Saturday, August 31, 2019
An Analysis of Moral in Who Moved My Cheese
Who Moved My Cheese? By Spencer Johnson, M. D. A Review and Essay By David Cox, Instructional Technology Facilitator Tioga Junior High School and Tioga High School At a time when Rapides Parish schools are once again facing huge financial deficits with resultant changes at almost every level, teachers must deal with mostly unwanted changes. Being a twenty-six year classroom veteran, I have had to change as well in many ways. In my internal search for ways to deal with change, I have recently read a book which has given me some new ways to think about change. I hope that this review might lead you to this book and help you to see how changes, even when first seen as negative and hurtful, are not necessarily a bad thing. Dr. Spencer Johnson has written a book which gives me some real ways to think about and deal with change. This small book, Who Moved My Cheese, is a fast and easy read but one which can enlighten even a cynical person to some ways to adapt to the inevitable changes of life in its many shifting forms and challenges. Like Chaucerââ¬â¢s The Canterbury Tales, the story is told as a story within a story of several old friends at a high school reunion told by one of the friends. The story centers around four characters who live in a Maze and the changes with which they must wrangle. The characters are two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two so-called Littlepeople (creatures the size of mice but who look and act like people today) named Hem and Haw. The plot is pretty simple. The four characters find a large cache of cheese and can live their lives without much variation: get up, go to the cheese, eat, go home, and start over the next day. This works out okay until one day the cheese is gone. Then the characters must deal with the new situation. The mice, taken aback at first, are first to take action since they are creatures of almost entirely instinct: they set out looking for more cheese. On the other hand, Hem and Haw, creatures of reason and emotion, go through a series of reactions from shock to anger to knee-jerking and then to divergence. Hem stays at the now empty cheese station, sulking, complaining, thinking negatively and making even himself more miserable while Haw overcomes his fears and sets out to find new cheese. Filled with metaphor as direct as John Bunyanââ¬â¢s book Pilgrimââ¬â¢s Progress, this book then shows Haw rethinking, adjusting, and moving on with his life. He sets out to find his ââ¬Å"New Cheese,â⬠overcoming his fears and his sense of having been cheated. Along his journey, Haw writes messages of his inner discoveries on the Maze wall, hoping Hem will follow and read the ââ¬Å"writing on the wallâ⬠and be comforted by Hawââ¬â¢s inner revelations. His revelations are never dramatic but always true and appropriate for his situationââ¬âand ours by extension. The outcome of the book for Haw is doubtful due to Hawââ¬â¢s many fears and doubts about himself on his journey. But by the end, the reader sees Haw succeed in ways that surprise both Haw and the reader. But what about Hem? Does he too succeed? That is where the story-within-a-story ends. And this is where this plot analysis ends. Who Moved My Cheese? begins with an introduction, sets up the story-within-a-story, tells the story of the Mice and LittleMen, and then ends with an analysis of parts of the story by the fictional high school reunion friends who tell parts of their life stories to one another since their graduation. Now, as in Chaucerââ¬â¢s day, this is effective although some critics and some readers want to fend for themselves intellectuallyââ¬âand thatââ¬â¢s okay. Now, the reader of this article may ask, what does this have to do with Rapides Parish, teachers, and our mutual situations, and why is this review in a technology newsletter? Simply put, we are all constantly in a stew of change, having to deal with umpteen million rapid-fire often confusing and disheartening failures in the classroom. Technology may be used to enhance a teacherââ¬â¢s already good lessons just as the ideas in Who Moved My Cheese? can make dealing with changes in our lives a little easier with more direction. The story depicts the Littlepeople attacking the same problem with the same tools and failing each time. However, with just a little divergent thinking, Haw is able to break through from his old methods into new techniques and achieve his ultimate goal. Each teacher can find his or her own ââ¬Å"New Cheeseâ⬠in the classroom using technology tools in the same way and more fully reach the ultimate goal of educating young people. Students grow, have fun and learn at the same time, and meet challenges in ways that please and surprise them as well as their teachers, all the while successfully achieving benchmarks like Haw succeeds at finding his New Cheese. In conclusion, Rapides Parish schools are in for some changes; it is true. But with the use of technology to assist us, we can still accomplish our one unchanging goal. Technology instructors and facilitators can guide us through all of the myriad twists and turns of software and hardware, giving us methods, information, advice, and even pre-written lessons which use technology in every subject area and at every grade level. The school district Web site at http://www. rapides. k12. la. us/region6tltc/tltc. htm shows a lot of what can be easily obtained by every teacher who wants to successfully adjust to the changes coming, and then both teachers and students can benefit.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault, generally in his philosophy, has created a system wherein heà examines the relations of power as they are transmuted down in a society (not oneà that it is held by individualsââ¬âand, indeed, it is not so perpetuated), wherein theà refinement of discourse over time allows for the normalization of behaviors and then thatà individuals are encouraged, as docile bodies, to adhere to this program of normalization.à Foucault locates the origins of this process in asylums and prisons, and considers them anà Enlightenment technological development, which he calls ââ¬Å"technologies of the selfâ⬠: But I became more and more aware that in all societies there is another type of technique:à techniques which permit individuals to affect, by their own means, a certain number ofà operations on their own bodies, their own souls, their own thoughts, their own conduct,à and this in a manner so as to transform themselves, modify themselves, and to attain aà certain state of perfection, happiness, purity, supernatural power. Let us call these kindsà of technologies technologies of the self. (Foucault ââ¬Å"Sexuality and Solitude 367) Foucault locates these technologies of the self at the center of the process ofà normalization that has shifted the process of punishment from an outward display ofà power as in medieval executions to an internal process in which the prisoner becomesà complicit in his own punishment. By employing these technologies of the self anà increasingly analytical and ever more refined manner power is able to normalize almostà all of life and make the distinction between punishment and education trivial. In attempting to diagnose the evolutionary trend of the manner in whichà punishment has been historically meted out throughout the ages, Foucault suggests thatà there has been a gradual evolution from tactics of raw displays of power to more subtleà forms of control. While this might suggest a certain amount of progress in that it is aà progressive movement towards a less obvious brutal form of maintenance of the statusà quo it is nonethelessà a pervasive manner of social control and thus the obfuscation ofà means of social control over the passage of time, especially since the enlightenment,à should not be mistaken for true liberation or the work of real progress toward a deeperà goal of recognize some eternal truth about human rights. Whereas medieval societyà employed the public display of punishment in intricate and executions of the mostà excruciating form (such as beheading, drawing and quartering, hanging etc.) to helpà maintain social order by showing the direct result of a failure to comply with law,à contemporary society uses more indirect and less overt methods for encouraging itsà subjects to adhere to the traditional social order. Indeed, where medieval societies usedà overt displays of brute force, modern society prefers processes of normalization, whichà are less intrusive:à Another instrument used to achieve discipline is the normalizing judgment. Instead of punishing offenders for wrong doings, the administrators with power choose toà rehabilitate them to attempt to normalize problem individuals and make them a functionalà and law abiding.à This type of corrective attempt is used through training techniquesà including the use of repetition.à This could be used in the classroom for a student thatà could not write cursive well enough to pass to the next level.à For a punishment, theyà could be required to write cursive sentences over and over again.à Additionally, toà provide the society with this normalization or conformity, rewards become more frequentà than penalties. For those students that tend to fall behind, the prospect of a reward couldà be more appealing to do well than the threat of yet another punishment.à This givesà individuals something to strive to achieve and creates incentives for being disciplined. ââ¬Å"What Is Discipline?â⬠Here, we see the ideas of punishment couched in the language of teaching andà rehabilitation. What is a deviant behavior is simply a mistaken approach to learning basicà social rules that can be corrected and analyzed and subjected to extensive discourse. Moreover, in this instance, there is not only the issue of negative reinforcement via theà coercive measure of the threat of punishing action in response to a putative misdeed, but,à moreover, there is the extension of a metaphorical ââ¬Å"carrotâ⬠being extended to theà perpetrator of a violation should he manage to conform to the exact processes that theà captors. In this movement, this ability to make the punished complicit in his own à punishment, is the real power of the indirect method revealed because not only does it notà require an exercise of power, but allows those being punished to aid in their ownà punishment. This idea of creating ââ¬Å"docile bodiesâ⬠by means of indirect punishments that seekà to examine and to ââ¬Å"rehabilitateâ⬠rather than to torture is their chief use. Indeed, for docileà bodies are effective because they are given the illusion of freedom, in being offered aà choice between two possibilities they have the trappings of volition but when it has been à ordained ahead of time for them to choose one of the options of the other this merest veilà of volition is quickly revealed as just another discursive element rather than anà effectively ââ¬Å"realâ⬠choice with meaning and consequence. Docility is a major advantageà because it allows the docile body to assist in his own rehabilitation and normalizationà and, by extension, his own punishment per se: The term docility, or to be docile, means toà have a certain amount of control exercised over you. Foucault says; ââ¬Å"a body is docile thatà may be subjected, used, transformed and improvedâ⬠(Foucault Discipline and Punish,à 136). Docility was the way in which someone was trained, a way in which someone coldà be molded like clay to fit the needs of those that are in control. This was done in theà army, the schoolhouse, basically anywhere people were subjected to control on anà everyday basis. Docility is nothing more then discipline, where ââ¬Å"discipline is a politicalà anatomy of detailâ⬠(Foucault Discipline and Punish, 139). The body was no longer beatenà and abused rather it was explored, broken down and rearranged.à Rather then beingà destroyed the body was being entered into a political machine that produced docileà bodies. Foucault talks about docile bodies because he is trying to explain the shifts thatà took place from the practice of torture and the spectacle to the building of the prisons.