Brian Montgomery

What skills do you believe manages should possess? A: Leadership, organizational and interaction skills, good communication. Planning Q: Why do you think Managers need to plan? A: You need to have agreed plans and goals; I?s how you measure yourselves and the business against planned targets Q: There are different kinds of Plans including, Mission statements, vision, marketing operational. What type of plans do you use in your business? A: In my division we use all of those, the company has our mission statement and vision, which we live but the operational plans are the day to day business for us.Q: How often do you refer to each of the plans? A: It really depends on the plan and situation but I would say at least weekly. Q: Do you discuss the plans with you your teams and why? A: Yes we discuss these in all of our meetings at different levels. Staff, supervisor and management meetings. Q: How effective do you think these plans are? A: There is always room for improvement, but at th is time they are good. They are achievable and relevant to the core business. Our plans have to be somewhat flexible due to the changing environment we work in. Q: What benefits do you think you get from each of those plans?A: The team get a sense of achievement, moving forward, setting new goals. We achieve then move the goals forward. It's great for the team to see the plan coming to fruition. Organizing Q: Why do you think businesses need to have organizational structures? A: Accountability and growth. Q: There are different kinds of Organizational structures in the workplace, Formal/informal, functional, and divisional and matrix. Which one or combination Of these is used in your business? A: would say Divisional due to the multiple sites. Q: What benefits do you think you get from those structures you use?A: loud say time is the biggest benefit. When you find something that works well at one site you can adapt that to fit another site. With not having to come up with a complete new system then have time to focus on other issues. Q: Do you see any drawbacks to any of the structures you use? A: Having too many sites sometimes mean you spread yourself a little thin. That's when you have to look at staff and co-leaders. Leadership Q: Why do you think leadership is important in business? A: Overall accountability, but part of that is ensuring that the whole team work together to achieve the desired outcome.Q: There are several types of adhering, Autocratic, Democratic Laissez-fairer, situational etc. Which of these do you use in your organization? A: Democratic for me, having said that there are occasions when time constants mean a directive needs to be the way to move forward quickly. Q:How would you describe your leadership style? A: Adaptable depending on the climate at the time and proactive. Q: What benefits do you think you get from this style? A: Success, great time management and good interactions with staff. This means we meet timeliness. Q:DO you see any drawbacks to this style?A: Sometimes if you don't stay focused on delivery, things can get interpreted Rooney. You really have to make sure you invest time on learning so everyone understands their part in the overall plan. Control Q: What does controlling mean for you? A: Guidelines are put in place sows have a structured approach. Q: What control systems are used in your business? A: Mainly Kepi's (Key Performance Indicators) Q: Why are controlling systems important in your business? A: So we can achieve and show that we have achieved. Q: What control functions that you use monitor your planning functions?A: The Kepi's are what shows how we are progressing against our plan and working towards our targets. With no Kepi's where are we really. 1 . The Planning Function of Management 1. 1 . A There are a variety of reasons that managers plan although to me the first reason would be to set the direction and priorities of the company or sector of the company. You want to ensure tha t everyone in the team is working towards a similar goal and understands what that goal is. 1 . 2. A Vision Statement: Describes what a company would like to achieve, their aspirations to be the leader or best at what they do.Mission Statement: This is really the overall aim of the company, it tells prospective customers who the company are and what they stand for. Strategic plans: these are the long term plans the company has to grow. The overall direction it wants to take to achieve its desired goals. Marketing plans: This is the companies plan outlining how they plan to achieve the strategic goal they set. Here they need to look at what they deliver how well and what gives them the competitive edge over others out there. How they show that information to prospective clients. Contingency plan: This is the ‘what if plan.As we all know â€Å"If anything can go wrong, it will. † Murphy's law With that in mind we need to put plans in place for possible events that were to originally planned for (the contingency plan). Operational plans: This is a short term plan often set at a lower level in the company to ensure the team or section of the company have a clear understanding of what they need to do in the short term to ensure the company as a whole is achieving its higher level plans. 1 . 2. B The company I studied has a variety of plans, they have a vision (what they want to be), Mission (Why they exist), Values(what is important to them).They also have a strategic plan looking at the goals of increasing contracts and turnover by a percentage each year for the next five years. They have a marketing plan, for how they plan to sell the business to prospective clients. All these plans are driven from their National Office. Then there is the operational planning side of things, this is how they plan their work week to week to ensure they carry out the work the client wants within the timeshare set. 1. 3. From what observed I think overall the company st udied has some good plans at each level.My study was more focused on the operational plans and at interview and at first look it appears that the plans are sound and have some clear expectations of how things would be done in order to achieve the goals. Looking closer showed that there were some things that could possibly be done to make it more effective 1 . 3. B I was able to see the operational plans and how these were looked at from week to week. They have various focuses form current week to next and then longer focus into months ahead. I was shown the targets for completions of set work and the actual percentages achieved week on week against the plans.They have set themselves some high goals for the year and are close to achieving. I did notice from discussions that where they appear to fail is due to not cooking at the contingency side of things fully. A lot of the day to day jobs are dependent on weather or plant access and often there is no plan for what they will do if th ey cannot do that. This means that the overall focus then becomes more reactive than proactive. 2. The Organizing Function of Management 2. 1 . A Businesses need to have organizational structures in order to allow them to function effectively.This is because the structure defines the roles and tasks undertaken by staff. â€Å"An idea can only become a reality once it is broken down into organized, actionable elements. † Scott Belles 2. 2. The main kinds Of organizational structures are: Formal: Generally roles and responsibilities are set out in writing and staff generally don't venture outside their job description. Informal: Is how people work together in practice, day to day interactions. This structure generally develops alongside a formal structure. Divisional: Is where an organization is split into a number of separate units.These can be grouped according to product, market, geographical location or a mix of these. Each division is self-managed. Functional: Is where sta ff are grouped according to the function or role they perform Matrix: Is where staff are grouped by both function and product, often this structure is used for project work. 2. B The company I studied had a combination Of the Structures discussed. The company as a whole have a formal structure with an organizational chart to show the positions, with each position having a formal job description.But alongside that the staff have developed good communication and day to day talking to ensure the jobs are completed which is really the informal addition. The company has certainly got a divisional side to mainly based on location, and there is somewhat of a functional split at the location I looked at where hey have a roofing team with team leader, a handyman team with team leader, an industrial cleaning team with team leader and a commercial cleaning team with team leader. 2. 3. A The impression I was left with is that the mix of organizational structures works very well in this company. There appear to be a good balance between the formal and informal. The functional structure impressed me in that each of the individual teams had a clear understanding of their roles and took pride in achieving and meeting their targets. 2. 3. B During my visit I was able to see the organizational chart and some of the position descriptions. Away the team members within the office and how they interacted with the team leaders to get tasks achieved. 3. The Leadership Function of Management 3. 1 . A Leadership is important because without it a business will fail to function to its full potential. Leadership is the capacity to transform vision into reality. † Warren G. Bennie 3. 2. A To me the business I studied relies heavily on the democratic style of leadership, with a little delegating added to the mix. Democratic: There were a lot of notes from meetings with the manager and her supervisors and team leaders, where you could see issues discussed and he thoughts of the team wit h the decision made and agreed as the way to move forward. I noted from the tone used by the manager at interview and the dealings I saw with staff that she asked for their thoughts and input to assist in the decision making process.Delegating: I could often see actions for tasks or monitoring being assigned to the supervisor and team leaders. 3. 2. B Compared to the democratic style the autocratic does not look for a collaborative approach. Generally it is a more solely directive or authoritarian approach. Whereas the democratic style assists staff in feeling that they are a ajar part of the process and engaging them the autocratic would not be the way to get the best from a team. The team with the autocratic leader often feel less loyal, have less commitment and in the end, less satisfaction from the job as those with a democratic leader.Having said this a few of the staff I came across liked the go to work and be told what to do and how, although it was a minority. Although not i deal in my view there are occasions where autocratic works, this is usually in situations where an emergency has occurred and a decision needs to be made sooner rather than waiting to see if a consensus can be reached. . 3. A I believe that the leadership in the business I studied was adequate. There seemed to be systems in place and all those I spoke to or observed seemed to be aware of their part in achieving.

