War in Deuteronomy

Deuteron chapter twenty should be read as a rhetorical or historical text. Though this topic has been widely discussed for many years, someone has yet to convince everyone that one way of viewing the text Is correct and the other Incorrect. Throughout this research paper we will discuss the text found In Deuteron chapter twenty along with surrounding text viewed through both the rhetorical lens as well as the historical lens. The surrounding text that we will analyze is chapters even and thirteen of Deuteron.Chapter seven discusses the Israelites expectations for separating from the idolatrous nations. Chapter thirteen informs the Israelites what they are supposed to do when enticed to follow false gods by three different accounts of influence. In Deuteron chapter seven, God commands the Israelites to practice complete separation from the Idolatrous nations of the Hitters, Geographies, Amorists, Canniest, Pretzels, Helves, and Jubilees-?all of which reside in the Promised Land they a re preparing to enter.Although these nations are stronger than Israel, God Insists that he will deliver these nations to the Israelites and they will destroy them completely, make no treaty with them, and destroy them. Following In verse four, God stresses that the Israelites are not to intermarry with any of these nations because doing so would allow them to turn the children of Israelite away from Him to serve other god. In result of such an occasion, God's anger would drive him to destroy the Israelites.The Israelites were told to basically attack the idolatry of these nations t the origin by destroying all of their altars and idols because they were the chosen ones to be God's special possession which they were to treasure. In verses nine and ten, it is stated that God is God and will continue being God for all eternity to those who love him. However, to those who do not love God he will destroy. The middle of Deuteron chapter seven, verses 11-15 talks about how God's people are to remember the covenant of love He has made with his people for He will keep the covenant If his people follow these laws.Up to verse sixteen, this scripture states that f His people follow the laws they will be blessed in numerous ways through crops, offspring, livestock, and disease such as what they experienced in Egypt. The closing of chapter seven of Deuteron is used to discuss that the Israelites are not to be intimidated by the strength of the other nations which they are to drive out, but to remember what God had done to Pharaoh in Egypt.God continues to overemphasized that He will deliver all of these nations along with their kings to the Israelites so that they may destroy them and the record of their existence. In the final two verses of his chapter, God instructs the Israelites they are not to covet anything the gods of these nations possess such as the gold and silver and not to bring any of their possessions Into their own household. In Deuteron chapter thirteen God addresses the destiny of those who practice Idolatry or entice others to practice Idolatry.The chapter begins with God stating that If anyone Is to experience an event that would cause them to feel the urge to worship other gods that the words of that sort to refrain from partaking in the suggestion of worshipping other gods because he very situation is a test from the Lord our God to find out if they love him with all their heart and soul-?the prophet who tried to turn them away from the Lord shall be put to death.Starting in chapter six and continuing through chapter eleven God tells his people that even if a family member was to entice them to follow other gods not only were they to be ignored, but they were also to be given no pity nor be spared, or pitied. This relative, or closest friend was to be immediately put to death by the hand of the family member who was being misled. By doing this, the killed enticer was to river as an example so that such an evil thing would not happ en again.Deuteron thirteen closes with a final situation of dealing with the people of a town who are misled into idolatry by wicked man. In this situation, the Israelites are to investigate the situation thoroughly, and if the situation is proven true, they are to kill everyone of that city. The city should become a ruin for the remainder of time and never rebuilt. The possessions of that city were also to be left as ruined and not be found in the hands of His people.This chapter is closed with the statement from God hat he will turn from his fierce anger and have compassion on his people if they do as they are told. Deuteron chapter twenty is a series of directions that concern war in general and the process of which the Israelites were to takeover and destroy particular cities. â€Å"The instructions in this chapter are peculiar to Deuteron. As the people of God, Israel was not a warlike nation; they were rather to abstain from warfare, and as a general rule to cultivate the art s of peace.But they had before them at this time the prospect of a serious and protracted conflict before they could occupy the land which God had assigned to them; and they might in future years have to go to war to maintain their independence and repel aggression. In view of this, instructions are here given regarding the conducting of military service† (Alexander, n. D. ). In verses one through four of this chapter, the Israelites are commanded to refrain from feeling afraid, panicked, or terrified of armies greater than theirs because the God who brought them from Egypt will be with them.Verse four states that the Lord their God will fight for them against their enemies to give them victory. Verses five through nine are accounts in which the officers of the army will ask for anyone who has built a new house and not yet lived in it, anyone who planted a new vineyard and not yet enjoyed it, anyone who pledged to a woman and not yet married her, or anyone who is afraid or fai nthearted to go home. Following this, verses ten through twenty are directions concerning the taking over of the false nations.When the Israelites march to attack a city that is far from them-?not of a nearby nation-?they are to first offer peace. If the city accepts this offer, the people of he town shall be made servants and work for the Israelites. However, if the town is not willing to surrender, the Israelites were to kill every man in the city, and take the women, children, livestock, and everything else in the city as plunder for themselves. On the other hand, when approaching a nation within the Promised Land, the Israelites are to immediately destroy anything that breathes without offering peace to them first.The Israelites are instructed to do so to avoid being taught to follow their detestable ways of worshipping other gods and sinning against the Lord their God. God then commands His people to refrain from destroying any fruit bearing trees in Historical Analysis There a re quite a few accounts in these chapters that lead to the idea that the text in Deuteron chapter twenty should be read historically. When the God of Love is commanding his people to annihilate and slaughter living people, there is obviously going to be controversy.The main controversy seems to lie between groups who cannot agree whether the text in Deuteron chapter twenty should be read historically or rhetorically. A sub category of controversy in chapter twenty, noted as Case 1 & Case 2 by biblical scholar Gordon J. Wham, is the discussion of why the nations within the Promised Land were not offered peace before being destroyed and the nations outside of the Promised Land were offered peace before being destroyed (Wham, n. D. ). In chapter twenty, why would our God tell his people to annihilate and destroy a nation not leaving anything alive that breathes?Aren't humans God's own creation? When these particular verses are read independently God does in fact come across as contradi cting Himself and failing to practice what He preaches. However, when read in context, we are able to see that God is by no means going against the sixth commandment, Mimi shall not murder,† but He is actually sticking to His word Just as He said He would. If we take a look into some of Deuteron chapter twenty's surrounding scripture we come across some eye opening information.For example, in Deuteron 7:9-10 scripture reads, â€Å"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. But those ho hate him will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him. † This verse shows us God's reasoning behind why He wants the Israelites to destroy them. This reference takes away from the sting of the idea that God wants us to kill people, and therefore, allows us to interpret this text as historical.It is also suggested by Reverend C. Clearance, a biblical scholar, that the reasoning why the nations within the Promised Land were not offered peace before being destroyed is because they had already had their day of grace in Genesis 1 5:16 ND that they should be overcome by destruction lest they continue to pollute the land (Clearance, n. D. ). Another example is found in Deuteron 13. Biblical scholars Reverend J. Orr, Reverend D. Davies, and Reverend R. M. Edgar point out that in verse 14, which states, â€Å"then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly.

