Othello Essay, Appearance vs Reality - 1175 Words

Throughout history there has been a general understanding that appearances can be deceiving. A person may go through life without anyone understanding the true reality of their character. William Shakespeare, one of the greatest writers of all time, understood the relationship between appearance and reality and often gave characters two sides to their personality. One of the most fundamental questions in philosophy is the one of appearance vs. reality. We find ourselves asking the question of what is genuinely â€Å"real,† and what is viewed merely as just an â€Å"appearance,† and not real? It becomes difficult when we assume there is a difference in the two to determine which is which. Generally, what we label as â€Å"real† is regarded as external†¦show more content†¦In each case, Iago manipulates Othello into seeing and believing what he wants him to, rather than the reality of what is actually happening. In this way, Iago becomes a kind of ‘director’. This character made up by Shakespeare is a villain mastermind hiding under the appearance of a military veteran from Venice. His attempt to manipulate and deceive the other characters in this play revolves around his obsessive, relentless, bold and ingenious personality. In various points in the play, he claims to be motivated by different reasons. Some of the reasons are: resentment that Othello passed him over a promotion in favour of Michael Cassio and he thinks Othello and Cassio both slept with his wife Emilia. We are introduced to the antagonist, Iago and another character that shares hate for Othello also because he loves Desdemona in Act 1 Scene 1. The first line in Act 1 Scene 1 states Tush, never tell me! I take it much unkindly. That thou, iago, whon hast had my purse. As if the strings were thine, shouldst know of this In translation ‘All this time I’ve thought you were such a good friend that I’ve let you spend my money as if it was yours’. 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Exercise 1.4 is a â€Å"Fill in the blanks,† with the answers on the next page, as is Exercise 2.3 â€Å"Sport history firsts,† and the essays in Exercise 2.4 have suggested inclusions for answers. If you are interested in doing survey scholarship, there are two examples here: Exercise 4.5 offers directions on how to get information on audiences for the Olympic Games, along with a sample

A Comparison of the American and the Japanese Health Care Systems Free Essays

string(69) " for by private insurance \(American Hospital Association 2005, 6\)\." Both the United States and Japan are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, an organization composed of industrialized countries) and as such both countries are under the pressure to live up to a certain median when it comes to the quality of health care. Apart from the median created by OECD countries, the US and Japan are also equally pressured by such organizations as the World Health Organization (WHO) that sets up checklists for good health care systems. In a report last 2000 on the health care systems of 191 countries, WHO set some goals for a health care system. We will write a custom essay sample on A Comparison of the American and the Japanese Health Care Systems or any similar topic only for you Order Now These goals are the following: good health, responsiveness, and fairness in financing (WHO in Bureau of Labor Education of the University of Maine 2001, 1). By â€Å"good health† WHO refers to the good health status of the entire population although out the human being’s life cycle. â€Å"Responsiveness,† on the other hand, refers to â€Å"the extent to which caregivers are responsive to the client/patient expectations with regard to non-health areas such as being treated with dignity and respect† (Bureau of Labor and Education o the University of Maine 2001, 6). Fairness in financing generally refers to the progressiveness of the health care system wherein those who have less are also to spend less on medical care. These goals shall be utilized to evaluate and compare the Japanese and the American health care systems. But before an effective evaluation and comparison could be done, it will be important to individually describe the health care systems of these two countries. As such, this paper shall consist o the following parts: a description of the American health care system; a description of the Japanese health care system; an evaluation and the comparison of the two health care systems. The American Health Care System A. The Framework of the American Health Care System The American Health Care System could best be illustrated using figure 1. In figure 1, it could be noted that there are two insurance systems in America, public and private. Public insurance system refers to Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), and the Veteran’s Administration (VA). Private insurance system, on the other hand, refers to either employer-sponsored insurance or private non-group insurance. We shall discuss each of these types. Medicare is a federal program that insures seniors aged 65 and above as well as some disabled individuals (Chua 2006, 2). This is a single-payer, government-administered program that covers hospital services, physician services, as well as prescription drug services (Chua 2006, 2). Medicare is financed three ways: federal income taxes, payroll tax (paid both by employers and employees), and individual enrollee premiums (Chua 2006, 2). There are individual enrollee premiums because even if Medicare provides the above-mentioned services, there are still important services that are not covered without the premium coverage. These premium services include nursing facilities; preventive care coverage; and coverage for dental, hearing, or vision care. This means that the elderly who are covered by Medicare would many times still need to avail of premium services and as such, they contribute a total of 22% of their income for the cost of health care (Chua 2006, 2). Medicaid is a state-administered health insurance program that provides coverage to low income citizens and disabled; specifically, this insurance â€Å"covers very poor pregnant women, children, disabled, and parents† (Chua 2006, 2). As for its administration, Medicaid is paid for by the state and the federal government. At the very least, the federal government pays $1 for every dollar that the state pays for (Chua 2006, 2). Unlike Medicare, Medicaid offers a more comprehensive health benefits. S-CHIP is like Medicaid as regards administration but it is specifically for children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid due to their income but still do not make enough money to provide insurance for their children. VA is a state-sponsored health insurance service for the veterans of the military. This insurance provides comprehensive health benefits that make the veteran spend almost nothing for health care. Employer-sponsored insurance refers to private health insurance services the premium of which are largely paid for by employers. Under this system are the many organizations that offer health maintenance (HMOs). This is where corporations like Aetna and Kaiser Permanente fall. The coverage offered as well as the degree of co-sharing by the different HMOs differ also (Chua 2006, 3). Private non-group health insurance is the sort of insurance availed by those who are self-employed and those that could not avail of employer-sponsored insurance. This sort of insurance allows the insurance company to impose rules regarding pre-existing conditions. Usually, pre-existing conditions are not covered by the insurance. This sort of insurance is fully administered by the HMOs and the benefits vary widely as well. B. Characteristics and Problems of the American Health Care System The American Health Care System is mostly a combination and interaction of public and private entities. This is most exemplified by the two general types of health insurance services: the public and the private. This fact could be demonstrated by a 2003 statistics on Health Insurance Coverage of the nonelderly (in Chua 2006, 1). This statistics shows that 62% of nonelderly Americans receive private employer-sponsored insurance, while 5% purchase their insurance in the market (Chua 2006, 1). 18% of these nonelderly individuals are in public insurance like Medicaid or Medicare, while the remaining 15% are uninsured (Chua 2006, 1). Elderly Americans aged 65 years and above are mostly insured through Medicaid (Chua 2006, 1). Or, better yet, we might as well look at statistics from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid represented as a pie graph in figure 2(American Hospital Association 2005, 6). In the 2003 statistics on the â€Å"Distribution of US Health Care Expenditures by Payer Source,† of the total $1. 7 trillion expenditures on health care, more than half are paid for by private entities. The lion’s share goes to private insurance. In this statistics, 35. 8% are paid for by private insurance (American Hospital Association 2005, 6). You read "A Comparison of the American and the Japanese Health Care Systems" in category "Papers" Consumer’s out-of-pocket spending on health care account for 13. 7% of the 2003 health care expenditure, while other private expenditure account for 4. 8% of the expenditure. Medicare, a government health insurance system, pays for 17% of health care expenses, while Medicaid, another government health insurance system, shoulders 16% of the expenditure. The remaining 12. 