Critiquing Internet Sources Essay

Today, the Internet provides an unprecedented amount of information by way of blogs, videos, and podcasts. Conduct a critique of one blog, one video, and one podcast, which provide information that addresses the topic of your Final Research Paper. Assess the authors’ use of bias, validity, and applicability of information. Examine the influence of web-based information on global citizenship and multicultural understanding. Then, compile a list of three factors you believe should be considered when evaluating Internet sources for use in researching information. The paper must be three to four pages in length (excluding the title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style. In addition to the three multimedia sources you are analyzing, support your points with at least two scholarly sources. One of the scholarly sources must be from the Ashford Online Library. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and on the reference page. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.

Eastern Religion Hinduism Essay

Hinduism:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hinduism has no single prophet nor one god to worship; rather they have many metaphors for the gods. Hinduism has no beginning, founder, no central authority, and no organization. Hindus believe in one supreme being who has unlimited forms. Some of the central beliefs of the Hindus is the idea of reincarnation, in which, is the doctrine of transmigration and rebirth the idea is universal in India. The other two beliefs are the spiritual goal and the caste system. The holy texts are the Veda, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Grita The practices of the Hindus are the Puja in which is the prayer in the home or in the temple but it is mostly in home since the religion is very much concern with everything around life. The ceremonial practices usually take in community centers. There are three important events in ones life according to the Hindus, birth, marriage and death. Buddhism:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Buddhism was born in the Kingdom of Sakyas, which is now the border between India and Nepal. Scholars disagree on the age of birth in which it is between 563 – 368 B.C.E. Some of the beliefs of Hindus and Buddhism interact such as the idea of reincarnation both agree with the idea of rebirth but Buddhism rejects the caste system and the Veda. Buddha means the â€Å"enlightened one† and it was a title given to the Siddhartha Gautama the founder of Buddhism. Buddha is accepted like the existence of Jesus Christ that it is accepted through faith and the disciples. It is said that Jesus might have used some of the Buddha ideas into his. The central beliefs are the four truths and the eightfold path. The teachings are in the Dhammapada, in English know as â€Å"words of doctrine†, â€Å"way of truth† or â€Å"the path of truth† The practices of Buddhism is a part of life including diet, the job, trade or profession, daily meditation and giving offerings at a shrine, temples, or monasteries. Confucianism:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The belief was started in China around the sixth or fifth century B.C.E by Confucius; a major part of the belief is it emphasis on learning and the source of values. The religion has two sets of books; the major five classics including I Ching, Shu Chang, Shih Ching, LiChi, and Ch’un-Ch’iu.. This religion is more of an ethical movement because it lacks sacraments and liturgy. There are four types of Confucianism schools and marriage and funeral could be done though other religious ministers or priests. Taoism:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The foundation of Taoism is attributed to Lao Tzu and his writings called the â€Å"Classic Way of Power† Taoism is based on the individual and tended to reject the organized society. The key concept is that of non-action or the natural course of things. It is a direct link to yin and yang. It also obtained many things from the Buddhist perspectives. The central beliefs they don’t have prayers because it beliefs in the natural things and that there is no god. They are compassionate people and is more about a philosophical movement instead of a religion.   The purpose of the rituals is the concern of having immortality and the purpose was to live longer. It is believed that elements of Shamanism, which it is more related. Taoism is based on energy.