à Thus, the issue here is that by this method the body is forced to undergo a processà that, while substantially different from an experiential perspective than torture, has, as itsà object, a surprisingly simple aim, which is of course the same ends of enforcing theà stability and standard of behavior that is normative and therefore beneficial to theà institutions of power. Through the creation of such docile bodies who no longer need toà be tortured but instead can be subtly goaded towards the process of rehabilitation andà ergo normalization, the standards of normalcy can be entertained and reinforced withinà the individual by the individual. Indeed, even more ingenious is that, by such a method,à in which punishment is rehabilitation, the very distinction between the two begins toà break down. Punishment becomes a sort of identical with the very processes of à identification, analysis, and education. Part of the reason for this is that possibility of anà end telos of this process, of any sort of true enlightenment, per se, becomes anà impossibility, because such refinement and enlightenment leads only further into theà constricting web of discourse. Indeed, since the entire project of enlightenment refuses to end in any categoricalà liberation (which is indeed an improbability if not an impossibility) that can beà demonstrated, this should be no surprise. Advances in rationalization and logic only serveà to further refine the methods by which processes like normalization take place, allowingà them to be now couched in doctrines of ethics, psychology, and criminology where theyà can be used for the creation of docile bodies when in the past the only recourse wouldà have been the use of raw and terrible amounts of force: The enquiries have theirà methodological coherence in the at once archaeological and genealogical study ofà practices envisaged simultaneously as a technological type of rationality and as strategicà games of liberties; they have their practical coherence in the care brought to the processà of putting historico-critical reflections to the test of concrete practices. I do not knowà whether it must be said today that the critical task still entails faith in Enlightenment; Ià continue to think that this task requires work on our limits, that is, a patient labor givingà form to our impatience for liberty. (Foucault ââ¬Å"What is Enlightenment?â⬠50) Here, we see that the capital-E Enlightenment has resulted in little more than aà refinement of the ââ¬Å"strategic games of liberties,â⬠which, of course, serve to do little elseà to confine one to the rules of the game rather than allow for the possibility of a trueà exit, and, similarly the possibility of little-e enlightenment for the individual is equallyà impossible when each enlightenment only furthers the discourse and increases theà process of education which is the form of expiation in the principle order of thingsà anyway. Thus, enlightenment is an increasingly remote quantity whose value remainsà unknown and unknowable, while the reality of the increasing and encroaching science ofà punishment is advanced in discourse in such a way that the process of discipline isà reinforced through the further and stronger normalization of every single social act, sinceà the discourse about these acts also multiples, creating possibilities for discourse where noà such possibility even existed before. Thus, the teleological goal of the penal system then seem to be one in which it isà almost impossible to distinguish between education and punishment and, indeed, prisonà and the outside world. Through the creation of bourgeois docile bodies, prisonsà increasingly do not require walls because the normalization of every activity makes ità such that the mere examination of the entirety of oneââ¬â¢s existence links one to the veryà concept of the punishment that looks less and less like a punishment:à The ideal point ofà penalty today would be an indefinite discipline: an interrogation without end, anà investigation that would be extended without limit to a meticulous and ever moreà analytical observation, a judgment that would at the same time be the constitution of aà file that was never closed, the calculated leniency of a penalty that would be interlacedà with the ruthless curiosity of an examination, a procedure that would be at the same timeà the perman ent measure of a gap in relation to an inaccessible norm and the asymptoticà movement that strives to meet in infinity. (Foucault Discipline and Punish 227) Thus, the conclusion we reach at the end is that the goal of increasing discourseà since the enlightenment is to make powerââ¬â¢s reach ever more diffuse but ever moreà pervasiveââ¬âthe inclusion of discourse into previously verboten areas allows for theà normalization of those areas and with that normalization comes control such that theà ideas of punishment and rational consideration seem to come within a hairsbreadth ofà merging at the distance of an infinite regress. References Foucault, Michel. ââ¬Å"Sexuality and Solitude.â⬠On Signs. Marshall Blonsky ed. Baltimore: Johnââ¬â¢s Hopkins Press, 1985. Santos, Tomas. ââ¬Å"Foucault and the Modern Day Panopticon.â⬠Retrieved January 05, 2008, at http://www.spelunkephobes.4t.com/foucault_and_the_modern.htm Foucault, Michel. ââ¬Å"What is Enlightenment.â⬠The Foucault Reader. Paul Rabinow, ed. Catherine Porter, trans. New York: Pantheon Books, 1984. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of Prison. Alan Sheridan, trans. New York: Vintage, 1979. à à à à à à à à à Ã
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Gold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Gold - Essay Example Goldââ¬â¢s actual discovery remains only known to the ancients (Mineral Zone, 1). Gold is the seventy ninth element on the periodic table and it has symbol AU which is derived from the Latin word ââ¬Å"Aurumâ⬠which means shining dawn. ââ¬Å"It occurs mostly in the native state, remaining chemically uncombined except with selenium, tellurium and possibly bismuth. The elements only naturally occurring isotope is gold-197â⬠(Gold.yabz, 1). Deposit of gold with high amounts of gold: hydrothermal veins, where it is associated with pyrite (fools gold) and quartz; and consolidated and unconsolidated placer deposits that are derived from the weathering of gold-bearing rocks. Gold is considerably associated with differential amounts of silver; with electrum being the most common and naturally occurring gold-silver alloy, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. Geographically electrum is found in Western Anatolia, present day Turkey (Gold.yabz, 1). Occurrence of gold-bearing rocks rich in it, is unusual, which is to say gold ores are not so (common. In seawater gold occurs to the extent of 5 to 250 parts by weight to 100 million parts of water. Presently gold quantity of gold in seawater is estimated to be 9 billion metric tons. Its deposits are widespread in low concentrations all over the continents. Gold deposits are found in two types; lode deposits which is mined through conventional mining methods and placer deposits found along stream beds caused by the erosion of the lode deposits. Its abundance is estimated to vary in concentrations in igneous rocks on the continent varying between .001 to 0.004 ppm. Since discovery, 165,000 tons of it has been mined. Gold is commonly used in ornaments and jewellery (USGS, 1). This is because the metal is highly malleable as it can form very thin sheet of about 0.000005 inches in size, so it served the purpose. Additionally as it is a noble metal, it
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Mergers and Acquisitions Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Mergers and Acquisitions - Research Paper Example By this process, the merging companies aim to enhance their long term profitability by expanding their operations. In contrast, acquisitions occur between the bidding company and the target company and it may be either hostile or friendly. Under acquisition, often it is seen that bidding company purchases the assets of the target company. There are several types of M&A and the mode is chosen according to the nature, market position, and requirements of concerned companies. This paper will examine five types of M&A such as horizontal, vertical, congeneric, conglomerate and spin-offs using recent examples. 1. Horizontal M&A In the case of a horizontal M&A, two competing companies merge together so as to take advantage of its same product lines and markets. This strategy reinforces the market position of the integrated firm since the large scale production considerably minimizes the cost of production and thereby increases the profitability. It is precise that the large scale operations will certainly increase the market reputation of the integrated firm which would in turn enable the firm to negotiate successfully with its suppliers and buyers. In the opinion of Frensch (2007), a horizontal M&A aids the integrated firm to divide the labor among different large organizational units effectively. Merger between Daimler- Benz of Germany and Chrysler Corporation of United States is a good example for horizontal mergers. 2. Vertical M&A Zain (2008) states that a ââ¬Ëcustomer-company or company-supplier relationshipââ¬â¢ is reflected when two companies are merged under vertical M&A concept. Scholars opine that vertical M&A mitigates market uncertainties and thereby promotes decrease in transaction costs. According to Buhner (as cited in Frensch, 2007, p. 46), these transaction cost may include search and information cost, contract conclusion cost, quality control cost, and administration and taxation costs Amalgamation of Apple with Intel can be termed as a vertic al merger. 3. Congeneric M&A Congeneric M&A is a merging strategy where two companies in the same or related industries offering different product lines merge together. In other words, these companies would not have common customer or buyer. Under congeneric M&A, it is observed that the merging companies may share similar distribution channels. A well popularized congeneric merger is Citigroupââ¬â¢s acquisition of Travelersââ¬â¢ Insurance. 4. Conglomerate M&A A conglomerate M&A refers to the merger of two organizations that are engaged in totally unrelated business operations. In most cases, the merging companies would be operating in different geographical areas. It is a best available strategy for extending business territories and extending product ranges. However, it is noted that conglomerate mergers occurs rarely as a result of strategic failures. It has been identified that Kelsoââ¬â¢s acquisition of Nortek was a conglomerate merger. 5. Spin-offs Under this technique , an existing business division of a parent company distributes new shares so as to create an independent company. It can be reflected as a type of divestiture. Business houses wishing to reshape their structure often sell less productive businesses as spin-offs. Factors leading to M&A activities From the above discussion, it is easy to analyze the benefits of different mergers and acquisition strategies. It is found that severe competition is the major reason that often causes amalgamation
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
FedEx Corporation and Its Strategies Research Paper
FedEx Corporation and Its Strategies - Research Paper Example It was found the declining profitability of the company is the main problem that the company should take into account. In the later part of the project certain strategic solutions were suggested, and then the most feasible one was finalized. It was found that the company needs to disinvest loss-making businesses which are not the part of the core business and the finance collected can be used to strengthen that business that adds core competency to the company. A proper change management process should be followed to minimize hurdles and smooth implication of the change. The management should go on reviving the plan with changing market conditions and in this way, the company will succeed in overcoming the major problem in a highly effective manner. FedEx Corporation offers transportation facilities along with e-commerce and other business services to different parts of the world. The company has under its banner four main operating businesses with the names FedEx Express, FedEx Freight, FedEx Ground and FedEx Services. The above-mentioned business units look after different areas of operation, as for example, FedEx Express provides shipping services to clients for delivering packages and freights. FedEx Express also offers trade services to its clients through the ocean as well as air cargo distribution. It also offers global trade data and customs clearance services that can be used as an effective tool by the customer for tracking and managing the import. Such facilities are used by different international trade advisory service providers to assist their customers. The company publishes specific data related to tax and customs duty information. The other segment, FedEx Ground, delivers parcels with the help of ground services.