7% of expenditure is paid for by other government systems like the S-CHIP and VA (Centers American Hospital Association 2005, 6; Chua 2006, 2). As such, we could see that the American Health Care System’s expenditure is more than 50% private. In spite of the big percentage in the budget that the federal government allots to health care, probably the biggest budget allotment in the OECD countries, a big percentage of health expenditures is handled by private entities. It is worth mentioning that America is spending on the average 15% of its GDP on health care when the average on OECD countries is only 8. 6% (Chua 2006, 5). This also means that America has the highest per capita spending on health care compared to other OECD Countries. It was documented that almost 10 years ago, the US was already the biggest per capita spender among its OECD colleagues. It spent $4,178 per capita while Switzerland, then second to the US on per capita spending, spent only $2794 per capita on health care. In spite of the big role of private entities and the high percentage in budget that health care system has, a big percentage of non-elderly adults are uninsured (15% are uninsured as we saw above). This means that millions of adults in the working age have to spend their own money for health services. This also means that probably America is the only developed country that does not provide health services to all its citizens (Bureau of Labor Education in the University of Maine 2001, 3). Another problem is the fact that the United States has a high infant mortality rate compared to the other OECD counties. In fact, the United States ranked 26th in infant mortality rate among the industrialized countries (Bureau of Labor Education in the University of Maine 2001, 5). Neither did America rank well in disability-adjusted life expectancy ranking 24th among OECD countries (Bureau of Labor Education in the University of Maine 2001, 5). This means that a number of Americans expect to live parts of their lives in disability which probably is a consequence of not having access to health care (as a big percentage of nonelderly are uninsured). Aside from these problems, American health care is also characterized by a deficit in resources as most emergency departments in hospitals report of being â€Å"at† or â€Å"over† capacity (American Hospital Association 2005, 25). In figure 3, we could see a bar graph showing how some hospitals (especially teaching hospitals) could be at 43% beyond capacity. Such a lack could be accounted for largely by the lack of critical care beds, and not necessarily by overcrowding, in these emergency departments (American Hospital Association 2005, 27). This would mean that a number of hospitals, both in their emergency departments and intensive care units, would need to spend time on diversion (American Hospital Association 2005, 26). These are all ironical problems in a country that is supposed to be most advanced in economy and technology. The Japanese Health Care System A. The Framework of the Japanese Health Care System The Japanese Health Care System, in contrast to the American system, offers coverage for all the citizens. This system offers services that are fairly comprehensive. Currently, the Japanese Health Care System provides â€Å"a basic package of benefits (including medical consultation, drugs, and other materials; medical treatment, surgery, and other services; home care treatment and nursing; and hospitalization and nursing at medical institutions) and they may offer additional benefits (e. g. , funeral benefits, maternity allowances) under the collective scheme† (Ward and Piccolo 2004). This system is best illustrated by figure 4. Health services are paid for in four ways: health insurance contributions, by patient co-payments, by taxes, and by out-of-pocket payments (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 10). Health services are given by providers which could be categorized according to the following: hospitals, doctors’ clinics, health centers, and pharmacies. Most hospitals are categorized as general hospitals which mean that beds are allocated for long term care. These hospitals are closed to doctors who have clinics, these clinics being capable of minimum bed capacity of 12 (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 11) and may have the latest medical devices needed for diagnosis. Pharmacies may have their own doctors who may dispense their own prognoses and prescriptions. Nursing services are also considered as health providers. The insurance services, though provided by more or less 5,000 HMOs, are largely non-autonomous non-governmental bodies (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 13). These HMOs are basically in charge of operating the compulsory national health insurance system (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 13). These HMOs experience control by the national and local governments. In fact, even doctors’ fees as well as other health services fees are standardized. The Japanese Health Care System may be categorized into two big divisions: the Social Insurance System (SIS) and the National Health Insurance (NHI) (Ward and Piccolo 2004). People are assigned to a health insurance such that those who are working in a company or office are assigned in the SIS, while everyone else who cannot be classified as working in a company or office (including self-employed professionals) should fall under the NHI (Ward and Piccolo 2004). 63% of the population is insured under the SIS. Under the SIS, employers pay 50 to 80% of the premium while employees, depending on their income, pay around 8. 5% of their income for health insurance premium. In this system, the insured and their dependents pay 20-30% of in-patient and out-patient costs, at the same time act as co-payers in prescription drugs (Ward and Piccolo 2004). The NIH system, on the other hand, covers the remaining 37% of the population. Premiums paid by the insured depend on incomes and assets. The insured as well as their dependents are required to be co-payers of 30% of the cost. In spite of the requirement for co-payment, Japan offers a co-payment cap: â€Å"The cap is at ? 63,600 (US$600) per month, with the average monthly disposable income being ? 561,000 (US$5,300)† (Ward and Piccolo 2004). In addition, those who are elderly may benefit from long-term insurance which covers 90% of long-term maintenance costs. B. Problems with the Japanese Health Care System The Japanese Health Care System boasts of having state-of-the-art equipment accessible to its citizens. In fact, Japan has the highest CT and MRI scanners per capita among all countries. Japan also has low infant mortality rate in spite of lower GDP spending (7. 6%) for health care, well within the OECD median (Ward and Piccolo 2004). Japan is also able to provide co-payment cap though like the United States, Japan’s health system is also highly paid for by private entities: â€Å"Japan spent ? 29. 8 trillion (US$280 billion) on healthcare, of which 53% was covered by insurance, 32. 3% by the government, and 14. 8% by patients’ co-payments† (Ward and Piccolo 2004). Nevertheless, the Japanese Health Care System has its own share of problems. For one, unlike in most Western countries, specialization does not matter as much as in America. What matters is where a doctor is affiliated, thus making the distinction between a general practitioner and a specialist blurred. This makes having a â€Å"family doctor† difficult to have and standardization difficult to come by (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 13). Also, Japan has 2 to 3 times longer hospitalization time compared to other countries which means that Japan would need more beds to accommodate patients (National Coalition on Health Care, 3). Probably the biggest problem that the system is facing is the increasing number of elderly population which would obviously strain (National Coalition on Health Care, 3). There is also the problem of weak preventive care as well as low public awareness on â€Å"taboo† illnesses such as HIV and AIDS (Ward and Piccolo 2004). Comparison Between the Two Health Care Systems In the introduction, we spoke of the WHO requirement for good health, responsiveness, and fairness in financing. Let us evaluate the two systems based on these WHO goals. The American system, aside from the problems posed above, obviously lacks in its ability to provide â€Å"good health† for the entire population. For one, the American health care system does not cover the entire American population. There is just no mandate for such. The Japanese system is obviously different. Japan has a national mandate for universal coverage. This means that the Japanese system is made in such a way that all Japanese would have to fall into one of the two insurance systems. The fact that all Japanese are insured at the same time Japanese spending on health care against GNP is well within the OECD median is something that Americans would have to learn from. The very concept of a co-payment cap is a very good thing that makes health care more responsive to the call for â€Å"good health for the entire population. † As regards responsiveness, the fact that millions of Americans are uninsured automatically makes them not capable of even evaluating client/patient relations for issues such as dignity, respect, etcetera. Nevertheless, the Japanese system also has room for improvement as the existence of â€Å"taboo† sicknesses would obviously compromise the treatment of patients with dignity and respect. Lastly, as regards the requirement for fairness in financing, the Japanese system is way better than the American system. To a certain extent, the American system would make it difficult for certain parts of the population to be insured as they are not too poor to qualify for Medicaid but they are also not employed nor financially endowed enough to pay for private insurance. This is totally not a problem in the Japanese system. How to cite A Comparison of the American and the Japanese Health Care Systems, Papers