Pup 301

Parul Singh PUP 301 5th February 2013 Putting Greenways in My life The article â€Å"Putting Greenways First† talks about how cities in America are trying to â€Å"Go Green† by investing in more parks, the planting of trees, and creating overall green neighborhoods and streets. These will encourage citizens to spend more time exercising outside rather than being cooped up inside in front of their television. In the 21st century, a lot of land is cut down and built on to serve as neighborhoods, shopping malls, government buildings and grocery stores as urbanization occurs due to high pressure of immigrants and population increase every year.These cities, such as Mumbai, often have little trees due to large population and no land to support the population. Though urban planners and locals alike have become more aware of the environmental issues affecting global warming, there has been a steady rise in different approaches to make cities beautiful, healthy and better place s to live in. The term â€Å"Greenway† comes to mind, as it is one of the first steps to making a city more environmentally friendly. Greenways are pedestrian streets like sidewalks, but instead of it being only concrete there is a high emphasis on vegetation.This creates both a visually attractive and comfortable setting for people to enjoy taking walks in contrast to taking the car. As the article suggests, low-density suburban sprawl may directly influence obesity rates in cities. Encouraging citizens to walk to school or use their bike by creating an attractive and pleasant environment may be one of the many solutions to lower obesity rates. As we see more development in our life, we can argue that the environment becomes more contaminated.There are around 20 billion tons of CO2 and other poisonous gases, like methane gas, that are absorbed by the atmosphere every year. This poisonous environment kills around 14 thousand people all over the world, for example if exposed t o methane gas, it causes dizziness, headache and nausea. This confirms that to achieve a healthy lifestyle at which people are not only wealthy but also healthy and safe, we need to find ways to protect our environment. Building a green city is thus a very sustainable strategy. I was born in India (Pune) and lived in Thailand (Bangkok) for all my life.These are developing equatorial countries where a lot of people live in the cities. So living in the cities of India and Thailand, I have always felt like there is not much greenery and the pollution in these cities is high. And every year whenever I go back to Pune, I always see there are more and more buildings; the land that is in the processes of being cleared. These cities are not growing sustainably or in a â€Å"green† way because India for example, has to put money in education, health care, and other thing in order to decrease the increasing population.America, on other hand prioritizes green way because they have alrea dy put a lot of effort and money on building schools and hospitals for its citizens. The issue in Phoenix and in Bangkok is that both places are hot. There are less outdoor events because of the heat. For example, people prefer playing tennis indoors than outdoors during summers, because they need to take extra precautions like putting sunscreen on their body to protect themselves from sun burns or carry extra water to keep themselves from getting dehydrated.In Bangkok, it is so humid that when you go outside for five minutes, people always take a shower. It is very time consuming to live in a place as hot as Bangkok or Phoenix because as it is really hot, people waste their time taking a shower twice or even three times a day, and this in turn wastes a lot of water. I went to Beijing, China in 2010, and I was shocked to see how well planned the city was despite the fact that it was still a developing city, with high population and very bad pollution. Approximately, Beijing city has around 40,000 trees.The trees are planted along the road and there is a pedestrian road, beside which goes into small green parks. The trees that are planted are all the same size, and during winter, the polythene sheets are wrapped around and thick ropes around the sheet protect the bark of the trees. I thought that it was a great way of making a city green, given the thought that it is not technically green because of the pollution. After reading the article, I thought that the ideas and examples given by Arendt in the article are solely based on America.Most American cities, compared to cities in developing countries, have a lower population per mile. People here like to settle in the suburbs of the city because they have bigger houses, more space where they can have their own gardens, which is a good idea considering the downtown of the city is noisier, polluted and has little vegetation. The article gave out a lot of examples of American cities where the planners are making ar eas of green parks, so people can spend quality time outdoors.They are also making public transports better, so people walk to the nearest train station or bus station. They have a lot of parks with walkways, where people can spend some time walking or jogging. This will make them fit and healthy. There are ideas like car-pooling, which is when two or more people share the same car to arrive at the same destination, so more than one person can travel in a car. It is seen as a sustainable way to travel, reducing carbon emissions and hence reducing people’s carbon footprint.In conclusion, I realized that the whole concept of greenways might be able to work in some cities, which are in Colorado or Florida, because of the climatic conditions, space to build parks and less population. But it would not work in developing countries because there is a lot of population ratio to little space. But measures can still be taken to create a more environmentally friendly atmosphere, for exa mple – some companies in London are making their building’s roof top green by planting trees in order to have a green and sustainable environment, in order to decrease the carbon footprint.In some countries, the government does not think of environment as their number one priority, mainly because they do not have enough money to reinforce ideas such as greenways. On the other hand, in cities like Phoenix, we are able to plant more trees and build parks which can provide a lot of shade and have a little sprinkling water which can make people come out of their houses more often. Greenways give sustainable solutions to various cities with climatic traits.

Conan Doyle and Graham Greene Essay

Compare how Conan Doyle and Graham Greene use the detective fiction genre to deceive the reader in â€Å"The Man with the Twisted Lip† and â€Å"The Third Man†.  The Detective story is written to deceive the reader this is true of both â€Å"The Third Man† by Graham Greene and Conan Doyle’s â€Å"the Man with the Twisted Lip†. Both writers use your knowledge of other detective stories to ‘lure’ you into a false understanding that this is one of them. We expect that the stories are another ‘Whodunit’ murder mystery but really, it is the writer fooling us, as it is the mystery of the murdered being alive. Conan Doyle sets up expectations in the reader by setting the story around an opium den, which was greatly feared at the time of being written. The setting of an opium den would conjure up many dark images and so makes us jump to conclusions about the ‘murder’ we, the reader, assume that anyone associated with an opium den could be a murderer.  Doyle makes the main suspect a beggar who many people look down on, adding more to the assumption that he is the murderer of Neville St Clair.  Ã¢â‚¬  In fact, in the whole of that floor there was no one to be found, save a crippled wretch of hideous aspect, who, it seems, made his home there.† Doyle describes Hugh Boone, the beggar, as † the creature† and uses such descriptions as â€Å"greasy† â€Å"disfigured horrible scar† and â€Å"a bull dog chin† to build up a mental image in our heads of a rather revolting man, atypical ‘baddie’ of a detective story.  Graham Greene sets â€Å"The Third Man† in post-war Vienna, during which Austria is still occupied territory and is spilt into four zones. The breakdown in communication between the zones has resulted in poor law and order in the city. Greene mentions early on that Harry is a racketeer † A very long spell’ (in prison)’if it hadn’t been for the accident.†Ã‚  And  Ã¢â‚¬Å"He was about the worst racketeer who ever made a dirty living in this city†.  We are told what he does for a living but not how he does it until further into the book. During the time that we find out what his profession is, to what he sells the story of Harry’s death change with each person Martin questions. This makes us realise quite soon that Harry did not die in an accident but under suspicious circumstances.  Graham Greene uses a police officer to narrate the story. The figure of authority makes us belive what he is telling us and our natural response is not to doubt him. Greene throughout the story never mentions Martins current status and refers to him in the past † he always tried† instead of â€Å"he always tries† for example, this makes us wonder if Martins is still alive. Rollo Martins protested lime’s innocence until he found concrete evidence to prove otherwise. We feel sorry for him and want to belive Lime’s innocence to, this leads us further away from the truth. The romance between Martins and Anna is a side plot put in to add another aspect to the detective story, but also to distract our attention away from the reality, that Harry faked his own death leaving a devoted friend and his lover behind in order to escape police capture. However with Anna’s genuine grief over Harry’s ‘death’ is the same as Rollo protesting Harry’s innocence, we want to belive them. Conan Doyle uses Doctor Watson as the narrator, as he has in the other Sherlock homes stories. In â€Å"The Man with the Twisted Lip† Watson joins Homes after collecting a man from an opium den, setting the scene immediately in a sinister atmosphere. The problem is told to the reader at the same time as Watson. This means there is a character in the story that we can identify with, as they know just as much as we do. The mysteries leaves us with no explanation as to how a man can be seen in a room then appear to have vanished. Because we, the reader, have no idea of how the disappearance happened, we are given an explanation that, as we have no other theory, chooses to accept. Graham Greene uses the crimes of Harry Lime to distract us from any real clues that there are. There are two men at the funeral, one of which forgets to drop a wreath onto the coffin- a sign of grief of or knowing that the body being buried is not of Harry Lime.  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"There must be something phoney about a man who won’t take baldness gracefully†Ã‚  This takes suspicion away from the fake death of Harry’s and puts it on those who were with him when he ‘died’.  Over all both writers, use our expectations of a ‘typical’ detective story against us. They ‘pull the wool over our eyes’ in what are enjoyable story is to read.

STRATEGIC LEGAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

STRATEGIC LEGAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES - Assignment Example As a company that conducts the majority of its business within the medical industry, sensitive issues like the maintaining the confidentiality of patient/client information is a large issue that constantly presents significant risk to the progress of the company. The recent privacy breach the company experienced only heightens the need for immediate action concerning enhancing security protocols to minimize future risks of this nature (Martin, 2011). The large breach in confidentiality protocols resulted in the names of individuals seeking paternity and drug testing (Martin, 2011) has put the company at substantial risk for subsequent litigation against the company for exposing personal medical information. Allegations that Medvet was made aware that the names, addresses, and product orders of individuals that have ordered tests from Medvet has been available on Google since as early as April (Martin, 2011) can lead to an extremely damaging class-action lawsuit against the company sh ould any of the affected persons suffer any damages as a result of such a breach. Affecting approximately 800 of Medvet’s customers (Tmaliyil, 2011), this breach has the potential to cause significant damage to the company’s image and cause significant financial loss should any or all of the affected parties suffer adverse effects due to this incidence and seek monetary damages. The $11 billion lawsuit Pennzoil won against Texaco, which resulted in Texaco filing for bankruptcy, (Simkins & Ramirez, 2008) has made it clear to many companies the dangers to making themselves vulnerable to such types of litigation. Risk management includes ensuring the security of any and all client and personnel information, which avoids this information becoming accessible to any unauthorized persons, in or outside the company. Maintaining this standard would require steps such as heightening the encryption programs that protect such information within the company’s database and en suring access to this information is protected against network attacks by hackers and neglectful actions by employees. Protection of the vital information entrusted to the company by its employees and clientele will prevent the eventuality of negative actions being rendered against the company due to damages suffered by individuals whose information was made vulnerable as a result of this breach of security. Affecting routines that protect customers from having their private information made public exemplifies good corporate governance, which is an integral aspect of maintaining a successful company. This is a vital aspect of good risk management because it protects the company’s assets, which is the ultimate purpose of risk management procedures. Risk management procedures, adeptly implemented, would incorporate procedures that would avoid negligent actions like the lack of thought that allowed Google to publish the private details of customer invoices by encrypting the data in an inaccessible database. Taking steps to protect the resources of the company, which is the customers and their information, will also protect the reputation and integrity of the company and prevent the advent of undue risks such as the one currently facing the company. Risk management procedures seek to avoid the occurrence of negligent actions by anticipating them and taking whatever measures necessary to avoid them altogether. These preventative measures protect

