving stopped. the whole world came to a standstill. This took out about half a million people. The second wave took out all the coastal cities and the people who live there when they dropped a huge slab of metal onto one of the largest faults on the planet, causing massive earthquakes and huge tsunamis. The third: an avian virus that wipes out 99 percent of the remaining population.The fourth: involving â€Å"Silencers,† humans who were implanted years ago with an â€Å"alien† gene while still in their mothers' wombs. These Silencers look and seem human, yet are actually programmed to kill any remaining humans. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey takes the first person perspective of Cassie, one of the last remaining humans on earth. As she resists the aliens who try in ever y way to kill her, she loses her entire family. Suddenly, she is shot by a Silencer and is trapped beneath a car, bleeding to death.Evan Walker, the Silencer who shot her then finds her, first trying to kill her, but then revealing himself to be one of the few aliens who originally voted to not use violence against the human inhabitants. He overcomes the alien’s consciousness and helps protect and heal her as she struggles to find her little brother, Sammy. Cassie has two goals: to stay alive, and to rescue Sammy, who has been sent to what is supposedly a refugee camp, but which actually is a paramilitary program where he will be taught to kill.The advice I would give the main character is to stay low, stay hidden, and take out the government one at a time. The oppressive government is the aliens who faked being military leaders and other positions in power in order to take power over the now nearly extinct Homo sapiens. The type of government depicted in the 5th Wave is simi lar to a dictatorship. The aliens killed anyone they didn’t like and anyone who tried to oppose or resist them. Humans were tricked into thinking they were at a refugee camp, but they had just actually became permanent citizens of the alien’s regime.To leave the camp is basically suicide, because as a â€Å"citizen†, you have to have a chip embedded under the skin in order for the aliens to track where you are at all times and to exterminate you is necessary. So, if you leave the camp, they will hunt you down and kill you. People live in terror because they know that they can be killed at any time. There are almost no supplies or resources left on Earth, which deprives any remaining human of essential supplies, food, weapons, and water. Another example is how the aliens kill anyone that they see that is not part of their little city.Anyone who realised what was going on and tried to rebel was also executed. (Pg. 130-131) The aliens are the new leaders of the ear th. Cassie is one of the main characters in the novel. She is not a member of the aliens’ society on Earth, so she is constantly being stalked and shot at while she scavenges around looking for essential supplies and her brother all while trying to stay hidden and alert. They try to kill her on sight, but she escapes every time. Another example at the end of the novel, Evan leaves her, Ben, and Sammy to sacrifice himself by blowing up the whole compound where the â€Å"refuge† was.She was insistent on him escaping with her and the group but finally gave in when he kept wanting to. (Pg. 443-444) Cassie’s actions impact this society very little in the beginning, but at the end, she helps destroys the whole alien compound on earth. Cassie's actions resulted in both positive and negative consequences. The warning given by the author is to not trust anybody. In the novel, Cassie emptied an entire clip into a soldier, killing him because she thought that he was holdin g a gun, but he was actually holding a crucifix.She didn’t trust him, but in the end, she didn’t regret her decision because she knew he was in a better place than the now alien-infested Earth. The difference between the Others and a human are impossible to tell, because they possess the human body and the mind. The citizens will eventually have to overpower and take over the government if they are to survive, as the aliens are wanting to rid Earth of all humans in order to take over. (Pg. 223) The advice I would give the protagonist is to help other people more and to not be as selfish.Another warning is to never travel by yourself, as bad thing may happen to you. The warnings apply to everyone. In conclusion, if aliens take over the world, don’t panic. They may be friendly. However, if they turn out to be evil, be like Cassie and rip out your M16 or a brick or whatever you have on them. In The 5th Wave, Cassie represents humanity’s resistance, one of th e last humans to survive on earth. Don’t trust anyone, as the author says. A lesson that is to be learned from this novel is to never underestimate someone who looks and acts of a person who is like you, they may have an upper advantage.

Chekhov the Fox and Visions of Transcendent Humanity

Chekhov the Fox and Visions of Transcendent Humanity Anton Chekhov might look like a hedgehog when he returns time and again to the theme of universal humanity and its future path. But Chekhov as ‘the humanist writer’ does not really work towards a unified concept of mankind’s ultimate fate. Rather, the thinking men in his stories and plays present their own diverging and overlapping visions of human purpose. In a most Chekhovian manner, these perspectives are often frustrated or denied by the essential incommunicability of each man’s point of view. It then seems that Chekov’s narrative voice is more suited to the fox’s role, as it presents a polyphonic and individually refutable set of perspectives on a common theme. For some of Chekhov’s characters, the fate of man is fixed and predetermined, for others it is the uncertain product of generations’ toil. For some there is a religious drive to improving the current lot of humanity, and for others it is a biological or social imperat ive. Chekhov’s restless exploration of what humanity’s future means to different people proves that he would rather celebrate the philosophical diversity of his zeitgeist than constrain the intellectual developments of his age to a single framework. Perhaps the most tellingly individualized view of humanity’s future in a Chekhov text is found in The Seagull. Kostya’s notion of the â€Å"World Soul† is an abstracted and dramatized vision of the standard Western theological and philosophical trope of mankind’s convergent destiny. Whether expressed in the biblical model of the rapture, in the political ideal of manifest destiny, or in the latest theories of a technological singularity, there has been a throughline in Western thought that structures humanity’s future as a unified turn to the greater good. Kostya’s play-within-a-play defines his version of this fateful unity as the â€Å"dreams of what will be two hundred thousand years from now† (99). Nina’s character introduces herself as an allegorical projection of unified life in a lifeless world: â€Å"The bodies of all living things having turned to dust, eternal matter has transformed them into stones, water, clouds, and all their souls have merged into one. That great world soul – is I† (100). Then she speaks of the predestined action of this unified force: â€Å"in the cruel, persistent struggle with the devil, the principle of the forces of matter, I am destined to be victorious; then matter and spirit shall merge in glorious harmony† (101). However muddled or phantasmagorically contrived it comes across to his fictional audience, Kostya’s authorial voice tells Chekhov’s audience that the ultimate goal of humanity is to religiously transcend the physical realm. Whether or not Kostya himself literally believes in such a goal does not matter, his writing nevertheless produces that individual view of human transcendence. Kostya introduces this transcendence as inevitable and out of the influence of currently living humans, in contrast with the views of some other Chekhov characters. Doctor Astrov, in Uncle Vanya, expresses the opposing opinion most strongly, taking personal responsibility for the future of the environment and, by extension, human happiness: â€Å"Man is endowed with reason and creative powers . . . I realize that the climate is somewhat in my power, and that if, a thousand years from now, mankind is happy, I shall be responsible for that too, in a small way† (175), Likewise, Vershinin in The Three Sisters, argues that his â€Å"dream . . . of the life that will come after us† in â€Å"a thousand years – the time doesn’t matter† will arise because humans are â€Å"living for it now, working . . . suffering, and creating it† (264). This argument is against Tuzenbach’s assertion that there will be no such transcendent future, regardless o f whether modern man works for it or not: â€Å"Not only in two or three hundred years, but in a million years, life will be just the same as it always was† (265). The fox-like attributes of Chekhov’s oeuvre are evident in the way his characters’ conflicting opinions contribute to an intertextual argument on a specific strand of philosophy. If Chekhov were a hedgehog, his dramas might then guide this argument towards one triumphant vision of human destiny. Instead, the armchair philosophers in The Three Sisters give no finality to the subject, with Vershinin concluding that â€Å"in any case, it’s a pity youth is over† and Tuzenbach saying â€Å"It’s difficult arguing with you, friends! Well, let it go† (266). Astrov becomes disillusioned with his own argument, telling Elena that is that â€Å"there’s nothing to understand, it’s simply uninteresting† (201). And most disappointingly, Kostya’s play is seen only as â€Å"decadent ravings† by his audience of family members (102). Chekhov’s great dramas define him as a fox because they not only develop many angles of his philosophical theme, but also present each distinct approach to the subject in the utterly fallible voice of a fictional character. As with many Chekhovian short story characters, the thin kers in these plays find that their lofty opinions count for naught when they cannot be properly communicated to another person. This trend denies the ultimate validity of each fictional viewpoint, such that even if there were consensus between all characters in different plays on the subject of humanity’s common future, it would still be impossible to pinpoint a singular perspective running through Chekhov’s theatrical work. The short stories that introduce variant perspectives on universal humanity are even more telling of Chekhov’s ‘foxiness.’ Their third-person narrative forms allow the author to more explicitly point out the incomprehensibility, and hence illegitimacy, of a character’s opinion to anyone outside of his personal perspective. The Black Monk features the most exaggerated instance of this narrative technique. Kovrin’s apparition descends upon him to explain that he is a divinely chosen genius whose work will lead manki nd â€Å"some thousands of years earlier into the kingdom of eternal truth† (35). Combining Kostya’s vision of religious transcendence with Astrov’s belief in the necessity of individual labor, the Black Monk’s divine mandate represents yet another strain of â€Å"the immortality of man† that is pursued literally and as a symbol of mortal progress throughout much of Chekhov’s fiction (35). The narrative, however, makes it clear that this belief is not to be taken at face value, because it originates, exists, and is expressible solely in the mind of its one believer. After accepting the mantle of genius, Kovrin questions the man that he knows to be a hallucination, â€Å"What do you mean by eternal truth?† and the third-person narrator proclaims that â€Å"the monk did not answer. Kovrin looked at him and could not distinguish his face. His features grew blurred and misty. Then the monk’s head and arms disappeared; his body seemed merged into the seat and the evening twilight, and he vanished altogether† (36). We see here that Kovrin’s vision of universal humanity is not even fully formed, because his ghostly guide disappears without revealing to him its entire meaning, thus introducing doubt to the reader that Kovrin is capable of pursuing such a vision. Throughout the story of The Black Monk, Kovrin and the narrator both acknowledge that th e titular spirit exists only in the mind of the overworked philosopher. That narrative position, combined with the fevered, imperfect nature of Kovrin’s convictions, connotes the incommunicability of a personal belief in human transcendence. Whereas theatre allows characters to say aloud thoughts with which the audience or the author are clearly intended to disagree, narrative fiction enables the reader to see a viewpoint that is invalidated even further by its deviation from consensus reality. The incommunicability of transcendental belief can also be found in the thematic subtext of two earlier Chekhov stories, Dreams and Gusev. It’s interesting to note that in Dreams Chekhov’s characters locate the impossible, shared vision of perfected humanity in the distant past rather than the future: â€Å"have these visions of a life of liberty come down to them . . . as an inheritance from their remote, wild ancestors? God only knows!† (48). Here is another testament to Chekhov’s foxiness; between texts, he radically varies the specifics of their common philosophical theme. Dreams features the focalized ponderings of an odd tramp who sets the tone for the story when he says of the inexplicable motives of his mother: â€Å"She was a godly woman, but who can say? The soul of another is a dark forest† (45). As he is escorted through a literal dark forest, the tramp quixotically attempts to communicate to his soldier captors the vision of freedom and brotherhood that has taken root in his own soul. But, being in a Chekhov story, he travels one step forward and two steps back in pursuit of this merging of perspectives. The tramp succeeds at first in getting the soldiers’ imaginations to join his in â€Å"painting for them pictures of a free life which they have never lived† (48). But then, because â€Å"perhaps he is jealous of the vagrant’s visionary happiness† one of the â€Å"evil-boding fellow travelers† starts to argue against the realism of the tramp’s utopian escape (48). The shared vision fails because the soldiers cannot â€Å"force their minds to grasp what perhaps God alone can conceive of: the terrible expanse that lies between them and that land of freedom† (48). Here, Chekhov suggests another possibility for why these dreams of human transcendence are impossible to uphold – besides the madness, disillusionment, or indifference of the dreamer. It may simply be out of the scope of human cognition to share an understanding of the struggle needed to reach a perfect world. Gusev contains no explicit reference to a vision of mankind’s ultimate goal, but it does share with the other texts a humanist message that is denied by miscommunication. Pavel Ivanych, a righteous dying man, attempts to impress upon the titular soldier that his conscription is inhumane, for â€Å"it is not plans that matter but human life. You have only one life to live and it musn’t be wronged† (256). Gusev fails to grasp the metaphysical implications of the injustice pointed out by Pavel Ivanych and seeks only to argue that the specific duties of his conscription are not too harsh. This intellectual disconnect between the two men is established earlier in the story, when in response to Pavel Ivanych’s diatribes against those he sees responsible for human suffering, it can only be said that â€Å"Gusev does not understand Pavel Ivanych; thinking that he is being reprimanded, he [responds] in self-justification† (255). Pavel Ivanych, like the tramp before him, and Kovrin and the dramatic figures after him, is a true Chekhovian humanist. All his attempts to share his belief in the proper way of living are frustrated by the uniqueness of his way of thinking. Chekhov the fox shows yet another way for a humanist vision to be denied: it is the surrounding environment of petty minds and morals that makes Pavel Ivanych’s quest for common humanity a self-defeating one.