Case Study Analysis Rough Draft

The Situation In early April the 15 candidates were hired to work for the Operations Supervisor by one of the new recruiters. At this time the recruiter had six months experience at this job and no previous recruitments done for the company. The recruiter was not working with another recruiter that had more experience at the time to help with this process. Once the 15 candidates where hired he scheduled a new hire orientation to be held on June 15th as to make sure the new hires would be ready for work in July. A little over a month after the 15 candidates were hired the Operations Supervisor contacted the recruiter about all the information, paperwork and other necessities that needed to be done such as drug test, physicals, etc†¦. The recruiter gave assurance to the Operations Supervisor that everything would be handled by the time the orientation would be held on June 15th. The recruiter waited until after Memorial Day to check the records for the new hires to see if their applications were complete and if they had done the mandatory drug screenings and most had not been done. The recruiter then checked for the paperwork that would need to be given to the new hires in around 20 days and there were only three manuals all of which were missing pages making none of them complete. Once this was all the seen the recruiter went on a walk to clear his head and then returned to the office. He went to check on the scheduling of the conference room where the new hire orientation is to be held since he saw that one of the employees from technology services was setting up computer terminals. The schedule showed that the conference room was booked for the whole month for training seminars on the new database implementation that was going to occur. The recruiter is not sure what to do at this point since everything appears to be going wrong and the new hires would not be able to have orientation on time nor will they be able to start by July. Analysis 1: Correcting the problem At this time the recruiter is not sure what to do in order to fix all the problems that have arisen since there is such little time left to the deadline he had set. The wisest decision would be to separate the problems and then take them on one at a time. As far as the conference room situation goes the recruiter can speak with the person that is going to be holding the seminars to see at what times they are to be held. If there are some gaps in between the seminars it can be seen if the scheduling of the orientation would be affected or not. Also if there is a particular day that the seminars would not be taking place the orientation can be rescheduled for that day. The new hires that have not completed all the necessary paperwork or drug tests would be the next point issue to handle. The files would need to be reviewed to see who is missing what paperwork or tests so that they can be contacted accordingly and be given a deadline to complete it all or they will not be hired. In doing this it allows for the follow to seem more personal since the records are being looked at individually and also puts a sense of urgency in the new hire to get it all done. This would also allow the recruiter to contact the new hires with the date of the orientation if it has changed or just to give a reminder of the date if it has not changed. The final problem of the orientation manuals not being complete is next problem to work on. From the three manuals that the recruiter does have he should review each to see what pages are missing from one and see if they are available in one of the others. If all three manuals together can make one complete manual then copies can be run off of all three accordingly to be pieced together to make one manual. Once there is one complete manual then other copies can be made. If the manuals cannot be pieced together to make one then the recruiter would need to contact his or her supervisor to see how to obtain new manuals and the time frame that it would take to get them in. This would allow him to see if the orientation would need to be rescheduled or not due to the time it will take to get manuals for all the new hires. From this point on continued follow up of all the new hires paperwork and drug tests would need to be done to make sure that they will be done before the orientation is held. Following up of the conference room schedule would also need to be done to make sure that there is nothing else newly scheduled that may have interference with the orientation. The final detail that would need to be followed up on is the status of the operations manuals being ready by the date of the orientation, such as checking with who is making them and if they are running behind or if everything is on schedule. Analysis II Proper Procedure There are many different aspects that would need to be revised in order to make sure that issues like this can be avoided in the future. Proper supervision of procedures is one the major aspects that would need to be looked at first. Since the recruiter was new and it was the first recruitment they had done another more experienced recruiter could have shadowed the process to make sure that everything is done correctly. Shadowing would allow for the new recruiter to put to the test their training and if there are points that are not done right it can be caught early. This makes for better teamwork as well as a confidence building situation for the new recruiter. During the hiring process the new hires should be given deadlines to have all of their applications and other necessary paperwork completed in order to continue processing them as a new hire. The same should also be done with the drug testing, rather than giving them till the orientation date they should have a date within 30 days to complete it so that if they don’t they can be given a little more time or there would still be ample time to hire a replacement if needed. With these deadlines in place it has the employees take the time needed to get the tasks done but also does not give them excess time to procrastinate on the getting them done. As far as the orientation paperwork situation goes the recruiter would need to check how many are available right after hiring the employees to make sure that there would be enough. With this being done early then the recruiter would be able to contact the Operations Supervisor with plenty of time to let them know that they are short on the manuals necessary for the orientation. Checking this also allows the recruiter to stay on top of ordering the manuals so that there will always be some in supply as and would only need to order more to replace the ones that are going to be used. Conclusion The best solution that was presents was from the second analysis. This solution sets the goals of the company to not only train their employees better but also to promote teamwork in order to increase accuracy in the way that jobs are done. With the shadowing being done the more experienced recruiter could have had the newer recruiter set up the deadlines for the new hires, as well as how, where and when to check on the paperwork that is needed for the orientation. The communication on how often to check the scheduling log for the conference rooms could have also been brought up. The better the training and teamwork the better the situation turns