Russians Conversion to Christianity

The conversion of Russians to Christianity was a big step towards Slavic civilization. The role of converting these people was upon the Orthodox Church which played an important role in helping the neighbors of Byzantine to take Byzantine cultures while at the same time helping to spread Christianity. Emperors from Byzantine in their bid to help their neighbors change their barbaric and hostile ways of life tried to use such methods as church conversions, judicious diplomacy and promotion of international trade. There were various reasons why Russians were converted to Christianity and in doing so; some strategies were employed by the Orthodox Church and the emperors. This paper is mainly going to focus on these two issues. One of the key steps that were taken in 863 was to provide the Russians or the Slavs who included the Danube who later were conquered by Magyars, the Czechs, the Moravians, Polinians and the Lyakhs who were also sometimes regarded as the Poles with a custom made Slavic alphabet or simply a modified Greek alphabet which was known as Glagothic. This helped them to make these people feel proud of their work as the Slavic alphabets were to be used in scripture translation and translation of other liturgical works. Invention of Slavic language was a milestone in the spread of Christianity and this became the platform that future conversion activities for the Russians took place. As per the Russian Primary Chronicle, because of the presence of emperors who highly valued Byzantine cultures, many Moravians had been converted by the Orthodox Church into Christianity but the problem was that they could not read the scripture and interpret it in their own language . This was because they were not familiar with Latin and Greek language that was used in the scripture and the problem was that there were preachers who would teach them this today and tomorrow interpret the same topic differently, now they wanted to be taught a language that they would use to read the bible for themselves and interpret it accordingly because those that came to preach to them would take advantage of their inability to read and interpret the scripture. We understand neither Greek nor Latin some teach us one thing and some another. Furthermore, we do not understand written characters nor their meaning. Therefore send us teachers who can who can make known to us the words of the scriptures and their sense† . To achieve this end, Moravian Slavs led by emperor Kostel, Rostilav and Sviatopolk requested Michael, the Byzantine emperor to help them with teachers who would assist in scripture translation into their native language. After receiving their request, the emperor asked the most professional scholars in his region to lend a hand in the translation work and they agreed to help. The scholars went to Kostel, Rostilav and Sviatopolk and took it upon themselves the duty of teaching Moravian Slavs how to read the scripture especially after they successively translated it into their Slavic native tongue. They started by composing Slavic alphabet and later they started the work of translating the scripture especially the Acts and the Gospels. Nothing made these Slavs happier than to hear the gospel preached in their native language. These scholars also helped in translating other pieces of work apart from the scripture for example they translated books such as Oktoechos and the Psalter among others . The zealots were not pleased by the idea of translating the scripture into Slavic language and thus they openly criticized this move. They argued that only Latin, Greek and Hebrew languages were supposed to be used in the scripture but the Pope did not share these sentiments and he dismissed these claims. To facilitate the conversion work of the Russians into Christianity, Methodius was appointed by Prince Kostel as one of Apostle Paul’s seventy disciples and he was given the task of bible translation, a job that he effectively did within six months but with the help of the two priests who were also professional writers. Methodius being an apostle worked hand in hand in hand with Bishop Andronicus who had been appointed by Apostle Paul to help him in the spread of the gospel to the Moravians . Another major break in the conversion of Russians into Christianity was achieved during the reigns of Vladimir in 980. Vladimir was a pagan leader who prayed idols and had even erected some of them on the hills and decorated them with gold moustaches and silver heads. Some of these idols were Khors, Stribog, Mokosn’, Dazh’bog and Simar’gi. People would sacrifice their offspring to these idols and thus this land was full of blasphemous blood. In 987 Vladimir after many trials by Bulgars to accept their religion summoned his ‘nobles’ to seek for their advice on whether they should abandon worshipping their idols and adopt other types of religion like that for Germans, Greek or for Jews. All of these had approached Vladimir and asked him to join their religion and now he was at crossroads to know what step to take from there. The Greeks claimed that whoever worshipped their God would have eternal life but those who followed other faith would burn in eternal fire. After asking nobles their stand, they said that unless they experience immediate knowledge of those rituals then they were not in a position to advice. They thus went and learnt for themselves but were not impressed by how Germans and Jews practiced their rituals but for the Greek the answer though not very direct was positive. â€Å"Everyman, after tasting something sweet, is afterward unwilling to accept that which is bitter, and therefore we can no longer remain here (Paganism)† . They argued that in German rituals they did not see any beauty and that for the Jews was bad but to the Greek’s ritual they could not know whether they were still on earth or in heaven because it was beauty beyond human description. This made Vladimir jealous and attacked his opponents a year later and proceeded to Kherson and conquered this Greek city. After this he issued demands to the Greek emperors-Constantine and Basil that they had to give to him their unmarried sister or else he would destroy the whole city but they told him that he would only get the girl if and only if, he got baptized as it was against their Christian faith and teachings to sell off their Christian sister to a pagan. Vladimir badly wanted this girl and thus he softened his heart and agreed to get baptized on condition that he would be baptized by this unwedded girl known as Anne. The emperors agreed to this and people rejoiced and danced as he got baptized. Vladimir then disclosed to them that he knew of their religion as he had sent emissaries before to enquire on the same and they gave him a positive answer . Just as it was a custom to pay bride price after marrying a girl, Vladimir returned Kherson to its rightful owners as his dowry. When he went back home he ordered all idols to be destroyed and said that those who would not get baptized the following day were not his friends any more and thousands big and small, young and old went to the river to be baptized and a history was made as never before had so many people been baptized at one time. Vladimir after this constructed wooden churches on the grounds where he had set his idols to show the world that he was truly a converted Christian. He also sent priests to go all over the town and cities to preach to the unconverted and convert and baptize them. The reasons that made the Russians to get baptized was their desire to be able to read and interpret the scripture without asking for an interpreter as those people who came to teach them took advantage of their inability to read and write. That was why they asked Emperor Michael to assist them in composing Slavic alphabets something that they did willingly. Another thing that acted as a catalyst towards Russians conversion to Christianity was Vladimir’s desire to marry Emperor’s unwedded sister. This led to his baptism as well as the baptism of other hundred thousands of his followers.

