Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

â€Å"Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost† Steph Johnson ENG 155 January 23rd, 2012 Professor Jan Ward Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost A long, white beard and curious eyes peering from underneath a largely pointed hat often leave an imprinted image in mind. A scholarly grin and archaic tobacco pipe complete the picture formed. The faint imagery of what a wizard is can only be complete when thinking of Gandalf the Grey. A magic staff and a knowledgeable mind are cause for the quest that Gandalf sets out on in the novel â€Å"The Hobbit† by J.R. R. Tolkien. He can overcome adversity and aid his fellowship of 14 unlikely creatures in their attempt to regain their long-lost home. Gandalf is a venerable wizard and exemplifies a mythological hero throughout his entire written history. Gandalf always seems to be in the right place at the right time with a sort of grace about him, as if always waiting for the perfect moment. His knowledge of Middle Earth is inexplicable; he rar ely misses a beat. Although he is not on a personal quest, he is quick to help those he sees fit.Several times over the fellowship found themselves in a sticky situation, and Gandalf appeared only just in time. Knowledge, a keen eye, the desire to do what is right, and also a grain of mystery are all characteristics residing in Gandalf the Grey. According to â€Å"Tolkien-Online† (2007), â€Å"Tolkien was likely heavily influenced by one of the tales found in the Elder Edda which tells of the Norse god Odin traveling the Earth in the guise of a bearded old man with a staff. Gandalf the Grey shares several similarities with the â€Å"Father God† known as Odin. For instance, he is seen as the overseer of the group. He unintentionally becomes a father figure within the fellowship. He is constantly keeping them out of the trouble they so easily find themselves in on their adventure. Gandalf finds himself in a difficult situation in â€Å"The Fellowship of the Rings† and essentially dies. However, he is simply reincarnated from â€Å"Gandalf the Grey† into a more powerful and poignant â€Å"Gandalf the White,† which is similar to Odin. Odin's ‘death' upon the tree is really more of a shamanic ritual descent to discover magic runes than an actual death† (Leeming, 1990, p. 162). Although there is physical death, it is not enough to keep these figures from life. Gandalf the Grey exemplifies a mythological hero in the sense that he defies the odds against him (which are a great deal) and overcomes the darkness attempting to pull him in. As a wizard, he is eccentric and hard-headed. He is a necessary character in the story of Middle Earth and without him, the chain of events written about by Tolkien would not have been possible.The purpose of Gandalf's quest in â€Å"The Hobbit† is to take back the Lonely Mountain from the devious dragon known as Smaug, and regain the home for Thorin and his kind once more. Gandalf knows what dismal troubles lie before them and feels a burglar is necessary to join the fellowship. With this information, he invites a hobbit with the name of Bilbo to join the quest, and ultimately shapes the stories that follow with one simple scene. Bilbo encounters a ring and hastily shoves it into his pocket.He thinks little of this and is eventually safely back within the fellowship. Gandalf is curious and aware of what Bilbo may have taken ownership of, but does not mention it for several years (and the following story). The fellowship is successful in defeating Smaug and the dwarves take their original place within the Lonely Mountain. Gandalf is a classic character with simple qualities; he is a strong-willed wizard with more knowledge, and cunning than meets the eye.His quest proves dangerous and he prevails by using several of the mythological characteristics he portrays. He attains striking similarities to the Norse god, Odin. â€Å"Tolkien himself acknowledged the sim ilarity in a 1946 letter, calling Gandalf an â€Å"Odinic wanderer† (Tolkien-Online, 2007). Gandalf is a venerable wizard and exemplifies a mythological hero throughout his entire written history. References Tolkien-Online. (2007). Retrieved from http://www. tolkien-online. com/gandalf. html Leeming, D. A. (1990). The world of myth. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

Ray Bradbury’s book The Illustrated Man Essay

Ray Bradbury’s book The Illustrated Man is a compilation of short stories that leads from one story to the next. Each story is a continuation of a new one; thereby producing a chronicle-like book. Specifically, there are two stories in the book that really made an impact on me, and they are namely The Veldt and The Rocket. The two short stories is a continuation of the other. Basically, the two stories revolve around their respective families and how they cope up with the struggles of every day living and trying to fulfill their domestic duties. The two stories are very different from one another in a sense that love for the family (and achieving it, for that matter) is told in a different angle. Bradbury shows that in the end, there are still many things in the world that cannot be simply bought.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Veldt, the protagonist is portrayed by George Hadley. George Hadley is a very wealthy man. He is the father of Wendy and Peter and a husband to Lydia. Mr. Hadley is a very wealthy man; he works very hard to give the wants and needs of his family. Because of his richness, he built an automatic house for his family. Their house is one of the most ultra-modern houses that anyone can imagine. Consequently, he built this house in hope that it will solve some of their house problems since Lydia, Wendy and Peter does not want to do their household duties. Because of such, Mr. Hadley mounted different mechanical devices and machineries in their house. Literally, everything in the house is automatic—from the doors, comfort rooms, closets—everything. They even have a machine that helps the kids tie their shoelaces and the house can clean on its own; and even, the house can automatically take care of the children. Moreover, he installed a special nursery for the children in which the surroundings can be change anytime using their imagination. In the long run, the children and even Lydia becomes too dependent on the house and on the mechanical devices and machineries that Mr. Hadley installed. When Mr. Hadley found out about this, he tried to shut down all the machines in their house. Eventually, his wife and children found out about it and they became livid and angry to Mr. Hadley and it even came to a point that they almost want to kill him. This scenario happened because all the children and even Mrs. Hadley realized that it (the automatic house) became more important more than anything in their family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It just goes to show that the Hadley family became more interesting in their house more than anything in the world. They did not even bother to think about the things that matter most in life like love, respect and trust. Admittedly, there are certain things in life that cannot be bought by all the riches in the world. No matter how rich Mr. Hadley is, still, he was not able to show his love for his family. His work demanded too much from him and that is why, to maintain the wants (more than the needs) of his family, he worked too hard to give then all they want. He thought that by giving them an automatic and ultra-modern house, he will be able to fill the gap in their relationships. But what he did not realize is that in the end, his family became more dependent and accustomed to their automatic house. This only implies that a big house or even the most expensive or the most modern gadgets in the world cannot level up to the love that a family have. In the story, Mr. Hadley had barely enough time to spend with his family (that is why his family enjoyed too much the house). He did not have any quality and meaningful time with them. When he found out that the house he built is enough for his family, it is only then that he realized that he is missing too much of a good thing in his life. He realized that his wife and children does not love him anymore and would rather choose to be in their special nursery than spend some time with him. Because of such, he was rewarded by â€Å"secrecy and disobedience† from his children (Bradbury).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, â€Å"The Rocket’ is so much unlike the situation of the Hadley family. The lead character in the short story is named Bodoni. Naturally, his family does not have the amenities and means that the Hadley’s can afford. Their living condition is also so much different from the Hadley’s yet he is able to please his family’s wants and moreover, their needs. His family’s ultimate dream is to visit the planet Mars. To satisfy this dream, he works very hard just to satisfy their daily needs and in the hopes that he can save enough money so that he can bring all his family to Mars someday. After six years of hard labor, he was ready to tell his family of what their dreams have become; and because of this, the entire family got excited but they only got disappointed when he told the truth that he was only able to make three thousand dollars—which is barely enough to take one member of the family to Mars. With this reality in sight, the family got sad and just decided that they now do not want to go to Mars. Instead, the family debated and in the end, Bodoni decided to just buy an old rocket. He fixed the rocket and explained to his family that even though the rocket cannot fly to Mars, they can always inside it and just use their imagination about travelling to Mars. With his brilliant, Bodoni became â€Å"the best father in the world.† (Bradbury)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a very big difference in the family lives of the Hadley’s and Bodoni’s. In the Hadley’s case, he decided to build an automatic house for his family because he is very rich and he does not have enough time for them. He thought that by giving them that house, he will be able to show his love for his family. He showered his family all the material things that his money can buy. In the long run, the actual circumstance became his worst nightmare. The house became undoubtedly became the replacement of his absence in the house. Additionally, the special nursery in which Mr. Hadley built for his children became the author’s symbolism of Mr. Hadley’s absence. The house and the room became his substitute for his affections. When he wanted to shut it down, the children became angry at him because they already view the house as everything they ever needed. The children thinks that it is enough for them and they do not need nay love from their mother, especially their father because the house provides everything for them. What they do not realize is the fact that their father loves them dearly and only has the best intentions for them. It just so happened that he is too busy working. When he realized that the house seemed more important for the children than him, he decided that he wanted his children back but it was too late, the children already hates him. This story only shows that no matter what or how many material things you give or shower to your love ones, love and quality time cannot be bought by such things. What is more important is the time that you will be able to spend with your family and how you will be able to show your love for them. Money is easy to earn but love takes forever. Meanwhile, it is the contrast for the family of Bodoni. Even though they are not as rich as the Hadley’s, Bodoni works very hard just to achieve a life-long family dream which is to travel to Mars. He works night and day so that all the family members can go outer space but unfortunately, after six years of hard labor, he was just able to earn to take only one family member to Mars. After which, they just decided to buy an old rocket. Their rationale for buying it is that, every one in the family can fit and enter the rocket anytime they want. They just have to use their imagination to take them to Mars. In this story, family love is expressed obviously and so dearly. Even though he barely made earnings form his job, Bodoni was able to spend some quality time with his family. Because of this, his family (including his wife and children) understands him and even considers his plan to abandon their dream—but in the end, they gained something more important than seeing Mars—that is, they were able to share the love they have for each other by sharing   the same activities and discussing matters that involve the family. In the part wherein they discussed and deliberated on whether to buy or not a rocket, it shows that family opinion matters in their household. This means that every voice in the family is considered and is important. Through this, they were able to express their love, respect and commitment for each other and the future of their family. They were one in achieving their gamily dream and indeed, they were able to achieve it in a very special way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These two stories is typical scenario in our society these days. Many parents work so hard just to secure the material needs of their family and their family. The consequence of this lifestyle is that, parents then spend less time with their children and so much quality hours are thrown away. Practically speaking, there are many parents who cannot attend their children’s recitals, etc. because they have emergency meetings in their office. Because of such, they become guilty to children and to make up for those absences, they give them all their material needs and wants. What they fail to see and accomplish is that more than any material thing that the world and money can give, deep in the hearts of their children is a heart that longs for a real and euphoric kind of love and happiness. Then, there are also the kind of family in which they lack everything the world can offer (just the basic necessities) but they are the ones who are the happiest in the world. For them, money, wants and desires are not their priorities because they know in their hearts that they a gift of something so priceless that not even the richest man in the world can buy. They have the purest form of love for each other. For this kind of family, they only survive on the basic needs and the hope and love that they have for each other. It is therefore important to cherish every single moment that opportunity gives us to spend time with our love ones for we may never know what the future holds for us. We must think of it as if it is the last hours that we will be able to spend with them. Work Cited: Bradbury, Ray. â€Å"The Veldt.† The Illustrated Man. William Morrow, 1997. Bradbury, Ray. â€Å"The Rocket.†Ã‚   The Illustrated Man. William Morrow, 1997.