Business Ethics Reflection Essay

In any organization workers can face ethical dilemmas. On a daily basic people are posed with ethical dilemmas and have to decide to making the correct or the wrong choice. Some may not realize but we make ethical work choices at times and may not even realize it. For instance you are late to work and they have already been given a final warning. When we come in no one is there to notice that you are late. Do you get in and start working as if you were on time, or do you clock in where your time will be documented and recorded that you were late. This situation is one that my fellow coworkers face on daily basics. I have noticed that when posed with this ethical choice they choose to do what is correct for them, not necessarily what is correct by the organization. We may see if as covering our own behind, but it actually violates ones business ethics. What some may not realize is that business ethics and personal values mirror each other very closely. In business they ask the same as society, no lying, stealing or cheating. Take responsibility and do what is correct, make the correct decision. The only question is who do you make the correct decision for, you or the company. In that situation most have choose to look out for self. When it comes down to making ethical choices that may put one self at risk people chose themselves over the business. This is when personal values may come into play. To do correct by whom, yourself or the company that you work for? In most personal value one would say to always look out for self first. So in their book the decision to not let anyone know that they were late does just that. Moral concepts are very similar to values, its one innate ability to do what is correct with in. The same is with virtue, Virtue-based ethical theories place less emphasis on which rules people should follow and instead focus on helping people develop good character traits (Cline). There are many external pressures that could have influenced the decision to cover ones behind and not tell anyone that they were late such as the current economical status. If the country is not doing well economically and people find it hard to obtain a good job within a reasonable amount of time. Then one would defiantly choose to violate business ethics. Other external pressures could be their current financial state. People that are in better than average financial positions or are financially stable. I could continue to list other external situations that could affect a person’s ability to make what they may view as the correct business decision verse the best moral decision for one self. If placed in a similar situation I would choose to look out for self. When I reflect on my bringing and what I was taught I was always taught to do what is best for me and my family. Regardless of who may be affected, making sure that my family was always taken care of came first. Although it may not be the best choice for all involved, it is the best for me and mine. At the point that I am in life I make my decision very wisely. I first think about who is going to be affected by the choice that I make. If I would choose to tell that I was late and face being terminated and that would put my family at risk for some financial instability. I know that many choice that we are forced to make in our business life can be unethical when it comes to work. But in our personal life they are considered to be ethical as well as morally correct choices. When it comes to decisions they will never be what is best for all. All members in the party want to make the choice that is best for them. Virtue, value and moral concepts are what people choose to live by to help them guide them in their personal and professional lives.

HRD 350 ch #2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HRD 350 ch #2 - Assignment Example The Trade unions have the mandate of conducting strikes against the employers. Strike is considered to be the last option, but when negotiations reaches impasse, strike is taken to be the only bargaining instrument for the workers. The trade unions are divided into industrial and craft unions. Craft union is composed of employees that perform a specific trade like printers, carpenters, and plumbers. In US, the craft unions are represented by various national organisations. In 1930s, various AFL unions that seek a national organization of workers came up with the Committee for Industrial Organization. The CIO organised all the industrial workers working with rubber plants, steel, and automobile. The Membership in trade unions has been on the descending trend since 1950. This has led to a decline in the number of employees found in the mmmanufacturing sector. In 1995, the union membership comprised of 15% of the work force. This is compared with 34.7% that was in 1954 (Harrod,

Criminal Justice communication 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Criminal Justice communication 4 - Essay Example One should refuse to engage in unnecessary arguments or debates. This method avails time for cooling off so that both parties can approach the conflict with some sobriety. Secondly, another method would entail competition or assertiveness. This method is better applicable where a person knows that they are right or where it is needed to protect against people who take advantage of non-competitive behavior. Thirdly, a person can be accommodative especially where they know they are wrong, and particularly where it is more pertinent to preserve a relationship than the issue at hand or where continued competition would be damaging to a person’s case. To add, a person could compromise or negotiate where both parties would be willing to cede ground, to arrive at a middle position acceptable to all. This will be applicable where a compromise would advance and serve the interests of each party well. Lastly, parties could collaborate when there is effective communication and concerns are too valuable, for example, to compromise or when the problem is common and thus fundamental to merge insights. Communication is paramount to achieve the above strategies. One need to be objective as a failure of objectivity affects communication. Moreover, parties should start from the common ground, that they both agree and share, slowly delving into the conflict. Conflict avoidance is also a strategy to avoid escalation of a conflict. In avoiding, there are no winners or losers. One simply withdraws sidesteps or postpones addressing the conflict. It is critical also when relationships are at stake, to provide time for cooling off or when one is faced with a more pressing issue and, therefore, has no time to deal with this particular one or where more information is needed. Nevertheless, this strategy has the drawback in that critical decisions could be made by default and moreover, postponing the dace may just make matters worse or

Interactions of hazardous materials Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interactions of hazardous materials - Essay Example According to the given incident, the ‘class 8’ label on the tanker shows that the liquid is corrosive (like sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, Sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide). The NFPA diamond with a 0 at 12 o'clock, shows that the liquid will not catch fire, a 2 at 3 o'clock shows that the liquid will undergo violent chemical change under normal conditions, a 4 at 9 o'clock shows that the liquid is deadly and it should not be inhaled or allowed to touch a body part under any condition. A slashed W at 6 o'clock depicts that the no water should be allowed to make contact with the chemical under any condition. The chemical will behave violently in contact with water. thus, it is clear from the label that the dripping liquid will nor catch fire but there is a need to maintain a distance between the dripping liquid, as the dripping liquid is vaporizing at normal temperature and pressure and may penetrate into the body through nasal passages and may harm the internal organs like lungs and throat (â€Å"NFPA Labeling Guide†). After viewing the labels and information available on the truck, it is quite clear that the chemical is lethal and probably has an acidic nature. The UN number 1836 identifies that the chemical is ‘Thionyl Chloride’, which is harsh chemical and reacts vigorously in contact with water and alkaline chemicals.

Health care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 20

Health care - Essay Example Therefore, one should make financial options because they are many ways of receiving financial support in starting a health care business. These include receiving grants, loans, contribution from families, bootstrap or venture capitalist. For instance, an entrepreneur may choose bootstrap as a financial option. However, it is essential to focus on the external financing sources rather than internal financial sources only. 2. One of the significant steps of becoming a successful entrepreneur is making the decision on funding alternatives and employing target marketing strategies. One should evaluate the target market by employing strategies that can contribute to effective business performance. Many entrepreneurs fail to sustain the business venture because of failure to select  clear financial alternative and  the target marketing strategy. Therefore, before starting a business, an entrepreneur should evaluate the safety of business finance and focus on factors that will enable an entrepreneur to return the money. Moreover, determining the required finance for starting the business is crucial because it will enable an entrepreneur to make effective financial options. Thus, realizing the financing level of the business start-up will enable an entrepreneur to become successfully in the competitive health care

Decision support systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Decision support systems - Essay Example They typically produce fixed, regularly scheduled reports based on data extracted and summarized from these reports is often specified in advance. A typical MIS report (Laudon & Laudon 2002) might show a summary from the organization's underlying transaction processing systems (TPS). The format from these reports is often specified in advance. A typical MIS report might show a summary f monthly sales for each f the major sales territories f a company. Sometimes MIS reports are exception reports, highlighting only exceptional conditions, such as when the sales quotas for a specific territory fall below an anticipated level or employees who have exceeded their spending limit in a dental care plan. Traditional MIS produced primarily hard copy reports. Today these reports might be available on-line through an intranet, and more MIS reports can be generated on-demand. Examples f MIS Application (Morgan 1998): California Pizza Kitchen - Inventory Express application "remembers" each restaurant's ordering patterns and compares the amount f ingredients used per menu item to predefined portion measurements established by management. The system identifies restaurants with out-of-line portions and notifies their management so that corrective action can be taken. DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS (DSSs) An extension f management reports and dealing with exceptions is decision support systems (DSSs). The goal f a DSS (Clifton, Ince & Sutcliffe 2000) is to support the decision-making process although not necessarily to provide sufficient information to make the decision a fait accompli. In fact, by the nature f many business decision situations, it is unlikely that the DSS could do that in any case. DSSs enable managers to retrieve information ad hoc and as straight forwardly as possible in order to facilitate current decision-making. DSSs are most effective in risk, for example (Marakas 1998): probability, situations where the manager is faced with a number f alternative actions. Ideally the DSS, if given estimates f relevant costs, times, workloads and so on, is capable f assessing all or some f the outcomes f the alternatives. If, for instance, the situation was such that OR techniques could be applied, this would be done automatically by the DSS and the optimum result presented to the manager. In a straightforward case, which would be unusual, the need for management decision might be eliminated as the OR technique had made the decision for him or her. A DSS is interactive to a much greater extent than most management information systems. This is a vital characteristic owing to the wide nature f user's requirements. The usual arrangement is for the DSS to record the user's requirements and subsequently to analyse the problem with an algorithm or

Graduate Labour Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Graduate Labour Market - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that in its effort to improve and modernize public services, UK government has created more job opportunities for graduates. Some of the sectors that depict an increase in the rate of employment include public administration, health, and education, construction as well as business and finance. It is important to note that the UK economic and political developments have made the region to be one of the countries that have the lowest rates of unemployment in Europe. According to Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), approximately 30% of the UK graduates are highly demanded in foreign countries including European region based on the extensive training undertaken by universities. Despite the estimation that employment vacancies in the UK would fall by 7% in 2010 due to the economic recession, employers reported 8.9% increase in the level of employment opportunities. As stipulated by AGR, more job opportunities will come up while the average i nitial salary for graduate will approximately be  £29,000. According to Gillard, the AGR chief executive officer, the market for the graduate is picking up thus offsetting the negativities of the recent economic downturn that affected almost all sectors of the global economy. However, most of the organizations are not increasing graduate salaries despite the extensive training that they undergo in the universities. As stipulated by Aaker, Online Marketing Manager is responsible for guiding the online marketing team. In addition, the manager oversees the implementation of the effective use of the internet as a way of promoting and advertising of the products. Other vital duties of the manager include evaluation and tracking of online marketing strategies, identifying new online marketing tactics as well as collaborating with personnel who are responsible for developing websites.