Corporate Social Responsibility free essay sample

Q. Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the hottest issues in corporate boardrooms these days, partly because it is becoming increasingly important to employees and other stakeholders. In your opinion, why have stakeholders given CSR more attention recently? Does abiding by CSR standards potentially cause companies to have conflicting objectives with some stakeholders in some situation? Yes. It is very much true that CSR is one of the hottest and limelight issue in corporate world. Organization are striving hard to meet CSR at any cost as it build the image of the organization. An organization which spends on CSR is reflected as a good and society friendly company in the eyes of its employees, stakeholders and the outside world. Tata is one of the best example who are the founder of CSR in India. While they have started their first steel industry in 1868 they abide by CSR by developing various schools, hospitals, buildings for national interest etc. CSR There is no universally agreed statement of just what CSR means and implies, and ideas on the subject are still developing. All the same, a common body of policy has now taken shape and won general approval among those who favors the approach. According to this way of thinking, a combination of recent changes on the world scene and pressures from public opinion now requires businesses to take on a new role, a newly defined mission. They should play a leading part in achieving the shared objectives of public policy and making the world a better place. In doing so, they should embrace the notion of corporate citizenship. They should run their affairs, in close conjunction with a group of different stakeholders, to pursue the common goal of sustainable development. Sustainable development is said to have three dimensions-economic, environmental and social. Hence, companies should set objectives, measure their performance, and have that performance independently audited, in relation to all three. They should aim to meet the triple bottom line, rather than focusing narrowly on profitability and shareholder value. All this applies to privately owned businesses in general and in particular to large multinational enterprises. Only by acting in this way can companies respond to societys expectations. Making such a positive response is presented as the key to long-run commercial success for individual corporations in todays world. This is because profits depend on reputation, which in turn depends increasingly on being seen to act in a socially responsible way. Thus taking the path of CSR will in fact be good for enterprise profitability: it will bring and sustain support and custom from outside the firm, and make for greater loyalty and keenness from its employees. To embrace corporate citizenship represents enlightened self-interest on the part of business. There is also a wider dimension, going beyond the individual corporation. The adoption of CSR by businesses generally is seen as necessary to ensure continuing public support for the private enterprise system as a whole. Corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility is necessarily an evolving term that does not have a standard definition or a fully recognized set of specific criteria. With the understanding that businesses play a key role on job and wealth creation in society, CSR is generally understood to be the way a company achieves a balance or integration of economic, environmental and social imperatives while at the same time addressing shareholder and stakeholder expectations. CSR is generally accepted as applying to firms wherever they operate in the domestic and global economy. The way businesses engage/involve the shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and other stakeholders is usually a key feature of the concept. While business compliance with laws and regulations on social, environmental and economic objectives set the official level of CSR performance, CSR is often understood as involving the private sector commitments and activities that extend beyond this foundation of compliance with laws. From a progressive business perspective, CSR usually involves focusing on new opportunities as a way to respond to interrelated economic, societal and environmental demands in the marketplace. Many firms believe that this focus provides a clear competitive advantage and stimulates corporate innovation. CSR is generally seen as the business contribution to sustainable development, which has been defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, and is generally understood as focusing on how to achieve the integration of economic, environmental, and social imperatives. CSR also overlaps and often is synonymous with many features of other related concepts such as corporate sustainability, corporate accountability, corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, corporate stewardship, etc. CSR commitments and activities typically address aspects of a firms behavior (including its policies and practices) with respect to such key elements as; health and safety, environmental protection, human rights, human resource management practices, corporate governance, community development, and consumer protection, labor protection, supplier relations, business ethics, and stakeholder rights. Corporations are motivated to involve stakeholders in their decision-making and to address societal challenges because todays stakeholders are increasingly aware of the importance and impact of corporate decisions upon society and the environment. The stakeholders can reward or punish corporations. Corporations can be motivated to change their corporate behavior in response to the business case, which a CSR approach potentially promises. This includes: 1)Stronger financial performance and profitability (e. g. hrough eco- efficiency), 2)Improved accountability to and assessments from the investment community, 3)Enhanced employee commitment, 4)Decreased vulnerability through stronger relationships with communities, 5)Improved reputation and branding. Historical context The view that a business can have obligations that extend beyond economic roles is not new in many respects. Throughout recorded history, the roles of organizations producing goods and services for the marketplace were frequently linked with and include political, social, and/or military roles. For example, throughout the early evolutionary stages of company development in England (where organizations such as the Hudson Bay Company and the East India Company received broad mandates), there was a public policy understanding that corporations were to help achieve societal objectives such as the exploration of colonial territory, setting up settlements, providing transportation services, developing bank and financial services, etc.. During the nineteenth century, the corporation as a business form of organization evolved rapidly in the US. It took on a commercial form that spelled out responsibilities of the board of directors and management to shareholders (i. e. fiduciary duty). In this later evolutionary form, public policy frequently addressed specific social domains such as health and safety for workers, consumer protection, labour practices, environmental protection, etc. Thus, corporations responded to social responsibilities because they were obligated to comply with the law and public policy. They also responded voluntarily to market demands that reflected consumer morals and social tastes. By the mid-point of the twentieth century, business management experts such as Peter Drucker and being considered in business literature were discussing corporate social responsibility in the US. In 1970, economist Milton Friedmann outlined his view that the social responsibility of corporations is to make profits within the boundaries of societal morals and laws (but cautioned that socially responsible initiatives by corporations could lead to unfocused management directions, misallocations of resources, and reduced market competition, opportunity and choice). CSR emerged and continues to be a key business management, marketing, and accounting concern in the US, Europe, Canada, and other nations. In the last decade, CSR and related concepts such as corporate citizenship and corporate sustainability have expanded. This has perhaps occurred in response to new challenges such as those emanating from increased globalization on the agenda of business managers as well as for related stakeholder communities. It is now more a part of both the vocabulary and agenda of academics, professionals, non-governmental organizations, consumer groups, employees, suppliers, shareholders, and nvestors. Diversity of Perspectives The following summaries of perspectives of different organizations serve to indicate the diversity of views on CSR that exist in Canada and around the world. They reflect the challenges and opportunities for both the public and private sectors to effectively operationalize and align CSR between domestic, continental and international levels. They also indicate the challenges and opportunities to develop the most appropriate relationships between shareholders and other stakeholders as well as to use the optimal policy mix of legislative and voluntary instruments.