out. Case Study Analysis Rough Draft The Situation In early April the 15 candidates were hired to work for the Operations Supervisor by one of the new recruiters. At this time the recruiter had six months experience at this job and no previous recruitments done for the company. The recruiter was not working with another recruiter that had more experience at the time to help with this process. Once the 15 candidates where hired he scheduled a new hire orientation to be held on June 15th as to make sure the new hires would be ready for work in July. A little over a month after the 15 candidates were hired the Operations Supervisor contacted the recruiter about all the information, paperwork and other necessities that needed to be done such as drug test, physicals, etc†¦. The recruiter gave assurance to the Operations Supervisor that everything would be handled by the time the orientation would be held on June 15th. The recruiter waited until after Memorial Day to check the records for the new hires to see if their applications were complete and if they had done the mandatory drug screenings and most had not been done. The recruiter then checked for the paperwork that would need to be given to the new hires in around 20 days and there were only three manuals all of which were missing pages making none of them complete. Once this was all the seen the recruiter went on a walk to clear his head and then returned to the office. He went to check on the scheduling of the conference room where the new hire orientation is to be held since he saw that one of the employees from technology services was setting up computer terminals. The schedule showed that the conference room was booked for the whole month for training seminars on the new database implementation that was going to occur. The recruiter is not sure what to do at this point since everything appears to be going wrong and the new hires would not be able to have orientation on time nor will they be able to start by July. Analysis 1: Correcting the problem At this time the recruiter is not sure what to do in order to fix all the problems that have arisen since there is such little time left to the deadline he had set. The wisest decision would be to separate the problems and then take them on one at a time. As far as the conference room situation goes the recruiter can speak with the person that is going to be holding the seminars to see at what times they are to be held. If there are some gaps in between the seminars it can be seen if the scheduling of the orientation would be affected or not. Also if there is a particular day that the seminars would not be taking place the orientation can be rescheduled for that day. The new hires that have not completed all the necessary paperwork or drug tests would be the next point issue to handle. The files would need to be reviewed to see who is missing what paperwork or tests so that they can be contacted accordingly and be given a deadline to complete it all or they will not be hired. In doing this it allows for the follow to seem more personal since the records are being looked at individually and also puts a sense of urgency in the new hire to get it all done. This would also allow the recruiter to contact the new hires with the date of the orientation if it has changed or just to give a reminder of the date if it has not changed. The final problem of the orientation manuals not being complete is next problem to work on. From the three manuals that the recruiter does have he should review each to see what pages are missing from one and see if they are available in one of the others. If all three manuals together can make one complete manual then copies can be run off of all three accordingly to be pieced together to make one manual. Once there is one complete manual then other copies can be made. If the manuals cannot be pieced together to make one then the recruiter would need to contact his or her supervisor to see how to obtain new manuals and the time frame that it would take to get them in. This would allow him to see if the orientation would need to be rescheduled or not due to the time it will take to get manuals for all the new hires. From this point on continued follow up of all the new hires paperwork and drug tests would need to be done to make sure that they will be done before the orientation is held. Following up of the conference room schedule would also need to be done to make sure that there is nothing else newly scheduled that may have interference with the orientation. The final detail that would need to be followed up on is the status of the operations manuals being ready by the date of the orientation, such as checking with who is making them and if they are running behind or if everything is on schedule. Analysis II Proper Procedure There are many different aspects that would need to be revised in order to make sure that issues like this can be avoided in the future. Proper supervision of procedures is one the major aspects that would need to be looked at first. Since the recruiter was new and it was the first recruitment they had done another more experienced recruiter could have shadowed the process to make sure that everything is done correctly. Shadowing would allow for the new recruiter to put to the test their training and if there are points that are not done right it can be caught early. This makes for better teamwork as well as a confidence building situation for the new recruiter. During the hiring process the new hires should be given deadlines to have all of their applications and other necessary paperwork completed in order to continue processing them as a new hire. The same should also be done with the drug testing, rather than giving them till the orientation date they should have a date within 30 days to complete it so that if they don’t they can be given a little more time or there would still be ample time to hire a replacement if needed. With these deadlines in place it has the employees take the time needed to get the tasks done but also does not give them excess time to procrastinate on the getting them done. As far as the orientation paperwork situation goes the recruiter would need to check how many are available right after hiring the employees to make sure that there would be enough. With this being done early then the recruiter would be able to contact the Operations Supervisor with plenty of time to let them know that they are short on the manuals necessary for the orientation. Checking this also allows the recruiter to stay on top of ordering the manuals so that there will always be some in supply as and would only need to order more to replace the ones that are going to be used. Conclusion The best solution that was presents was from the second analysis. This solution sets the goals of the company to not only train their employees better but also to promote teamwork in order to increase accuracy in the way that jobs are done. With the shadowing being done the more experienced recruiter could have had the newer recruiter set up the deadlines for the new hires, as well as how, where and when to check on the paperwork that is needed for the orientation. The communication on how often to check the scheduling log for the conference rooms could have also been brought up. The better the training and teamwork the better the situation turns out.