Conflict & Stress Management Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION Stress and conflict are two major issues any organisation faces. They are inevitable in all facets of life, be individual or organisational. If not handled well they can be a hindrance for the company performance. Conflict and stress both varies according to the organisation and its culture. But both need to be managed well to avoid unnecessary problems. Conflict is a perception. Surveys show that employees spend as much as 42% of their time engaging in or attempting to resolve conflicts and 20% of managers’ time is taken up by conflict related issues (Gupta, Boyd, Kuzmits, 2011). This valuable time can be utilised in making the organisation a more efficient and an effective one. Organisations which fail to address conflict have the risk of losing their competitive advantage. Conflict can be viewed in many ways and there are different management styles which can deal with conflict. The leadership of the organisation must be involved in dealing with conflict as they would have to negotiate and bargain in order to overcome conflict. Stress is a major concern with today’s working people. This is because the world is developing in a faster pace which requires constant adaptation. Stress not only affects ones work-life balance, but also their personal life which creates chaos for individuals. According to some estimation, humankind losses 100 million workdays every year due to the aftermath of stress (Treven & Potocan, 2005). Work stress needs to be managed well so it can actually improve the well being of the individuals as well as the organisation. Both of these factors will be viewed in the context of Nippon Lanka and will be analysed thoroughly on how they overcome these issues to maintain a healthy relationship with employees. Improvements and recommendations for the current methods will also be discussed. 2.0 OVERVIEW Nippon Lanka Pvt Ltd (NPLK) is a joint venture (JV) between the Nippon PLC Japan (NPJ) and Silicone Coatings Pvt Ltd (SC) Sri Lanka where the NPJ brought over 60% of Silicone’s shares. This joint venture is advantageous to both parties where NPJ is able to use this as an entry method and SC as an opportunity to be a part of a global industry. Formation of this JV took almost a year where Nippon Lanka studied SC and the relevant industry as whole to get an idea of the present market conditions. It was found that there was no better time to enter the Sri Lankan market due to the post war era development. Therefore SC was considered due to their strong presence in the market. Today after about three months from successfully forming the JV the company is going through a transition period. There aren’t any major changes to positions in the hierarchy but there are role changes and employees are finding it difficult to adapt to their new roles. Example: – The Managing Director (MD) of the company who was the owner of the company still is the MD how ever to day the person is a salaried employee. – The General Manager who was reporting directly to MD today has to report to the Board of directors where MD is just one out of the five directors. When examining the company culture towards conflict, the company culture and the value system which has been there for 35 years from the date of the establishment is now being changed. SC was established in 1979, as a small scale manufacture and a distributer of paint related ancillaries. By the time Nippon approached SC it had grown into the largest local player in the market where it was second only to the global giant Akzonobal by a 3% margin. It is evident that SC has been a one man show up to the time of the JV, the full value system and the operational procedures were laid down by the founder himself and not most of the managers found it enticing to be part of. Therefore the HR turnover was such that on average about six key resources left the company. In this back ground let’s see how the conflict and stress management function takes place within the organization. 3.0 CONFLICT AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT 3.1 Conflict Management Styles Conflict can be defined as the process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something the first party cares about (Robbins S., Judge T. & Vohra N., 2011:441). It is that point in an ongoing activity when an interaction crosses over to become an interparty conflict. Conflict can be seen as good and bad with corresponding positive and negative outcomes where this would all depend on how one views conflict. There are three basics views of conflict. These are the Traditional view, the Interactionist view and Managed conflict view. The traditional view sees conflict as bad and something that must be eliminated through the use of authority. Poor communication, lack of openness and failure to respond to employee needs could be seen as few of the causes. The interactionist view is that conflict is desirable, necessary for high performance teams and should be encouraged. The contemporary view is that conflict is inevitable and it may be positive or negative but it must be managed to be beneficial. Nippon Lanka follows a more interactionist view where conflict is encouraged and the company is of the view that a perfectly cooperative, harmonious group would hinder dynamism, creativity and innovation where a minimal level of conflict is needed to prevent a lacklustre, uninterested attitude among the group. As mentioned earlier, not all conflicts are good, and this view only supports functional conflict. Functional conflict is a constructive form of conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves performance. The type of conflict at hand would distinguish a functional conflict from a dysfunctional conflict. Although these are distinct types of conflict, the occurrence of one type of conflict can lead to a conflict of another type taking place. For example, the process of costing has been kept confidential, and this has led to the tension between the sales team and the costing team. 3.2TYPES OF CONFLICT PRESENT IN NIPPON LANKA 3.2.1Relationship conflict Conflicts between two people are known as relationship conflicts. These conflicts arise as a result of miscommunication, disagreements or misunderstandings between people. One such situation at Nippon Lanka arose between the Brand Manager and the Marketing Manager. The Brand manager has been with the company for 5 years and has previously worked with two Heads of marketing. Once the new marketing manager was appointed, it was found that the latter was less experienced and was not willing to corporate with the Marketing Head. This triggered huge problems for the new comer. The management was aware of this, but wasn’t able to remove him from the position due to the valuable connections the customers. However, the Marketing Manager understood this inferiority complex of the Brand Manager. Having gone through the initial hardships the new marketing manager somehow managed to win the trust of the Brand manager. Now they are working harmoniously, directing all their efforts towards the benefit of the company. 3.2.2.Data Conflict This occurs when decisions are made without adequate information. At Nippon Lanka, the costing department works in isolation. They do not consult the sales and marketing team when arriving at the costs, so more often than not, the cost of the product is either too high, depriving them of valuable orders and potential growth, or at times its too low depriving the opportunity for the company to charge a premium price on an innovative product or to achieve efficiency through specialisation. 3.2.3Interest Conflict Conflicts of interest mainly deal with psychological issues, where an individual or organisation behaves in a certain manner, with the aim of meeting a particular interest which is not shared by everyone else. The JV with the Japanese company was not disclosed or made public, even though doing so would have been acting in the best interests of the company. The MD did not like the idea of publicising the 60:40 JV that was taking place, as it would be viewed as a takeover. However, the rest of the company felt that some amount of public awareness would have positively impacted the company’s future performance. Another example would be when the HR department wanted to minimise the over time cost they imposed a rule where all sales vehicle needs to be back at the HO by 5 pm. As an example what the Sales representatives would do is when they need to deliver goods up to Negombo, covering Wattala, Ja-ela, Seeduwa and Negombo. They would turn back from Seeduwa at 3.30 pm in order to make it back to office by 5 pm, without covering their full distance to Negombo. What followed was a delay in the delivery and travelling additional mileage, having to revisit incomplete routes taking the same path. 3.2.4 Structural Conflict Structural conflict arises from unclear and undefined roles and reporting lines. The R&D and the production manger are directly reporting to the MD. The other managers report to the GM, where the GM reports to the MD. Currently when a sales representative needs to develop a sample for a particular customer, the sales representative will not have the adequate support since the request from the sales rep will not be taken seriously from the R&D manager and the GM cannot question them for not doing it right. Only 10 out of 1 samples are successful and yet the R&D manager has managed to survive, distracting the control and supervisory system of the top management since there is no clear reporting structure. 3.2.5 Value Conflict A value conflict comes about when two people or groups have dissenting views on morality–that basic understanding of what is naturally right or wrong. As mentioned earlier, the cost manager considered himself and his department superior than the other departments, with the notion that the information handled need not be disclosed to anyone else. At present, the cost manager is in prison, facing charges of fraud. Although the environment helped the person to carry out fraud, this is a clear example of conflicting values. 3.3 THE CONFLICT PROCESS Figure 1: The Conflict Process (Source: Robbins S., Judge T. & Vohra N., 2005:444) 3.3.1Stage I: Potential opposition or incompatibility The first stage talks about the conditions that are needed for conflict to arise. They may not directly lead to conflict, but they need to be present for conflict to surface. They can be referred to as the causes of conflict and can be condensed into three general categories, namely communications, structure and personal variables. Communication, either too much or too little information passed between members can result in potential opportunities for conflict to arise. At Nippon Lanka, the manner in which the costing of the products is carried out is not communicated to the members in the other dept and this has been the initiating factor for conflict to set in. Structure includes several variables such as size, degree of specialization in the tasks assigned to the group members, role clarity, member-goal compatibility, leadership styles, reward systems, and the degree of dependence among groups. The sales and promotions manager at Nippon Paints follow an aggressive, predator style of leadership where excuses were not tolerated and was only interested in the achievement of results and targets. An example would be, the samples taken from the production team that is used for sales and promotion does not meet the required standards of quality where 9 out of 10 samples would fail. Same time, the Sales and promotions manager would also be very demanding of the sales representatives in terms of getting the desired targets. In some cases, employees have resigned due this demanding nature. Personal variables are mainly due to differences in personal traits of individuals. Diverse issues such as prejudice and disagreements over one’s contribution to the group, as well as the rewards one deserves. For example, at Nippon Paints, the General Manager is prepared to hire new trainees at Rs. 15,000/=, whereas the Sales and Promotions Manager feels that the market rate of Rs. 30,000/= should be paid to them. The low salaries have deterred attracting the talented individuals and therefore not achieving the fullest potential. 3.3.2Stage II: Cognition and Personalization If the conditions mentioned in stage I negatively affect something one party cares about, then the potential for opposition or incompatibility surfaces in the second stage. One or both parties must be aware and perceive that these conditions exist. However, just because it is perceived does not make the conflict personalized. It may not have an effect on either or both parties. The conflict has to be felt, for individuals become emotionally involved, leading to anxiety, tension, frustration or hostility. 3.3.3Stage III: Intentions Intentions get in the way of people’s perceptions and emotions and act as decisions for them to react the way they do to the situation at hand. They are important, as one has to make inferences of the other party’s intentions to know and understand the reason behind that party’s behavior and to respond accordingly. Conflicts tend to escalate at this point merely because of the wrong inferences being made. Sometimes a behavior might erroneously reflect the person’s intentions. Two dimensions are used, namely cooperativeness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy the other party’s concerns) and assertiveness (the degree to which one party attempt to satisfy his or her own concerns) to identify five conflict handling intentions. This has been attached to Appendix 1 with the styles explained. 3.3.4Stage IV: Behavior This stage includes actions, statements and reactions made by the conflicting parties. Intentions of each party are implemented through these behaviors and can be seen as a dynamic process of interaction. Conflicts usually start slow; characterized by indirect rather subtle forms of tension and escalate as the tension builds. At this latter stage things could become highly destructive where such conflicts are almost always dysfunctional. 3.3.5Stage V: Outcomes Behavior would lead to outcomes, where some are functional in that the conflict results in an improvement in the group’s performance or it may also be dysfunctional in that it hinders group performance. Functional conflict can be beneficial for the company as it provides a medium through which problems can be aired and tensions released. This improves the quality of decisions, stimulates creativity and innovation, encourages interest and curiosity among group members and it forces and environment of self-evaluation and change. Some companies discourage conflict as they prefer â€Å"yes-men†, loyal to the higher ups to the point of never questioning company actions. As for dysfunctional conflict it would reduce group effectiveness and group cohesiveness. At the extreme, conflict can bring group functioning to a halt and potentially threaten the group’s survival. Refer Appendix II for the example of a conflict Process at Nippon paints. 3.3 NEGOTIATING AND BARGAINING Before the organisation starts negotiating they should be aware of the nature of the conflict. There is a certain process that needs to be followed in negotiation. Negotiation is by definition the management of crossed demands, where each one of us expresses requests hoping the other will try to fulfil them (Lempereur, A. 2012). As it is said â€Å"Everything is negotiation in life†, so every party involved in the process would like to take the best out of it. 3.3.1 Bargaining Strategies There are two bargaining strategies that could be discussed. Distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining. In the current context what is more obvious is integrative bargaining which makes both the parties involved satisfied creating a win-win situation. An example for this was when a sales representative requests for a personal vehicle they need to achieve a certain level of sales targets. If they maintain the sales targets for a sustainable period they will be given a personal vehicle. But by any chance if they do not keep up to the said targets their salaries will be reduced in accordance with the cost of maintaining the vehicle by the company. Through a situation like this, what is created is a long term positive relationship for the company. As a company, they increase the sales levels and the employees will also be satisfied as their needs are also met. 3.3.2 Negotiation Process Negotiation can happen in 5 steps; these are preparation and planning, definition and ground rules, clarification and justification, bargaining and problem solving and closure and implementation. Some do not have a positive ending or a closure. But negotiations that have an effect for the organisation will go through a process. An example of this would be when the company needs to host certain function in hotels they would negotiate with them for the best bargain. As they have cost constraints, there are certain limitations and getting the best bargain with the best outcome would be the perfect scenario. Before the start of the negotiation with the relevant hoteliers the in-charge person will prepare the list of things that need to be discussed. These would be the pricing, menu items, additional services that are required and assess what the other party goals and prepare well for them. In this instance a budget per person would be Rs. 3,000. But the relevant hotels cost was higher. Then the menus for these relevant amounts will be compared. In the Sri Lankan context rather than a 4 or 5 course meal, action stations with koththu and hoppers have a vibrant feeling and also cost less. So in the negotiation table the other alternatives will be put across. Since information is all gathered, the representative will develop a strategy. The person will also determine the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA). So here the BATNA will be to get cost per person at Rs. 3,000 having action stations with cocktail menu. The person will determine when and where to have the appointment. The ideal place would be at hotel premises because then the ambiance where service capacity can also be viewed. The meeting would be planned in the best time where both parties are not strained with other commitments and can concentrate for a best outcome. Once the initial stance is made then there will be further clarifications and explanations. Then both parties will try to come up with concessions in order to make a decision. Once both parties are satisfied they will formalize the agreement. In this process Nippon Lanka representatives will stress on the fact that if one event is made a success; then the hotel is winning a long term corporate client. This enhances their business. 3.3.3 Third Party Negotiation This is crucial for Nippon Lanka as they deal with lot of suppliers and customers. Advertising is a crucial part for this organisation and dealing with media is important to get a good advertising deal. Earlier they were dealing with the television and radio stations by themselves and it was quite strenuous. Getting a good deal that is worth their money was tough and time consuming, having deal with different organisations, so they decided to obtain third party involvement. The outcome was to get a consultant to act on media buying for the organisation. A consultant is a skilled and impartial third party who attempts to facilitate problem solving through communication and analysis (Robbins S., Judge T. & Vohra N., 2011:457). They are there to improve the current status and to get a win-win solution for both parties. When Nippon started using a third party advertising firm to do media buying, they were able to get good deals from media as they have a high bargaining power. 4.0 WORK STRESS & STRESS MANAGEMENT Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand, or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important (Robbins, Judge & Vohrs, 554). Most of the time stress is discussed in the negative contest but this is not true at all times. Stress can be taken into the system as an advantage. In the current organisation stress factor is not talked openly even though people are put under stress levels it is not considered as value adding option for the organisation. In the organisation currently what is seen is the challenge stresses but sometimes these same factors do become hindrance stressors for the employees. 4.1 Sources of stress The main sources of stress in the organisation comes from environmental and organisation factors. When it comes to environmental factors; the three types of uncertainties are economic, political and technological. These play a minimal role compared to organisational and personal factors. In considering environment factors; the workers are stressed on the technological aspect. Research and development team is always under pressure in getting a new product development before their competitors. Organisation heads are concerned about the Political uncertainty. Whenever a new rule or regulation is passed by government with regard to the consumer protection or protecting environment this takes a toll in the organisation activities. They must be aware of the new laws and how to tackle them, this adds a lot of strain in the management as they need to alter or change certain decisions according to political scenarios. Change in economic policies and recessions or booms in the economic cycle create stress on the organisation. Current economic down turn have made a toll in the sales teams as consumers are spending less and government projects have considerably reduced. At the same time government is not paying their debt and collections have become harder. Organisational factors are the ones that are created by the organisation which creates stress on employees. Task demands such as collecting debts in 90 days have a strain on the employee. This increases the job pressure. Role demands relate to pressure that occurs due to the job role. Managers and above have high role related pressures compared to subordinates due to the heavy work load which needs to be performed in less time. Most employees complain that they are given more work than they can handle and it stresses them out a lot. At the same time many complain the targets given are not practical. There is a minimal level of interpersonal demands where other employees are not supportive. Personal factors which increase stress are different to every individual. But this does create a hindrance in the organisation performance. All or some of these factors create a high turnover or absenteeism, reduction in productivity and decrease in job satisfaction. Sadly Nippon Lanka has not recognised the importance of stress management in order to curb it or cure it. The main organisational stress come comes from the current management change, this is because the task and role demands have changed and employees need to adjust to the new roles. Personal factors too trigger stress level of the employees. 4.2 Managing Stress at Nippon Lanka Pvt Ltd Based on the study, it is visible that Nippon Lanka uses stress as a positive motivator, but at some points it goes out of hand where it depletes the collaboration and coordination amongst the teams and also inter department. Based on the job roles, the department heads can think of the stress levels which can be imposed on the team members to get results and to meet targets. However the stress levels should be correctly managed so that it motivates results and not deplete and impede the team building and performance drive within the teams. As it is observed, some amount of stress comes from the non-alignment of the reporting lines. Therefore the suggestion is to relook at the reporting lines so that stress does not occur due to incorrect alignment of the business structure which has a negative impact and which creates unnecessary types of stress within teams. Together with the Job role enrichment, reporting lines should also be re-aligned so that the company will only be left with stress which causes the company to perform and not to impede. 5.0 CONCLUSION In conclusion conflict, negotiation and stress are all visible in Nippon Paint. Conflict is unavoidable at the organisation due to the dealings they have among the departments and the third parties. To overcome conflict certain understanding among employees and stakeholders must be implemented. It can be seen that conflict, negotiation and stress are interlinked with each other on some level. Organisational conflict styles may shape an organisation’s social environment, affecting the level of ongoing conflict and thus the level of stress among employees. Nippon Lanka to a great extent follows an integrative style of conflict management which leads to lower task conflict, reducing relationship conflict, which reduces stress. However, there are many instances where the management has not come up with a solution to the conflict at hand, where they are not willing to step in and the employees are left to resolve the matter, which at most times remains unresolved. The recommended improvements with regard to this has been discussed in Section 3.4. It is important that with the JV taking place, the new management plays an active role in resolving these long running issues so that the organisation and its performance does not get affected. The current JV could also trigger new conflicts and stress levels within the organisation where it is crucial that these issues are identified and resolved. The new management must take this opportunity to place greater prominence of recognizing the on-going stress levels within the organisation and deal with them appropriately. Improved management of conflict, negotiations and stress would benefit the individuals and the organisation in terms of high performing, content, dedicated employees who deliver results.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOR - Essay Example Having an experience of over 40 years, I had the ability to manage work place diversity because in the marketing section I met a lot of people with different backgrounds. Since employees act as the image of the firm, by properly treating the customers it also promoted the image of Holden Company. Holden’s employees clearly comprehended their individual goals and objectives and how they relate to the greater goals of the company, were found to be naturally engaged in their work. Most firms have to the realization that achievements are associated with their ability to manage, track and communicate goals and aims-informing their employees and connecting reward system with group and individual performance in order to keep them engaged in their work. Since I am also an Australian, I was able to note that the process of setting goals and objectives, aligning them with the corporate aims and tracking them made the Holden Company to easily focus on strategy and greater execution of business. Therefore, there is always a direct relationship between financial and non financial rewards with respect to motivation and employee satisfaction (Bruce & Pepitone, 1999:104-108). This includes both the younger employees like Mike and older employees like me. Motivation is what makes people to have that drive to do something thus the driving force of human behavior. Motivation within an individual accounts for the direction, level, and persistence of the effort expended at work. The level refers to the intensity of effort put forward by a person. Direction represents the individual’s choice when faced with several alternatives. Persistence is determined by how long an individual will stick with a given action. As a result it initiates, guides and maintain the goal oriented behaviors hence motivation it is what drives one to take a cause of action (Laubly,