Reaction from Christian Bible Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reaction from Christian Bible - Essay Example He assumed that the church in Rome was beset by in-fighting within itself which required for them to become united and work with each other and not against each other. The other assumption that was in Paul’s letter was that the Christians in Rome needed to have the faith interpreted to them in a way that made sense to them and in a way that strengthened their faith and belief in Christianity. Another assumption was that there was a lot of misinformation about the Christian faith in Rome and he needed to explain the truths and inner workings of Christianity in a way that made sense to the Christian group in Rome and in a way that made their stand on ethics, their lifestyle and their beliefs clear and understandable to all and sundry. He assumed that the Christians needed advice on how to live with each other and how to live with their Roman rulers. Finally he made clear his assumption that he was not the only one with all the answers but that he also needed the prayers and supp ort of the Christians in Rome (Bright and Simons 4). In â€Å"Resident Aliens†, several assumptions are made. The first one is that the Christian life is much like life in a colony of believers immersed in a sea of unbelief. It assumes that though libertarian theory promises freedom it instead endowed society with self-centeredness, exclusivity, loneliness and an ever-challenging environment full of crime and all sorts of inequity and inequality (Hauerwas and Willimon 50). The article assumes that life in the Christian †colony†, far from being a smooth journey was instead a treacherous adventure full of unknowns and likens it to jumping onto a moving train (Hauerwas and Willimon 52). Another assumption made is that Christians do not know what’s in store for them when they join the Church or go through baptism. It assumes that Christianity promises a never ending journey whose details are vague and whose promises may not always be realized. It assumes that C hristianity is made up of nothing more than stories usually with a happy ending at the end of the misery and drudgery of life as we know it. The similarities between the Christian life article and Paul’s letter to the Romans are quite stark. In both narratives, the Christian community lives in a world where they are surrounded by unbelievers who make it both difficult for them to practice their faith as detailed in the Bible but also affect relations within the Church itself. The story of Shady Grove and its slow but definite assimilation of the black population is similar in many ways to the way the early Roman Christian church included the non-Jews or Gentiles in their ranks. The assumption of the â€Å"restlessness† of the Christian journey today has similarities to the uncertainties of early Roman church life. Even the whole conundrum of whether or not to have children and the kind of sexual lifestyle that one adopts are likened to the struggles of the Christian mi nority in Roman times against a very un-Christian standards of the external Roman community. Matthew’s description of the life of Jesus Christ, which is in many ways quite similar to those of Mark and Luke, takes the form of an introduction to the life and times of Jesus Christ, placing it firmly in the Jewish society of the time and relating what the coming of Christ, his life, teachings, his suffering and resurrection. The book is detailed and well laid out, placing the

Why am I here, in this Class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why am I here, in this Class - Essay Example My mother is a great woman who sacrificed a lot for her family and her children. She did not receive many good opportunities in her life and hence she could not complete her high school years. Despite of her efforts, my other siblings could not make it to college. My mother’s efforts and her desire to see her children achieve a good educational stand fuelled the passion in me to attend college. The inability of my siblings to attend college further pushed me to strive harder to achieve a good academic stand and pursue my future education in the best possible way so that I could have a great career. I am here in this English class to avail the most of my opportunity to attend college and to gain the most from the knowledge imparted by my teachers. The importance and significance of English language on the global scale cannot be denied. English is an international language that is used almost universally in most of the countries of the world. It is a means of communication globa lly used by people from different places and regions to interact with each other. It is the official language of the most important internationally recognized organizations across the world. Furthermore, the best universities across the globe also impart education in English and thus it is important to have a good stand in English language. This language serves to be useful in all aspects of an individual’s life. It is important for acquiring higher level education and it is also essential in other key sectors which include business, travel and medicine. I believe that English is a language which is important not only during the educational years of an individual but it is also a language which is of extreme importance in the professional field of a person if he wishes to become a part of an internationally accredited organization. My purpose to attend this class stands clear as I wish to have a good command over English Language so that my writing, reading as well as communi cating skills in English improves. I wish to give my undivided attention towards understanding the important grammatical aspects of English so that not only does my written English get better but my fluency and speaking power also advances. Furthermore, this class is of utmost importance because a good command over English will assist me in understanding the other subjects taught in college. This is because English is the language which is used for teaching the other subjects as well. I wish to enhance my vocabulary and grammatical skills through proper learning of English. This learning will also prove to be beneficial for me in the long run as it will be of assistance to me in my future education in university as well. It will help me in understanding my course subjects. English is a language which is a medium of communication and thus my learning would provide for improving my interactive skills and boast my self-confidence as I would easily be able to collaborate and interact wi th my colleagues, friends and teachers. English will be of help to me in my professional career as well as it will provide me with an opportunity to appear confidently in interviews in good organizations. I will be able to collaborate and interact with my employers as well as coworkers in a fluent manner. I have had a difficult life but I managed to make my way through to college by facing all the hurdles that came my way. I made my mother as well as my siblings proud by reaching to a level where they wished to see me. I will work hard to make the most out of my educational years so that I can achieve success and prove myself in the academic as well as professional field. My presence in this English class is a step towards the accomplishment of my goals in my education.

Personality Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Personality Assessment - Essay Example Personality assessment is also vehemently supportive in the treatment process of the individuals; it is therefore the counselors and therapists lay stress upon knowing the domestic, environmental, racial, ethnic and religious background of the patients before starting the treatment procedure. Now, the counselors have also started enquiring about the sexual orientation of the individuals, as such kind of information is pertinent for the recommendation of treatment process of the patients. Personality predicts how a person will work—diligently, intelligently, cheerfully, and cooperatively. Personality affects the style or manner in which a person approaches his/her work; to the degree that a person must work with others—clients or fellow employees—this style matters greatly. (hoganassessments.com) INTP, INTJ, ENFJ, ENFP and others are the prominent personality categories, assessment of which is based upon the theoretical framework of the illustrious 20th century ps ychologist Karl Jung. Since personality assessment diagnosis is a very sensitive issue, the questionnaire must be developed in such a way that it should not hurt the feelings of the patient altogether.