My Library Card to the Rest of the World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

My Library Card to the Rest of the World - Essay Example It always seemed laborious and too time-consuming. Books were there only to decorate empty shelves and take up room in our lockers. This changed when on an ordinary Friday my fourth-grade teacher booked a trip to our local library. There I touched upon the tip of the world of books and learned the words above that have been embedded in my memory for this long. It was just like any other Friday, on a beautiful spring day. After lunch, the entire class was to gather all of their belongings and walk down to the local library with our teacher leading the way. Of course being kids and out in the open we joked and wrestled each other most of the way trying fruitlessly to stay clear of the teacher’s stern gaze. After a short 20 minute walk, we walked into the library, a small, brown and brick, single level building tucked away on a street corner surrounded by lots of trees. We were greeted by a gentle looking, elderly librarian. She ushered us all inside and led us to a quiet corner where we had to be seated on low, colorful benches and chairs designed for younger kids. Although we had to go down to our school library many times, it was the first time that I was actually sitting inside this one. It was serenely quiet with only a few other people scattered about here and there browsing through the shelves. Beautiful tall, green plants graced practically every corner, giving the library a more earthy and natural feel. The building itself was quite unimpressive but there was just something about that library that really struck me and pulled me inside. To this day I can’t pinpoint the exact thing. I guess it was a combination of many subtleties; the soft hum of the photocopy machine, the swish of the plants as stragglers brushed against them, the smell of old and new books mingled together on the tall, wooden shelves, and the yielding softness of the carpet beneath my dirty sneakers. The place held me down and rendered my brain quiet and peaceful. The librar ian after having seated our class, stood tall and graceful next to our teacher who was sitting awkwardly in the front on a small stool in hopes of keeping an eye on all of us. She proceeded to explain the basics of library conduct and the process of applying for a library card. We were all given small forms and instructed on how to fill them out properly. Pencils scratched the rough, wooden tables as we excitedly filled in our names and perfectly memorized phone numbers and addresses. It was the first time for all of us to be receiving our library cards. I felt strangely grown up being in possession of a small, laminated card with my name scribbled across its front. I pocketed it right away afraid to get any pencil marks on it already. The librarian along with our teacher started giving us a tour of the library. It was small but cozy with the check out desk dividing it right down the middle, separating the adult and the young kids' section. We were mostly led around our own section, with the librarian pointing every so often at a set of encyclopedia volumes, the new arrivals, or the newspaper collection.  Ã‚  

The Modern Sovereign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Modern Sovereign - Essay Example Political legitimacy depends not on how a government came to power, but only on whether it can effectively protect those who have consented to obey it; political obligation ends when protection ceases." (1) The word covenant also means agreement or an arrangement and in the modern age such as now, it is more practical to look at Hobbes's theory and on how it can be related to the way people live and or survive. The word "sovereignty" can also be connected to an old word which we also call "colonialism." Cheedy Jaja from the University of Florida explained this in her paper. She stated that Hobbes' colonialism also refer to the Sovereign as the one responsible for the protection of the people or groups included in the covenant (who also submitted themselves under the power of the sovereign for the purpose of protection) also has the responsibility for the distribution of materials that can sustain life. This distribution of materials to the people under his power may not be sufficient. According to Hobbes, (also explained by Jaja) this may lead again to a battle for goods or materials (possessions).

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 13

Strategic management - Essay Example British Airways is part of the International Airline Group (IAG) which is incorporated in Spain and has in its portfolio Iberian Airlines (Gray and Gray, 2011). British Airways however remains an entity that the British government has significant investments in and a strong influence within (Gray and Gray, 2011). The slogans of British Airways include â€Å"To Fly, To Serve† and â€Å"The World’s Favorite Airline; Upgrade to British Airways† (Gray and Gray, 2011). British Airways is positioned as a premium airline that targets the upper middle and the middle class members of societies (Barrett, 2010). They therefore offer premium services that targets young and old professionals, business executives and managers. These are operation are launched and conducted in richer and upmarket sections of societies around the world. The airline also seeks to target passengers who prefer comfort and reliable services (Barrett, 2010). They have corporate customers and seek to acquire premium service seekers who want a flying experience that includes a high degree of comfort and convenience. British Airways is therefore seen as a premium and executive airline brand. British Airways, being a premium entity has some strengths. This includes the fact that they have the backing of the British government. They have a strong brand and a major presence in different parts of the world. The link of the airline to Britain and the United Kingdom gives BA a strong history that is tied to the old British Empire (Vaughan, 2012). Due to this, the airline continues to flourish and gain roots around the world (Vaughan, 2012). With British Airways’ position in Heathrow Terminal 5 as an entrenched and inalienable possession, the airline has the capability of expanding and reaching different parts of the world. It also has the competency to go into the growing markets of the Asian Pacific