Role of Special Interest Groups Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Role of Special Interest Groups Paper - Essay Example Death penalty is such a big issue that has for a very long time affected formation of policies of most governments because Human Rights Activists are ever against this law because it at times is applied on innocent victims. In 1967 for instance, there were lots of cases revolving around crime in the U.S., which recorded a 16% increase. From this perspective, policies had to be formed to curb the rise in insecurity and for that reason; death penalty was the best option. However, most Human Right Activists still argue that death penalty is no deterrent to crime. While the policy can in one way or the other be an effective tool in reducing crime, there have been frequent complains that prosecutors pass judgment basing on race. Race has been a â€Å"mutant pest† in the U.S., whose eradication remains an uphill task. The U.S. signed three treaties to ensure justice is not administered on racial bias. The U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1984, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that deters anyone from unconstitutional application of death penalty, and the International Con vention on the Elimination of All Forms of racial Discrimination, which requires administration of justice in accordance to human rights and not on the basis of race. However, in 1992, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights noticed that the U.S. had breached the treaties when it executed William Andrews in Utah, which indicates that there is racial discrimination in administration of justice. Most empirical research findings indicate that 90% of decisions made in the U.S. judicial system have geared influence by racial disparities (Dieter, 2012 p.27). The U.S. government should consider acting quickly on matters pertaining racial

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Strategic Management - Essay Example GM has a brand name with Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Hummer, Pontiac, Saab, and Saturn. Trucks, sport cars, sedans, and SUVs are made by GM. The recognition of the GM brand sets it above new automotive company competition. Another asset is GM’s resources. Money, automotive parts, factories, and stock allow GM to remain competitive worldwide. GM has spent millions on research for hybrids and other cars that run on alternative fuel, lower emissions, and safer products. This creates confidence in the GM product for the consumer population. External Analysis---The remote environment is promising for GM. The resources available to GM allow the company to comply with economic, social, political, technological, and ecological demands. The industry environment is no problem for GM. Entry barriers, supplier power, buyer power, substitute availability, and competitive rivalry are handled by GM’s strong foundation and brand name in the auto industry. The operating environment is more unstable. Customers, creditors, competitors, labor, and suppliers can be affected by a recession or high oil prices. GM will need to take this into consideration and make necessary changes accordingly. As long as GM continues to change in the face of adversity, produce quality products, and research alternative fuel sources, the company will make it through tough times and

The process of flagging Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The process of flagging - Term Paper Example Flagging is a provision that is essentially allowed at the request of the student; as such the student must request for such a provision in writing to the examinations body . This request often has the reason for which they are requesting special consideration with the nature of special consideration that they are requesting from the examining body. This request must be accompanied by a physical disability evaluation report that is completed and duly signed by a qualified evaluator . It is common that special consideration be provided for those with various disabilities and the nature of consideration often includes extra time for the completion of their examination. The Law School Admissions Council will then notify the expected recipients of the student's scores of the nature of special consideration that the student has requested for and whether it has been granted or not. However, test scores of undergraduate prospective students are no longer flagged for the SAT and Advanced pla cement programs among others .This information is often sent as a confidential report to the test score recipient meant to ensure privacy. The information in such reports not only details that extra time was provided for the student to complete the test but also includes warnings that the results obtained by the student should be treated with great sensitivity and flexibility . These reports also go further to disclose the nature of disability of the student thus providing confidential information about the student.... Such special considerations are presented in light of extra time that is provided to these students with disabilities that allow them to finish the test exam. The process of allocating a student extra time is often not considered a standardized testing condition necessitating the need for test administrators to inform the test recipients of the testing conditions. This is because scores that are obtained as a result of non-standardized testing conditions cannot be compared to the scores that are obtained by other students under standardized testing conditions4. It has been the subject of extensive research methodologies that have revealed that results obtained on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) from nonstandard testing conditions cannot be compared to those obtained from standardized testing conditions. The extra testing time has been realized to provide scores that tend to over-predict how the examined students will perform in their first year of law school5. They obtain resul ts that are too high for the examined course when they are likely to achieve dismal performance in their first year of law school because they may be unable or unwilling to use such non standardized testing conditions6. This is especially the case of students with cognitive disabilities who out of fear of stigmatization by fellow mates will opt not to request for accommodation7. But students with physical disability will have no option but to request accommodation as is the case with amputees who may require assistance with filling out their answers. This concept has often been the center of research that has sought to establish why students do not perform as well when they enter their first year of law school. It is because of such reasons that the Law School Admissions Council

Fingerprint Identification: Three Latent Print Scenario's Assignment

Opinions about Different Homicide Scenarios - Assignment Example In such a case, it is possible that the perpetrator had planned their activities wisely. They may have used protection on their hands, for example, high quality gloves that do not allow for fingerprints to be left on the weapon. In typical cases, fingerprints are left on a weapon even when using surgical gloves that cling tightly to the hand. It is also possible that the murderer used another weapon to commit the offense and left with it. Another possibility is that the material used to make the weapon is one that does not retain prints. At times the prints may be too faint for proper identification. Fortunately, fingerprints can be collected from the surfaces in the scene of the crime. Glass, for example, retains prints that are highly detectable especially if the hands of the perpetrator were wet, bloody or greasy. On the hand, lean surfaces are more likely to retain fingerprints compared to dirty ones as the dirt may inhibit latent prints from being visible on the weapon. A case like this may mean that a different person committed the crime. It may also be that another person touched the weapon with bare hands after the murder, for example, an investigator hence interfering with the evidence. It may also be that the perpetrator used the weapon that had previously been touched by another person and used material that does not allow their prints to be left on the weapon. There may also be the possibility that a different person touched the weapon leaving their prints but the murder used a soiled hand on the weapon thus inhibiting the formation of their fingerprints. Such a situation is tricky and may mean different things. While it is possible for the suspect to be guilty, it is not always so. In some cases, the prints ay offer direct evidence that the suspect was responsible for the murder.  

Ideas Critique on Ian Watt's The Rise of the Novel Assignment

Ideas Critique on Ian Watt's The Rise of the Novel - Assignment Example Firstly, Watt investigates the characteristics of the novel and the realism; he argues that realism tries to show several sides of human experience related to the external world. Watt explains Descartes point of view of the realism by defining the truth as an individual matter, which makes novel reflect individualism and innovation compared to previous literary works. Secondly, according to Watt there are no traditional plots in novels; Richardson and Defoe were the first writers to ignore a plot based on mythology or history for example, which at that time was different from authors with traditional plots such as Shakespeare or Milton. Furthermore, he describes the importance of the description in the narrative; in order to make the novel realistic as possible; the author needs to be capable of accomplishing a concrete demonstration of characterization, present a cohesive background and to be attentive to the individualization of the characters. Thirdly, he explains that before the realism, names were used in a non- particular way, and the novel establishes names as common names that can also indicate information about a character. He also argues about the role of the time, space, and place to individualize each character; how they create a cohesive structure to a plot, also the correlation between representation and reality. Finally, Watt explains the semantic role of the narrative, how the prose style gives a completely authenticity to the realistic novel. This piece of writing by Watt is quite illuminating in the sense that it records the development of novel as a separate entity from earlier prose that did not center on individualism. Rather they provided an objective view of the situation. The presentation and ideas of Watt offer a deep understanding of how the novel emerged and how the attitudes and society were changing to give birth to a new literary form- the novel. However, the ideas presented by Watt are just an initial study of how the novel develo ped since Watt does not include certain aspects of the development of novel or rather he misjudges the chronology of events. In my opinion, the presentation developed by Watt takes into account a myriad of changes occurring in the society. Watt takes into account the changing attitude of the people which was more attuned to realism and changed from a God centric view to a human centric view. Along with this, Watt also discusses how the printing press and changing London society supported the rise of novels. What makes Watt’s work authentic is the fact that Watt backs up his claims by repeatedly consulting with three different authors- Richardson, Fielding and Defoe. He not just refers to their writings but also the evaluation of their writings. He focuses more on Richardson, given that Richardson was among the pioneers of the novels and it was his novel that later inspired other novels developed not just during that time but also quite later on. According to Watt, a literary piece of writing cannot exist without taking into account the cultural and intellectual factors that shape the society when a particular piece is produced. The novel in this case, falls into the same dimensions. The rise of novel occurred when the society in England was changing towards realism, that is, it was becoming more individualistic. Gone were the days when the characters in the piece were presented for the benefit of the audience. For instance, in plays the character obscured into the unknown when they were not present on the stage or in a particular scene (Watt, 442). However, in a novel, the readers become