Emotional Intelligence And The Creative Leader Education Essay

In furthering environments where creativeness thrive, stronger overall concerns will emerge. However, the manner in which a director of employees can acquire optimal creativeness from his work force is non ever clear. Harmonizing to Peiperl ( 2002, 106 ) , making squads of people inspired by the spirit of creativeness will heighten overall public presentation within a concern. This survey intends to happen the common elements of managerial/ leading manners that promote employee creativeness and invention in the work environment.Creativity and InventionIn many research surveies, the footings creativeness and invention are frequently used interchangeably, nevertheless, there are celebrated differences between the two. Mumford & A ; Gustafson ( 1988 ) contend that creativeness has to make with the production of novel and utile thoughts, and invention has to make with the production or acceptance of such utile thoughts every bit good as its execution ( Kanter, 1988 ; Van de Ven, 1986 ) . In any instance, organisations need both to be successful in the accomplishment of its ends. Robinson ( 2011 ) contends that in order to keep a competitory border, creativeness and invention are necessary to bring forth new thoughts for merchandises and services. To develop these indispensable properties, flexibleness and adaptability to alter must be developed by people in their instruction and preparation. Creative believing refers to how people come up with solutions to bing jobs ( Amabile, 1996, 1998 ) . It is the consequence of an person ‘s attempt to blend and fit existing, conventional thoughts together to make new attacks to work outing jobs. Such thought does non bring forth creativeness simply from an person ‘s rational attempts, but creativeness is an result of his accrued originative thought accomplishments and expertness based on his past experiences ( Amabile, 1998 ) . However, even if an person has adequate appropriate originative thought accomplishments and expertness, a high degree of creativeness will non be reached if he or she lacks the motive to mobilise attempts to utilize such capablenesss ( Jung, 2001 ) . A common phrase used mentioning to creativeness is ‘thinking outside the box † . Notar & A ; Padgett ( 2010 ) commented that really successful people ne'er appear to hold a â€Å" box † from which they ope rate. However, a box is something associated with something that confines one to a finite infinite. â€Å" Thinking outside the box † so means non believing in a finite infinite but opening the heads out to infinite infinite with eternal possibilities. Bernacki ( 2002 ) enumerates some properties related to â€Å" believing outside the box as holding a willingness to take new positions to daily work. It besides entails openness to make different things and to make things otherwise. Creative persons focus on the value of happening new thoughts and moving on them. They strive to make value in new ways. Although they already have great thoughts in head, they still enjoy listening to others due to their perennial hunt for better thoughts.Creative Cultures/Env ironmentsAmabile ( 1998 ) suggests that for leaders to further creativeness among their subsidiaries, they must set up an organisational environment wherein subordinates feel safe lending their thoughts and seeking out advanced attacks without fright of penalty for failure. Transformational leaders stimulate their followings to believe ‘out of the box ‘ by heightening productive and explorative thought ( Sosik et al. , 1998 ) . Such leaders push their followings to courageously believe about old jobs in new ways, to oppugn their ain values, traditions and beliefs, every bit good as the leader ‘s beliefs and premises ( Bass, 1985 ; Hater & A ; Bass, 1988 ) . Diehl & A ; Stroebe ( 1991 ) illustrate that when group members brainstorm to bring forth advanced and originative attacks to work out jobs at manus, their leader ‘s intellectually stimulating behaviours, statements and attitudes can ease members to pass more clip bring forthing unconventional thoughts eve ry bit good as assist them cut down the possible consequence of rating apprehensiveness, therefore heightening creativeness in groups. When faced with undertakings that require originative thought, squads may either work good together towards a solution or work better separately, depending on their originative thought manners. The sort of support the environment gives a individual besides reflects in the degree of creativeness he may develop. Torrance ( 1965, 1972 ) has found that a non-punitive schoolroom or work environment that focuses on the development and rating of apprehensions while fostering independent idea and geographic expedition tends to heighten thought coevals. This determination supports surveies of organisational clime and productiveness. Research indicates that a positive organisational clime that is supportive of originative attempts and encouraging of action tends to ease scientific productiveness. ( Taylor, 1963, 1972 ) . Pelz ( 1956 ) found that environments that encourage interaction, liberty and production of cognition led to originative accomplishment. On the other manus, environments characterized by misgiving, deficiency of communicating, limited liberty and equivocal ends inhibited scientific invention. ( Mumford & A ; Gustafson, 1988 ) Sternberg ( 2003 ) proposes several facets of interactions that might make or decrease the originative urge. Groups that compete against one another do much better than groups that compete within themselves. The squad construct is stronger than the endurance of the fittest construct of competition. As good, when an employee feels that he will be evaluated for his creativeness, the sum of invention appears to decrease. Many other surveies have been done on a scope of managerial actions that might act upon creativeness and invention in the workplace. Shalley & A ; Gilson ( 2004 ) pointed out the negative effects of close supervising and the value of support in their survey on social/ organisational influences on originative work. Reiter-Palmon and Illies ( 2003 ) focused on cognitive influences, observing the importance of managerial actions that increase information handiness and supply the clip needed to work through jobs. With respect to motivation and honoring originative work, different places surface. One is that extrinsic wagess such as wage inducements, publicities, acknowledgment, etc. diminish creativeness ( Collins & A ; Amabile, 1999 ) while another place holds that extrinsic wagess can heighten creativeness ( Eisenberg & A ; Cameron, 1996 ) . Baer et Al ( 2003 ) suggest that occupation complexness and people ‘s originative job work outing manner, specifically adaptation versus invention, interact in finding the effects of wagess. Therefore, a leader should be able to supply a scope of wagess but more on making conditions likely to further intrinsic motive. No affair how great a squad gets in footings of invention, originative civilizations maintain on oppugning things. They want to cognize how to make things even better and are low plenty to cognize that they are continuously turning and larning and ever in demand of feedback and new information ( Robinson, 2011 ) .Empowering LeadershipThe literature suggests that leaders have much to make in promoting creativeness in their employees. Mumford & A ; Licuanan ( 2004 ) have summarized conditions that shape the impact of leader behaviour on creativeness and invention. These include the creativeness of their followings ; work group processes guided by lucidity of aims, accent on quality, engagement and support for invention ; leader control of wagess ; occupation features such as occupation complexness and challenge ; and organisational clime and construction. Mumford, Connelly, & A ; Gaddis, ( 2003 ) place that leaders should possess significant proficient and professional expertness every bit good as significant originative thought accomplishments. These research workers argue that originative idea on the portion of leaders begin with rating of their followings ‘ thoughts. This rating stimulates brainstorming attempts of both leaders and followings where thought coevals becomes active. Followings ‘ thoughts are reshaped and reformed based on their leader ‘s expertness and professional experiences ( Mumford & A ; Licuanan, 2004 ) . Invention can merely be possible if imaginativeness and creativeness have been cultivated in an organisation, and this needs to be initiated by organisational leaders. Leaderships should foster a civilization where everyone ‘s thoughts are valued and keep a balance of freedom to experiment and an in agreement system of rating. By and large, they facilitate a harmonious relationship between the external and internal civilizations, with the external civilization consisting of â€Å" technological inventions, population alteration, new forms of trade, fluctuation in financial and pecuniary policies, planetary competition, the increasing strains on natural resources and the effects of all of these on how clients and clients are believing and experiencing † ( Robinson, 2011, p. 98 ) . Internal civilization involves societal behaviors and patterns accepted in the organisation which gives it its typical feel. It can be said that it is how things are normally done in the organis ation. The leader of the organisation has three chief functions in developing a civilization of creativeness viz. the personal, group and cultural functions. These functions feed into each other and may sometimes overlap in order to enrich creativeness ( Robinson, 2011 ) . Robinson ( 2011 ) explains that the leader needs to be able to ease the originative abilities of every member of the organisation. Admiting that each member has originative potency, the leader should let them to take part in some maps that entail sharing of their thoughts, as some of these may be really helpful to the organisation. It will besides do them experience valued because they are given the chance to do a worthy part to the organisation. Aside from being participative, members are besides encouraged to larn more accomplishments that would non merely profit the organisation but their ain egos. Creative leaders advocate womb-to-tomb acquisition and create chances for their members to continuously and systematically prosecute in it. Fostering inventive heads leads to innovation which finally comes back to the company ( Robinson, 2011 ) . Creative leaders do non hold prejudices against anyone and welcomes diverseness. They believe that each individual has something to take to the tabular array due to their diverse backgrounds. Hence, their openness attracts more people, irrespective of their background and skill degree, to fall in their originative squad. These people anticipate coaction with each other in order to come up with advanced schemes that will profit the organisation and convey it higher than its rivals. Creative leaders besides know that their squad members have assorted work penchants in order to unleash their creativeness and supply environments that encourage it. Leaderships should be cognizant of their followings ‘ preferable manner of processing of originative idea to be better able to pull off groups and incorporate the distinguishable processing manners that characterize the work of the many different people involved in real-world originative attempts ( Basaur, 2004 ) . This is why dynamism is consistent. Creative civilizations thrive on environments that are alive and free ( Robinson, 2011 ) . Jaussi and Dionne ( 2003 ) indicated that unconventional behaviour of leaders expressed through function mold, articulation of a originative mission and the constitution of a originative group individuality wholly contributed to employee creativeness. Zhou and George ( 2003 ) besides argue that by determining the emotional responses of followings to the jobs and challenges posed by originative undertakings, leaders stimulate their followings ‘ problem-solving and intrinsic motive needed for originative work. This suggests that leaders of originative people should non merely possess societal and emotional intelligence and an ability for rapid accommodation of affect and affect framing should it be required, but besides cognize how to excite their followings intellectually. This establishes the originative individuality of their group.Emotional Intelligence and the Creative LeaderZhou & A ; George ( 2003 ) propose that the root of creativity-supportive leading is emotional intell igence. They argue that leaders play a important function in rousing and furthering creativeness in organisational members both through their ain behaviours and actions and through making a work environment that supports and encourages creativeness. In peculiar, emotional intelligence enables leaders to rouse, promote, and support creativeness among employees in organisations. Leaderships high on emotional intelligence cognize how to utilize emotion to assist their employees jumpstart the cognitive procedures that underlie job designation and chance acknowledgment. Zhou and George ( 2003 ) illustrate that when persons are in positive tempers, their optimistic temperaments surface and they feel more confident in confronting new chances or go dismissive of jobs. However, when they are in negative tempers, they tend to be more pessimistic yet more readily able to observe errors and mistakes and place jobs ( Bower, 1981 ; Salovey & A ; Birnbaum, 1989 ) . Emotionally intelligent leaders use their cognition of these effects of tempers to rouse their employees ‘ creativeness through affect timing and affect balance. Positive tempers can be taken advantage of by holding followings think up of possible chances and have adequate optimism to visualize betterment and success. On the other manus, negative tempers can be exploited by imparting it in the way of job acknowledgment and originative job resolution, finally heightening the person ‘s ego regard with the recognition of his part alternatively of gradual backdown from the workplace. Even defeat of a worker due to a job-related job, can be utilized by emotionally intelligent leaders. Both can convulse out the issues and causes of such negative emotion and finally assist the employee to go cognizant of the job and follow a more proactive demeanour in creatively work outing it ( Zhou & A ; George, 2003 ) . Conflicts are bound to originate in groups particularly when garnering information for originative undertakings. Different personalities and backgrounds, degree of creativeness accomplishments and cognition may ensue in dissensions on the criterions and boundaries of information to seek. Leaderships with high emotional intelligence are able to pull off followings ‘ emotions, and aid followings achieve a productive balance. More specifically, leaders with high emotional intelligence can accurately feel when followings are losing forbearance or going frustrated with non being able to obtain necessary resources, and when followings become happy and satisfied with their advancement prematurely. Because a leader with high emotional intelligence understands the causes and effects of emotions, he is likely to place the ground why his followings experience both positive and negative tempers. His accurate perceptual experiences enable him to pull off and equilibrate the negative and pos itive emotions and successfully nudge the employee to prevail in garnering information and remaining on-task. Emotional intelligence will assist leaders in promoting their followings to be unfastened to new acquisition, and approach new undertakings with enthusiasm and optimism instead than with trepidation and apprehension. It may besides go on that followings can be excessively excited about new information that they remain in the information assemblage phase without any clear ends or attempts to utilize the information in originative enterprises. Leaderships high on emotional intelligence are able to pull off their followings ‘ tempers so they achieve a balance and concentrate alternatively of being carried off by their ain exuberance ( Zhou & A ; George, 2003 ) . Emotionally intelligent leaders are to the full cognizant that execution of originative thoughts may affect both positive and negative emotions throughout the procedure and employees may be on an 'emotional roller-coaster ‘ . These leaders provide their followings with the appropriate encouragement and flexibleness and a corporate sense of ownership. The demand to be flexible themselves should be addressed by leaders and they should be willing to abandon a program when a more superior and originative thought is born. In state of affairss when negative emotions associated with ownership issues in thought execution emerge, leaders should be able to pull off such emotions so that negative feelings will non adversely affect the thought execution procedure. Such leaders will hold the emotional know-how to steer their followings and themselves through this hard and ambitious procedure, all the piece being unfastened to the possibility of farther alterations and betterments and stress ing corporate ownership for ultimate results ( Zhou & A ; George, 2003 ) .