Critically assess the significance of Understanding (Human Resources Essay

Critically assess the significance of Understanding (Human Resources Management) HRM from a gendered or Diversity perspective - Essay Example he United Kingdom and the United States, one of the most common diversity issues is perceived to be racial inequality with both countries being seen to have long histories of systematic discrimination against some of their ethnic minorities and blacks; against this background it can be found that it is important for managers and other human resource personnel to understand human resource management from gendered or diversity perspectives to ensure success in the modern day business environment. Diverse workplaces generally tend to comprise of a wide multitude of understandings, values, beliefs and different ways of viewing unique information and viewing the world. The current rapid rate of globalization and internationalization has been noted as significantly enhancing workforce diversities across the world. Nowadays, human resource management is having to develop innovative and effective methods to be used in handling the increasingly multicultural, cross-cultural and gender sensitive workforces that are common in not only western economies but also in different corporations around the world. This importance of workplace diversity has catapulted it to becoming one of the most popular hot button issues in the corporate, educational, legal and political arenas. According to Shen et al. (2009), attitudes from human resource researchers and corporate towards the modern day diverse workplace environment has largely been mixed. Since the early 1990s human resource management has grown to now be perceived as being among the most popular management concepts as is evidenced by the large scale proliferation of different texts that happen to bear the title, as well as by the large number of management and university training course that have been developed so as to address the subject. However, despite all the gains that have been made in this particular field of management, diversity and gender equality issues are still commonly found to be quite absent from human

Ethical argument smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical argument smoking - Essay Example Those who consider it justified ethically say that to smoke or not is individual’s decision and everybody has a right to decide for himself/herself. Smoking cigarettes is often considered to be a cause of other problems. There is need to find out how frequently smoking becomes the cause of more serious and condemnable habits like smoking heroin or marijuana. The optimal limit to which one can smoke plain cigarettes without causing substantial damage to one’s health should also be determined. I think that currently my topic is not narrow enough to write a detailed argument about it. I might need to narrow it down so that I collect facts and explore the topic from a particular aspect like the optimal level of plain smoking or smoking as a cause of heroin consumption etc. People who oppose my position would say that smoking is injurious to health, so it cannot be justified on any grounds. They would also say that smoking in private is also not acceptable since the activity does not yield a single positive result but does carry a lot of risks for the smoker. I can say that cigarettes are not the only thing that are injurious to health; there are many other activities that are injurious to health or environment but they are not taken as seriously e.g. alcohol consumption, drunk driving, and consumption of junk food. I can say that to smoke in private should be allowed because there is practically no way to stop an individual from smoking in private. Any amount of energy or resources invested in trying to stop people from smoking in private would go wasted. The readers would know that cigarettes are injurious to health and can be a cause of such conditions as lung cancer and mouth cancer. I would need to carry out some research to prove my readers that cigarettes are not as injurious to health as they are frequently assumed to be. I