Assessment of recent developments in financial reporting Essay - 1

Assessment of recent developments in financial reporting - Essay Example 84). This essay focuses on the most recent trends in UK financial reporting standards analysed on the example of the Annual Report of BAA plc for 2004/05. The essay argues that the movement towards convergence with international accounting standards is helpful enough to provide shareholders with more transparent information on companies' performance. Yet, changes that are made have their drawbacks, which are also discussed. Standartisation in accounting becomes of greater importance as business relations continue to stretch over national borders converging into an integrated global international environment. A number of companies operating worldwide increases; therefore it is more effective to prepare one universal report for shareholders of different countries rather than make adjustments along with national accounting regulation policies. It is a global trend with the UK finding itself in the middle of it. "The progress toward attaining a global financial reporting framework has accelerated, and many significant steps have been taken The restructuring program, begun in 2000, is the culmination of a series of movements toward the global convergence of accounting standards" (Casabona and Shoaf 2002, p. 16). .. "The drive for international accounting standards seems out of all proportion to the benefits. Most of the issues are so arcane as to be a million miles from those increasingly rare parts of economy where wealth is actually created" (Hilton 2004, p. 35). Nevertheless the industry (and surely, financial reporting is the one) grows larger and requires additional activities to be implemented by companies guaranteeing their reports will be easily understood throughout the world. For instance, BAA has stated in its annual report 2004/05 the following matters that were changed: - Recognition of the annual valuation surplus on investment properties in the income statement - Recognition in the income statement of fair value gains and losses on derivative financial instruments, subject to hedge accounting - Recognition of derivative financial instruments and related hedge accounting entries in the balance sheet - Separation in the balance sheet of the debt and equity elements of BAA's convertible bonds, and a consequential increased finance cost recorded in the income statement - Recognition of a charge for share-based payments in the income statement - Valuation of the majority of operational land assets on transition and use of this as the deemed cost for future periods, in accordance with the first-time adoption rules of IFRS - Recognition of additional deferred tax liabilities, particularly in relation to temporary differences arising on investment property and operational land revaluations - Recognition in the balance sheet of proposed dividends only when approved - Changes to the format of primary statements. To be more illustrative rather than descriptive the essay goes on

Do Unions Have Any Kind of Future In Australia Essay

Do Unions Have Any Kind of Future In Australia - Essay Example This will be the time to forge a global partnership between developing global partnership between developed and developing countries to ensure that employment growth policies are put in place to put an end to the scourge of our times - increasing unemployment, poverty and inequality' - said ICFTU President Sharan Burrow. The major corporations of the world are hopping around the world seeking the lowest cost worker. The ITES has meant that the developed world will lose more employment opportunities to developing countries where wages are cheap and working conditions can be stringent. The west and the rest of the developed world already troubled with rising unemployment will see a worse future. The 'global workforce' if at all one arises will require more such meetings and negotiations to make things happen - for a better tomorrow. The Unions around the world have emphasised on the need for collective bargaining. They are primarily composed of skilled and semi-skilled workers. But membership figures vary widely with the industry in question. The problem has particularly plagued Australia in sectors such as health because a large number of health workers from the commonwealth countries are present in these sectors. But what do unions do Changes in the structure and nature of work The Unions seek changes in the structure of work so that the work is less monotonous and comfortable to the worker. Further the unions make sure that the working conditions are also ideal. Unions form and people flock to join them for many reasons. They feel that their grievances will be redressed by the collective bargaining power of the unions. Some members also enrol for ideological issues such as the socialist cause and the anti-capitalism campaign. The Webbs defines that unions arose when the great bulk of workers had ceased to be independent producers, themselves controlling the processes, and owning the materials and the product of their labour, and had passed into the condition of life-long wage-earners, possessing neither the instruments of production nor the commodity in its finished state (Webbs, 1920: 25). In the 1920's Perlman stated thatTrade unionism, which is essentially pragmatic, struggles constantly, not only against the employers for an enlarged opportunity measured in income, security, and liberty in the shop and industry, but struggles also, whether consciously or unconsciously, actively or merely passively, against the intellectual who would frame its programs and shape its policies (1928: 5). Allan Flander says of Unions that 'The first and over-riding responsibility of all trade unions is to the welfare of their own members. That is their primary commitment; not to a firm, not to an industry, not to the nation. A union collects its members' contributions and demands their loyalty specifically for the purpose of protecting their interests as they see them, not their alleged 'true' or 'best' interests as

Diversity in America Essay Example for Free

Diversity in America Essay In an ideal world, humanity would understand that all mankind is created equally; that the underlying truth of each of us is goodness, and that through awareness, conscious choice and the willingness to create positive change, we could live in a world where diversity is celebrated. We would leave behind the substantial racist and oppressing patterns that exits in this world, specifically in the United States of America. It is said that the U. S. is a melting pot of cultures, and that we are a country of immigrants existing together as a new culture, living under the values of a democracy based on freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yet this policy is completely disregarding the fact that as immigrants, we brutally committed genocide to the Native Americans. The dominant race in the U. S. A. is made up of white Euro-centric people, and looking at the patterns that exist in this culture is important to examine the history, the ways in which racism is alive and how and who is affected. We all must look at how, as an individual and within a community, we can work towards positive change, healing and understanding. As a society, we have committed and perpetuated the oppression of different cultures specifically the Native Americans, the Native Africans and the many immigrants from different countries. In the early history of the U. S. government, it is clear that there was a systematic method that aimed to remove the Native Americans from the land that was desired by the colonists, with the malicious intention to commit genocide. The first example of the patterns of racism that were established is seen in the fabrication of stereotypes onto the Native Americans. It was said that the Natives were â€Å"barbarians† and that they would rape and murder women and children and that they â€Å"served the devil† (Tataki, 1993, p. 41). The whites held the belief that the Natives were occupying land that the colonists felt entitled to. â€Å"White people also justified the genocide by saying that Native Americans died from diseases they were biologically unable to resist† (Kivel, 2002, p.126). It is a known fact that smallpox were given to the Natives as a way to kill them. Multiple examples exist throughout the history of the whites murdering, raping and unjustly exploiting almost every aspect of the Native’s culture. After committing such horrendous violations we are left with the inability to change all that has occurred and a great sadness that produces guilt, blame and anger that often stagnates a healing process and increases denial and avoidance. The Native American population has almost completely been destroyed. â€Å"At the time Columbus arrived in the West Indies there were approximately fifteen million indigenous people†¦ today†¦ the population of native Americans in the United States is around three million according to U. S. government census figures† (Kivel, 2002, p. 124) and the remaining Natives in America are mostly confined to reservations. This small fraction of designated land is no longer their original sacred land but it is being raped for natural resources. White settlers not only committed genocide but they also enslaved the Native Americans. This pattern of entitlement and abuse was continued with the legal capturing and enslavement of people of African decent with as much violence and oppression. The history of slavery in the United States that occurred through 1619 to 1865 began soon after the English colonists first settled in Virginia and lasted until the passage of the thirteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. â€Å"Over the next twenty five years Virginia passed a series of laws that legalized slavery, producing a radically subordinate and stigmatized class below that of all whites† (Kivel, 2002, p.130). Although technically slavery was abolished in1865, a linage of abuse and inhumane treatment was installed and has been carried into this day and age providing a challenge to accept and comprehend the past. In an attempt in understanding black oppression, there are aspects that demonstrate this injustice. They are institutional racism, racist knowledge and power relations that are played out in our culture and in no way have anything to do biology. Individuals and societies have created and used race as a means to oppress and overpower other groups of people. Racial oppression is when a group of people dominates another for their own benefit disregarding justice and respect through the use of violence and defining and discriminating racial differences. This dominant group receives various benefits although in the larger picture all sides loose for the continuation of a pattern of pain and injustice is insured through these actions. African-Americans are a case of this racial oppression. They were turned into slaves because of the color of their skin. It is shocking that it did not start this way and that through the power of the U. S.government slavery laws were passed that enabled the white masters to turn the blacks into slaves. This is an example of the institutional racism used to enslave the blacks. Because of this occurrence, we, as a society, must break down the residual stereotypes that have instilled fear, pain and disconnection between the races, and to change the model that exists even at this point in time. Another example of racism in the U. S. is seen in the treatment of immigrants. This subject is personal, for on my father’s side of my family I am part of the first generation born in American. My father’s parents immigrated to the U. S. , to escape the holocaust and I am sure shared the dreams of the majority of different immigrants who traveled to the â€Å"land of opportunity,† escaping places of war and economic devastation to begin and pursue a new and better life. Through the duration of attending a class studying the diversity in America I have gained painful yet poignant knowledge of the racism that is still perpetrated upon immigrants, specifically on Jewish people. I have recently learned that groups of neo-Nazis congregate and commit acts of violence against Jewish people and immigrating races. This is terrifying to me and feels unacceptable while we live under a constitution that allows personal expression but does not permit such distinct racist and violent behavior. I am grateful and saddened that because I was raised in a protected and privileged community I have rarely experienced oppression and hateful discrimination when it so readily exists in our culture. In the past few months I find myself cycling through heartbreak, anger and disbelief of the injustice that has and still occurs, and then to a yearning for healing and equality for all. I remain in a space of wonderment, questioning the fact that although laws have been installed to prevent the acts of racism, fear, ignorance and violence is bubbling hot under the surface of our society, and we are a long way from a complete shift in humanity that I crave. I do believe there is hope. I believe that in gaining the truth of the past and diminishing ignorance of the harm that was and still is being done we open a door that may aid in the battles that are still being fought. Although the brutality of racism is alive, the potential to fight for the rights of all the people who live upon this American soil is possible, but the truth of the history and the attainment of awareness must be brought to fruition. Reference List Kivel, Paul, (2002). Uprooting racism: How White People Can Work For Racial Justice. Gabriola Island, BC VOR 1X0, Canada: New Society Publishers. Takaki, Ronald, (1993). A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. New York, NY: Time Warner Book Group.