Management Process and Organizational Behaviour free essay sample

A vision is the preferred future, a desirable state, and ideal state. It is an expression of optimism. A vision is a general statement encompassing the direction an agency wants to take and the desired end result once it gets there. It is the vision of what those involved what their organization to become. A mission is more focused on the specifics of what an organization is to accomplish. It differs from a vision in that it focuses on function, is accomplishable and measurable, and is often statutorily or bureaucratically established. The mission statement is a statement of an organizations basic purposes, often in terms of broad outcomes that it is committed to achieving or the major function it carries out. A mission can also be the reason an agency exists. When staffs meet to write a mission statement, they may ask Why are we here? What do we want to do? When a legislature creates an agency, it almost always states its purpose, function, or mission. We will write a custom essay sample on Management Process and Organizational Behaviour or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Steps to promoting the vision of an organization: 1. Educate staff about what a vision is and why it is important. 2. Develop a process to involve all staff in creating the vision. 3. Ask for specific input from the various groups within the organization. 4. Hold a planning session or retreat to gather input and shape the vision statement. 5. The leader should share information, lead the process, and shape the vision statement. 6. Draft the vision statement. 7. Communicate and reinforce the vision to staff. Mission Statement A mission statement defines what an organization is, why it exists, its reason for being. At a minimum, your mission statement should define who your primary customers are, identify the products and services you produce, and describe the geographical location in which you operate. If you dont have a mission statement, create one by writing down in one sentence what the purpose of your business is. Ask two or three of the key people in your company to do the same thing. Then discuss the statements and come up with one sentence everyone agrees with. Once you have finalized your mission statement, communicate it to everyone in the company. Its more important to communicate the mission statement to employees than to customers. Your mission statement doesnt have to be clever or catchyjust accurate. If you already have a mission statement, you will need to periodically review and possibly revise it to make sure it accurately reflects your goals as your company and the business and economic climates evolve. To do this, simply ask yourself if the statement still correctly describes what youre doing. The mission statement reflects every facet of your business: the range and nature of the products you offer, pricing, quality, service, marketplace position, growth potential, use of technology, and your relationships with your customers, employees, suppliers, competitors and the community. Q2. (a) Planning Definition of planning : According otkoontz and O’donnell,† Planning is deciding in advance What to do , how to do it, when to do it, and who is to do it. † Characteristics of planning 1 Planning focuses on achieving the objectives: Management begins with planning and planning begins with the determining of objectives. In the absence of objectives no organization can ever be thought about. 2 Planning is the primary function of Management: Planning is the first important function of management. The other functions –organising, staffing, directing and controlling come later. In the absence of planning no other function of management can be performed. planning is continuous: Planning is the process which begins with the beginning of business itself and ends with the ending of the business. It means that as long a business exists, the planning process is continuous. 4. Planning is Futuristic: Planning decides the plan of action-What is to be done, how is to be done, when is to be done, by who is to be done, all the questions are related to future. Under the planning, answer to these questiona is found out. While an effort is made to find out these answer. 5. Planning is mental exercise: planning is known as a mental exercise as it is related to thinking before doing something. A planner has mainly to think about the following questions: (1) What to do? , (2) how to do it? , (3)When to do it? , (4) Who is to do it? Q2. (b) Importance of planning Planning is the first and most important function of the management. It is needed at every level of the management. In the absence of planning all the business activities of the organization will become meaningless. The importance of planning has increased all the more in view of the increasing size of organizations In the absence of planning, it may not be impossible but certainly difficult to guess the uncertain events of future. Planning facilitates Decision making: Decision making means the process of taking decision. Under it, a variety of alternatives are discovered and the best alternative is chosen. But it is important to determine the objectives before the discovery of alternatives. Objectives are determined under the process of planning. So. it can be said that planning facilitates decision making. 2 Plann ing reduce risk of Uncertainty: planning is always done for future and future is uncertain. With the help of planning possible changes in future are anticipated and various activities are planned in the best possible way. 3. Planning reduces overlapping and wasteful activities: Under planning, future activities are planned in order to achieve objectives. the problems of when, where ,what and almost decided. This puts an end to disorder. In such situation coordination is established among different activities and departments. It puts an end ot overlapping and wasteful activities. 4. Planning provides Direction: Under the process of planning the objectives of the organization are defined in simple and clear words. The outcome of this is that all the employee’s important role in the attainment of the objectives of the organization. . Planning establishes Standards for controlling: By determining the objectives the objectives of the organisation through planning all the people working in the organization and all the departments are informed about when, what and how to do things. Standards are laid down about their work, time and cost. Under controlling ,at the time of completing the work,the actual wo rk done is compared with the standard work and deviations are found out and if the work has been done as desired the person concerned is held responsible. Q3. (a) Leading Means Inspiring A manager should strive to become an inspiration to the rest of the employees. Employees will follow a manager because the manager is the boss. However, a manager that is an inspiration means that employees follow that person because they believe in what the manager is doing and they are trying to help the company achieve its goals. Finding ways to inspire employees means coaching them and motivating them to succeed as integral parts of the company. Leading Affects Morale The way a manager leads greatly affects employee morale within the department and company as a whole. Managers should create a climate that encourages new ideas and employee input. The more the employees feel that they have a say in the company, the more they will be willing to share ideas and attempt to find better ways to improve processes. For example, a good manager may reward employees with monetary or benefit incentives if they can increase output of a product. Another idea is a treasure box of goodies. Managers can set a goal early in the week and employees who meet the goal by the end of the week are allowed to take a prize from the treasure box. Leading is Key to Effective Communication For a manager to be an effective leader, he or she must also be an effective communicator. A manager that shares information and lets employees know the latest news in the company is someone that is deemed trustworthy by his or her employees. Employees feel little loyalty or trust towards a manager who does not readily give out information. Leading Effectively Contributes More to the Bottom Line An effective leader inspires employees, which allows those employees to feel like they are making a meaningful contribution to the company. Satisfied employees generally work harder and take more ownership in their job positions. This can mean happy customers and a higher level of customer service. Great leaders in an organization affect the employees they supervise, but they also inspire those in other parts of the company. Effective leadership is infectious and should be spread to as many areas of the organization as possible; doing this will result in a highly-coordinated effort to please both customers and employees. Q3. (b) characteristics of leading Here are my main top 10 leadership characteristics that can make you a better leader †¢Treat others the same way you expect to be treated – think about thers; care about others. This is an extremely simple concept but one that expects you to get off your throne and come down to earth. It goes both ways – if you expect your boss to communicate to you about things, then you need to do the same to your staff †¢Leadership by Example – this is huge! This is something I constantly remind myself about. If you expect others to follow y ou then you need to show that you are not only competent but are willing to â€Å"roll your sleeves up and get dirty†. †¢Do not micro manage – entrust your team with responsibility. You hired them because you felt they were competent to get the job done – so let them do it. If you are not willing to replace an employee then the problem is probably you! †¢Recognize and reward – very important. In today’s tough economy you might have to get creative here. Financial rewards can come in many sizes and forms; if your company will allow financial rewards to be issued then these are great when people achieve some significant accomplishment that greatly benefits the company †¢Continuously look for areas to improve yourself – great leaders will never feel comfortable with themselves nor believe they are great. Instead they will continuously evaluate what their weaknesses are and where they could improve. Being honest with your self-evaluation is the only way to improve in this area. This can be a significant ability to improve one’s self, if you can handle being brutally honest. †¢ Don’t get comfortable – a lot of people do things well and then get comfortable thinking everything is good. But life and business is very dynamic and constantly changing, therefore you need to constantly develop and adjust to the changes around you. For instance in software development I’ll define and implement a great methodology in one environment and years later when I move on to another career opportunity I find the environment there is different and I have to modify my methodology †¢Continued Professional Development – the best leaders and best workers are ones that continuously look to develop themselves. This item comes in two forms – developing yourself and developing your staff. †¢Don’t be afraid to confront problems and deal with issues – this is huge! I find a lot of leaders are afraid to deal with confrontation. No one likes dealing with problems but this is one of your job responsibilities as a leader. I see a lot of leaders don’t want to deal with issues and they think if they ignore it the issue will go away. †¢Surround yourself with other great people – greatness breeds greatness. †¢Know your people – most great leaders are known for connecting with their people. If you don’t have a â€Å"real† relationship with your staff then they will not truly follow you, which will ultimately limit your abilities to be successful. Get off your throne and get into the trenches with your people Q4. (a) Organisation Behaviour (OB) Through its research, teaching, and course development, the Organizational Behavior Unit creates and disseminates knowledge that advances the understanding of how to lead and manage with the aim of increasing personal and organizational effectiveness. Although specific research interests span a wide range of subjects, the faculty share a problem driven, interdisciplinary, multi method approach that has led to significant impact on theory and practice. Our current intellectual agenda builds on the rich history of OB at HBS and focuses squarely on the organizational changes and challenges arising from todays increasingly global and more competitive economy. In the last decade, the faculty have been recognized for their work on leadership in an increasingly diverse and dynamic environment, the evolution of managerial careers in our society, managing diversity, and organizational design and change to meet evolving needs and expectations in a changing world. Organizational studies encompass the study of organizations from multiple viewpoints, methods, and levels of analysis. For instance, one textbook[2] divides these multiple viewpoints into three perspectives: modern, symbolic, and postmodern. Another traditional distinction, present especially in American academia, is between the study of micro organizational behaviour — which refers to individual and group dynamics in an organizational setting — and macro strategic management and organizational theory which studies whole organizations and industries, how they adapt, and the strategies, structures and contingencies that guide them. To this distinction, some scholars have added an interest in meso scale structures power, culture, and the networks of individuals and i. e. ronit units in organizations — and field level analysis which study how whole populations of organizations interact. Q4. (b) Limitations of OB †¢OB is not a remedy for the removal of conflict and frustration but can only reduce them. †¢It is only one of the many systems operating within a large social system. †¢There is a great danger of OB when in the hands of people who lack system understanding. They tend to look only at the behavioral basis, which gives them a narrow view point. This tunnel vision often leads to satisfying employee experiences while overlooking the broader system of an organization in relation to all its public. †¢The law of diminishing returns also operates in the case of organizational behavior (the law states that at some point increase of a desirable practice produces declining returns and sometimes negative returns when that point is exceeded). For example, too much of freedom and security could lead to less employee initiative and growth after reaching a level and to complacency after that †¢The ethical standards of those in charge and those who use OB techniques are a great concern. Its knowledge and techniques could be used to manipulate people without regard for human welfare. People who lack ethical values could use people in unethical ways. Q5. (a) Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence impacts many different aspects of your daily life, such as the way you behave and the way you interact with others. If you have high emotional intelligence you are able to recognize your own emotional state and the emotional states of others, and engage with people in a way that draws them to you. You can use this understanding of emotions to relate better to other people, form healthier relationships, achieve greater success at work, and lead a more fulfilling life. Q5. (b) Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Managers EI and the Manager So why does Manager need an understanding of Emotional Intelligence as well as the ability to track schedules and budgets? Managers need to be able to do the following: †¢Operate in complex matrix environments – Project Managers need to influence, negotiate, and collaborate with other departments and teams for resources and to understand project dependencies. The ability to build relationships and understand how to get the best from others is a critical skill that a Project Manager needs to be effective in a matrix environment. †¢Build effective teams People are key to the success of any project, and Project Managers rarely have direct ‘control’ over the staff with which they are expected to complete the project. They need to be able to motivate staff, build teams from disparate sources, and manage conflict, all skills that require the ability to understand people and their particular wants and needs. †¢Manage change – By their very nature, projects cause change. Building a technical solution is only one component of a project; understanding and managing the impact of that technical solution on a user population, and the effect of that change, is a critical skill for a Project Manager. †¢Provide leadership – Project Managers need to provide leadership to the people on the project, the stakeholders, and other groups with which they interact. As well as the ability to make decisions based on well thought out analysis of the situation, the ability to make decisions based on the understanding of the impact on people is also an important leadership aspect. †¢Deliver results The complexity of the environment and the degree to which collaboration needs to be successful is unprecedented, and simply being able to track a project plan is unlikely to be enough to allow a Project Manager to be successful. Understanding one’s own emotions, the emotions of others, and how those can be most effectively managed can have a dramatic effect on a Project Manager’s ability to deliver results. Q6. Here are some tips to handling team and winning them over to work and a winning attitude: Dont play favourites: This is one of the most frustrating prejudices that most team members face a boss who plays the favouritism game. Some members of the team can apparently do no wrong and others no matter what they do are never right. Fighting the prejudices of such a boss is usually an impossible situation for team members and highly de-motivating. Team dynamics will suffer if certain individuals always get preferential treatment. As a team manager you need to insure you have no favourites. Personal likes and dislikes must be kept out of the purview of daily work. You are bound to lose a lot of good employees if you play this game. Give credit where due: As an effective manager always acknowledge the good work done by an employee and be sure to give credit to the person directly responsible for the work. At a senior level you may interact only with managers, but when you are really pleased with some work done, be sure you include the juniors who were involved with implementation, in your accolades. A quick email or few words of praise will go a long way in boosting the morale of employees and establishing you as a boss who appreciates employees for their hardwork. (Also read: Motivation is the key) Let employees make mistakes: Give your team members the freedom to take their own decisions and manage things. Never be afraid to give responsibility to your team only when you repose confidence in their abilities will they be encouraged to meet your expectations and push themselves to greater heights. Of course your guidance and support is important and you need to be there to help them learn from their mistakes in case things dont work out. Network effectively: As a team manager you need to be aware of your teams strengths and weaknesses and be sure to highlight individual strenghts to your own seniors. You need to insure that your supervisors are informed and kept aware of the teams progress and achievements as also any problem areas the team per se may be facing. Read: 5 networking tips for introverts )This projects you as a capable leader in the eyes of the team, as they can be assured that with you as the leader they would be taken care of and need only focus on giving their best at work. Set processes: Once you have a motivated team ready to give their best, make sure processes are as streamlined as possible for smooth functioning and the team is given a certain standard to maintain. As a good manager you should view things at a strategic level and find ways to improve proc esses and procedures so that your team can perform more efficiently. Align team goals with organisational goals: Finally as an effective team manager it is important for you to give the right direction to your team and be sure that your team goals are aligned with company goals. Example, if the company is in cost-cutting mode, be sure your team is implementing this in all possible ways. It is important for you to have a team consensus on all organisational issues and if you have effectively managed the earlier five steps, you will have a team who is willing to co-operate and be led by you.