Dissertation topic about Digital Marketing Article

Dissertation topic about Digital Marketing - Article Example Digital marketing has facilitated the retailers to target their potential customers by maintaining their online presence on the social media network, through mobile shopping, by introducing email marketing campaigns and mobile promotions and facilitating the existing customers to pay using their mobile phones (Rob Stokes, p.21). However, in this rapidly changing world of technology, it is imperative for the retailers and multinational organizations to devise new strategies that would help them to increase and maintain their competitiveness in the retail industry as well as it would also help them to target their potential customers in a more organized manner. As a result, this would make a significant impact on the profitability of the business and customer base. The dissertation will address the problem on how retailers can increase their competitiveness by integrating various digital marketing strategies in their overall business and what could be the possible shortcomings in implementing those strategies. It is imperative to understand that role of digital marketing in reshaping the world of retail industry in this modern era and how retailers can effectively reach their existing and potential customers by using and implementing the digital marketing techniques in their organizations. The purpose of this study is to explore the different digital marketing techniques introduced in the world of business and how the integration of these techniques can enhance the competitiveness of an organization by reaching to the maximum number of customers and increasing the profitability. 1- How retail business can increase their target marketing by communicating to the larger group of people through various platforms like search engine, social platforms and different similar platforms? 2- Retail businesses can integrate their offline marketing to online medium in order to cater larger group of people but how can businesses increase their business sales through this

Discuss the role of the Emergency Manager and the Fundamentals of Essay - 1

Discuss the role of the Emergency Manager and the Fundamentals of Emergency Management - Essay Example In other words, disaster mitigation and risk-reduction measures are needed for a good response. However, one must realize (and be realistic enough) that most disasters cannot be seen in advance or forecasted with any degree of certainty. From an emergency response perspective, it can be said there are no real measures of success (if based on the number of lives saved or in the minimization of damage); but one should always look at each disaster as something unique that cannot be neatly categorized. What is meant here is that disasters are chaotic events and luck is a big part of the outcome. A disaster is not a linear-progression event that can predicted with high degree of precision and therefore is hard for anyone to control completely. Moreover, disasters can easily deteriorate into a catastrophe if the wrong response is employed (like in Japan). This portion talks about the role of the emergency manager and the fundamentals of any emergency management program. It is vital to know these two things for any disaster response to be effective in terms of limiting the damage, saving lives and in the recovery efforts after. Role of Emergency Manager – the primary role of the emergency manager is to prepare a populace for a disaster, whether man-made or natural disasters. In this regard, the manager must implement a disaster preparedness plan to help the people prepare, devise an early warning sign or system to notify people in advance (this is also to prevent panic resulting from rumors and the usual miscommunication in an emergency situation). For this, the manager must put into place a crisis communications plan as a preventive measure and at the same as a pro-active orientation. This team should be composed of the highest local official (or a designated alternate) who can make the decisions, members of the team who can be contacted and authorized to disseminate vital information and also designate a chief of an Incident Command System (ICS) put

Annotated bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Annotated bibliography - Essay Example This civil war is a significant historical element and thus helps educate and enlighten readers. This source explores the influence slavery had on the civil war. It examines the role of slavery especially in influencing politics in the south. Of significant emphasis are the submissions of major political players and society from the southern region of America in relation to slave ownership. The author also highlights the role of black soldiers in the civil war and in what way they influenced the side that lost and that which lost the civil war. The author of this book dwells on the period before the civil war. He asserts that there were troubles over slavery that was slowly building up to a national phenomenon. He acknowledges that there were skirmishes along the North and South Border in relation to fugitive slaves. They were what shaped up politics and culture leading to the civil war. This source is instrumental in showing the build up to the war. It helps people know that political factions started forming a long time before the actual war started. It contributes to research by giving a wider scope of events leading to the civil

Case in motivation and teamwork of Starbuck Essay Example for Free

Case in motivation and teamwork of Starbuck Essay Case in motivation and teamwork of Starbuck Introduction Question 1 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Formal teams are teams whose structures are clearly defined mainly of the basis of specialization. In these types of teams, the members are not equal and every one of them has a rank (Moorhead Griffin, 73). For example, there are managers, supervisors and other junior employees. It is worthy noting that every member of a formal team performs their specific duties. For example, managers stay in their offices and issues directives to their juniors. On the other hand, informal teams have no structure and all team members are seen as equal regardless of their specialty. In these types of teams, any member can perform any task. Question 2 A team in Starbucks consists of three to six people and this helps the employees to know each other well. Any opinion expressed by employees is given an equal significance regardless of their position. The top management at Starbucks work together with their juniors which makes them more familiar and closer compared to other bureaucratic companies. The management at Starbucks treats all employees as equals and this is aimed at reducing the gap between the employees and the management. The top management at the company believes that employees are its main spirit. Consequently, the management adopts an interactive organizational structure that makes the employees love their jobs and perform them with passion. Question 3 a) The size of a team is an important factor because it determines how well the team members know each other. This is important because it brings about cohesion in the work place. b) The first benefit of Starbucks having small teams of staff in every branch is that the team members get to know each other better. Secondly, it improves communication within the group. Question 4 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   From the Starbucks case study, it is clear that there are three major issues that the company needs to address in its planning process namely listening to the opinion of its employees, equal treatment and ensuring good welfare for the employees. Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Equal treatment- this is one of the major issues that the company needs to address in its planning process. Equal treatment requires all employees to be treated equally regardless of their position. According to the case study, it is clear that the management at the company treats all employees as equals and refers to them as partners. This is important because it narrows the gap between the employees and the management. Treating every employees fairly and equally in the workplace results in a friendly working environment. Consequently, if the issue of equal treatment is addressed in the planning process, it will help in creating closer working atmosphere and good management (Rynes Rosen 64). Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Listening to the employees- listening to the employees is other issue that requires to be addressed in the planning process. From the Starbucks case, it is clear that the company wants every employee to take part in developing plans and work as a team to achieve the set goals. Consequently, the company’s principles and policies are communicated to all employees, and there is no restriction in the employee’s individual opinions. By listening to the employees, makes them feel important which in turn motivates them hence increasing their productivity (Rynes Rosen, 83). References Moorhead, G., Griffin, R. W. Managing organizational behavior. (10th ed.). Cengage Learning., 2012. Print Rynes, S., Rosen, B. A field survey of factors affecting the adoption and perceived success of diversity training. Personnel Psychology, 1995. Print Source document

Impact of Social Media On Graphic Designers

Impact of Social Media On Graphic Designers The emergence and popularity of online social networks in recent years has changed the Internet ecosystem leading to a more collaborative environment. Nowadays, hundreds of millions of Internet users participate in social networks, form communities, produce and consume media content in revolutionary ways Introduction The internet is basically about people but it is recently seen differently in comparatively terms. Currently, the transformation that is tossing both the worldwide web and the numerous markets that depend and feed on it is possibly in economic terms a correction that is forcing it into being a web of people or a community that utilise websites as communication channels to interact with other people (Fraser Dutta, 2010). In view of this, the composition of the internet has been taking over by web 2.0. Social media can be described as a vehicle for the sharing and cooperative creation of information by individuals and communities (Hansen et al 2010). It particularly depicts online communication tools and applications. Features of a social media platform may include: Collaboration it promote interaction and contribution by audience. It provides an alternative way of transmitting information. Thus, social media tools particularly promote and support feedback, comments, and sharing of information. Community social media furnishes an infrastructure for interaction among existing communities and the formation and interaction of primarily or exclusively web-based communities around common interests or goals. Connectedness social media helps to connect people and information in one place. Web 2.0 is often talked about in the same breath as social media. Web 2.0 is a term that is used to define the evolution of the World Wide Web. While there isnt a hard and fast line between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, Web 1.0 can be understood to represent a web as information model and Web 2.0 to represent a web as participation model of web activity (Cormode Krishnamurthy, 2008). Characterized by the creation and interaction with content, users take part and collaborate through virtual communities and social media tools which help easy sharing of information and ideas. Examples of social technologies used to create social media include those from communication (such as Blogs), collaboration (such as Wikis), communities (such as Facebook), reviews and opinion (such as Amazon reader review) and multimedia (such as YouTube). On the web, social networks are contained versions of blog network which are spreading out in different directions. To join a social network, users normally create a profile and then build a network by connecting to friends and contacts in the network, or by inviting real-world contacts and friends to join the social network (Goodings2010). These communities retain the interest of their members by being useful to them and providing services that are entertaining or help them to expand their networks (Booth, 2008). Such networks provide an extremely suitable space to instantly share multimedia information between individuals and their neighbours in the social graph. Social networks provide a powerful reflection of the structure and dynamics of the society of the 21st century and the interaction of the Internet generation with both technology and other people (Kumar, 2012). Social Media platforms are not new and almost every graphic designer is reasonably aware of it uses, benefits and effects it. It is a complex web and one shared link leads a graphic designer to another. Generally, individuals from all walks of life are engaged in the use of social media. Similarly, graphic designers patronise social media websites and many of them are reasonably fond on one or more of the social networks. However, noticeably, the current developments and challenges in graphic designing show that, social media has turned to be more of a requirement for almost every graphic designer. Currently, industries, institutions, corporate organizations, government and non-governmental organizations are changing their concentration towards social media for its ability to publicise and promote their interests and activities. With this development, the graphic design industry is no exclusion of this new development as most graphic designers employ the services of social media in one way or the other. By using social media, graphic designers share their views and their designing work and provide useful feedback to each other. Every new development in technology has its own advantages and disadvantages. Social media has its peculiar advantages and disadvantages just as every other technology available to the public for use. Generally, an innovation can either lead to advancement or destruction. Social media has an infinite benefit for graphic designers, however at the same time; it can demonstrate to be having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences. With abundance of internet connectivity and its low cost availability, social media has become the most inexpensive of all promotional media. Also, social media provide the designers an opportunity to learn from fellow designers and put that learned thing into their practice. In spite of the fact that social media provides enormous benefits to graphic designers, its overindulgence is bad. Likewise, too much indulgence in the social media websites may render most designers unproductive and redundant because designers often forget their basic work and go off-the-track from their main purpose and functional duties. It is of this backdrop that this article seeks to find the impact of social media on graphic designers; tailored to unravel the associated benefits and disadvantages derived from the use of social network platforms. This article presents an equilibrated analysis of social media and its impacts on graphic designers. Materials and Methods This is a qualitative research which seeks to investigate the impact of social media on graphic designers in Ghana. Observations and in-depth interviews were used to examine designers participation in online social media networks and its impact as they discharge their functional duties and responsibilities in their respective organizations. The sample frame of this research was drawn from all advertising companies, printing houses, printing presses and marketing companies in the Kumasi metropolis. This was because most of the graphic designers work with these companies and discharge similar or almost the same duties.