Research Method Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Research Method - Essay Example With improvements in computing technology, information stored in online databases are accessible from distant locations when there is connection between the sources. The method used is keyword and subject headings describe the content of every item in the database. The keyword searching is how you typically search web search engines.   Searching by subject headings is the most accurate way to search literature in the databases. It is not normally easy to presume which subject headings or keywords to use in a particular database. The process is as follows: Combine your keyword to yield results that matches what you are searching by using word such as AND or OR. You can also apply dates to filter search and the time span with which the articles was published. Specify the database that you are going search and use keyword that can be accessed easily via that database. This stage allows you to establish the credibility of your search by considering factors such as the geographical area it covers, credibility and whether it is up-to-date. Other factors to consider include language used and whether it is consistent with the prevailing situation. Using web-based  service by creating a database of references, which will help in recognizing the sources the next time you visit the database. Also, create a list of references (bibliography), save and other website services that can help you trace the

Marketing plan for assisted living facilty Research Paper

Marketing plan for assisted living facilty - Research Paper Example This can be accomplished through utilizing various expert marketing tips and consolidating present day tools that exploit todays innovation and assets to market the facilities. The Assisted Living Facility (ALF) will strive to provide these individuals with the up to date comprehensive services with regular supervision and assistance from a wide range of health care providers to ensure they enjoy proper health as well as to guarantee them their safety and well being. This marketing plan targets to improve the volume of admission of new clients as well as to avoid transfers for the current clients at the facility. Development in assisted living industry has been driven in expansive part by customer demand. Individuals who need help with performing ordinary tasks like bathing, taking their meals, or putting on their clothing prefer to acquire the services in settings that resemble homes and not institutions. The business sector for assisted living has advanced over the previous decade as facilities now serve a more handicapped occupant population with complex demand for services, conceivably inferring that helped living could be a more suitable nursing home option than it at first was (Marsden, 2005). The ASL will provide throughout the clock supervision and care for the clients. This will ensure that the clients are well served when there is need regardless of the time of the day. Clients will be provided assistance in eating, bathing, dressing and taking medication. The program of the facility will also include a health and exercise program (Yee-Melichar, Boyle & Flores, 2010). This will make the clients to be physically fit. Clients who will need to be transported to medical hospitals will be offered transportation services by the ASL facility. Assisted Living facilities continue to provide people with disability and elderly citizens with necessary services with full time

PESTEL REPORT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PESTEL REPORT - Essay Example Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environment and Legal issues greatly differ in respect to domestic as well as the global structure. PESTEL analysis provides an overview towards the different external factors that the business or organization has to take into consideration. The Political environment of the country highly contributes to the stability of the nation which is as vital aspect to consider regarding the business development. Political factors include intervention of government policies, labor laws, trade restrictions and tax policies. The Economic influences of a nation or the global environment provide a great impact on the business operation and decision making. These factors include the growth of the economy, inflation rate, exchange-rate, globalization, GDP and GNP growth. The Social and cultural aspects of a region contribute considerably to the products demand and business market. The social factors include population growth rate, career attitudes, age dist ribution safety measures, educational infrastructure and cultural taboos. Technological aspect of the business determines the production level and affects the cost and quality of the products. Technological factors include R&D activity, automation, rate of technological change, emergence of new technologies and impact of communication. Environmental issues directly or indirectly affect the business well-being in regard to its kind. Environmental factors include ecological and environmental aspects such as climatic change, weather. Also environmental awareness creates an impact towards the production of products either positively or negatively. Legal issues are widely taken into consideration when establishing a business in a particular region. Legal factors include consumer law, discrimination law, employment law, and health and safety law. Depending on these factors, a PESTEL analysis should provide a context for the business in relation to its external environment. After having a brief introduction about all these factors, let us take a deeper discussion on the effect and influence of economic factors in business growth and development. Influence of Economic factors on business: The economic environment of a country greatly influences the businesses and their market. Though economic factors are out of control for business, it shows a profound effect on the performance and marketing of the business products. It contributes to the product demand, cost structure, pricing strategies, profitability and various other issues within the concern. In addition, it provides a direct impact on the behavior of the consumer in buying the business products. In case of international business, it is a vital one to consider the economic environment of the region or country as it provides a prominent influence over the business growth and its products market. On the whole, â€Å"the strengthening of an economy will generally benefit industries, but the extent of its effect wil l vary according to which economic factors are most affected.† (Henry 2008). One of the major aspects that impact business and economy is the Gross Domestic Product rate (GDP). A constant and positive level GDP is essential to sustain a good business economy. A business GDP has to be on a constant check and appropriate measures have to be taken to maintain the same. Appropriate changes to the policies will

