Discuss the character of Banquo and his role in ‘Macbeth’ Essay

Banquo was one of Duncan’s brave generals. He was a man of honour and integrity. He held the same rank as Macbeth and they were very closely linked characters. They were courageous and loyal warriors. They both witnessed the Witches’ prophesies and their future successes were foretold throughout the play. Banquo had a generous spirit and a rational view of the world and had the attributes required by a good King, however, Banquo was an ambiguous character, in that he was sceptical of Macbeth’s manner following their encounter with the Witches. Macbeths’ beliefs worried Banquo, as he was a good man and he believed deeply in upholding God’s rule of order. Banquo sensed that the Witches’ prophesies prompted new reactions in Macbeth – further encouraging his ambitions towards kingship. Banquo’s first encounter with the Witches was quite unbelievable to him and he remarked to Macbeth, â€Å"What are these, So withered, and so wild in their attire, That look not like th’inhabitants o’th earth, And yet are on,t?† , Banquo’s words describe Macbeth’s startled and uneasy reaction to the Witches’ prophesies, touching moral confusion in Macbeth by saying to him, â€Å"Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear Things that do not sound so fair?† The half rhyme ‘fear’ and ‘fair’ echoes the Witches previous ‘fair’ and ‘foul’. Although Banquo was not afraid of the Witches, he still wanted them to speak to him but at the same time he wished to remain detached from them. He addressed the Witches, saying, â€Å"Speak to me, who neither beg, nor fear Your favours nor your hate.† The Witches in turn replied, â€Å"Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be none.† The Witches directed most of their prophesies towards Macbeth and Banquo noticed how lost in thought his companion was because of this experience and remarked, â€Å"Look how our partner’s rapt.† When the Witches vanished, Banquo and Macbeth were astounded, wondering if what they had just witnessed was indeed real or just fantasy. When Banquo heard that Macbeth was to become Thane of Cawdor, in contrast to Macbeth’s excitement, he showed wariness and sensed that the Witches’ words might be deceitful by telling Macbeth, â€Å"And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s In deepest consequence.† Banquo is clear-sighted in his summary of the way of temptation. However, resisting the prophecies was a struggle, even for Banquo. He said to his son Fleance, â€Å"Merciful powers, Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature Gives way to in repose!† Banquo was clearly disturbed by all the strange events that had taken place. He was afraid to sleep and the Witches words returned to him in his dreams when he did so. After King Duncan was murdered, Banquo became very suspicious of Macbeth and was becoming concerned about his destiny. He spoke of this to the King’s son Malcolm, â€Å"In the great hand of God I stand, and thence Against the undivulged pretence I fight Of treasonous malice.† However, I criticize Banquo because of his passivity when he says, soon afterwards, â€Å"Thou hast it all now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all As the weird women promised, and I fear Thou play’dst most foully for’t:† It was obvious that Banquo suspected Macbeth’s involvement in Duncan’s death, yet he took no steps against Macbeth. I suspect this was because Banquo had ambition too, like Macbeth when he says, â€Å"May they not be my oracles as well, And set me up in hope? But hush, no more.† Macbeth’s prophecy had come true, so he hoped, perhaps it would all happen for him and he would father a line of Kings. Banquo’s inaction and suspicions of Macbeth attracted Macbeth’s attention as his soliloquy in Act 3 denotes, â€Å"Our fears in Banquo Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature Reigns that which would be feared.† Then at the end of his soliloquy he really expresses his innermost thoughts by saying, â€Å"Only for them, and mine eternal jewel Given to the common enemy of man, To make them Kings, the seed of Banquo Kings!† This showed that he was determined that no- one would interfere with his kingship. Macbeth saw Banquo as simply too strong and honourable a rival to be left alive. Here again, we see that Macbeth and Banquo were closely linked. They were both tragic and doomed with flaws within themselves. Macbeth became obsessed by irrational passions, then anger and fear took hold, resulting in Macbeth having Banquo murdered. Macbeth held a banquet to celebrate his kingship which Banquo had agreed to attend as chief guest. He was indeed chief guest, but only visible to Macbeth as a ghost, taunting him, driving him insane with guilt. Macbeth felt this ghost was real, but it was only an extension of the evil in Macbeth’s troubled mind. This hysterical reaction in Macbeth’s vision aroused the suspicions of the lords attending. All this behaviour exhibited Macbeth as totally deranged, however, it was Banquo who finally exposed Macbeth’s deceptiveness by appearing to him as an ‘avenging angel’ and deeply highlighting Macbeth’s guilt. There were contrasts in Banquo’s character. He was honourable to the King, yet, he was pathetic, unable to act when his suspicions of Macbeth’s evil were obvious. There is also evidence of contrast between Macbeth and Banquo in Act 2. I, when neither of them can sleep. Banquo was tormented by the Witches’ predictions and Macbeth was driven by them. Banquo really wanted what the Witches predicted, but at the same time he wanted to keep a clear conscience. He also observed how Macbeth changed from a loyal warrior into a self-seeking tyrant, but with everything happening so hastily he might not have had the time to act upon his suspicions and maybe he thought about the fact that his suspicions may have been wrong. Banquo clearly displays signs of ambiguity throughout the play.