Baby Violence :: essays research papers

Babies, Frustration, Anger, Death Recently in the news paper in the York area an old distance friend of mine Travis Laughman is accused of beating his girlfriends baby Kellen Koller 2. Kellen Koller died at Hershey Medical Center. My first reaction was â€Å"I can’t believe this.† â€Å"It can’t be him!† I couldn’t come to terms to hear that an old friend of mine was a murder. Many young parents have a hard time with a crying baby. Not be able to get them to stop so frustration sets in. There are many cases where young parents are so overwhelmed and are exhausted and they just click and start to take there anger out of there babies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yes, Travis is an old friend of mine, but I believe that he should serve his life in prison for killing his girlfriend baby. I know people think it sick that young parents beat there children to death out of frustration, but you have to think of what is going on in the situation. Babies can be very overwhelming and make you go crazy. When a baby starts to cry and will not stop and you try your hardest to stop it from crying a person my just click and not know what is going on. They just wanted to get the baby to stop crying. I personally don’t have any children, but I know it is an awful sound to hear a baby cry. I get frustrated in a restaurant when I hear a baby cry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that this issue could be resolved if there would be a help line to help you threw a time when you have a crying baby that will not stop from crying. I am sure that there are help lines like that, but I wish people would use them. Also I think that the men and women who have killed their son or daughter may have a pass of being abusive or have anger problems. I know for a fact that Travis had anger problems.

The History of Feminine Fiction:Exploring Laura Runge’s Article, Gender

The History of Feminine Fiction:Exploring Laura Runge’s Article, Gendered Strategies in the Criticism of Early Fiction Laura Runge is an assistant professor of English at the University of South Florida. In her article, "Gendered Strategies in the Criticism of Early Fiction," Runge argues that, during the eighteenth century, the overdetermined gendered association between the female reader and the female writer excluded the female novelist from literary excellence and ultimately led to the inferior status of fictional writing. While the novel became recognized as a feminine genre, criticism ignored the achievement of female authors and became overtly masculine. In defining literary achievement by male standards, criticism reinforced the subordinate role of women in both the British culture and literature. Runge says it is the gendered literary hierarchy, established in the criticism of the eighteenth century, that makes it difficult to evaluate the history of the entire novel. As the social and economic conditions of eighteenth century Britain shifted from a family based system to one dependent on industry, women were no longer valuable as workers. This transition allowed for the developing reading habits of the middleclass woman as they were left with more free time. However, the cultural definition of females compromised the feminized genre. As women were defined as subordinate to men, their literature was reduced by critics to "bad-fiction." One critic wrote, "So long at the British ladies continue to encourage our hackney scribblers, by reading every romance that appears, we need not wonder that the press should swarm with such poor insignificant productions" (365). Despite the presumed inferiority of fiction, authors, ... ...bsequently, the only success females were acknowledged for or granted was as the provider of domestic morality. Gendered strategies, in the criticism of early fiction, made feminine fiction incapable of excellence. By using conventional heterosexual relationships in their prefaces, authors only succeed in supporting the masculine control over fiction. The appraisals women gained only reinforced their inferior status. "Criticism placed female authors in a specific and confined critical sphere, while it located male authors in an other, more respected field" (375). By aligning their works with popular male literature, women inadvertently strengthened male authority. Women were only granted recognition in terms of their limited social stature. It is these gendered values and strategies that makes the history of the novel and feminine achievement difficult to assess.

A Most Remarkable Teacher Essay -- Medicine College Admissions Essays

A Most Remarkable Teacher    A most remarkable high school teacher first aroused my interest in medicine when he invited me to take a special advanced microbiology course at night. He (Mr. Wiles) had worked for years in the medical field before retiring to teach school. Spending many hours with us, he constantly reaffirmed his belief that we could make a positive contribution to society through a career in medicine. Shortly after my graduation, Mr. Wiles died of lung cancer. During his last months, as I visited him, walked with him, chopped wood for him, I anguished over my helplessness as his pain grew and his life diminished. The doctors couldn't do much to reverse that process, but at least they could t~ to ease his pain or Blow the spreading disease. I admired and envied that ability.    In the ensuing years, I found myself embracing two seemingly different career paths. I loved being around people and thrived on the interaction, but I was fascinated by the technical intricacies of science. With a love for my science courses, I found that I could readily follow the logic of scientific thought. Then I left school and went to Europe as a volunteer missionary. In addition to learning a foreign Language (French) †¢ I spent that year and a half learning to work with people and help them with their problems. This strengthened my desire to work with people in some kind of clinical setting.    It was... ...e good, some not as good--as they made their rounds. The really good ones seemed able to comfort their patients in more than just a physical sense. One oncologist seemed never to fail to bring a smile to his patients' faces, such was his genuine caring.    I believe, now, the words of Mr. Wiles. I believe that as a physician I can make a very real contribution to society. I can see myself offering all I have to help a patient smile again, using all my resources to find the best scientific solution. And as I become more of a scientist, so must I become even more skilled with people--people with needs and feelings. For medicine is the culmination of that art and science-requiring the best of both worlds.