Differences Between Collaborate and Corroborate

Differences Between Collaborate and Corroborate If you are having a hard time deciding when to use the commonly  confused words, collaborate and corroborate, you are not the only one. Here are the definitions of each of these terms to help you in your writing: The verb collaborate means to cooperate or work jointly with others. The verb corroborate means to strengthen, support, or confirm with evidence. Examples of Usage In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed. (Charles Darwin)According to legend, he killed over a hundred men, but no historian has been able to corroborate this claim. Practice Usage (a) Divine was hired to _____ with the author to produce a new screenplay.(b) True ideas are those we can assimilate, validate, _____, and verify. Answers: (a) Divine was hired to  collaborate  with the author to produce a new screenplay.(b) True ideas are those we can assimilate, validate,  corroborate, and verify.

Teaching Conversational Skills Tips and Strategies

Teaching Conversational Skills Tips and Strategies Teaching conversational skills can be challenging as not only English skills are required. English students who excel in conversation tend to be those with self-motivated, outgoing personalities. However, students who feel they lack this skill are often shy when it comes to conversation. In other words, personality traits that dominate in everyday life tend to appear in the classroom as well. As English teachers, its our job to help students improve their conversational skills, but often teaching is not really the answer. The Challenge Generally speaking, most English learners feel that they need more conversation practice. Grammar, writing and other skills are all very important, but, for most students, conversation is the most important. Unfortunately, teaching conversational skills is much more challenging than teaching grammar  as the focus is not on accuracy, but on production. When employing role-plays, debates, topic discussions, etc., some students are often timid in expressing their viewpoints. This seems due to a number of reasons: Students dont have an opinion on the subject.Students have an opinion but are worried about what the other students might say or think.Students have an opinion but dont feel they can say exactly what they mean.Students begin giving their opinion but want to state it in the same eloquent manner that they are capable of in their native language.Other, more actively participating students, feel confident in their opinions and express them eloquently making the less confident students more timid. Pragmatically, conversation lessons and exercises should first focus on building skills by eliminating some of the barriers that might be in the way of production. Here are some suggestions to help free up students in conversation. Point out that its not necessary to always speak the truth in class. In fact, not worrying about exactly what happened can help free up students.Create lesson plans that focus on functional skills such as asking for permission, disagreeing, etc. rather than open-ended lessons that students might find vague.Set micro-tasks such as the use of specific verbs, idioms, etc. within overall speaking tasks.  Use tasks such as information gathering or problem-solving activities that encourage students to communicate in English in order to complete the tasks. Here is a closer look at some of these ideas: Focus on Function   Its important to help students become familiar with language functions rather than focusing on a grammar-based approach when developing lessons to help with conversational skills. Start off simple with functions such as: Asking permission, stating an opinion, ordering food in a restaurant, etc.   Explore grammar issues by asking what linguistic formulas should be used to achieve the desired results. For example, if you are comparing two sides of an argument which forms might be helpful (comparative, superlative, would rather, etc). Use formulas to encourage correct usage such as: How / What about Verb Ing for making suggestions - How about taking a trip to San Diego?Would you mind Verb Ing for making requests -  Would you mind giving me a hand?Would you rather Verb or Verb  for asking for preferences -  Would you rather take the train or drive? Expand this approach slowly by asking students to create short role plays using cue cards. Once students become comfortable with target structures and representing differing points of view, classes can move onto more elaborated exercises such as debates and group decision-making activities.   Assign Points of View Ask students to take on a specific viewpoint. Sometimes, its a good idea to ask students to try to state opinions that they dont necessarily share. Having been assigned roles, opinions, and points of view that they do not necessarily share, students are freed from having to express their own opinions. Therefore, they can focus on expressing themselves well in English. In this way, students tend to concentrate more on production skills, and less on factual content. They also are less likely to insist on literal translations from their mother tongue. This approach bears fruit especially when debating opposing points of view. By representing opposing points of view, students imaginations are activated by trying to focus on all the various points that an  opposing  stand on any given issue may take. As students inherently do not agree with the view they represent, they are freed from having to invest emotionally in the statements  they make. More importantly, from a pragmatic point of view, students tend to focus more on correct function and structure when they do not become too emotionally involved in what they are saying. Of course, this is not to say that students should not express their own opinions. After all, when students go out into the real world they will want to say what they mean. However, taking out the personal investment factor can help students first become more confident in using English. Once this confidence is gained, students - especially timid students - will be more self-assured when expressing their own points of view. Focus on Tasks Focusing on tasks is quite similar to focusing on function. In this case, students are given specific tasks they must complete in order to do well. Here are some suggestions on tasks that can help students practice their conversational skills: Create student surveys to gather information.Teamwork activities such as treasure hunts.Board games.Build something - group activities such as a science project or presentations allow everyone to join in the fun. Quick Review Decide whether the following statements are true or false. Its a good idea to have students report their experiences truthfully and in great detail.General conversational activities are best for more advanced students while beginner should focus on functions.Assigning a point of view helps students focus on linguistic accuracy rather than stating exactly what they believe.Problem-solving teamwork  tasks should be avoided as they are not realistic.Outgoing students tend to be better at conversational skills. Answers False - Students shouldnt have to worry about telling the exact truth because they might not have the vocabulary.True - Advanced students have the linguistic skills to deal with broader issues.True - Assigning a point of view can help free up students to focus on form rather than on content.  False - Problem solving requires teamwork and conversational ability.True - Motivated outgoing students tend to allow themselves to make mistakes and thus speak more freely.

Discuss whether the company is moving away from its core competency of Essay

Discuss whether the company is moving away from its core competency of being a leading online retailer. Present areas where Amaz - Essay Example Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3): According to Amazon Web Services (2010); S3 is an online data storage service that enables the users to store and retrieve data from anywhere in the world. Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2): Engleman (2010) stated that initially, Amazon had started selling individual users computing resources from their own data hubs but now they are trying to compete with tech giants, Google and Microsoft, to offer extensive cloud computing power to federal agencies. Microsoft and Google have been in the market for offering web services over a longer period of time as compared to Amazon. Amazon has been a market leader in the field of e-commerce and has possessed the core competency in online retailing since over a decade. Hiner (2009) stated that the respective retailer company acquired technical expertise after developing the infrastructure for their online retailing service; this expertise cannot be compared or competed with the technical skills and experience that are possessed by the high profile teams at Google and Microsoft. The main objective and mission of the two tech giants have been web services or technical products whereas Amazon has always focused on the retailing business. The Amazon’s shift of focus to web services will affect their position as the market leader in online retailing. An

Thierrys enthusiasm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thierrys enthusiasm - Essay Example When you watch documentary film, you may be amazed, thrilled, disappointed or upset with it, but the most fascinating thing is to realize that all your emotions are based on a real story without any exaggerations or embellishments. Each documentary movie reaches, educates and compels you to think about not only the main character’s deeds, but also about your own personality, life and future.One of the didactic movies is â€Å"Exit through the Gift Shop† by Jaimie D’Cruz. In the center of the plot, there is Thierry Guetta, ordinary Frenchman, who moved to Los Angeles in 1990s. When he was eleven years old, his mother died and the boy was taken away to live with his relatives. Later on, he grew up, got married, raised two beautiful daughters and started to earn money by selling old clothes for extremely high prices. From the first sight, there is nothing special in Thierry’s life. But when you get to know this guy better, his little passion reveals itself. N o matter what Thierry does or where he goes, there is always a video camera. â€Å"The moment it came in my hand, I could not let it go. It was obsession†, Thierry says (Exit through the Gift Shop). Since that time Thierry never gets apart with a camera, trying to capture different moments of life to make them live forever. Though he never watches the tapes, which he makes, he continues to collect them in boxes in his house as the biggest memory of crucial events. As Thierry’s the greatest liking keeps on growing, his attention catches absolutely new object of filming – street art. ... In spite of the fact that many other young artists refuse to allow Thierry to tape their masterpieces, he finds variable ways to hear consent. Thierry gets amazed by all these people and takes so great interest in taping street art that occasionally he receives warnings from police. He comprehends a danger of his hobby, but for Thierry it is all another challenge, which makes him feel good. With a camera in his hand Thierry takes part in art creation, climbing with Banksy on the roofs of the houses or going to Disneyland to tape his friend’s inventions. Several years later, after not quite successful film â€Å"Life Remote Control†, which Thierry makes out of tremendous number of his video tapes, he decides to switch from taping street art to creating the art per se. With a solid goal to make a grand show named â€Å"Life is beautiful† Mister Brainwasher, as Thierry calls himself, puts all his money in a new dream. He hires a lot of builders, sculptors, designers , promoters, whose main task is to implement Thierry’s ideas into reality. The work starts in a full swing and even an accident with Thierry’s broken leg does not slow down the pace. A couple of last weeks of preparations are extremely intense for the whole crew. At last the opening day comes and over four thousand people attend the exhibition. By the end of the first week pieces of art with a total cost near one million dollars are rapidly sold. Famous Madonna asks Thierry to make a cover for her Greatest Hits Collection. Abruptly Mister Brainwasher is sensationally accepted by the audience. Analyzing this documentary movie, a viewer can easily study the whole process of dream realization from the very

