All Quite On The Western Front essays

All Quite On The Western Front essays The novel, All Quiet on the Western Front depicts the lives of a group of German soldiers during the 1st World War. It is told from the perspective of a young German soldier called Paul Bamer whose very experience shows the changes brought about in his life and the world around him. During the course of the war, Paul develops broadly, changing from a young, innocent boy into a rather ironic veteran of war. The story compromises of three main themes that Paul portrays from his perspective. Brothers in Arms, the True Horror in War and the Lost Generation. The theme of Brothers in Arms is about the relationship of soldiers with one another. Their closeness to each other and being around for one another whenever one is in need. Early on in the novel, Paul describes as comradeship being the best thing to ever have aroused from the war and the novel portrays this theme pretty much in all the chapters right through to the end until Kat dies. When Paul kills Gerard Duval, he is shocked with what he has done and begins to lose himself in his thoughts. He empathizes towards him and says. Forgive me, comrade, how could you be my enemy? If we threw these uniforms and weapons away you could be just as much my brother as Kat and Albert." (Chapter 9). This shows Pauls feelings towards the enemy as Paul was even ready to call them brothers. When Paul and his comrades are sent to the artillery lines for the wiring fatigue, an incident occurs in which Paul writes, Beside us lies a fair-headed recruit in utter terror. He has buried his face in his hands, his helmet has fallen off. I fish hold of it and try to put it back on his head. He looks up, pushes the helmet off and like a child creeps under my arm, his head close to my breast. The little shoulders heave. Shoulders just like Kemmerichs. I let him be. So that the helmet should be of some use I sti...

The Mission essays

The Mission essays Father Gabriel is a Jesuit priest who enters the South American rainforest with the intention of building a Christian mission. His challenging task is the conversion of a small tribe of native Amazon Indians called the Guarani. Gaining their trust, Father Gabriel is able to teach his new friends about his faith learning about the Indians' culture and language along the way. Spanish army officer turned slave trader Rodrico Mendoza out of jealousy murders his own brother. Stricken by grief he joins Father Gabriels mission and eventually converts and becomes a Jesuit priest. The two Jesuit missionaries come together to defy Spain and Portugal to save the Guarani Native tribe from slavery. The two men unite to save the mission when they proceed to negotiate the boundaries in the area that would affect both the natives and the Jesuit missionaries who have set up safe havens for them. Individually the characters of the film have little to do with actual history. They are more symbolic figures in the movie that represent the leader or myth of glory that helps the flow of the movie. They also symbolize the represent regions as a whole and other missionary that underwent the same thing during the time period. Overall, the history of the movie lies between the old world Spain and Portugal and the new world Indians. The movie did not go into the detail about the difficulty that the Jesuit priest went through to learn the Indians culture and start to convert them. Skipping this made it seem like the Indians accepted the religion automatically and without struggle. The Indians though established first are considered on European territory so naturally the Europeans want to overtake them and use them as labor on their plantations. The natives are influenced strongly by the interaction with the new world gaining a full religion and new ideas of violence and cultur e. Historically speaking, Spain was harsher and more agg ...

Controversy analysis essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Controversy analysis - Essay Example The research question that interests me much is the one that tries to explore the positive and negative effects of abortion (Do the pros of abortion outweigh the cons of abortion to support its legality?) The most interesting thing observed a legal limit of 24 weeks that is safe for abortion. The most convenient time is said to be 12 weeks after conception. This is further explained in that the longer the pregnancy is, the harder the process of abortion becomes. 1. What is something interesting you read in the first article that you didn’t know before? The most interesting thing learnt on the first article on abortion is that most of the modern methods of abortion are safe and do not cause health issues such as infertility and mental health to the person involved. This is as compared to the traditional methods which caused even death of both the mother and the fetus.These methods also give the option to terminate pregnancies, which are viewed to have abnormalities. 2. What is something interesting you read in the second article that you didn’t know before? Both heterosexuals and homosexuals should be given equal rights .this is further explained in that sexual orientation is more determined by nature rather than nurture. Individuals in both do not have any control in the way they are sexually oriented. Both of these topics (abortion, gay rights) are controversial since they seem to go against the rules and regulations of morality in the society. They are usually not easily accepted in the society as they seem to go against the norms or what people view to be right or wrong. Few people can go publicly advocating them or confess to involve in any of the two. The age at which an individual can undergo the process of abortion without exposing her to health problems, the views that teenagers have on abortion and reproductive health and how they