History Of Beverages/Soft Drink

Soft drinks can trace their history back to the mineral water found in natural springs. Bathing in natural springs has long been considered a healthy thing to do; and mineral water was said to have curative powers. Scientists soon discovered that gas carbonium or carbon dioxide was behind the bubbles in natural mineral water. The first marketed soft drinks (non-carbonated) appeared in the 17th century. They were made from water and lemon juice sweetened with honey. In 1676, the Compagnie de Limonadiers of Paris were granted a monopoly for the sale of lemonade soft drinks. Vendors would carry tanks of lemonade on their backs and dispensed cups of the soft drink to thirsty Parisians. Joseph PriestleyIn 1767, the first drinkable man-made glass of carbonated water was created by Englishmen Doctor Joseph Priestley. Three years later, Swedish chemist Torbern Bergman invented a generating apparatus that made carbonated water from chalk by the use of sulfuric acid. Bergman's apparatus allowe d imitation mineral water to be produced in large amounts. John MathewsIn 1810, the first United States patent was issued for the â€Å"means of mass manufacture of imitation mineral waters† to Simons and Rundell of Charleston, South Carolina. However, carbonated beverages did not achieve great popularity in America until 1832, when John Mathews invented his apparatus for the making carbonated water. John Mathews then mass-manufactured his apparatus for sale to soda fountain owners.Health Properties of Mineral WaterThe drinking of either natural or artificial mineral water was considered a healthy practice. The American pharmacists selling mineral waters began to add medicinal and flavorful herbs to unflavored mineral water. They used birch bark, dandelion, sarsaparilla, and fruit extracts. Some historians consider that the first flavored carbonated soft drink was that made in 1807 by Doctor Philip Syng Physick of Philadelphia. Early American pharmacies with soda fountains be came a popular part of culture. The customers soon wanted to take their â€Å"health† drinks home with them and a soft drink bottling industry grew from consumer demand.The Soft Drink Bottling IndustryOver 1,500 U.S. patents were filed for either a cork, cap, or lid for the carbonated drink bottle tops during the early days of the bottling industry. Carbonated drink bottles are under a lot of pressure from the gas. Inventors were trying to find the best way to prevent the carbon dioxide or bubbles from escaping. In 1892, the â€Å"Crown Cork Bottle Seal† was patented by William Painter, a Baltimore machine shop operator. It was the first very successful method of keeping the bubbles in the bottle.Automatic Production of Glass BottlesIn 1899, the first patent was issued for a glass-blowing machine for the automatic production of glass bottles. Earlier glass bottles had all been hand-blown. Four years later, the new bottle-blowing machine was in operation. It was first o perated by the inventor, Michael Owens, an employee of Libby Glass Company. Within a few years, glass bottle production increased from 1,500 bottles a day to 57,000 bottles a day.Hom-Paks and Vending MachinesDuring the 1920s, the first â€Å"Hom-Paks† were invented. â€Å"Hom-Paks† are the familiar six-pack beverage carrying cartons made from cardboard. Automatic vending machines also began to appear in the 1920s. The soft drink had become an American mainstay. http://inventors.about.com/od/foodrelatedinventions/a/soft_drinks.htmIntroduction to PopThe History of Soft Drinks Timeline By Mary Bellis See More About soft drinks beverageGirl Serving From Soda Fountain Bar Serving Soft Drinks LOC See More About soft drinks beverageThis timeline accompanies Introduction to Pop – The History of Soft Drinks Soft drinks by definition are carbonated drinks that are non-alcoholic. Carbonated soft drinks are also refereed to as soda, soda pop, pop, or tonic. 1798 The term â €Å"soda water† first coined.1810 First U.S. patent issued for the manufacture of imitation mineral waters. 1819 The â€Å"soda fountain† patented by Samuel Fahnestock. 1835 The first bottled soda water in the U.S. 1850 A manual hand & foot operated filling & corking device, first used for bottling soda water. 1851 Ginger ale created in Ireland. 1861 The term â€Å"pop† first coined. 1874 The first ice-cream soda sold. 1876 Root beer mass produced for public sale. 1881 The first cola-flavored beverage introduced. 1885 Charles Aderton invented â€Å"Dr Pepper† in Waco, Texas. 1886 Dr. John S. Pemberton invented â€Å"Coca-Cola† in Atlanta, Georgia. 1892 William Painter invented the crown bottle cap. 1898 â€Å"Pepsi-Cola† is invented by Caleb Bradham. 1899 The first patent issued for a glass blowing machine, used to produce glass bottles. 1913 Gas motored trucks replaced horse drawn carriages as delivery vehicles. 1919 The American Bottlers o f Carbonated Beverages formed.1920 The U.S. Census reported that more than 5,000 bottlers now exist. Early 1920's The first automatic vending machines dispensed sodas into cups. 1923 Six-pack soft drink cartons called â€Å"Hom-Paks† created.1929 The Howdy Company debuted its new drink â€Å"Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Sodas† later called â€Å"7 Up†. Invented by Charles Leiper Grigg. 1934 Applied color labels first used on soft drink bottles, the coloring was baked on the face of the bottle. 1952 The first diet soft drink sold called the â€Å"No-Cal Beverage† a gingerale sold by Kirsch. 1957 The first aluminum cans used.1959 The first diet cola sold. 1962 The pull-ring tab first marketed by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company of  Pittsburgh, PA. The pull-ring tab was invented by Alcoa. 1963 The Schlitz Brewing company introduced the â€Å"Pop Top† beer can to the nation in March, invented by Ermal Fraze of Kettering, Ohio. 1965 Soft drinks in can s dispensed from vending machines.1965 The resealable top invented. 1966 The American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages renamed The National Soft Drink Association. 1970 Plastic bottles are used for soft drinks. 1973 The PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottle created. 1974 The stay-on tab invented. Introduced by the Falls City Brewing Company of Louisville, KY. 1979 Mello Yello soft drink is introduced by the Coca Cola company as competition against Mountain Dew. 1981 The â€Å"talking† vending machine invented.http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/soft_drink.htmHISTORY OF COCA-COLA:Invented in the City of Atlanta over a hundred years ago. Atlanta 1886. John Pemberton in 1886 was experimenting with a new recipe. Took some secret ingredients and boiled them into a syrup. Took some to Jacob’s pharmacy where he mixed it with carbonated water and place it on sale for 5 cents a glass. Thus greatest invention of all time. Accountant of Pemberton – Frank Rob inson, coined the name Coca-Cola and famours trademark News spread across Atlanta 1st year – average drinks sold 9 drink per day 1888 – sold to Asa G. Candler and Co. to produce and distribute coca-cola Mr. Candler was a marketing genius, countless creative ways to promote the product. Gave the color red in barrels to give a distinctive appearance All over America-Soda foams. Then in bottles – idea Sold them the right to do that – 1dollar 1916 – introduced coca cola contour bottle; so unique it became instantly famous 1919 – Candler sold the company to a group of investors. Robert Woodriff who became the company’s president Make ice-cold coca cola available to anyone, where, placeFIRST TRULY GLOBAL BRAND 100 YEARS LATER – FORMULA IS STILL A GUARDED SECRET MOST RECOGNIZED TRADEMARK IN THE WORLD ENJOYED IN MORE THAN 200 COUNTRIESHISTORY OF BOTTLING:Coca-Cola ® originated as a soda fountain beverage in 1886 selling for five cent s a glass. Early growth was impressive, but it was only when a strong bottling system developed thatCoca-Cola became the world-famous brand it is today. 1894 †¦ A modest start for a bold ideaIn a candy store in Vicksburg, Mississippi, brisk sales of the new fountain beverage calledCoca-Cola impressed the store's owner, Joseph A. Biedenharn. He began bottling Coca-Colato sell, using a common glass bottle called a Hutchinson.Biedenharn sent a case to Asa Griggs Candler, who owned the Company. Candler thanked him but took no action. One of his nephews already had urged that Coca-Cola be bottled, but Candler focused on fountain sales. 1899 †¦ The first bottling agreementTwo young attorneys from Chattanooga, Tennessee believed they could build a business around bottling Coca-Cola. In a meeting with Candler, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead obtained exclusive rights to bottle Coca-Cola across most of the United States (specifically excluding Vicksburg) — for the sum of one dollar. A third Chattanooga lawyer, John T. Lupton, soon joined their venture. 1900-1909 †¦ Rapid growthThe three pioneer bottlers divided the country into territories and sold bottling rights to local entrepreneurs. Their efforts were boosted by major progress in bottling technology, which improved efficiency and product quality. By 1909, nearly 400 Coca-Cola bottling plants were operating, most of them family-owned businesses. Some were open only during hot-weather months when demand was high. 1916 †¦ Birth of the contour bottleBottlers worried that the straight-sided bottle for Coca-Cola was easily confused with imitators. A group representing the Company and bottlers asked glass manufacturers to offer ideas for a distinctive bottle. A design from the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana won enthusiastic approval in 1915 and was introduced in 1916. The contour bottle became one of the few packages ever granted trademark status by the U.S. Patent Office . Today, it's one of the most recognized icons in the world – even in the dark! 1920s †¦ Bottling overtakes fountain salesAs the 1920s dawned, more than 1,000 Coca-Cola bottlers were operating in the U.S. Their ideas and zeal fueled steady growth. Six-bottle cartons were a huge hit after their 1923 introduction. A few years later, open-top metal coolers became the forerunners of automated vending machines. By the end of the 1920s, bottle sales of Coca-Cola exceeded fountain sales. 1920s and 30s †¦ International expansionLed by longtime Company leader Robert W. Woodruff, chief executive officer and chairman of the Board, the Company began a major push to establish bottling operations outside the U.S. Plants were opened in France, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Belgium, Italy, Peru, Spain, Australia and South Africa. By the time World War II began, Coca-Cola was being bottled in 44 countries. 1940s †¦ Post-war growthDuring the war, 64 bottling plants were set up ar ound the world to supply the troops. This followed an urgent request for bottling equipment and materials from General Eisenhower's base in North Africa. Many of these war-time plants were later converted to civilian use, permanently enlarging the bottling system and accelerating the growth of the Company's worldwide business. 1950s †¦ Packaging innovationsFor the first time, consumers had choices of Coca-Cola package size and type — the traditional 6.5-ounce contour bottle, or larger servings including 10-, 12- and 26-ounce versions. Cans were also introduced, becoming generally available in 1960. 1960s †¦ New brands introducedFollowing Fanta ® in the 1950s, Sprite ®, Minute Maid ®, Fresca ® and TaB ® joined brandCoca-Cola in the 1960s. Mr. Pibb ® and Mello Yello ® were added in the 1970s. The 1980s brought diet Coke ® and Cherry Coke ®, followed by POWERADE ® and DASANI ® in the 1990s. Today hundreds of other brands are offered to meet consum er preferences in local markets around the world. 1970s and 80s †¦ Consolidation to serve customersAs technology led to a global economy, the retailers who sold Coca-Cola merged and evolved into international mega-chains. Such customers required a new approach. In response, many small and medium-size bottlers consolidated to better serve giant international customers. The Company encouraged and invested in a number of bottler consolidations to assure that its largest bottling partners would have capacity to lead the system in working with global retailers. 1990s †¦ New and growing marketsPolitical and economic changes opened vast markets that were closed or underdeveloped for decades. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Company invested heavily to build plants in Eastern Europe. And as the century closed, more than $1.5 billion was committed to new bottling facilities in Africa. 21st Century †¦The Coca-Cola bottling system grew up with roots deeply planted in local communities. This heritage serves the Company well today as people seek brands that honor local identity and the distinctiveness of local markets. As was true a century ago, strong locally based relationships between Coca-Cola bottlers, customers and communities are the foundation on which the entire business grows.