Tradition and Modernity Trends in Modern Jewish History Essay Example for Free

Tradition and Modernity Trends in Modern Jewish History Essay The system of traditional education as evaluated by the traditional society on one hand and the Haskalah on the other According to Katz, Jewish education and participation in the life of the community usually gave the average Jew sufficient knowledge to conduct his daily life. But as circumstances changed questions arose almost daily. The correct application of Halacha in present circumstances was normally not something that the layman could decide. For this, scholars of the Jewish law were needed. (Katz, 1988 p. 142) An earlier generation of Jewish educators had stressed the similarities between Judaism and the norms of American democracy. That position was, of course, shaped by the immigrant experience. A curriculum that consciously teaches the importance of difference is clearly addressing itself to a changed America and more important, another sort of Jew. Those Orthodox Jews who remain within the â€Å"four ells of the Law† reject the non-Jewish world in its entirety, even though they make use of modern technology to further their ends. Their schools do not depart from the core curriculum brought in the Mishnah. Institutions of this kind can be found all over the world. The more removed the school and the population it serves from tradition, the more idiosyncratic its curriculum. The emphasis on identity, particularly in the United States but increasingly so in other places as well, may be a way of saying that what one knows about Judaism is not as important as wanting to be a Jew, or feeling Jewish, something that can possibly be attained without the effort required for real learning. The separatism of those who live in a self-created ghetto is matched at the other extreme by those who reject Judaism and identification with the Jewish people in order to find a place, if not always an identity, in other places. This is relatively easy to do in a modern society that requires no overt or official act in order to leave the group of ones origin nor demands membership or affiliation in a recognized corporate entity. Jewish schools, like all others everywhere, teach more than is implied in the detail of the course of study. The work of Jewish educators in the last 100 years has created, for example, pockets of resistance to oppressive regimes and centers of a counterculture. There is a straight line that connects between volunteer teachers in Vilna in 1893 who taught Hebrew in private homes all over the city in order to avoid detection and the more recent underground Hebrew study groups in the former Soviet Union particularly those in the prison camps that served, among other things, as vehicles for preserving personal identity in a situation calculated to obliterate all individuality. The Jewish concept of Tikun Olam (Making the World a Better Place), for some schools a motif that integrates all that they do, resonates with the utopianism that characterizes revolutionary movements; todays youngsters can achieve the same spirit that moved their peers of an earlier time who attended socialist Yiddish schools that stressed the development of class consciousness as the route to an egalitarian society. The larger message of cultural pluralism remains implied in the idea that Judaism and democracy are not only compatible but also positively influence one another. Pupils in Jewish schools of all kinds who do their lessons well will sense that identification with the Jewish people promises a feeling of community that is difficult to find in society at large. Judaism and Jewish education has become a modern tradition. All modern Jewish movements find their origins in the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Before the Haskalah you were either a traditional Jew or you left the Jewish people to become part of the Christian majority. While local conditions varied, in general, pre-Haskalah Jewry led a life apart from its Gentile neighbors. In Western Europe Jews lived in ghettos (or at least in their own separate areas), in Eastern Europe in shtetls. This independent social life did not preclude commercial relations, but in almost all other respects Jews and Gentiles belonged to separate communities. (Katz 1988 p. 141-145) Jacob Katz describes these movements as: The movement of emancipation appeared in Western Europe at the same time that Hassidism rose in the East. From the 1760s a new type of person appeared called a maskil (an intellectual). This is a person who had studied torah but added to this knowledge ther things such as – foreign languages, general knowledge and interest in the world beyond the Jewish community. Soon they presented a program to change Jewish life – its education, structure of community and life-style. When their program began to dominate a sense of crisis swept the traditional community. This sense of dissolution was caused by processes occurring within and without Jewish society. (Katz 1988 p. 214-215) In the Renaissance followed by the Enlightenment, and the world beyond the ghetto became more welcoming and attractive. For the first time in a long time, the non-Jewish world had something worth having, and there was the glimmer of hope that Jews could have it while remaining Jews. The Jewish incarnation of the Enlightenment, the Haskalah, was the result. The Haskalah begins in Western Europe, and it is there that it gives rise to the first modern Jewish movements. There is no late eighteenth to early nineteenth-century Haskalah in Eastern Europe largely because there is no general late eighteenth- to early nineteenth-century Enlightenment there. It is one thing to join the burghers of Frankfurt, to read Schiller and listen to Haydn, or to become a citizen of Republican France, a devotee of libertà ©, à ©galità ©, et fraternità ©. That is real competition for the ghetto and Rashi. But the illiterate, impoverished peasantry of the czarist empire, itself horribly oppressed, was not a club to which shtetl Jews eagerly sought membership. And it would be a while before an enticing Eastern European bourgeoisie emerged. When the Haskalah is finally felt among the Jews of Eastern Europe, it is under circumstances that give rise to very different modernist movements than those that emerged in the West. But it is these Eastern European movements that are the most immediate and influential forebears of the secular Jewish philosophy developed in this book. Later in the chapter I will turn to them. But first we will survey ideological developments among the Jews in Western Europe and its offshoot, the United States. By the eighteenth century a few Jews had permission to live in Berlin (and other German cities) because they were economically useful to the rulers. These Jews were called Shutzjuden (protected Jews). Initially Mendelssohn was allowed to live, study, and work in Berlin because of his association with a Shutzjude. Eventually he obtained this status for himself. Mendelssohn had received a traditional Jewish education from his father, Menachem Mendel, and his rabbi, David Fraenkel. When the latter was appointed rabbi of Berlin, Mendelssohn followed him there to continue his Jewish studies, but while there he also obtained a thorough secular education. (Mendelssohn, 1770 p.476) Mendelssohns first writings in German were secular philosophical works on aesthetics and metaphysics. When he turned to the nonsectarian rationalist philosophy of religion, Christian clerics, inclined to see Christianity as the embodiment of rational religion, challenged Mendelssohn to defend his Judaism. Mendelssohn was disinclined to do it. He had never made any claims of superiority for Judaism, and he was against engaging in religious polemics for principled and practical reasons (Mendelssohn noted that Jews were an oppressed minority in Germany). Still, he reluctantly took up the challenge, arguing that adherence to Judaism was rational for the Jews. Thereafter, much of Mendelssohns work concerned Jewish issues. He translated the Pentateuch and the Psalms into German, and he wrote biblical commentaries in Hebrew. He argued for the improvement of the civic status of Jews, and he intervened on behalf of Jewish communities with various governments. But of most interest to us here are his attempts to modify Jewish custom. (Mendelssohn, 1770 p.478) A loyal, learned, and observant Jew, Mendelssohn denied having an interest in changing any Jewish law or practices rooted in the law. He considered Judaism to be revealed legislation. Jews were divinely commanded and obliged to observe the law. But they were not obliged to have any particular religious beliefs. Judaism was not revealed dogma. Jews were free to believe what they would. Hence Mendelssohn did not view his rationalist interpretation of Jewish practice as an innovation in the religion. But his rationalism did lead to a call for changes in certain Jewish practices that Mendelssohn deemed irrational and unrelated to the law. He thought these practices were based in superstition and degeneracy, the fruit of isolation and oppression. He anticipated two outcomes from the changes: 1) Judaism would more clearly emerge as the rational and dignified religion it essentially was, thereby uplifting the Jewish character, and 2) Jews would ultimately be more acceptable as fellow countrymen to the Gentiles. This second outcome would be a result of the first, combined with the increasing rationalization and liberalization of Christian society itself. (Mendelssohn, 1770 p. 480) There were no Orthodox Jews before the Haskalah. While there were some variations of local customs, there was only one brand of Judaism. Individuals may have been more or less pious, but there was no disagreement about the substance of Judaism.   It was only with the Enlightenment and the rise of Reform that traditional Jewry had to define its relation to modernity. Reform Jews were claiming that it was now possible to join European civilization and remain a Jew, if certain changes were made in Judaism. But of course many Jews refused to deviate from traditional Jewish law. One segment of the Jews who were unwilling to make changes in the law thought that modernity and Judaism were incompatible; these Jews had no desire to join European civilization. They are best termed Traditional Jews. Traditional Jews tried to ignore and isolate themselves from non-Jewish culture. Except for some Hasidic sects, there are really no surviving communities of traditional Jews.   (Mendelssohn, 1770 p. 485) But there was another segment of Jews, also completely opposed to any changes in the law, who believed that strict Torah adherence could accommodate modernity. They constitute Jewish Orthodoxy, which, in its way, is as much a child of Mendelssohn and the Haskalah as Reform is. The basic belief of Orthodoxy, which it shares with Traditional Judaism, is that the Torah is divinely given and eternally valid. Even the authoritative rulings of the future are believed to have been revealed at Sinai. 