Monday, August 26, 2019
About humanity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
About humanity - Essay Example The main reason that heroes from these two different cultures are so different is because of the vastly differing views in the afterlife. To demonstrate these differences, we can examine Achilles and Sir Gawain, two exemplary heroes from their own specific eras. In Homerââ¬â¢s Iliad, Achilles was the greatest warrior of the Trojan War. His decisions to fight and to not fight turned the entire tide of the entire war. Often times, though, people of today have a hard time accepting Achillesââ¬â¢ place as a great hero. He was prideful, thirsted for glory, did not seem to act with much integrity, and seemed to have abandoned his comrades for a time. However, it is pridefulness and thirst for glory that made him a hero in ancient Greek ties. This is because to the Greeks, the vision of the afterlife was one where people basically disappeared into the underworld. In order for people to earn some sort of immortality, they had to do something so great that they would be remembered as a great hero for all time. This is why Achilles was such a great hero to the Greeks. Achilles was by far the greatest warrior of the Trojan war. No other warriors came as close to slaying as many enemies as he did. When he decided to not participate in the war, the Trojans felt a certain amount of certainty that they could win. After Patroclusââ¬â¢ death, Achilles lets out a great cry, signaling his return to the battle: ââ¬Å"The great sound shocked the Trojans/ into tumult, as a trumpet blown/ by a savage foe shocks an encircled town,/ so harsh and clarion was Achillesââ¬â¢ cryâ⬠(6. 251-254). So great was Achillesââ¬â¢ strength that just the sound of his voice alone was enough to send terror through the Trojans. This even more than examples of his fierceness in battle shows the extent of Achillesââ¬â¢ reputation. In this comparison, Homer is stating that the sound of Achillesââ¬â¢ voice is comparable to what a town
Sunday, August 25, 2019
The Theoretical Underpinnings Pertaining To Self-Harm Research Paper
The Theoretical Underpinnings Pertaining To Self-Harm - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the definition of self-harm as acts committed deliberately with the purpose of inflicting injury or damage to oneââ¬â¢s self. Dââ¬â¢Onofrio argued that despite the fact that 1 out of 100 Americans inflict harm on themselves as a way to cope with stress, the subject remains taboo and is perceived by others as deviant behavior. This is proven by the social stigma instigated by medical professionals and lay people alike. In medical terms, self-inflicted violence or self-mutilation is characterized by committing harm to oneââ¬â¢s self to the extent of causing considerable tissue damage or visible marks which persist for days. The following paragraphs discuss the theoretical underpinnings pertaining to self-harm: Self-harm is different from acts which are considered suicidal, ritualistic, sexual, or ornamental. Individuals who perform self-harm usually get treated by physicians and mental health professionals. However, treatments provided to these in dividuals apparently does more harm than good due to social stigma and the lack of self-harm information available to medical and mental health practitioners. For clarification on the concept of self-harm, Gratz and Chapman provided the following characteristics: (1) self-harm is done on purpose without intent of killing oneââ¬â¢s self; (2) physical injury inflicted is instantaneous; (3) self-harm is perceived as a type of coping mechanism; (4) self-harm may be committed by anyone regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or social class; (5) self-harm is committed by individuals with psychiatric disorders, as well as high school and college students; and (6) incidents of self-harm become less as people get older. Gratz and Chapman devised a checklist for gauging risk factors of self-harm. The checklist is divided into three categories: (1) impulsivity; (2) neuroticism or negative emotions; and (3) childhood experiences. Impulsiveness covers gratification, thrill-seeking, and need f or stimulation. Meanwhile, neuroticism and negative emotions cover depression, anger, sadness, and stress. Finally, childhood experiences consist of questions regarding mistreatment, parental relationship, emotional support, and punishment. There are eight common misconceptions about self-harm. First, people think that self-harm is synonymous with suicide. However, the intent of the act is what differentiates self-harm from suicide.
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Management and Organisational Behaviour Assignment
Management and Organisational Behaviour - Assignment Example A myriad of factors which contribute to chaos in an organisational setup and tarnish OB will also be identified. High absenteeism rate and rotten work attitudes are among the basic factors for polluting an organisationââ¬â¢s environment and stem from negative OB. On the other hand, involvement of staff in the change process amidst other steps can foster a culture that has a high rate of workersââ¬â¢ satisfaction and will to achieve big feats. For this purpose, this report will stress a deep understanding of OB in relevance to job satisfaction, motivation and work attitudes by taking example of Apple Inc.2.0 How Influential Are Motivation and Job Satisfaction in Directing OB?It is an undeniable reality that a motivated and satisfied workforce is a critical asset for any organisation (Chen 2010, p. 66). Such a workforce helps in sustaining the richness of OB yielding multiple benefits for a business. Numerous grave repercussions in reference to OB start dominating the scene when nonchalant managers do not make wise investments in inculcating a sense of organisational commitment in the employees (Perry 2010). In contrast, motivated employees are more satisfied with their jobs, are happier personally, and show a staggering tendency to improve their organisationââ¬â¢s productivity. It is because of the highly deterministic role played by job satisfaction and motivation that leaders and managers should invest more time in implementing various valuable theories of OB to steer the workforce in the right direction. The type of attitudes employees have towards work and how content they are speaks a lot about how likely are any infringements on OB. 3.0 How Successful Is Apple Inc. in Terms of Workersââ¬â¢ Attitudes and Job Satisfaction? Apple Inc. is a well-reputed and widely popular example of OB management done right because this large business organisation has made significant contributions to making employees feel included and valued at the workplace. Foun ded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, this company originally only specialised in personal computers (Harrigan 2003, p. 258) but due to constant hard work and never undermining emotional and psychological needs of its employees, it soon became a symbol of sophistication and one of the most influential names on the face of Earth. A good
About the English Department at the New York University Essay
About the English Department at the New York University - Essay Example The English department also offers minor in Creative Writing. The Department of English at New York University studies and teaches English language literature from various periods and places. The university trains their students in close reading, historical and archival research, literary theory, the history of the book, media theory, and cultural analysis. Every year NYU attracts applicants from various parts of the world for graduate study. Many of these graduate students do not belong to the New York City, so to make the programs attractive the existing graduate students have created a strong community. The undergraduate Creative Writing Program offers workshops, reading, internships, writing prizes and events. The graduate Creative Writing Program at NYU consists of a community of authors who works in a supportive and challenging atmosphere. The faculty members of the department also contribute to building a strong community for the students who come to study here. According to m e, itââ¬â¢s not only the educational programs but also the strong sense of community which attracts prospective students every year. Thesis The internship, work of graduates, building and maintaining strong community is all about the literacy study here. All the participants have their individual role in the department. If every participant maintains the performance in a progressive manner then the English Department of New York University will be able to maintain its position, which will bring new members every year, who will also gradually contribute to the existing community to take it to another level and maintain its position thoroughly. Statement of Significance The purpose of this study is to identify how literacy practices contribute to the community, and what is the role of each member belongs to the community. As mentioned above writing and reading considered to be the most important literacy practice. They also produce high-quality literary journals. Students actively take part in the vibrant literary community and engage themselves in all aspects of the literary arts like writing, reading, teaching, publishing and community outreach. It is indicated by the graduate students of this department that writing creates the identity both here in the department and beyond. So it is to be understood in this paper that writing is an assumed literacy practice that is said to be an essential part of the performance, although it is not a separate literacy practice. Performing respective roles in the English department is important to faculty, current graduate students and prospective graduate students. To make this essay more significant it is expected that certain members of the community will perform certain roles. It can be assumed that members of the community will perform in respective ways to enrich their own academic careers as well as they will support the community. In other words, the strength of the English department at NYU is highly dependent on the effective and successful performance of all its members. To look into the matter of literacy practice of the English department, I have collected a few samples which include fiction reading, poetry reading, and poets in conversation. Along with this, I conducted two interviews: one with the graduate coordinator of GEO à that is Graduate English Organization of NYU and another is a graduate student who represents the use of literacy within the department.à à à Ã
Friday, August 23, 2019
Lesson Plans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Lesson Plans - Essay Example In the grade two lesion plan, there has to the overall time and the time spread out to give room for various activities involved in the teaching process. Nevertheless, the paper is aimed at deriving a lesson plan that will enable the students to achieve their learning objective in a physics class. 1 hour will be for interaction between the students and the lecturer on the subject (matter) giving examples of matter. This would equip the lecture with better perception of where the lecturer should start from in the next lesson. Students at this level will dwell more on the similarities and differences that tend to exist amongst the state of non- living matter. The comparison in this case will be in relation to their chemical and molecular structures. 1. To enable all students to actively participate in the class through question- answer engagement. Trying to ask them to present and answer some of the questions related to non- living matter or some related scientific concepts. The lesson will be based on liquid state of matter. However, after the definitive introduction, the lecturer should clarify on how the various characteristics of liquids depend on the molecular components. Students at this level will dwell more on the similarities and differences that tend to exist amongst the state of liquids. The comparison in this case will be in relation to their chemical and molecular structures. The lesson plan is based on non living matter. In physics students should be aware that non living matter is divided into three states namely liquid, solid and gaseous states. Considering the current state of the economy we realize that most of the industrial products, tools and equipments are derived from the study of physics for instance in the manufacturing sector (Patton, 2008, p. 129). In accordance with the lesson plan, the students are supposed to have not only the basic information on non living matter but also be able to
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Capitalist Economy Essay Example for Free