Working as a Team

1. Introduction People form teams to accomplish a shard goal or task and have done so since the beginning of human history. For instance, cavemen building a fire together, students working on a group project, or basketball players playing on the same team, the need for teamwork is becoming greater. Parker (2011) suggests that teamwork is essential for business organizations to achieve success. Nowadays, working efficiently with others in a team is a key skill in order to survive in the competitive world of work.In any global business, certain skills and strategies are needed to incorporate into developing teams to maintain effective outcomes. The range of skills includes motivation, conflict management and team goals. This essay will examine the three mentioned aspects of teamwork that would prepare a person to work effectively in a team environment, supported by two real world examples for each aspect to show how individuals in organizations work successfully as active team players. 2. Body Firstly, motivation is an essential element in team-based workplaces.Workers are not mechanism, when they are asked to do the same tasks repeatedly, they will easily lose their interest or passion for their jobs. Consequently, a good way to keep team members’ passion is to motivate them. Motivation theory is one of the most vital theories in Human Resource Management. Armstrong (2001, p. 155) explains the motivation theory is applicable in organizations where they motivate their team members to utilize their skills and knowledge. This would aid at surpassing the organizations' goals and improve the capability to provide better for their teams.According to a research conducted by Macky and Johnson (2003, p. 82), the result shows that when teams are provided with a satisfactory workplace reflecting each personal necessity and requirement, instead of a higher wage or bonus, members are motivated to work harder and more efficiently. This indicates that using beneficial m otivators is becoming more important in nowadays business. In the operation of organizations, examples show motivation plays an important role in achieving success. Howard Schultz, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Google Inc. hich is based in California, considers that the success of the company is to put their employees as the first priority in its offices. According to the official website of Google (2011), the company offers a great range of benefits, including dining facilities, aerobics studios, laundry rooms, massage rooms, haircuts, car wash service and more. He firmly believes that â€Å"appreciation is the best motivation†, by providing a fun and inspiring workspace, team members are able to work in a positive atmosphere.This means team partners can motivate each other to satisfy their own needs, thus a greater opportunity to offer a higher level of performance (Google, 2011). Schultz is the CEO of Starbucks, an international coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, U SA, applies the same principle that employees matter just as much as products do. Michelli (2008) states that Starbucks provides a variety of welfare measures for the Starbucks teams, for instance, accommodation discounts, medical insurance, and vacations.This shows when the company satisfies team members’ needs, they are encouraged to work towards the same goal and strive for the best for the company. From these two examples, it is clear that therefore motivation can lead team members to provide higher quality of work and increase the profit of the company. Secondly, conflict management is a vital aspect in a high-performance team. Conflict is defined as â€Å"the perceived difference between two or more parties resulting in mutual opposition† (Bartol et al, 2008, p. 24). Conflicts are inevitable as different members in teams have different opinions and methods to show their variations (Engleberg, Wynn, 2006, p. 147). Some of the major causes of conflicts are arise fr om the oppose perspective of members’ desire, goals, values and beliefs (DeJanasz, Dowd, Schneifer, 2001, p. 243). Conflicts and arguments in teams can rise negative feelings among members such as ‘lost sight of team goal’, these feelings may lead to failure in achieving effective outcomes (Engleberg, Wynn, 2006, p. 48). Therefore, it is important for team members to recognize the effective strategies in dealing with conflicts in order to minimize fighting and hostility. With proper conflict management, workers are able to work productively as a team where differentiality are accepted (Boone, Kurtz, 2010, p. 2). This shows development of conflict management techniques is essential in contemporary business. In any team-based workplace, correct conflict management can enhance the success of organizations can achieve.The CEO of a Houston-based Birkman International Company, Richard Goldman introduced a policy where his team of employees need to attend compulsive com munication classes every week in attempt to reduce conflicts arise from misunderstanding when they communicate (Tallia et al, 2006). Goldman considers that overcoming communication barriers can provide outstanding insights with team members’ thoughts and act (Tallia et al, 2006). This suggests that team members are allowed to work more practically together when conflicts are handled and solved with efficient management skills.Another example is McDonald’s, the world’s largest chain of fast food restaurant located internationally. The CEO James A. Skinner believes that by offering training programs, such as McDonald’s Management Development Program, managers can build a fully understanding of the company’s policy and the basic skills of manager when working with other people in the McDonald’s Crew (McDonald’s, 2011). This enables mangers to deliver a better management performance when dealing with conflicts. As a result, staff can crea te a harmony team environment and maintain effective achievement.The above two examples indicates that conflict management is crucial in the success of organizations. Lastly, leadership is vital in team-oriented workplaces. Ivancevich & Matteson (2002, p. 45) define team leadership as â€Å"the process of influencing others to facilitate the attainment of organizationally relevant goals†. Leadership is important as it has been addressed as essential to achievement in teams(Gill, 2006, p. 1). A team leader with distinct leadership skills are able to help members to further the achievement of success.Good leadership skills include clear vision, the ability to spot the difference between team members, bring the team together to work towards the same goal and more (Armstrong, 2009, p. 36). All of these bring positive outcomes in teams. As a result, in nowadays organizations, leadership is one of the most vital aspect to be considered. The positive outcomes that team-based organiz ations achieve are visible. Carol Baines took over the Baines Company after the death of her husband, the previous owner of the company.She spent her time in the company to familiarize herself with the staff and operations of the company. She then analyzed the company’s situation and set a powerful set of term goals for the company. With her determined vision and remarkable leadership skill, she created a ‘family-like atmosphere’ for team members to work in. Members saw the clear goal of the company, thus significant success was achieved by the company (Northouse, 2010, p. 30). Another good leader is Steve Jobs, the CEO of America-based electronic company, Apple, Inc.. His good leadership skills have effectively bring success to the company.His quest for perfection has motivated his team to perform their best work quality. These two example makes it clear that leadership makes a huge different in maintaining effective outcomes of organizations. Conclusion To conc lude, this essay has examined three aspects of teamwork that are essential when working effectively with other people in business organizations, namely motivation, conflict management and team goals. It has also provided with real life examples that showed how organizations can incorporate numbers of skills and strategies to create the right team environment.First of all, motivation can create a positive team environment for team members to work effectively together. In addition, proper conflict management can reduce arguments and fights between team members in order to maintain efficient outcomes in organizations. Finally, leadership . Good teamwork certainly is beneficial in the operation of organizations and has become an important aspect to be considered. As s result, organizations should be aware of those aspects and utilize the ability of teams.