Signal transduction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Signal transduction - Essay Example romolecules such as glycogen, protein and triglycerides, and the uptake of nutrients like fatty acids, amino acids and glucose by liver, muscle and adipose tissue. Insulin starts its action by binding to a receptor on the outer surface membrane of the cell membrane of its many target cells. This triggers the activation of insulin receptor, which signals the target cells on the regulation of chemical mediators. There are two types of subunits in the insulin receptor - ÃŽ ±-subunit and the ÃŽ ²-subunit. The ÃŽ ±-subunit is where insulin binds, while the ÃŽ ²-subunit cross the membrane and jut into the cytosol. The ÃŽ ±-subunit activates the protein tyrosine kinase, which is associated with the ÃŽ ²-subunit. The ÃŽ ²-subunit subsequently phosphorylates tyrosine into a number of residues like Tyr-960 and to a number of enzymes found inside the cytosol. The phosphorylation of the tyrosine residues stimulates an interaction between the isoforms and receptor of the insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1). This substrate then recognizes and attaches to various signal transduction proteins in sections known as SH2 domains. Many of the physiological responses to insulin engage the IRS-1 through complex mechanisms involving intensive investigation. The action of adrenaline on liver cells and muscles was the first process to be used to describe the signal-transduction mechanism. Adrenaline is attached on receptor molecules in the cell membrane. It speeds the breakdown of glycogen in liver cells. Its molecules connect to the receptor molecules in the cell membrane. The guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G-protein) found in the membrane is activated by the formation of a hormone-receptor complex. The protein acts as a relay between an enzyme called adenyl cyclase and the hormone-receptor complex. The enzyme helps in catalyzing the conversation between ATP and cyclic adenine monophosphate(cAMP) in the liver cell. cAMP is a small molecule that acts as an intracellular mediator or a second

A literature review on Environmental Reporting Coursework

A literature review on Environmental Reporting - Coursework Example Basically, there are three types of environmental reporting that include involuntary disclosures, mandatory disclosure and voluntary disclosure (Porritt, 2005). Involuntary disclosure is whereby a company’s information about its environmental activities is disclosed without its consent and against its will. A good example of these kinds of disclosures is press and media exposes. Mandatory disclosure is whereby companies are required by law to disclose information concerning their environmental activities. Finally, voluntary disclosure is whereby a company voluntarily avails information concerning its environmental activities to the general public (Gray, 2000). There are two forms of voluntary disclosures including confidential and non-confidential disclosures. The former are the disclosures which are required by consumers, banks and insurers that are not available to the general public while the latter comprise of all environmental information a business organization voluntari ly avails to the general public. History of environmental reporting Even though voluntary disclosure of environment information by businesses has possibly existed as long as there have been companies, it is only in the last two decades we have seen significance in this direction. As more and more businesses become producers of informative environmental reports, so have the development embodied in the reporting continued to uphold an understanding of the relationships between the company, society and the environment (Gray, 2000). For almost 20 years of such voluntary initiatives have demonstrated clearly the possibilities of voluntary disclosure and appropriately attracted substantial admiration for those within the corporations who have initiated this progress (Patten, 2002). Organizational innovation has grown around the development of reporting and the effect of, for instance the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines among other approaches which ensured a helpful and inventive environment within which both emerging and existing environmental reporters can grow and develop (Porritt, 2005). Porritt (2005) observes that the substantial growth in this direction is not the whole story. This is because studies have not provided credible explanations of why companies would perform voluntarily such dangerous duty as environmental reporting (Porritt, 2005). More challenging than this, perhaps, is the rising recognition that if individuals know little about why companies report, they practically know comparatively little about why companies do report whereas majority do not. Probably that is why only few companies report either entirely or reliably. Stand-Alone Environmental Reporting Traditionally, much of formal environmental reporting and research is based on organization’s yearly report. Although disclosing some aspects of the organization’s environmental activities might appear in marketing, correspondences to work ers and so on the diversity and evenness of this reporting has only rarely attracted interest in the literature (Thompson and Bebbington, 2003). Even though the birth of stand-alone reporting is of importance in itself, the studies have not treated this shift as one that is basically different in form of yearly report disclosures. Stand-alone reporting can be regarded as an extension of the social and environmental