Capitalist Economy Essay The right of private property means that productive factors such as land, factories, machinery, mines etc. are under private ownership. The owners of these factors are free to use them in the manner in which they like. The government may; however, put some restrictions for the benefit of the society in general; Freedom of enterprise: This means that everybody engages in any economic activity he likes. More specifically he is free to set up any firm to produce goods. Freedom of choice for the consumers: This means that people in a capitalist economy are free to spend their income as they desire. This is known as consumer sovereignty. Consumers are sovereign in the sense that producers produce only those goods which consumers are willing to buy. Profit motive: In a capitalist economy, it is the profit motive which forces or induces people to work and produce; Competition: Competition prevails among the sellers to sell their goods and among buyers to obtain goods to satisfy their wants. Advertisement, price cutting, discount etc., are found to be the normal methods of competition in any capitalist economy. Inequalities of incomes: There is generally a wide gap of income between the rich and the poor in the income which mainly arises due to unequal distribution of property in such economies. Merits of capitalist economy: The following are the merits of capitalist economy: 1.To attract the consumer, the producer is in a position to bring out newer and finer varieties of goods; 2.The existence of private property and the driving force of profit motive results in high standard of living; 3.Capitalism works automatically through the price mechanism; 4.The freedom of enterprise results in maximum efficiency in production; 5.All activities under capitalism enjoy the maximum amount of liberty and freedom; 6.Under capitalism freedom of choice brings maximum satisfaction to consumers; 7.Capitalism preserves fundamental rights such as right to freedom and right to private property; 8.It rewards men of initiative and enterprise; Country as a whole benefits through growth of business talents, development of research etc., Demerits of capitalism: The following are the demerits of capitalism: 1.In capitalism the enormous wealth produced is apportioned by a few. This causes rich richer and poor, poorer; 2.Welfare is not protected under capitalism, because here the aim is profit and not the welfare of the people; 3.Economic instability in terms of over production, economic depression, unemployment etc., is very common under capitalism; 4.The producer spends huge amounts of money on advertisement and sale promotion activities like fairs, exhibitions etc., 5.Class conflict arises between employer and employee and they will be paid low wages and this leads to strikes and lock outs; 6.Productive resources are misused under capitalism and they are used for the production on luxuries as they are bound to bring high profits; 7.Capitalism leads to the formation of monopolies and 8.There is no security of employment for the workers and employees under capitalism. Reference: http://classof1.com/homework-help/economics-homework-help/
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
What Is Anger And Anger Management Philosophy Essay
What Is Anger And Anger Management Philosophy Essay Anger is an emotional response when looking at an obstruction in reaching our target. We face with such examples every single day once we do not get might know about want and have frustrated and angry simultaneously. Different psychologists, psychiatrists and other health specialists are working on many psychological problems like stress, depression along with conduct problems. They fight to assist us and layman peoples. Layman must understand these everyday conflicting situations and manage those effectively. Anger is humans generally expressed emotion, bringing about negative emotions, fear and insecurity. Prevalent problem in our society is frustrations, threats, disappointments generating anger in our mind. Emotions appear early in our everyday life and contains significant influence on our reactions. We need to learn how to control those emotions, especially growing children must discover how to change and modify their emotion expression as outlined by environment. Anger evolves in your everyday living situation of laymen, and the way they undergone, convey, and develop health problems. A lot of the everyday conflicts like parent-child aggression, legal discard, bad grades in college, school maltreatment, teacher-child violence, unachieved goals, and problems like stress, depression, aggression, road rage sources to a single very frequent problem Anger. Therefore, a layman is baffled with anger from different routes. You will need to know how anger develops in daily life situations and how to treat them. You can handle anger exploit with anger assessment tools. Do you know the main effects that happen over the anger, the length of time does it last, how does it happen, whats happening with all your body when anger occurs, and ways in which should it advance in physiological problems (common problems like stroke, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, disease, obesity, hypertension), psychological problems (problems like stress, depression, eating disorders, body unhappiness, law conflict, alcohol and drug misuse). Scientists show that anger and its common problems, hostility and aggression, collectively the AHA-Syndrome are already linked to a greater risk of cardiovascular diseases. Different types of personalities are missing skills to confront with problem solving, bad memories, concern, depression, what is going to happen etc. Those negative feelings will lower our power to control ourselves. All those negative emotions are internal factors. What we call external factors is improper parental practices, traffic jams, waiting lines, heavy noises, media and advertisements, social rank, social stress etc. We are constantly put to test with your fast growing, technologically modern live style and competitive companies. Positive feelings choosing a lump sum their meanings. Our humanity is threatened by terrorist attacks and then we feel insecure constantly. Although we are more scared of governments than terrorist activities these days. A lot of negative emotions are transforming to a single emotion Anger. Anger is certainly not new to youngsters, where these are faced daily. Children in education carry guns into their school bags. Massacres by those students is reported by press all over the world. Reports stated that girls can be as angry as boys. Therere seen to kick back, push, slap, bite and hit if faced by fear, in particular when confronted with jealousy. That is why managing your anger is essential at each and every stage of life. The best way to Know If You Need Anger Management All of us grows to get angry sometimes. It really is a normal instinct. Even animals show their anger in order to protect themselves and their loved ones. So getting angry is an instinct but a usual reaction to defend oneself or others from harm and intimidation. Nevertheless, an average person should employ a clear mind which enables it to be in control in situations where they are more than likely to obtain angry. Otherwise if the anger gets from bound, this can develop a larger conflict and an infliction of harm and damages to individuals or properties. In contrast, you will find folks who is able to see red at slight provocations. Which has a slight feeling of intimidation or irritation they are able to erupt and come unglued of themselves. Sometimes their causes of getting angry are even unjustifiable. Should you be experiencing this and cant control yourself at getting angry over small things, you may have something with your personality that needs to be corrected and must seek anger management counseling. Anger management counseling may help us recognize that there are a few underlying problems in your minds that need to be corrected and recovery could be hard if individuals who have anger issues will deny it. Then again, its possible to recognize they have a difficulty. If hes forever in challenge with other folks, extends to get snags while using law and even managing their own families is really a problem, theyre some hard evidences that uncontrollable emotions are eating up ones mind helping to make him come unglued of himself. Basically, there are simple indications regarding how to know if you need anger management. If you do not like socializing with other people and may easily get mad and always within the arguable mood, you then have a problem occurring. Specifically, allow me to share the points you may also observe inside a individual who have anger issues. Indicators of Anger Issues à ¿Ã ½ It is possible to scold or yell in your family over slight things and for married individuals they are usually at war using partners. à ¿Ã ½ You may get easily irritated by people who dont agree with you. à ¿Ã ½ Youre often disagreeable web-sites even they are justifying their actions. à ¿Ã ½ That you do not like socializing for some other individuals even with your officemates and may see minor errors included and are likely to blow it out of proportion. à ¿Ã ½ People that know that you do not like speaking with you even to get a minute and may resist you as they can possibly can. à ¿Ã ½ Youre forever in trouble either to individuals, using the law or even with ourselves because you know that youre this kind of pain as part of your society. If you see some of these events happening to you so you know you can not help yourself finding your strong emotions, better see an anger management counselor so that you can be evaluated of the behavioral problem. Its also possible to check online anger management programs and complete some anger management quiz to find out quickly should you be really suffering from this type of behavioral disorder. This behavior is treatable and will be resolved if you will be undergoing sessions from anger management programs. Within the program, you will be able to get connected to other people who have similar issues and grow from them. You could do simulation test with him or her current guidance of anger management counselors, it is possible to regain your self-control and can get on the best track again. Anger Management Control Working together with people can be a huge challenge. We have seen times over my thirty year social work career once i have asked myself why I selected this profession. Weve worked in a number of different regions of social work. My formal training and training credits have concentrated on children with mental disease. Most times I find that when children have mental medical concerns the adults within their lives do also. They are usually opened to addressing their issues; however adults usually get defensive and angry when it suggested that they likewise require help. Dealing with resistive clients is the nature coming from all of my work. Many clients which i use happen to be ordered by having a court to cooperate with services. Having someone ordered to work with me, especially when theyve anger or control issues sets the relationship nearly be a rocky one. Often times the courts will also order website visitors to attend anger management courses. As this is perhaps the most common requirement of the courts there are lots of mental health centers that include anger management. Ive got worked with several mental health care professionals to insure we now have specialized groups for that participants. It is vital that those with anger issues are certainly not lumped into one group setting. I think it is effective for those who have domestic abuse issues to be in anger management classes with other domestic abusers. So often these groups may become volatile. When an abuser sees someone else get angry and out of control they might obtain a better sympathize with how their behavior affects others. Anger is oftentimes used like a control mechanism by abusers. Once they experience someone else wanting to control an organization setting or a therapist they often feel the same emotions that their victims have felt. Anger management with teenagers is another issue altogether. More often than not their anger comes from feelings of not heard or being misunderstood. Extremely common for just a teen to feel angry as they are caught between the numerous years of childhood and adulthood. They are not tall enough to perform most of the issues that they wish to do and yet are too old being cuddled. Most teens concentrate their anger towards their parents; there are some that express anger towards all authority. Teenage anger management may even work on healthy strategies to expressing anger. Its important that teenagers learn that everyone gets angry every so often and this it really is alright to let people know that you will be angry as long as you do this in ways where the body else feels safe around you. Healthy expression of anger will be the goal of all anger management courses. Teaching techniques of how you can express yourself and the way to diffuse anger are critical factors