Compass financial analysis and sources of finance used by the company Essay

Compass financial analysis and sources of finance used by the company - Essay Example Gross Profit Ratio It is calculated by the following formula. Gross profit ratio = [(Gross profit / Net sales) ? 100] The results are presented in Table 1. Table 1: Gross profit ratio of the Compass Group Plc Company ? million 2011 2010 Gross Profit 1,010 983 Net Sales 15,833 14,468 Gross profit ratio 6.38% 6.79% There is a decrease in the gross profit ratio that has been realized amounting from 6.79% in 2010 to 6.38% in 2011. This can be attributed to poor sales strategies and an increase in the cost of goods sold (Compass Group Plc 2011, p.63). Mark Up It is calculated as shown below. Mark up = (Sale price / Cost) – 1 The results are shown in Table 2. Table 2: Mark up of Compass Group Plc ? million 2011 2010 Sales price 15,833 14,468 Cost 14,823 13,485 Mark up 6.81% 7.29% The mark-up decreased slightly from 7.29% in 2010 to 6.81% in 2011 (Compass Group Plc 2011, p.63). This can be contributed to low sales turnover, coupled with an increase in the costs of sales. Net Profit R atio It is calculated by means of the following formula: Net Profit Ratio = (Net profit / Net sales) ? 100. The results are shown in Table 3. ... 2011 2010 EBIT 958 913 Total Assets Current liabilities 9,410 (3,990) 8,254 (3,239) Net profit ratio 17.68% 18.21% A significant decrease in ROCE was realised, when it reduced from 18.21% in 2010 to 17.68% in 2011 (Compass Group Plc 2011, p.67). However, it is necessary to note that the rate of capital employed should always be higher than the company’s rate of borrowing, otherwise proportionate increase in borrowings would result into proportionate reductions in earnings of company’s shareholders. Current Ratio This is a ratio between current assets and current liabilities, where â€Å"current† means the assets and liabilities that need to be paid within one year. This ratio shows how well the assets can repay the amount of liabilities of the company, and it also assesses the liquidity of the company’s assets (see Table 5). In the Compass Group Plc’s case, the current ratio appears lower than it should be. Even though there are not even enough asse ts to pay the liabilities, the company is doing pretty well (Dobbs, Huyett & Koller 2009, p.54). Table 5: Calculations of the current ratio ? million 2011 2010 Current Assets 3,475 2,752 Current Liabilities 3,990 3,239 Current Ratio 0.87 : 1 0.85: 1 Acid Test (Quick) Ratio There is the following formula used for the calculation of this ratio: acid test (quick) ratio = (current assets – inventories)/current liabilities (see Table 6). Table 6: Acid test ratio of the company ? million 2011 2010 Current Assets Inventories 3,475 270 2,752 238 Current Liabilities 3,990 3,239 Quick Ratio 0.803 : 1 0.776 : 1 Compass Group Plc’ quick ratio was 0.803:1 and 0.776:1 in 2011 and 2010 respectively. Given that the quick ratio of 1:1 is considered as a satisfactory financial condition, Compass Group Plc is sufficiently liquid

English Church Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

English Church Schools - Essay Example This change had been taking place, not only in Britain, but also in other European countries. As minorities got stronger, they started voicing their demands and insecurities. Government slowly realised that education for the children had been stagnant without taking into consideration the need to alter it. It also decided in the last three decades education had not been modernised. In Britain, as Henry VIII rebelled against the authority of the Pope, monarchs become the Head of the Religious faith. Britain, after Henry VIII incident, had its own Church and other connected institutions. After the Second World War, Britain had evolved into a multi-lingual and multi-cultural society, with many voices, demands, languages, cultures and religions. People from erstwhile colonies have made Britain their home, along with other asylum seekers and quite naturally, they all have become part of Britain now. Government had to protect their needs and requirements too. This led to a more coherent government policy and church schools have been asked to accommodate students of other faiths, a nd with effective guidance from cultural leaders, they have to reduce their Christian outlook to a large extent and teach children about other cultures. They have realised that they have to modernise their outlooks with the changes brought by the changing times. They are neither vehement about Christianity, nor reluctant to change. Till recently, we can say that nothing much has been done in this direction, even though this is a very important element of a welfare state. "One important target of active states is the school institution and its influence over how children are socialized. Since the Reformation, civic leaders have made grand claims about the magical effects of mass schooling and the secular state's power to expand it. But only in the past decade has research matured on both the causes and economic consequences of school expansion," (Fuller and Rubinson, 1992, p.1). Church schools might not sound and look like the best places to accommodate alien cultures. The stereotype and traditional church schools of olden days would never have taught anything other than Christianity. Fortunately, today, religious institutions are changing according to the time and requirements. Hence, most of these schools are accommodating the multi-cultural and multi-faith demands of British society. Even though they are still being called as 'Church Schools', run by the societies and funds belonging to the Church of England mainly, their function and focus has enormously shifted in recent years. Even Churches have accepted that Christianity is not the only religion in United Kingdom. They are not only providing multi-culture based education today, but also they are welcoming students from other cultures to join the schools without any discrimination in admission. They are also trying to know more about diverse cultures, so that they could be right in their approach. "It is also important to recognize the extent to which changes in education policy are influenced by larger social and economic developments. The analysis draws us back clearly to political questions as lying at the heart of education policy, which is, after all, about the choices that governments made," (Levin, 2001, p.18). Church schools, which were considered to be stuffy at one point of time, have changed so much in their approach, that it is not at all difficult for them to provide

U. S. student population Essay Example for Free

U. S. student population Essay The sources indicate that there are key individual differences among learners which standardized testing may not be sensitive to. Racial discrimination can occur within the confines of a testing facility when certain questions included in the test are more favorable to certain ethnic, religious, or social groups or if they are less favorable to others. This weakness of standardized tests have already been acknowledged back in the Clinton administration when the Educational Commission claimed that SAT scores do not reveal all of the competencies of those who take them. A particular example that depicts the failure of standardized tests in measuring individual work competence is the case of Hope who was an able education student who could not pass licensure testing despite of her high marks in practical examinations and demo teaching exercises because she has a disorder that makes her read slower than normal. Presentation America is the melting pot of human diversity. Its population is composed of so many different ethnicities, religions, cultures, socioeconomic and sociopolitical stratifications that its minorities are the majority. It is needless to say that these differences naturally find their way in all aspects of American life, especially in education. However the problem arises when the way that the school system expects students to perform is to be measured by standards that are not fair to all. Standardized testing is the administration of a single, uniform evaluation upon all the members of the population. From standardized tests, a performance of the individual relative to the group can be measured and inferences as to which college he or she qualifies in are made. This means that the results of standardized tests basically dictate what a student is good enough to do in the academic world. It is therefore of utmost importance that such tests are conducted in a fair, undiscriminating manner and that the tests themselves give equal chances to all to be able to show what they can do. However, the individual differences of students in terms of their language proficiencies, learning, styles, and social and cultural inclinations seriously lead to such standardized tests being biased towards or against certain groups. The American public school system is composed of a great many students who are using English as a Second Language. These people who come from Asia, the Middle East, or Latin America have as much right as the next student to be able to perform to the best of his or her ability during standardized tests. However, when it is considered that all such tests are worded in formal English, the discrimination against these groups becomes apparent. A student can be a genius at calculus but if he does not understand terminologies used because he is more used to dealing with their Spanish or Arabic counterparts, it can be expected that he would perform poorly in a calculus exam. There is no question that the English language should be a part of standardized testing and it is, but allowing students who cannot speak English so well no alternatives in taking tests on other topics such as science and mathematics means that the system is forcing them to take English exams regardless of what subject is written on the test booklet. In any subject, learning is not supposed to be limited within the confines of the pencil and the paper. In science, experiments are conducted in order to verify laws while enhancing students’ competence with various equipment. The competencies that students gain in this manner cannot be tested by multiple choice questions on an SAT examination. The worlds future rocket scientists may not be so keen at memorization but they could be excellent at practical application of theories and concepts. However, standardized testing may well cut off any chances that they could have to become NASA pilots just because they are not good at multiple choice tests, something that they would hardly need when they’re up in space! Different students have different learning styles, this applies to how students are evaluated as well. If standardized testing would restrict evaluation to just pencil and paper multiple choice items, then it is closing its doors to all the many other learners who just happen to be naturally attuned to other equally important aspects of learning. Lastly, points of discrimination can be within questions themselves. A standardized test that concentrates too much in using examples in football games when giving details to math problems would confuse those who do not follow the game from answering the questions correctly. Including opinionated, political details to questions about comprehension can distract students from responding. All of these biases should be weeded out of any test that is to be administered to the U. S. student population. Standardized testing is supposed to have the value of giving everyone an equal shot. It is supposed to promote equality among all existing groups and fairness towards obtaining opportunities. However, evidences sow that the exact opposite may be happening. The current use of standardizes testing is disenfranchising various lingual, learning, and cultural groups from being able to fully express their academic competence. This is a grave problem for the educational system which should be addressed promptly and effectively. Students, educators, and government should all work together to be able to revamp this system of evaluation to standards that are truly fair.