Topics in cultural studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Topics in cultural studies - Essay Example This was especially evident in the strong resistance that missionaries had to face, as well as the general attitude that greatly condemned adapting to the western religion or culture significantly. The reason for this might perhaps be that India and China were far more developed than Africa. They had stronger roots within their own society and they had a strong sense of identity and development, both cultural and otherwise. Africa on the other hand was relatively more primitive than these countries and there were also fewer people. Furthermore, Africa experienced a considerable amount of syncretism owing to the interconnections and interactions that arose during the slave trade movement (Curto & Soulodre-La France, 2005). That's why when the encountered western culture, they were far more ready to adopt it, and had far fewer reasons to resist it. India and China had their own cultures and religions and they had developed them over hundreds of years, and so they did not take to adapti ng to foreign cultures that easily. What legacies have the differences in types of encounters and degrees of cultural change left today? The effects of the different sort of reactions syncretism faced in Africa and China and India have left a significant impact on them even today. China and India are both highly integrated nations, because they have a strong sense of self-identity and a unique cultural integrity, on which they can build their basis of individuality and take their stand of independence on. Neither is easily influenced by outside factors, and each has a distinct sense of common identity among its people, giving rise to a sense of unity and oneness of thinking, evident in the harmony the people of each country have with each other. Africa on the other hand doesn't seem to have such a strong sense of self-identity and legacy. Although on a very small scale, various communities have managed to retain a unique cultural identity, by and large, African culture has adapted v arious elements of American syncretism particularly in terms of religious dominance. This is also true when viewed inversely, that is African syncretism in America, as African culture has also left a significant impact on American culture, but when viewing Africa itself, it seems fairly evident that Africa considerably lost its own unique sense of identity when undertaking American influence. Of course now that Africa is again regaining some sense of identity, this unique sense of culture also seems to be returning, with the Africans referring to their own ancient uniqueness more and more, but the religious dominance and syncretism is still evident and has left its on mark on African culture (Greenfield, Droogers & Droogers, 2001) by breaking the strong foundation that a region's cultural identity provides it, which can be observed in culturally strong nations such as India and China. Had syncretism not occurred in the Americas, how might modern culture be different? North America h as experienced more syncretism than perhaps any other prominent society of the modern day era. This is in terms of religion as well as culture syncretism. When colonists from all over the world arrived in America, they laid down their roots and foundations, each setting up

Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott Essay Example for Free

Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott Essay Take a moment and imagine a family of six traveling from city to city in order to survive, their only home, a car. Suddenly as their driving along a women speeds into them crashing, and wrecking their home. They are all then taken to a hospital, where the family discovers that the mother has progressive cancer in her lymph nodes. After this discovery, the father decides to skip town leaving his wife, three young children and elderly mother homeless. Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott is an exceptional novel. Endicott won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best book in Canada and the Caribbean for Good to a Fault. Why might you ask? Each character is so extraordinarily developed and so well described it feels as if you know them yourself. Their emotions, thoughts and actions are so personal that at the end of the novel Endicott has created a wonderful and realistic person. Their conflicts are so profound, that they are crippling to the characters that suffer under them. And a theme that so important that the book is named after it. Like most novels Good To A Fault has a variety characters with an array of personalities, thoughts and behaviors. What sets it aside from others, is the vivid characterization of not only the fundamental characters of the story, but even the characters that are only introduced once. The rotation of perspectives gives the novel a whole new view on each characters true personality and on the conflicts they face. As Mary Jo Murphy from the New York Times said, â€Å"it’s the quieter introspective dramas, provided by Endicott’s skillful rotation among the characters’ points of view, that hold your attention.