American Immigration History Essay

American immigration history can be viewed in four epochs: the colonial period, the mid-19th century, the start of the 20th century, and post-1965. Each period brought distinct national groups, races and ethnicities to the United States. During the 17th century, approximately 175,000 Englishmen migrated to Colonial America.[11] Over half of all European immigrants to Colonial America during the 17th and 18th centuries arrived as indentured servants.[12] The mid-19th century saw mainly an influx from northern Europe; the early 20th-century mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe; post-1965 mostly from Latin America and Asia. Historians estimate that fewer than one million immigrants—perhaps as few as 400,000—crossed the Atlantic during the 17th and 18th centuries.[13] The 1790 Act limited naturalization to â€Å"free white persons†; it was expanded to include blacks in the 1860s and Asians in the 1950s.[14] In the early years of the United States, immigration was fewer than 8,000 people a year,[15] including French refugees from the slave revolt in Haiti. After 1820, immigration gradually increased. From 1836 to 1914, over 30 million Europeans migrated to the United States.[16] The death rate on these transatlantic voyages was high, during which one in seven travelers died.[17] In 1875, the nation passed its first immigration law, the Page Act of 1875.[18] The peak year of European immigration was in 1907, when 1,285,349 persons entered the country.[19] By 1910, 13.5 million immigrants were living in the United States.[20] In 1921, the Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act, followed by the Immigration Act of 1924. The 1924 Act was aimed at further restricting the Southern and Eastern Europeans, especially Jews, Italians, and Slavs, who had begun to enter the country in large numbers beginning in the 1890s.[21] Most of the European refugees fleeing the Nazis and World War II were barred from coming to the United States.[22] Immigration patterns of the 1930s were dominated by the Great Depression, which hit the U.S. hard and lasted over ten years there. In the final prosperous year, 1929, there were 279,678 immigrants recorded,[23] but in 1933, only 23,068 came to the U.S.[13] In the early 1930s, more people emigrated from the United States than to it.[24] The U.S. government sponsored a Mexican Repatriation program which was intended to encourage people to voluntarily move to Mexico, but thousands were deported against their will.[25] Altogether about 400,000 Mexicans were repatriated.[26] In the post-war era, the Justice Department  launched Operation Wetback, under which 1,075,168 Mexicans were deported in 1954.[27] First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same†¦. Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset†¦. Contrary to the charges in some quarters, [the bill] will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area, or the most populated and deprived nations of Africa and Asia†¦. In the final analysis, the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think. — Ted Kennedy, chief Senate sponsor of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.[28] The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Cellar Act, abolished the system of national-origin quotas. By equalizing immigration policies, the act resulted in new immigration from non-European nations, which changed the ethnic make-up of the United States.[29] While European immigrants accounted for nearly 60% of the total foreign population in 1970, they accounted for only 15% in 2000.[30] Immigration doubled between 1965 and 1970, and again between 1970 and 1990.[31] In 1990, George H. W. Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1 990,[32] which increased legal immigration to the United States by 40%.[33] Appointed by Bill Clinton,[34] the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform recommended reducing legal immigration from about 800,000 people per year to approximately 550,000.[35] While an influx of new residents from different cultures presents some challenges, â€Å"the United States has always been energized by its immigrant populations,† said President Bill Clinton in 1998. â€Å"America has constantly drawn strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants [†¦] They have proved to be the most restless, the most adventurous, the most innovative, the most industrious of people.†[36] An analysis of census data found that nearly eight million immigrants entered the United States from 2000 to 2005, more than in any other five-year period in the nation’s history; 3.7 million of them entered without papers.[37][38] Since 1986 Congress has passed seven amnesties for undocumented immigrants.[39] In 1986 president Ronald Reagan signed immigration reform that gave amnesty to 3 million undocumented immigrants in the country.[40] Hispanic immigrants were among the first victims of the late-2000s recession,[41] but since the recessionâ₠¬â„¢s end in June 2009, immigrants posted a net gain of 656,000 jobs.[42] Over 1 million immigrants were granted legal residence in 2011. ————————————————- Contemporary immigration Until the 1930s most legal immigrants were male. By the 1990s women accounted for just over half of all legal immigrants.[46]Contemporary immigrants tend to be younger than the native population of the United States, with people between the ages of 15 and 34 substantially overrepresented.[47] Immigrants are also more likely to be married and less likely to be divorced than native-born Americans of the same age.[48] Immigrants are likely to move to and live in areas populated by people with similar backgrounds. This phenomenon has held true throughout the history of immigration to the United States.[49] Seven out of ten immigrants surveyed by Public Agenda in 2009 said they intended to make the U.S. their permanent home, and 71% said if they could do it over again they would still come to the US. In the same study, 76% of immigrants say the government has become stricter on enforcing immigration laws since the September 11, 2001 attacks (â€Å"9/11†), and 24% report that they p ersonally have experienced some or a great deal of discrimination.[50] Public attitudes about immigration in the U.S. were heavily influenced in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. After the attacks, 52% of Americans believed that immigration was a good thing overall for the U.S., down from 62% the year before, according to a 2009 Gallup poll.[51] A 2008 Public Agenda survey found that half of Americans said tighter controls on immigration would do â€Å"a great deal† to enhance U.S. national security.[52] Harvard political scientist and historian Samuel P. Huntington argued in Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity that a potential future consequence of continuing massive immigration from Latin America, especially Mexico, might lead to the bifurcation of the United States. The population of illegal Mexican immigrants in the US fell from approximately 7 million in 2007 to 6.1 million in 2011 [53] Commentators link the reversal of the immigration trend to the economic downturn that started in 2008 and which meant fewer available jobs, and to the introduction of tough immigration laws in many states.[54][55][56][57] According to t he Pew Hispanic Center the total number of Mexican born persons had stagnated in 2010, and tended toward going into negative figures.[58] More than 80 cities in the United States,[59] including Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego,San Jose, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Detroit, Jersey City, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Baltimore, Seattle,Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine, have sanctuary policies, which vary locally.[60] ————————————————- Effects of immigration Demographics The Census Bureau estimates the US population will grow from 281 million in 2000 to 397 million in 2050 with immigration, but only to 328 million with no immigration.[77] A new report from the Pew Research Center projects that by 2050, non-Hispanic whites will account for 47% of the population, down from the 2005 figure of 67%.[78] Non-Hispanic whites made up 85% of the population in 1960.[79] It also foresees the Hispanic population rising from 14% in 2005 to 29% by 2050.[80] The Asian population is expected to more than triple by 2050. Overall, the population of the United States is due to rise from 296 million in 2005 to 438 million in 2050, with 82% of the increase from immigrants.[81] In 35 of the country’s 50 largest cities, non-Hispanic whites were at the last census or are predicted to be in the minority.[82] In California, non-Hispanic whites slipped from 80% of the state’s population in 1970 to 42.3% in 2008.[83][84] Immigrant segregation declined in the first half of the century, but has been rising over the past few decades. This has caused questioning of the correctness of describing the United States as a melting pot. One explanation is that groups with lower socioeconomic status concentrate in more densely populated area that have access to public transit while groups with higher socioeconomic status move to suburban areas. Another is that some recent immigrant groups are more culturally and linguistically different than earlier group and prefer to live together due to factors such as communication costs.[85] Another explanation for increased segregation is white flight.[86] â€Å"The lesson of these 236 years is clear – immigration makes America stronger. Immigration makes us more prosperous. And immigration positions America to lead in the 21st century.† President Obama, July 4, 2012 A stronger GDP means a better standard of living for Americans.Immigrants start small businesses.Immigrant-owned businesses create jobs for American workers.Immigrants boost demand for local consumer goods. More than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or a child of immigrants. According to thePartnership for a New American Economy these companies employ more than 10 million people worldwide and generate annual revenue of $4.2 trillion. Immigrants innovate as scientists and engineers.Immigrants develop cutting-edge technologies and companies.Immigrant scientist and engineers positively impact wages.Fixing our broken immigration system is critical to bilateral trade and U.S. exports. Fixing our broken immigration system will help increase international travel and tourism to America. merica’s immigration system is broken. Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there are 11 million people living in the shadows. Neither is good for the economy or the country. Together we can build a fair, effective and common sense immigration system that lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. The President’s plan builds a smart, effective immigration system that continues efforts to secure our borders and cracks down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants. It’s a plan that requires anyone who’s undocumented to get right with the law by paying their taxes and a penalty, learning English, and undergoing background checks before they can be eligible to earn citizenship. It requires every business and every worker to play by the same set of rules. The Know Nothing movement was an American political movement that operated on a national basis during the mid 1850s. It promised to purify American politics by limiting or ending the influence of Irish Catholics and other immigrants, thus reflecting nativismand anti-Catholic sentiment. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholicimmigrants, whom they saw as hostile to republican values and controlled by the pope in Rome. Mainly active from 1854 to 1856, it strove to curb immigration and naturalization, but met with little success. Membership was limited to Protestant males. There were few prominent leaders, and the largely middle-class membership fragmented over the issue of slavery. The most prominent leaders were ex-President Millard Fillmore (the party’s presidential nominee in 1856), Massachusetts Congressman Nathaniel P. Banks,[1] and former congressman Lewis C. Levin. Social Irish immigration was opposed in the 1850s by the nativist Know Nothing movement, originating in New York in 1843. It was engendered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by Irish Catholic immigrants. In 1891, a lynch mob stormed a local jail and hanged several Italians following the acquittal of several Sicilian immigrants alleged to be involved in the murder of New Orleans police chief David Hennessy. The Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act in 1921, followed by the Immigration Act of 1924. The Immigration Act of 1924 was aimed at limiting immigration overall, and making sure that the nationalities of new arrivals matched the overall national profile. After the September 11 attacks, many Americans entertained doubts and suspicions about people apparently of Middle-Eastern origins.[citation needed] NPR in 2010 fired a prominent black commentator, Juan Williams, when he talked publicly about his fears on seeing people dressed like Muslims on airplanes.[127] Racist thinking among and between minority groups does occur;[128][129] examples of this are conflicts between blacks and Korean immigrants,[130] notably in the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, and between African Americans and non-white Latino immigrants.[131][132] There has been a long running racial tension between African American and Mexicanprison gangs, as well as significant riots in California prisons where they have targeted each other, for ethnic reasons.[133][134] There have been reports of racially motivated attacks against African Americans who have moved into neighborhoods occupied mostly by people of Mexican origin, and vice versa.[135][136] There has also been an increase in violence between non-Hispanic Anglo Americans and Latino immigrants, and between African immigrants and African Americans.[137] A 2007 study on assimilation found that Mexican immigrants are less fluent in English than both non-Mexican Hispanic immigrants and other immigrants. While English fluency increas es with time stayed in the United States, although further improvements after the first decade are limited, Mexicans never catch up with non-Mexican Hispanic who never catch up with non-Hispanics. The study also writes that â€Å"Even among immigrants who came to the United States before they were ï ¬ ve years old and whose entire schooling was in the United States, those Mexican born have average education levels of 11.7 years, whereas those from other countries have average levels of education of 14.1 years.† Unlike other immigrants, Mexicans have a tendency to live in communities with many other Mexicans which decreases incentives for assimilation. Correcting for this removes about half the fluency difference between Mexicans and other immigrants.[138] Religious diversity Immigration from South Asia and elsewhere has contributed to enlarging the religious composition of the United States. Islam in the United States is growing mainly due to immigration. Hinduism in the United States, Buddhism in the United States, and Sikhism in the United States are other examples.[139] Since 1992, an estimated 1.7 million Muslims, approximately 1 million Hindus, and approximately 1 million Buddhists have immigrated legally to the United States. Os Imigrantes e as Religià µes A maior religià £o dos EUA à © o cristianismo, cerca de 78,4% da populaà §Ãƒ £o à © cristà £. Tradicionalmente a maioria dos americanos eram majoritariamente protestantes, mas pela primeira vez em 2011 o grupo atingiu porcetagem menor que metade da populaà §Ãƒ £o. Ainda assim os americanos continuam sendo de maioria protestante somando 48% ou ainda ma maioria crentes 51% somando afiliaà §Ãƒ µes mà ³rmons. O cristianismo foi introduzidos durante o perà ­odo da colonizaà §Ãƒ £o europeia. O cristianismo à © uma das religià µes que mais cresce nos EUA. Isto se deve, entre outros fatores, pelo elevado nà ºmero de imigrantes latino-americanos e filipinos que o paà ­s recebe a cada ano. A regià £o com a maior concentraà §Ãƒ £o de catà ³licos à © o Nordeste, que apesar de ter sido colonizada por puritanos, recebeu grande nà ºmero de imigrantes catà ³licos europeus (principalmente alemà £es, irlandeses e italianos) a partir da segunda metade do sà ©culo XIX. O Norte, à ¡rea de forte influà ªncia da Igreja Batista, por outro lado, à © a regià £o com a menor porcentagem de catà ³licos. Os  Ingleses, Alemà £es, Escoceses, Holandeses, Noruegueses entre outros do norte europeu introduziram o Protestantismo, enquanto os franceses, espanhà ³is e irlandeses trouxeram o Catolicismo. Apesar de seu status de religià £o mais difundida e mais influente nos EUA, o Cristianismo està ¡ num declà ­nio relativo contà ­nuo. Quando o nà ºmero absoluto de cristà £os foi levantado de 1990 a 2001, a porcentagem cristà £ da populaà §Ãƒ £o caiu de 88.3% para 79.6%. O Judaà ­smo à © a quarta maior preferà ªncia religiosa nos EUA. Os judeus atuais està £o presentes nos EUA desde o sà ©culo XVII, embora a imigraà §Ãƒ £o em grande escala nà £o tenha ocorrido atà © o sà ©culo XIX, em maior parte por causa das perseguià §Ãƒ µes na Europa Oriental. O CIA Fact Book estima que 1% dos americanos pertencem a esse grupo. Aproximadamente 25% dessa populaà §Ãƒ £o vive em Nova York. O Budismo entrou nos EUA durante o sà ©culo XIX com a chegada dos primeiros imigrantes da à sia Oriental. O primeiro templo budista foi estabelecido em San Francisco em 1853 pelos chineses-americanos. Ao longo do sà ©culo XIX, missionà ¡rios budistas do Japà £o vieram aos EUA. Simultaneamente a estes processos, certos intelectuais dos EUA ficaram interessados pelo budismo. O sà ©culo XX foi caracterizado por uma continuaà §Ãƒ £o das tendà ªncias do sà ©culo XIX. A segunda metade, pelo contraste, viu uma emergà ªncia de correntes principais do movimento budista que tornou-se uma massa e um fenà ´meno religioso social. Estimativas do nà ºmero de budistas nos Estados Unidos variam de 0.5% a 0.9%. No que diz respeito a histà ³ria do Islà £ nos EUA, ainda que muito pequena, a populaà §Ãƒ £o muà §ulmana aumentou extremamente nos à ºltimos cem anos. Boa parte do crescimento foi por causa da imigraà §Ãƒ £o e pela conversà £o. Atà © um terà §o dos muà §ulmanos americanos sà £o africanos que se converteram ao Islà £ durante os à ºltimos setenta anos. A imigraà §Ãƒ £o muà §ulmana aumentou em 2005, assim como mais pessoas de paà ­ses islà ¢micos se tornaram residentes legais permanentes nos EUA do que qualquer ano, nas duas dà ©cadas anteriores. A estimativa de muà §ulmanos nos EUA à © de 2,35 milhà µes (0,8% do total da populaà §Ãƒ £o). A primeira vez que o Hinduà ­smo entrou nos Estados Unidos nà £o està ¡ claramente identificado. No entanto, grandes grupos de hindus emigraram da à ndia e de outros paà ­ses asià ¡ticos desde o Ato pela Imigraà §Ãƒ £o e Nacionalidade de 1965. Durante as dà ©cadas de 1960 e 1970, o fascà ­nio pelo Hinduà ­smo contribuiu para o pensamento New Age. Atualmente, as estimativas de hindus nos Estados Unidos sugerem um nà ºmero de quase 800.000 pessoas, ou cerca de 0.4% do total da populaà §Ãƒ £o. A religià £o hindu està ¡ em crescimento nos Estados Unidos, nà £o sà ³ graà §as a imigraà §Ãƒ £o, mas tambà ©m devido a conversà £o de muitos ocidentais. Place of birth for the foreign-born population in the United States Top ten countries| 2010| 2000| 1990| Mexico| 11,711,103| 9,177,487| 4,298,014| China| 2,166,526| 1,518,652| 921,070| India| 1,780,322| 1,022,552| 450,406| Philippines| 1,777,588| 1,369,070| 912,674| Vietnam| 1,240,542| 988,174| 543,262| El Salvador| 1,214,049| 817,336| 465,433| Cuba| 1,104,679| 872,716| 736,971| South Korea| 1,100,422| 864,125| 568,397| Dominican Republic| 879,187| 687,677| 347,858| Guatemala| 830,824| 480,665| 225,739| All of Latin America| 21,224,087| 16,086,974| 8,407,837| All Immigrants| 39,955,854| 31,107,889| 19,767,316|