11 The Orthodox hold that to deny the divine and binding nature of the Torah is to drain Judaism of its substance. The 613 traditional mitzvot, commandments, are divinely ordained and obligatory for Jews. No doctrinal concessions are permissible. Jacob Katz concludes that It was in the field of education that the conflict between tradition and innovation became open war In gentile society a new educational philosophy had emerged that all children should receive the same education, regardless of religion. (Katz 1988 p.229) A maskil called Naphtali Hertz Wessely   came up with a different idea in a famous pamphlet called Words of Peace and Truth: the basis of education should be educational values shared by all men (torat ha-adam) while the teacjing of torah (torat ha-elohim) was to remain only a special supplement of the Jews education. Wessely emphasized subjects such as the local language, geography, history, etc. Even in his proposed Jewish studies he preferred bible studies, Hebrew and grammar which were closer to outside society over Talmudic studies. Wessely argued that such a curriculum would lead to the perfection and salvation of the individual Jew. (Katz 1988 p.230) Compare the responses to Hasidism of the vilna Gaon and of Rabbi Hayyim of volozhin. The Gaon is alleged to have urged his disciples to engage in secular studies; indeed, the example set by the Gaon himself in this respect encouraged the maskilim to take up the banner of general education. The historians who have critically discussed the attitude of the Gaon of Vilna to Haskalah are Ben-Zion Katz, Joseph Klausner, Israel Zinberg, Louis Greenberg, and Raphael Mahler. These authors, though differing in various details, display remarkable similarities in their conceptions of the Gaons position and role in relation to the beginnings of Haskalah in eastern Europe. The Gaons positive attitude to what would ultimately characterize the Haskalah movement, according to the aforementioned authors, is exemplified first and foremost in his favorable approach to secular studies. For example, Katz holds that, although the Gaon rejected philosophy, he loved and greatly admired the natural sciences. (Mendelssohn, 1770 p. 378) During the intermediate days of Passover in 1772, the organized struggle against Hasidism was launched. The community of Vilna, the largest and most important of the Jewish communities of Poland and Lithuania, initiated the struggle and called on other communities to follow in its footsteps. (Etkes, 2002 p. 73)   This was not a struggle over ideas between two currents or what may be called a Kulturkampf. The community of Vilna and the communities associated with it started a total war against what they viewed as a deviant sect. The aim of this war was to remove Hasidism and the Hasidim from the world. For that purpose the community organizations used a variety of means at their disposal: testimony was gathered about the â€Å"crimes† of the Hasidim, Hasidic writings were seized and burned, Hasidic leaders were arrested and punished, and above all, it was forbidden, under pain of excommunication, to maintain Hasidic minyanim. (Etkes, 2002 p. 74) Shimeon Dubnow describes the struggles outbreak according to his general conception of the essence of Hasidism, on the one hand, and of the â€Å"rabbinate, † on the other. He defines the rabbinate as â€Å"the system of the religion of the book, a religion consisting principally of study; expertise in literature thousands of years old, in laws, and in infinitely minute concatenations of law upon law; and scrupulous obedience to the commandments in all their precise details. † In Dubnows opinion, the rabbinate, in this sense, laid the normative foundations of the community organization and established its values. (Etkes, 2002 p. 75) Dubnow regarded the struggle against Hasidism as a natural response, even a necessary one, of the rabbinate and the community leadership against a movement that rebelled against them and challenged them. As he says, the aim of Hasidism was essentially to challenge the scholarly foundation of the religion and to replace it with the element of hidden faith, to emphasize emotion and devotion in the observance of the commandments rather than piling up heaps of regulations on them. By the nature of his discussion, Katz does not deal with events in detail, he does not address the question of the role played by the Gaon versus that played by the community leaders. However, regarding the motivations for opposition to Hasidism, it appears from Katzs account that the Gaon and the community leaders acted from identical motives: the defense of the tradition against those who deviated from it and threatened its integrity.   (Etkes, 2002 p. 79) While Dubnow and Katz believed that the Gaon and the community leaders acted from identical motives, Hayyim Hillel Ben-Sasson contends that â€Å"there were two circles of warriors here, each of which had its own emphasis and preference regarding the purposes of the war and its means. † On the basis of a comparative analysis of the polemical writings those that were, in his opinion, written with the direct inspiration of the Gaon versus those composed by the community leaders BenSasson reached the conclusion that the Gaon and his circle combated Hasidism because of â€Å"matters of faith and ways of worshiping the Creator, † whereas the community leaders opposed Hasidim because of their damage to â€Å"communal and religious order. † (Etkes, 2002 p. 75) When the leaders of the Rabbi Shneur Zalman was forced to deal with the issue of the Gaons authority because the leaders of the Mitnagdim continually appealed to that authority, whenever objections were raised to their claims. In that matter as well, Rabbi Shneur Zalman advanced a Halakhic argument. He did not deny the view of the Mitnagdim that the Gaon was unique in his generation. However, against the opinion that one must obey the greatest authority of the generation without reservation, he advanced the principle of majority rule. True, the Gaon was unique in his generation, but he was still a single man, whereas the maggid of Mezhirech and the other Hasidic leaders were the majority. Altogether, the position that Rabbi Shneur Zalman took regarding the Gaon was ambivalent: he recognized his extraordinary personal merit, but he also denied his authority as a sole Halakhic arbiter. It would not be too much to say that there is a good deal of irony in the fact that the leaders of the Mitnagdim constantly had recourse to the Gaons charisma, whereas the Hasidic leader based his argument on Halakhic principles. (Etkes, 2002 p. 75-92) As noted, the role played by the Gaon at the start of the campaign against Hasidism and the motivations that guided him occupied a considerable part of the letter sent by Rabbi Shneur Zalman to his Hasidim in Vilna in 1797. Later in his epistle, Rabbi Shneur Zalman tells his Hasidim that, after the failed visit to Vilna, the Hasidic leaders traveled to Shklov to take part in the controversy initiated by the Mitnagdim there. When the Mitnagdim realized that they could not refute the arguments of the Hasidim, â€Å"they came with a strong arm and hung themselves from the great tree of ha-Gaon he-Hasid, may his light burn brightly. † Thus the failure to appease the Mitnagdim in Shklov was also connected to the Gaons authority. Rabbi Shneur Zalman further explains to his Hasidim that, not only had the Gaon prevented dialogue and reconciliation in the past, but until he changed his mind there was no hope for reconciliation and accommodation. The constant repetition of the statement that the Gaon was the one who had prevented and continued to prevent any possibility of reconciliation between the Hasidim and their opponents reflects recognition of the exceptional force of his authority. The Gaon regarded the people from whom he received information as reliable witnesses whose word was not to be doubted. At that stage further information came to him: the â€Å"well-known intermediary, † whose identity is unknown to us, told him of a Hasidic interpretation of a passage in the Zohar. The Gaon regarded that interpretation as â€Å"heresy and Epicureanism. † Hence, when Rabbi Menahem Mendel and Rabbi The description of the attitude of the Gaon was not meant to remind the reader of forgotten things. Following those words, the Mitnaged challenges the Hasid: how did he have the temerity to thrust his head in among the tall mountains, that is to say, the Gaon, on the one hand, and the Hasidic leaders, on the other, and to decide in favor of the latter against the stand of the Gaon? Underlying this challenge was the Gaons authority. That authority, whose power permitted the persecution of the Hasidim, is here presented as a reason for rejecting their way. (Etkes, 2002 p. 75-95) Rabbi Hayyims friendly attitude toward the Hasidim who studied in his yeshiva and were guests in his home, the interest he showed in the teachings of their rabbis, and that fact that his son owned Hasidic books and studied them all of these clearly prove that the Mitnagdim had some authority for ignoring the prohibitions imposed by the Gaon on contact with Hasidim. The argument that the Gaons position regarding Hasidism was based on error is not new. As noted, this was the opinion of both Rabbi Menahem Mendel of Vitebsk and of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lyady. Both of them absolved the Gaon of malicious intention because he had been misled by false witnesses. Rabbi Shneur Zalman took a further step and presented evidence that even the Sages of the Sanhedrin were liable to err. Hence the error of a communal leader was a legitimate occurrence. However, the author of Maá ºâ€œref Haavodah is not content with these explanations and seeks to endow the Gaons error with a theological dimension. The Gaons opposition to Hasidism was not simply a human error, but the product of the precise planning of divine providence. The Kabbalistic principle that every manifestation of divine light must be accompanied by an obscuration and concealment also applies to the revelation of the Baal Shem Tov. Hence the Gaons opposition was a concealment necessitated by the abundance of light. This surprising explanation of the Gaons struggle against Hasidism is a kind of â€Å"sweetening of judgments, † for the severe persecution of the Hasidim was â€Å"sweetened† and its sting removed. The bans, the humiliations, and the bodily and economic injury to the Hasidim took place only to conceal the strength of the divine light that broke through with the revelation of the Baal Shem Tov and the maggid of Mezhirech. Thus it was possible to maintain both the honor and authority of the Gaon, and the righteousness and honor of Hasidism. This harmonious explanation, which can also be described as the mystification of the struggle between the Hasidim and the Mitnagdim, leaves no doubt as to which of the two warring camps received the divine light and which of them served as a veil meant to conceal it. The effort of the author of Maá ºâ€œref Haavodah to make sense of the opposition to Hasidism led by the Gaon expresses a viewpoint typical in the first decades of the nineteenth century. In the beginning of the century the organized struggle against Hasidism came to an end. The cessation of the persecution can be attributed to a number of factors: the Gaons death, recognition by the Russian authorities of the right of the Hasidim to hold separate minyanim, and increasing recognition that the Hasidim were not heretics. (Etkes, 2002 p. 75-95) Jacob Katz describes Hassidism as a religious and social movement. It emphasized reaching ecstasy through the performance of the religious rites, and socially it set up a new pattern: a group of devoted followers headed by the Zaddik whos claim was charisma, not necessarily scholarship. This community was voluntary. (Katz, 1988 p.76) Works Cited Immanuel Etkes, The Gaon of Vilna: The Man and His Image (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), Chapter 5, pp. 151-208. Karlinsky, H. Harishon leshushelet Brisk [The founder of the Brisk dynasty]. Jerusalem, 1984. Katz, B-á ºâ€™. Rabanut, á ¸ ¥asidut, haskalah [The rabbinate, Hasidism, Haskalah]. 2 vols. Tel Aviv, 1956. Katz, J. â€Å"Jewish Civilization as Reflected in the Yeshivot—Jewish Centers of Higher Learning. † Journal of World History 10 (1967): 698–700. Katz, J. Tradition and Crisis: Jewish Society at the End of the Middle Ages. New York, 1993. Krassen, M. A. â€Å"Devequt and Faith in Zaddiquim. † Ph. D. diss., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1990. Landau, B. Hagaon heá ¸ ¥asid miVilna [The righteous Gaon of Vilna]. Jerusalem, 1965. Marcus, I. G., ed. Dat veá ¸ ¥evra bemishnatam shel asidei Ashkenaz [Religion and society in the doctrine of á ¸ ¤asidei Ashkenaz]. Jerusalem, 1987. Mendelssohn translated the Torah (Pentateuch) into German probably starting in the middle of the 1770s.