Working Mothers in America's Twentieth Century and Beyond A Social Essay

Working Mothers in America's Twentieth Century and Beyond A Social Perspective - Essay Example Women, in general, occupy a secondary or subordinate position in many societies. Plans have been devised to help working mothers overcome their socioeconomic problems and to provide them with equal opportunities. Instead of increasing productivity, development processes have relegated women into economic sectors that limit social and economic mobility. The 20th century has changed lives and destinies of women, their social, economic and political roles in society. Social change raises new issues about the social meaning of adult identity for women. Many women are marrying later, having one child, and having them later in life than their mothers or grand-mothers did. Before 1900, in all-male government circles, employment policies were being developed which catered for a proportion of unemployed working-class men, but which omitted any specific reference to women. Although the attempts of the 'right to work' movement in the decade before the First World War was to force the State to accept responsibility for creating paid employment for unemployed men have been documented. 1980s-1990s brought a change in social relations and political area allowing women greater participation in workforce and labor relations. Thus, at the beginning of the 21st century, the role of working mother is still limited by their social status (as a mother and a wife). The beginning of the 20th century marked a ne... owever, support for limiting the paid employment of wives and mothers also came from members of the employing class, including some whose family fortunes owed much to the employment of married women. his may have partly stemmed from dislike of the fact that working-class women who had economic independence, particularly those living in areas where women's full-time employment was the norm were relatively active in the women's suffrage movement. The women's almost equal pay and better conditions were offset by longer hours of work (Baxandall and Gordon 1995). These would have been problematic for widows with sole responsibility for young children. Conditions on public works for men were made relatively unattractive, through policy-makers' concerns that men should not come to prefer these temporary schemes to their normal employment; but this was not the case on the women's schemes, nor was it seen as a problem. Although in most of the workrooms the women enjoyed better pay and conditi ons than in their usual work, no concern was expressed that women's incentives to move on to paid employment would be undermined. This appears to have been based on a strong resistance to seeing women, even widows, as having a proper place in the labor market (Anderson and Eamon 2005). Before the WWII, social insurance was considered to be societal protection against those risks viewed as beyond the control of the individual, or risks incurred while contributing to the well-being of the society as a whole. At the core of this perspective was concern with the protection of earned income when earnings were lost temporarily or permanently. Maternity benefits for employed women, as a social insurance benefit, were almost as old as sickness benefits, the oldest such benefit. They were

Research about drawing artist Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

About drawing artist - Research Paper Example Da Vinci would head back to Florence around 1500 and get commissioned to do a couple of paintings he would never finish before heading for Milan again to work for the French governor. During this time, he would create another of his masterpieces, The Mona Lisa. Da Vinci was primarily an architect for the governor of Milan and did not come up with any significant piece from this time. When the French was removed from Milan in 1513, Da Vinci went and lived in Rome for three years before moving permanently to France. He died at the age of 67. Da Vinci is credited for a number The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Vitruvian Man and Madonna of the Rocks. The Mona Lisa, as mentioned earlier, was supposedly a portrait of a merchant’s wife. However, so many stories have come up as to who was the model for The Mona Lisa. The painting became more popular when it was stolen in August 21, 1911 from the Salon Carrà © of the Louvre Museum. After 2 years, the painting was found under the possession of Vincenzo Peruggia, an employee of the Louvre. He was trying to sell the painting in Florence. The Vitruvian Man was made with pen and ink around 1487. Vitruvius was a Roman architect who described the ideal human proportions as part of his book De Architectura. The drawing has a picture of a man standing with his legs together and his arms outstretched to his sides in the middle of the page. The man’s arms were also drawn as they would be raised a few inches upwards. The man’s legs were also drawn as they would be apart. Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man has served as an inspiration for several media. For example, it can be found on the Italian 1 euro coin. A figure in a space suit in the poses of the Vitruvian Man is on the EVA patch of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s space suit. Finally, as discussed lengthily in the movie and book, Da Vinci Code, the artist was also responsible for The Last Supper. Da Vinci’s representation of the

Nursing Retention in the Hospital setting Term Paper

Nursing Retention in the Hospital setting - Term Paper Example Many organisations in the healthcare sector have realised the significance of retaining nurses in enhancing the profitability of the organisation. This becomes possible following the elimination of the costs which are incurred in replacing the nurses. This research seeks to gains an insight into the prevalent problem of nursing retention. The results of the findings will be essential in assisting hospitals in understanding the various elements that result in loss of nurses within the healthcare industry. The objective of the paper will be to propose solutions to the prevalent problem of nursing retention within the healthcare sector. This understanding will be able to create solutions to the healthcare sector regarding how organisations can be able to retain the nurses within the sector. The problems facing the healthcare industry regarding retention of nurses have become fundamental and unprecedented because of numerous factors. The shortage of nurses within this industry has significant effects upon the healthcare profession. The quality of services that are offered could be adversely affected by the loss of nurses. The quality of healthcare services is compromised when nurses are lost. In seeking to enhance the quality of these services, the healthcare institutions need to adopt measures that will be aimed at curbing the loss of nurses. Many establishments will normally become involved in retention approaches to ensure they have the best trained employees within their establishments. Different approaches can be undertaken to be able to enhance the retention of nurses within the sector Job satisfaction has been identified as one of the aspects that are critical in retaining employees. Within the working environment, the satisfaction of the job enables individuals to remain committed to their employment opportunities. The creation of job satisfaction within the

History week 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

History week 3 - Assignment Example They are associated with popular culture and are often associated with the quality and quantity of the goods they consume. Though often they become slaves of the middle class lifestyle which involve finances more than they can afford. They are also associated with more sense of pride and nationalism. Social Darwinism is a social adaptation of the theory of natural selection in which the idea of the survival of the fittest is applied. Darwin believed that human development and social instincts develop through time and the struggle and conflict present in the society allows other traits to survive more than the others. It is a double-edged sword, indicating progression of the society and the degredation of the human race. The nature of the American social system is based on the production and consumption of goods of the people. The types of leisure define the classes whether they belong to the upper, middle or lower classes. Luxuries and comfort of life are more associated with the leisure class or the upper class. Base classes are more limited or even devoid in their choice of