Definition of Poetry

What is Poetry? According to W. H. Hudson we all have a sense of what poetry constitutes. There are innumerable definitions of poetry given by poets and critics of poetry and out of which Hudson chooses some famous definitions. They are given below: * Johnson : â€Å"Metrical composition† , it is â€Å"the art of uniting pleasure with truth by calling imagination to the help of reason† * Macaulay: â€Å"we mean the art of employing words in such a manner as to produce an illusion on the imagination, the art of doing by means of words what the painter does by means of colours† * Carlyle: â€Å"We will call Musical thought† Shelley: â€Å"In a general sense may be defined as the expression of the imagination† * Hazlitt: â€Å"It is the language of the imagination and the passions† * Leigh Hunt: â€Å"The utterance of a passion for truth, beauty, and power, embodying and illustrating its conceptions by imagination and fancy, and modulating its language on the principle of variety in unity† * Coleridge: â€Å"Poetry is the antithesis of science, having for its immediate object pleasure, not truth† * Wordsworth: â€Å"It is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge and the impassioned expression which is in the countenance of all science† * Edgar Allan Poe: â€Å"It is the rhythmic creation of beauty† * Keble: â€Å"A vent for overcharged feeling or a full imagination† * Doyle: â€Å"It expresses our dissatisfaction with what is present and close at hand† * Ruskin: â€Å"The suggestion by the imagination, of noble grounds for the noble emotions† * Prof. Courthope: â€Å"The art of producing pleasure by the just expression of imaginative thought and feeling in metrical language† * Mr. Watts-Dunton: â€Å" The concrete and artistic expression of the human mind in emotional and rhythmical language† * Matthew Arnold: â€Å"It is simply the most delightful and per fect form of utterance that human words can reach† * â€Å"It is nothing less than the most perfect speech of man that in which he comes nearest to being able to utter the truth† * â€Å"It is a criticism of life under the conditions fixed for such a criticism by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty† As Hudson state when we look at them critically, and compare them with one another, certain disturbing facts about them become clear. Commenting on these definitions Hudson concludes they are almost distracting in their variety because the subject is approached from many different points of view. Some, strictly speaking, fail to define, because they express rather what is poetical in general, wherever it may be found, than what is specifically poetry. Some, on the other hand, are too narrow and exclusive, because they recognize only the particular kind of poetry in which the writer happened to be personally interested.