to get a health gr oup process. How you can Succeed How can one succeed at anger management? It is advisable to know that angry feelings are routine among anyone. The best way an individual handles an angry situation determines whether success in anger management has occurred. Though it can be challenging, there are various strategies of handling anger which could benefit those who learn them. Your initial reaction a person has when his ire is raised is usually to attack with words or, worse, inside a physical way. People should endeavor to squash these volatile reactions as well as leaving the location in which the event is occurring. An example of thats where a workforce angers another worker by criticizing his work. The mad employee should leave the room and allow his emotions to fade before being round the critical employee again. You will find cases through which anyone struggles to leave a host through which angry feelings have been produced. If this occurs, the individual should remove himself mentally through the toxic surroundings. He can make this happen by counting to 50 or reciting a well known phrase or sayings as part of his head. Provided rest from negative feelings and so the person are designed for the specific situation without volatility. An excellent way to managing being angry is to circumvent the emotion altogether. A way to do this is usually to identify the situations that provoke anger within an individual. If someone monitors the sorts of situations which provoke an angry response, hell try and avoid most of these circumstances so he stays calm. Anger management classes teach skills that will help people solve disagreements. One big benefit of learning they is that it causes individuals to target positive resolutions as opposed to exactly the angry emotions swirling around them. An individual may become a member of a category through a mental health agency or community center. There are specific individuals who have a tremendous challenge with angry impulses. These folks should undergo professional counseling to be able to fight this major problem. Usually the enter in therapy is to distinguish the roots of why somebody responds to rage. Find this type of formal counseling from individual psychologists, mental health centers and social service agencies. Violent feelings may lead to verbal abuse or even fisticuffs. Its imperative that runners that have problems handling mad feelings get help. These people can put on tips which supports them regain control and their composure plus they can also get professional counseling that enables them to achieve anger management. Periodic Anger Management Generally speaking, what are the results is the fact that people will get frustrated about an issue that occur in their life. Their initial reaction is to ignore it or try to repress it. Eventually this emotion will become very secure and theyll have to deal with it in some way. Instead of managing it at its core, through being assertive, those will take part in many different coping strategies. By way of example, the person may do workout or bury themselves inside their work. And every time they get frustrated, they may return to this coping strategy. What they can get is because they will need to go back to this coping strategy a growing number of frequently as their anger could possibly get a lot more frequent along with the intensity can get a growing number of extreme. Eventually, their anger can become so strong therefore frequent until this coping strategy will no longer have the capacity to assist them to out, and they will eventually attack. I would like to say that the number of these behaviors you will do to handle your anger management can be very positive behaviors. For example, going on a run, is definitely an positive behavior. My point being is making use of it like a clutch to manage your anger management can be a negative coping strategy, as you dont manage your anger at its core. Think of your health to get a second, and think about the method that you handle your anger? What are your techniques for working with your anger? Is he band-aid solutions or dark beer long-term methods of addressing your anger? Im sure you will discover the coping strategies which you have for ones anger dont really lower or reduce your anger in the long run. Address your anger at its core. **************** What are The Causes of Anger Anger can be a strong emotion of displeasure due to some kind of grievance that may be either real or rated to be real by a person. The cognitive behavior theory attributes anger to factors for instance past experiences, behavior learned from others, genetic predispositions, along with a not enough problem-solving ability. To place it more simply, anger is the result of a combined two factors: an irrational perception of reality (It has to be exercised my way) along with a low frustration point (Its my way or no chance). Anger is usually an internal reaction thats perceived to possess a external cause. Angry people generally blame their reactions on someone or some event, but rarely can they recognize that the key reason why they may be angry is because of their irrational perception around the globe. Angry people have some perception and expectation around the globe which they are in and once that reality wont meet their expectation than it, then they become angry. You have to recognize that not all anger is unhealthy. Anger is one of our most primitive bodys defense mechanisms that protects and motivates us from being dominated or manipulated by others. It provides for us an added strength, courage, and motivation was required to combat injustice done against us or even others that people love. However, if anger is left uncontrolled and liberal to control you your brain and the entire body anytime, then anger becomes destructive. Why We Need to Control Anger As a one that is under the charge of a street drugsomeone ingesting anger cannot rationalize, comprehend, or make good decisions because anger distorts logical reasoning into blind emotion. You feel unable to focus and your emotions dictate your actions. Physiologically speaking, anger enacts your struggle or flight response in this brain, which increases our hypertension and releases adrenaline into our bloodstream, thereby increasing our strength and pain threshold. Anger causes us to be think of only a pair of things: (1) Defend, or (2) Attack. Neither of those options facilitates a good negotiation. Internal Causes of Anger Our internal sources of anger originated from our irrational perceptions of reality. Psychologists have identified four varieties of convinced that help with anger. 1. Emotional reasoning. Individuals who reason emotionally misinterpret normal events and things that other folks say to be directly threatening for their needs and goals. Individuals who use emotional reasoning tend to become irritated at something innocent that other folks tell them given that they perceive it as panic or anxiety attack on themselves. Emotional reasoning can cause dysfunctional anger eventually. 2. Low frustration tolerance. Most of us sometime have seen a period of time where our tolerance for frustration was low. Often stress-related anxiety lowers our tolerance for frustration and now we begin to perceive normal things as threats to the well-being or threats to the ego. 3. Unreasonable expectations. When folks make demands, they see things as that they needs to be but not when they really are. This lowers their frustration tolerance because those that have unreasonable expectations expect others to act a particular way, and uncontrollable events to behave in the predictable manner. When this stuff tend not to go their way, then anger, frustration, and at last depression from. 4. People-rating. People-rating can be an anger-causing sort of thinking the place that the person applies a derogatory label on other people. By rating someone as being a bitch or possibly a bastard, it dehumanizes them and makes it easier to allow them to become angry at the person. External Causes of Anger A large countless bodily and mental events that could make us angry, but given the parameters of a negotiating situation, we could narrow these factors as a result of four general events. 1. The person makes personal attacks against us. One other side attacks you combined with the problem in the way of verbal abuse. 2. Anybody attacks our ideas. Additional side chops down our ideas, opinions, and options. 3. Anyone threatens our needs. Anyone threatens to look at away a rudimentary demand for ours as long as they avoid getting their way i.e. Ill be sure you may never be employed in this city again. 4. We obtain frustrated. Our tolerance level when getting things done may be low or impacted by numerous environmental factors in this lives. Factors That Lower Our Frustration Tolerance 1. Stress / Anxiety. When our stress-level increases, our tolerance for frustration decreases. This is why there are plenty of domestic disputes and divorces over financial problems. 2. Pain. Physical and emotional pain lowers our frustration tolerance. The reason being we have been so dedicated to attending to our survival needs, that people dont have time for love or money or anyone else. 3. Drugs / Alcohol. Drugs and alcohol affect how our brain processes information and can create a person more irritable or bring forward repressed emotions or memories that will trigger anger. 4. Recent irritations. Recent irritations will also be called which has a bad day. Is it doesnt little irritations that accumulate throughout manufactured that lower our tolerance for frustration. Recent irritations could be: stepping in the puddle, spilling coffee in your shirt, being late for work, being stuck in a very traffic jam, having a flat. Recognizing the Physiological Signs of Anger By recognizing the physiological signs of anger, we could attune ourselves to understand when it is the perfect time to take measures to ensure that our amount of anger doesnt get uncontrolled. Here are a few signs of anger: 1. Unconscious tensing of muscles, specifically in the face and neck. 2. Teeth grinding 3. Breathing rate increases dramatically 4. Face turns red and veins become visible as a result of a rise in blood pressure level 5. Face turns pale 6. Sweating 7. Feeling cold or hot 8. Shaking in the possession of 9. Goosebumps 10. Heartbeat increases 11. Adrenaline is released into your digestive system developing a rush of power. Am I Straight away to be Angry? Damn right youre. You have your personal perception and expectation around the world that you just are in and when the certainty that you simply are now living in ceases to meet your expectations, then you develop the to be angry. Afterall, if everyone thought alike, then your world has to be pretty dull location to live. Youre going to come upon situations you dont enjoy. You are likely to encounter individuals who dont respect your views and ideas. The impression of anger is completely justified in accordance with your beliefs and so dont repress or deny those feelings. Being forced to right to feel angry doesnt mean you have the legal right to snipe in anger by attacking your partner. You simply cant get a new views of others to adapt to your own personal because, like you, they have his or her to uphold their view on the planet. The good thing you should do is recognize your anger while keeping focused it on the problem as opposed to your counterpart. Tips Being angry or frustrated can be like being ingesting a drug. It prevents from rationalizing and thinking logically. Anger is caused by mix of an irrational perception of reality and a low frustration point. Anger is usually a natural response and youve every directly to be angry, but you must discover how to keep that anger in balance within a negotiation because as soon as you react in any negotiation, then you definitely lose the agreement. Anger Causes Medical problems Nowadays nobody is surprised anymore if you notice inside the news that somebody continues to be beating up simply because they were using a fight or a spat. It happens when the younger generation go out or perhaps domestic violence is usual inside news. Would you remember when Chris Brown hit his girlfriend Rihanna because he was just angry at her? It seems like more and more people are angry nowadays, or could it be just because the media puts anger the center of attention? Anger is usually a really powerful emotion. Uncontrolled anger can bring about arguments, psychical abuse, psychical fights, assaults and self-harm but it really also can leads to health conditions. Anger triggers your body to get a fight or flight response. Other emotions what trigger this response are anxiety, fear and excitement. Once your body responds that way, stress hormones like, adrenaline and cortisol floods from the body. Serotonin levels redirects bloods away from the gut on the muscles, prepare them for a movements. It prepares the body to