Meaning of life, Life Essay

Suffering is an inevitable part of life. We all live in this big labyrinth of suffering. Th only way out of the labyrinth is death. † To live is to suffer, to survive to find meaning in the suffering. Few peopl e actually commit suicide to liberate themselves form suffering. Most people find meaning or purpo se for their life so that they have the motivation to live on. Some think that suffering make them wis er, some think that suffering is a test of faith, there will be rewards for them in the after life if they c an endure the suffering on earth. Some people couldn’t understand but keep going on with their life for their loved ones. Some people keep themselves busy to dodge from the question. My view on this question is that suffering does not make life any more or any less meaningful. Beca use as an atheist, I believe that there is no God, the Universe does not have a divine plan for us. Tha t the existence of life is just purely a miraculous accident. When we die, we stop existing. The time we spend on Earth will not amount to anything in an afterlife in another dimension. Therefore, life i s inherently meaningless, with or without pain and suffering. Human are powerless in the face of m eaninglessness . The only way we can deal with life is to embrace the fact that there is no intrinsic va lue in life. We can only create our own meanings. One can create meaning of life with or without su ffering. But since suffering is an inseparable part of our life, it more or less give us insights on mean ing of life. Dr. Bernard Rieux can best exemplifies my point of view. When the plague got out of control and O ran was placed under quarantine, it didn’t stop the doctor form battling the plague, fighting the war t hat was doomed to fail. At this point, many would wonder what is meaning of of the doctor’s action s when they are all in vain. The answer can be found in a dialogue he shared with Tarrou. Tarrou asked the doctor why he was so committed to fighting the plague if he does not believe in G od. The doctor replied that whether or not God exist is irrelevant and he didn’t have the time to thin k about what waits him in the future and what will come out of his actions. The only thing he knew that there were sick people suffering and they needed to be cured. Even though he admitted that his struggles against death would only be temporary victories and that the plague was what he referred as an†endless struggle†, he said that this was not the reason to give up struggle. From the dialogue, we can see the doctor was aware of the intrinsic meaninglessness of his life, bec ause he said he wouldn’t waste time to think about the existence of God and what his action will lea d to him. If he deemed his life has inherent meaning, he should have thought about the above questi ons. Thought he considered that his life is inherently meaningless, the plague gave me the meaning. The meaning lies in the other people. The doctor was fully aware that his attempts at lifting people out of misery is an impossible task as more and more people became infected and die. And there were no effective cure. Basically, his sitti ng around and doing nothing or wearing himself off to save the patients might just possibly lead to s ame outcome. However, the doctor did not stop his work in face of his powerlessness to alter the situation. Becaus e under this situation, he was left with only two choices, ignore it or act on it. There was no third op tion. The doctor chose the later one because he couldn’t bear to see people suffer and doing nothing about it. It’s meaningless to battle the unwindable battle against the plague. It was not defeating the plague that gave meaning to the doctor. It was the people gave him meaning. It was his compassion for others that keep him going in times of suffering. From the case of Dr. Rieux and his battle against the plague, we can see similarities in the real worl d. The plague is like the amoral universe, and Dr. Rieux represents all the human beings. We are po werless in face of the meaningless of life, just as Dr. Rieux was powerless in face of the plague. But we do have a choice, we can create meanings for ourselves just as Dr. Rieux has learnt from sufferin g and found meanings in helping people. Winston Smith from 1974 1984 somewhat share some similarities with Dr. Rieux in terms of action upon the unchangeable, though he was not such a noble and heroic person as Dr. Rieux. In his case, the unchangeable was the Big Brother. Winston Smith lived in a state where every moves, every wo rds ands every thoughts he made were monitored by the Party. In the instance of living in an extrem e state where even having disloyal thought against the party is in violation of law. The meaning of li fe for Smith was not to start a revolution and topple the party, and change the system entirely. Thou gh Smith had thought about it and desired it to happen. Deep down he believed that it was impossibl e to achieve the goal and sooner or later he would be arrested by the Party. Nevertheless, he set out t o challenge the limits of the Party. He kept a diary which has† Down with the Big Brother† written o n it over and over again. He had an forbidden affair with Julia. Also he joined the Brotherhood whic h he believe is the enemy of the Party. I think the meaning for Smith did not lie in being the hero. What was important for him was to stay as human as possible. Through the rebellious acts against the Party in his own ways, he got to keep his spirit and his human side. That was the meaning he could find for himself. Despite the fact that he was completely compromised at last when he was brought into Room 101, where he was tortured to an extreme degree and indoctrinated to cure his â€Å"insaneness†. He was com pletely broke and dehumanised. His passionate hatred towards the Big Brother turned into absolute l oyalty and love. He should not be blamed for betraying Julia and not upholding what he believed in the first place in such extreme conditions. After all, he did try to rebel against the Big Brother even t hough deep down he knew he couldn’t do anything to overthrow the Big Brother. Dr. Rieux and Winston Smith resolved the question of meaning through their rebellious acts against the plague and the Big Brother. There are people who find suffering itself reveals the meaning of lif e. Father Paneloux is a good example to illustrate this point of view. In his first sermon addressing t he plague. He said that the plague was a punishment by God. That it was the result of the sin of all c itizens. He criticised the people for not attending church and repenting for their sins. Therefore the p lague was reminder of God’s power and the Oran residents should start to change their habits and st art to fear God again. Unlike Dr. Rieux, who is an atheist, Father Paneloux based his life and work on his christian faith. F rom a Christian point of view, everything happens on earth has purpose and fit into the grand plan o f God. Therefore, it was his job to make sense of the suffering of the plague so that he and the peopl e listening to him will be able to endure and continue to believe in God. From his interpretation of s uffering, the meaning of life for Father Panels was more easily understood than Dr. Rieux and Winst on Smith. The meaning of life was really simple, that is to serve and honour God in his will. Though he changes his view on suffering drastically after witnessing the death of an innocent child. He did not view suffering as a punishment anymore. He said that the reason why a innocent child sh ould suffer was not something that human would necessarily understand no matter how hard they tri ed. They just had to keep in mind that it was God’s will. One must keep his faith and God and find t he good in bad situation. In spite of a changing tone, the meaning for Father Paneloux remained the same- to serve God. To conclude, life itself is inherently meaningless. Not even religion can provide an universal answer to the meaning of life. There are no answers for that and never will be. Suffering does not make one’ s life meaningful. But through suffering one might find meanings in life and live a meaningful life. Wu Ngai Ching, Ivy 20189319 Grade: 21/25 ? 19/25 (due to 2-day late submission) Comments: ?Ivy – In terms of the main thesis of the essay, you’ve done a good job delineating your own atheist view on the meaning of life and drew 3 examples from the 2 works to discuss what m ight be the meaning of life for them. Your argumentation is quite right and your analysis of e ach of their reaciton and thoughts on this difficult question is right on. ?However, you simply â€Å"narrated† through the whole essay without really giving detailed or c oncrete evidences from the book. I wish you could provide some passages or quotes from se veral particular moments in the book to clearly illustrate your point. This is one of the ways t o demonstrate that you’ve actually done the reading, and that is also what we’ve been doing in class – making your point across by providing specific passages/instances in the book as c oncrete evidence. So please remember to do so for your final paper!

What is a Referendum and what are the arguments against them?

1) What is a Referendum? A referendum is when a citizen (18+) is asked to express their opinion on a certain issue or proposal. Unlike an election this process is not binding and the outcome is open to discussion. A referendum can result in a new constitution, law, amendment, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of direct democracy. 2) A referendum is when a citizen (18+) is asked to express their opinion on a certain issue or proposal. Many have been issued in the past; examples of this are, 11 September 1997. Tony Blair issued a pre-legislative referendum held in Scotland asking whether there was support for the creation of a Scottish Parliament with devolved powers, and whether the Parliament should have tax-varying powers. The reason for this was the Labor party had just won the election and included in their manifesto was the establishment of a Scottish Parliament. 4th November 2004, Tony Blair (Labor Party) issued a referendum in Northern England. The votes concerned the question of devolving limited political powers from the UK Parliament to elected regional assemblies in North East England, North West England, Yorkshire and the Humber. The reason for this was Labor government attempted to introduce regional assemblies, to be directly elected. 5th May 2011, the ‘Alternative Vote’ referendum was drawn up as part of the Conservative- Liberal Democrat coalition, to be asked across the whole U.K. The Referendum concerned whether to replace the present voting system with an alternative one. This was because the Labor government, who were previously in power in 2010, used their majority to pass an amendment to their Constitutional Reform Bill to include a referendum on the introduction of AV to be held in the next Parliament, naming a desire to restore trust in Parliament in the wake of the 2009 expenses scandal. 3) Arguments against Referendums In this essay i will talk about the arguments against referendums, the effects and sometimes consequences it can incur. A referendum is when a citizen (18 years and above) is asked to express their opinion on a particular issue. In Britain, referendums date back to 1973 and ever since has been used as a mechanism for feedback on issues regarding laws, voting systems and so on, its a form of direct legislation, used selectively. Those who are against direct legislation will argue that the use of referendums is an opening for politicians to absolve themselves of responsibility for making difficult decisions. When representatives know that ultimately the result of their efforts may be reversed by the process of referendum, they will take little interest in the discharge of their legislative duties. It doesn't even reflect well on the party issuing it. If the measure succeeds at the popular vote the credit for it goes to the people and if it doesn't, the blame goes to the legislature. We elect a Prime Minister, legislatures, to make the decisions of how to run our country. By electing, its an official notion that we trust them to conduct, obviously voting the party who's manifesto we are partial to. Referendums are useful, yes, but how does it make legislatures look when matters such as ‘do you want a Mayer'- 1998, Tony Blair are issued. When was the time when legislatures took the bull by its horns and made decisions for the good of the nation and not based on doing what the people want so they'll get voted in the next election. As Margaret Thatcher once said, â€Å"if you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything wouldn't you and you would achieve nothing†. Referendums seem to be a vehicle to become the apple of the nations eye to the point that in 1997 elections- The Labor party promised in their manifesto a referendum for the establishment of a Scottish parliament knowing that Scotland wanted it but just didn't get enough votes last time. Governments are also unlikely to hold them unless they are fairly confident they will win the vote, which was the case in 2004, the devolution referendum for the North East. Labor wanted to create English Regional Assemblies and thought they would win the vote therefore created three referendums only for the first one to be rejected by the public. And this being the case, the government are unlikely to be neutral participants and the phrasing of the questions can distort the results. So is a referendum really the government wanting us to tick the yes so they can blame us if something goes wrong? Apart from the time consuming, expensive and tedious way that is involved in a referendum, after all that, who's to say that people will vote? One of the criticisms against direct legislation and a really compelling one, relates to the small size of the votes cast at a referendum. The result of the ballot does not fairly represent popular opinion, because in most cases, opponents of the issue will go to the polls in larger proportion than its supporters. Moreover, when people are frequently asked to cast their votes, as is when Tony Blair was elected in 1997, making referendums a much more important part of politics, they'll begin to abstain from voting. Its nice to be included in the decision but people become tired of voting after a while. The result is that the decision arrived at is that of the minority and it becomes difficult to know whether there is any public opinion at all on the referendum. Seeing as the referendum is time consuming, it sometimes involves harmful delays in passing many laws of vital national importance. All this takes away from the educative value of the referendum. When you have citizens who are not interested in public affairs and the issue is of national importance, the referendum becomes a comedy. As was the case in June 1975 when the Labor government had a power split on the issue of Europe and issued a referendum across the whole United Kingdom- ‘Do you want to stay in the EC?' Because of this time gap, while the ballot is lying on your kitchen table, coverage on the issue from the media whether it is newspapers, TV etc. can significantly influence the result. Whereas if the issue would have been dealt with in parliament alone- you would not get the opinion of people who are paid to keep people entertained. The real difference between direct action and the action of the legislatures are the voters cannot assemble and discuss matters and consequently the opportunity to arrive at truth is lost. Truth emerges from the clash of opinions. Which brings us back to the substantialness of referendums. Finally, some could argue that referendums undermine (or have potential to) Parliamentary Sovereignty. Parliament is certainly threatened by the use of referendums. Referendums put the people before the parliament. The sovereignty of parliament becomes the sovereignty of the people, introducing direct democracy into the political system, challenges the indirect, representative democracy that has been the essence of UK political system. If the people vote one way, their representatives another, who should prevail, who is sovereign? In conclusion the manner in which the referendum is used reflects greatly on the government and at times can make you question the quality of the governments political parties. The referendum can be of great use but whether the pro outweigh the cons or vice versa is relative to the issue at hand. Using the drawbacks we've discussed one can assume or hope that if legislatures had an option, referendums would not be their first choice.