Organizational Level Outputs

Organizational Level Outputs Outputs Diagnosis Executive Summary The Purpose for this summary is to provide you with the findings of my analysis on Skype’s organizational outputs covering the Organizational, Group and the Individual level. Skype is a new Microsoft Division, which provides low cost fee calls to landlines and mobile phone not registered within Skype, using the Peer to Peer technology and its latest version (5. 10. 0. 15) which has the capability to support nearly any computer operating system including mobile device with the ability to connect to the internet, giving the user the ability to make free Skype-to-Skype calls, Video, Instant Messaging. Skype’s customers can be broken down into three main groups: Freemium service users, Low cost users, and the Business category, currently with over 40 million concurrent users online, (Malik, O. 9 May 2012).With over 800 employees which consist of: Product Development, Sales and Marketing, Site Operations, Custo mer Support, with most of the development team at its headquarters in Luxemburg and 44% of the overall employees situated in Tallinn and Tartu, Estonia additionally Microsoft announce in mid April 2012 their intention to add 400 new employees which will spread across five major cities starting with London, and Stockholm along with Palo Alto Prague and Tallinn.David Nadler’s and Michael Tushman’s congruence Model, explains that organizations are made up of groups and individuals each, responsible for his/her own for outputs in support the overall organization’s strategy, (Nadler,D. A. & Tushman, M. L. 1980). Thus, this model will be useful in my evaluation of how Skype’s outputs at each level interact with each other, while providing you with my determination of the level of congruence among the same. Organizational Level Outputs Skype’s provides low cost fee calls to landlines and mobile phone not registered within Skype, using the Peer to Peer tec hnology and its latest ersion (5. 10. 0. 115) which has the capability to support nearly any computer operating system including mobile device with the ability to connect to the internet, giving the user the ability to make free Skype-to-Skype calls, Video, Instant Messaging world-wide, which includes individual and business groups, additionally, Skype sells its own products which include: Microphones, headsets, WiFi Phones to name a few. While Skype’s Mission remains unchanged, and maintains it goal to continue to increase the number of users, revenue and profitability and includes four Objectives: 1.Continue to grow the connected and paying user base. 2. Increase the usage of the free and paid products and to extend the relationship between Skype and its users. 3. Develop new monetization models, to include advertizing. 4. Broaden user base to include more business users. Meeting the Goals The figure shows how Skype is meeting the intended goals through the number of indivi dual users as well as business entities which vary from small to medium and the way it has been reaching new customers via the embedded application in appliances such as television sets and other mobile devices.Thus at first glance it appears Skype is meeting the intended goals by reaching the two groups globally. Group Level outputs Skype’s organizational structure is much defined as it differentiates each department: Product Development has consistently stayed up to date with technology and in some cases ahead of the competition since the introduction of video calling, which gained high penetration on handheld devices including personal computers and other electronic devices, while continuing to develop products for business customers.Allowing for Sales and marketing to diversify revenue through subscriptions premium accounts including advertising, which through the first six months in 2010 Skype earned $13. 1 million on $406. 2 million of sales representing 25% year over y ear revenue growth. (Frommer, D. Aug 2010). Site Operations, this team performs routine functions and solutions, these are the employees who ensure people have the roadmap in how Skype operates, as well as planning future operations working along with the development teams handling system interruptions.Kaili Kleemer Skype’s Site Operations Manager includes in the interview her desire to take Skype to the next level which is to move from away from manual software and hardware deployment. â€Å"We don't want to be the people who push a button manually and restart the server to fix problems. Instead, we have been moving everything we can to automated systems more closely integrated with the applications our product engineering teams develop. We've been pushing for a move towards Development Operations (DevOps) and working more closely with those teams at the application level. (Skype, June 2012). Customer Support, is Skype’s weakest link yet, reports of dissatisfied cust omers that extend as far back as 2005 and as current as of 17 Aug, 2012. Figure2. Shows Skype’s ranking at 535 out of 553 companies that have a Customer Service Scoreboard. com rating, which depicts Skype’s customer service as terrible, while the list of dissatisfaction goes on and on, by now you would have thought Skype could dedicate real people to provide this service and not the automated response, which is better than no response at all.Key Individual Functions Individual Skills and Knowledge vary from position and departments for example, software engineering who is assigned to the development department is charged with managing and leading a team of software engineers of greater than six people, improving and developing team processes and engineering practices while working closely with product mangers which drive and implement product strategy. Thus the desired output is explicitly upfront in the job description.Individual performance is sort of unique, specifi cally for those who are geographically dislocated from the supervisors and is set on goals and reachable outcomes agreed upon by the subordinate and supervisor. (Gonzalez, R; Koizumi,D; Kusiak, K. May 2011). Outputs Congruence Overall the congruence between the three levels, based on my analysis is low and that is because only two of the levels have some form of interaction, at the organizational level and the group level.While the individual level doesn’t seem to have as much interaction as it should, Naddler’s concept of congruence requires consistency or fit between each pair of organizational inputs. (Nadler,D. A. & Tushman, M. L. 1980). Therefore to produce an output that meets the overall organizational strategy all groups must fit. In the case of Skype in which the customer service dissatisfaction indicates the individual group is not consistent with the others, in fact there is no clear definition as to who or what department handles such customer grievances.On the other hand when one looks at the individual functions, the job description does fit into Skype’s goals and objectives. However, it appears, when it gets to the actual execution, it is not followed through. Conclusion the Congruence model provides a way for organization to establish processes which allow departments to show that when working as a unit they results can be effective and provides the organization a better way to manage all groups or departments without leaving one behind, as in my opinion is the case with Skype.Reference Caukin, J. (June, 2012). Day in the Life of a Skype Operations Manager. Accessed, 7 Aug, 2012. From: http://blogs. skype. com/en/2012/06/day_in_the_life_of_a_skype_sit. html CustomerServiceScoreboard. (Aug, 2012). Skype Customer Service. Accessed 18 Aug, 2012. From: http://www. customerservicescoreboard. com/Skype Frommer, D (Aug 2010). Chart of the Day: Skype is a real, Live Growth Company. Accessed 9 Aug, 2012. From: http://www. businessin sider. om/chart-of-the-day-skype-is-a-real-live-growth-company-2010-8 Gonzalez, R; Koizumi,D; Kusiak, K. (May 2011). eHRM and its Outcomes: A Study of Relational e-HRM in Multinational Companies. Retrieved 18 Aug 2012. From: http://www. scribd. com/doc/76891246/60/E-performance-Appraisal Malik, O (9 May 2012) Skype’s present is secure, its future is not. Retrieved (16 July 2012) from: http://gigaom. com/2012/05/29/skypes-present-is-secure-its-future-is-not/? utm_source%3Dsocial%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter%26utm_campaign%3Dgigaom Nadler, D. A.

How does films Crash, The Amistad and American History X describe and Essay

How does films Crash, The Amistad and American History X describe and debate integration in America today - Essay Example Naturally, racism itself is a complex term due to the fact that it is not one-sided or attributable to a singular group. The fact remains, as will be mentioned within this analysis, that racism easily crosses lines of color and can exhibit itself in a number of situations. As a means of analyzing such question, the author of this brief essay will analyze the way that three films represent the issues associated with racism: â€Å"Crash†, â€Å"Amistad†, and â€Å"American History X†. The first of the films which will be analyzed, entitled â€Å"Crash†, is perhaps the most complex analysis of racial issues within society. This is affected by the fact that rather than merely introducing the issue of race and expounding upon it within the story line, the filmmaker uses race and its interpretation between the various groups represented as vehicle of plot development and exploration. Moreover, by seeking to defined race and racism within the context of each of the different groups represented, white, black, and Latino, the viewer is made distinctly aware of the fact that a simple and convenient understanding of racism as being one-dimensional is not sufficient to comprehend the realities that are represented. This multidimensional representation of racism is useful due to the fact that society and filmmakers have traditionally only represented the issue from a given perspective (Sharma 2010). However, by representing the issue in a way that shows the give and take nature of race and racism within the society, the viewer is able to notice how traditional understandings of racism are ultimately encouraged and propagated by the views that â€Å"others† hold with relation to the topic. Accordingly, the second film that will be discussed, â€Å"Amistad†, relates the story of a slave uprising aboard a slave ship bound for the United States. This particular film represents well represents the moral bankruptcy of the practice of slavery as well as

The role of e-business and the internet for Starbucks Essay

The role of e-business and the internet for Starbucks - Essay Example The paper tells that in the modern day and age, the use of the internet is ever increasing and more companies are getting involved in electronic business, often shortened to e-business. It now plays a major role in the economy at a global level. E-business consists of all the products and services that are offered in the online environment, including things such as online purchasing, customer service, communication of sales and new products. There are many advantages to e-business, not in the least because it can reach a different audience than traditional physical business. In addition, the two are not mutually exclusive; many businesses have a strong e-business component as well as a strong physical business component. One business that has incorporated e-business successfully into its business model is Starbucks. From starting as a single store, Starbucks is now a chain that spans the globe with more than 15,000 distinct stores worldwide. Part of their success is their ability to integrate new type of business into their model beyond the business of being a physical coffee shop. Starbucks offers franchising opportunities; sells coffee, tea, brewing items, food and a wide variety of drinks, with many of their products also being available in their online store. The term business-to-business (B2B) transactions refer to transactions between a manufacturer and a whole sale seller or a franchisee. As the product is sold in a bulk the cost per product is less for the buyer and the sales volume of Starbucks is improved as the selling quantity is large. Business-to-business transactions contribute to a major portion of transactions in any selling company as it is done in bulk. In the example of Starbucks, a B2B transaction would involve selling its products to a supermarket, which would then mark them up and sell them at a profit. In contrast, business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions are direct sales between one customer and the business . Generally an individual con sumer will buy a much lower quantity than a business; however, Starbucks is able to sell their products at a higher price to consumers than it can to businesses. Business benefits to having a website Having a website allows a business to establish an online presence. This is particularly important in modern times as the internet is becoming increasingly important and many more people are making the decisions based on information they find online. There are many competitive benefits that having a website and e-business in general can give a company . Advertising – The internet can be used to advertise new products on the home web page and also on other related web pages in order to reach out to a greater mass . To communicate – Communicating online via chat windows to possible customers can help in easier ordering for the customer and bring more business to the company . Communication helps to maintain customer loyalty . To inform – Any special offers and discoun ts offered can be announced on the web page. This will lead to an increase

Ethic management Discussion Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethic management Discussion Question - Essay Example Deciding whose life to trade in exchange for who's is inherently an unethical decision to make. It requires placing a higher value on certain lives and lower value on others based on immutable characteristics of those individuals, such as age, gender and station in life. If acting ethically essentially means doing the right thing, there is really no right choice to make in the nuclear fallout shelter exercise. The best one can hope to do in this exercise is to make a utilitarian decision based on who is most likely to live the greatest number of years with greatest quality of life. Yet that basis for a determination is itself unethical because a human life with only a year remaining is arguably no less valuable than one that has just begun. Thus, the exercise presents a true ethical dilemma. Nevertheless, if forced to make a utilitarian determination of who should be allowed into the fallout shelter, a decision in favor of the pregnant college student and the female child seems to be a no-brainer. The pregnant college student gives you a two-for-one benefit, essentially allowing the decision maker to save five people rather than just four. And the child is the only child among the candidates.

Communication Styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communication Styles - Essay Example There are racial, ethnical, linguistic barriers of all sorts present in a successful organization today; multi-cultural practices have enabled the addition of quality and diverse workforce in most of the organizations. In addition to this, there are also possibilities of a difference in the communicative capacities and styles between genders. There is authentic evidence to prove the differences in the communicative capacities of different genders. Thus for an effective business environment to have a constructive flow of communication, the management has to realize the differences and act to minimize them. Research shows that the share of female labor force is increasing in the labor pool; in 1990, the female civilian workforce in the United States of America was about 58%, compared to only 34% in 1950s (Paula, 1996). Researching about the different styles of interaction between males and females is of utmost importance; it determines the quality of communication within the organization. The objective of this essay is to identify the different mindsets and communicational tools and provide recommendations to reduce the gap between the identified differences. A number of factors influence the level of communication taking place in an organization; the corporate culture being of immense importance. For examples, the discrepancies in communication may relate to their personal capacities, or the general stereotyping implicitly followed in the industry. For effective communication in business environment and a steady flow of information, it is important to facilitate equal opportunities of communication in an organization. As more and more are adding to the workforce, facilitation in the form of seminars and trainings is now being introduced to reduce the gap of gender based communication. There is no doubt regarding the different mind sets of the male and the

Dignity in Elderly care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 20000 words