A Brief History of English and American Literature Essay Example for Free

A Brief History of English and American Literature Essay The Norman conquest of England, in the 11th century, made a break in the natural growth of the English language and literature. The old English or Anglo−Saxon had been a purely Germanic speech, with a complicated grammar and a full set of inflections. For three hundred years following the battle of Hastings. this native tongue was driven from the kings court and the courts of law, from parliament, school, and university. During all this time there were two languages spoken in England. Norman French was the birth−tongue of the upper classes and English of the lower. When the latter finally got the better in the struggle, and became, about the middle of the 14th century, the national speech of all England, it was no longer the English of King Alfred. It was a new language, a grammarless tongue, almost wholly {12} stripped of its inflections. It had lost a half of its old words, and had filled their places with French equivalents. The Norman lawyers had introduced legal terms; the ladies and courtiers, words of dress and courtesy. The knight had imported the vocabulary of war and of the chase. The master−builders of the Norman castles and cathedrals contributed technical expressions proper to the architect and the mason. The art of cooking was French. The naming of the living animals, ox, swine, sheep, deer, was left to the Saxon churl who had the herding of them, while the dressed meats, beef, pork, mutton, venison, received their baptism from the table−talk of his Norman master. The four orders of begging friars, and especially the Franciscans or Gray Friars, introduced into England in 1224, became intermediaries between the high and the low. They went about preaching to the poor, and in their sermons they intermingled French with English. In their hands, too, was almost all the science of the day; their medicine, botany, and astronomy displaced the old nomenclature of leechdom, wort−cunnin g, and star−craft. And, finally, the translators of French poems often found it easier to transfer a foreign word bodily than to seek out a native synonym, particularly when the former supplied them with a rhyme. But the innovation reached even to the commonest words in every−day use, so that voice drove out steven, poor drove out earm, and color, use, and place made good their footing beside hue, {13}wont, and stead. A great part of the English words that were left were so changed in spelling and pronunciation as to be practically new. Chaucer stands, in date, midway between King Alfred and Alfred Tennyson, but his English differs vastly more from the formers than from the latters. To Chaucer Anglo−Saxon was as much a dead language as it is to us. The classical Anglo−Saxon, moreover, had been the Wessex dialect, spoken and written at Alfreds capital, Winchester. When the French had displaced this as the language of culture, there was no longer a â€Å"kings English† or any literary standard. The sources of modern standard English are to be found in the East Midland, spoken in Lincoln, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, and neighboring shires. Here the old Anglian had been corrupted by the Danish settlers, and rapidly threw off its inflections when it became a spoken and no longer a written language, after the Conquest. The West Saxon, clinging more tenaciously to ancient forms, sunk into the position of a local dialect; while the East Midland, spreading to London, Oxford, and Cambridge, became the literary English in which Chaucer wrote. The Normans brought in also new intellectual influences and new forms of literature. They were a cosmopolitan people, and they connected England with the continent. Lanfranc and Anselm, the first two Norman archbishops of Canterbury, were learned and splendid prelates of a {14} type quite unknown to the Anglo−Saxons. They introduced the scholastic philosophy taught at the University of Paris, and the reformed discipline of the Norman abbeys. They bound the English Church more closely to Rome, and officered it with Normans. English bishops were deprived of their sees for illiteracy, and French abbots were set over monasteries of Saxon monks. Down to the middle of the 14th century the learned literature of England was mostly in Latin, and the polite literature in French. English did not at any time altogether cease to be a written language, but the extant remains of the period from 1066 to 1200 are few and, with one exception, unimportant. After 1200 English came more and more into written use, but mainly in translations, paraphrases, and imitations of French works. The native genius was at school, and followed awkwardly. The Anglo−Saxon poetry, for example, had been rhythmical and alliterative. It was commonly written in lines containing four rhythmical accents and with three of the accented syllables alliterating. R_este hine thà ¢ r_à ºm−heort; r_à ©ced hlifade G_eà ¡p and g_à ³ld−fà ¢h, gà ¤st inne swà ¤f. Rested him then the great−hearted; the hall towered Roomy and gold−bright, the guest slept within. This rude energetic verse the Saxon scà ´p had sung to his harp or glee−beam, dwelling on the {15} emphatic syllables, passing swiftly over the others which were of undetermined number and position in the line. It was now displaced by the smooth metrical verse with rhymed endings, which the French introduced and which our modern poets use, a verse fitted to be recited rather than sung. The old English alliterative verse continued, indeed, in occasional use to the 16th century. But it was linked to a forgotten literature and an obsolete dialect, and was doomed to give way. Chaucer lent his great authority to the more modern verse system, and his own literary models and inspirers were all foreign, French or Italian. Literature in England began to be once more English and truly national in the hands of Chaucer and his contemporaries, but it was the literature of a nation cut off from its own past by three centuries of foreign rule. The most noteworthy English document of the 11th and 12th centuries was the continuation of the Anglo−Saxon chronicle. Copies of these annals, differing somewhat among themselves, had been kept at the monasteries in Winchester, Abingdon, Worcester, and elsewhere. The yearly entries were mostly brief, dry records of passing events, though occasionally they become full and animated. The fen country of Cambridge and Lincolnshire was a region of monasteries. Here were the great abbeys of Peterborough and Croyland and Ely minster. One of the earliest English songs tells how the savage heart of the Danish {16} king Cnut was softened by the singing of the monks in Ely. Merie sungen muneches binnen Ely Tha Cnut chyning reu ther by; Roweth, cnihtes, noer the land, And here we thes muneches sang. It was among the dikes and marshes of this fen country that the bold outlaw Hereward, â€Å"the last of the English,† held out for some years against the conqueror. And it was here, in the rich abbey of Burch or Peterborough, the ancient Medeshamstede (meadow−homestead) that the chronicle was continued for nearly a century after the Conquest, breaking off abruptly in 1154, the date of King Stephens death. Peterborough had received a new Norman abbot, Turold, â€Å"a very stern man,† and the entry in the chronicle for 1170 tells how Hereward and his gang, with his Danish backers, thereupon plundered the abbey of its treasures, which were first removed to Ely, and then carried off by the Danish fleet and sunk, lost, or squandered. The English in the later portions of this Peterborough chronicle becomes gradually more modern, and falls away more and more from the strict grammatical standards of the classical Anglo−Saxon. It is a most valuable historical monument, and some passages of it are written with great vividness, notably the sketch of William the Conqueror put down in the year of his death (1086) by one who had â€Å"looked upon him and at another time dwelt in his court.† {17} â€Å"He who was before a rich king, and lord of many a land, he had not then of all his land but a piece of seven feet. . . . Likewise he was a very stark man and a terrible, so that one durst do nothing against his will. . . . Among other things is not to be forgotten the good peace that he made in this land, so that a man might fare over his kingdom with his bosom full of gold unhurt. He set up a great deer preserve, and he laid laws therewith that whoso should slay hart or hind, he should be blinded. As greatly did he love the tall deer as if he were their father.† With the discontinuance of the Peterborough annals, English history written in English prose ceased for three hundred years. The thread of the nations story was kept up in Latin chronicles, compiled by writers partly of English and partly of Norman descent. The earliest of these, such as Ordericus Vitalis, Simeon ofDurham, Henry of Huntingdon, and William of Malmesbury, were contemporary with the later entries of the Saxon chronicle. The last of them, Matthew of Westminster, finished his work in 1273. About 1300 Robert, a monk of Gloucester, composed a chronicle in English verse, following in the main the authority of the Latin chronicles, and he was succeeded by other rhyming chroniclers in the 14th century. In the hands of these the true history of the Saxon times was overlaid with an ever−increasing mass of fable and legend. All real knowledge of the period {18} dwindled away until in Capgraves Chronicle of England, written in prose in 1463−64, hardly any thing of it is left. In history as in literature the English had forgotten their past, and had turned to foreign sources. It is noteworthy that Shakspere, who borrowed his subjects and his heroes sometimes from authentic English history, sometimes from the legendary history of ancient Britain, Denmark,and Scotland, as in Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth, ignores the Saxon period altogether. And Spenser, who gives in his second book of the Faerie Queene, a resumà © of the reigns of fabulous British kings—the supposed ancestors of Queen Elizabeth, his royal patron—has nothing to say of the real kings of early England. So completely had the true record faded away that it made no appeal to the imaginations of our most patriotic poets. The Saxon Alfred had been dethroned by the British Arthur, and the conquered Welsh had imposed their fictitious genealogies upon the dynasty of the conquerors. In the Roman de Rou, a verse chronicle of the dukes of Normandy, written by the Norman Wace, it is related that at the battle of Hastings the French jongleur, Taillefer, spurred out before the van of Williams army, tossing his lance in the air and chanting of â€Å"Charlemagne and of Roland, of Oliver and the peers who died at Roncesvals.† This incident is prophetic of the victory which Norman song, no less than Norman arms, was to win over England. The lines which Taillefer {19} sang were from the Chanson de Roland, the oldest and best of the French hero sagas. The heathen Northmen, who had ravaged the coasts of France in the 10th century, had become in the course of one hundred and fifty years, completely identified with the French. They had accepted Christianity, intermarried with the native women, and forgotten their own Norse tongue. The race thus formed was the most brilliant in Europe. The warlike, adventurous spirit of the vikings mingled in its blood with the French nimbleness of wit and fondness for display. The Normans were a nation of knights−errant, with a passion for prowess and for courtesy. Their architecture was at once strong and graceful. Their women were skilled in embroidery, a splendid sample of which is preserved in the famous Bayeux tapestry, in which the conquerors wife, Matilda, and the ladies of her court wrought the history of the Conquest. This national taste for decoration expressed itself not only in the ceremonious pomp of feast and chase and tourney, but likewise in literature. The most characteristic contribution of the Normans to English poetry were the metrical romances or chivalry tales. These were sung or recited by the minstrels, who were among the retainers of every great feudal baron, or by the jongleurs, who wandered from court to castle. There is a whole literature of these romans d aventure in the Anglo−Norman dialect of French. Many of them are {20} very long—often thirty, forty, or fifty thousand lines—written sometimes in a strophic form, sometimes in long Alexandrines, but commonly in the short, eight−syllabled rhyming couplet. Numbers of them were turned into English verse in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. The translations were usually inferior to the originals. The French trouvere (finder or poet) told his story in a straight−forward, prosaic fashion, omitting no details in the action and unrolling endless descriptions of dresses, trappings, gardens, etc. He invented plots and situations full of fine possibilities by which later poets have profited, but his own handling of them was feeble and prolix. Yet there was a simplicity about the old French language and a certain elegance and delicacy in the diction of the trouveres which the rude, unformed English failed to catch. The heroes of these romances were of various climes: Guy of Warwick, and Richard the Lion Heart of England, Havelok the Dane, Sir Troilus of Troy, Charlemagne, and Alexander. But, strangely enough, the favorite hero of English romance was that mythical Arthur of Britain, whom Welsh legend had celebrated as the most formidable enemy of the Sassenach invaders and their victor in twelve great battles. The language and literature of the ancient Cymry or Welsh had made no impression on their Anglo−Saxon conquerors. There are a few Welsh borrowings in the English speech, such as bard and druid; but in the old Anglo−Saxon literature there are {21} no more traces of British song and story than if the two races had been sundered by the ocean instead of being borderers for over six hundred years. But the Welsh had their own national traditions, and after the Norman Conquest these were set free from the isolation of their Celtic tongue and, in an indirect form, entered into the general literature of Europe. The French came into contact with the old British literature in two places: in the Welsh marches in England and in the province of Brittany in France, where the population is of Cymric race and spoke, and still to some extent speaks, a Cymric dialect akin to the Welsh. About 1140 Geoffrey of Monmouth, a Benedictine monk, seemingly of Welsh descent, who lived at the court of Henry the First and became afterward bishop of St. Asaph, produced in Latin a so−called Historia Britonum in which it was told how Brutus, the great grandson of Aeneas, came to Britain, and founded there his kingdom called after him, and his city of New Troy (Troynovant) on the site of the later London. An air of historic gravity was given to this tissue of Welsh legends by an exact chronology and the genealogy of theBritish kings, and the author referred, as his authority, to an imaginary Welsh book given him, as he said, by a certain Walter, archdeacon of Oxford. Here appeared that line of fabulous British princes which has become so familiar to modern readers in the plays of Shakspere and the poems of Tennyson: Lear and his {22} three daughters; Cymbeline, Gorboduc, the subject of the earliest regular English tragedy, composed by Sackville and acted in 1562; Locrine and his Queen Gwendolen, and his daughter Sabrina, who gave her name to the river Severn, was made immortal by an exquisite song in Miltons Comus, and became the heroine of the tragedy of Locrine, once attributed to Shakspere; and above all, Arthur, the son of Uther Pendragon, and the founder of the Table Round. In 1155 Wace, the author of the Roman de Rou, turned Geoffreys work into a French poem entitled Brut d Angleterre, â€Å"brut† being a Welsh word meaning chronicle. About the year 1200 Waces poem was Englished by Layamon, a priest of Arley Regis, on the border stream of Severn. Layamons Brut is in thirty thousand lines, partly alliterative and partly rhymed, but written in pure Saxon English with hardly any French words. The style is rude but vigorous, and, at times, highly imaginative. Wace had amplified Geoffreys chronicle somewhat, but Layamon made much larger additions, derived, no doubt, from legends current on the Welsh border. In particular the story of Arthur grew in his hands into something like fullness. He tells of the enchantments of Merlin, the wizard; of the unfaithfulness of Arthurs queen,Guenever; and the treachery of his nephew, Modred. His narration of the last great battle between Arthur and Modred; of the wounding of the king—â€Å"fifteen fiendly wounds he had, one might in the least {23} three gloves thrust—†; and of the little boat with â€Å"two women therein, wonderly dight,† which came to bear him away to Avalun and the Queen Argante, â€Å"sheenest of all elves,† whence he shall come again, according to Merlins prophecy, to rule the Britons; all this left little, in essentials, for Tennyson to add in his Death of Arthur. This new material for fiction was eagerly seized upon by the Norman romancers. The story of Arthur drew to itself other stories which were afloat.