Semiotics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Semiotics - Essay Example Ultimately, it is now the child’s time to break free from the rein’s of this paternal instinct (Castro’s oppressive regime) and assume its position in the world. Photographs change with and in time in a number of ways. In these regards, one must consider that a photograph exists through its interpretation by outside observers. In these regards, a photograph is a part of an ever-evolving cultural apparatus. In terms of historical photography, particularly, one considers that a photograph changes in time as the historical situations change. One considers the nature of Fidel Castro pictures during the revolution, as during this time they depicted an individual that represented hope and equality for many Cubans. Today these photographs represent an oppressive dictatorship in its early stages of development. In addition, a static photograph can change in the blink of an eye. In these regards, one can discover unique information about this photograph, for instance it could be a picture of a serial killer at a young age that drastically changes one’s understanding of the image. One considers an example of the picture of the raising of the fl ag at Iwo Jima. This photograph represented American victory at one point, yet through the years it has changed to now represent a bygone era in American history. A photograph can also be a metaphor for an entire life. While such a pronouncement may be deductive for some people, as examined on an individual basis a human’s life carries with it a complex amount of changes. Still, many humans who have lived public lives have come to be remembered for significant events or specific characteristics that come to define them as people. One considers the American sport of football as a primary example where individuals come to gain heroic status for their actions. A picture of Joe Montana throwing a touchdown pass then could

Wells Fargo Organization Audit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Wells Fargo Organization Audit - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper is Wells Fargo Company, a wide-reaching and diversified company that focuses on a society financial aid, compromising of almost $ 1.3 trillion assessed assets. The company enriches the society with proper banking systems, insurance services, investment ideas, mortgage aide to the society, as well as, commercial business centers that is approximately 9 thousand business stores. The company’s values, visualization, as well as, its mission have supported the company during the irregular financial periods, especially during the immense melancholy along with present financial downturn. The organization has a proven past of success, as well as, techniques on handling the hard times. Transformation management along with the capability to adapt to fresh environment is a fundamental choice for the organization in a period of time. The economic transformation methods have articulated quick transformations to the channels that organizations carryout the ir business in an economic industry that has a great impact on the multibillion dollar economic organizations. The organization has the responsibility of ensuring that its utmost organization management articulates a proper attention to the external environment that consists of the governmental, as well as legal transformations to the organizational level. Wells Fargo was started in the year 1852, and was initially located in San Francisco at the period of the gold rush. The vital intention of the stagecoach was to transfer gold along with other vital valuables (Abbott, Parker & Peters, 2004). II) General Statement of Results Computation of productivity Measures A. Benefits B. Total Benefits by Type for 2010–2011 C. Percentage of Total Benefits* D. Total Return on Investment E. Distribution of Return on Investment by Benefit Type Cost Operational and Run Savings $43,718,600 43% $28,825,667 $12,395,037 Revenue Collection Increases $58,358,800 57% $28,825,667 $16,430,630 Total Benefits Flow (before expenses) $102,077,400 100% — — Total Return on Investment (Net Present Value)** — — — $28,825,667 The exact personnel cost per employee against the precise productive hours per employee is what brings cost operation, while the exact personnel costs per employee against the sum of the productive hours results to total benefits flow. Lastly, the sum of personnel costs per employee against the sum of the productive hours is equal to total return on investment. Conceptually, Wells Fargo company has faired well in formulating a sense of effectiveness whenever administering the productivity of the company. Although not all the available eight fundamental factors may be functioning properly, there was not much found in the period of the audit that cannot be transformed into the best of the company. The company’s system management approach promotes the importance of educating managers so as, to understand the company’s overall system, with this they realize how certain actions affect the department with other units, and it recognizes both open as well as, closed systems. The closed system entertains self-contained and not concerned with outside influences the supportive subsystems work on acquisitions as well as functions within the company, where the acquisition involves; securing resources, this type of subsystems includes sales as well as marketing divisions, public relations units. III) Analysis of the organization productivity audit a) Policy The company has a productivity evaluation mission statement that is provided to all the available employees and is provided with first priority towards proper management in the company. The organization managers are supposed to provide productivity plans and missions that are associated with the company’

Reaction paper combining two related internet stories Essay

Reaction paper combining two related internet stories - Essay Example Apparently, some truths just come out after mankind has suffered from so much pain. While the crimes of the Holocaust did create emotional scars on the survivors and taught the world an important lesson about racism, it is also important to investigate what triggered such horrible event. The Jewish Declaration of War on Germany in 1933 is a crucial event in history because we all know that wars don’t just happen overnight. Before war happens, certain circumstances happen on the background that creates much tension. First, the move of Jews on the United States that called for a boycott of German goods was politically motivated, a propaganda to make Jews return to their land by creating fear. Second, even the Jewish Central Association located in Germany disproved the propaganda that they were maltreated by the Germans. Lastly, Germany was financially weak at the time due to a hyperinflation; hence, war would be the last thing they would eventually call for. Sometimes, a nation takes actions with grave consequences when they are pushed to the wall. Indeed, there was not much choice given to the Germans whose acts of defense escalated into a full-blown genocide. However, who can really attest to the truth when both sides have their own interests? The other reading that really struck me was Benjamin Freedman’s speech about the role of Jews in WWI and WWII.

Nigel Slacks transformation process model Essay

Nigel Slacks transformation process model - Essay Example However, this was only the first Dimension of the whole project. In fact, a second Dimension follows in which should answer the following question: what the relevant technology could offer to the transformation of resources in the particular firm. More specifically, the business process technology would improve the firm’s resources mainly offering a framework for the increase of their productivity. If such a target could not be achieved by the above procedure then the firm should avoid the transformation of its processes by first instance. On the other hand, the value of the business process technology for the completion of the business transformation process would be examined thoroughly before the implementation of the relevant technology. Finally, the role of business process technology in the whole procession would be evaluated in terms of its importance for the achievement of the targets set by the firm attempting the transformation of its processes.The effectiveness of th e relevant procedure was examined by Slack et al. (2005) with a specific reference to five firms: a fashion clothing retailer, a retail bank, a full-service airline industry, a food company and a company operating in the area of laboratory services. Their research led to the following results: a) the market performance opportunities associated with BPT (business process technology) are far broader than the traditional narrow focus on cost reduction; as a result, any evaluation of BPT must reflect its impact.

What Ties Mary Shelly's Frankenstein to Tony Morrison's Sula Essay

What Ties Mary Shelly's Frankenstein to Tony Morrison's Sula - Essay Example This novel compares to Tony Morrison’s Sula, written in 1978. The two books have strikingly similar themes, such as Family, mystery, the pursuit of knowledge, unconventional thought and love and romance. The theme of family ties seems to best join the two novels, since it is at the heart of this theme that the novels unravel. Both Shelley and Morrison seem top agree that the family is a very important institution in the society, and that its choice to accept or reject a person has serious implications on the person’s self worth, conduct and final outcome. For instance, both novels reveal that the family is the most important social order. Shelley’s Frankenstein’s begins with a narration by Robert Walton, an unsuccessful author who, in pursuit of fame, sets out on a scientific exploration of the Polar North. Captain Walton is writing a letter to his sister, Madam Margaret Walton Saville. The letter ends up being the novel Frankenstein. By indicating Waltonà ¢â‚¬â„¢s background, Shelley accounts for the inconsistencies and discontinuities seen in his narrative letter. On the other hand, Morrison’s introduction of the Bottom, the area where Sula is set brings about a slave and his master. The slave hopes to attain a reward from his master, who has become his family. The master points to the hills, the Bottomland. The authors could not have found a stronger way to introduce their stories. Shelley’s introduction of a captain talking to his sister foreshadows the close ties to be identified later in the novel. Similarly, Morrison’s introduction foreshadows the future issues which will arise from family ties. Captain Walton explains the story of Victor as received from a dying Victor Frankenstein. It will be noted that almost throughout the novel, Shelley introduces a character by first stating their family background. Victor’s birth in a wealthy family from Geneva, as well as that of his brothers Ernest and Willi am point to his current situation. The death of his mother just before he joins the University inspires him to venture in to researches in Alchemy, Chemistry and Physical Sciences. He is more fascinated with how such sciences can be used to bring back the dead. Shelley’s connection of Victor’s mother’s death to his ambitious pursuits in the University has significance in bringing coherence to her storyline. It is also a statement that circumstances affecting our beloved ones affect our life choices. Little is said about his brothers, which is understandable in a novel setting. On the other hand, in Sula, the background of the protagonist, Nel, and antagonist, Sula, take a similar perspective. The ... chapter contrasts the families of the two. Nel’s family upholds conventional living to the latter. The family wants her to lead a similar life, but she is not decided, even after meeting her unconventional grandmother. Sula’s family is the exact opposi te of Nel’s family. Her promiscuous mother and grandmother, as well as her three adopted brothers, the deweys represent an unconventional family. Nevertheless, Nel and Sula become fierce friends in their adolescence. Morrison uses the family to show how our personality types, life beliefs and philosophies are shaped. Similarly, the contrast builds in to his conflict and later resolution.