Dignity in Elderly care - Essay Example The notion of dignity was evaluated from the elders’ perspective and experiences, the latter was backed up by reviews of all current literature thus ensuring a comprehensive view. Moreover, exclusive sets of international code of standards safeguard human dignity within all societies. The basic notions of human dignity were initially conceived within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.Furthur the promotion of dignity within healthcare conduces to a better quality of life. The notion of dignity was evaluated from the elders’ perspective and experiences, the latter was backed up by reviews of all current literature thus ensuring a comprehensive view. A global aging population entails specific requirements. Human rights have gained a strong focus on bioethics whilst it transpires that human dignity and rights are complimentary to each other. Various international conventions on human rights are inadequate in fulfilling elderly needs. Picker institute outlined dignity indicators that optimise care for elderly patients whilst giving them their basic human rights. Data collection included intervews, books, journals and websites, reflecting qualitative research methods. The perspectives of aging people concerning the quality of health services were investigated in the data interpretation. Within this setting, the elderly patients’ autonomy and dignity resulted to be moderated. Recommendations stressing provisions in the legal and health care systems target the reduction of practices that undermine dignity. Complimentary recommendations include holistic training and education to health care workers to avoid negative attitudes towards the elderly, supported by a Commissioner of old people. Finally, more effective resource logistics are imperative to arrest limitations in the health care system. Dedicated to my Husband and Children, Jeanette, Peter and Norma Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 17 Literature review 17 Health Ethics 20 Human dignity in philosophy and religion 20 Elderly People’s Rights 26 The Power/Vulnerability Paradox (Megret’s theory) 42 Indicators of dignity for the elderly 44 CHAPTER 2 53 Methodology 53 Introduction 53 Methods 58 Target population 59 Process 60 CHAPTER 3 67 Analysis and Discussion 67 CHAPTER 4 83 Conclusion 83 Appendix 1: 86 Transcripts of patients interviewed: 86 Appendix 2: 113 Interview with Ministry of Foreign Af fairs 113 Appendix 3: 115 Consent Form 120 Bibliography 129 UN programme on ageing, The Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging, 2002. 138 Report of the Second World Assembly on Ageing, Madrid, 8-12 April 2002, United 138 Nations,  New York, 2002. Retrieved from, 138 http://www.un.org/ageing/madrid_intlplanaction.html 138 I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Rev.Professor George Grima B.A.,M.A.(Louv.),S.TH.D.(Louv) For, his excellent guidance, constant support and assistance throughout the opus of this thesis. I also wish to thank all those who made the completion of this course possible, especially my Family and Friends who have patiently supported me throughout my years of study. Introduction   Background study â€Å"No one can make you feel inferior without your permission† - Eleanor Roosevelt. The term ‘dignity’ derived from the Latin word dignitas or dignus that means worthy, can be defined as â€Å"quality of being worthy of honour† or â€Å"a sense of self-importance† (Collins Language. com, 2011). One can view dignity as an individual’s personal characteristic, recognised by self and others. From a broader perspective, dignity is â€Å"an umbrella concept...which makes it at once inclusive and comprehensive, and yet raises issues of scope and precision... [While creating an] awareness of the gulf separating humans from all other species can sensitize us to our potential for dignity†

Immigration law 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Immigration law 2 - Essay Example Even though war may be seen as one of the simplest and commonest examples of scenarios whereby the lives of people are put at risk, there are actually several other means by which people dwelling in a country may be prone to threats to their lives even in the absence of war2. As a way of ensuring that people who live in their own countries are given enough and maximum protection against all forms of practices that possesses threat to their lives in their immediate environments, the Refugee Convention has been put in place to ensure that there is easy movement of all such people cross borders from their countries of residence to seek protection and shelter where they feel their lives will be better protected. The present essay analysis whether the definition of a refugee under the Refugee Convention is sufficient to protect victims of human rights abuses and subsequently protect the lives of these people. ... In R v SSHD4, a clearer and reflection meaning is given to what well-founded fear means when it was concluded that genuine belief cannot be a basis for one to receive any form of protection as long as fear is unfounded. This means that fear must be objective and founded5 and in case it will be subjective, it must be based on reality.6 The second provision, which is premises, defines circumstances under which well-founded fear must exist before they can be regarded as meriting for refugee status. Generally, the fact that there is a premise means that well-founded fear may exist alright but may not be a tangible reason to merit one to be a refugee7. In the definition, there are five clearly listed premises, which are ‘race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion’. Race and nationality generally give a premise of reason, for which a person may suffer acts of persecution, which arises mainly because the fellow is of a race that is different from the race of some other group of people who may be executing the torture, bring about the well-founded fear. Religion also gives its up with instances where there exist forms of controlled and mobilised acts of persecution against an identified religious group for the mere fact that people who are executing persecutions refuse to accept the opinions of the other religious group. Commonly, the aftermath of elections have resulted in situations where people, mostly those in opposition tend to become enemies of those winning power and therefore suffer forms of vendetta and victimisation due to their social and political opinions. In Gomez v SSHD8 we realize that "to qualify as political the

Gender and Flag Question Essay Example for Free

Gender and Flag Question Essay Feminists argue that gender matters because _____. Select one: a. it helps us bring some order to a chaotic world b. it structures social relations between people c. it emphasizes natural differences that exist between men and women d. there are roles for which men are each better suited and other roles for which women are better suited Question 2 Not yet answered Marked out of 3. 00 Flag question Question text Your introductory sociology professor believes that gender roles serve a purpose in society to fulfill certain functions. What type of theoretical background is your professor espousing? Select one: a. conflict b. postmodern c. structuration d. structural functionalism Question 3 Not yet answered Marked out of 3. 00 Flag question Question text Which of the following theories is associated with the idea that gender is a process—a product of our everyday social interactions? Select one: a. psychoanalytic theory b. conflict theory c. microinteractionist theory d. postmodern theory Question 4 Not yet answered Marked out of 3. 00 Flag question Question text How might a sociologist describe the difference between homosexuality and homosexual behavior? Select one: a. Homosexuality is a fixed social identity that is determined at birth, and homosexual behavior is the outward manifestation of that identity. b. Homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, whereas homosexual behavior is a choice about how to act in a particular moment and context. c. Homosexuality implies having a certain social identity, whereas homosexual behavior is a choice about a particular activity at a particular time. d. Homosexuality implies obtaining a social identity through repeated homosexual behavior Question 5 Not yet answered Marked out of 3. 00 Flag question Question text While policies that overtly discriminate against women have mostly been driven from the workplace, there still exist covert barriers that are often referred to as _____. Select one: a. the mommy track b. the glass ceiling c. hegemonic masculinity d. the glass escalator Question 6 Not yet answered Marked out of 3. 00 Flag question Question text _____ is a nearly universal system involving the subordination of femininity to masculinity. Select one: a. Patriarchy b. Sexism c. Matriarchy d. Hegemonic masculinity Question 7 Not yet answered Marked out of 3. 00 Flag question Question text Gender studies can be said to focus on the relationship between _____. Select one: a. nature and nurture b. sex and sexuality c. men and women d. sexual preference and social environment Question 8 Not yet answered Marked out of 3. 00 Flag question Question text Which of the following statements offers an essentialist explanation for gender differences? Select one: a. Women find themselves in lower paying jobs with fewer opportunities for advancement because such jobs make it easier for them to balance work and family. b. Women take on more responsibility for domestic tasks because men still think of such things as women’s work. c. There are far fewer women professors in the hard sciences because women are tracked toward the humanities and social sciences. d. Women are overrepresented in professions such as nursing, teaching, and social work because they are inherently more nurturing and caring than men. Question 9 Not yet answered Marked out of 3. 00 Flag question Question text Women working in male-dominated professions often find that there are _____ opportunities for advancement, and men working in female-dominated professions often advance _____ their female colleagues. Select one: a. limited; more slowly than b. limited; as quickly as c. ample; as quickly as . limited; more quickly than Question 10 Not yet answered Marked out of 3. 00 Flag question Question text The interview with Paula England highlights the changing gender dynamics of relationships for college students. In what way have the female college students that Dr. England describes lost a level of equality with male college students? Select one : a. Women have more limited choices in dating partners. b. Women encounter a lack of reciprocal sexual pleasure. c. Women encounter reduced communication about relationships from men. d. Women are burdened with a larger share of the â€Å"emotional work† required to keep a relationship function.