fight or flight. My way through your system increases, hypertension, the body temperature, the skin perspires and the system is sharp and focused. The continual flood of such stress hormones along with unmanaged anger can eventually harm different systems of the body. The medical problems it may causes are: * Headache * Digestion problems, like abdominal pain * Insomnia * Increased anxiety * Depression * Blood pressure * Skin problems, including eczema * Cardiac arrest * Stroke To way of getting in charge of your anger is usually to address it and being assertive. You can do this in another way, for instance by setting clear boundaries on your own in order to bear in mind when folks push your buttons. You will need to be assertive which means that your anger will not build-up with time. Because they are assertive you will not have the anger explosions. People may think that doesnt showing your anger is a great one method to cope with it because it is not to certainly get angry. Dont repress your anger because you just dont take care of your anger. The truth is, you continue to havent addressed it and the anger is still within you. Unless you a single thing regarding it, it might often fork over depression or anxiety. Make an effort to express your anger in a very healthy way, perform relaxation exercise. Of course , if angers occur, recognize it trying to accept it a component of life. Never let your anger become the perfect health condition. *********** Humor as the Best Remedy for Combating Anger You dont need to let anger to own control over you. On this chapter, become familiar with:- à ¿Ã ½ Basic life skills in order to avoid temper flares à ¿Ã ½ Being angry nevertheless keeping cool à ¿Ã ½ Trying to cool off when vexed à ¿Ã ½ Understanding diverse means of expressing anger within a bid to get rid of it à ¿Ã ½ Detailed practical steps for you to consider Basic Life Skills in order to avoid Temper Flares This therapeutic technique works best for many people and it is one of many easiest to put into practice. When one requires you to definitely fulfill an investment which can be too demanding for to bear with then it could be recommendable to present an ironic account this kind of confrontation rather than getting mad. For instance, you can make a rejoinder by asking whether or not the individual needs such absurd demands being à ¿Ã ½served at a dish.à ¿Ã ½ Another self help technique that could aid you in conquering anger outburst by learning how you can sufficiently relax, in conjunction with accepting your situation as its while taking care to never let temperatures flare. Some conditions for likely to lead to bursts of physical outrage are if your neighbor accidentally leaves trash just beside your doorstep. Rather than attacking anyone with hands clenched it would be more reasonable to ask him/her about what ended in such actions. Become familiar with the key reason why behind certain acts instead of just having fits. When utilizing humor, you will need to seek to guy beyond negative circumstances. Try to validate what did happen as it is at reality preventing one from creating a relative much greater mistake. For example, but if your parking spot was selected by another individual it might be worthwhile to generalize this is best of all considering that the car happens to be stolen were it not to the person picking up your spot. Doing things by yourself would also help lots in trying to cool off situations that could have otherwise turned out to be very severe. For example, if the neighbor is indifferent naturally the other can opt to maintain the surroundings clean on the personà ¿Ã ½s behalf that has a humorous mindset, rather then complaining and not changing the matter. When an issue continues to be solved you then should be thinking about yourself as being a great hero whos capable to solve hitches which were initiated web-sites lacking quarrelling and only making matters worse than they will be. Doing something different every now and then would aid in helping you are able to feel superior and prevent stressful situations that behave as a seething pot for commencement of anger. Give relevant explanations in relation to whatever did get lucky and you. Substantiate individualà ¿Ã ½s behaviors or simply blackguard of whichever thing thatà ¿Ã ½s wrong and possess having a positive mindset that nothing could eliminate your superior disposition or courage. It is just an excellent-tuned positive mind frame that will effortlessly eradicate your emotional tempest and nervousness for whichever situation. If it is appropriately practiced then one would continually be in a very joyous mood and stay capable of live a handy life making wise course of action without requiring anger bouts. Being Angry nevertheless Keeping Cool It becomes a large lie an excellent say he/she doesnà ¿Ã ½t get mad throughout day to day life. So long as there we were relating online websites chances are they will likely be in our nerves unintentionally. Bear in mind additionally you do exactly the same without knowing. A very important thing to complete such circumstances is remaining cool and calm and seeking as much as possible to manage anger tantrums. Simply put, youll want to learn how to control anger as opposed to allowing it to do the other. à ¿Ã ½ Have a quick deep breath slowly. Immediately someone says or acts in a manner that is supposedly offensive to you the great thing to complete is getting sporadically. Youll must loose time waiting for at least just a few seconds prior to taking any step. You require for being still and sufficiently think through the situation before commencing with any plan of action. This may devote some time practice but will surely pay over time. à ¿Ã ½ Clarify the matter, then try if you can , to clarify circumstances matching to an alternative individualà ¿Ã ½s perspective, but not your own. This would help the offended person employ a broader perspective about the issue than was at his mind. à ¿Ã ½ It is advisable to check out a provoking situation from three rather than two corners of an coin. Maybe the one who wronged you didnà ¿Ã ½t want to implement it initially and its you who had misunderstood this individualà ¿Ã ½s actions. Shun the habit of smoking of repeatedly thinking just yourself like certain cases you may be the one whichà ¿Ã ½s wrong. Many offences are pretty straight forward misunderstandings that one can get well through when time is obtained to understand the matter in-depth. à ¿Ã ½ Keep a composed voice and considerable tone that wont make it clear to others that youll be angry. When an example may be angry by and large itll show using the individualà ¿Ã ½s tonal inclination. Afterwards yells would follow as well as the person would start saying thing that they didnà ¿Ã ½t mean to start with. It isnt right that you attack whatever words which come on the mouth then imagine that later he/shed apologize to the offended person and anticipate to be forgiven instantaneously. à ¿Ã ½ If worse pertains to worse just emerge since it is the simplest and the majority efficient way avoiding a conflict. Marketing and advertising to vent anger by yourself in lieu of including someone else and making matters blow stream of proportion. When you find yourself far from the offender you can start working on yell the loudest, scream or perhaps talk alone to be able to vent out excess steam. As soon as you feel calm again is when its simple to consider the courage to face the offender Anger is an emotion and since everyone knows many times emotions generally make us not make rational decisions at pressing circumstances. Always try not to actively à ¿Ã ½lookà ¿Ã ½ for definite logic behind why you should be angry at the supposed offender as you will most surely obtain them as is also already in your mind. Donà ¿Ã ½t blow away stresses buy creating up tension with innocent those who are under no circumstances linked to the problems you might have while using the offender. This you can get struggling together likewise even when it was not your plan. Find improved ways in which you can sufficiently get rid of stress without getting yourself into the nerves of others. Understand that angry words have the capacity of ruining up relationships therefore you therefore need to be extra careful in regards to the wording w
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Stakeholder Influence in Strategy Decisions
Stakeholder Influence in Strategy Decisions Devising a strategy should be a product of logical and external analysis, yet often appears to be a product of the power of stakeholders. Discuss using recent business examples. Johnson and Scholes (2002) p10 define strategy as ââ¬Å"the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a changing environment and to fulfil stakeholder expectations.â⬠A strategic plan is therefore large scale future oriented activities that allow interaction with the competitive environment in order to achieve company objectives. It follows that strategic management is the process whereby a strategy is formulated, evaluated, and continuously improved. Strategic planning flows from the definition of an organisationââ¬â¢s vision, mission and objectives and subsequent environmental scanning, to understand the organisationââ¬â¢s strategic position with respect to the macro external environment, its industry, competitors, internal resources, competencies and expectations and influence of stakeholders. (Stoner, Freeman and Gilbert, 1995) This initial process establishes a basis for strategic choice by means of a match of identified strengths to opportunities. The translation of strategic choice into action is then implemented across all levels of the organisation through programmes, resources, technologies, and performance management structures. (Johnson and Scholes, 2002 and Davis, 2005) This essay focuses on the strategic position of the organisation in the context of its environment, its strategic capability, and stakeholder expectations. The purpose of an environmental scan is to develop a list of diverse variables from an uncertain and complex world to offer actionable responses and in so doing allow a structured framework for defensive or offensive actions. There are a variety of available analysis tools such as a PESTEL framework from a macro-environmental level, Porterââ¬â¢s Five Forces framework at an industry level, strategic groupings within an industry and individual market analysis. The results can then be applied in a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis to determine strategic choice. (Johnson and Scholes, 2002) PESTEL is an acronym representing the key forces that exist or are emerging in the external environment and suggests how they will, or might impact on future strategy and resources.à These comprise Political, Economic, Sociocultural, Technological, Environmental and Legal factors. (Johnson and Scholes, 2002) Changes in these forces and their interaction affect the types of products and services offered and impact on suppliers and distributors to the organisation. An example of political and legal forces in setting the climate for business, are the tax harmonisation processes in the European Union (EU) which have caused many multinational firms, including John Deere and Cargill, to relocate their head offices to Switzerland, a non EU member to avoid tax costs. Consequentially, the global competitive ratings for the Netherlands, Germany and other home countries of these firms plunged whilst the rating for Switzerland has surged. (Davis, 2005) The use of PESTEL in isolation and a mer e listing of possible influences without an understanding of the combined impact of a number of these forces could lead to inaction with respect to countering threats or pursuing opportunities to the detriment of the business. The combined effect of the factors can be understood by identifying structural drivers of change that affect the structure of an industry sector or market. These include an increasing convergence of markets as customer needs and wants become similar (eg standardisation of strategy textbooks across international higher education institutions), maximising cost advantages achieved through economies of scale by centralised production in low cost, labour efficient countries such as India and China, or the differential impact of the factors dependant on industry type. (eg Pharmaceutical sales to an aging population in a first world country) (Johnson and Scholes, 2002) This reinforces the need to regard strategy formulation as an interactive multidisciplinary process requiring creative thinking. Porter suggests that industry selection and analysis is a vital component of strategic planning. An industry is ââ¬Å"a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes for one another.