† Each characters thoughts are described by the author in exact correspondence with their personalities. For example; Paul, who is a pastor, often indirectly makes allusions to faith. Like when he and Darwin are fixing up Claras basement Paul says, Today is a time for rejuvenation pg.153 or when he is speaking to Clara about her generosity towards the Gages he says You sacrificed yourself for others pg.329 Through this, Endicott solidifies Pauls personality, tying him to his religion. Making Paul a symbol of Christianity which brings into question the faith of many characters. Allowing the reader to experience the many sides of faith. Apart from that , appearance and reputation help to build complete characters. Take the protagonist Clara , Paul describes her as single, childless of course, took care with her appearance, fortyish, Christian, and not in good spirits for some time since her mothers death. pg.26. This information helps develop a rounded character. It isnt enough just to say that Clara is a nice person, so that is why she takes care of the Gage family. The author uses her faith, age and relationship status to give reason for her generous actions. It helps the reader gain a better understanding of Claras personality, and accordingly builds a relationship between the reader and the protagonist. Above all things what sets this book aside from any other is the conflicts. Unlike most books the conflict of this story introduces itself in the very first paragraph, â€Å"The other car came from nowhere, speeding through on the yellow, going so fast it was almost safely past when Claras car caught it.†pg. 7. Because of this you would think that there would be no rising action, no excitement and no great lesson for the protagonist to learn, but you would be wrong. This conflict originally appears as if it will have the most impact, but it does not. In fact it stems off into several other conflicts that characters struggle with individually, and as a group. For instance, Lorraines diagnosis with cancer. This leads to her husband, Clayton, struggling to find his family a safe home, which he fails to do on his own. This leaves him bitter because instead of him finding a solution through hard work, he is left to stay with the very women who put them in the situation, Clara. As he says when confronting Clara at the hospital, â€Å"Hard on you? Hard to sit and watch the results of what you did?†pg23. He decides to deal with this by leaving the family. His actions burden Clara with the care of the family he left behind. Leading to Claras guilt of driving the childrens father away and leaving the mother all alone. Ultimately she struggles with the idea that she cares for the Gage family either out of guilt or to fill the empty spaces not only in her spare rooms, but in her life. It only took Endicott one simple incident to create a million other problems throughout the novel. Each conflict faced, allows the reader to understand more about each characters role in the story. Finally molding the novel into the theme. The theme I took from this novel was ; personal satisfaction of goodwill is the only payment for charity,for if its not, the deeds bring no true meaning. However when I contacted Marina Endicott on twitter she described the theme as follows; How the debt of charity is redeemed; Love your neighbour as yourself. After Clara divorces her husband, she is left wounded by their short, detached marriage. Her parents then become ill and she must care for them. But soon they both die leaving Clara alone with all their possessions and burdens. When Clara opens up her home to the Gage family and a friends daughter, she must decide whether her actions are truly pure and for others benefit, or greedy and only being used to fill the void left by her parents and husband. So she questions herself, â€Å"I see what they need, but I am unwilling to help.†pg 25 When Clara takes in the Gage family she originally believes she is doing it to make up for the car accident she caused. As the visit becomes longer Clara grows more and more attached to the family as she brings them into her life. Caring for them soon becomes less of an obligation, and more of a desire as she grows to truly love the Gages like they were her own. She becomes so attached that she does not wish that they leave her home, and when they do she is deeply angered. â€Å"She did not want anything, except Pearce back, and Dolly, and Trevor; except the life she had left this afternoon, to run over and help Lorraine- to help her again!†pg.327 .This theme is a great topic that adds depth the novel. The whole story Clara is faced with deciding whether what she does is out of loneliness or out of good will. It is a topic that we should all consider when we decide to do something charitable. And yet another reason why I believe this is a wonderful piece of litterature. Ultimately this book incorporates everything that makes a good, memorable novel . Its realistic, likeable and relatable characters keep the reader the attached to the story. These characters face conflicts that challenge them physically and emotional but lead them to fulfilling rewards. Finally these elements are all summed up to create a concrete theme of charity versus selfishness, a topic rarely touched on in our society. These elements of the novel piece the story together as a whole and make it strong enough to last the test of time. This is a great novel.