Organizational Analysis Paper on Railroads of Pittsburgh Term

Organizational Analysis on Railroads of Pittsburgh - Term Paper Example Corporate culture, in theory, is one of the most critical treadles that could boost or bust the progress of a business. Unfortunately, its real value is almost impossible to quantify. The Railroad of Pittsburgh is one of the many businesses whose success is largely measured by its net revenue and measuring the financial contribution of cultural values and beliefs is and was never an exact science. This difficulty is compounded as culture changes, influences come in, and new communication technology is demonstrating new forms and intensity of power to the point of forcing changes to the internal organizational communication processes. The challenge for Railroads, as in any organization, is to develop an organizational communication process that is stable and strong enough to protect the company’s internal and external cultural identity. All the while being adaptable enough to adjust with the evolving customer and employee needs that dictate the level of cultural diversity withi n and outside of the business. Railroad’s organizational communication set up largely follows Henry Fayol’s Theory of Classical Management. The communication culture is highly structured with each employee expected to produce outputs that are measured and defined and fuelled by nothing else but salaries and quantifiable benefits (Miller 20). There have been many studies that mention how difficult it is for traditional or old companies like Railroads to adjust and adapt to new communication trends or accept the changes that are slowly reshaping their employees. One of the fundamental reasons companies like Railroads is often struggling to keep traditional communication process is the threat new technologies and its corresponding constructs post to changing the corporate identity altogether. Miller mentioned this concept in the Pervasiveness of Power (p. 101). Miller showed 14 sources of power as identified by Morgan (p. 103) and on top position is formal authority follo wed by other factors present in Railroads such as control of resources, boundaries and control of technology. Railroads believe that traditional organizational set-up secure the company’s cultural identity. This organizational barrier was also explored by Ronald Arnett in Communication and Community: Implication of Martin Buber’s Dialogue. Arnett summarized this situation in the concept of Polarized Communication or the process of someone’s inability to bend or adjust their belief including their own concept of power and authority (p. 15). Perhaps Railroad’s apprehension to change comes from the nature of its business. It provides a basic need, one that does not, at least to the management’s opinion, require any stimulant to be purchased. Unlike other companies whose products are forced to evolve in order to keep up with competition, Railroad’s winning selling point is as natural as the geography of Pittsburgh. It feels no need to change or progress. That framework is carried within the organization. Managers feel no need to adapt any new form of internal communication. It is also a part of a bigger organization which is the government and it is assumed that any changes in identity and process is bound by a larger ideology. The result is a classic example of the Max Webber’s Bureaucratic Theory of Management as discussed by Miller (p. 23). It has exhaustive spheres of obligation and ultimate power is bestowed upon authorities. Statement of the Problem Arnett (p. 94) believes that companies who are able to adapt to the changes and still maintain their strong cultural identity often result to company growth in branding and revenue which makes studying the company’s strategy critical and government is not an exception. In fact, the fact that it is owned and backed by the government that makes it even more critical for Railroad to examine how its organizational communication is affecting productivity and inte rnal and external identity. It is largely financed by government

American Alcohol Prohibition Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

American Alcohol Prohibition - Thesis Example Crime, especially organized crime, was on the rise and many believed alcohol was at the root of many of these problems including the changing American family values. When Herbert Hoover introduced prohibition in 1919 he called it "the noble experiment", presenting it as a law that hoped to curb sin and poverty across America. In fact, the 18th Amendment was part of a wider reaction from white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPS) against social changes within the USA brought on by mass immigration and the growth in demand for African-American rights. Therefore despite claims of prohibition being a progressive reform, in fact, it symbolized a rejection of modernity. So, on January 17, 1920, the United States Government enacted the eighteenth amendment to the Constitution which â€Å"prohibited Americans from manufacturing, selling, or transporting alcoholic beverages.†1 This decision, also known as the Noble Experiment, would remain in effect just short of thirteen years regardless of intense opposition. The position of those in favor of this law was that it was the duty and responsibility of the government to protect all of its citizens. In spite of the controversial nature of this decision, this was not a new concept as Asbridge and Weerasinghe note that â€Å"Concerted national policy efforts around prohibition in the United States began in 1913 (facilitated by the Webb–Kenyon Act) followed, a few years later, with the enactment of the War Prohibition Act in 1918, banning the manufacture and sale of all beverages with more than 2.75% alcohol.†2 Various states had their own adoptions of state restrictions on alcohol particularly in areas where alcohol-related incidents were high. â€Å"For Chicago, alcohol’s link to organized crime was particularly troubling. Not until the election of Mayor William Dever in 1923, a man who believed firmly in the letter of the law and who enforced prohibition stalwartly, did a formal attack on bootleggin g and organized crime emerge; however, this led to intense territorial wars between organized crime gangs, including the famous Chicago Beer Wars that resulted in dozens of homicides.†3 The hope was that limiting alcohol could limit the crime as well as growing immorality and concern of compromising ethical values of the American people. However, this act received huge opposition as it decreased income for many but also created losses in sales tax revenue. The demand for alcohol only led to the illegal sales of alcohol and bootleggers soon emerged creating additional problems while the sales of alcohol continued in spite of the legality. This example alone should have provided evidence that limiting alcohol on a national scale would not be any more successful. Although consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of Prohibition, it subsequently increased. Alcohol became more dangerous to consume; crime increased and became "organized"; the court and prison systems were stretch ed to the breaking point, and corruption of public officials was rampant. No measurable gains were made in productivity or reduced absenteeism.

Bio's lap report Lab Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bio's lap - Lab Report Example During this time, 23 chromosomes from a man pair up with 23 chromosomes of a woman, resulting to 46 chromosomes. In the process of meiosis, each chromosome make an exact copy of itself keeping it attached at one point. They create an X-shape when they condense and get together, genes are exchanged. The cell divides twice each time, resulting to 23 egg/sperm cells. Male constantly produce egg at puberty while female start producing egg during fetal life (approximately 700 million). Every month, one of the woman’s ovaries select an immature egg to lavish, to feed by the hundreds of cells until it grows fat and get ready. It oozes out of the ovary, to the end of the fallopian tube, and to the uterus. Tentacles capture the egg and pull it inside due to the muscular contraction of the tube and the constant swaying of the cilia. This time, the egg is ready to be fertilized by a sperm but it will die within a few hours if not fertilized by a sperm. During sexual intercourse and excitement, sperm squeezed out of the storage and is swept out by glandular fluids such as prostate down to the 15-inch long tube and out through the penis. A teaspoon of fluid with 300 million sperm cells are immediately impaired because of the acidic vagina. Other barriers include the cervix passageway to uterus that is lock-shut or plug with mucus that keeps bacteria or sperm out and the protective barrier of the egg itself. But during ovulation, the mucus becomes watery, leaving a channel that can guide sperm through the uterus. It would take 2 days of swim for sperm to reach its goal but the propelling of the uterine muscles enable the sperm to reach the fallopian tube within 30 minutes. Only the sperm that can break the zona (thick protein coat of the egg) and can match the protein of the egg is the sperm that can fertilize the egg and fuse with the egg’s inner layer. The fertilized ovum needs to create a viable embryo by ordering the zona to lock-out other sperm and by

Service Product Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Service Product Marketing - Essay Example Greece does receive both tourists and business travellers who face such inconveniences. A Spa at the airport would be able to capture this segment through the right marketing approach. This would be a mass marketing approach through the right mix of the seven element of service marketing. It is strongly recommended that the tourism venture should be an airport spa in Greece and the promotion of this spa can be done through innovative strategies such as tie upasana with the airlines and tour operators. Local people can also be attracted to the day spa which would tale care of business during the lean tourist season. Tourism in the 20th century has grown as the world’s largest industry surpassing autos, steel, electronics, and agriculture (Sirgy & Su, 2000). It is undoubtedly a large source of foreign exchange, employment and income and has grown as the business of attracting visitors and catering to their needs The economy of a nation depends on the travel and tourism industry and this is further endorsed by the fact that post September 11, the industry lost $1.36 billion in business because of a dramatic drop in bookings for flights, hotel rooms, car rentals and cruise. However, tourism is a service sector and the success of any tourism product depends on the service delivery. The process of globalization and social changes has transformed the service economy (Lovelock, Wirtz & Chew, 2009). Innovation in the service products stimulated by technology allows the service provider to offer a wider choice to the consumers. In addition, the disposable income in the hands of the people has gone up while their lifestyles have changed as well. This report aims to explore the strategy for marketing day spas in Greece. Greece continues to have the image of the 1960s as ‘island-hopping backpackers and package tourists’ (Mjourney, 1998). To attract the upmarket clients it is very important for Greece

Work Effectively in the Community Sector Essay Example for Free

Work Effectively in the Community Sector Essay Task 1 – Research a sector of the Community Services Industry Task 2 – Reflect on professional practice Task Task 1 You need to choose a sector of the Australian Community Services Industry and research the current issues influencing service delivery in that sector and answer the questions below based on your research. A sector could include: ï‚ · Aged care ï‚ · Home and community care ï‚ · Disability services ï‚ · Alcohol and other drugs ï‚ · Family and domestic violence ï‚ · Mental Health ï‚ · Housing ï‚ · Community development ï‚ · Community work ï‚ · Youth work and juvenile justice ï‚ · Children’s services ï‚ · Child protection ï‚ · Employment services Questions Answer the following questions based on your research: 1. State the sector you have researched. 2. Identify the current needs of this sector’s target group. You need to demonstrate your research by providing facts and figures about this target group’s current issues. 2 LA015665 Assignment 2; CHCCS411C Ed3 Â © New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities 2013, Version 1, January 2013 3. Identify a Community Service organisation within this sector. You will need to contact the organisation by phone or visit them by appointment if you are unable to collect all the relevant information from your online research. 4. What are the roles and functions of this organisation? 5. What have been the organisation’s responses to the changing needs of this target group? 6. How does this organisation demonstrate a commitment to access and equity principles? 7. What strategies has the organisation implemented to improve work practices? Task 2Task 2 1. Identify two (2) strategies you could use to reflect on your skills in the workplace. 2. What is the purpose of reflecting on your own work practices? 3. Reflect on your current skills, knowledge, qualities or attributes in regards to working in the Community Services Industry and answer the following questions: a) Identify and discuss an area where you would like professional development. b) Find a training organisation that provides professional development in this area. Provide the name of the training organisation as well as the title of the course.