â⬠(Johnson and Scholes, 2002, p110) Competitive forces within an industry can be analysed in the contexts of the sources of competition, the dynamics of that competition and strategic groupings. Although criticised as being too generic in nature, Porterââ¬â¢s Five Forces framework is useful in addressing key interacting forces affecting a strategic business unit with a distinct market for goods or services within an industry. Porter referred to these forces as the microenvironment so as to contrast it with the more general term, macro environment. They consist of those forces close to an organisation that affect its ability to serve its customers and make a profit. A change in any of the forces normally requires a company to re-assess the marketplace. (Porter, 1996) An example is that of the mobile phone network industry where the barrier to entry by new competitors is the huge entry cost associated with 3G broadband licenses. The purchasing power of buyers is high with a significant range of choices between networks and the power of suppliers increasing through alliances such as that of Casio and Hitachi in 2003. (Davis, 2005) The threat of substitute products is increasing as Personal Digital Assistance (PDA) convergence with phones and voice-over-internet technology emerges with the potential to bypass the network operators. Competitive rivalry between firms with similar products is high with a broad range of products on offer to the consumer. (Johnson and Scholes, 2002) The concept of strategic grouping addresses the criticism of Porterââ¬â¢s model where an industry is considered to be too generic to provide a basis for understanding the competitive environment by applying the Five Forces framework. Johnson and Scholes, 2002, p122 define strategic groups as ââ¬Å"organisations within an industry with similar strategic characteristics following similar strategies or competing on similar bases.â⬠These firms are not homogeneous within the industry and follow strategies common to the group, but different to firms in other groups in the same industry. An example is a pharmaceutical manufacturer with a unique medication product protected by patent serving a common market using a similar strategy. (Davis, 2005) Understanding the competitive environment together with current and potential customer needs and wants will determine the success or failure of an organisation. Porter suggests that there are two generic strategies: cost or differentiation. Marketing segmentation identifies similarities and differences between individual and customer groups based on geographic, demographic lifestyle and benefit segmentation. An appreciation of customer values in a market segment and matching needs against the organisationââ¬â¢s capacity to meet those needs, is a critical aspect of determining strategic capability. (Pitt, 1997) The emergence of global firms suggests that traditional models are limited in application and that there is a need for the development of a broader integrative international strategic business model framework. (Ricart et al, 2004) Strategic capability involves the identification and evaluation of an organisationââ¬â¢s strengths and weaknesses in the functional areas of the business in the context of the external environment analyses. It is typically recorded in a SWOT framework. It represents an understanding of customerââ¬â¢s perceptions of value, the critical success factors through which that value is realised and unique competencies, processes, and technology to achieve competitive advantage. (Hussey, 2002.) The core competencies of the organisation are the unique capabilities that are critical success factors in achieving competitive advantage and hence key to the delivery of customer value. They form the foundation for differentiation and for increasing perceived customer benefits. Competencies must evolve as the needs and wants of customers change and a focus on developing critical competencies that affect market position, share and power is key. (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994) A useful model to analyse an organisationââ¬â¢s core competencies that underpin its competitive advantage is Porterââ¬â¢s Value Chain Analysis. This attempts an understanding of how the organisation creates customer value by examining the contributions of various activities within the business to that value. An organisationââ¬â¢s value chain is normally part of a broader value system that represents a set of inter-organisational linkages and relationships to create the product or service. It separates prima ry and support activities through which that value is generated. (Johnson and Scholes, 2002) Porter argues that competitive strategy is about being different, and focussing on those activities that deliver a unique mix of value and doing them better than competitors. (Porter, 1996) The structured and systematic process of analysing the external and internal environment described thus far is carried out by a consultative process with stakeholders and should present a sound basis for establishing the foundation for the organisationââ¬â¢s strategy formulation. However, the impact of stakeholders and the complex role that people play from a political and cultural perspective should be taken into account. (Johnson and Scholes, 2002) Davis, 2005, suggests that stakeholders are individuals or groups with an interest in the success of an organisation to deliver intended results and on whom the organisation itself depends. Donaldson and Preston, 1995, p64, argue that this general statement is too wide should be qualified to ââ¬Å"be those persons or groups with a legitimate interest in procedure and / or substantive aspects of corporate activity.â⬠Walsh, 2005, suggests that too broad a definition creates a situation whereby managers function in order benefit a stakeholder group or act as a continuous conduit to stakeholders. Stakeholders may include employees, unions, customers, financial institutions, suppliers, shareholders etc depending on the accepted definition. The definition of stakeholder is therefore important to the organisation because it impacts on the strategic plan formulation. The relationship between stakeholders and the organisation encompasses the field of stakeholder management that ranges in complexity from stakeholder mapping through to stakeholder collaboration and social capital. The corporate governance structure of the organisation and the regulatory framework within which it operates should determine who the organisation serves and how the purpose and direction of the organisation is determined. This includes the management of the capacity of a stakeholder to influence the organisation as well as accountability issues in the formal structure. This is typically structured through a separation of ownership and management at main board level, balanced by non-executive directors and a non executive chairperson. Internal or organisational stakeholders may blur this line through the inappropriate use of power and politics. Society in turn creates expectations of the organisation in terms of ethics and within a cultural context that need to be congruen t with that of the organisation. (Donald and Preston, 1995) The organisational field approach suggests that networks of related organisations develop which share common assumptions, values, and processes that may incorporate common organisational views on stakeholders. Under this scenario, relationship with stakeholders are taken for granted leading to legitimised strategies shaped by expectations being accepted without a structured strategic planning process occurring. (Walsh, 2005) A stakeholder map is a tool that inventories and categorises a companys stakeholders, shows their inter-relationships, expectations, and power. It illustrates the approaches that the organisation can follow to achieve its business objectives while winning support from its stakeholders. It raises the dilemma of ethics in that stakeholder management through such a strategy can be subverted to the detriment of the organisation. (Johnson and Scholes, 2002) The Enron debacle is manifestation of both this dilemma and the organisational field phenomenon which allowed the failure of corporate governance structures when unethical conduct was accepted in the areas of finance and management by organisational stakeholders. The Enron case was one of the largest bankruptcy cases in US history. In 2001, it was the fifth largest company on the Fortune 500 with revenues of USD 100 billion, 19,000 employees, and rated the ââ¬Å"most admired companyâ⬠six years in a row by Fortune magazine. (Culp an and Trussell, 2005) The basic premise of Enronââ¬â¢s strategy was to create markets for goods and services traditionally transacted through complex distribution channels. It leveraged off its competitive advantage of delivering services efficiently and stretching itââ¬â¢s competency through added risk management features. The high growth phase of the organisation during the 1990ââ¬â¢s and changed business strategy and corporate culture of Enron was driven by top management. In the process, Enron appeared innovative and profitable to the extent that the traditional agency relationship underpinning the firm as a nexus of contracts between the shareholders (principals) and the management as agents were left unchecked, which in turn impacted negatively on the broader spectrum of stakeholders. (Donald and Preston, 1995 and Culpan and Trussell, 2005) An ostensibly well structured, high profile corporation within the highly regulated environment of a security exchange, audited by a major audit firm was bought down by unethical conduct of its senior executive team with possible collusion by external stakeholders. The ultimate test of how well a strategy has been thought out is at implementation level and the controls around that implementation. Unless a strategy can be executed effectively with appropriate checks and balances then it will almost certainly fall short in achieving objectives. This means that strategy has to be linked to the organisationââ¬â¢s objectives, mission, operations, and measurable outcomes within a corporate governance framework that meets the needs of the stakeholders. The evolution of the Kaplan and Nortonââ¬â¢s Balanced Scorecard to incorporate financial, customer, learning and growth, and internal process metrics evaluated against the vision and strategic objectives of the organisation provide one such strategic management control methodology across the organisation. (Kaplan and Norton, 1996 and Kaplan and Norton, 2001) In conclusion, this essay has examined the formal process of strategy development and given examples of tools from the literature to systematically evaluate the external and internal environments of the organisation. It has sought to demonstrate that organisations are facing dynamic and rapidly evolving forces that influence its strategic direction. This is especially true with the emergence of globalisation and intensively competitive world markets. The eventual choice of a strategic direction for an organisation is a function of the values and expectations of a broad range of stakeholders which influence strategic decision making through political power over the organisation within a cultural and ethical context. It is the control through governance structures, and ongoing measurement of the strategic implementation process that will determine the successful outcome of the strategy and concomitant success of the organisation. References Cuplan, R. and Trussel, J. (2005) ââ¬Å"Applying the Agency and Stakeholder Theories to the Enron Debacle.â⬠Business and Society Review. Volume 110, 1. Davis, F. R. (2005) Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. New Jersey, Pearson Prentice Hall. Donaldson, T. and Preston, L. E. (1995) ââ¬Å"The Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation: Concepts, Evidence and Implications.â⬠Academy of Management Review. Volume 20, 1. Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C. K. (1994) Competing for the Future. Boston, Harvard Business School Press. Hussey, D. (Janââ¬âFeb 2002) ââ¬Å"Company Analysis: Determining Strategic Capability.â⬠Strategic Change. Johnson, G. and Scholes, K. (2002) Exploring Corporate Strategy Sixth Edition. London, Prentice Hall. Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D. P. (1996) The Balanced Scorecard. Boston, Harvard Business School Press. Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D. P. (2001) ââ¬Å"Transforming the Balanced Scorecard from Performance Management to Strategic Management.â⬠Accounting Horizons. Volume 15, 1. Pitt, L. (1997) Marketing for Managers: A Practical Approach. Cape Town, Juta Ltd. Porter, M. (November ââ¬â December 1996) ââ¬Å"What is Strategy?â⬠Harvard Business Review. Ricart, E. J. et al. (2004) ââ¬Å"New Frontiers in International Strategy.â⬠Journal of International Business Studies. Volume 35, 3. Stoner, J. Freeman, E. and Gilbert, D. (1995) Management Sixth Edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall. Walsh, J. P. (2005) ââ¬Å"Taking Stock of Stakeholder Management.â⬠Academy of Management Review. Volume 30, 2.