Intercultural communication- individual reflection

Intercultural communication- individual reflection Intercultural Communication- Individual reflection The essay looks at the reflection of the group work exercise. In doing so it looks at firstly what is meant by culture. On the basis of defining culture, it further looks at the communication barriers within intercultural teams when working within groups. Based on some theoretical models, the essay tries to identify the issues that arose during the group work. Some analytical view has been given to these issues based on the theoretical concepts to try and give some recommendations and guidelines for effective intercultural group work. Definitions and Special terms: Culture can be defined in many ways. A historic perspective of culture accentuates on traditions being inherited and amassed over time focus on fleeting down the culture. According to Gibson (2002), culture is not used in the senses of literature, music and art; it is more than in the sense of a shared system of attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviour. The way people greet each other, dress, negotiate and resolve conflict, and even the way visual information is seen and perceived. Moreover Gibson (2002) illustrates the concept of culture by using various models such as iceberg model, onion model and tree model. The iceberg model reflects the tangible expressions of culture and behaviour are above the surface of the water, and the attitudes, beliefs, values and meanings underlie the water. The onion model is a layer of culture, which can be peeled away to reveal underlying basic assumptions. For instance, the out layers are behaviour, products, rituals and symbols, under layers are f undamentals, such as attitudes, beliefs and values. Furthermore, Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1997) describe this is explicit and implicit level of culture. Gibson (2002) describes, the tree model contrasts visible and hidden culture, with the roots providing an image of the historical origins of culture. Moving between cultures is like transplanting a tree—to be successful, the roots have to be protected, and support will be needed in the new environment. The main difference in conditioned assumptions and preferences which is seen between cultures stems from what Hofstede calls the collective mental programming, which differentiate member of one group from another (1980:21). This process as per many researchers has resulted in cultural values (Kirkman Shapiro, 1997). The Values , stated as a broad capability to prefer certain states of affairs to others (Hofstede, 1980: 19), shows significant influences on individual capabilities (Geletkanycz, 1997; Shackleton and Ali, 1990). In this regard cultural values, assumptions and preferences, build the underlying main structure of culture, whereas methods of activity and behaviours are the cultures only visible manifestation (Schein, 1985). As a result, the values associated within a culture are reflected in the conditioned assumptions and preferences, which helps members during the daily actions. Indeed there may be cultural differences within different countries (Locke, 1995), National cu ltural values are found to vary in a systematic manner more across cultures than within them (Adler, 1997; Hofstede, 1980). Within any group work, communication is vital. Then again within different members of the group from diverse backgrounds the communication tends to be diverse as well. What actually is meant by such intercultural communication? According to Stoner (2009), communication is a verbal statement meant by one person. However, Littlejohe (1992) argues communication to be the transmission of information or symbolic communication such as language, signs, imagers by means of which they are often transmission. Mehrabian (1981) identified, there are three ways of human face of face communication such as body language, voice tonality, and words. Rosengren (2000) describe, communication is a combination of nonverbal, visual and understanding the field of communication. According to Tian (2000), Communication is one of the most important functions to master in order for any business to succeed in todays increasingly competitive markets, particularly for firms doing business internationally. Gudykun st (1994: 129-136) suggests three ways of interpreting other persons behaviour: Perception checking Listening effectively Giving feedback According to Gudykunst (2005), theorizing the communication within culture has had a tremendous progress within last 20 years. Initial attempts of theorizing the subject had been based on the values and assumptions of the cultures, but over the time most theories are supported by the researches. In order to reflect back on the intercultural issues that came up during group work, these have been addressed based around the theoretical models of cultural dimensions developed by researchers and explained within the model definitions in an analytical manner. Collectivism versus individualism: Looking at the cultural dimension of collectivism versus individualism, it can be said that there was a sense of social connectedness (Earley Gibson, 1998) within the team. It can be said that in contrast to individualism, whereby individual team members tend to look after themselves, there is a sense of collectivist efforts towards the team putting their interests towards the group work (Hofstede, 1991). There is a sense of collectivist team effort of finding pleasure in working together like a social group (Chen et al., 1998; Cox et al., 1991; Earley, 1998). Being in a collectivist culture the team members feel closely connected and committed to the project (Boyacigiller Adler, 1991). There is emphasizes on harmony and cooperation within group members (Kim et al., 1994) and reciprocal cooperation of each member to assist in each tasks (Cox et al., 1991). Yet there was a sense of lack of direction by the group leader. For e.g. the leaders authority or instructions were not adhered to which led to many tasks being unaccomplished. The carefree attitude of the group members was evident throughout the project. As mentioned by Hamden-Turner Trompendaars (1993), Hofstede, 1980 and Triandis, 1983, the group members considered themselves as independent self-controlling entities and emphasized their identity as unique, independent individual. There was a more of an individualistic orientation whereby; individuals focussed on personal gain in combination or regardless of others often taking a competitive stance so as to maximize ones own gain, while hurting those of other team members (Pruitt, 1981; Graham, 1986; Graham et al., 1988). Power Distance: The dimension of power distance reflects a cultures acceptance of social inequality. In different words, power distance refers to the limit that those in lower social groups accept as a given the power and status of those in higher groups.In societies where power distance is at higher side,there is mostly a universal acceptance of notion ,that those with higher status deserve the respect they are afforded without any question Unquestioning tends to greater levels of loyalty in organizational context and the taking of actions only after total approval of the superior. In high power distance cultures, policy of centralized decision making is followed rather than exception (Hofstede, 1980), presenting formidable barriers to teams that are highly interdependent (Shane, 1993). Thus, this should not be taken as a surprise that research suggests that members with a high power distance orientation will o seek approval before initiating any action, since they are accountable to having those at the top of the hierarchy make final decisions (Ueno and Sekaran, 1992). Generally, individuals with high power distance orientation are uncomfortable in determining authority and having decision-making powers given to them (Adler, 1997; Hofstede, 1980, 1991). Within the group, team members at times were with a sense of low in power distance and inclined to be more of egalitarian in nature. These group members largely (though not completely) viewed each other as equals. Specifically, members within this cultural dimension interacted vertically within the group work and always seeking for approval and resources from those in power of other teams (Katz and Tushman, 1983). However, it is argued that the method of equality diminishes hierarchical power in organizations and further it encourage acting without full sanction from ones superiors in low power distance cultures. Hence, these members followed agendas of their own and were bypassing the leader (Howell and Higgins, 1991). That said these practices did not preclude those individuals from helping, when needed. Such member were always on wait for those in power but only if the need arose (Howell and Higgins, 1991). Consequently, members low in power distance orientation were more effectiv e in supportive of team actions requiring upward interactions, while members high in power distance were less effective and indeed reluctant to do so. Uncertainty avoidance: Uncertainty avoidance has been defined as the limit to which the members of a culture feel afraid by uncertain or unpredictable situations (Hofstede, 1991: 113). Individuals from high uncertainty avoidance cultures feel uncomfortable dealing with uncertain situations, and therefore look for clarification when theey are in doubt (Hofstede, 1980). Cultures high on uncertainty avoidance prefers for structure and clarification, which results in an increment of formal rules and regulations in those cultures. In contrast, individuals from low uncertainly avoidance cultures tend to prefer a less regulated or strict organizational structure, hence opting to deal with ambiguous situations rather than seek clarification (Hofstede, 1991). In terms of uncertainty avoidance, it can be said the group members were threatened by the unknown situation of a group member leaving the team. In such there was a breakdown of the project events, which led to some low confidence within each members as this member was the group leader and also had strong characteristics. As per Hofstede such situation leads to not only less confidence and less motivation, but also lacks innovative thinking. Thus the uncertainty avoidance led to a resistance in innovation and creativity by the team members. It was this uncertainty avoidance, which led to a threat situation for the whole team. Avoidance/Addressing behaviour Another dimension, which was noticed during the project work, was avoidance / addressing behaviour. The group either denied there was a conflict existing or even acknowledging that a conflict exists. The team members tended to change the subject, when someone tried to discuss thereby involving avoidance behaviour cultural dimension. Avoidance tactics included topic shifting to avoid the specific issue of conflict, avoiding a member altogether, postponing discussion, talking about abstract things rather than the conflict on hand, silence and denying that a problem exists (Canary, Cunningham Cody, 1988). Avoidance behaviour as per Weldon et al., (1996) exists when members do nothing to deal with the situation. As previously mentioned the group had a more of a collectivist approach. Hence research suggests, collectivists are more of avoiding a conflict than individualists who address it more likely (Adler et al., 1992, Barnland, 1975, Cupach, 1982, Graham, 1984, Graham et al., 1987). Recommendations Guidelines: Addressing the above issues, it can be said diverse cultures within a team tend to correspond to basic assumptions preferences and highly influence them to move towards a cultural dimensions addressed above. Let us look at some recommendations based on the theories surrounding these dimensions to provide guidelines for future project. It is important that within a group the collectivist approach seems apt when working towards a project (Trompenaars Hampden-Turner (1997:52). They further add the manager or leader to be seriously affected by individualist approach. It is important to note certain areas of vital importance like negotiation, decision-making and motivation. As a leader there should be incentive based projects. This should relate to the achievement be it in academic terms or in a company project in monetary terms based on performance. Based on the empirical studies, the issue of power distance relates more towards individualism (Bochner Hesketh, 1994; Bond, Wan et al., 1985; Franke, Hofstede et al., 1991). It is this individualistic approach at times, where there should be focus on equality among team members versus hierarchical structure. This is based on the assumption that treating members within a group as equal individuals is the best way to motivate them (Hampden Turner Trompenaars, 1993). Research suggests that interaction with outside constituents enables members to deal with any external threats or opportunities, which might confront them by allowing members to understand the ambiguities within their environment (Ancona Cadwell 1992a; Lyonski et al., 1988). It is the acquisition of information, which reduces the ambiguities and avoids uncertainties. Members should not rely on one team member and should look for support either within themselves or look for outside support from their tutors and avoid ambiguities or uncertainties (Hofstede, 1991). As for avoiding conflict by not addressing it, it is best to move towards a direct behaviour dimension of culture. This should include acknowledging conflict and overt actions in contrast to not acknowledging it (Chua Gudykunst, 1987). As per Weldon et al., 1996, members using overt actions will conduct conflict management behaviour in a professional manner. In conclusion it is important to note that the cultural dimensions play an important role within any team and it project. The interaction of team members effects from a combination of cultural values be it from a specific country. Each team has a varied combination of people and therefore there are various challenges, which may imply different norms and styles. However there needs to be some agreement on how to make decisions, a leaders attitude on how to deal with conflict etc. Bibliography: Applegate, J. L. and Sypher, H. E. (1988) Constructivist theory and intercultural communication research. Beverly Hill: Sage Baldwin, J. R. (2006). Redefining Culture: Perspective across disciplines. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum associates Bochner, S. (1994) ‘Cross-Cultural Differences in the Self Concept: A Test of Hofstedes Individualism/Collectivism Distinction. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. Vol. 25: 273-283 Boyacigiller, N. Adler, N. (1991) ‘The Parochial Dinosaur: Organizational Science in a Global Context. Academy of Management Review. Vol. 16 (2): 262-290 Charles, L. Y. (2003) The art of investigative interviewing. Burlington: Butterworth-Heinemann Cox, T. H., Lobel S. McLeod, P. (1991) ‘Effects of Ethnic Group Cultural Differences on Cooperative Behaviour on a Group Task. Academy of Management Journal. Vol. 34 (4): 827-847 Gibson, R. (2002) Intercultural business communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Golden, T. Veiga J. (2005) ‘Spanning Boundaries and Borders: Toward Understanding the Cultural Dimensions of Team Boundary Spanning. Journal of Managerial issues. Vol. 17 GudyKunst, W. B. (2005) Theorizing about Intercultural Communication. London: Sage Publication Ltd. Gudykunst, W. B. (2003) Cross Culture and Intercultural Communications. London: Sage Publication Ltd. Jehn, K. Weldon, E. (1995) ‘Conflict Management in Bicultural Teams The International Journal of Conflict Management. Vol. 6 Issue 4 Kim, U. et al, (1994) Individualism and Collectivism: Theory, Method and Applications. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Press. Kim, Y. and Gudykunst, W. (1988) Theoretical perspectives in intercultural communication(pp. 41-65). Beverly Hills: Sage Tian, R.G. (2000) Understanding consumer behaviour: psycho-anthropological approach: North American Journal of Psychology, [Vol. 2 No.2, pp.273-9.] Trompenaars, F. Hampden-Turner, C. (1997) Riding the Waves of Culture (Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business). 2nd ed. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing Trompenaars, F. Wooliams, P. (2003) Business Across Cultures. England: Capstone Publishing Ltd. Tuckman, B.W. Jensin, M.A.C. (1977) ‘Stages of small group development revisited. Group and Organizational Studies, Vol.2, pp 419-427. Wing, L. (2005) ‘Leadership in high-performance Teams: A model for superior team performance. Team performance Management. Vol. 11 No.1/2 pp 4-11.