Salvador Dali Belief System Essay Example for Free

Salvador Dali Belief System Essay Salvador Dali – Explore and analyse the metamorphosis of Dali’s belief system through his art Salvador Dali was an artist; known not only for his tremendous artistic talent and flamboyant and eccentric personality, but also for the greater meaning he entwined into his art. His contrasting beliefs led to an interesting metamorphosis of his belief system. Dali struggled between religion and science, due to conflicting family influences from his childhood and personal experiences which he would go on to endeavour in life. Dali’s initial works commenced by experimenting specifically with scientific themes and ideas, which can be noted in one his most famous paintings; The Persistence of Memory (1931). However as his life progressed, Dali’s new reincarnated interest in religion, mysticism and metaphysics led him to believe that religion and science co-exist simultaneously, which he portrayed through his artwork. Dali developed conflicting views regarding religion from a very young age. The artist grew up in a household where his mother’s family were devout Catholics; however his father was a firm atheist. Dali’s early views on religion were explicitly expressed in his drawing Sometimes I spit with Pleasure on the Portrait of my Mother (The Sacred Heart) (1929). This abstract themed drawing of what appears to be the silhouette of Jesus Christ is incredibly blasphemous. The hand written â€Å"Parfois Je crache pour plaisir sur la portrait de ma mere â€Å"literally translates to â€Å"Sometimes I spit with pleasure on the portrait of my mother†. The drawing is done in black ink on a plain white canvas. This simple colour scheme proves to be very effective, as it delivers the message very clearly and graphically. However, the simple nature of this particular drawing reflects what artists and literary figures from previous generations would have potentially branded as a â€Å"simple† and â€Å"earthly† mind due to the lack of belief in religion and one’s higher self. The style of writing could almost be associated with the types of print associated with cartoons. This just further reflects the lack of seriousness on Dali’s behalf. On the drawing, the words â€Å"ma mere† are specifically written in a bolder and larger size compared to the rest of the sentence. This effect makes these two words stand out in particular, emphasising Dali’s abhorrence towards his mother’s belief system. The small drawing in the centre of the silhouette with the Christian symbol of the cross represents Dali’s version of â€Å"The Sacred Heart†. This heart which he has drawn appears to be a very deformed heart. According to Christian beliefs, The Sacred Heart is a devotional name used by Catholics to refer to the physical heart of Jesus Christ, as a symbol of divine love. The devotion especially emphasizes the unmitigated love, compassion, and long-suffering of the heart of Christ towards humanity. By illustrating this â€Å"Sacred Heart† as deformed, Dali atrociously insulted his mother’s beliefs. This scandalous portrayal of the priesthood clearly reflects how Dali and his father viewed the priesthood as heavily corrupted, ignorant and hypocritical. The deformed heart reinstates how he thought the Catholic Church had deformed views, beliefs and a deformed lifestyle. Dali was an artist who formed part of the Surrealism movement. In the surrealist period, I wanted to create the iconography of the interior world – the world of the marvellous, of my father Freud. I succeeded in doing it. Today the exterior world – that of physics – has transcended the one of psychology. My father today is Dr Heisenberg† (Salvador Dali, quoted in Elliott H. King, ‘Nuclear Mysticism’, Salvador Dali: Liquid Desire, p. 247). The artists from the surrealist era introduced the theory of the liberation of desire through the invention of techniques that aimed to reproduce the mechanisms of dreams (Centre Pompidou, 2007). From a very young age, Dali was an avaricious learner of science and extensively read many books on geometry, mathematics, optical science, physics and natural history. Dali extensively studied and experimented with the Freudian theories on dreams and the unconscious. Several surrealist artists turned to hypnotism and drugs to delve into the dream world, where they looked for unconscious images that were not available in the conscious world, and Dali was an artist who was known for doing so (Art History Archive, n. d. ). The most famous painting associated with Dali is â€Å"The Persistence of Memory†, which was completed in 1931. This painting perfectly expresses Dali’s intense fascination and interest with the world of science, in particular modern physics. Albert Einstein proved to be a strong influence and inspiration for Dali. Dali’s ubiquitous thirst for science and modern physics naturally drew him to Einstein’s idea of relativity from the early 1900’s. This painting primarily focuses on the theme of time and the idea that time is relative, not fixed. There are three clocks, which appear to be melting, drooping and fluid in movement. These clocks represent that time is irrelevant, especially during sleep. However, the one watch on the desk appears to be normal yet closed, with ants crawling all over it. These ants are a subtle theme in the painting, suggesting that they are drawn to the decaying of time, as if it were â€Å"like rotting flesh† (The Museum of Modern Art). The colour scheme which Dali uses, is a scheme found in many of his other paintings. The use of the earthy colours such as brown, yellow and blue to portray sandy beaches and a slightly rugged coastline, resemble imagery which he had been exposed to as a child in Port Lligat. The use of these earthy colours and scenes of nature in a raw yet calm form brings about a sense of grounding to the painting, which contrasts to the dreamy ideologies which were commonly introduced by Surrealist painters, in particular Dali. In addition, Dali uses contrasting shading and light in this painting. The left half of the painting appears to be under a darker light and shady, whereas the right hand side of the painting appears to be brighter and exposed to sunlight. This subtle detail suggests that these two halves could represent the sub-conscious mind and the conscious mind. In the painting, the drooping, flexible clocks are placed within the darker shaded part of the painting, representing the subconscious mind and the dream world. However, the â€Å"conscious† part of the painting, which appears to be lit by sunlight, suggests that in reality, there is light at the end of the tunnel. This part of the painting also doesn’t enclose any of the clocks, which further emphasises Dali’s belief that in reality, time is definitely relative. Whilst in America during the 1940’s Dali experienced a shift in attitudes and began to reinvent himself. Despite the hatred he had for the Catholic Church during his younger years, Dali found himself exploring and returning to his mother’s belief system. Dali reinvented his art to explore and combine psychology, science and religion. This urge to explore his religious roots came from his research regarding Spanish mystics, who believed that science, art and religion can be expressed and proved as one. During this time, Dali came to know of the mathematician Matila Ghyka, whose works related to the golden mean, a harmonious proportion known to the Ancient Greeks and present in both nature and art. It was through this mathematician, that Dali came to learn of this unique and beautiful proportion. Dali was convinced that Ghyka had solved the problem of geometrical composition and used a transcription of his golden mean composition diagram as an inspiration for many of his compositions ( The Dali Dimension: DVD). Dali incorporated the use of the golden mean in many of his works, such as The Sacrament of the Last Supper (1955). In mathematics and art, two quantities are the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the large quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one. This proportion has been used in the form of the â€Å"golden rectangle† since the renaissance era by many artists, and is believed to be the most aesthetically pleasing. Dali was heavily inspired and influenced by artists from the renaissance era and therefore incorporated the golden rectangle in his own works too. The ratio of the dimensions of Dalis painting Sacrament of the Last Supper is equal to the golden ratio. Dali incorporated into the painting a huge dodecahedron (with each side being a pentagon) engulfing the supper table. According to Plato, the dodecahedron was the solid which the god used for embroidering the constellations on the whole heaven, and is intimately related to the golden ratio; both the surface area and the volume of a dodecahedron of unit edge length are simple functions of the golden ratio. In the painting The Sacrament of the Last Supper, Dali uses daring presentation. He successfully modernises a traditional and religious scene. The painting has an intense clarity to it, where the brush stroke artifacts that are barely visible give the image an even more meticulous quality to it. Dali presents Christ without any facial hair, which proves to be an extremely rare portrayal albeit a very effective one which modernises Christ. The use of the chapel like setting through the use of modern architecture removes this scene from an ancient biblical time in history, replacing and bringing it to what possibly could be the present. The three-dimensional effect which Dali incorporates proves to be alluring and only exemplifies the modern feel of the scene this painting. By using the three-dimensional affect, Dali could also be hinting at an ethereal dimension of spirituality. The colour scheme which Dali uses consists mainly of celestial shades of blue and soft hues of gold and white. Dali continues the beautifully spiritual theme with the body of Christ. The body is emphasised by the lack of a head, with his arms stretched over the Apostles symbolising that Christ offered himself up, however the Apostles are a metaphor for the mystical and metaphysical body of Christ. Dali seems to be the perfect match to create a modern-day painting of The Sacrament of the Last Supper, since he seemed to express a genuine understanding of the supernatural whilst having the uncanny ability to successfully merge modern science and religion in his work. Dali’s painting Meditative Rose (1958) charmingly indicates a sense of profound, peaceful serenity and completion in Dali’s life, in particular his relationship with his wife Gala, with whom he had an unconventional yet fulfilling and committed relationship with. The large, beautiful rose is unique and stimulating and provides the main focus of the painting. The rose is synonymous with the female form and is featured as a motif and metaphor for a sexual symbol in many of Dali’s other works. The rose bears a dual symbolism, which could represent Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as Dali’s beloved wife Gala. Dali’s positioning of the huge beautiful red rose hovering in the sky with a couple standing below it, promotes a sense of ambiguity and awe. The style which Dali has used is a unique blend of realism and dream-like fantasy. The tiny drop of water on the rose petal insinuates a realistic feature; however it can also infer a reference to holy water, implying that everyone’s life can have an auspicious element to it. The distinctive Spanish landscape which blends a range of earthy colours such as shades of yellow, orange and brown promote a sense of unity and variety. Dali strongly disliked war and conflict, he painted this painting over a decade after the Second World War had ended; therefore the peaceful qualities of this painting reflect his own personal emotional state as well as the condition of the community too. The rose is known for its medicinal and curing properties and perhaps by using this precious plant a motif, Dali aimed to promote healing through his art work. The journey for Dali to balance the struggle between religion and science proved to be empirical yet highly enriching and beneficial for him. Despite growing up with immense hatred towards Catholicism and religion, Dali turned to Spanish mysticism and metaphysics and proved that science and religion can perfectly complement one another. Through his artwork, his vivid expression along with his meticulous technique and exploration of challenging yet intriguing themes, perfectly show the journey and metamorphosis of his belief system.