Monday, August 19, 2019
A Place to Remember Essay -- Personal Narrative Descent Essays
A Place to Remember When I was sixteen years of age, my Gram, Aunt Jamie, and I went to Scotland. We visited many places, such as Edinburgh, Sterling, and Dumfries. We also visited Arundel, Windsor, and London in England. The most exciting part of our trip was when we went and saw the house my Grandad born in and the family house. As I looked at those houses, I felt like I was home, I had found the place I was supposed to be. All my life I have known who I was and where I was from, I am Scottish, my Grandad was born in Scotland, so in a way, I am from Scotland as well. The flight to London felt like it took forever, we were all so tired and just wanted to take a shower and go to bed, but we had to get off that plane and get on another going to Scotland. When we finally landed in Scotland, I couldnââ¬â¢t believe I was actually in a foreign country, I was so excited. The first thing I did when we landed in Scotland was to look through the window, of course what I saw were other airplanes and men running around getting luggage and showing planes to the terminal. After we got all of our luggage and the rental car, we walked outside, as I looked around, I could see so much green in the distance; so many different colors of green. I had never seen so much beauty in one place. The first night we were there, we got lost looking for the bed and breakfast we were staying at that night. We kept driving by it, but we couldnââ¬â¢t find a way to get to it so we kept driving right by it and then get lost looking for it again. After forty five minutes of looking for the bed and breakfast we finally found it. We were finally able to take showers and then we went out to dinner, we found this cute little pizza place where ... ...cause they all looked the same; they were all painted the same color. When we found it I just stood there in amazement, knowing that my Grandad who was also one of my best friends lived in that house that was right in front of me. I had always dreamed to go to Scotland to see my Grandadââ¬â¢s house, and when my dream came true, I was amazed. Knowing that I was where I felt I belonged, was the best feeling in the world. All of the scenery, the important places we saw, the beautiful buildings and animals, was a site I will never forget. Being Scottish used to just be cool to me knowing that my Grandad was born in Scotland and that I had Scottish blood in my veins. After I saw the house he was born in, it changed my viewpoints, I felt that Scotland was one of the most beautiful places I knew about, and being apart of that wasnââ¬â¢t something I should take lightly.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Suicide Will Condemn One to Hell Essay -- essays research papers
Suicide Will Condemn One to Hell à à à à à à à à à à Suicide is the only simple act that gives man absolute control of his life. Everyone from an early age contemplates and fantasizes with the idea of being able to end their life. Throughout time, this act has become more accepted, and easier to accomplish. Many people today believe there are reasons to justifiably end oneââ¬â¢s own life. Though, through Christianity, it is found that not only is suicide wrong, but is the only simple act that will condemn one to hell. à à à à à Suicide is not really suicide when it deals with children. From childhood, people are tempted with the idea of suicide. Children, from the media, their friends and family are introduced with this idea from an early age. Though, there are not many cases where children commit suicide, there are a few instants that leave survivors puzzled. The difficult part about child suicide is, how old do you have to be to realize what you are doing. If a child does not know what they are doing is wrong, by committing suicide, it is not suicide. When the child does not know what they are doing, then the suicide changes from murder to an accident. à à à à à Another instance, in which suicide could be justified as not wrong, is when it deals with the mentally unstable. This is also like child suicide, because the insane are not capable of judging right from wrong. No one knows the degree of sanity one needs to be able to decipher their own actions, so this is also completely left up t...
Privatization Essay -- Prisons Government Papers
Privatization In Taft, California, with a perimeter of razor wire, armed prison guards, supervise hundreds of medium security level federal inmates. Welcome to one of America's newest and fastest growing trends in the area of corrections. This new phenomenon is termed, The Corporation of Modern Corrections. Faced with an increase in prison overcrowding and aging institutions, court orders demanding immediate reform coupled with a straining budget, mandatory minimum sentences, and the public's attitude toward "getting tough on crime", America's justice system is in need of an overhaul. Thus, government leaders are ready to consider different options to help reduce the strain, while still meeting is legal responsibility to provide services. The option to emerge to the forefront is Prison Privatization - " the transfer of asset's and of production of public goods and services from government to the private sector."1 in other words, private interest is being given the opportunity to help alleviate the strain of taking care of a growing population more economically and efficiently than the government. The expansion of the private sector into the prison system began to generate considerable interest and controversy in the mid - 1980's. Currently, almost all prisons' contract some type of service from the private sector to provide support, such as, construction, medical and religious services. However, the concept of relinquishing controls of adult offenders to profit seeking companies fuels a very controversial and heated debate. Most arguments center on whether private companies can truly provide a more efficient service at a lower cost than public institutions while not sacrificing quality. While others focus on the philoso... ...hn D. The Privatization Decision, Public Ends, Private Means, New York, 1989 (INGLEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY) Smith, Phil. Private Prison : Profits of Crime,1993 Fall Issue Covert Action Quarterly. (Internet:http://mediafilter.org/MFF/Prison.html) Logan, Charles. Prison Privatization: Objections and Refutations (Internet:http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~wwwsoci/fraser.html) Kicenski, Karyl L. The Corporate Prison: The Production of Crime and The Sale of Discipline, 1998 (Internet:http://speech.csun.edu/ben/news/kessay.html) Hunzeker, Donna. Private Cells, Public Prisoners, 1991 State Legislatures (Inglewood Library) Lemov, Penelope. Jailhouse Inc., 1993 Governing Magazine (Inglewood Library) Unknown Author. Assessing the Issue: The Pros and Cons of Prison Privatization. 1996 (Internet:wysiwyg://24/http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/6465/assess.html)
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Islams Early Interactions with Judaism and Christianity
Chantel Hunt MNE 347 Palestinian Studies Bashir Bashir ISLAMS EARLY INTERACTIONS WITH JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY Because of its harsh desert environment, the Arabian Peninsula was left relatively unmolested by the several competing empires that swept through the Fertile Crescent just north of it in the early centuries before Islam. At the beginning of the 7th Century, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires were embroiled in a 26-year war for supremacy, which had a lasting cultural impact on the Arabs of the Peninsula eventually leading to the emergence and subsequent explosion of Islam into the monotheistic sphere.The interaction Islam had with existing religions led to a unique monotheism better suited to the Arabs, yet still maintained traditional elements with Judaism and Christianity, even enabling it to fall under the Abrahamic title. Monotheism was initially introduced through trade. According to Jonathon Berkey, ââ¬Å"â⬠¦the exchange of people and ideas between Arabs of the int erior and predominantly Aramaic-speaking inhabitants of Syria was, and had been for centuries, a routine element of life. That exchange touched on religious mattersâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (64). Elements of these religions competed and intermingled with existing Arab paganism and traditions, creating a unique take on ââ¬Å"the one Godâ⬠that was much better suited to the Arabs than the politically-charged imperial baggage of the former traditions. Islam holds many similarities with the religions it sprung from besides its monotheism and devotion to the idea of a ââ¬Å"true God,â⬠yet even these similarities come with a unique Arabian flavor. These include a prophet-messenger, a holy book of scripture, and an ancestral link to the Abrahamic line.The idea of a special kind of person able to transcend mortal boundaries to commune with deity and transmit knowledge or specific messages to mankind has been an integral part of the Judeo-Christian experience. There are many prophets throu ghout Torah and Old Testament including Noah, Samuel, and Isaiah. The New Testament continues this tradition with the addition of new messengers from God (though not by the term prophets) such as John the Baptist, Jesus Christ the declared Son of God, and his disciples, the apostles.Islam adds one more prophet to the sceneââ¬âMuhammad. Muslims view Muhammad as the greatest and last messenger of God. Muhammad's message was similar to the previously accepted prophets: to turn aside from false devotions and to worship the only true God in the right way. Like other Biblical prophets, Muhammadââ¬â¢s message was initially unpopular towards the masses, necessitating his flight to what became Medina (Esposito History of Islam 8).Despite initial troubles, however, Muhammad gained a considerable following and was able to later turn the tide against his former oppressors, and subdue them in a way no prophet of the earlier traditions was able to do: as a political conqueror (Esposito, Hi story of Islam 8-11). Unifying several Arabian tribes created the beginning of an empire that would bring the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires to their knees and open up the spread of Islam to the whole world. Also significant to each Abrahamic denomination was the creation of a holy book.Each consists of compilations of sacred texts, considered to be the words of God or of his prophets, though the original texts from which our modern ones are comprised of are non-existent today. It is generally assumed by many scholars that each text has likely been through apocryphal revisions and retellings before getting to us in their current state, but many adherents to Jewish and Christian faiths still view their books as the pure transmitted words of God.The holy book of Islam, the Qurââ¬â¢an, is also a compilation of revelations regarded as divine, though unlike the other sacred texts, it is only credited to one ââ¬Å"receiver. â⬠According to Muslim tradition, the Qurââ¬â¢an was preserved in both oral and written formats by Muhammad and his secretaries exactly as he had been given them from Allah, and were compiled in precise order of revelation and in their entirety (Esposito, Islam: the Straight Path 137). Yet like its contemporaries, it was not completed in written form while the receiver writer of the revelations lived. The Qurââ¬â¢an was compiled during the reign of Muhammadââ¬â¢s third successor, Uthman, leaving a window (admittedly a much smaller one than of the Jewish and Christian texts) where possible changes or mistakes in oral or written transmission may have occurred. In addition to a prophet and a holy book, Islam created a third link with the previous traditions giving it a higher sense of legitimacy and authority.Islam claims a direct ancestral link to Abrahamââ¬âthe great prophet to whom God promised nations of posterity, the land of Canaan and religious stewardship. Judaic and Christian traditions trace their spiritual ancestry t o Abraham through Isaac, Abrahamââ¬â¢s son born to his legitimate wife, Sara. Islam instead, connects their heritage to Abraham through his first son Ishmael, born to Saraââ¬â¢s Egyptian handmaid, Hagar. Each separate tradition maintains that their particular son of Abraham was the favored son and heir to both the temporal and divine.There are many other similarities Islam has with its older brother religions, but it is by no means a copy or mere synthesis of them either. While drawn to many aspects of the new religions that had sifted to them from the north, the Arabs had a substantially different religious, political, and economic environment than origins of Judaism and Christianity, making many doctrines and practices of the religions completely foreign and ill-suited to Arab sensibilities.Islam has many similar components with the other two religions making its association with the other religions under Abraham a commonly accepted one. However, the unique political and spi ritual environment of Arabia created unique elements in Islam not to be found anywhere else, and is possibly responsible for its exponential rate it acquired followers. Works Cited Berkey, Jonathan Porter. The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 00-1800. New York: Cambridge UP, 2003. Esposito, John L. Islam: the Straight Path. New York: Oxford UP, 1998 Esposito, John L. The Oxford History of Islam. New York: Oxford UP, 1999 *As I could not find the original books to get exact page numbers, I used the page numbers given in our packet of materials instead for those ideas that came from them. ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬â [ 1 ]. Qurââ¬â¢an 47:19. See also Exodus 20:3 in the Bible
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