Tni Or Training Need Indentifaction Commerce Essay

Tni Or Training Need Indentifaction Commerce Essay This is basically identified by the supervisor / manager as per the performance of the individual or the future plan of growth which has been charted.. But many organistaions who have a complete Performance Management System in place, fix the TNI upon mutual agreement with the concerned employee and supervisopr/manager in accordance with the goals determined and agreement upon for the next PMS cycle. Sometimes TNI is also fixed upon to improve an individuals performance/skill. There are so many ways for conducting a Training Needs Analysis, depending on the situation. Is it to lead in to a design of a specific purpose improvement initiative? Is it for managers to identify training and development needs of their individual staff during the performance appraisal cycle? Is it to devise a calendar of training courses? How best to conduct the analysis will depend on your answer to this question. In any case, determining training needs starts with a gap analysis the gap between what skills your employees have and what they need to move the business forward. We should use one or more of the following data sources: Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is an essential first step in management development. If we wish to achieve the greatest improvement in performance and best value from your investment in training, development, practical experience or networking, we should first undertake a comprehensive training needs analysis. This will form the basis for designing a cost effective management or talent development programme. Training needs analyses can incorporate a 360 ° feedback survey, or an analysis of current corporate needs. For senior individuals an intensive interview programme, including work shadowing can be justified. Design a TNA:- Before starting on a training needs analysis, it is desirable to carry out an audit of the current situation, desired changes in job or responsibility, and probable technological and organisational developments. This will provide the information needed to determine what is required of the individual, team or organisation. Then we can determine performance standards in terms of skills, contacts and practical experience. Simple questionnaires help us identify where individuals stand on a range of competences in management, corporate goverance and director behaviour, and corporate culture. Both the process of answering the questions, and the feedback will contribute to self awareness, especially if the results include contributions from line manager, peers and direct reports. The training need is the difference between the current performance and the required performance. 360 ° feedback surveys :- A 360 ° feedback survey helps the organisation obtain quality information about performance and relationships by posing a set of standard questions to an individuals line manager, peers and direct reports. This all around (360 °) approach identifies any variation of behaviour in different roles and minimises personal bias. Brefi group recommends that a 360 ° survey should precede any developmental coaching programme. When reviewing an individual it is often best to ask open questions such as: Keep doing:  What are the things which  name currently does which help you and which you hope (s)he will continue to do? Do more of:  What are the things you would like  name to start doing or do more of? Do less of:  What are the things which  name does which get in the way and which you would like to be done less often? Development needs:  What are the areas upon which you feel  name should really concentrate in order to improve the managerial performance of the organisation? You may wish to highlight aspects of how (s)he manages or specific objectives or accountabilities which you feel need attention. Personal strengths:  What do you see as the key strengths which  name brings to his/her job? This information can then be consolidated by an independent consultant and fed back in a relatively unattributed manner. However, for a larger or organisation-wide survey it is better to get numeric information that can be analysed and presented by computer. Brefi Group has developed two on-line TNA analysis programs for this purpose. BuddyCoach is a low cost on-line service for individuals the basic service is free. Using standard questions based on competencies in personal effectiveness, managing communications, managing people, effective directorship and corporate culture an individual can obtain an analysis of personal strengths and development needs. For a small charge up to ten others line manager, peers and direct reports for instance can be invited to comment too. The graphical results contrast the results from the different categories of feedback and also compare them with the norm for our international database. For each competence result there are suggestions of how to improve. CorporateFeedback is a powerful tool for organisations to identify individual and corporate training needs. It is a fully customisable on-line 360 ° feedback program which draws on a reservoir of independently benchmarked competencies for managers and directors. The software is hosted on our servers but can be fully integrated into the website or intranet within a template of your design. CorporateFeedback offers a choice of job role, that can either be specified by the client or draw on our standard list. Within each job role there is a choice of modules, such as managing people or managing finance. Again, these can be specified by the client or draw on our existing selection. Each module comprises a number of competencies. Brefi Group has evolved a large selection of competencies, many based on international standards. Clients can draw on these and also include specific competencies relevant to their own organisation. Each competence is represented by four statements which are included randomly in the questionnaires with options to agree or disagree. The results are presented graphically, with options for department heads and HR departments to view consolidated results and for learning recommendations to be included within each category. Personal interviews Personal interviews by a trained interviewer who is independent of the organisation is a means of obtaining high quality information about an individual or members of a team. Not only can the interviewer collect standard information, but he/she can ask penetrating questions to identify the reasons for the feedback. The information can be fed back to the subject in a non-attributable manner, but with much more information, including not only actual quotes but theappropriate voice tone and emphasis of the original quote. If the interviewer is also commissioned to coach the individual or team, this quality information will ensure that real issues are properly dealt with. Work shadowing Work shadowing involves a coach spending time with an individual while he or she is carrying out their normal work. The coach sits in on meetings and observes the individuals behaviour in different circumstances. Feedback can then be immediate, or compiled into a formal report. The instant feedback is a valuable part of the coaching process. Conventional training is required to cover essential work-related skills, techniques and knowledge. Importantly however, the most effective way to develop people is quite different from conventional skills training, which lets face it many employees regard quite negatively. Theyll do it of course, but they wont enjoy it much because its about work, not about themselves as people. The most effective way to develop people is instead to  enable learning and personal development, with all that this implies. So, after covering the basic work-related skills training,the focus should be on   enabling learning and development for people as individuals   which extends the range of development way outside traditional work skills and knowledge, and creates far more exciting, liberating, motivational opportunities for people and for employers. Rightly organisations are facing great pressure to change these days to facilitate and encourage whole-person development and fulfilment beyond traditional training. As with this website as a whole, this training guide is oriented chiefly around whats good for people, rather than chiefly whats profitable for organizations. The reason for this is that in terms of learning, training and development, whats good for people is good for the organizations in which they work. Whats good for peoples development is good for organizational performance, quality, customer satisfaction, effective management and control, and therefore profits too. This is central to a fairly balanced  Psychological Contract  in employment organizations. Profit is an  outcome  of managing and developing people well. People and their development enable profit. Enable people and you enable profit. Organizations which approach training and development from this standpoint inevitably foster people who perform well and progress, and, importantly, stay around for long enough to become great at what they do, and to help others become so. Training is a very commonly used word, but  learning  is in many ways a better way to think of the subject, because learning belongs to the learner, whereas training traditionally belongs to the trainer or the organization. Training should be about  whole person development   not just transferring skills, the traditional interpretation of training at work. Whatever your role and responsibility, you might not immediately be able to put great new emphasis on whole person development. Being realistic, corporate attitudes and expectations about what training is and does cannot be changed overnight, and most organisations still see training as being limited to work skills, classrooms and powerpoint presentations. However, when you start to imagine and think and talk about progressive attitudes to developing people beyond traditional skills training for example: enabling learning facilitating meaningful personal development helping people to identify and achieve their own personal potential then you will surely begin to help the organisation (and CEO) to see and accept these newer ideas about what types of learning and development really work best and produces class-leading organizations. Training is also available far beyond and outside the classroom.  More importantly, training or learning, to look at it from the trainees view is anything offering learning and developmental experience.  Training and learning development includes aspects such as: ethics and morality; attitude and behaviour; leadership and determination, as well as skills and knowledge. Development isnt restricted to training its anything that helps a person to grow, in ability, skills, confidence, tolerance, commitment, initiative, inter-personal skills, understanding, self-control, motivation and more. If you consider the attributes of really effective people, be they leaders, managers, operators, technicians; any role at all,  the important qualities which make good performers special are likely to be attitudinal. Skills and knowledge, and the processes available to people, are no great advantage.  What makes people effective and valuable to any organization is their attitude. Attitude includes qualities that require different training and learning methods. Attitude stems from a persons mind-set, belief system, emotional maturity, self-confidence, and experience. These are the greatest training and development challenges faced, and there are better ways of achieving this sort of change and development than putting people in a classroom, or indeed by delivering most sorts of conventional business or skills training, which people see as a chore. This is why training and learning must extend far beyond conventional classroom training courses. Be creative, innovative, and open-minded, and you will discover learning in virtually every new experience, whether for yourself, your team, or your organization. If you want to make a difference, think about what really helps people to change. All supervisors and managers should enable and provide training and development for their people training develops people, it improves performance, raises morale; training and developing people increases the health and effectiveness of the organization, and the productivity of the business. The leaders ethics and behaviour set the standard for their peoples, which determines how productively they use their skills and knowledge. Training is nothing without the motivation to apply it effectively. A strong capability to plan and manage skills training, the acquisition of knowledge, and the development of motivation and attitude, largely determines how well people perform in their jobs. Training and also  enabling learning and personal development   is essential for the organisation. It helps improve quality, customer satisfaction, productivity, morale, management succession, business development and profitability. Use these tools and processes to ensure that essential work-related skills, techniques, and knowledge are trained, but remember after this to concentrate most of your training efforts and resources on  enabling and facilitating meaningful learning and personal development for people. There is no reason to stop at work-related training. Go further to help people grow and develop as people. Induction Training is especially important for new starters. Good induction training ensures new starters are retained, and then settled in quickly and happily to a productive role. Induction training is more than skills training. Its about the basics that seasoned employees all take for granted: what the shifts are; where the notice-board is; whats the routine for holidays, sickness; wheres the canteen; whats the dress code; where the toilets are. New employees also need to understand the organisations mission, goals and philosophy; personnel practices, health and safety rules, and of course the job theyre required to do, with clear methods, timescales and expectations. Managers must ensure induction training is properly planned an induction training plan must be issued to each new employee, so they and everyone else involved can see whats happening and that everything is included. These induction training principles are necessarily focused on the essential skills and knowledge for a new starter to settle in and to begin to do their job.. An organisation needs to assess its peoples skills training needs by a variety of methods and then structure the way that the training and development is to be delivered, and managers and supervisors play a key role in helping this process. Peoples personal strengths and capabilities   and aims and desires and special talents (current and dormant)   also need to be assessed, so as to understand, and help the person understand, that the opportunities for their development and achievement in the organisation are not limited by the job role, or the skill-set that the organisation inevitably defines for the person. As early as possible, let people know that their job role does not define their potential as a person within or outside the organisation, and, subject to organisational policy, look to develop each person in a meaningful relevant way that they will enjoy and seek, as an individual, beyond the job role, and beyond work requirements. If possible top-up this sort of development through the provision of mentoring and facilitative coaching (drawing out not putting in), which is very effective in producing excellent people. Mentoring and proper coaching should be used alongside formal structured training anyway, but this type of support can also greatly assist whole-person development, especially where the mentor or coach is seen as a role-model for the persons own particular aspirations. Its important that as a manager you understand yourself well before you coach, or train or mentor others: Are your own your own skills adequate? Do you need help or training in any important areas necessary to train, coach, mentor others? What is your own style? How do you you communicate? How do you approach tasks? What are your motives? These all affect the way you see and perform see the training, coaching or mentoring role, and the way that you see and relate to the person that your are coaching, or training, or mentoring. Your aim is to help the other person learn and develop not to create another version of yourself. When you understand yourself, you understand how you will be perceived, how best to communicate, and how best to help others grow and learn and develop. And its vital you understand the other persons style and personality too how they prefer to learn do they like to read and absorb a lot of detail, do they prefer to be shown, to experience themselves by trial and error? Knowing the other persons preferred learning style helps you deliver the training in the most relevant and helpful way. It helps you design activities and tasks that the other person will be more be more comfortable doing, which ensures a better result, quicker.   