Romanticism in American Lit Essay Example for Free

Romanticism in American Lit Essay anRomanticism in American Literature brought us some of the worlds greatest writers ever to live. Writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau all wrote during the Romanticism period. Without them we would not have stories such Moby Dick, Resistance to Civil Government, The American Scholar, The Scarlet Letter, and Edgar Allan Poe’s most notorious works such as The Raven and Annabel lee. The Romanticism movement started in Europe and in the late 1820’s it worked its way into America. It was aimed as a rebellion against the enlightenment movement. It was also referred to as the American Renaissance because it was the rebirth of literary values lost previously in the enlightenment era and Puritanism era. American Romanticism was in a broad sense a new attitude toward nature, humanity, and society that espoused individualism and freedom. Characteristics of romanticism writing included the power of imagination, impulse towards reform, admiration for nature, and the fascination with death and the supernatural. Romanticism literature had two very different sides to it, one being optimistic and the other is pessimistic. On the optimistic side you had writers such as Walt Whitman, Margaret Fuller, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Pessimistic writers included Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Melville, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Edgar Allan Poe was a very dark romanticist and was also a very deeply pessimistic writer, but in a philosophical kind of way. He wrote poems, novels, and essays throughout his writing career, and he even developed the style of southern gothic writing. His poems often portray a character in despair and he explores the state of the mind a lot. Another trait of Poe is he uses a lot of symbolism and imagery for example his use of darkness and light in the poem â€Å"Annabel Lee†. Poe implies that the â€Å"kingdom by the sea† is a bright, cheerful place where the sun shines on two young lovers, the narrator and Annabel Lee. Ironically, in another realm of dazzling light–heaven–the highest order of angels, the Seraphim grow dark with envy of the young couple. Under cover of night, they send a cold wind that kills Annabel Lee: The wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee. But the narrator says he remains in a realm of light, for his soul and the soul of Annabel Lee are one. In the last couple lines, Poe emphasizes this point with light imagery: â€Å"For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams, Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes, Of the beautiful Annabel Lee† (679). Poe’s writing goes down in history for being some of the best literary works to ever come out of this period in American literature. Poe was a pessimistic writer on the other hand was Henry David Thoreau who was a very optimistic writer. One quote a found from Thoreau was just to â€Å"love your life†. In his essay â€Å"Resistance to Civil Government† he shows his rebellion in committing to governments values and ideas. Is very clearly stated at the beginning when Thoreau says â€Å"The Government is best which governs least† (829). Thoreau was a strong believer of take action for our own principles and to start thinking for ourselves and if you want change make it happen if you think it’s right. Ultimately he was jailed for his beliefs. Those including not believing for paying for stuff that didn’t benefit people and also for not supporting the Mexican American war, but Thoreau said to make changes sometimes good people have to go to jail. The romanticism period came to an end in the mid 1860’s, and In conclusion the romanticism period in America was a chance for writers to break out of the cookie cutter mold of previous era’s and a chance for writers to get their views and ideas out to the world through their literature. Romanticism writing can be broken up into eight different key ideas. Individualism is the idea that every person on earth knows God in their own way, and we will find truth for ourselves. Emerson and Melville often fall into the category of individualism. Organicism is the concept that society or the universe is comparable to a biological organism, as in development or organization, everything is connected. Unity and diversity stated that things are made up of many parts, but they all come together to make a one whole object. Dynamic change is the idea that the whole world brought us to this one moment yet the world is in a constant state of change. Imagination, originality, emotional, and finally nature.

Difference Between Strategic Hrm And Hrm Business Essay

Difference Between Strategic Hrm And Hrm Business Essay The aim of this assignment is to analyze the relationship between Strategic and Human resource management. It explores the developing role of HRM in providing a strategic dimension to an organization. This essay identifies a number of critical organizational behaviors in corporations that seek to inter-link its HRM practices with its strategy. Companys Strategies should be formulated by considering the human resource aspects and the human resources should be managed based on the companys strategies. In fact, the consequences of liberalizations, privatization and globalization viz., competition, Quality, low cost, high speed in delivery, customization and customer relationship, made the CEOs of Various companies to include the human resource aspects in the strategic management process and manage the human resources based on the companies strategies. As such, strategic human resource management gained its significance in the post liberalization period. Now, human resource manager, in most of the companies, is a member of strategic management team. (Ref P. Subba Rao book) Strategy (ref P. Subba Rao book) Increasing the sales of Suzuki by 1lakh motor cycles in 2012 is one of the objectives of the company. It can be attained by increasing the fuel efficiency, reducing the price of the through reducing the production costs or by improving the design etc. Increasing the fuel efficiency or reducing the costs are the strategies. Strategy, in simple terms, is a unified course of action to achieve the goal. Glueck defined the strategy as Unified, comprehensive and integrated plan designed to ensure that the basic objectives of the enterprise are achieved Henry Mintzberg views that strategy need not be the outcome of rational planning. With this view, Mintzberg defines strategy as, a pattern in a stream of decisions or actions The pattern of decisions or actions is aimed at achieving the goals and objectives of the company. Human resource management The function within an organization that focuses on recruitment, management and providing direction for the people is known as Human resource management. It also deals with issues related to people such as hiring, compensation, employee motivation, performance management, safety, wellness, training, benefits, administration, communication and organizational development. HRM manages the relationship between the management and the employees. Whatever definition we use for defining HRM, It is all about people in organizations. No wonder, in some MNCs (Multinationals) HR managers are called People managers. Nowadays, HR manager or People manager is no longer seen doing the activities or work described in the traditional way. In fact, most organizations have different teams dealing with payroll, retention and staffing etc. The HR manager is responsible for managing employee fulfillment and realization of management objectives. Difference between Strategic HRM and HRM Human resource management is a strategic approach to the management of employees. As explained earlier, it mainly deals with the recruitment, compensation etc. There are no specific rules for HRM whereas in Strategic HRM, there are specific rules specified for specialized fields. SHRM mainly focuses on programs with long term objectives. Unlike the traditional HRM, Strategic management uses many strategic methods and systematic tools for increasing employee motivation and productivity. The strategic HRM represents the latest shift that explains how the continuing training and development of employees can directly contribute to wider performance and function of the firm. (See Delery and shaw, 2001; Mathis and Jackson, 1999). Armstrong (2006a) explains the above notion in a brief summary by stating that: The Fundamental aim of strategic HRD is to enhance resource capability in accordance with the belief that the human capital of an organization is a major source of competitive advantag e. It is therefore about ensuring that the right quality people are available to meet present and future needs. This is achieved by producing a coherent and comprehensive framework for developing people. Whereas HRM realizes the important contribution employees make to the life of the corporation but does not make a direct impact to its performance. SHRD argues how an organization where employees realize new opportunities of growth and where they are able to utilize new potential represents an interrelated link with the working of the organization and its performance. SHRM argues that the role of the employees should be managed and aligned to the wider corporate objective of its management. Performance Appraisal Performance appraisal is a process of assessing the performance of an Employee compared to the standard/pre-determined level set by the organization according to its objectives. Performance appraisal indicates the level of desired performance by the employer, actual performance of the employee and the gap between these two. Performance appraisal is useful for deciding upon employee promotion, salary determination etc but recent developments in the human resources management indicate that performance appraisal is the basis for employee development. The basic objective of Performance appraisal is to take a measurable account of its employees with positive or negative performance so that the organization is able to have a better control over its operations and accordingly forecast work. Armstrong explains how Performance management reviews provide the inputs required to create personal or team development plans, and to many people performance management is essentially a development proc ess. Performance reviews can, however, produce data in the form of individual ratings, which may be used as the basis for performance-related pay decisions. Performance appraisal can be of benefit if it is exercised in a positive way, even though measuring of performance is a positive way in detecting strengths and weaknesses of an employee such kind of exercises can be perceived as intimidating by the employees leading to issues like demotivation and lack of enthusiasm at work. According to Wiese and Buckley (1998) some of the advantages of a performance appraisal system are that it facilitates organizational decisions such as rewards and recognitions, promotion/demotions, layoffs/recall and transfers. It may also assist managers in developing employees. It serves to assist individual employees decisions regarding career choices and the subsequent direction of individual time and effort. Additionally, performance appraisals may increase employee commitment and satisfaction due to improvements in organizational communication. The exercise of PA systems play a very important role in organizations that seeks to integrate HRM with its strat egy because of the belief that managing and assessing the performance of each employee has a direct relation with the performance of the corporation as a whole. It is a very essential process to understand and improve the employees performance through HRD (Human Resource development). The process of HRD helps the employees to develop technical, behavioral knowledge, skills and abilities, beliefs and attitudes necessary to perform and attain future goals. Performance appraisal is the basis for HRD. The question however arises what kind of performance will be appropriate to produce the required satisfaction amongst employees in order to get positive performance as well as point out areas of improvements when weaknesses are detected? Many authors support the argument across a wide spectrum that Performance appraisal systems, cannot in themselves, become a positive resource for improvement in the organization. Performance management system can be manipulated by the members of the organization. For example, the line manager can deliberately give low scores to an individual if the person has any personal grudges against him/her, to send a message to someone that they should consider leaving the organization to speed up termination. All of the above features indicate how people deploying the performance appraisal can use it in a number of ways and according to their interests. Self-Managed Teams and High Performance work practices. Self-Managed Teams are believed to contribute to an increase of input and efficiency and it has become a popular way of organizing an employees working environment. It said that by being self-managed, employees get a greater sense of responsibility which leads to a more innovative decision making and greater performance. In using the work by Sirking (1993) Elmuti (1997) argues that Self-Managed Teams programmes can produce greater satisfaction, reduced costs, faster and better decision making, improved pricing, and increased market share. Elmuti (1997) makes the distinction between two most popular approaches to self managed teams, namely a) work teams and b) problem solving teams. Elmuti (1997) argues that A problem-solving team is similar to a taskforce in that it is formed for temporary purposes. While problem solving teams are temporary, work teams, which are used by two-thirds of US companies, tend to be permanent. Rather than attack specific problems, a work team does day to day work activities In addition to the above, the study of self-management has been an issue because of lack of appreciation from the management for the employees contribution and decision making. The question remains of whether the hard work and commitment of the employee is evaluated and recognized by the organization. From the above discussion, we understand that the use of Self-Managed teams can be a win-win situation, when the individual contribution to the organization is being recognized by exercising proper evaluation process. It can also be a loss-win situation for the employees when they do not get any profit from their innovative ideas which help the organization. At the same time, it can also be loss-win situation for the organization when the employees do not take advantage of their independence and become unproductive for the organization. High Performance work practices. The study of SHRM focuses on high performance work practices (HPWP) because it can lead to higher level of performance when implemented. De Waal (2007) argues that high performance organizations (HPO) share some certain characteristics like strong financial results, satisfied customers and employees, high levels of individual initiative, productivity and innovation, aligned performance measurement and reward systems, and strong leadership. There is not much difference between HPWP and HRM, In fact HPWP aims at strengthening specific set of relationship within HRM practices. Huselid argues that certain criteria must exist if human resources are to be a source of competitive advantage: first, the individual performance significantly affects the organizations productivity; second, that the skills must be rare, and finally that the human capital is difficult to imitate. Performance Management (PM), Learning and Change Management. Performance Management system is the associated with measuring the employees performance against the criteria introduced by the management or from the discussion with the employee. Organizations operating in the service sector (e.g. Call Centre) often want to measure whether the employee initiated proper contact with the customer, whether all questions asked by the customer was answered in a professional manner resembling the values and principles of the organization. Authors argue that PM should not only point out the different targets to be met by the employee but also provide the necessary learning structures so employees are able to develop the right competencies to meet them. Kirkpatrick, (2006) also argues that In an extensive study on performance reviews, researches at general electric came to the following conclusion: Implicit in performance appraisal programs are now structured and include two distinct objectives: 1) letting a person know where he or she stands via ratings a nd salary actions, and 2) Motivating him or her to improve The learning or change management is about introducing employees to new or different knowledge areas that needs to be developed in order for them to meet their targets. Armstrong (2006b) rightly argues how: Discussions takes place on ways in which the individuals role could be developed so that it becomes more challenging from the view point not only of new tasks to be accomplished but also need to acquire or extend knowledge and skills to carry out those tasks. A-One Bakery A-One bakery is one of the leading bakeries in the Indian Market. They have approx 800shops nationwide; it has been maintaining a reputation for freshness and quality for years now and because of this A-One has won a trust of many customers, overtime. Rolls, Samosas, pastries, Cake, doughnuts and soft drinks are some of the products it deals with. There are many small shops and malls where A-One supplies its freshly made products hence due to the difficult logistics demand, employees play a critical role in the large selling and manufacturing targets. In order to achieve customer satisfaction one of the important activities of A-One is that it keeps a personal interaction with the customers at the time of selling despite the fact of distribution of products from the central bakery around the country. By examining the companys published information and report. It is clear that A-Ones envisaged expansion is achieved by not positioning the role of its employees at a strategic level. The companys function which is not perceived as critical is supported by the role of employees. The image of the corporation is improved by the involvement of the employees within the wider community. In addition to that, little information is provided by the company about the competencies and skills that might be needed by the employees in order for them to apply it in different depts. Reference is made to different sections such as: Marketing, purchasing, food/health and safety, finance, IT etc. Even though the above presentation of A-One bakeries treatment of its employees might not reflect the working of its staff environment, it is clear that the strategic importance on its people is not placed by the company. In contrast, the corporation emphasizes more on expansion of its products, marketing practices, opening or more stores worldwide and use of more robust advertising. The company would have positioned the areas of employee development, learning and training as more central to its growth. Creating a more strategic HRM focus. After examining a number of key areas constituting important strategic approach to HRM, It can be argued that A-One bakeries is able to incorporate some of the traditional practices in order to provide a more strategic edge to its recruitment and retention of employees. For identifying the areas of improvement and strengths, there can be a performance appraisal system introduced. More explicit areas of improvement within its HRM can be identified by the company that would be supplemented with the strategy to be committed in addressing the identified needs. Similar to the marketing and advertisements, a specific budget should be introduced for training and development of employees. There is absence of different forms of empowerment and involvement even though distinction is made by the company in regards to the working environment. Instead of following the traditional way of HRM, they could be rewarding the innovative role of its staff and how they have contributed towards the company s growth and current achievements. Despite of the recruitment of large number of employees, it can be surprising to know that the presentation of the targets by the company is loosely defined. A-One bakery might be serious about its performance targets and growth but they should communicate this clearly and explicitly to the current and future employees. Conclusion. The aim of this assignment has been to analyze how an organization can achieve a connection a between its strategic and human resource management. This Essay argued that the changing role of HRM is an indication of the development of Strategic HRM as compromising a much more critical role than it did in the past. This essay identified four areas which are critical for developing a strategic approach to HRM and also provided a literature review on them. All of the above practices aim at providing a more explicitly measured as well as managed role and performance of the employees. The improvement of the corporation as a whole is believed to be a result of training and development of the employees. By examining the case of A-One bakery, this essay identifies how an organization does currently possess a strategic focus on its HRM practices. The employees are seemed to be treated as functional role providers translating into the manufacturing and selling practices. In order to develop a s trategic focus to its HRM functions, A-One needs to be more committed towards training and development as it is an important perquisite to its wider corporate performance.