Management Strategies for Communication

Management Strategies for Communication Contents (Jump to) Introduction Organizational Culture Leadership Communication of Business Information Eliminating Barriers of Communication Team Work Conflict Resolution Conclusion References Introduction The Company owns a Hotel and a Resort (King and Queen Hotel Suite Mt. Taranaki Resort). This report contains information that the management could implement in order to create the best experience for the guests coming to stay at either the resort or at the hotel. How would employees of this property absorb different cultures, leadership style, communicate business information, eliminate barriers, work as a team and resolve a conflict. So how do we create an experience for our employee similarly that is given to the guest? Growth and change needs to be monitored at all times within the employees. COMMUNICATION! And there are various ways of communicating all the necessary information to the employees. As the Human Resource Director my responsibility here is to ensure that all information is efficiently transmitted to all employees new and existing across both properties. To achieve success, communication is one very important aspect. As the first step a set of guidelines have been developed as a blueprint for staff that will create the right culture that runs common across both properties. This would help the Company best utilize the human resource efficiently. Organizational Culture An organizational culture is where an organization is responsible for creating an environment in which the business is managed and can impact heavily on the success or failure of the business (University Alliance, 2015). Reinhart (2015) suggest that when people live together the culture develops within the organization. Reinhart (2015) say that there are 4 (four) areas where one should look at for developing the organizational culture which are as follows Training and Hiring Develop a story Not about programs Foster commitment For the employees to adapt the organizational culture the organization/ HR director need to look at the areas that would help an employee who has been trained not only understands it but effectively implements it while performing his/her duties, there are many ways that we can pass the organizational culture to our employees, a few are mentioned below Training – With proper training by a qualified teacher / trainer the employee will understand the organizational culture better. With proper training of old and existing employees they have to be trained in the ways to apply the new goals. Lead by example – is one of the most effective ways for leaders to create and spread a culture of learning. These way new employees absorb the culture they see and get aligned much faster. Lead the team by showing them with an example so that the new employees can take it and help the other members lead the organization to a new level DELETE. Guidance employees – As the employee is new we need to guide the employee to adapt to the new organizational culture by giving them task for new employees to know the culture. (Carabelli, 2015) Progress will be monitored frequent intervals and the plan revised as if necessary by the senior management. Necessary check would also on a day to day basis would be done in order for the performance of the employees to be on track. Leadership The organizational culture and leadership are connected with each other without one the organization could be crippled. In the research on Leadership style in job satisfaction leadership style is defined as the pattern of behaviors that a leader displays during their work with and through others (Hersey Blanchard, 1993). According to Kavanaugh and Ninemeier (2001), there are 3 factors that could determine the type of leadership style: leaders’ characteristics, subordinates’ characteristics and the organization environment. To be more specific, the personal background of leaders such as personality, knowledge, values, and experiences would shapes their feelings about appropriate leadership that determine their specific leadership style; employees also have different personalities, backgrounds, expectations and experiences, knowledge for example, employees who are more knowledgeable and experienced may work well under a democratic leadership style, while employees with d ifferent experiences and expectations require an autocratic leadership style. Some factors in the organizations environment such as organizational climate, organization values, composition of work group and type of work can also influence leadership style. However, leaders can adapt their leadership style to the perceived preferences of their subordinates (Wood, 1994). According to a research done by Mukhels and Lockwood they suggest that the leadership style would differ according to the person’s demographic profile (Al-Ababneh Lockwood). Johnson Murray talks about the pros and con of leadership and it is way to know or judge which person has leadership skills or not. They are as follows What leadership is not? It is not the use of Authority Management is not leadership Position Power is not Leadership What leadership is? Is about having a vision Is about influencing people to believe in the vision It is about persuasion of the vision (Murray, 2014) (Link success with leadership, 2014) The Leadership styles that best fit the resort would help build up a better place to be around to work at. The leadership style that best fit the resort is participative/ democratic leadership where the following things would help the hotel/resort to move forward and help the hotel/resort build a better team Leaders. They are as follows Creative Problem Solver Handling Risks Working together Creativity (Duggan, 2014) A question that arises while doing this â€Å"Is this Leadership style effective†? It’s effective if we are able to take care of the following Proper Communication Focusing on the discussion Full Commitment Respect each other’s ideas (The Democratic Leadership Style, 2008) Communication of Business Information Communication is one of the most important aspects of Leadership. It helps the leader to align the organization to one common goal or vision. Organizations that do not communicate their strategy to their employees are showing the lack of direction or disregarding for their employees. To apply an effective way of communicating business information to the staff the messages that are being sent to the staff should be crafted clearly for staff to understand. If a problem persists then it should be sorted out at that very instance. To take the organization to a level ahead of its competitors Johnston (2015) has suggested that the mission, vision and all other information of the organization is transferred to its employees. Strategies for doing so are Internal Communication Communicating with the staff clearly and simply, avoiding any jargons, or foul language in email, bulletin board. One part of the communication is disbursing the information the other is receiving information or feedback from staff. By this we will know the level of understanding of the staff. Marketing Communication Communicating marketing information is very important for improving the sales for the organization. Communication must be researched constantly; if the marketing communication is not working then it must be discarded. Because it’s not just the budgets spent it also harms the brand adversely. Communication with stakeholders The Management needs to communicate the progress of the Organization with the stakeholders so that they are kept abreast of the changes taking place and can guide at the right time. Monitor non-verbal messages Non-verbal communication can be your strongest support, however it needs to be monitored i.e. oversee the messages that are being sent via email and other non-verbal methods, so that the verbal and non-verbal method matches. (Johnston, 2015) (Raja, 2011) Eliminating Barriers of Communication Language/communication barriers are a common challenge in today’s business setting. Ms. Kate states that there are 10 strategies for overcoming the communication barriers which are as follows Speak in a manner so that the other person or people can hear you clearly Ask for clarification on what has been told Check Frequently if everyone has understood We need to avoid changed meaning of the words for others to understand Be careful as when to use a jargon/s Define what are the basics of your business THIS POINT DOES NOT CONNECT One has to be specific is what is being told Choose the medium of communication Proper to avoid any misunderstanding Provide more than one source of communication with the staff, to establish message Being patient is the hardest to keep as everyone is in a hurry (Berardo, 2007) Communication is an important part of any relationship, whether it is a working, romantic or friendly relationship in the resort. When an effective communication is interrupted or it is not executed properly, it can lead to misunderstandings which might hurt a working relationship of the staff. There are barriers to communication that must be overcome by the organization. It is possible to reduce those barriers so proper communication can take place but can never be eliminated. The following steps need to be implemented in the organization Choose the best communication channel for your specific message within or outside the organization. Choose an appropriate time to have a conversation. Speak clearly when talking to someone. Here one has to pass on the message very clearly for the receiver to understand the message Check with the listener/receiver if the message conveyed to them has been understood by them by asking them in their own words after the message has been sent. This is a good way of being able to know if the message was received and understood in best possible way. If the listener relays a message that is not identical to your message, then you know there was a miscommunication in transmitting the message. Listen to the other person when they are speaking. Instead of thinking about what to say next, take in what the other person is saying so that one is able to receive his message well. (Richardson, 2015) As an HR Manager I would have to be a proactive person and build cross-cultural environment to eliminate any barriers that may arise and to keep the trend going on the hotel we would need to look at all kinds of needs and wants of the employees and making them mix with different cultures so smoothly that they have very limited amount of the barriers in communication Team Work Organizations often ask employees to complete projects as a team. Working together has many benefits, including the possibility to create new friendships, a sense of group accomplishment and distribution of responsibilities. Teamwork may also cause tension and anxiety among employees because of poor communication. Effective communication can eliminate stress and negative feelings. Leaders of the team should encourage their employees to communicate with one another clearly while working together. This is especially important for smaller companies, whose employees often must work closely with one another. (Managing groups and Teams, 2010) Characteristics To have effective communication in the work place, team members must keep an open mind, engage in active listening and have a clear understanding of project goals and requirements. Effects Effective communication determines the success or failure of projects requiring teamwork, and ultimately, the business itself. Teamwork offers advantages such as increase in productivity, sense of responsibility and improved staff efficiency. The key element of creating a good team is proper communication. To develop effective team communication, you need to understand how communication affects teamwork positively and negatively. Increases Interaction When communication channels in a team are properly established and information flows easily between teammates, then that increases the ability of staff members to interact. Team members learn how to interact more efficiently with each other to perform their job duties and are better able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each teammate. Conflict Poor communication within a team can cause misunderstandings that lead to internal conflict. A team that spends its time misinterpreting information and creating conflicts is not able to be a productive work unit. Developing a strong system of communication eliminates misinformation and cuts down on the possibility of conflict. The team can focus on company tasks as opposed to wasting time sifting through conflict. (Root, 2015), (Gluck, 2015) The strongest factor affecting the productivity of the new and existing staff is good teamwork. If done well it results in achieving customer satisfaction. Clear roles and responsibilities help the management in knowing how the employee has performed. Surveys have pinpointed the strongest factor affecting employee productivity was people having a clear idea about what they were supposed to be doing. The more people knew their responsibilities, the higher the productivity. Conflict Resolution Problem Solving Mt Taranaki Resort believes in clear and open communication. We also encourage employees to talk directly with their supervisor and colleagues and vice versa. If an issue or conflict does arise, it is recommended that the individual try to resolve the problem with those directly involved. The employee may also choose to involve his or her supervisor if necessary. In discussing the conflict please remember that the organizations confidentiality policy still applies. If after this discussion the employee or supervisor feels the issue is still not resolved, he/she may request a meeting with the next level supervisor and Human Resources Coordinator or Executive Director. In the event that the employee prefers an individual meeting with the next level supervisor or any other senior management staff the supervisor will be notified. By exploring the issue in a professional and constructive manner; will be possible to find an appropriate way to resolve the problem. Complaint Resolution Procedure Policy The organization will act expediently if problems do occur and all individuals, whether staff or management, will be treated with fairness, respect, and consistency. All employees are encouraged to bring forward any complaints or recommendations dealing with safety, health standards, proper working conditions, performance appraisals, discipline and fair management practices, without fear of reprisal. Any disputes, controversies or suggestions must first be handled between the employee and his or her immediate supervisor, unless they are serious enough to warrant intervention by the next level supervisor or other member of the senior management team. An employee who has not obtained a solution within five business days of the circumstances that gave rise to the situation has the right to bring the matter to the attention of the next level supervisor. The Human Resources Coordinator and/or the Executive Director will be informed of the matter. That person will review the circumstances within five business days and will consult the Human Resources Coordinator or Executive Director as appropriate. Complaints should be in writing and include all relevant circumstances. The employee and supervisor will receive a solution or a written reply from the Department Manager within five more business days. If the employee is not satisfied with the response, he or she has the right to discuss the issue with the Executive Director. If the Executive Director cannot fulfil the employee’s expectations and the conflict persists, the employee may decide to bring the matter, in writing, to the chair of the Board of Directors and the Executive Director will be notified. The Board of Directors’ (Sample policy experts, 2011) A specific policy would be developed to meet the above goals prior to staff being appointed. The guiding principles would be †¦. Staff Induction Staff training Reporting process Safety is a staff priority All these can be presented under the CODE OF CONDUCT document Conclusion An organizational Culture which enables its employees to develop into Leaders is the one that will take the organization to the next level and in this communication plays a very important role. It is important to communicate the business vision to the employees by reducing the communication barriers as they can never be eliminated/ overcome permanently as the barriers could arise at any given situation. Team work is one of the important aspects of the industry without teamwork no organization can work through to the objectives, mission and vision. Conflict resolution is one of the major areas that need to be resolved on day to day basis as conflict could arise at no given time. A policy has been made and communicated to the staff at the time of joining or at the time of their transfer, so that there can be a resolution rather that a big case. Communicated and presented as KING QUEEN HOTEL SUITE and MT TARANAKI RESORT’s CODE OF CONDUCT. References Al-Ababneh, M., Lockwood, A. (n.d.). The Influence of Managerial Leadership Style on Employee Job Satisfation in Jordanian Resort Hotels. Jordan. Berardo, K. (2007). 10 Strategies for Overcoming Language Barriers. Retrieved from Curosity.com: http://www.culturosity.com/pdfs/10 Strategies for Overcoming Language Barriers.pdf Carabelli, C. (2015). How Is Organizational Culture Passed to New Employees? Retrieved from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/organizational-culture-passed-new-employees-14078.html Duggan, T. (2014). About Participative Leadership Style Front Office Performance. Retrieved from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/participative-leadership-style-front-office-performance-10256.html Gluck, S. (2015). Effective Communication Team Work. Retrieved from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-communication-team-work-3167.html Hersey, P., Blanchard, K. H. (1993). Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources (6th Ed ed.). New Jersey: Princetnce Hall, Inc. Johnston, K. (2015). Strategies for effective communication. Retrieved from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/strategies-effective-communication-57218.html Link success with leadership. (2014). Retrieved from GSS Blog: http://visiongss.com/blog//index.php/En/link-success-with-leadership Managing groups and Teams. (2010, September 20). Retrieved from Wiki Books: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Managing_Groups_and_Teams/Print_version Murray, J. (2014, June 15). What Leadership is and is not. Retrieved from Legacee: https://www.legacee.com/leadership-skills/what-leadership-is-and-is-not/z Raja, K. (2011, September 09). How to communicate business strategy to employees. Retrieved from Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/kaushikraja/how-to-communicate-business-strategy-to-employees-9198582 Reinhart, C. (2015). Organizational Culture in the Hospitality industry. Retrieved from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/organizational-culture-hospitality-industry-12969.html Richardson, M. (2015). How to reduce barries to communication. Retrieved from eHow: http://www.ehow.com/how_6684077_reduce-barriers-communication.html Root, G. N. (2015). How Communication Affects Teamwork. Retrieved from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/communication-affects-teamwork-11199.html The Democratic Leadership Style. (2008). Retrieved from leadership-toolbox.com: http://www.leadership-toolbox.com/democratic-leadership-style.html University Alliance. (2015). The Impact of Organizational Culture on Hospitality Success. Retrieved from Eli Broad College of Business: http://www.michiganstateuniversityonline.com/resources/hospitality/the-impact-of-organizational-culture-on-hospitality-success/#.VRenJPmUeSo Wood, R. C. (1994). Organizational Behavior for Hospitality Management. Oxford: Butterworth- Heinemann Ltd. 1 | Page 3138011