Many organizations face the challenge of developing greater confidence, initiative, solutions-finding, and problem-solving capabilities among their people. Organisations need staff at all levels to be more self-sufficient, resourceful, creative and autonomous. This behaviour enables staff can operate at higher strategic level, which makes their organizations more productive and competitive. Peoples efforts produce bigger results. Its what all organizations strive to achieve. However, while conventional skills training gives people new techniques and methods, it wont develop their maturity, belief, or courage, which is so essential for the development of managerial and strategic capabilities. Again, focus on developing  the person, not the skills. Try to see things from the persons (your peoples) point of view. Provide learning and experiences that theyd like for their own personal interest, development and fulfilment. Performance and capability are ultimately dependent on peoples attitude and emotional maturity. Help them to achieve what they want on a personal level, and this provides a platform for trust, emotional contracting with the organisation, and subsequent skills/process/knowledge development relevant to managing higher responsibilities, roles and teams. 2.Examining training in large municipalities: linking individual and organizational training needs. By Willow Jacobson Ellen V. Rubin Sally Coleman Selden    |   Ã‚  Public Personnel Management     Winter, 2002 Both practitioners and academics in the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors are increasingly focusing attention on organizational and  human resource  management  performance. An important component or predictor of government performance is  its  training  infrastructure. It helps organizations recruit and retain workers, as well as ensure that workers have the requisite skills and opportunities to perform in their current and future positions. Training is a direct means of developing individuals, and subsequently organizational capacity. This capacity, in turn, is linked to overall organizational performance. This article utilizes data collected as part of a national study of local, state, and national governmentthe Government Performance Project. Specifically, it focuses on training in the largest municipalities in the United States. First, this article briefly reviews the existing research on training, demonstrating the need for a holistic examination of training in the public sector. Second, using data from the Government Performance Project, it describes the nature of training in 33 of the 35 largest cities in the United States. Finally, drawing upon what was learned through survey questions and personal interviews with city officials, this article presents a training model that integrates employees, the organization, and the environmental context in which employees and the organization operate. A recurring discussion in the training literature relates to the categorization of trainingmanagement training, technical training, and skills of an aging workforceand the inclination on the part of scholars is to limit their research to a particular type of training. As responsibility for the delivery of public sector goods and services is passed down to local governments, understanding the opportunities and mechanisms for developing employees becomes increasingly more important. With this delegation of responsibility come expectations that local government employees will deliver an increasing range of services. The need to provide additional services corresponds to a need to train employees for the delivery of extended services. Furthermore, in an increasingly competitive job market, it is essential that governments explore training as both an opportunity to retain employees and as a means to attract and develop new employees. This article is designed to fill the gap of knowledge about training in local governments by examining and discussing training for all employees and managers. In addition, this article will look at the relationship between different measures related to training and the environment. Finally, based upon data collected and analyzed, we develop a framework that can be used to guide government planning and training analysis. The human  resource  management  survey instrument contained a series of multi-part, open-ended questions designed to yield information about a given citys training system. The survey instrument was designed and pretested in four states, four local governments, and four federal agencies in 1997. Based on this pilot study, the instrument was revised and streamlined to focus as directly as possible on the evaluation criteria for human resource management. After completing a survey of 50 states in 1998, the survey was revised. Training need identification:- Some cities track employees training records centrally, while others assign this responsibility to individual agencies in which employees work. Specifically, in 76.0 percent of cities, the central personnel department keeps records of individual employee training, and in 66.6 percent, individual departments keep records. Records kept by the central office were computerized more frequently (82.6 percent) than those kept at the department level (50.0 percent). Computerized records allow managers and policy makers easier access for planning and analysis. Having a training catalog on the Web can make it easier for employees to stay up-to-date with course offerings. Honolulu and Jacksonville are two cities that provide online training catalogs. Finally, cities may offer incentives to encourage training. Other incentives for obtaining training are the rewards employees receive for completion. The GPP identified five possible rewards for training: class certification, college credit, recognition by supervisor(s), meal (ceremony), and skill pay. Rewards for training can motivate employees to not only seek, but complete training. Despite their potential positive impact, the survey results show that less than a third of cities offer rewards for completing training  explored a series of bivariate relationships between training-related measures and environmental factors including unionization, workforce planning, and workforce age. Unionization and workforce planning are significantly associated with diversity of training opportunities and training capacity. Monetary encouragement is significantly associated with average workforce age; however, the nature of this relationship is negative.   While the data is useful in providing information about the array of courses offered and a broad sense of the training environment structure, it offers limited insights about the quality of course offerings or the extent to which training meets the strategic needs of the government. As a result, this article develops a framework that structures our understanding of training from both the individual employee perspective and the organizational perspective. The model clarifies how the organizations training structure represents two distinct components and how these components may be prioritized. Strategic Systems Training Model: An Integrated Approach The Strategic Systems Training Model (SSTM) is based on the premise presented by Abraham Maslows A Theory of Human Motivation (1943) in which he describes a hierarchy of needs: when a foundational need is met, a more complex need emerges that an individual strives to fulfill. It is the emerging tension that motivates employees. Maslows model is based on the assumption that all individuals have needs that underlie their motivational structure, and as a lower level need is fulfilled, that need no longer drives behavior. However, a new higher order need becomes the source for motivation. (22) Component 1: The Individual Employee Using Maslows model as a starting point, he argues that humans have individual motivational structures. We take a similar approach and argue that individuals have individual training structures. In Maslows model, individuals are motivated at the most basic level by physiological needs that include their basic survival needs. In the individuals training structure, the most basic level of need is training on minimal occupational skills needed for basic employment survival. Depending on the individual, this may be basic literacy training or basic computer training. As shown in Figure 1, as an individual moves up the hierarchy, his or her motivation becomes more refined and specific. Similarly, as public sector employees progress through the training hierarchy of needs, the training requested becomes more advanced and specialized. n Maslows model, individuals still need to fulfill lower-level needs as they progress up the hierarchy. The training model begins to deviate from Maslows model at this point. Basic training does not need to be continually re-taught as more advanced training is undertaken, but the basic skills gained through previous training do need to be maintained. An individuals training structure is the  blueprint  for the training the individual needs to build his or her capacity, based upon the foundation of skills and training the person has already received. Component 2: The Organization An organization, like an individual, has its own training structure based on its needs and the skills of its workforce. (23) The training structure for an organization is made up of its employees, who bring their own training structures. Employees fill the layers within an organization; the organization needs to be aware of an employees current level of need and train him or her accordingly. The organization must also consider how the different needs and skills of its employees fit within the overall needs and mission of the organization. An organization that works to train all employees at the most basic level can then shift resources to other areas of training the organization needs to prosper. Furthermore, an organization must reconcile the obligation of meeting the training needs of its individual employees with its responsibility to develop an organizational training structure that suits its overall needs. An organization with a strategic focus advances and develops through its acquisition of new human capital and the development and training of its current human capital. The diversity of employees training needs means that an organization has to carefully plan its training structure to train employees at the appropriate level according to both individual and programmatic needs, which requires a more holistic understanding of how employees fit into the largerorganizational  structure  and how that employee contributes to the accomplishment of the organizations mission. Matching employees to training levels actually results in the separation of the organizational training structure into two training sub-structures or components: one that focuses on training managers and the other that focuses on general training. These two components are then treated as separate but interactive pieces of the organizations training structure. They can be prioritized and developed differently. The priority that one component may receive over the other is often due to limited resources, training philosophy, or other contextual factors. In an ideal system, both compone nts receive attention. In reality, one part is often prioritized over another due to budget constraints and other limited resources. This prioritization often relates to greater philosophical and contextual factors (see Figure 2). For example, cities that believe in succession planning, or filling management positions with people that have worked their way up through government, are more likely to focus their attention on the bottom triangle, expecting employees who complete those  training  courses to later progress into management positions. Thus, they want to advance the individual within that individuals training structure because they will take those skills to their next positions. This type of city is likely to prioritize the general training component. Cities that place a priority on the manager training structure might feel that trained managers transfer information to employees, so general training is not as important. This notion implies that managers act as trainers for employees, and as a result, fewer formal courses may be offered to general employees. This could lead to a less-developed training program. The transfer of training through informal networks does not allow for formal record keeping of an employees progress, thus making it difficult for the organization to accurately plan organizational training that meets individuals needs. Another explanation for the focus on the manager component could be justified by cities that are undertaking massive change; the priority may be to familiarize managers with changes so they can help transition the organization. Research has demonstrated the significance of the environment on organizational structure and behavior These examples demonstrate this significance by presenting factors that are outside the organizations training structure, yet have a serious impact on how the training system operates. The influence of these contextual factors on the training system are included as important explanatory factors in this model. This model serves two purposes in the planning process. First, it allows planning for individual training needs, and second, it allows planning at the organizational level. This second purpose is multidimensional, including the individuals that make up the organization, the capacity they bring to the organization, and how this interacts with meeting the future goals of the organization Conclusion:- This article presented a picture of training in 33 city governments, as well as key relationships that help us to understand training capacity, both overall and in relation to some of its key components. Cities offer a range of courses to general employees, ranging from the most basic to more advanced skills. Interestingly, fewer cities offer basic training than a more specialized set of training courses Finally, this article provides a model that helps to conceptualize individual training structures an