Labor unions. Workers, Industrialization and Happiness Essay

Labor unions. Workers, Industrialization and Happiness - Essay Example Reaction from family The movie brings out the aspect of the different family members' reaction to one’s involvement in union activities. After hearing Reuben’s speech Norma starts participating in union formation activities. This invokes negative reactions in her husband who feels Norma is not spending enough time with her family (Canby). In a way, this shows that he has some resistance to the idea of her involvement in the movement. However, his opinion changes with time with Sonny, Norma’s husband, telling her that he loves her and supports all decisions. Her father is also opposed to the idea of the movement seeking to form a union among the workers of the mill. This is because of he is a stockholder which makes him wary of the union. Her mother who works in the mill is also apathetic which is not expected of her (Canby). This shows the lack of support from family members and relatives when advocating for the formation of unions and improvement of working cond itions, which discourages the formation of the movements. Winning the battle The aspect of finally winning the struggle in the form of union formation and better working conditions is also brought out. The struggle for labor rights is usually an uphill task that is not for the faint hearted (Canby). A large number of challenges pose the threat of derailing the process. However, with deep emotional strengths that inspire courage and a complex network of feelings for the workers being ill-treated the activists almost always succeed in their endeavors to see improved rights in the labor sector of industries maintained by unions. This is the case in the movie where Norma ends up with a post in the cotton mill union. II. Workers, Industrialization and Happiness Researchers have made a... Labor unions. Workers, Industrialization and Happiness The American labor sector of today contrasts greatly with the labor sector of the early industrial days. The movements drew clear lines between the management of the industries and the labor aspects that based on the issues between the two. This was aimed to advocate for the improvement of their working conditions. It is sentiments like these that the screenwriters and the director of the movie â€Å"Norma Rae† shared and sought to evoke among the audience. The movie highlights the processes and trials experienced in the starting of a workers union (Canby). It shows that although the start of worker unions is marred by challenges, their successful formations eventually result in improved labor conditions. Challenges to labor union formations Victimization The employers victimize the founding figures of trade unions when they start advocating for the rights of the workers. The movie gives a clear illustration of this aspect that is replicated in nearly all scenarios involving t he establishment of labor unions. After hearing a speech from Rueben Warshowsky, Norma decides to unionize her workmates. This does not augur well with the managers of the cotton mill, who confront her (Canby). Researchers have made a distinction on the definition of happiness as a short-term state of lighting up of the mind depending on the temperament of a person and the external factors associated with the person.

Los Lobos (Musical Band of Los Angeles) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Los Lobos (Musical Band of Los Angeles) - Essay Example It is their similar interest in music of the same genre and musical acts like the Fairport Convention, which perpetrated their working together musically; therefore building their musical career as a band. The two visited one another in their homes occasionally, where they listened to various music recordings, playing guitar; especially for David, who was very good at it and later on even started writing their songs. It was not very easy for them to work on their music regularly as they both had regular jobs to attend to and most of the time therefore had to work during odd hours; especially at night in order to make up for the time spent at work. David and Perez also did much of borrowing of music recordings from a friend, which were of the parody and free form jazz. It is through these many recordings borrowed that the two made a collection out of it, creating multi-track recordings. To form a complete band that they had wished for, they decided to recruit some of their classmates who are Cesar and Conrad; that was in the year 1973. Their coming together to form a band had them record an album that was titled, ‘How Will the Wolf Survive? that gave them a lot of praises and made them very popular in Los Angeles. They later released La Bamba in 1987 that created even more opportunities for them musically, due to the added praise and popularity that the band received. Since then, the band has never disappointed their music fans in Los Angeles and across the world with their rock and Latin music. Despite all the challenges that Musical bands are faced with in each passing day, Los Lobos have managed to overcome all these challenges by recording over 20 albums in approximately 3 decades and making sure to reach their fans with total satisfaction. However, their ride in the music industry was not as smooth as any other person would think. The sale of their music videos was a bit lower in the beginning and therefore