Why Authoritarian Governments In Asia Control The Media Politics Essay

Why Authoritarian Governments In Asia Control The Media Politics Essay Authoritarian regimes or governments have always been considered by western scholars or politicians as standing on the opposite side of democracy. In those states within which media are controlled, the freedom of speech, human rights and democracy remain big concerns of those democrats. Asia, the largest continent in the world, boasts its diversified politic forms, be it democratic regimes, like Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korean and quasi-democratic ones like Thailand, as well as authoritarian ones like Mainland China, North Korean and Burma. The role of media in Asia varies with the political style, from free to control. This essay, then, mainly focuses on exploring the reason why authoritarian regime expects to take control of media from the political, cultural, technological and economic perspectives. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  Media in authoritarian rule in Asia Authoritarian government refers to the government that concentrates power in the hands of a leader or a small group of elites unelected by the people; and is opposed to individualism and democracy. Although authoritarian governments always claim that their existence is to protect the country and to provide discipline and order to its way of life and that the traditional culture should be aggressively maintained against encroaching external or contemporary culture (Robert McKenzie, 2006 73-74), the reality is in the opposite side that those basic components of a civil society like human rights, free information, free speech, social justice, etc. are almost eliminated or constrained in the so called order and traditional culture. As what Myung-Jin Park,James Curran(1999) point out, authoritarian regimes can be divided into three major forms: single-party regime, military regime and religious regime. In Asia, countries can be entitled as authoritarian are Brunei (the executive authority lies with the unelected sultan), China (state under communist single party rule), Laos (a communist single party state), Burma (military rule), North Korea (one-party rule), Oman (ruled by a hereditary sultan, and no political parties are legal and no opposition movement), Qatar (ruled by hereditary emirates), Saudi Arabia Syria United Arab Emirates (ruled by hereditary emirates), Vietnam (communist single-party state). Media in these authoritarian regimes can be either privately or publicly owned but must resort to the control of the state. Such control means that the media are never allowed to expose the information that opposes the will of ruling class or interest groups strictly related to the government. Media can criticize the government, but not the supreme level which takes the hold of the highest power. They have certain degree of freedom, but it is only restricted to the reports and programs unrelated to political areas, such as entertainment, sports, travel, etc. In authoritarian rule, Robert McKenzie (2006) points out two procedures that are commonly implemented: censorship and punishment. In terms of the censorship of the media content, it involves two steps: state censorship and self-censorship. State censorship is applied when speech and communication are contrary to state objectives, then the content is banned for dissemination. Self-censorship is the act of intently censoring ones own publications, blogs, films, news scripts, TV programs or other means of expression without direct pressure from the authority, in order not to disseminate the content against the government objectives. So after finishing ones work, he or she may remove inappropriate material for fear of sanction by the government. With the above two kinds of censorship, media only speak the voice of the government or ruling class instead of the people. With the regard to the punishment, the consequence is always conditioned by the seriousness of the illegal content. In the authoritarian rule, the state has the right to penalize individuals and media organizations for seditious libel (Robert McKenzie, 2006). Since the authoritarian societies are under the rule of men instead of law, the punishment can be various types according to the leaders will, such as confiscating private facilities, incarceration of media professionals, expiration, long-term prison, or even death. The content of media in different countries may vary, but one common feature of the authoritarian states in Asia is that media are controlled or owned by the state. Therefore, the information the audience received in the media reflect not the interest of the people but the ruling class, no matter how capable or how hard-working the leaders are, because it is the system of a state that decides the role of the media. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¡Reasons for the authoritarian seeking to control the media According to Denis Mcquail(2005), there are four types of control over media: control of content for political reasons; control of content for cultural and/or moral reasons; control of infrastructures for technical reasons; and control infrastructures for economic reasons. These reasons can serve as a guideline for the author to explore further. 1. Control for political reasons The influence of media in political societies is immense and should never be underestimated. As what Katrin Voltmer and Gary Rawnsley (2010)point out, the function of media in democratic society is to (a) provide a forum where all voices can be heard and engage in a dialogue with each other, and (b) to act as a watchdog of the government. However, the effect of these above two functions are what the authoritarian ruling elites want to decrease, because they are not only the functions, but inherent nature of media, and if without control, the innate force will bring the media to the peoples side. Then the pluralistic opinions and voices will appear that are unlikely all to conform to the political will proposed by the ruling elites. But if we stand at the point of the authoritarian government, the control seems to be necessary, because the media have too much potential power that could be used to unseat the state or destabilize the country (Robert McKenzie, 2006 73-74). What the authoritarian governments most badly need is stability, for in chaos the power of the people will release and it is uneasy to be taken control again. Take China as an example. The government makes every effort to forbid the expressions related to Tiananmen event in 1989, for fear of arousing another wave of opponents that might shake the foundation of the superstructure. Although the information is blocked in mainland China, related videos, books, magazines and reports from abroad still remain hard evidence, which can be a great threat against the authority of communist party. Only if those media become inaccessible to people can the central government avoid losing support from the public. Therefore, the authoritarian media can also be a watchdog, but to watch people instead of the government. Beside, given that the president or premier or the elite ruling group has the high morality, responsibility, wisdom and really concern the people, it is unlikely for them to make sure that every official they appoint or appointed by their appointers other than through the election from the people obey the principles of the constitution. Holding great power and backed by the superior, bureaucractism, red-tapism and corruption will generate, which means that only by controlling the media can they cover their bad deeds, without knowing from the above and the public. But if even the supreme rulers or elites group have ulterior or scandal of their own, degree of control will be much stricter and the free of media is far from possible. In addition, since the media belong to the government, they can be used as a powerful agency to propagate, reinforce and sublimate the value and merits of the ruling concept, thus win more trust and understanding over disagreement. The news from the state-owned media is always the wise decisions and favorable policies which give the people hope and better future, but seldom is there any voice that directly criticizes the state leaders or central government. 2. Control for cultural reasons Almost all authoritarian countries in Asia have their unique as well as dominating traditional or political culture. These cultures not only determine the patterns of thought of the people, but also provide a well constructed harbor for the elite ruling groups to prevent their regime from the impact of the outside world. Media, therefore, can serve as a useful tool to further strengthen the preexisted culture on the one hand, and to broadcast and spread the domestic culture to the world on the other. In this sense, to control the media is to some extent to control the mind of the mass people. The following analysis will focus on the analysis from several powerful cultures. The most distinguished culture in Asia may be Islamism, a belief that Islam is a political ideology, as well as a faith. For this culture, to control the media is to maintain the purity of the peoples thought and enhance the loyalty to the god. It is a modernist claim that political sovereignty belongs to God, that the Sharia should be used as state law, that Muslims form a political rather than a religious bloc around the world and that it is a religious duty for all Muslims to create a political entity that is governed as such.(http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/faqs.html) Based on the above definition, religious belief becomes legitimate tool and peoples behaviors are judged by the Quran. They believe in one God and resist other religions. Then the Islamic content is dominant in media. The western thought, belief, values as well as culture are severely censored and are considered conflict to Islam. For them, the religion and politic are tied extremely close to each other. So if the religion or culture is affected by outside or different impact, the political rule will also be impaired. Another powerful culture is communist culture. In this culture, to control the media is to prevent the attack and cultural impact from the outside world.In present China, North Korea, Laos, Vietnam, the culture is shaped by communist party rather than Confucianism, even though some parts of the behaviors and thoughts still follow the principles proposed by Confucius. Communist culture is relatively young but very influential. At the very beginning of the communist party, those vanguards did set up educational and honorable examples that inspire the fellow country men and women to fight against outside invasion. They did win peoples trust that the communist party will bring them freedom, democracy and equality. But communism is based on the philosophy proposed by Karl Marx that it is possible to create an egalitarian or classless society by means of working as a collective whole. Besides, there is a huge difference of the definition of democracy. While western world regard democracy a s characterized by free speech, two or multiparty and mass election, the communism believe that the democracy is to liberate people and let people become the sovereign master. Ever since the Marxism was applied by the developing countries, the capitalism has become their enemy. The western thought and value as well as ways of running economy are all considered as against the communist belief. Therefore, everything from the western world is banned or defined as evil. In extreme case like North Korea, the image of the party is always the representative of justice, while those western capitalist societies are shown as the lack enlightenment of communist thought. In this environment, the people are deprived of the idea to fight against free speech, liberty and democracy, because as what media show, there are in this process. 3. Control for technological reasons With the development of high technology, especially the booming of the internet, the battle between media control and anti-control has been largely upgraded. Modern communications technologies mean that authoritarian governments find it ever more difficult to hermetically seal their borders and prevent their people from receiving often uncomfortable news, information and opinion from overseas sources (Katrin Voltmer and Gary Rawnsley, 2010). On the other hand, the ruling elites clearly know that to control the core technology is to hold the initiative advantage, so the high technology is not only widely applied by people, but also by the government as a fairly useful tool to exercise censorship, underground investigation as well as supervisory. In other word, the authoritarian government plays the role of defense, while the dissidents and civil right fighters act as the role of offense, and the rest becomes the audience, looking on the development of the game. This means that even though people can create some software to get access to the blocked information, government then can renew the fire-wall and all kinds of software to block the sensitive expressions, detect the opinion initiators, or even control them. After all, the power of individuals is relatively small. They do not have enough economic income to keep them fighting longer. They are intelligent and are able to find the flaw of the censorship system, but seldom is there anyone daring to cross the bottom line of the ruling class. However, the government has sufficient financial support. It can establish well-equipped companies and hire a group of highly professional hackers or internet veterans to help the information control and monitoring. New technology or the new media does provide the citizens with a platform to voice out their opinions and unfair experience with the government and the exposed officials will do meet their deserved consequence. Nevertheless, no government wants its system to be corrupted and then lose its efficiency. In this sense, new technology also helps the government to find a new method to govern the stuff and officials. 4. Control for economic reasons When studying the media issues, economic respect should be considered, for mass media is not only a social institution, but also an industry. With the regard to the present essay, the reasons of media control from the economic perspective are mainly focused on the issue of ownership. Altschull(1984) in his second law of journalism says: the contents of media always reflect the interests of those who finance them. That is to say, the economic structure of the state decides the structure of the media industry, thus determines the role of media. Specifically, in authoritarian regime, the state owns the media, and the main sources of income are advertising, consumer revenue as well as the state financial support. What should be noticed is that the most powerful enterprises in authoritarian states are commonly the state-owned or royal relates-owned industries, which contribute a lion share of the advertising investments. Those state-owned companies not only have continuously financial support from the central government, but also take control of the choices of the consumers, in other word, the market. The vulnerable private media companies, though exist, can seldom have the opportunities to set foot in the most influential market like broadcasting industry and are fac ed with severe competition from various aspects. Then the domination of powerful state-owned companies in communication industries remains as an impassable barrier for private sectors. Consequently, since the government controls the market, that media are controlled becomes a nature process. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢ Conclusion The study of the relationship between government and the media involves a various range of research and analysis. The present essay at first introduces the situation of media in authoritarian regimes in Asia. When media are unable to perform as an agent of democratic transition and consolidation, they become the important means of enforcing the authoritarian or totalitarian rule. Serving as the lapdog and gatekeeper of the government and accompanied by the relevant law and policy, the position of media is fixed and can hardly be changed. Consequently, the people have to be careful with the serious censorship and take the risk of being punished if they seek to rebel the government will. The purpose for government to control the media can be analyzed in four aspects. The first one is the political aspect that government takes the media as a useful tool to maintain the stability of ideology, reinforce the governance and to hide truth and dirt deeds of the rulers themselves. In terms of the cultural reasons, the author tries to find result from studying to distinctive cases of Islam culture and communist culture. A common feature of the both cultures is that the government seeks to manipulate media through keeping the purity of the culture, thus erecting a shield to resist the western democratic thought and culture. With the regard to the technological sphere, the government does realize the potential threat from the booming internet communication, so they intently act as a powerful defender to defend the attack from the domestic and abroad on the one hand, and makes most use of the high technology to strengthen itself on the other. The last reason is from the economic sphere that since the authoritarian government has the huge influence on the market, it influences the media industry as well. Owned and financed by state-run enterprises, the media industry is unchallengeablely controlled by the government. All in all, the media independence is a long process, and the freedom of media and information follows the political reform, cultural transformation and globalization, technological advancement as well as economic development. Although media are controlled, they are still able to play a significant role in pushing forward the social progress of these authoritarian countries in Asia,