Tamoxifen Undergoes Optimization Essay -- Medical Drug

Tamoxifen Undergoes Optimization Abstract Computer programs like GaussView and Gaussian 03W are some of the advanced tools that can be used by scientists to design and optimize new designed drug. Using the exact same tools as scientists today, I am going to take a known drug, Tamoxifen, and create few analogs similar to its structure. Before I can create some analogs in GaussView, I am going to study and examine the structure of Tamoxifen to understand the chemistry that involves in this structure. For example, the bonds between molecules and the interactions between the drug and estrogen receptor complex site. After I design an analog of Tamoxifen, I will then use the Gaussian 03W program to optimize the analog. As for the last step in determining if an analog is a good candidate for a new designed drug, I am going to use a special computer program called OpenEye Software to help me make that prediction. Introduction Breast Cancer is the most common type of cancer known among women in the US. It is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths. More than 180,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. In 2006, out of all of these women, 40,000 died. Although breast cancer mainly affects women, data shows that men can also be affected as well; each year more than 1,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer 3. This information shows that cancer can affect anyone regardless of an individual’s gender, ethnicity, etc. It is important that everyone knows about breast cancer and helps friends or family members with breast cancer to find way to diagnose it. In nowadays, scientists are learning more about cancer and are exploring new ways to prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat this deadly disease 1. .. ...c., 1997. 3. Corey, E. J., Barbara Czako, and Laszlo Kurti. Molecules and medicine. New Jersey: John Wiley &Sons, Inc., 2007. 4. Jordan, V., ed. Long-Term Tamoxifen Treatment for Breast Cancer. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994. 5. Oxford University Press. "Figure 18.44: Tamoxifen." Online Resource Centre. 29 Jul. 2008. tamoxifen.jpg>. 6. Wikipedia. "Tamoxifen." Wikipedia. 29 Jul. 2008. . 7. Wiseman, Helen. Tamoxifen-Molecular Basis of Use in Cancer Treatment and Prevention. England: John Wiley &Sons Ltd, 1994. 8. Nolte, RT. "Crystal structure of Estrogen Related Reecptor-3 (ERR-gamma) ligand binding domaind with tamoxifen analog GSK5182." Protein Data Bank. 29 Jul. 2008. .