Defining leadership as a process and property

Defining leadership as a process and property In defining leadership Jago (1982, p.315) states leadership is both a process and a property. The process involves influencing group members to undertake activities that will lead to the accomplishment of the group objective, while the property refers to the set of characteristics believed to be held by those with influence. Leadership theory began by focusing on traits but has since followed a varied course in the search for conclusive evidence on the factors that affect leadership. In this report we will focus on the dyadic process of leadership, looking at the leader as an individual (Lussier Achua, 2009) and will assume that leadership effectiveness will only be understood by looking at the influence of the leader on their followers. We will concentrate on three major theories trait, behavioural or style and situational. Trait Lussier Achua (2009, p. 16) proposes that leadership trait theories attempt to explain distinctive characteristics accounting for leadership effectiveness. Traits were initially thought to be innate or heritable qualities of the individual(Zaccaro,J.S,2007)   This perspective shifted to include all the other enduring qualities that distinguished leaders from Non-leaders. (Kiripatrick and Locke,1991 as cited in Zaccaro,J.S.,2007) There is strong evidence to prove that traits contribute significantly towards leader effectiveness, leader emergence, and leader advancement.()The following are some of the traits which each of us believed lacked in us following group discussion: Decisiveness Barlet Decisiveness is often identified as a key trait in leadership (Ghiselli, 1971 as cited in Lussier, 2008). It involves the ability to logically analyze a situation and make a decision in a timely manner. A leaders decisiveness also provides clarity and direction and gives others confidence in that leader. Readiness to make decisions was identified as a key personality trait that predicted a managerial advancement (Howard Bray, 1983 as cited in Hogan, Curphy and Hogan, 1994). Barlet has identified decisiveness as a weakness, especially in high stress situations where a quick and effective decision was required. After discussing with the group and analysing situations where Barlet lacked that ability to make the decision, it has been identified a number of steps to improve decisiveness. One was to have a procedure where a situation could be analysed and decision made quickly. Its also important to trust yourself and not be afraid of making the wrong decision. Motivation Saran Motivation is a key element of any type of leadership, whether the leader is informal, bureaucratic or and expert it is vital for the individual to be motivated. Three types of motivation stand out with regards to leadership. The first is the goals to which human behaviour is directed, the seconded involves how these goals are selected and pursued and the last involves the process of influencing others. (Huczynski and Buchanan, 1991) After discussion of these three factors with regard to Sarans ability to lead, we found some serious flaws in his motivation. The clearest point that emerged from the discussion was that to lead one must be able to achieve the targets of the task, build and develop the team and have concern for the individuals in the team. (Pettinger, 2007)   It was found that Saran had a clear and genuine concern for the individuals he was responsible for. The problems arose when trying to achieve the task. This problem was there because the goals to which his behaviour was directed did not compliment the task. The priority that Saran gave was based on his own goals, what motivates him to do the task in hand was not what necessarily what motivated Saran. This ultimately led to the problem becoming more and more difficult, and in many cases a serious trade off between time and quality had to be made.   This task has lead Saran to look at the basic attitudes towards goals, by changing this we beli eve he will be able to look at the prioritisation of tasks in a whole new light, completely transforming his ability qto   leaded. Self-confidence Jenny Research on leadership traits has consistently shown that self-confidence is considered to be an important characteristic (Hollenbeck Hall, 2004). McCormick (2001, p.) describes self-confidence as the following: Self-confidence refers to peoples self-judgement of their capabilities and skills, or their perceived competence to deal successfully with the demands of a variety of situations.   Up to now Jenny has persistently shown a lack of self-confidence when undertaking tasks and leading others. She feels particularly uncomfortable when she has to make a decision for a group as she usually has doubts about whether or not it is the correct decision. The group suggested that by increasing her task understanding, by breaking it into specific components, and knowledge Jenny could become more confident as she would have evidence to support her decision making. Hollenbeck and Hall (2004) suggests that self-confidence is built up by a process of taking a small risk and making progress to wards achieving a certain goal. Success in this will lead to increased confidence in your abilities. therefore Jenny would need to begin to take small risks also. Initiative Sandy Initiative has been defined as a leading action or a commencing movement, often associated with the first action of a matter. Effective leaders take initiative. This involves being proactive and making decisions that lead to change instead of just reacting to events or waiting for others to take action (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991). In most situations, Sandy has been finding it difficult to demonstrate initiative because she has high agreeableness, and very often prefer to listen to other members suggestions. She lacks self-assurance that she is uncertain about her own opinion, and therefore finds other peoples opinion more favourable. Research on leadership and personality has stated the importance of initiative and persistence in relation to effective leadership, and so by having other qualities such as conscientious and tenacity which are related to the above traits may help (Judge et.al., 2002). Sandy felt she do not have experiences in taking initiative because she felt she is n ot knowledgeable and informative enough. Our group agreed that Sandy should believe in herself and try to improve by gaining more knowledge, and do not have fear to speak up and be arrogant in a good way. Dominance Athmika Dominance was amongst one of the important traits associated with leadership and leader perception (Mann, 1959, as cited in Lord, De Vader and Alliger, 1986). Smith and Foti (1998) have listed several studies that show that dominance has positive correlations with leadership perceptions and people that score high in dominance tend to find themselves in a leadership position. Anderson and Kilduff (2009) found that people who are deemed as being highly dominant in relation to traits were likely to be categorized by other group members as more competent than they actually are. Athmika has always been a team player and values team opinions over hers. From her personal experiences and while discussing with the team, she realised dominance was a trait she lacked the most. To be more dominant, she should have faith in her ideas and be able to influence her group with her ideas. She can do this by reading extensively about the task which would guide her to make   informed decisions. Also, she should voice her opinion out strongly which would make her feel more in control of the situation. Behavioral Leadership theory progressed from researching traits to looking at the impact of behaviour style. Two main types emerged from the research body; task and relationship behaviours. Task behaviours facilitate goal accomplishment (Northouse, 2004) and relationship behaviours focus on how comfortable subordinates feel in a situation (Northouse, 2004). Communication Barlet Communication is essentially the ability to transmit a message from one person to the other, whether this is information, an idea, a feeling or an emotion (Pardey, 2007). Pardey (2007) also identifies communication as one of five critical skills for all leaders and according to Bass (1990, cited by Bligh and Hess, 2007) as communications distinguishes leaders who are successful and effective from those who are not. An effective leader is one who has a deep understanding of others and has the ability to establish a shared vision and motivate those around them (Parker and Stone, 2003). Effective communication is instrumental for all those things to occur and frequently it is the solution to many difficulties faced by an organization (Ashman and Lawler, 2008). So far Barlet has not been particularly effective in communicating his ideas clearly, and this in some cases has undermined the quality and depth of his work. After discussing this with the team members, it was identified that ora l communication and presentation skills specifically were his weaknesses and it was suggested that thorough knowledge of the subject being discussed as well as practice would help in getting the message through and eventually improve communication. Improving tolerance Saran Tolerance is described in many sources as a prerequisite to leadership, not having it places a cloud over ones judgment and leads to inefficient use of resources. Drucker 1993 believed to achieve results, one has to use all the available strengths the strengths of the associates A lack of tolerant behaviour comes from two elements, ones own ego and personal aspirations, as well as the personality and views held. This as an issue as not being able to get the full use of the people being lead is a poor form of leadership. After discussion it was found that this behaviour became more dangerous when leading people who are described as total miss-fits and poor fits by the eligibility versus suitability quadrant. Trusting others ideas Jenny Jenny sees herself as task focused. When working on projects she has difficulty trusting others to deliver top quality work. She finds herself carefully double checking other team members work and this can make the team members feel degraded. According to Blake Moutons Managerial Grid ® she would have an Authority-Compliance style. This makes her concern for results high but her concern for people is at the lower end of the spectrum. Based on this Managerial Grid one way that Jennys behaviour could be altered would be to engage in more people focused activities. She could become more concerned in the interests, needs and problems of her followers (Doyle Smith, 2001). The group suggested that one way to also improve this was match the task at hand to the abilities of each group member, meaning that Jennys trust in them would be increased by her knowledge that they were skilled in that task. Another suggestion was to attempt to communicate more clearly to the group members the task requirements and thus reduce ambiguity. Finally Yukl, Gordon and Taber (2002) suggest that increasing time spent monitoring may make leaders more effective. Giving instructions Sandy As leadership is about gaining power to influence others through communication (Northouse, 2010), it is essential that a leader should be able to give instructions. Lussier and Achua believes that in any supervisory role, such as how well a manager give instructions will directly affect their leadership ability of leading and motivating employees in accomplishing the task (Lussier and Achua, 2003). Sandy finds it difficult