Management By Objectives Business Essay

Management By Objectives Business Essay The management by objectives is the best way to get more out of an employee in any organization. It is the way of dealing the problems by defining prior objectives for each employee and then to compare and to direct their performance against the objectives which have been set for each of them individually. It helps in increasing the performance of the organization by matching organizational goals with the objectives of subordinates from top level to the bottom level in any company. In normal cases the employees are asked to find out their own objectives and then they are evaluated by their superiors and will be added any extra if they do not meet the requirements or deadlines which are already preset for project completion. MBO includes tracking of the continuous changes of the processes and providing feedback to reach the objectives. Term coined by Peter Drucker: Management by Objectives was first introduced by Peter Drucker in 1954 in the book written by him, The practice of Management. According to DruckerManagers follow two rules without their knowledge Rule 1: With active involvement in the current activities,Managers come under a trap namely activity trap to successfully complete those jobs. Rule 2: As they are continuously involving in current activity it is quite common that they will lose their vision on long term goal. One of the concepts of Management ByObjectives was that instead of just a few top-managers, all managers of a firm should participate in the strategic planning process, in order to improve the implementability of the plan. According to Peter Drucker all managers (which implies both top as well as middle level) should: participate in the strategic planning process, in order to improve the implementability and practicality of the plan, and implement a range of performance systems, designed inorderto help the organization stay on the right track. Another concept of Management by Objectives was, that managers should implement a range of performance systems, which are designed to help the organization to function well without any problems. Clearly, Management by Objectives can thus be seen as a predecessor of Value Based Management. MbO Main Principles Cascading of organizational goals and objectives, Specific objectives for each and every member, Participative decision making, Explicit time period, and Performance evaluation after an activity and provide feedback. The SMART Objectives: The SMART goal era of the 1980s and 1990s provided some helpful criteria about what makes goals more or less effective in shaping behavior. By definition, a goal that doesnt shape behavior is ineffective. The theory went on to suggest that SMART parameters were good predictors of influential or effective goals. As an example, goals that were not specific or measurable were less likely to shape behavior than those that were high in these characteristics. Using a play on words, you were smart to include these characteristics in your goal and objective definition. Management by Objectives has also introduced the SMART method for checking the validity of the objectives, which should be SMART: Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic, and Time-related One of the almost important impressions of SMART goals is that they are pointed; they have an edge, often a sense of energy created by the specificity, the time limits and the measurement. Non-SMART goals seem flat in comparison (ie. Improve productivity); bureaucratic, like one more strategic plan thats going nowhere. While the enhancement to goal definition was a helpful direction, it did not address fundamental weaknesses in this model. In the 90s, Peter Drucker put the significance of this organization management method into perspective, when he said: Its just another tool. It is not the great cure for management inefficiency Management by Objectives works if you know the objectives, but 90% of the time you dont. The MBO style is appropriate for knowledge-based enterprises when your staff is competent. It is appropriate in situations where you wish to build employees management and self-leadership skills and tap their entrepreneurial creativity, tacit knowledge and initiative.Management by Objectives (MBO) is also used by chief executives of multinational corporations (MNCs) for their country managers abroad. Famous innovation management policies: MBO followed at Intel A Managers Guide at Intel provides the following directions. Start with a few well-chosen overriding objectives. Set your subordinates objectives that fit in with your overriding objectives. Allow your subordinates to set their own key results to enable them to meet their objectives MBO followed at Microsoft By: Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft Prevent the missions or objectives that are competing against each other. Review Mechanism The review mechanism enables leaders to measure the performance of their managers, in the key result areas: marketing; innovation; human organization; financial resources; productivity; social responsibility; and profit requirements All individuals within an organization are assigned a special set of objectives that they try to reach during a normal operating period. These objectives are mutually set and agreed upon by individuals and their managers. Performance reviews are conducted periodically to determine how close individuals are to attaining their objectives. Rewards are given to individuals on the basis of how close they come to reaching their goals. . Setbacks of Management by Objectives: 1. May lead to suboptimalization: which means people are not ready to look beyond their own objectives and help each other. 2. Innovation cannot be seen anywhere. 3. Involvement of the time and paperwork. 4. Potential misuse by superiors who simply assign the objectives rather than asking their opinion. 5. Subordinates may try to negotiate easy goals. 6. Watch out for unrealistic expectations about what can be reasonably accomplished. 7. Inflexible and rigid. Solution: The Scheduled Project Management Drawing upon the influence of MBO theory that is to set clear objectives, build an action plan, andmeasure progress and Demings work (optimize processes and products by identifying andpracticing listed best practices behaviors), emerged the project management movement. Ineffect saying, 1. Yes set clear objectives, and get key stakeholder buy-in and definition for the participantthrough explicit requirement setting 2. Yes, put together a series of best practices action steps in the form of a work breakdownstructure. 3. But, what primarily helps people achieve their objective, is the planning, securing,scheduled deployment of resources and the completion of tasks. Project management is an evolution of MBO theory. Management by Objectives (MBO) (All about the goal) In the 60s, 70s and 80s it seemed like a good thing to manage work efforts by goals, hence theterm management by objectives. The idea was to improve management and workproductivity in general by being more clear visioned about the intended outcomesMBO principals contained many precursors to the basic building blocks used by current projectmanagement tenants. The basic MBO principles include the following activities: 1. Establishing a set of top level strategic goals. 2. Creating a cascade of organizational goals that are supported by the lower level definitiveobjectives and action plans. 3. There should be participative decision making in developing an organizational role and mission statement, as well as specific objectives andaction plans for each member. 4. Establish key results and/or determined performance standards for each objective. 5. Periodical measurement and assessment of the status or outcome of the goals. The assumptive strength behind the MBO model, as commonly practiced, is the notion that if adesired outcome is defined as a goal and progress is measured towards reaching that goal, thenthe chances of reaching that outcome are enhanced. Mission Statements and MBO All organizations have their own mission statement or vision statement that tries to encapsulate the overall strategic management of their company. Such statements are designed to implicitly state the organizations objectives in the broader sense. Yet this often fails to capture the true meaning behind the meaning of mission. A mission is an objective that needs to be managed, i.e they are the short term goals to be achieved. Therefore it should be specific to elements that make up the whole; thus flexible, dynamic and responsive to both the internal and external environment. Each mission needs a main effort an overriding factor that underpins the purpose of the mission. This should be communicated to all those involved it is the desired outcome that must be achieved. Expressed in this manner the objectives are clear, unambiguous and the employees are told what needs to be achieved not how to achieve them; thus encouraging new methods of innovation, flair and problems solving. SUMMARY: Successful management consists of settingup the good objectives and making the rightchoices towards the fulfillment of those objectives. Thosewho fail these two basic tasks, fail asmanagers. Management by objective is ageneralized procedure which lends itselfwell to that portion of management capableof being systematic. The remainingportion of management which is not systematic cannot be followed easily either in theory or in practice.