The Pros and Cons of Contracting Out In The Public Sector Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Contracting Out In The Public Sector Introduction Many public agencies in recent years have followed the trend of privatization, or contracting-out. Activities and functions that were once performed, or services that were once provided, by public employees are now being performed by private sector employees (Lyons). Vehicle towing, health services, police protection, and solid waste collection are among the many services and functions that government has contracted out. A survey in 1995 that was sent to mayors or city managers of America's largest cities (based on population) revealed that only three of the 66 cities that responded to the survey had not privatized any city services. http://fpac.fsu.edu/parbaby/pdf/1997/janfeb/dilger.pdf This trend translates to not only an administrative concerns but a staffing concern faced by many managers. Privatization As A Staffing Concern Replacement Of Civil Servants By Contract Employees Privatization of governmental functions has a direct relationship with the number of contract employees in government and an inverse relationship with the number of civil servants. As privatization has become more acceptable, contract employees are being hired to do the jobs, thus, replacing civil servants. As indicated by Gregg Lodan, Assistant Administrative Analyst for the City of Long Beach Community Development Department, approximately 20% of the department’s employees are contract employees, as opposed to approximately 5% three years ago. He stated that other departments and other cities might have even higher percentages because functions of whole departments or individual functions are now being considered for privatization (Lodan). In India... ...3. International City Management Association. Service Delivery in the 90's: Alternative Approaches for Local Governments: Washington D.C.: International City Management Association, 1989. Lodan, Gregg and Jesus Gomez. Personal interview. November 18, 1998. Lyons, James. "Contracting Out for Public School Support Services." Education Urban Society, Feb. 1, 1995: 154 Pinchot, Gifford, and Elizabeth Pinchot. The End of Bureaucracy & the Rise of the Intelligent Organization. San Francisco: Berrett, 1993: 180. Rehfuss, John A. Contracting Out in Government. San Francisco: Jossey, 1989 Wolfe, Michael N. "That's Not an Employee, That's an Independent Contractor." Compensation & Benefits Review, July-August, 1996: 60-64. Nigro, Lloyd G., and Felix A. Nigro. The New Public Personnel Administration. Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., 1994.

The Military Commander in Othello Essay -- Othello essays

The Military Commander in Othello  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   The character of the general in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello is quite noble, although plagued by the shortcoming or weakness of gullibility. Let us in this essay look at all the features, both good and bad. of this ill-fated hero.    David Bevington in William Shakespeare: Four Tragedies describes many fine virtues which reside within the general:    Othello’s blackness, like that of the natives dwelling in heathen lands, could betoken to Elizabethan audiences an innocent proneness to accept Christianity, and Othello is one who has already embraced the Christian faith. His first appearance onstage, when he confronts a party of torch-bearing men coming to arrest him and bids his followers sheathe their swords, is sufficiently reminiscent of Christ’s arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane to convey a fleeting comparison between Othello and the Christian God whose charity and forbearance he seeks to emulate. Othello’s blackness may be used in part as an emblem of fallen man, but so are we all fallen. His age similarly strengthens our impression of his wisdom, restraint, leadership. (220)    Is it his â€Å"gullibility† which leads to his downfall? Morton W. Bloomfield and Robert C. Elliott   in Great Plays: Sophocles to Brecht posit the â€Å"lack of insight† of the hero as the cause of his tragic fall:    Othello’s lack of insight, cunningly played upon by Iago, leads to his downfall. And as the full enormity of his deed dawns upon him in the great scene of tragic self-revelation at the end, the audience may perhaps experience catharsis, that purgation of the soul brought about by an almost unbearable pity for him and his victims, and by terror at what human... ...han all his tribe [. . .] .† He dies a noble death, just as he has lived a noble life. Michael Cassio’s evaluation of his end is our evaluation: â€Å"This did I fear, but thought he had no weapon; / For he was great of heart.†       WORKS CITED    Bevington, David, ed. William Shakespeare: Four Tragedies. New York: Bantam Books, 1980.    Bloomfield, Morton W. and Robert C. Elliott, ed. Great Plays: Sophocles to Brecht. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1965.    Coles, Blanche. Shakespeare’s Four Giants. Rindge, New Hampshire: Richard Smith Publisher, 1957.    Jorgensen, Paul A. William Shakespeare: The Tragedies. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1985.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.   