to state her objective in a precise and clear manner, due to the lack of confidence and partly because she is not able to use her voice effectively to catch the attention. Therefore, her message becomes difficult to transmit and deliver to other people. Moreover, Sandy described herself as the democratic decision-making leadership style, that she allows people to make their own decisions and only state her opinion in the final stage of the discussion (Lewins leadership style). Therefore, she often fails to give instructions as a leader and become more of a facilita tor when reaching consensus in the group. In order to improve, she should develop a relationship with her group and become more empathic in their needs, as well as checking the receivers understanding to ensure they know what objectives they have to attain. And also make sure these tasks are achievable and have it done by a certain amount of time. Sandy should use her influence power and be more persuasive as an authority to follow up at these situations (Lussier and Achua, 2003). Time Management Athmika Schuler (1979, p. 854, as cited by Macan, 1994) asserted that time management means less stress for individuals, which means more efficient, satisfied, healthy employees, which in turn means more effective organizations. Athmika has always faced problems with proper time allocation of her work. She tends to procrastinate her work until the impending deadline. This leads to unnecessary stress and has also impeded her performance significantly. On discussion with the group, the group suggested that Athmika has to be more task-oriented and should organize her work as described under initiating structure in the Ohio state studies (Stogdill, 1974, as cited in Northouse, 2004). She should prioritize her work by preparing time audits. She also can improve her time management skills by setting realistic and attainable goals. Situational Leadership Fielder (1967) stated that there is no ideal leader, and that both relationship-oriented and task-oriented leaders can be effective if their leadership style fits the situation. Fielders Contingency Theory is one theory where the effectiveness of a leaders behaviour is determined by the situation he or she confronts. Fiedler stated that it was much easier for individuals to find a situation that matched their leadership style than to change their style to fit the situation (Stroh, Northcraft and Neale, 2002). In contrast to this, the Situational Leadership Model suggests that leaders should adopt their style. Hersey and Blanchard (1993, as cited in Fernandez and Vecchio, 1997) stated that leaders are most effective when they employ a leadership style which is most appropriate to the situation they face and to the followers readiness and maturity to complete the task. Path-Goal theory is another model which states that an effective leader is able to clarify the path to various goals o f interest and provide the opportunity/path for the follower to achieve such goals. This then should promote job satisfaction, leader acceptance and high effort (Stroh, Northcraft and Neale, 2002). Delegating situations Barlet Delegating is one of the four leadership styles characterized by Hersey and Blanchard (1977 as cited in Graeff, 1997). It involves the leader passing tasks or responsibilities to an individual or group while the leader is still involved in monitoring the progress. So far, Barlet has not been particularly effective in these situations, and this has often delayed progress and limited performance as he. This has mainly been due to his lack of trust in the team members ability to do a certain task, but also due to his indecisiveness. Hersey (1985) stated that a good leader develops the competence and commitment of their people so theyre self-motivated rather than dependent on others for direction and guidance and in this case, the leaders high expectations causes high performance by the followers. Therefore trusting your people and showing confidence in them by passing responsibility and allowing them to complete a task will get the best out of your team and it is a situation where Barle t needs to improve. While playing vLeader, Barlets natural style was very directing, speaking most of the time and controlling the conversation and kept scenario length very short. In scenario one, Barlet did most of the work in every idea and did not let Olie participate or speak much. While in this case it worked, in many other situations the leader has to focus on the overall objective and delegation becomes more important. This was clearly demonstrated in the Wolfgang Keller case study (Gabarro, 1997 (part of module readings)) where Keller realised that being able to delegate operations was important in allowing him to progress further in the organisation. Supporing situations Sara Supporting situations require a low directive and highly supportive behaviour. (Northouse, 2004)   Ã‚  The S3 square in the four leadership styles is a situation where the task receives more focus than the people.   Being able to act with this leadership quality would allow a leader to flourish in a situation where low motivation   and a some level of skills were present. This situation is becoming more prevalent as Druckers knowledge worker theory become more common place in the work place. Saran finds that when leading a team he does not always actively acknowledge another team members input, this will lead to individuals feeling that they have not been appreciated. After discussion it was decided that Saran should be more empathetic and less task orientated. He could achieve this by   dedicating more time to handing out instructions for the task. Setting goals could also play a part with regular progress reviews forcing a more supportive role. Another strategy could also b e to change his leadership style to a less authoritarian one. Unstructured situations Jenny A situation where Jenny felt she was weak in terms of leadership was one with little structure or direction on how to complete it. Typically in these situations Jenny finds herself being hesitant to direct the group in case she is not undertaking the correct procedure to get a positive end result. Fiedlers Contingency Theory (1964, as cited in Northouse, 2004, p. 109) looks at the impact of a unstructured situation in terms of leadership. Fiedlers Contingency Theory attempts to match the leaders style to the situation as a means of attaining effective leadership. Fiedlers model is based on the leader being task or relationship focused. Situational variables are also taken into account and these are characterised by looking at three factors: leader member relations, task structure and position power (Northouse, 2004). This theory does not however offer an explanation of what can be changed if the leader style cannot be matched to the situation. The group came up with several ways in w hich Jenny could improve in this situation. These included focusing on the goal of the task and try to use the other team members to contribute ideas about how to develop a plan to reach it. Jago (1982) also mentions that in such situations one should try to alter the situational variables by training although the usefulness of such training is not unequivocal. Stressful Situation Sandy Sandy often feels difficult in dealing with stressful situations, especially in demanding situations that focused specifically the performance of her work in a social environment setting. There are conventional views of leaders being a crucial and significant impact on their performance in organizations, that they are constrained with respect to different performance outcomes (Thomas, 1988). The Cognitive resource theory also proposed that stress has been a key factor and had a great impact in determining how intelligence can affect performance (Fielder 1987). And therefore in most stressful situations, since intelligence become less important but higher performance is required; Sandy experienced difficulty in using her knowledge to solve problems and these expectations has created an uncomfortable and undesirable feeling in which Sandy felt challenging in accomplishing the tasks. Situational Leadership theory by Blanchard (1985) discussed that different leadership style has to be ap plied appropriately to a given situation, depending on the competence and commitments of the subordinates (Northouse, 2004). So Sandy should try to include both directive (task-orientated) behaviours and supportive (relationship-orientated) behaviours, and focuses on goal achievement, and also be supportive and meet the needs of the subordinates (Northouse, 2004). To improve, Sandy should try to anticipate and plan ahead, establish objectives and goals at an early stage, and to prepare herself for the unexpected. She also needs to reflect on her performance, learn from the failure experiences and make necessary changes. Directing unfamiliar situations Athmika Athmika finds herself handicapped when faced with new, unfamiliar, or critical situations when the team faces a challenge where she is required to take on a directive leadership style. Directive leadership is defined as providing the members with a framework for decision making and action in alignment with the leaders vision (Fiedler, 1989, 1995; Sagie, 1997; Stogdill, 1974, as cited by Somech 2006, p. 135). Being directive requires the leader to communicate their knowledge and expertise to the group and also telling them how to complete the work (Murphy, Blyth Fielder, 1992). In order to lead in such situations, the group suggested that Athmika should have a good working knowledge of the task and a clear vision on how to achieve it. Athmika should play an active role in problem solving and decision making in order to be more directive (Bass, 1981, as cited in Murphy, Blyth Fielder, 1992). Conclusion Hackman and Wageman (2007) believe that despite the reams of research that have been conducted on leadership the field still remains notably unformed. Building on this Zaccaro (2007) states that within the trait theory of leadership a general consensus has also yet to emerge from the research regarding the role of leader traits, the degree of their influence and how they influence leadership, and the part they play in leadership situations. However leadership is still seen as being an important construct to undertake research on as well as being important as a social phenomenon (Hackman Wageman, 2007). Avolio has proposed the idea that new research are required to acknowledge how leaders have learnt from their past experiences, particularly how they respond and cope in difficult situations. Failure and error has provided opportunities for learning than success, and these experiences will generate data to affect ones assumptions and actions for improvements next time (Hackman Wageman, 2007). However, such decisions are not easy because it require an individual to overcome ones own reasoning, mental model, behaviour routines and may provoke anxiety (Hackman Wageman, 2007). One may argue that if we have already developed a leadership style, it will be rather fixed and consistent that will be difficult to change, others may argue that leadership styles should be changed according to situations in order to be more effective. Fielders contingency theory (1964) has introduced the idea that leadership effectiveness is depending on the suitability of the leader assign to a particular cont ext. As a result, different leadership styles will be matched to different situations; and therefore our group believe that there are still room for improvement for our traits and behaviours to match with a specific situation.