Much Ado About Nothing :: essays research papers

Shakespeare is known for his incredible ways of writing and his master pieces of literature that he produces. But, why is that one might ask? Just like a master artist, Shakespeare makes the fine detail the important part of his writing as an artist would in a masterpiece of a painting. For instance a piece of literature that enables Shakespeare to express his fine detail is “Much Ado About Nothing';, a romantic comedy. The fine detail is the characters and how they are fully developed and amazingly expressed. One character in the play is Benedick and he is expressed in an interesting way. Benedick is a character that not only deceives other characters in the play, but most of all he deceives himself. Benedick’s deceiving ways derive him to be a hypocritical character; this phenomenon makes his role compellingly intriguing in the play “Much Ado About Nothing';.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Benedick has a unique view toward love, he wants no part in giving or receiving love. He has a simple way to live, “I will live a bachelor'; (Shakespeare I .i.176), he first chooses not to get involved in the love scheme. Benedick has strong hold on that feeling and what’s to keep it that way. Encounters with a character known as Beatrice prove this to be true. Everytime these characters see one another arguments are endless, and put downs are fired back and forth. In fact Benedick tells her “...I would I could find in my heart that had not a hard heart, for truly I love none'; (I.i.92), his one way view is expressed to confirm his stubborn ways of love. The bickering between these two make it obvious that there is a hidden-love, which has potential. All the while Benedick is making clear that he will not fall to love and nothing will change his view. The deception will come from his view that is extremely well grounded.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another instance where Benedick’s deceiving way are used is later in the play. This time Benedick is the deceived instead of the deceiver. This is where Benedick becomes a hypocrite. Deception still is taking place, just in different ways. Close friends of Benedick known that Benedick is listening to their conversation, and they say how Beatrice and is in love with him and he should go for this. Playing with his mind they say “Shall we go seek Benedick, and tell him of her love?'; (III.i.154), they known that Benedick is listening so they don’t have to tell him. Benedick starts to believe that this is true and his feelings suddenly change.

Andre Dubus IIIs House of Sand and Fog Essay -- Andre Dubus III House

Andre Dubus III's House of Sand and Fog "House of Sand and Fog," by Andre Dubus III, explores the catastrophic repercussions of a complex misunderstanding between three characters. The conflict initially involves a dispute between Kathy Nicolo and Massoud Behrani over the â€Å"rightful† ownership of a house. The county wrongfully evicts Kathy and Behrani then buys her house at an auction. When Deputy Sheriff Lester Burdon enters the situation, events quickly slip out of control. Superficially, Lester’s character is important to the novel because he acts as a catalyst, propelling the plot into unexpected action. But Lester impacts the novel in a more profound way, because were it not for his insecurity and selfishness, the rest of the characters could have been spared an avoidable tragedy. Lester’s commitment to help Kathy at all costs undeniably alters the outcome of the novel. By providing her with money for a motel, and later with shelter at a friend’s cabin, he allows her to continue avoiding the reality of the situation. If Lester had never met Kathy, she would have been forced to be upfront with her lawyer. Instead, Kathy tells herself â€Å"there a limit to how much [her lawyer] wants to help,† and continues to tell Connie Walsh that she is staying with friends (88). Knowing the severity of Kathy’s plight could have prompted Connie Walsh to more ardently pursue the county on Kathy’s behalf. Because of Lester, however, the truth is kept from the lawyer. Additionally, although proclaiming his love for her, Lester becomes a negative influence on Kathy. Under the false sense of security he provides, Kathy, a recovering alcoholic, allows herself to start drinking again after an abstinence of three ye... ...observes the situation as merely a problem that requires a quick fix, and he sets about â€Å"fixing† the situation instead of fulfilling Kathy’s emotional needs. In the tradition of a Greek tragedy, Lester’s insecurity is his hamartia, his tragic flaw. His egocentrism stems from this, causing him to overlook the needs of others in his quest for self-justification. This is not to say that the awful outcome of the novel can be attributed to Lester alone. All three main characters fail to understand one another and rush to false assumptions based on cultural differences. But the fatalities of the scenario can be traced back to the overreactions of Lester. In the form of Lester Burdon, Dubus imbues his story with a potent warning against dishonestly with oneself. Only when a man truly understands himself and accepts his flaws can he attempt to overcome them.