Womens Real Life Problems in Thelma and Louise and Shirley Valentine E

Women's Real Life Problems in Thelma and Louise and Shirley Valentine Throughout the history of film actresses have always received the worst roles in which to portray women. Women are often featured as lovers or prostitutes, backstage roles that support the power and domination of men. Hollywood has always been dominated and ‘run’ by the influence of male actors and directors. Statistics have shown that 71% of male actors are given major roles compared to women who receive only 29% of centre stage roles. Thelma and Louise and Shirley are two films, which change that. They portray woman in a positive role, showing them in a positive light against male oppression. Although Shirley Valentine is a British film and Thelma and Louise is American, both films still show women facing the prejudice of society in the 20th century. In this way women viewers can relate to the films believing them to show the difficulties women face in life, the loss of women’s individuality due to the domination of their husbands and their experiences of sexism and prejudice in modern day society. There are many similarities as well as differences in both films and the storylines are varied, yet both films still feature woman who overcome the typical stereotype that they are nothing but sexual objects for men to abuse. Thelma and Louise a road film featuring two women who are trying to run away from the law because Louise has shot a man who was trying to rape Thelma. Throughout their journey they go on a quest of self-discovery realising the mistakes they have made in life and finding their true identity among the ravages their partners have made ... ... were losing. Therefore I believe both films are successful in presenting stories from a women’s viewpoint on the real life problems women face. Both films are realistic and can be compared to the lives of many women in the same situations. These films allow women to relate to the characters and experience emotions on issues that they have faced throughout history such as rape and sexism. They allow women to feel a sense of hope and to make them understand that they are individuals who must fulfil their dreams. Shirley Valentine and Thelma and Louise allow women to overcome stereotypical images of ‘housewives’ and ‘sex objects’ and present women as strong with their own individual characters. In this way both films are successful in showing the problems and issues women face and overcome from a female perspective.

Comparing Judaism and Islam Essay

Judaism and Islam are two of the world’s oldest, and largest monotheistic religions. These religions share a variety of customs, beliefs, and even practices. But at the same time, there are enough differences to make the two religions and cultures oppose each other greatly. Even some similarities between the two have been the source of conflict for thousands of years. Both the Jewish and Muslim faith believe in one God. Being monotheistic means just that, the belief in one God. This is the most obvious similarity between the two religions. In fact a Muslim is defined as anyone who says â€Å"There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the messenger of God.† and the basic creed of Judaism says â€Å"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.† Judaism and Islam both have Holy Books from which religious teachings are taken. The Muslim Holy Book is called the Quran, it is spelled in English in many different ways Koran, Kuran, this is because Arabic is hard to translate. The Quran is the word of God as reveled by the prophet Mohammed. The Jewish Holy Book is referred to as the Hebrew Bible. The first five books of the Hebrew Bible is called the Torah. This is the part of the bible lays out a system of moral and religious conduct. The Hebrew Bible was put together in the 1st century A.D. by rabbis and teachers of the Jewish text. The Hebrew Bible and the Quran both set up a system of law for the followers of the Jewish and Muslim faiths. The Hebrew Bible, the book of the Jewish faith sets up more of a code of conduct, a system of moral and religious conduct that is called the halavhah. This addresses how families should be run, personal ethics and manners, social responsibilities, and what people of the Jewish faith should and should not eat. Dietary guidelines are very important in the Jewish religion, everything that is eaten must be Kosher, meaning it is prepared a certain way. The Quran goes one step farther in setting boundaries for it’s believers. This book of the Muslim faith sets the rules for an Islamic state. Also there are strict rules on women, families, and daily life that are addressed in deep detail in the Quran. Polygamy is accepted in the Quran, a man may have no more that four wives. And women are actually supposed to be mostly equal to men, yet modest.  Equality of women is not always practiced in some Middle Eastern and Islamic countries. As with most religions Islam and Judaism have a variety of holidays. Some are to commemorate an event of the the past, some to celebrate a new year, or maybe the passing of a certain number of years. Ramadan, a holiday celebrated mostly by Sunni Muslims, happens during the ninth month of the Muslim year. This was the month when the Quran was reveled for the guidance of mankind. During this holy month Muslims fast and abstain from sex during the daylight hours. It is a very holy time and is taken very seriously. In the Jewish faith there is a similar holiday called Passover. This holiday lasts for seven days and commerates the deliverance of Israel from slavery. Passover more specifically refers to the evening when the angel of death passed over the houses of all in Egypt killing the first born of each home that did not have lambs’s blood around the door. During this holiday Jews are permitted only to ear unleavened bread called matzo during the daylight hours, much like the Ramadan fasting. Jews also hold feasts during the first two nights of this holiday. A house of worship is an important component of most religions in our world today. Islam has the Mosque, a place of prayer and teaching. Judaism has the Synagogue, also a place of prayer and teaching. In both these places people gather to perform the customs that are laid out in their religious scriptures. Unlike some religions in the world today both Judaism and Islam require their believers to pray multiple times a day. Jews pray three times a day, once in the morning, once in the noontime and once in the evening. Though this practice is more of a personal choice than the strict guidelines of prayer set in the Muslim religion. In the Quran there are five pillars of the Muslim faith: The first is profession of faith which basically means a Muslims must constantly and openly profess their faith. The second is prayer, which happens five times a day. The third is giving alms to the needy. The fourth is fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. And the fifth is the pilgrimage to Mecca. The second pillar of faith is the  practice similar to the Jewish practice. Five times a day Muslims must pray facing the holy city of Mecca. This however is a very strict prayer, maybe a bit different from the Jewish tradition, but still the same basic concept. Judaism is the oldest of the three major monotheistic religions. The religion began in the time of Abraham which would have been about 1900 B.C, over 3,000 years ago. In many ways this has made the Jewish religion and it’s followers very strong in their beliefs. Islam, on the other hand, was not founded until 570 A.D., some 2,000 years after the beginning of Judaism. Many Jewish believers will use this difference as an argument. They are the older of the two religions, and so they were the first people in the Holy Land (Israel/Palestine) and so they should be entitled to it and no one else. However, Abraham had two sons, Issac the leader of the Hebrew people and Ishmael, the leader of the Arab people. Though not all Muslims are Arab, the majority of the Muslims in Israel are Arab. So Muslims will use this argument by saying that Ishmael was the first son of Abraham and God told Abraham that He would take care of his first born, so the Muslims have just as much right to the area as the Jews, no matter who was there first. Though there are many similarities between Islam and Judaism, the few differences however large or small seem to greatly outweigh the amazing likenesses for the thousands of followers of both beliefs. These differences as well as the continuing argument over the promised land of Israel/Palestine continue today to escalate the war in the sacred area and drive a wedge even further between the two groups. The truly frightening part of all this is that Holy Wars are extremely hard to resolve. When two groups are fighting over land that was promised to them by a divine entity that’s existence can’t even be proven, there aren’t a whole lot of options for peace. All the world can do is educate themselves and try to accept the different religions and continue to look for some sort of compromise.