Freud’s Impact on Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and Giorgio de Chirico’s T

Freud’s Impact on Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and Giorgio de Chirico’s The Vexations of the Thinker      Ã‚   The 1920 publication of Beyond the Pleasure Principle formalized a meaningful shift in Sigmund Freud's theory of sexual drive: his original hypothesis distinguished the ego instincts from the sexual instincts.   Subsequent psychoanalytic researches force him to refine this configuration:    . . . psycho-analysis observed the regularity with which libido is withdrawn from the object and directed on the ego   (the process of introversion); and, by studying the libidinal development of children in its earliest phases, came to the conclusion that the ego is the true and original reservoir of libido, and that it is only from that reservoir that libido is extended on to objects. [1]    Freud recognizes the narcissistic nature of sexual instinct yet clings to a dual (read: non-Jungian) model for instinctual drive.   He ". . . describe[s] the opposition as being, not between ego-instincts and sexual instincts but between life instincts and death instincts"   (Freud 64).   Freud sees the natural goal of the sexual drive as reproduction - life - and the natural goal of the ego as death.   This newest polarity leads to Freud's exploration of the so-called "perversions", sadism and masochism, as they characterize the death instinct.      It may seem odd to equate sadism with narcissism considering that a sadist receives pleasure only from another's pain.   "[But] is it not plausible," Freud asks, "to suppose that this sadism is in fact a death instinct which, under the influence of the narcissistic ego, has been forced away from the ego and consequently only emerged in relation to the object?"   He goes on to explain tha... ...irico builds a wall of narcissism to entrap his solitary figure.   This fact leads me to draw a parallel between the figure in de Chirico's painting and Charlotte Brontà «'s Heathcliff.   Both suffer unnecessarily.   Arguably, both would be better off dead.   But their pain keeps them going even as it slowly kills them.   Life serves death serves . . . life.   Yes, we are slowly moving toward death, but each step is a lively one.       Works Cited    [1] Sigmund Freud.   Beyond the Pleasure Principle.   New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1961 (62).   Hereafter cited parenthetically. [2] During the oral stage of organization of the libido, the act of obtaining erotic mastery over an object coincides with that object's destruction   (Freud 65). [3] Charlotte Brontà «.   Wuthering Heights.   New York: TOR Books, 1989 (177).   Hereafter cited parenthetically.   