Comparing Pride in A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People and

Pride in A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People and Revelation    Pride is a very relevant issue in almost everyone's lives. Only when a person is forced to face his pride can he begin to overcome it. Through the similar themes of her short stories, Flannery O'Connor attempts to make her characters realize their pride and overcome it. In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the grandmother is a typical Southern lady. This constant effort to present herself a Southern lady is where her pride is grounded. She criticizes the mother's traveling outfit, but she herself is wearing a prim and proper-and probably uncomfortable-outfit so that "anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady" (O'Connor, "A Good Man" 382). She recalls exactly how to find a certain plantation she used to visit, and the children convince their father to turn the car around. However, the grandmother realizes that the plantation is in another state but is too prideful to admit so. This pride follows her to the point of grace when The Misfit forces her to see reality. According to Ellen Douglas, the "evil in human hearts, and the possibility of grace, the gift of love, are made terrifyingly and magnificently real" when the grandmother, at gunpoint, admits that The Misfit really is, in her standards, a good man at heart (381). He is better able to express his beliefs about religion, but she has no firm foundation. When he says, "She would [have] been a good woman, if there had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life," he is revealing the fact that her pride, instead of her faith, has carried her through life (O'Connor, "A Good Man" 392). She has merely acted out the life of a typical Southern lady of he... ...e. Grace allows this change to happen, but one must be willing to face hardships and difficulties because the road to redemption is narrow and rocky. Works Cited Douglas, Ellen. "O'Connor's 'A Good Man is Hard to Find.'" Contemporary Literature Criticism. Eds. Carolyn Riley and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1976. Vol. 6. 381. Edwards, Jr., Bruce L. "O'Connor's 'Good Country People.'" Masterplots II-Short Story Series.   Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasedena, CA: Salem P, 1986. Vol. 2. 901-902. O'Connor, Flannery. "Good Country People." Meyer 392-406. --------. "A Good Man is Hard to Find." Meyer 381-392. --------. "Revelation" Meyer 407-420. Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. --------. "O'Connor on Theme and Symbol" Meyer 423-424. Comparing Pride in A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People and Pride in A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People and Revelation    Pride is a very relevant issue in almost everyone's lives. Only when a person is forced to face his pride can he begin to overcome it. Through the similar themes of her short stories, Flannery O'Connor attempts to make her characters realize their pride and overcome it. In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the grandmother is a typical Southern lady. This constant effort to present herself a Southern lady is where her pride is grounded. She criticizes the mother's traveling outfit, but she herself is wearing a prim and proper-and probably uncomfortable-outfit so that "anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady" (O'Connor, "A Good Man" 382). She recalls exactly how to find a certain plantation she used to visit, and the children convince their father to turn the car around. However, the grandmother realizes that the plantation is in another state but is too prideful to admit so. This pride follows her to the point of grace when The Misfit forces her to see reality. According to Ellen Douglas, the "evil in human hearts, and the possibility of grace, the gift of love, are made terrifyingly and magnificently real" when the grandmother, at gunpoint, admits that The Misfit really is, in her standards, a good man at heart (381). He is better able to express his beliefs about religion, but she has no firm foundation. When he says, "She would [have] been a good woman, if there had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life," he is revealing the fact that her pride, instead of her faith, has carried her through life (O'Connor, "A Good Man" 392). She has merely acted out the life of a typical Southern lady of he... ...e. Grace allows this change to happen, but one must be willing to face hardships and difficulties because the road to redemption is narrow and rocky. Works Cited Douglas, Ellen. "O'Connor's 'A Good Man is Hard to Find.'" Contemporary Literature Criticism. Eds. Carolyn Riley and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1976. Vol. 6. 381. Edwards, Jr., Bruce L. "O'Connor's 'Good Country People.'" Masterplots II-Short Story Series.   Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasedena, CA: Salem P, 1986. Vol. 2. 901-902. O'Connor, Flannery. "Good Country People." Meyer 392-406. --------. "A Good Man is Hard to Find." Meyer 381-392. --------. "Revelation" Meyer 407-420. Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. --------. "O'Connor on Theme and Symbol" Meyer 423-424.

Definition Essay - The Meaning of Private -- Definition Essays

Definition Essay - The Meaning of Private Freedom and confinement, contradictory as they seem, are both integrated into the description of what it means to be private.   The meaning of private is even further dual in nature when interpreted personally or in community contexts.   On a smaller scale, individual people classify private as an expected amenity, intended to be a confined to oneself.   On the other hand, communities perceive private as the quality of being independent or free from any public organization or institution.   In reference to dictionary definition, there is a dual understanding and common usage of the word private, each derived from the context in which it is used, either individual or communal. The individual perspective derives the meaning of private from the feeling of confidentiality, expected to be reserved for personal or familial possession.   Common usage associates the word â€Å"secret† with private, as a synonym to its’ meaning. Students living in Campbell Hall on campus at MSU claim that privacy, the state of being private, â€Å"isn’t talked about, concea... Definition Essay - The Meaning of Private -- Definition Essays Definition Essay - The Meaning of Private Freedom and confinement, contradictory as they seem, are both integrated into the description of what it means to be private.   The meaning of private is even further dual in nature when interpreted personally or in community contexts.   On a smaller scale, individual people classify private as an expected amenity, intended to be a confined to oneself.   On the other hand, communities perceive private as the quality of being independent or free from any public organization or institution.   In reference to dictionary definition, there is a dual understanding and common usage of the word private, each derived from the context in which it is used, either individual or communal. The individual perspective derives the meaning of private from the feeling of confidentiality, expected to be reserved for personal or familial possession.   Common usage associates the word â€Å"secret† with private, as a synonym to its’ meaning. Students living in Campbell Hall on campus at MSU claim that privacy, the state of being private, â€Å"isn’t talked about, concea...