Language And Nonsense In Lewis Carrolls Alice Books English Literature Essay

Language And Nonsense In Lewis Carrolls Alice Books English Literature Essay Im very much afraid I didnt mean anything but nonsense. Still, you know, words mean more than we mean to express when we use them; so a whole book ought to mean a great deal more than the writer means. So, whatever good meanings are in the book, Im glad to accept as the meaning of the book.  [1]   Many people think Alices Adventures in Wonderland is an example of the limit-breaking book from the old tradition illuminating the new one. They also consider it being a tale. From the looks of it, the story about Alice falling through a rabbit-hole and finding herself in a silly and nonsense world is fairly guileless as a tale. The underlying story, the one about a girl maturing away from home in what seems to be a world ruled by chaos and nonsense, is quite a frightening one. Alice finds herself confronted in different situations involving various different and curious animals being all alone. She hasnt got any help at all from home or the world outside of Wonderland. The theme with Alice growing and shrinking into different sizes could reflect the ups and downs of adolescence with young people sometimes feeling adult and sometimes quite the opposite. One other example of maturing is Alice getting used to the new sizes she grows. She talks to her feet and learns some of the new ways her body works in. Her feelings are much shaken from her adventures and she cries quite often when its impossible to obey the rules of the Wonderland or is it adulthood? Everything is so out-of-the-way down here, as Alice often repeats to herself. Carroll is an expert at puns and irony. The part with the mad tea-party is one of the best examples of this. MAD TEA PARTY Theres a lot of humour in the first Alice book, but in the second the mood gets a bit darker and more melancholic. The quote Everyone in Wonderland is mad, otherwise they wouldnt be down here told by the Cheshire Cat can be given an existential meaning. Is it that everyone alive is mad being alive, or everyone dreaming him- or herself away is mad due to the escape from reality? Time is a very central theme in the story. The Hatters watch shows days because its always six o clock and tea-time. Time matters in growing up, I guess, but further interpretations are left unsaid. The first manuscript was called Alices Adventures Underground, and that some at least the Swedish translation of the title is a bit ambiguous, it becomes more apparent, that the world Alice enters isnt just any childrens playground, but a somewhat frightening and dangerous place for maturing. It becomes more interesting when Alice finally gets into the garden and finds a pack of cards ruling it, with a very evil queen at its head. It appears to be a way of saying that the garden isnt really what it appears to be. http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/explain/alice841.html Humpty Dumpty informs Alice that there are three hundred and sixty four days when you might get un-birthday presents. His statement is another augmentation to one of the oldest and rudimentary philosophical controversies: whether Non-Being, like Being, exists.  In the  Sophist  dialogue, Plato argues that what is not in some sense also is, refuting Parmenides concept of the impossibility of the Non-Being to exist. Non-Being is just a being characterised only by its difference from another being. Carroll was no stranger to Greek philosophy. Carroll is over and over again seen to be fascinated by the idea that Nothingness is more than what meets the eye: Take some more tea, the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.   Ive had nothing yet, Alice replied in an offended tone, so I cant take more. You mean you cant take LESS, said the Hatter: its very easy to take MORE than nothing.  [2]   The Hatter told Alice that he knew Time and that one cannot talk about wasting it because Time is him. Time, says the Hatter, is someone that if you only knew how to keep on good terms with him, hed do almost anything you liked with the clock, you could keep it to half-past one as long as you liked.  [3]   To Humpty Dumpty, as well as to the Hatter, Time is a real entity. Once we become aware of this reality, Platos concept presents no hindrance to the existence of either birthdays or un-birthdays. As with Time, Numbers too are portrayed by Carroll as real entities. Upon entering the garden Alice comes up to three card gardeners presented by Carroll as Two, Five and Seven. To Carroll, the Christ Church mathematician, Numbers, like Time, are more than just abstract figures they are real Beings. Carroll venerates here Pythagoras concept about Numbers. Aristotle records that the Pythagoreans held that Numbers were: the first things in the whole of nature and that the elements of numbers are the elements of all things   http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/school/alice1017.html Language plays many roles in Alices Adventures in the Wonderland. Carroll illustrates Alices powers of reason, gives her identity and explores rules of conversation. From the beginning of the book, Carroll portrays Alice as a remarkably intelligent little girl, demonstrating this through her verbal reasoning. After drinking the bottle and shrinking down to the proper size for entering the garden, she finds she has left the key to the garden on the table, now far above her head. Finding a cake that will likely produce another change in her size, she decides to eat it. If it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door: so both way Ill get into the garden, and I dont care which happens.  [4]  Alice wisely recognizes that any change in size, whether it be smaller or larger, can suit her purpose.   Alices power of reasoning seem to be inadequate to a little girls character. One could certainly argue that Alices fearless reasoning as to the advantages of eating the cake is uncharacteristic of a child.   However, even while Carroll uses Alices reasoning to draw attention to her, he skillfully weaves Alices childish nature into her words, as when she announces: and I dont care which happens!  [5]  . Despite her intuitive reasoning, her speech is still childish. Indeed, Alices reasoning is always stated plainly, as a child might conceivably speak. At the mad tea party, when the Dormouse is telling his story, Alice keeps interrupting. Noting discrepancies in the story that the others seem to overlook, she says: But I dont understand. Where did they draw the treacle from?  [6]  Alice has observed that it is difficult to draw something out of a well if you are already in the well, yet the rest of the characters treat Alices questions with impatience. Despite the sense of her questions, they are phrased as a child asking, why? repeatedly, which keeps her in character for a little girl even as she displays her intelligence. In this manner her reasoning stands out from the complexiti es of the nonsensical Wonderland.   Another function of language in Alice in Wonderland is to explore Alices identity. According to Martin Heidegger  [7]  , human identity is dependents on language. Alice shows evidence of this identity through language. Having found her size so abruptly altered with eating the cake, she questions if she is still herself:   Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if Im not the same, the next question is Who in the world am I? Ah, thats the great puzzle!  [8]   And she began thinking over all the children she knew that were of the same age as her, to see if she could have been changed for any of them. Carroll also explores the rules or social conventions of language. Early in the story, Alice strikes up a conversation with a mouse. She only succeeds in offending it, however, by talking about cats:   Oh, I beg your pardon! cried Alice hastily, afraid that she had hurt the poor animals feelings. I quite forgot you didnt like cats. Not like cats! cried the Mouse in a shrill, passionate voice. Would you like cats, if you were me?  [9]  Ã‚   Throughout her time in Wonderland, Alice learns to adjust her conversation topics to her size, and not offend creatures with reminders of where they rank on the food chain. She demonstrates her new understanding of Wonderlands rules of etiquette during her visit with the Mock Turtle:   Oh, as to the whiting, said the Mock Turtle, they youve seen them, or course?   Yes, said Alice, Ive often seen them at dinn she checked herself hastily.  [10]  Ã‚   Alice has learned from her previous encounters with Wonderland creatures what is considered offensive by the rules of language, and stops herself just in time from mentioning that in her world, whiting are food, not friends.   If any one of them can explain it, said Alice, (she had grown so large in the last few minutes that she wasnt a bit afraid of interrupting him,) Ill give him sixpence. I dont believe theres an atom of meaning in it. If theres no meaning in it, said the King, that saves a world of trouble, you know, as we neednt try to find any. And yet I dont know, he went on, spreading out the verses on his knee, and looking at them with one eye; I seem to see some meaning in them, after all.  [11]   The King then proceeds to dissect the poem in order to find its meaning. He is, in fact, analyzing the poem with the interpretation already decided upon a fallacy that is all too easy for an overzealous scholar to commit. Alice, on the other hand, is willing to take the poem at face value as a poem and nothing more thereby displaying the innocence that Sontag so wistfully describes. Using the conflict between the King and Alice, Carroll makes a statement about the danger of trying to read too much into a work of art.   Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland is a great exploration of language. Carroll uses language to set Alice apart as intelligent, even while he uses simplicity of diction to show that she is still a little girl. Using a mixture of introspection and conversation, Carroll explores the issue of identity, successfully demonstrating that Alices identity through her reasoning abilities, even though she herself doubts who she is. Carroll also plays with the rules of language and how they are learned, by putting Alice in unheard of situations and demonstrating how she learns the new laws of conversation etiquette. Finally, by showing the absurdity of using a poem as criminal evidence, Carroll berates his readers for trying to read too much into his own story. The many roles of language in Alice in Wonderland show Carrolls skill at manipulating words to make his points. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/13706/the_roles_of_language_in_alice_in_wonderland.html?cat=38 Carroll makes a contrast between the absurdity of the plot and the rationality behind the characters comprehension of Alices language and their literal manipulation of words, phrases, and names. Carroll toys with linguistic conventions in the Through the Looking Glass, making use of puns and playing on multiple meanings of words throughout the text. The author creates words and expressions and even invents new meanings for words. But even after a sense of the pattern is established, the perceptive use continues to surprise. This method pushes readers to examine the use of language and articulation. Anything is possible in Wonderland, and Carrolls manipulation of language reflects this sense of unlimited possibility. Written in nonsense verse, Jabberwocky is almost a satirical heroic ballad that embodies Lewis Carrolls imaginative language play. The poem creates an altered sense of meaning through invented words. These invented words have English attributes and are simple to read and say, they just do not have meaning outside the context of the poem. he lyrical arrangement, sound of the syllables, and placement in the syntax give many clues as to each words meaning, but no precise definition can be determined. Jabberwocky shows how words void of any meaning in and of themselves can have power, tone, and feeling. After reading it Alice is only sure of one thing, somebody  killed  something (Carroll 97).Later in the story, Carroll revisits the topic of names and the poem Jabberwocky when Alice meets Humpty Dumpty. Humpty Dumpty, who seems to be substituting words at will, tells Alice he can control of his words as well as their meanings. Shortly before meeting Humpty Dumpty, in chapter four, Alice meets a pair of twins who seem to be mysteriously under the control of language. Tweedledee and Tweedledum are twins who converse in a manner suggesting a difference of opinion as Tweedledee often remarks Contrariwise! However that which follows this expletive doesnt ever seem to be contrary as exhibited when Tweedledum tells Alice I know what youre thinking aboutà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but it isnt so, nohow, the other follows adding Contrariwiseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isnt, it aint. Thats logic (Carroll 114). The recitation of a nursery rhyme about the two has predictive powers in Looking-glass world. Words seem to initiate their battle preparations, as if Tweedledum and Tweedledee are predestined by the rhymes she recites, similar to the White Queen telling Alice she remembers things that happen week after next (Carroll 126). The foretold actions and emotions of Tweedledee and Tweedledum illustrate that language can have real power and influence, a message reiterated by the battle of the Lion and the Unicorn. Lewis Carrolls seemingly absurd destabilization of language has the ability to comment on language in society in a unique and simplistic manner. This is exhibited with great ease and admirable form while seeing Carrolls hilarious characters and situations run a constant discourse on the nature and possibilities of language. He creates a duality in his treatment of language in Alices Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. By splitting words from meanings and names from individuals, Carroll implies an emptiness of words and phrases. However, he also infuses language with the power to create real outcomes and words with power to have several meanings. Language, like life, can aggravate and confuse, but it also contains possibilities that goes unrecognized everyday. http://www.suite101.com/content/properties-of-language-alices-adventures-in-wonderland-a229304 In conclusion Carrolls wonderland charters (all adults) are complete mockeries of the adults that Victorian children had to obey.(Hayes, 2) They show the ignorance and absurdity of their time. Yet Carroll does show a note of hope. At the end of the first book Alice stands up and expresses her feelings that the whole trial is nonsense and that the soldiers were just a pack of cards. In the second book Alice, sick of the chaos and confusion, summons the courage to challenge the Red Queen. With these two achievements Alice breaks the spell of the domineering, repressive authority figures(Makinen, 2) and gives hope that in reality this could also be possible. http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=25907 Meaning, according to Humpty Dumpty: Weve had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you mention what you mean to do next, as I suppose you dont mean to stop here all the rest of your life.  [12]  