Divorce, the Cause and Effect

The divorce rate in America is at an all time high with approximately 41% of the first time marriages and 60% of second marriages ending in a divorce, which I am a statistic of both. Two major causes that lead to a rise of divorce rates is lack of communication and financial problems; the overall effect of a divorce is a person’s general happiness. One of the primary reasons why people cannot stay married is a lack of communication. Communication is a vital element in a marriage couples need to discuss their problems with one another. If a couple does not discuss how they feel, their spouse will never understand what they are feeling. Open communication will allow each other to know the situation he/she does not like, so that maybe they will be more considerate of the others feelings, and will adjust to accommodate the other spouse. We should also listen to what our spouse is trying to tell us; sometimes we hear, but we do not listen. For example, if we find ourselves arguing over the same topic over and over again, that means one of us was not listening. Communication is a vital key to a successful marriage and without communication; the marriage is doom to fail. I can personally attest to this. I have been married three times, the first was a cause other than communication, but the second was defiantly due to the lack of communication and one not being able to accept what the other one was saying. The second cause of divorce is financial problems. Sometimes when there is financial hardships due to the loss of a job, economy, or illness, a spouse will lose control oppose to keeping their composure and supporting a loved one. Just because you spouse got laid off from work does not mean that everything is going to crumble. This is the time a spouse should be supportive of the other spouse in a new job search. If the financial problems are due to over spending and living beyond one’s means, then the two spouses shall sit down and discuss their spending habits and ways to correct the problem. Effects of a divorce can be general happiness. Some people after a divorce can be severely depressed because they feel they have lost everything. People realize the places and things they used to do were as a couple. A person feels isolated and alone at a married friends house, a person especially females no longer feel the financial stability, and security. Some people need a companion all the time; so the loneliness leads to depression and they cannot cope without having someone with them, leading to medication or alcohol to try to overcome the depression. In conclusion, I believe that if a couple communicates with each other and will support one another financially through difficult times they will have a successful marriage. If a person has a successful marriage, then they should be a happier person. The divorce rate would be lower if people would sit down and take the time to realize what they want and what their spouse wants. Before a couple gets married they need to learn to communicate and be financially supportive of each other, then that is when a couple knows that they are ready for marriage.

The President National Security essays

The President National Security essays The Presidents role in National Security has been a topic of enduring debate in U.S. politics from the Constitutional Convention to our present day situation in Kosovo. Nearly every American President has had to struggle with this issue and deal with the Constitutions separation of power between Congress and the Executive. The President and Congress share the war-making powers, treaty-making and foreign policy powers, and among many others, the power to place desired officials into certain offices. These powers, though disliked by many, are shared so as to protect the people of this nation with our grass roots system of checks and balances. Most critics of shared powers focus on the areas of war-making and foreign policy. This conflict can be traced all the way back to the struggle between Hamilton and Madison. After what was said to be a series of failed Presidencies (Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter), one group of modern Hamiltonians wanted to increase the power of the President explicitly. They hope to reach their goals legitimately through legislation and constitutional amendments. Another group of Hamiltonians emerged informally after the Presidency of Ronald Reagan and the Irangate controversy. Group members asserted that, The President and the President alone, should exercise exclusive authority in at least four vital areas: the power to go to war; the power to both initiate and carry out foreign policy; the power to appoint officials to the highest posts in the country with only the pro forma advice and consent of the Senate. (#6, p.57) They also wanted the Congress to only be able to make minor modificat ions to the Presidents domestic budget policy. Other advocates of these positions are seeking a more unitary state similar to those of modern parliamentary democracies like Great Britain. Many are envious of the British Prime Ministers abil...