Reality and Illusion in Shakespeares Hamlet - The Deception of Appeara

Appearance versus Reality in Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hamlet is organized around various pairs of opposing forces. One of these forces is the difference between that what seems and that which actually is, in other words, appearance versus reality. What is, and what merely appears to be? We can discern two principal angles from which this question is approached in Hamlet. First, we have the angle of inward and outward emotions, and the profound distinction that is drawn between them. In other words, the tranquil face that we all show to the world is never the same as the turmoil of our souls. In Hamlet, Shakespeare explores this both explicitly, through the device of the play within the play, and implicitly, through the ways in which he uses the forms and conventions of theater to explore the aforementioned emotional dichotomy. There is also the dichotomy of knowledge that is essential to the Judeo-Christian religious tradition. God, in this tradition, is considered to be omniscient, and thus knows how all things actually are. Mere human beings, on the other hand, can only, as in Plato's allegory of the cave, know how things seem. They have only flawed knowledge. Over the course of Hamlet, we repeatedly perceive characters who focus on things that seem, as well as those who focus on what actually is. This dichotomy is fundamental to our understanding of the play.    Before launching into the body of this exposition, it is necessary that we define a few important terms. By "being", or that which "actually is", I mean those things that exist in the objective reality that might be perceived by some so-called omnipotent being. The flawed knowledge of non-omniscient humans - that which we see every day - is represented by the word "... ...for example, the death of Ophelia occurs offstage. Why? To shroud it in mystery. To keep that which seems - and that which the characters see - apart from the world of reality.    All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.   Shakespeare, As You Like It, 2.7.139-143    Works Cited Berkeley, George. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. 1710. Ed. Kenneth Winkler. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1982. Berman, Allison. "We Only Find Ourselves." Hamlet reaction papers. Wynnewood: FCS, 2000. Lugo, Michael. "Thus Conscience Does Make Cowards of Us All." Hamlet reaction papers. Wynnewood: FCS, 2000. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. 1600? Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: Signet Classic, 1998.