Workplace Ethics Starbucks Case Study

Workplace Ethics Starbucks Case Study 1.0 Introduction What is workplace ethics? Workplace ethics is a group of moral principles, standards of behavior, or set of values regarding proper conduct in the workplace. Workplace ethics are most often related in decision making processes because it is the most important responsibilities that we place on the leaders of organization is upholding the highest standards of ethical behavior. Ethics at workplace refer to choosing the option that is determined to be the moral or right choice. Starbucks is one of the world’s most ethical companies. Starbucks makes conscious efforts to be a responsible company and conduct business in an ethical manner. In its business, Starbucks was proud of it ethical ways in doing their business. They are through community, sourcing, environment, diversity and wellness. Starbucks has openly display its commitment to being socially responsible and they want their customers to know exactly how they doing. In Starbucks, Business Ethics and Compliance is a program that supports their mission which is â€Å"To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.† It helps to protect their culture and their reputation by providing resources that help partners make ethical decisions at work. Starbucks has makes conscious efforts to fulfill its company’s mission. The majority of reports received by Business Ethics and Compliance involve employee relations issue that provides alternative reporting mechanisms as part of a comprehensive ethics and compliance program. Starbucks believes that conducting business ethically and striving to do the right thing are vital to their success. The program develops and distributes awareness materials, including the Standard of Business Conduct. In social responsibility, the Standard of Business Conduct is a statement of some of the company’s expectations of how they conduct Starbucks business, consistent with their mission and core value. In workplace, Starbucks has emphasis in three sectors of their employees. First, are global human rights, their commitment to basic human rights as a core component of the way they do business and how they engage with their partners. Second is equal employment opportunity, their non-discrimination policy help the large number of their employees have a steady working situation. Third is health care, their support for healthcare reform that allows them to continue to offer affordable coverage to our partners. 3.0 Case Study Starbucks lead by its CEO Howard Schultz is an international coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest coffeehouse company in the world with 16120 stores in 49 countries. Products of Starbucks include drip brewed coffee, espresso-based hot drinks, other hot and cold drinks, snacks and items such as mugs and coffee beans. Many products are specific to the location of the stores. Starbucks Italian styles coffee, espresso beverages, teas and confectionaries had made it one of the world’s biggest specialty coffee chain. With the intention of communicating to employees and customers of the values and principles that the company upholds, Starbucks Coffee Company has outlined its mission statements; â€Å"To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time† (â€Å"Our Starbucks Mission† ,n.d ) . Even though Starbucks has a unique style of combining both Mission Statement and Vision Statement ( Garfieldml, 2012) its meaning is clear and concise. Viewing the statement in ethical perspective relating to its workplace it can be broken down into 4 key principles: Ethical sourcing of coffee – meaning a holistic approach to ethically source the highest quality coffee carefully blending, roasting and packing fresh. Our partner where Starbucks refer to its employees will be treated with respect and dignity with safeguarded by health coverage. Ethical environment stewardship – are committed to the conservation of environmental resources. 3.1 Critical and Main Issues Starbucks commitment to ethical practices in the workplace environment is reflected in its setting up of a Standard of Conducts for its partners. The main ethical issues addressed in the code of conduct can be broadly categorise as commitment of partners to provide quality service to customers, conducive workplace environment for the partners and emphasis on integrity and fairness on all dealings. Commitment to provide quality service Partners should be committed not to harass or discriminate against customers, protect customers’ health and safety by following all proper procedure relating to storage, handling, preparation and providing service for Starbucks products. Conducive working environment Consistent with global human rights standard, Starbucks promote equal opportunity in its hiring and promotion practices make decision solely on job related criteria. Employment of partners under age of 18 will take into consideration legal requirement of age, hour task and ensure the partners’ education, health, safety and mental or physical development is not affected. Starbucks partners should respect each other’s dignity. All partners are entitled to work in an environment that is free of harassment, bullying or discrimination. Officers are assigned to enforce the rules and practices pertaining to workplace health, safety and security to safeguard the partners. Starbucks is committed to comply with laws and regulation applicable to wages. It emphasizes that work performed should be compensated accordingly. Thus partners compensated on basis of hours must report accurately (Ali., Haris, Arslan, Jan., Asad-ud, Bashir., Sufwan, Usman, Ali, n.d). Starbuck College Achiever Plan motivates all benefits eligible partners to complete a bachelor degree with full tuition reimbursement through Arizona University top-ranked degree programs, delivered online (‘Working At Starbucks n.d ). Emphasis on integrity and fairness on all dealings Partners must be committed to work fairly and honestly with government official and are not permitted to influence outcome by exchanging bribes. Partners must be truthful and straightforward in their dealing with government so as to meet high ethical and legal standard. Sales practice and advertising must compete on merit of product and services and communication with customers must be accurate and truthful. Partners committed to fair and open competition and must not use unethical means to eliminate competitors or control market price. Partners are prohibited from offering, giving, soliciting or recovering any form of bribe or inducement. Partners must ensure accuracy and integrity of Starbucks corporate reports and honest in disclosure of information to the authority. 3.2 Starbucks Application of Relevant Organizational Behaviour Principles and Concepts To monitor and enforce the ethical conduct of its partners at the workplace Starbucks had developed asset of Standard of Business Conduct which is a resource distributed to all partners to help them make appropriate decision at work. To further help the partners facing with ethical problems Starbucks had set up a Business Ethics and Compliance unit headed by a partner resource. Considering partners who are not comfortable facing an officer to report unethical practices, Starbucks Ethics and Compliance Helpline is an avenue to report issues through free phone call. This facility operates 24 hours every day. Ethics And Compliance Webline is another way for partners to ask for guidance which can be submitted anonymously and treated in confidential manner. The above enforcement measures reflect Starbucks attempt to promote ethical behaviour at the workplace by applying the concept of motivation by rewarding partners through fair wages and benefits, interpersonal communication with the resource partner of the Business Ethics and Compliance to assist in preventing and resolving problem and the most important is through setting up a structure standard code of behaviour to modify the behaviour of its partners. All these efforts had resulted in the company being awarded one of the most ethical companies by Ethisphere for the year 2007 to 2012 Allegra strategies had also voted Starbucks as the ‘Most Ethical Company , European Coffee Industry for the year 200 to 2011 (Ali et.al n.d). 3.3 Criticizes or Comments First and foremost, we would like to have some comments on the critical issues of Starbucks identified by us in our study. Those issues found by us are the commitment of Starbucks to provide quality service to customers, the providing of a conducive working environment for employees and the emphasis on integrity and fairness on all dealings in the company. It is very important for a company to have commitment to provide quality service to customers. This is because it will increase the satisfaction of customers towards the company. The quality service provided will act as Starbucks’s competitive advantage to create loyal customers. Starbucks’s reputation can also be enhanced through the spreading of news about the good service provided by the company through blogs and social media. This will attract more customers and increase the revenue of Starbucks. A working environment which is conducive is a key element to the performance of the employees and also is one of the individual rights for the employees. The work environment creates behavioural patterns in human development and has both physical and psychological influences on employees in the company. A harmonized and comfortable environment will increase the productivity and job satisfaction of employees. When the employees are in a peaceful environment without any disturbance or unethical problems created by others in the company, they can be more focused in their work and put more effort in it as well as have a better performance. The emphasis on integrity and fairness on all dealings by Starbucks is a key factor to support the ethical principles which are individual rights and distributive justice. Managers that are being fair and integral can avoid conflicts happen between employees and a peaceful as well as friendly working environment will be created in the company. This will also enhance employees trust on Starbucks and improve their loyalty to the company. In conclusion, we have positive comments on the main issues in Starbucks and they are quite important to support the ethical principles. 4.0 Recommendations After studying about the topic that we chose that is ethics at workplace, we found that there are many ethical practices practised by employers as well as employees in Starbucks which is the company that we chose. We have some suggestions on how they can further improve practising ethics in Starbucks. First of all, we suggest Starbucks to use ethical screening for job applicants during interview. Ethical screening is the process of checking these job applicants against certain moral standards and removing those who do not conform. This can be done by checking the resumes of those applicants which contain the behavioural information that reflects the attitude of the applicants. The interviewers should also interview them about how they managed the ethical issues faced by them at their previous workplace and how they are going to solve the ethical problems cases when they face them in the future. Besides, they should also make sure the applicants share the same ethical values with the company and will maintain them on the job. This can prevent one unethical employee to have a bad influence on others in the company that may ruin the good image of an ethical company. Moreover, Starbucks can expose new employees to the company’s code of ethics, code of conducts and ethical decision making process during the orientation to improve the ethics in the company. The company’s codes of ethics and conducts act as its conscience and provide a common ethical reference point for employees. By reviewing these conducts, employees will know about what they should do and what they should not do in the company. They also know whether the issues appear in the future are considered ethical or not ethical according to the company’s code of ethics and code of conducts and solve it with the best and necessary solution. Furthermore, Starbucks can improve ethics in the company by providing ethics training workshops for all employees annually to supplement ethics codes. The managers that organise these training workshops should provide some real cases with ethical violations of Starbucks’ ethics code and let them think carefully and discuss among themselves about what they should do for those scenarios. After that, the managers should teach them the correct and best solutions to solve these kinds of ethical problems. Through these workshops, the employees will know what to do when they face these kinds of ethical issues in the future and the relationship between employees will also be enhanced through the interaction in the workshop as well as build trust between each other. We also recommend Starbucks to strengthen the ethics which are individual rights and distributive justice of the work unit by rewarding those employees with ethical behaviours equally and punish those with unethical behaviours through work goals and performance appraisals. The managers should praise those employees that achieve the goals in an ethical way or even give them a certificate for being an ethical employee to encourage them. This will also act as a motivation for other employees. At the same time, they should give the same punishment to those employees with unethical behaviour by giving them a warning letter so that they will not do it again in the future. This can also act as an example for other employees so that they will not make the same mistake as these unethical employees. By doing this can avoid developing moral confusion in the company. The next suggestion for Starbucks is the managers or the direct supervisors of the employees should model appropriate behaviours in themselves as they are actually the most important ethics reference point for the employees. Ethical behaviours in a company start at top management because the employees tend to follow the behaviour and action of their managers towards an ethical issue. It has a greater influence on employees compared to the stated policies of the company. Therefore, the words and actions of the managers should always be aligned with the company’s code of ethics and code of conducts. They should act with integrity all the time in order to maintain an ethical workplace. In conclusion, there are many other ways that Starbucks can further improve ethics in the company other than what we suggest here. Improving ethics at workplace is very important in order to be a famous company with good image and quality as well as employees and employers can work together harmoniously without creating any unethical issues on behalf of the company and the customers. 5.0 Conclusion Starbucks is one of the most ethical companies in the world. Starbucks was proud of it ethical ways such as community, sourcing, environment, diversity and wellness in doing their business. It has openly display its commitment to being social responsibility. The program of Business Ethics and Compliance is to support their mission and help to protect their culture and reputation. Starbucks has emphasis their employees into three sectors which is global human rights, equal employment opportunity and health care. In Starbucks, they are using three principles in workplace ethics. First is utilitarianism, it can divide into two types which are act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism. Second is distributive justice who means sharing of the benefits and burdens of our lives among people. Third are rights, rights played a central role in ethics and it is important to ensure that the freedom and well-being of each individual will be protected when others threaten that freedom or well-being. There are 3 key principles in Starbucks. (1) Ethical sourcing of coffee, (2) Our partner and (3) Ethical environmental resources. The main ethical issues addressed in Starbucks’s code of conduct for its partners can be categories as commitment of partners to provide quality service to customers, create a workplace environment which is conducive for the partners and emphasis on integrity and fairness on all dealings. After study, we found that there are many ethical practices practiced by employers as well as employees in Starbucks. Starbucks should use ethical screening for job applicants during interview. Starbucks also can expose new employees to the company’s code of ethics, code of conducts and ethical decision making process during the orientation to improve the ethics in the company. Besides that, Starbucks can improve ethics in the company by providing ethics training workshops for all employees annually to supplement ethics codes. Moreover, Starbucks also need to strengthen the ethics which are individual rights and distributive justice of the work unit by rewarding those employees with ethical behaviours equally and punish those with unethical behaviours through work goals and performance appraisals. Last but not lease, Starbucks should model appropriate behaviours in themselves as they are actually the most important ethics reference point for the employees.