Provide a critical analysis of the concept of Essays

Provide a critical analysis of the concept of Essays Provide a critical analysis of the concept of Essay Provide a critical analysis of the concept of Essay The construct of hybridity has been widely used with mention to the art of the last three decennaries of the 20th century. How successfully does it place features specific to art of that period? First of all, hybridity is an of import term which permeates about every facet of modern-day civilization, including high art and low art, pop civilization and elect civilization. It is the focal point of a broad assortment of cross-disciplinary idea processes affecting the province of and effects produced by planetary multiculturalism. In fact, â€Å"the current leitmotiv of multicultural discourse is hybridity. To talk today as a multiculturalist is to talk of civilization as open-ended, permeable, and continuously ( rhenium ) produced by cross-cultural brushs ; a border district topos where the lives of people from a multiplicity of backgrounds are invariably crossing and crisscrossing and thereby bring forthing a polyvalent gathering of new cultural meanings.’† ( Duarte, 1997 ) What Duarte refers to here is an even greater phenomology in the manner we construct, procedure, understand, and express significance: postmodernism. Postmodernism refers to the synthesis of many different cultural motions, a hybridity if you will, and medley, of many different cultural and artistic beginnings. Hybridity and postmodernism, as artistic and cultural constructs, are in direct resistance to the thoughts of purification and liberty associated with modernism. The postmodern creative person feels free to pull from many different schools of idea, influences, and techniques, rejecting – either consciously or unconsciously – the impression that art can be objectively and strictly, free of cultural or personal context. While there is much argument within the critical-cultural and assorted artistic communities as to the precise minute where modernism ended and postmodernism began, most bookmans agree that postmodernism’s roots were as a 20Thursdaycentury phenomenon, most specifically, artistically talking were localized in the last three decennaries of the 20Thursdaycentury. This belief, much like postmod ernism itself, is non an randomly or free-standing theory. It exists within the context of and in tandem with the globalisation of civilization and art. As communications engineering connected different civilizations and cross-pollinated them, film overing differentiations in favour of a medley of planetary cultural motions, so went artistic motions. A diverse array of civilizations and artistic motions were free to borrow specific patterns, techniques, and media from one another and blend them freely, emancipating creative persons from the quintessentially modernistic prison of lodging with arbitrary impressions of media- or movement-specific patterns. Scholarly geographic expeditions of postmodernism and cultural hybridity in late 20Thursday-century art are every bit legion as the medley elements of the motions themselves. Art historiographers and cultural bookmans Gil Perry and Paul Wood have compiled a reasonably impressive overview of the period, nevertheless, in theirSubjects in Contemporary Art. Postmodernism, as they explain, found some of its most affecting roots in the alleged ‘anti-form’ motion in the United States, which was the art world’s version of the greater American countercultural motion distributing across the state in the sixtiess, dramatically framed and inspired by the morass struggle in Vietnam. In trend during this epoch were the rejection of absolutist impressions of the domination of Western civilization and social constructions, every bit good as a rejection of the infallibility and built-in goodness of Western authoritiess ; as a direct effect, the music and art of the clip either rej ected the patriarchal and autocratic constructions in the originative communities. To the extent that signifier in art could be construed as a contemplation of these patriarchal and autocratic paradigms, creative persons chose to reject rigidness of signifier and boldly began to research new ways to animate and inform their work. As consciousness of other civilizations and motions grew exponentially thanks to communicating engineerings, emboldened creative persons liberally borrowed from any cultural beginning that inspired them, rejecting, for illustration, the impression that Western signifier was built-in superior to Asiatic or African signifier. An organic extension of the countercultural anti-form motions in art communities was the inspiration to reject the impression that an creative person would, as in the modernist existence, be inherently limited to the confines and usage of a individual medium. Technology once more was the accelerator here ; agencies of arising, entering, reproducing, and pass oning assorted art signifiers proliferated wildly and with them, a assortment of creative persons who combined more than one media within single plants of art. Art genres known as picture, public presentation, and installation art began to proliferate in the 1970s and became widely accepted into the alleged mainstream in the 1980s and 1990s. The music picture, pioneered in the late seventiess and early 1980s, is possibly the most popular illustration, a combination of the art signifiers of music and movie to either compliment one another’s significance or to make a new significance wholly. Previous to the music picture, mu sical creative persons such as England’s Pink Floyd recontextualized and augmented their studio musical recordings with amazing ocular presentations for audiences who came to see them on circuit. Other creative persons added even a 3rd dimension to this impression, uniting unrecorded and recorded music, live and recorded picture footage, and unrecorded public presentations in forepart of an audience, such as American experimental musician/performer Laurie Anderson’s seminal womens rightist plants of the 1980s and 1990s. Another womens rightist who transcended media boundaries was Ana Mendieta, a Cuban whoseSilueta( Silhouette ) series of graphics depicted her bare organic structure integrated either literally or symbolically into a assortment of natural scenes – runing from dirt and clay to corner short pantss and H2O. In making so, she non merely borrowed freely from a assortment of genre traditions, but cultural traditions runing from her ain Cuban roots to Af rican and South American earth-worshiping art signifiers. During the conservative cultural recoil spawned by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, homosexual creative persons – peculiarly those enduring with AIDS – found new and frequently lurid agencies of showing themselves through public presentation art affecting their organic structures, or extensions of their organic structures. California-based public presentation creative person Ron Athey, a homosexual agony with AIDS, performed unrecorded phase shows in which he pierced and cut his organic structure while fazing music played, pulling considerable sums of blood out of himself and every bit considerable daze from audiences. Athey and his like inspired other creative persons to make such subgenres as alleged ‘installation’ art, fixed multi-media art signifiers which had their roots in traditional art exhibits but which frequently featured synergistic audiovisual elements and demanded a more active res ponse from the ‘experiencer’ of the art piece. From a cultural point of view, postmodernism and its attendant hybridity was a blessing to diverseness within the artistic. Artists working within a assortment of genres threw off the bonds of Western hegemony, and therefore minority cultural voices – Afro-american, homosexual, feminist, Asiatic, Native American, Australian Aboriginal, merely to call a few – all found powerful voices and even took inspiration from each other. The power of the Internet, for illustration, allowed many creative persons to larn about civilizations, art signifiers, and genres that they had neer heard of, much less attempted to incorporate into their ain work. While on the surface, this phenomenology may look to hold lent itself to cultural imperialism and the colza and loot of autochthonal minority art signifiers and motions – and so, transnational corporations committed crying misdemeanors in this sphere – for the most portion, artists from a Western civilizations were non mer ely able to integrate minority art signifiers into their ain work, but every bit significantly, supply planetary limelight on and exposure to heretofore underexplored or underappreciated civilizations and art signifiers, such as, for illustration, Australian Aboriginal work alluded to above. Specifically, a signifier of art as arcane and unknown as the alone pictures produced by the little Aboriginal Yuendumu community of Northern Australia has been given well-deserved international acknowledgment and acclamation by virtuousness of other creative persons and supporters who helped convey consciousness of Yuendumu work to the larger planetary community via the Internet. The website Australian Aboriginal Artists ( www.aboriginalartprints.com.au ) features a breathless choice of Aboriginal work, including Paddy Sims piece â€Å"Yanjirlpiri – Star† . This piece, while on its surface may look to picture a simple set of geometric forms in a sea of midnight blue, is really a c omplex narrative contemplation on Aboriginal fabulous coupling rites. Interestingly, these fabulous narrations bear some similarity to Greek and Roman myths sing the amative wonts of their Gods, imparting acceptance to the theories, advanced by psychoanalyst Carl Jung and subsequently expounded upon by cultural anthropologist Joseph Campbell, that all human existences portion a corporate unconscious full of cosmopolitan and archetypical symbols, and that all human art, every bit diverse as it may be, explores the same sets of subjects in similar narrations. This is both a proof and a contradiction to the postmodern elements of globalisation and hybridity. Is at that place non a modernist angle to the impression that no affair how unambiguously a assortment of civilizations manifest their art, in intercrossed techniques and media, we as worlds are limited to a finite figure of unconsciously derived narrations? The reply may lie in whether these narrations expand in figure as our planetary small town both psychiatrists and evolves at the same time throug h engineering. In the terminal, ironically, all we may hold to research these inquiries is the really art whose cogency is undermined by the very nature of the inquiries we are compelled to inquire about ourselves. Bibliography Duarte, Eduardo Manuel. â€Å"Self as Post-Colonial Pastiche: Historical Artifact and Multicultural Ideal, † Hofstra University Press, 1997. Gaiger, Jason ( ed. )Models for Modern Art. Yale University Press, 2004. Wood, Paul and Perry, Gill ( ed. )Subjects in Contemporary Art. Yale University Press, 2005. Simms, Paddy. â€Å"Yanjirlpiri – Star† , Painting available from: â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //aboriginalartprints.com.au/_aboriginal_art_profile.cfm? CFID=553953 A ; CFTOKEN=83904553