Iago as the Perfect Villain of Shakespeares Othello Essay -- Othello

Iago as the Perfect Villain of Othello   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Iago, the villain in Shakespeare’s Othello, is a round character of great depth and many dimensions. Iago works towards an aim that is constantly changing and becomes progressively more tragic. Yet, at times, "honest" Iago does actually seem honest. This essay will explore the complex character of "honest Iago. One of the most interesting questions that crops up is concerning Iago’s motives. What are his reasons to kill every major Venetian in Cyprus? Shakespeare seemingly sets the stage for Iago’s actions, giving him two distinct reasons to avenge Othello. The first is the fact that Othello promotes Cassio, an "arithmetician" to the rank of lieutenant and passes over Iago who is but a sergeant. Secondly, Iago is suspicious of his wife, Emilia and thinks she is sleeping with every other man but him—including Othello. There are other reasons that Iago talks about in his soliloquies—the primary one being jealousy or "the green-eyed monster." Iago resents the love that Othello and Desdemona share and also takes offence at the fact that Othello is older, yet he has a young and beautiful wife, power, and respect, all that Iago desires. However, all these reasons seem to be false and made-up just for the sake of being excuses for his malice. He also uses these reasons to convince Roderigo to hate Othello. The real motive seems but a slip on Iago’s part when he says in act five, as he waits to stab Cassio: "If Cassio do remain, He hath a daily beauty in his life That makes me ugly..." He refers to Cassio’s goodness here and realizes that he lacks his gentlemanly traits. They are not quite of the same class and Iago resents that, for he knows that the promotion was not ... ... that people, who all along look up to him and call him "honest" Iago, realize this. Being a Shakespearean tragedy, Iago and—ultimately—evil, triumphs.    Works Cited and Consulted Bradley, A. C.. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: Penguin, 1991. Di Yanni, Robert. â€Å"Character Revealed Through Dialogue.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Literature. N. p.: Random House, 1986. Mack, Maynard. Everybody’s Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993. Shakespeare. Othello. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. Rossi. New York: Longman, 1999. 312-379. Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.   

Ha Jin Book Reflection

The book begins with the main character (Shao Bin) being introduced. From there, we start to learn about his life as a worker and how he wants to upgrade his living situation for him and his wife. When his request is denied, he decides to do something about it. He uses calligraphy as a form of propaganda. When one of his drawings ends up in a newspaper, things start to go south. The people who are in charge of Bin and the other workers (Director Ma and Liu) find out about it and publicly humiliate him. To counter their attack, Bin accuses one of them of having an affair with a woman who he saw in their office.This fires everyone up and madness ensues. I feel like the issues being discussed in this book are very important, but the contents of this book are not very exciting. The attention-grabbing moments are few and far between, which is unfortunate because they’re what I look for when I’m reading a book. Overall, this novel is quite dull. I find Jin’s style of w riting a bit underwhelming and I wish that he didn’t include the unnecessarily boring parts in the novel such as descriptions of meals that Bin enjoys. The main theme that I noticed during the first section of In the Pond is an opposition to corrupt Chinese ways.Ha Jin uses the character Shao Bin to stand up and fight for what he thinks is right. There were several parts of this section that stuck out to me. Here are a few examples†¦ â€Å"Even though he couldn’t correct the leaders’ wrongdoing, he wanted to teach them an unforgettable lesson and show them that he wouldn’t swallow an offense. But what should he do? He remembered that the materialistic thinker Wang Chong of the Han Dynasty had said something about punishing the evil with the writing brush. † This is where the whole book basically begins. It is the time when Shao Bin gets the inspiration to stick up for himself.â€Å"Who are the masters of this plant? The workers or the two cor rupt leaders? Where is their communist conscience? † (Page 22) When reading In the Pond, this part of Bin’s letter stuck out to me because he really questioned his conditions instead of staying miserable. This is also a part of the theme, which becomes rather evident during this passage. â€Å"The workers heard of Bin’s disrupting the election, and they were impressed. They had taken him for a mere bookworm, but all of a sudden he had emerged as a man of both strategy and action. Naturally some young workers shook hands with him.† (Page 47)I appreciated the fact that Bin’s coworkers stood by him and supported him instead of simply shying away and ignoring their problems. The whole incident made them gain respect for Shao Bin which is really unique because if I were in their shoes, I would probably to avoid conflict by simply ignoring the whole ordeal. PART 2 This section starts out with Bin going to talk to Director Ma. When he gets to his office, L iu is there and denies his request for a promotion, stating that he would rather let Bin’s talents rot. This infuriates Shao and he storms out.Later on, he meets Yen who he instantly befriends over discussions of art. Yen is an amateur, but they still bond and gain mutual respect for each other. Yen then talks to the leaders and asks them to be kinder to Bin. After this, the leaders tell Shao to look for a job elsewhere because they intend on firing him. Yen finds out what happened and is infuriated. Bin then gets a letter from Gold County’s Cultural Center which states that they would like to utilize his talents for a year. He accepts and starts the job transfer after getting into a fight with the directors.Later on, Bin signs up for exams and is scoffed at by Liu and Ma. He takes the series of tests at a middle school. Promptly after they’re over, Bin’s wife shows him a letter from a professor who loved his work. Following a long period of dull events, another scandal emerges after Liu is bitten in the butt by Bin. The attack was provoked, but still Shao got the short end of the stick and was treated badly afterwards. The central theme is still clear during this section. Bin tries to fight the corruption that he witnesses daily.He uses calligraphy as a powerful tool against it This book has really opened my eyes to the communism in China. It inspired me to read further into it and what I have found has shocked me. Though I still don’t really enjoy In the Pond, I have learned quite a bit from it. The passages that stuck out to me in section 2†¦ â€Å"Do not worry about having no friend on the road; under heaven who has not heard of your name? † (Page 68) This part stood out not because of its relevance to the story, but because of the way that the author constructed the dialogue.I found it interesting that instead of simply saying â€Å"who hasn’t heard of your name? † he said â€Å"Under heaven wh o has not heard of your name? † I appreciated the eloquence of this part. â€Å"Bin couldn’t help smiling; his tears fell on the thin paper. ‘They’re going to accept me. He-he-he, they accept me! † he cried out, and held his wife up by the waist, swinging her around. One of her flying heels scraped Shanshan’s shoulder and knocked her down. † (Page 87) This joyous occasion was a highlight of section 2. It was nice for Shao Bin to finally have something positive happen to him.â€Å"The photograph taken, Liu buckled up his pants and followed Jia out of the studio. The girl looked at him with a knowing smirk on her face, her eyes rolling. Liu smiled back, then turned to the photographer. ‘Old Jia, can you make it express? I need five pictures as soon as possible. † (Page 97) The fact that Director Liu actually went and had a picture of his butt taken was a bit too much. Part 3 The last part of the book moves pretty fast. Liu is accused of having a relationship with Nina and Bin begins to respect Song less because of the way he handled a painting.Song’s report came out soon after and Bin was satisfied with the finished product. I feel section 3 of the book is full of a lot of pointless anecdotes, but in the end the novel wasn’t that bad. It had its moments of excitement, but it also had its moments of boring nonsense. I would give In the Pond a solid 6. In the end, I was relieved to have finished the novel for many reasons. For one, the ending was pretty great. Also, the book dragged a lot and I felt bored most of the time. The passages that I felt were important†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Against the current you must punt hard; one stroke skipped, you fall back many a yard. The ancients said every minute was gold; So, cherish your time and have it controlled. † (Page 162) Shao Bin remembers this poem about the methodology of study after he struggles with his art. I feel like this poem is quite inspir ational, which is the reason it stood out to me. It basically tells the reader to live life to the fullest. â€Å"After biting his fingertips for a few moments, he decided to engrave Tu Fu’s line ‘Your brush writes, raising wind and rain.† It seemed no words were more appropriate as a compliment to Jiang’s uncle. † (Page 140) This part is taken from when Bin is trying to decide what to carve onto the jade stone for Jiang’s uncle. This quotation is inspiring. It states that you have the ability to change things that you aren’t happy with. The theme is very evident in this passage. â€Å"On his way to the Commune Administration, he couldn’t resist smiling and whistling. In the sky a flock of geese were drifting south and gradually merging into the cotton clouds. Joyously Bin stretched up his right arm, as if he too had wings.† (Page 178)This was a great way to end the book. By comparing Bin’s freedom to the flight of a bird, Jin successfully tied up the story and left me satisfied with the end. Reilly Davidson August 2, 2013 Summer Reading 2013 In the Pond by Ha Jin Honors Assignment â€Å"In China, for most of the population, these fault lines – the immediate causes of public dissatisfaction – relate not only to vague yearnings for democracy but, more importantly, to profound economic frustrations and disgust over social inequities and corruption. † (Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times).This was taken from an article about the rebellion against Chinese leaders in 1989. It is applicable to the central theme expressed in both the novel and this news article. It’s an opposition to some form of Chinese ruling. In both situations, those who were against it took a stand and fought for what is/was right. The New York Times published a story many years ago entitled â€Å"CHINA ERUPTS†¦ THE REASON WHY†. It’s basically about the people of China who wer e thirsty for change in the spring of 1989. There were many rebels who stuck up for the cause that they placed great importance on.â€Å"†¦but galvanizing all of China with their threat to kill themselves rather than live without democracy† (excerpt from the article). This passage was important because it clearly states how important it was for the rebels to fight for their beliefs. Ha Jin attempts to share his thoughts about Chinese control by writing In the Pond. The main character (Shao Bin) was basically a tool to bring about the questions of â€Å"What would happen if we all stood up for what we believe in? † and â€Å"How can we take a stand for justice? † He addresses these two points within the first ten pages.â€Å"†¦ the true scholar’s brush must encourage good and warn against evil† (Page 8) This passage from the novel was a quote from Wang Chong, who I believe was a Chinese philosopher during the Han Dynasty. It’s an am azing idea to start the book off with such powerful words. Ha Jin included this as an important inspiration for the character Shao Bin. It leads him to speak out against the unjust ways of his supervisors. â€Å"As an artist and scholar I ought to expose those corrupt leaders†¦ A good piece of work should be as lethal as a dagger to evildoers. † These words fuel Bin throughout the entire novel. They are the match that lights the flame.Jin tactfully placed them in the beginning as a form of foreshadowing the theme of the entire novel. The theme that also applies to the aforementioned news article. Both pieces of literature address topics of sticking up for oneself and not letting dreams get crushed because of society’s ways. This theme is incredibly important and can be learned from in future situations. All in all, it is pretty evident that there are many people who feel that the situation with the democracy in China is unsatisfactory. The theme in both the news a rticle and In the Pond is clear and is seemingly something good to learn from.