9/11 and Jean-Jacques Rousseau :: American America History

9/11 and Jean-Jacques Rousseau L'Etat C'est Moi : Absolutism in the Age of Reason By analyzing the Taliban regime and their motives, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's ideas, and by comparing the two, it will be made evident that Jean-Jacques Rousseau's ideas of government rule over people's lives is true in this specific case. On September 11, 2001 the heart of the United States of America was ripped out in a matter of 10 minutes by Islamic extremists who follow the Taliban Regime. The first attack was at 8:45 am when two planes were hijacked and crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City. Thousands lost their lives that day. This was the day that started "America's War on Terrorism." The Taliban Regime believes that Islam is the right and only way to live. The government inflicts Islam teachings on their citizens. It is law that all women must wear the hajib when out in public, if not they will be punished. All men must enroll in the army, unless he is the only son with no one else to carry on the family name. Children are taught to die for their religion. When an Islam nation declares a Jihad (a religious war) it is solved by death of a nation. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva in Switzerland in 1712. He was a Philosopher who believed that all people are good and it is bad government that turns them to do evil. He believed that the government brainwashes it's citizens to believe in their way. And if any one of it's citizens refuses to obey the general's will may be forced by his fellows to do so. Thus saying that it may be necessary to force a man to be free. For example if the law demanded that every man must enroll with the army by the age of 18, and one of it's citizens did not agree with this law and tried to get out of it, that man would be forced to enroll. He would be forced to fight for his country, and his freedom. Even if he didn't believe in it himself. In this case, with the Taliban regime, Rousseau's ideas hold truth. It is evident that the Taliban Regime is a good example of bad government controlling good people. Each individual man who does not want to join the army must escape for fear of his life.

blurred lines Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Blurred Lines   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today we live in a world that keeps us on the run. There is a way to get in contact with anyone at any given time. There is no such thing as ‘getting away’ because we have created a society of people that want to be found. But it is also through this technology, the same one that keeps us connected to the outside world, that we can get lost. The simplest video game can help a person escape into a different reality, spending hours on end in front of a computer screen, looking for nothing in particular on e-bay. This gets us lost. We engulf ourselves in things that have nothing to do with our daily lives because we’ve had enough, our life is too much to handle. So we focus on AIM, or video games, anything that can take us out of our life, and into something better. But then where do we draw the line? When does it become okay to spend an entire day on the computer because life was too stressful? Or, still worst, when the life we lead to get away, becomes our daily life. We lie about our lives and retell occurrences that really did not take place. Things that happened on our mental breaks become reality. These lies then have to proceed and grow, because we don’t want to be exposed. That cannot happen because that would add more stress, but what we don’t realize is that by perpetuating the lies we become more and more stressed. The exact reason we needed to get away has come back full circle. In the play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? the line between truth and illusion has very nearly disappeared. No longer does the reader know when the character is telling the truth or embellishing a lie. Even still is the character himself is being honest to his personality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George and Martha have a very tumultuous marriage. In some respects it is obvious that there is some deep rooted love. The simple fact that they have been married for twenty three years shows that although they are high spirited, there is love. What does not match up very w... ...mans, it is in our nature to find an easy solution for a problem. In many cases it is a means of escaping, and finding something better. For these four characters, the illusions they used to get out of the stresses of normal life, become their lives. Instead of dealing with issues with their spouses and getting what they want in life they blur themselves to reality. It becomes a question of when is reality too much to handle? For these characters reality was too much to handle the minute they got scared. The second the future was in jeopardy, or their reputation was on the line. This is not unlike society today. People are desperate for approval and will seek this by any means. Without approval from others we cease to exist or be content. And for many contentment is also something that must be achieved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But for these four characters contentment only came at the expense of others. Their happiness depended on the illusions they concocted. These illusions, the ones that used to just help them escape reality and be happy became their reality. The lies became truths and the truths were no longer evident. Their realities were too much for anyone to handle. blurred lines Essay -- essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Blurred Lines   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today we live in a world that keeps us on the run. There is a way to get in contact with anyone at any given time. There is no such thing as ‘getting away’ because we have created a society of people that want to be found. But it is also through this technology, the same one that keeps us connected to the outside world, that we can get lost. The simplest video game can help a person escape into a different reality, spending hours on end in front of a computer screen, looking for nothing in particular on e-bay. This gets us lost. We engulf ourselves in things that have nothing to do with our daily lives because we’ve had enough, our life is too much to handle. So we focus on AIM, or video games, anything that can take us out of our life, and into something better. But then where do we draw the line? When does it become okay to spend an entire day on the computer because life was too stressful? Or, still worst, when the life we lead to get away, becomes our daily life. We lie about our lives and retell occurrences that really did not take place. Things that happened on our mental breaks become reality. These lies then have to proceed and grow, because we don’t want to be exposed. That cannot happen because that would add more stress, but what we don’t realize is that by perpetuating the lies we become more and more stressed. The exact reason we needed to get away has come back full circle. In the play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? the line between truth and illusion has very nearly disappeared. No longer does the reader know when the character is telling the truth or embellishing a lie. Even still is the character himself is being honest to his personality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George and Martha have a very tumultuous marriage. In some respects it is obvious that there is some deep rooted love. The simple fact that they have been married for twenty three years shows that although they are high spirited, there is love. What does not match up very w... ...mans, it is in our nature to find an easy solution for a problem. In many cases it is a means of escaping, and finding something better. For these four characters, the illusions they used to get out of the stresses of normal life, become their lives. Instead of dealing with issues with their spouses and getting what they want in life they blur themselves to reality. It becomes a question of when is reality too much to handle? For these characters reality was too much to handle the minute they got scared. The second the future was in jeopardy, or their reputation was on the line. This is not unlike society today. People are desperate for approval and will seek this by any means. Without approval from others we cease to exist or be content. And for many contentment is also something that must be achieved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But for these four characters contentment only came at the expense of others. Their happiness depended on the illusions they concocted. These illusions, the ones that used to just help them escape reality and be happy became their reality. The lies became truths and the truths were no longer evident. Their realities were too much for anyone to handle.

Leaders Are Made

The question was asked in our class discussion this week, â€Å"Are leaders born or made? † This is one of the most often asked questions about leadership. People have varying opinions on this subject. My opinion is that leaders are made. To lead people effectively is a very complex undertaking. No one is born with the necessary tools to be a good leader. I choose to believe that leaders are made, not born, because I want to believe that I can develop into a good leader even though I was not Ron with certain traits.Our lecture last night focused on some traits normally associated with good leaders: energy, stress management, self-confidence, tenaciousness, social intelligence, and integrity. Some of these traits can be used to describe me but there are a few in which I need further development. Leaders are successful for many different reasons, but most importantly is an ability to connect with people. Great connections are energetic. It is important for a leader to exude posi tive energy because the leader sets the tone for the entire organization.Employees have to feel committed to the vision for future success. They have to feel motivated, energize. I know that I have the ability to be energetic in the workplace as a potential leader. Vive been energy- deficient in my current position, probably because my supervisor has not connected with me nor does he exude any positive energy. I am grateful for this experience because it has taught me first-hand how damaging a leader with no energy can be to an employee's morale. The ability to manage stress and self-confidence go hand-in-hand in my opinion.There may be days where the future of your company is worrisome and things aren't going according to plan. It is important, as a leader, not to panic. Part of your Job is to put out fires and maintain team morale. As a leader, staying calm and confident will help keep the team feeling the same. The team will take its cues from the leader. I have never lacked self -confidence. Stress management, however, is a trait in which I need further development. A leader should be tenacious.There is a tendency sometimes for an employee to ant to â€Å"give up† when the going gets tough. Not a leader! The leader should know the special abilities each team member brings to the table. He has to be able to harness those abilities and bring them to the fore-front so that each team member can reach his full potential. Tenacious leaders grab hold of an idea and refuse to let it go until they reach their goal. It is important to model this behavior to set the proper example. Social intelligence is another necessary ingredient to good leadership.It is critical o be able to understand others so that you can know how to influence them. Being empathetic, tactful, diplomatic, and persuasive are important aspects of social intelligence. I want to be able to empower others by being a strong motivator and a good listener. These are traits that I possess but ther e is definitely room for improvement and refinement. There are people who are respected and worth listening to. This respect is earned by being a person of integrity. Employees seek to follow leaders who are honest and who honor their commitments.I will strive to be fair, honest, candid, and to treat everyone how I would want to be treated. If I am able to exemplify these behaviors I will earn the respect of my employees and colleagues. The encouraging thing is that I feel like I possess or could potentially possess all of these traits. Becoming a good leader is a learning process. I'm encouraged by the notion that leaders are made. This is a great training ground to learn the behaviors off good leader. I am committed to learning how to apply these concepts to my everyday thinking.