The Bonesetter’s Daughter Essay -- English Literature:

Bones constitute on important part in The Bonesetter’s Daughter. What is the significance of the book’s title? â€Å"The Bonesetter’s Daughter† in my opinion holds a deeper meaning as a title. Amy Tan could have called the book â€Å"Precious Auntie† or â€Å"Liu Xing Gu† if you directly translate the bonesetter’s daughter. Why did Amy Tan choose this title? These three words must contain some deeper meaning and therefore we should not judge the title at face value. The first thing that we should look at is what these three words are signifying. They are putting emphasis on the bonesetter by saying that this book is about His daughter. Tan could have paraphrased the title into â€Å"The Daughter of the Bonesetter† This means that there must be some importance laid on this bonesetter. The term â€Å"daughter of the famous bonesetter† is only used a few times within the contents. Amy Tan wanted to accentuate two bits of information. One of those words is daughter. Since most of the book is mostly feminine based, it should, naturally, have a more feminine title. Before reading the book we are told that this story is about a girl or a woman and perhaps her father. However, we are not told about the bonesetter’s daughter until page 155. This is telling us something. We thought that the main character in this book had to be the bonesetter’s daughter. We now find out that this is perhaps not so and that it will be difficult to pin point the main character in this book. The main difficulty is within the fact that this book has no immediate plot. It is more of a mixture between psychological drama and the autobiography of a woman. Nobody can summarize the book effectively within one sentence. The story is far too intricate. This is exact... ...ere used as a way to speak to the gods and ask them questions whose answers could be read from the cracks which appeared on the rocks. Bones are a very important part of the Chinese culture and are used for a holy purpose. Naturally, this again links to the curse that this family is haunted by. If bones really hold that much power over people by being able to communicate with the gods, then if they are misused and disturbed like the way the Gu family did, they can therefore be able to curse them. The curse has grown in importance for LuLing ever since she has realized why it has followed them and what kind of disasters it may lead to. Precious Auntie is the key link between the bonesetter and LuLing and Ruth. She is also the one who suffered most from this curse. This is why she is such an important character. This is why she forms the title of this book.

Adoption and Identity Formation

Adoption has many effects on families; identity formation is one the most important stages that a child has to form during the ages of adolescence. It is a lifelong process but it is mainly formed between the ages of 13 to 18. Forming an identity can be very difficult for an adopted child because leaving all the struggles that they will be already facing, the formation of identity will add another conflict in their lives. Parents can help adopted children by establishing a sense of identity and by exposing them to cultural background.If a child has issues or problems when forming their identity, than they might end up being in identity confusion. In this research, the main question that is going to be answered is; â€Å"How des Adoption Affect Identity Formation in a Negative way? The adoptive parents do not usually think of identity formation of the adopted child, they try to make their kids get assimilated into the new environment and encourage them to totally forget about their p ast which disables them to answer the question; â€Å"Who am I†.It is also a fact that the usage of drug and alcohol are seen very often on adopted adolescents. The focus in this literature review is going to be on the adopted adolescents and their process of identity formation. The main methods that will be implemented in this research will be conducting interviews, collecting surveys and making group observations. There will be many limitations while conducting my research. First of all, a detailed study cannot be done due to the shortage of time.There are also not much quantitative research groups and the participants are very limited. Solutions to these limitations could be getting started as soon as possible to not be worried about the limitation of time. Finding enough participants to complete my survey would also be helpful. Interviews are also a huge contribution and even though the sample groups are limited, there will be enough participants that are going to be take n into consideration.

Domestic Violence Essay

There are many theories out there that try to explain why domestic violence happens. Some like family violence theory say that it is passed down through the family because basically what you see is what you will do. Others say it’s a chemical imbalance or its based on other things. I believe that it is a little bit of all of the theories but the Culture of Violence Theory is playing a huge role today in helping shape our young children’s minds as to what is now acceptable. During this assignment we will look at four different types of examples of how the Culture of Violence Theory is doing just that. Culture of Violence theory claims that violence occurs at all levels of society and is looked at as a means to resolve a conflict. Violence and force are acceptable and are used even in family disputes. Theories believe that in order to stop a man from beating or hitting a woman then you have to change the way he believes or relies on violence being a means to solve all his problems. I also believe that our culture as a whole is violence driven. As a soldier in the United States Army, I deploy to combat areas and I have meet other new recruits who basically wanted to join the military for that reason. So then the question is why in the world would you want to do something just for the violence? Well we can look no further then what is the main culprit to me and that is the Mass Media. The Mass Media today is the main reason why our culture is so violence driven. First I am going to start off on the news media and movies that are being viewed by our children and young adults. The news media always seems to project negative things. You rarely hear anything about a city not having an violent acts being placed over the news. Instead you turn the news on and your going to see how a father came home and found his wife cheating on him so he beat her to death, then killed all his children before turning his gun on himself. The news always reports the violent acts so that’s what our culture is getting use to see. When we look at the type of movies being depicted that display acts of violence in a family household we look at the movie Precious. This movie won the actress a Grammy Award but in this movie your watching a girl being physically, verbally and sexually abused at home. The only time she was safe was at school. What does this type of information teach? It could teach a positive message but I believe that in reality all it did was downgrade women and especially African American women. Movies and the News aren’t the only means to project violence within our culture. The controversial video game by rock star called Grand Theft Auto has been sparking debates across the nation for years. This is one of the best selling franchises in the video game industry but the message in this top playing videogame for our youth in particular teens is violence. This game depicts family violence, drug selling, murder, extortion, robbery, theft, grand theft auto and many more violent crimes. This game really belittles women I feel because they always use derogatory language towards them. This game always shows â€Å"pimps† and ho’s† and the pimp is always beating on the women. This sends a message that our society is fine with this type of behavior since we generate it for our amusement and entertainment. I am one of those who is at fault by playing this type of games but I do understand that this is not appropriate for our youth because they are still learning and trying to understand what is the wrong and right way to act in society and this doesn’t help them in any way. Our society today is all about technology. Everyone has an internet capable phone and the internet is streaming videos constantly. With that being sad a lot of youth and teens are able to watch music videos either through their phone, laptop or on the television. The new hit song titled â€Å"Try† by Pink depicts two lovers basically having an all-out brawl with each other. They are pulling hair, breaking glasses, hitting each other. This music video shows our youth domestic violence but shows it as a poetry in motion or as just two people really in love with each other so even though they are hurting each other its ok as long as they continue to work it out and try again. So is the message here teaching our society to not harm each other? It doesn’t look that way to me and if this keeps up then we will continue to see the numbers as high as they are. All of the different examples I gave show you how our culture became so violence oriented. From the News stations to the Movies in the theaters to the videogames we buy our children and the music they listen to. What children hear and see is exactly what they will do so yes I believe Family Violence Theory plays a role in my paper but the Cultural Violence Theory is by far the most destructive force we have and we can only blame ourselves. Reference: CJ333 Chapter 3, Research and Theory on Family Violence Video Game Study Reinforces Negative Impact on Youth, Jennifer Leclaire, 4/10/06 Pink gets physical and aggressive in â€Å"Try† music video, Lucas Villa, October 10 2012