Professionalism of aviation in human factor Essay

Professionalism of aviation in human factor - Essay Example The authors also believe that knowledge in the aviation industry is accumulated through several years of experience, training, and exposure to the real world. A lot of accidents have been reported, and 75% of them have been due to unprofessionalism from the pilots and crew members (Kinnaird). The paper looks at an insight of several accidents that have been reported to have been caused by unprofessionalism of the crew members. However, judgment is considered as one of the fundamental aspects in maintaining professionalism in the aviation industry. Judgment acts as a basis of safety according to the authors. The authors argue that it is also through training and discipline that professionalism is developed. As a pilot, courage is necessary while making decisions and accepting the responsibility of the actions an individual takes as a pilot. That is because pilots carry lots of human lives that must be protected. Research indicates that a lot of errors that occur in the aviation industry are usually caused by pilot error. The researchers argue that their findings put pilot errors at 75% of all the mishaps that occur in the aviation industry by the year 2000 (Thompson). It has also been found that personal problems such as medical conditions, stress and family instability also contribute to pilot errors. Alcoholism has also been pointed out by many researchers as a cause for unprofessionalism. Lack of adequate training and newly acquired rules in the aviation industry has also been cited (Rizzo). It must be noted that the current world is quickly changing in terms of science and technology something that has also been rampant in the aviation industry. For this reason, the National Transportation Safety Board insists in atomization in order to enhance professionalism and safety in the industry. Social problems like welcoming a new born in the

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

Novartis - Essay Example In addition, the company is concerned about the role of its employees in the provision of quality services and achieving the company’s performance target. To facilitate the objective, Novartis introduced the annual energy excellence awards to motivate its employees. Although, Novartis has promoted an extensive performance management process, their efforts have not attained the desired levels of expectation. The Performance Management Process Can Be Considered ‘Strategic’ Novartis PM Process is strategic since it links other HR polices such reward, talent development and training with its performance management policies. This is a good strategy since it enables the company to achieve its management objectives through direct approach. The pay for performance system is strategic since it enables the company to motivate its employees by rewarding them for exceptional performance. Moreover, the company can evaluate the value of its employees in terms of the value that they contribute to the company. Rewarding employees for exceptional performance also enables them to benefits from their initiatives and handwork (Randle, 2007). To implement the performance program Novartis has implemented a training program to equip its staff with the required skills. Although the PM process is rewarding in the short term, it cannot be relied upon in the long term. This is because; employee’s performance is limited to several factors including their ability and perf ormance capacity. Moreover, the policy does not promote loyalty and skill development among the company staff. This is because the employees are only concerned with the gains they are making out of their performance rather than the overall performance of the company. The HR policy does not help to sharpen the skills of individual employees since it focuses on the overall performance of the team rather than the performance of individuals. Line managers rather than HR staff drive the process. This is an advantage as well as a disadvantage to the company in terms of skill development and company’s performance. Line managers are more inclined to production and overall company’s’ performance rather than skill development. This makes them less suitable for the job considering that the company needs to establish a long-term relation with its customers. Alternatively, being managed by line managers is superior to being managed by HR officers since they focus on the prod uction aspect of an employee. Components & Techniques of the Process PM components and techniques involve employee rating and performance evaluation. The â€Å"First Steps 2006/7 was the first Novartis PM process for all V&D staff. The rating process was used to determine and categorize employees according to their performance capacity. Throughout the PM process, measuring or rating employees according to their performance ability is essential. However, the process is not beneficial to members of staff since it only targets employee’s performance rather than the cause of poor or exceptional performance (Marketline, 2012). The process only provides a comparison on employee’s performance rather than the cause of poor performance among employees. Consequently, the pulse check 2008 provides a review of employee’s performance rather than strategies to improve the performance. The survey emphasizes on identifying key improvements that have led to the company’s development. This is not a strategic move since it does not define any specific plan or activity that will lead to the company’