The Punishment of Oedipus the King

The Punishment of Oedipus the susceptibility At the finish up of Sophocles Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, king of Thebes, ends up banished forever from his state. Additionally, Oedipus somatogenicly puts out his accept eyeball, for several reasons which will be discussed later. The re pursuit is Did Oedipus deserve his punishments? There argon soldieryy a nonher(prenominal) factors that mustiness be considered in respond this, including how Oedipus himself felt about his situation. His cheating was as much symbolic as it was physical perturbful sensation.After all factors drop been considered, I think that altogether Oedipus banishment was the requisite punishment.. It is important to keep in brain the whole basic reasoning for Oedipus search for Laius killers he wished to put an end to a deadly disgust, and that plague would nevertheless be stopped when said send attainer is kil gull, or driven from the land (pp 4-5). Thusly, when it is revealed that Oedipus himself m urdered Laius, wherefore banishment seems to be the only option. Death, in my mind, is non valid plainly because of what it might do to the kingdoms people.Even though it seems that Oedipus has not been a oddly good monarch, in fact his only major effect seems to be cleaning the Sphinx all those historic period ago, having a king put to closing could have serious repercussions on the substitute of the kingdom. So in the end, the only representation to recover the plague and keep the kingdom stable seems to be the banishment of Oedipus. In this case, the question of whether or not he deserved to be punished seems inapplicable Oedipus only goal was to stop the plague and by leaving, he has accomplished that goal. proscription was the only alternative.But what exactly was Oedipus creation punished for? Even after re- meter reading the run for, this still seems to be a grey-headed ara. Incest? Immoral, to be sure, further Oedipus was obviously sottish to his actions, and to my knowledge, in Sophoclean times, there was no scripted law against it and therefore no punishment for it. Oedipus punishment whitethorn have been for killing Laius, exactly how could you punish some peerless for cosmos a victim of fate? Greeks believed at the time of the plays writing that a mans smack was woven by the 3 fates (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) and that he was irrevocably bound to that destiny. keen this, and crafty that Oedipus became king of Thebes only because it was his destiny to murder Laius and kill the Sphinx, how could he rightfully be punished? Even Oedipus himself knows that his actions are not by choice, but by acts of the gods, he mentions this twice in the play slightly savage power has brought this down upon my head. As well as My god, my god what have you planned to do to me? Such quotes distinctly show that Oedipus knew that he had no choice in his actions. In this manner and in this manner alone, Oedipus is undeserving of said pu nishment.Oedipus may not have been a particularly good man, but in the end he knew what was best for his kingdom absent of this kingdom cast me with all whet for only that would save his former subjects. Were that Oedipus only punishment, the play might have been sort of a bit simpler (and this essay sort of a bit shorter), but Oedipus, in a fit of rage, stabs his own eyes with Jocastas dresspins. This was Oedipus way of trying to punish himself, as well as an escape. Oedipus would no prolonged gaze upon the faces of his subjects, his brother (uncle? Creon, or level those of his children. He is plunged into a world of darkness. It must be noted that this was to a greater extent than simply a punishment, though Im sure that it was one of the ways Oedipus intended it. The physical pain alone seems to prove that. There are much easier ways of becoming blind to the world than stabbing ones eyes out. As I have stated forward though, Oedipus was blinded by his foolish pride long before the beginning of the novel. He only realized the truth piece of tail Laius murder when it was right in presence of his nose.He was by no meaning stupid, in fact he came off as quite a cunning man, but his was a world of blindness because of pride and power. I have been cin one casentrating on the two most obvious of Oedipus punishments, but there is another one that may not seem so clear. retentivity in mind that Sophocles made it precise clear that Oedipus was a man of so much pride that he may have thought himself to be identical to a god, was not Oedipus basically simple(a) of that pride at the end of the play? The true punishment has been revealed.Oedipus life was found on pride. It was what led to the murder of Laius, which in turn led to the killing of the Sphinx, which led to his becoming king. As he continues on his particular thread of life, Oedipus becomes more and more powerful, and as such, his pride also increases proportionately. He threatens both Tir esias and Creon, and single-handedly tries to unravel the secret of Laius death. What must go on intimate his mind when he finds out that not only did he murder his father, the king, but he also slept with his mother?Knowing full well that his kingdom would ultimately find out his acts, how could he use up his head up when walking finished the city streets? How could his subjects respect and revere a king who was a murderer and commiter of incest? Oedipus is thence stripped of his pride, the driving force groundwork his whole personality. He has been crushed, and that which he had so much of before has been denied him. Where he was once at one extreme (hubris), he is now at the other. To take away the very thing that drives a man is worse than any physical pain or even death itself.That is truly, as Sophocles intended it, Oedipus ultimate punishment. When the curtain travel and the lights go out on Oedipus Rex, the kings punishments replete(p) three. Though in my mind at le ast, one far outweighs the other two, they are all important and they all stick out to the total experience of the Greek tragedy. In the end, I do not feel that Oedipus truly deserves the punishments he is handed, but that is only because of the fact that I place myself in the time period that this was written in, employ the beliefs of that time for my own.Were this story to have taken place in modern times, Oedipus sure enough would have deserved his punishment, but this inclination is irrelevant because, quite simply, this did not take place in our advanced civilization. Oedipus was a victim of fate, incapable of free will, and as such he should have not been punished, save banishment only to cure the plague. The Punishment of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)

Adapting to Change

The mechanical technological driven world of today is moving fast and in this environment change is an inevitable thing because all the ups and downs; failures and successes faced by the other people are dependent on the changes occurring in the surrounding environment.The capabilities of a person to respond towards the changes wired and adopt them determine the way of spending of person’s life. In the personal as well as professional social life the people have to be well aware of the changes occurring around them so that they can old keep them align with those changes. Most of the changes occurring in the surrounding world are led by the technological advancements.Implementing change is rather difficult.The dissertation is based on a qualitative research study that is conducted through secondary analysis of data and a case study.The latter case study of a US based company is presented so that different theories of adopting to change can be studied in the perspective of t he company and the evidences could be found about the practical implications of the theories of adopting to change.1.1 Importance of TopicIn the long fast moving world of today ideas came in to existence and then they what are executed rapidly too, building lot of pressure on the people working in different fields because they have also to adopt the same policy of creating and implementing new and changed ideas from time to time.Recognizing change may be battle.

1.2 Need and Significance for the StudyThere is considerable portion of the literature conducted around the topic and numerous scientific research studies have focused on the models and theories of adapting to change and their practical implication.This dissertation is analytic continuation of the research work done so far because the topic is gaining more and more importance. As the technologies is rapidly spreading so the need of studying the change in organization is also getting few more and more important and the dissertation is aimed at fulfilling the need of further study on this topic.Change is inevitable and its constant.Literature Review2.1. Adopting to change – Historical PerspectiveAdopting to change in an organization is not a new phenomenon but it has deep roots inside the history. Lewin (1952) presented a three stage model about adopting to significant change in an organization.Everyone has obviously noticed the change in the markets.

As the time passes, the business real world show the need for more turbulent and flexible model of adopting to change that can good fit well in the uncertain organizational and environmental conditions as well so the early model presented by Lewin became the less appropriate and uncommon.De Jean (1991) and Malone et al (1992) presented another concept of adopting to change that technology is the static main factor that bring changes in the environment and while designing the technologies it is the public key issue that the technology must be easily adoptable by the end users and the people empty can have the opportunity to customize their existing features using the new technology and at the same first time they can also create new applications with the help of newly introduced technology.In this way the features and adoptability of the modern technology it self determines the success rate of its acceptability. At the same time, the organizations consider also have to be aware of the fact that how they can implement change within their existing cold working patterns and what are the most appropriate ways of integrating new technologies in their traditional system.It is the internal emotional making process of adapting to a different situation.2.2. Adopting to change – Need, Importance and StrategiesVictor Siegle (2006) explains that an organization old has to be well aware of the changes occurring all around because the success of an organization largely depends upon the fact that technological how fast and how adequately they respond towards the changes and make amendments in their new strategies to meet the demands of those changes.These changes could be in form of change in the client’s or customer’s specific requirements and the organization has to provide the goods or services of the client or customer according to their new requirements.Know how you react to pressure in your very own way that is distinctive! Over-training or spi nal injury outcomes if stress may not be tolerated.

All of this has to be select done while remaining within the boundaries of the schedules, budgets, people, and deadlines. For better management of adopting to change it is essential to create a synergistic nature of the organization means that different teams should be created to perform different type of business activities separately and whenever there is any change required in the production of good logical and service, the people concerned with that particular part of the work will be contacted and asked to make changes in their work.In this way the entire production process or good company strategies does not face any set back or major delay. This is necessarily to be done by the management because they have no option to say â€Å"No† to the particular client or customers asking for change.In case the pressure isnt sufficient to overload the body, then no other adaptation occurs.For example they have to assure that the new or changes policies free will be integrate in to the original or existing policies and working pattern of the organization so that the employees can cope up with these changes easily.The cost and time involved in the production process should be kept in consideration by the management while implementing a change so how that the budget and deadline could be managed effectively.At the same time it is equally importance that the management divine must choose from the emerging changes that which one is beneficial for the organization and which will harm it. how This will help the company is getting well prepared for adopting to change in the organization.Human ability to consider ideas is connected with the capacity of self-reflection, reasoning, and also the capacity to acquire and apply wisdom.

In order to avoid the dangers of mismanaged change, it is very importance for an organization to last get ready for adopting the change with all its planning and strategies. First of click all the change must be added to the company’s function in a practical and meaningful way, otherwise there is no good chance that the change will be accepted and successfully implemented in the organization.Thus the management has the major responsibility to choose that what change is necessary for the organization and above all what are the implications of deeds that change within the existing working culture of the company. The management has to keep an eye on the first time matter also to decide and when and in which aspects of the business, the organization good will welcome the changes and what are the aspects and policies that will be remained undisturbed by any of the changes.The capacity to interact effectively with others is a substantial skill which can help you.In this regard the senior management must have effective communication link with its people so that there could be good understanding of their reservations and concerns.2.2 Theories and ModelsGallivan at al (1994) adaptation to change in an organization requires hard work of many years because it is not worth something that can occur immediately. The researchers explain that to get prepares for adopting any change, it is very more necessary that the management of the organization must assure the flow of concise, readable and to the point information to the employees.Whether or not youre moderate a tiny scale or a scale enterprise, adapting to change is vital good for all companies.

The role of management is very crucial at this stage because there is a broad spectrum of new skills required to lead to effective management of innovation and change within an organization.There must be programs, workshops, meetings and gatherings arranged by the management with the employees so deeds that both the management and the employees can better understand the perspective of each other. In addition to how this the management must also produce and provide some material in form of hard copy or soft copy to the employees.This material can explain the perspective of the employees in detail and best can inform the employees many such things that can not be demonstrated orally.Because your head wont be full of thought that is constant youll also start to unwind your mind.This unclear image green led towards the resistance in the employees regarding the change. Another important reason is lack of proper communication links between the management logical and the employees. Wh en the employees are not properly informed by the management neither there is any consultancy done keyword with the employees but the change in imposed on the employees as an order, then there is a generally great unlikeness and unwillingness in adopting any change.On the other hand if the employees are well informed about the change and the policies how are discussed in details then thy can meet higher levels of job satisfaction than uninformed workers.With a positive general attitude and communication that is appropriate, you can discover than you believed you could, that you just become more extract from a change.