Extracts from Piggy’s Diary Essay

The naval officer told the ‘small savages’ that he had to look around the island but he would not be finished until just before sundown. Therefore, at sundown all the children were to meet at the Castle Rock. One of the larger savages wandered off on his own. He felt a mixture of feelings on the one hand he had been saved both from death and the island. However, he was going to be taken into larger war that has the same attitudes about civilization and power as the war on the island. Ralph found that he was wandering past the remains of burnt trees to the shelters. Sitting down against a tree he put his hand on a rock. Trying not to think about the events on the island he threw it absentmindedly into the sea. He was about to get up when he felt something else. As he drew it out he found it was an old exercise book. Opening it up on the first page he read, â€Å"Thomas Martin’s Diary.† Intrigued and not remembering a ‘Thomas Martin’ he opened it and began to read: 26th June 1957 What a day! We were still in the plane. But suddenly it gave a huge jolt I had my seat belt on but a lot of the boys fell out their seats. The plane started to loose altitude very quickly. We had been attacked by the Reds. Luckily a man with a microphone kept everybody in order and told us all to get into the escape pod. I thought I was going to have an asthma attack when the escape pod was falling down and I had to take my glasses off in case they fell off if the pod hit the ground hard. Ralph realized who was writing the diary. A wave of grief hit him as he thought how he had never known the name of his true wise friend Piggy. He felt the prickles of tears behind his eyes and a single tear made a made a clean trail through his dirt stained face. Picking up the book he carried on reading. When the pod hit the ground all the boys got out and ran madly into the forest I tried to stop them because I thought that the grown-ups would want to have a meeting. However, they ran off shouting so quickly they did not hear me. Although I began to run after them I couldn’t because of my asthma. The first boy I met was a little older then I but I still went to talk to him. Immediately he started saying â€Å"Perhaps there aren’t any grown ups anywhere†. He seemed to be pleased when we decided that he was probably right. Personally I did not feel pleased about this because grown-ups are important because they would have tea and discuss what to do and make rules and put everybody in order. I then realized that we would have to do all these things ourselves. First we would need a leader I had a feeling this boy would be a good leader. I know that I could never be a leader because I do not look the part. Therefore if he could be the leader it would be useful for me to make friends with him so that I could help him. So I asked his name but he was not very responsive when I was talking to him and he did not even ask for my name in return. Unlike me Ralph seemed to accept his new surroundings quite easily. I know that it will be hard for me on this island because of my asthma and I can not move or see the branches well. As Ralph was not being very responsive I decided to tell him a secret to hopefully help with our friendship. But I had poorly judged Ralph’s character because as soon as I had told him my dreaded nickname he started to laugh and run about shouting â€Å"Piggy, Piggy† before I could tell him my real name. I had a combination of feelings because even though I was pleased that Ralph had started to recognise me, I was worried that he might tell everyone. So I made it very clear to him that I did not want anyone to know this name. Although I thought that Ralph would be a good leader he did not think much because he just believed that his father would come to rescue him. He did not think of how his father would find him. That is why it is important that he has help from me if he going to be leader. If we think that we may stay here till we die then we are prepared for the worst and anything else is better. When I realized that we could be on the island for a long time it was obvious that we needed organisation. So we were very lucky when Ralph saw the conch. The conch is going to be very important on the island because it will help us organise things. I was so excited when we found it and very pleased because I knew what it was and how it worked. It was very important that Ralph himself blew the conch because he would establish himself as leader straight away. When the boys started coming to the call of the conch I started asking them their names because in a civilised society everybody knows each others name and it is good for organisation. Then the choir arrived. They were marching like the army and were lead by a red headed boy, Jack Merridew. Immediately he seemed unsatisfied and angry because Ralph was not the â€Å"man with a trumpet†. As soon as I saw him I thought that he was a cruel savage boy because even though it was very hot he made the choir stand and he did not let them sit down until one of them fainted because of the heat. I felt that I could not ask any names from the choir because or the atmosphere created by Jack Merridew. My suspicions about Jack were confirmed when he said to me â€Å"Shut up, Fatty† when I was telling him about the names that we had found. This shocked me there are not many people who as soon as they meet somebody insult them. But once again in my life I heard everybody laughing at me. Ralph immediately defended me but instead of helping me he made it worst by telling them my dreaded nickname even though I had asked him not to tell anybody. All the boys laughed at me louder this time. Why does this always happen to me I am never nasty to any one but still children always seem to leave me out and think that it is ok to laugh at me. After what seemed like hours the laughter died down and Ralph suggested that â€Å"we ought to have a chief to decide things†. With simple arrogance Jack stated that he should be chief. This boy’s character was getting worst and worst with every word he said. For a horrible moment I thought that Jack would become chief but then we decided to have a vote. Although Ralph won the vote there was still the problem that Jack had had some supporters therefore Ralph’s position of chief was not totally confirmed. However, as soon as Ralph was chief he made what I think will be a huge mistake. By giving Jack the choir that gives Ralph’s biggest opponent for leader power which could prove dangerous. Then Ralph decided who would search the island with him. He did not pick me so I asked him if I could go and he said â€Å"Your no good on a job like this†. This along with telling everybody my horrible nickname really hurt me. So I tried to tell him how much he’d hurt me. He did not even understand what I was talking about at first but when he did realize he was a bit nicer. But this confirms what I thought about Ralph; he does not think before he does something. A harsh bird cry distracted Ralph’s reading. He went through in his mind what he had just read. He knew that it was all true. It was uncanny how many things that Piggy had hinted could happen had come into reality. Piggy who was almost blind to his immediate surroundings had special understanding of the future which no other boy could see. Ralph looked up. It was getting near to sun down. If he did not start walking back soon he would be late. So he got up and walked still reading. 21st July 1957 I still can not believe that some of the children believe in the beast. There is absolutely no prove also it is impossible. Today seemed at first quite normal I was trying to talk to Ralph about making sundials but he started being sarcastic and told me to â€Å"Shut up.† Throughout my entire life including on the island kids have been like that to me but still I can not get used to it. The only thing that has changed is I no longer fight back I just let kids be horrible to me and I hope that they will get bored. As every day goes past I feel that I am becoming detached from everybody and like normal I’m ending up all on my own. Ralph was still trying to ignore me but suddenly he jumped up shouting â€Å"Smoke! Smoke!† I had no idea what he was talking about because I could not see any smoke. Then I realized that Ralph had seen a ship, but because of my poor sight I could not see it. I had no idea what was going on. When I finally saw the ship I could not see any of our smoke. Ralph again was clinging onto a childish hope that â€Å"they’ll see our smoke†. But he was being too optimistic. Hopping was not good enough. What we had to do was check the fire because We weren’t helping anything by just standing watching the ship. It took a long time for Ralph to realize this but when he did he ran off like usual without thinking. He did not think how he was going to re-light the fire if it was out. He should have thought that he would need my specs and I could not run after him because of my asthma. Ralph had already run along was before he thought about this. I had tried to run after him but there was no chance of me keeping up with him. As I ran up the hill my breathing became more and more difficult and I my asthma nearly started. When I finally reached the top I hear Ralph say â€Å"They let the bloody fire out†. Grown ups would not have let the fire they would have kept it going. We had been so close to being rescued and getting off this island before things really started to get bad. Now the chance has gone and we may not get another one for years. I had a good idea why there was nobody watching the fire, it had to be something to with him, Jack Merridew. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw a procession led by him coming up the hill. In the group I saw the twins who were supposed to be watching the fire. As the procession came closer I noticed how some of them looked almost inhuman with there painted faces and chanting â€Å"Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.† They had a dead pig and they were looking so pleased with themselves. Suddenly the thought that even now I could be on my way home to my auntie came over me and I almost burst into tears. Jack and his hunters had betrayed Ralph by abandoning the fire. Even though Ralph had carefully explained how keeping the fire going was the most important job on the island. As Jack approached I wondered how Ralph was going to deal with this. Without a doubt there would be a confrontation between them. Jack was talking wildly about how he had killed the pig. He could not contain his joy at the power he felt â€Å"when they closed in on the struggling pig†. Jumping around, re-enacting the killing he was totally lost in his own morbid world. Ralph said â€Å"You let the fire out† twice before started to stop talking. But when Ralph said to Jack in a savage voice â€Å"They might have seen us. We might have gone home.† Ralph had made the possibilities of the ship real to me and my anger reached peak. I could not contain myself any longer and I shouted at Jack â€Å"You and your blood Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home† But before I could finish Ralph interrupted me. I did not mind this because Ralph’s grief was equal to mine. He started giving Jack exactly what he needed a talking down. Ralph needed to assert his power as leader. But he seemed a bit lost for words. Jack started trying to make poor excuses like â€Å"The job was too much. We needed everyone.† My anger got the better of me again. I started shouting at him saying â€Å"You didn’t ought to let the fire out. You said you’d keep the smoke going.† As soon as I said this I heard other hunters agreeing with me. For a moment I was pleased as now some of Jack’s own supporters were turning against him. For the first time on the island I felt that I could stand up to Jack. This did not last very long. Seeing some of his hunters agreeing with me, of all people, drove Jack to violence. He hit me as hard as he could in my stomach. Through a haze of pain I heard Jack shouting â€Å"You would, would you? Fatty!† Then I felt his fist hit my head. By this time the pain was not a problem I was already in tears. But I felt my specs being thrown from my head. Nobody else understands that on an island without my specs I probably would not survive. So I was desperate to find my specs. In the end Simon gave them back to me. I always think that there is something different about Simon but I can not quite put my finger on it. From the first time I had seen Jack I thought that he was a cruel savage boy and this was shown by his violent reaction. Jack was not annoyed because he had stopped us being rescued but because some of his own supporters agreed that he had made an awful error. This made him look bad. So he lashed out attacking me because I am weaker than him. The whole situation was worst when I saw that one of the lenses was cracked. Apart from the glasses being broken this was the next worst thing. Now I only have only one eye. I had never been so angry, I was not thinking straight I just said and did what ever came into my head. But ever bit of anger was directed at him. I thought Jack was going to hit me again so I hid behind a rock. I was barely aware of what Jack was doing but I could hear the other kids laughing, at me. Yet again it showed to me how immature all the kids on the island are, if we were like grown ups Jake would not get them laughing with him but he would get told off. Jack then proceeded to apologise. But he specifically said â€Å"I’m sorry. About the fire, I mean.† He made it perfectly clear that he was not sorry about hitting me and breaking my specs. But by apologising I could see that most of the boys thought that Jack had done a grown up thing and forgave him instantly. I could not believe that he had in fact gained respect by stopping us being rescued then apologising for it. I could see Ralph was thinking the same things as me. Also I noticed how Ralph was becoming a better leader because again he needed to show Jack that he was the chief. He did this by standing in the place where was easier to build the fire forcing Jack to build it in a less convenient spot. Then Ralph came to take my specs. Normally I am very protective of my specs but I felt that I could trust him. I had never felt trust towards anyone except my auntie and for the first time I realized that Ralph was my friend. Jack started to cook the meat. I could tell that he wanted to show the power he had by not giving me any of it. I suppose Ralph and I should not have eaten the meat but just the smell made my mouth water. Jack was not going to give me any but Simon shared some with me. I felt a wave of gratitude towards him. He was definitely different from the other boys; he seemed to try to do the right the thing what ever the consequence. Jack was just about to get angry with Simon when Rodger started telling the story of how they killed the pig. Jack could not bear his story to be told by anybody but himself. So he interrupted Rodger and started telling the story of how he outwitted and possessed the power over a living creature. The hunters started dancing shouting â€Å"Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in.† Ralph and I stood outside the circle. I felt detached from the group again but at least Ralph was with me. Watching them dancing around the fire made them look more like savages with no rules or discipline. If Ralph loses this power struggle against Jack I think that it is possible that we could all become savages. Ralph tripped over a tree root. This broke his concentration and he looked at his surroundings. Such was his attention to the diary he had been walking without thinking where he was going. To his right were some charred sticks and he realized that this was where Jack’s camp fire had been but the sand by the water was smooth again with no traces of violence. The thoughts of that terrible night, that appalling murder, came flooding back to him. Trying to suppress the memory he began to think about what he had just read in Piggy’s diary. There had been many things that he had never understood about Piggy. He had felt guiltier as he had read on because he had never really thought that Piggy’s feelings were seriously hurt when other kids, including him, were horrible to him. Like all the boys he had just got used to being horrible to Piggy. He made sure he was heading in the right direction and carried on walking with his nose in the diary. 14th September 1957 I am worried about Ralph. He has taken the accident with Simon very badly and if he carries on thinking about it he could go mad. He must forget his conscience that is troubling him. The best way to deal with these things is not to think or talk about them. It was an unfortunate accident, Simon was batty anyway and he should not have been crawling around in the dark. Ralph and I were on the outside so we did not so we did not do anything wrong. Also it was not our fault all this has all happened because of him. If he had not kept reminding everyone about the beast and making another tribe the accident would have never happened. Anyway we cannot change the past so there is pointless destroying ourselves by thinking about it. I have tried throughout my time on the island to think what the grown ups would have done. But if the grown ups were here none of this would have happened. When I said to Ralph â€Å"You’re still chief† he laughed. I see that having the conch has a lot less meaning now Jack Merridew is chief of his own tribe. There are hardly any biguns left now, only Sam and Eric. Ralph would not listen to my reasoning about the accident but at least he did agree to tell Sam and Eric we had left early. By saying this it would avoid us having to discuss the accident. When we went to see Sam and Eric I felt strangely embarrassed in front of them. When we told them that we had left early I could see that by the way we all spoke, moved and kept repeating â€Å"we left early† that we had all witness the accident. I gave Ralph my specs to re-light the fire before he even asked for them. Now I definitely felt that I could trust him more than anyone. Ralph was still very preoccupied with thoughts of Simon and he started saying how Simon â€Å"said something about a dead man.† So I tried to get Ralph’s thought away from the accident to the fire. I’m not sure whether Ralph was still preoccupied with the accident or that the island was getting to him but when Sam said â€Å"what is the good?† meaning the fire Ralph seemed like he could not remember. I had to remind him. But now with only four of us it is going to be impossible to keep the fire lit all the time. So I gave the idea that â€Å"We can light it every morning† because nobody will see the smoke in the dark. With only Ralph, Sam and Eric to speak to I felt more confident in making suggestions because I was less lightly to get laughed at. But yet again I got the impression that I was the only person who really gave thought to the situation. As I was going to sleep Ralph for no real reason asked me if I was â€Å"all right?† It did not take much for him to ask but it made me feel that I was wanted and that Ralph was glad that I was with him. I was very content. But this did not last. Some noise woke me form my sleep. At first I thought that it was nothing. I just thought that I must have woken because after being on the island for a length of time I had tended to start out of sleep for the tiniest noise, like a hunted pig. I had a sudden desperate desire stronger than ever before to get off the island. I hated living in fear like an animal. I said to Ralph â€Å"We got to get out of this.† But Ralph sniggered at the thought of being rescued; it sounded like he had almost given up hope and my idea was stupid. We talked for a bit and Ralph had just stopped laughing at me and was going back to sleep when I heard what was definitely a footstep snapping a stick. With out thinking I said to Ralph â€Å"It’s come. It’s real.† I believed it was the beast and I had never been so terrified in all my life. I started breathing hard and then my throat seemed to be growing thinner and it was becoming so hard to breathe. I realised that my asthma was starting. I was right. It was the beast, Jack Merridew had come. I thought he had come for the conch. I could not see anything in the dark but I only cared about being able to breathe again. Kids kept tripping over me and fists were flying everywhere but I barely noticed as I was slowly suffocating. The only thing that really bothered me was when I realized that I had put my specs on the floor before I went to bed and they could well get trodden on. Even with my asthma I started looking for them with my hand because if I did survive and my specs were broken my life would hardly be worth living anyway. When the fight had finished Ralph was the first person to ask â€Å"How’s Piggy?† I felt that Ralph was worried about my safety. As the other boys were talking about how the fight had gone I continued searching for my specs. But when Ralph said that â€Å"They didn’t take the conch† their whole plan dawned on me. The beast had not been after the conch but my specs. I felt just as bad when I had my asthma. The thieving beast, Jack Merridew, had blinded me. Now it would always be night for me on the island. The beast had done the worst thing to me, apart from killing me. It did not care that I was now blind and my life would be misery. In fact it had never cared how I felt from the first time I met him. I tried to calm myself down and think. Grown ups would not have let this happen now we have to put it right, and go and talk to the savages like grown ups. Tomorrow I am going to face Jack Merridew. Ralph sat down on the sand and put his head in his hands. He knew that before he had read the diary he hardly knew anything about Thomas Martin. He definitely agreed that Piggy and he had grown very close on the island and he was pleased that Piggy had also felt the same. He felt so guilty because of how he had told everybody Piggy’s deadly nickname. For some reason he felt that everything would have been different for Piggy if he had just thought before he had spoken. Piggy had been the only boy on the island who had sense, who knew what should have been done but he was ignored. Piggy had endured all the names he had been called and the disrespect he had got from everyone. Everybody had just got used to being nasty to him. He had been the bravest boy on the island. Piggy, who has been the brunt of ridicule, who was physically weak, had shown his real strength by defending what he believed in and facing the beast, Jack Merridew. Two questions came into Ralph’s mind. â€Å"What was he going to with diary?† and â€Å"What would Piggy have wanted him to do with the diary?† Ralph remembered how Piggy had reacted after Simon’s death. â€Å"Look, Ralph. We got to forget this. We can’t do no good thinking about it† he had said. At that time Ralph had not understood but now he felt sure what Piggy would have wanted him to do. Picking up the diary he threw it as far as he could into the sea. He watched it stay afloat for a moment. Then become waterlogged and sink. The memories of the island were already fading.