Critical Thinking in Homeland Security Essay

Critical Thinking in Homeland Security Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Homeland Security is an essential part of the security organs that are very crucial in ensuring the protection of the country’s sovereignty. Just as other nations in the world, United States faces significant threats from the external and internal factors. The US established Homeland Security Department in 2003, in an effort to address the external threats and aggression like the September 11 terrorist attacks (Pruitt, 2003, â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,† 2005). Therefore, the main objective of the department is to prevent terrorist attacks in the US. Additionally, the department has to minimize the exposure of the nation to terrorism and minimizing the injuries that results from the attacks, if attacks occur.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To achieve its mandate the department applies several skills. These skills are aimed at determining the likelihood of a threat and establishing the credibility of the threat as per the information provided. Among the skills used is the critical thinking. By definition, critical thinking refers to the ability by the department personnel to make clear, rational judgments (Paul & Elder, 2009). This means that the decisions regarding security should be arrived through a well thought out processes (Pruitt, 2003). Critical thinking under homeland security focuses on crucial elements of thought and asking the relevant questions. This means that the department has to evaluate every piece of evidence at their disposal in order to develop appropriate security solutions to the country. The discussion put forward below will aim at establishing what critical thinking method model is appropriate for the decision-making within the structures of homeland security (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,† 2005). The reason behind this inquiry is highly dependent on the fact that there are different critical thinking models. These models are very useful in the since they help to find the best and effective solution in homeland parameter. However, different models offer different results. Discussion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The September 11 attack brought about unprecedented need for good, efficient and effective security apparatus. With the introduction of the Homeland Security Department, the country was placed at a position to deal with the terrorism threats. The terrorism activities are currently very dynamic and in return there is a need for the solutions that might meet these challenges (Pruitt, 2003). As a consequence, the homeland security personnel is require to meet the ever rising need for increased demand of the security services as well as meeting the high placed accountability standards. To achieve these requirements they have to learn to become highly skilled in their level of thinking, as well as reasoning abilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The fundamental reason for the need to improve skills is that the employees have to analyze all the massive information, understand it, identify the problems and offer solution (Paul & Elder, 2009). However, the processing of this massive information comes against the race of time. Homeland security department has to make timely decision that would help to preempt any threats that may arise or control the already existing threats (Pruitt, 2003). Additionally, the strategies employed by the terrorist are changing day in day out, and as well these changes must be encompassed in the decision which the department is undertaking. For instance, before the September 11 attack, the defense apparatus restricted themselves to biological and chemical threats. Moreover, the use of airplane as a tool to carry out terrorism strikes was covered by defense agencies like the Pentagon (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,† 2005). On the other hand, the threat of airplane strike was not addressed as the security agencies believed this would result to giving the terrorist an additional tool to their disposal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The example about the use of airplane as a tool of terrorism indicates an ineffective manner of using the available information to mitigate the terrorist attacks. In this regard, critical thinking is very essential in manner in which the homeland security handles the information they acquire to handle security issues or threats (Paul & Elder, 2009). This is mainly because critical thinking offers the prediction and diagnosis analysis for security issues. Prediction depends chiefly on the ability of the security organs to be able to think ahead. Thinking ahead, as part of critical thinking, dictates that the security organs are able to establish the likely causes of terrorism and probable outcomes (Kiltz, 2009). Diagnosis means the analysis of previous threats which in turn helps to extrapolate the likely future events. In this regard, security organs are able to identify their past failures and in turn making amendments. Additionally, the organs are able to replicate past successes to the future. Best Critical Thinking Model   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While understanding the importance of the critical thinking skills, there are several critical thinking models at the disposal of security organs to address any homeland security issues. It is very crucial to put a lot of emphasis on the fact that critical thinking is basic requirement for security decisions facing the country (Paul & Elder, 2009). Therefore, to identify the best critical thinking model it would be prudent to learn the two factors that will play a very major role in determining the best model. Critical thinking in the context of homeland security is fundamentally dependent on the most important factor for good decision-making and the nature of the homeland security context (Browne & Keeley, 2007). 1. Decision making   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Critical thinking is fundamentally aimed at arriving at appropriate decision. Every decision made or arrived at should be able to offer solution in the context of homeland security. In this light, the decision of the security apparatus should be able to effectively prevent the threats that arise as well as minimize the damages is events occur (Kiltz, 2009). Thus, critical thinking plays a pivotal role in decision-making process. On the same note, the best decision-making model is exceedingly reliant on the right questions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The right question are said to be the main factor that enable effective decisions to be made in all the fields of the society, security being inclusive (Kiltz, 2009). Questions are a good guiding factor while looking for the appropriate results. One, right questions create a structure that our thinking relies upon; that is to say, right questions are essential in finding the suitable materials or information that are essential to the decision or solutions. Secondly, right questions play a vital role of determining the course of our thinking. In this regard, the right questions are crucial element of individual thinking (Kiltz, 2009). This indicates that the right questions part of the homeland security parameters, in that they would help the decision makers in this context will arrive the best solutions possible to the various security challenges. 2. The nature of homeland security   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The processes and the activities surrounding decision making in the parameters or the context of the homeland security are substantially complex. The complexity comes in two levels: one, there amount of data or information being processed is extremely large and second, there are a lot of dynamics and variables in homeland security decisions (Paul & Elder, 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Therefore, the decision-making process has a higher requirement of exhaustive scrutiny of all the probable accompanying implications of any decision made. In addition, the scrutiny extends other available options prior or before the enforcing any decision passed. A good example relates to diversion tactics that are highly employed by terrorist (Davis, 2012). This is where a threat is identified in a particular location while in reality the actual threat is in another place. Without appropriate critical thinking capabilities, the security apparatus are expected to put enough emphasis on areas which are reported to have the threat while leaving the other places vulnerable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Understanding the nature of homeland security is pegged on homeland security operations and the past failure. Past failures help to understand what part of the process failed and how efficiently and effectively did homeland rise from their falls. For instance from the example above, if the severity of a homeland security event was increased by the misjudgment stated above, in future homeland security would put all efforts at protecting all places equally while still putting emphasis on any information gathered (Paul & Elder, 2009). That fact encompasses a crucial part of the critical thinking in such a security decision-making process.In effect, the most effective critical thinking model should be all-inclusive. Inclusivity means that all the available alternatives should be taken into account while simultaneously evaluating the possible outcomes associated with each likely action. The module applied is similar to a game theory model (Davi s, 2012). In such a model, the homeland security is supposed to establish every strategy available to them as well as those available to the opponents, the terrorists. This would help to preempt most if not all, of the threats posed by various terrorists groups. Therefore, every strategy has probable action, which in turn will deliver results. It would be the aim of homeland to select the most applicable strategy and take an action that would offer the best-expected outcome (Paul & Elder, 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For example, through information and intelligence gathering, the security organs in the United States had all the necessary, adequate and relevant information to indicate that an attack was eminent. This information was prior to the September 11 attack, which detailed the Al Qaeda plans to attack the US. This shows that the security organs had the available strategies of the opponents. However, the organs failed to select the best strategy and their actions failed to meet the required results (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,† 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The time constraints also play a critical part in undertaking any security decision. The reason behind this is that despite the large volumes of information that need to processed, the uncertainty of when a homeland security event is likely to occur needs timely decision-making. Using the September 11 example, it can be observed that the security organs failed to meet the timely decision requirement (Kiltz, 2009). Although all the information processed indicated the likelihood of a terrorism incident in United States, no timely action was taken to preempt the threats due to the argument that the decision process was at its preliminary stage.Additionally, homeland security should be in a position to predict the opponents’ likely cause of action and also putting a lot of effort towards preventing the threats preempting the homeland actions. This is attached to diversion tactics, where the threats mature to events in places other than those indicated in the threats information. This was the strategy that was employed by the Al Qaeda to beat homeland security at their game in September 11 (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,† 2005). Prior to the attack, the information gathered indicated that the threats were highly in United States departments and agencies that were beyond borders. The fact that overseas parts of homeland security were threatened, the homeland skewed its efforts towards the external offices and agencies. Consequently, the Al Qaeda anticipated the moves of homeland security, and they counteracted by attacking the internal departments (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,† 2005). Critical thinking should help to homeland security to fill all the available loopholes that may expose their operations, and the country was vast. 3. Right Questions Model   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As stated earlier, there are several models at the disposal of the homeland security, but among them asking the right questions takes the reign. There are several factors that have heavily tilted the odds towards the right questions model of critical thinking (Browne & Keeley, 2007). First, the model plays a pivotal role in addressing the various loopholes found under the nature of homeland security. For instance the failures that were capitalized by the Al Qaeda in the September 11 attack (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,† 2005). The right questions model aims at querying all the information available. The inquisitive nature of the model allows the various security issues to be determined as well as determining the necessary conclusions. The conclusions are highly dependent on the reasoning, assumptions, and clarity of words.There are numerous benefits that accompany this essential model of right questions. To begin with the model is hig hly useful in offering a well detailed analysis of the decision made as well as the cause of actions undertaken. When comparing this model with the other models such as the elements of thought thinking model, right questions model outranks them all in enabling homeland to meet its objectives or targets (Browne & Keeley, 2007). Furthermore, it is established that the model has other models easily inbuilt. Mainly, homeland security establishes the positive elements of the other models and encompasses them in the right questions model. As a consequence, the models offer comprehensive and well-contained solutions out of all the available alternatives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, the said model is highly interactive as it offers an all rounded analysis of the various situations. The analysis is crucial in timely and effective decision-making as well as in actualization of the actions set. Additionally, the model allows homeland to identify the instances of fallacies in reasoning (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,† 2005). Well thought out decision should not be guided by a belief, myth of misconceptions. This allows homeland security process of verification and validation of evidence to be thorough and unbiased. If some essential information is missed, the model would results to different alternatives. Right questions model bases its success on availability of possible alternatives. Therefore, the model puts a lot emphasis on the available information which helps decision makers to arrive at the best possible alternative. On the other hand, the other models have some constraints in their operations (Bro wne & Keeley, 2007). For instance, the Element of Thought thinking model success is highly dependent on the emphasis given to some four aspects of decision-making. Using the Model   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Several failures have been seen under the dome of homeland security. These failures are highly attributed as the indirect contributors of past events like the September 11 attacks. The right questions model can easily address these past challenges (Browne & Keeley, 2007). Moreover, the model is the key to providing support to the homeland security decision-making process as well as creating and enhancing the credibility of the actions undertaken by homeland security.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The right questions model is dependent on an extensive spectral analysis. This analysis is the foundation of critical thinking. As a consequence, the right questions model helps to evaluate all the possible alternatives and their accompanying actions; which aim at getting the best possible solution. The model has been extensively used under the homeland security context to eradicate and lessen threats like the September 11 attacks. For example, prior to September 11 attacks the United States intelligence had gathered that there were several threats directed towards the United States institutions outside the country (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,† 2005). Lack of a wider spectral analysis, the homeland security failed in its job (Browne & Keeley, 2007). In dependence to the information, the homeland security strengthened the security agencies beyond borders and failed to do so with the domestic agencies. As a consequence, the Al Qaeda us ed this loophole to carry out the attacks in the US soil (The 9/11 Commission, 2005). Under right questions model, an in-depth analysis would have taken place prompting homeland security to reinforce all the security agencies across the board. Such analysis would have enabled homeland security to alleviate the September 11 attacks. The alleviation would have been achieved through the fact that the homeland security would have easily identify and eliminated all the security exposures that faced the United states at large without overemphasis on the overseas institutions (Browne & Keeley, 2007). The fallacies of logic resulted to this misguided conclusions. While combating the Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, there was a belief that the US turf was safe from the Al Qaeda actions. This resulted to homeland security ignoring the domestic security need for dealing with terrorism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Additionally, there were not efforts to fill the information gaps that were there before the attacks. There were poor statistics since there were limited activities that were undertaken by security agencies in the United States (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,† 2005). The model selected put emphasis on identifying the missing information which in turns increases the chances of obtaining the best strategy and the appropriate cause of action to be employed. For instance, the evidence provided that an attack was imminent, but there were no prompt actions that were undertaken to mitigate these threats. Also, despite the availability of evidence that indicated that there were terrorist threats facing the US, no security actions were undertaken in time (Browne & Keeley, 2007). The claims behind the lack of actions were that the decision process was still at preliminary stages, indicating the rigidity of the security operations. The selected mo del offers flexible and dynamic solutions to challenges. Through the right questions model, appropriate decisions would have been arrive at early enough to mitigate the threats. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Critical thinking is crucial for the undertakings of the homeland security department. This is because there are significant complexities of the decisions and accompanying actions. The critical thinking models are several, but one outranks the others; the right questions model is very essential in establishing the right decisions and cause of actions. The model employs a wider spectral analysis strategy with an aim of achieving efficient, effective and timely solutions. Looking at the applicability of the model against the events of September 11 attacks the model would achieve better-desired results (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,† 2005). References Browne, M., & Keeley, S. (2007). Asking the right questions. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Davis, V. (2012). Use Critical Thinking to Overcome Personal Biases. IN Homeland Security. Retrieved 22 January 2015, from http://inhomelandsecurity.com/use-critical-thinking-to-overcome-personal-biases/ Kiltz, L. (2009). Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Homeland Security and Emergency Management Courses. Journal Of Homeland Security And Emergency Management, 6(1), 1-20. Retrieved from http://www.innovative-analytics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DevelopingCriticalThinking.pdf Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2009). The miniature guide to critical thinking. Dillon Beach, Calif.: Foundation for Critical Thinking. Pruitt, K. (2003). Modeling Homeland Security: A Value Focused Thinking Approach (1st ed., pp. 1-236). Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio: Department of the Air Force, Air University. Retrieved from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/afit/pruitt_vft_hls.pdf The 9/11 Commission,. (2005). The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (1st ed., pp. 1-400). Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT.pdf Source document