College Essay for Georgia Tech

College Essay Lost in a world flooded with giant decisions that would affect the near future, an adolescent me siting confounded in my high school sophomore English class. Attempting to simply pass my classes with no clear plan for the approaching future I disregarded any statements made from my teachers, â€Å"You need to build good study habits for college. or â€Å"You need a plan for your life, or you will not succeed. † Completely focused on getting out of high school and earning mountains of money to live a lavish lifestyle, without any plan on how to achieve this goal I coasted through my classes day to day not attempting, ignoring the signs of my ignorant ways. All of this continued until I finally found something that peaked my interest, chemistry.The first day in my honors chemistry class I expected it to be like any other science class I had taken in the past, but the first class discussion was that scientists today have only discovered a minute amount of the worki ngs of the universe and that by following a process, new relationships, not previously discovered, may present themselves. This idea of discovering something unheard of made me realized that I was going to enjoy chemistry. That afternoon I started on some additional practice problems out of the textbook.Starting the first problem I had this feeling that I would make a mistake and get the problem incorrect; on the contrary, following the process discussed in class that day made the problem seem almost effortless. Before I knew it I was already done with that problem and had completed four more just like it. Doing these problems gave me a sense of self-assurance and the feeling that I actually understood chemistry, not like English where I felt like all of the essays and parts of speech were out to get me.Chemistry was different, not like my English class where I slacked off with my work or my history class where my attention was typically not on the teacher. Every moment in chemistry I had my full attention directed at the teacher, taking notes, asking questions about practice problems I had worked on the previous night, or trying to find out more about this possibility of finding a new discovery. Something with chemistry just seemed to click in my brain, whether it be the combination of math and science in perfect harmony or just my urge for the discovery of something new about how toms interact with one another. This growing interest in chemistry struck an idea in my head, â€Å"I want to do this for a living after high school. † With this concept laying in my brain the search for careers involving chemistry and good colleges to attend for that sort of career commenced. Sifting through pages upon pages of job and college searches I stumbled upon chemical engineering a career that involved chemistry and math, the two subjects I have a passion for.Upon finding this new career, Georgia Tech, the best engineering college in Georgia and one of the best rank ed colleges in the nation, came up, and I realized that this prestigious institution was the place for me. With doing more research about Tech their strenuous academic requirements told me that if I really wanted to attend this college I would have to take much harder courses that actually challenged me in school, and I would have to strive for perfection not only in the classes that I enjoyed, science and math, but the classes that did not exactly peak my interest, English and history.My behavior promptly changed into a very studious one. This new behavior turned out to help me exponentially with my weaknesses in school, and has helped me develop a plan for my future. Following this plan will increase my academic standings allowing me to attend Georgia Tech and get a degree in chemical engineering, which will perpetually satisfy my desire for solving problems that combine science and math. Changing from a â€Å"passing student† to an â€Å"accelerated student† has dev eloped my work ethic, I now know what it takes to take a place among the top students in my student body and make a name for myself.

Quantitative Nursing Research Report Analysis Essay

Quantitative Nursing Research Report Analysis - Essay Example 569, Background section). The purpose of the study was to show the relationship between CTS and CTD of nursing students to nursing educators so that they may take this into account when designing course work and evaluating students. While a few studies have been done, the author wanted to add to the body of research. It was also intended to identify areas in which further research is needed. The main research questions were to discover if there is a relation between CTS and CTD, if that relation remains constant through each academic level, and if there is improvement through each academic level. The independent study variables were the four cohorts of the student sample: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors. The expectation was that each group would do progressively better at CTS/CTD testing. The dependent variables are the CTST and CCTDI scores and the means of comparison used. That is, comparison of CTS to CTD and the increase or decrease of both over the course of baccalaureate study. Students as individuals were not assessed over a period of time so that scores could be compared in that manner. Instead scores were compared to different students at different levels in the baccalaureate program. Also, there was no measurement of students' level of concentration on any particular day as influenced by amount of sleep obtained, mood, or other factors that might have influenced the test scores (Heffner 2004, chap.1, section 3). Conceptual ModelTheoretical Framework This study clearly conforms to Dewey's Scientific Method using the following steps in serial order: 1. Identify the problem, 2. Determine the hypothesis, 3. Collect and analyze data, 4. Formulate conclusions, 5. Apply the conclusions to the hypothesis (Heffner, 2004, chap. 1, section 1). Review of Related Literature Related literature, as cited within the article makes the following points. Critical thinking and disposition are integral to nursing education and to the practice of nursing. This is especially important with increased technological advances and the increased complexity of skills needed to care for more acutely ill patients and the ethical issues that surround that care (Study, p. 579, para. 1). In the third paragraph of the Introduction, the author attempts to define critical thinking through various references and so define what is to be quantified in the study. Paragraph four relates the need to teach critical thinking skills to nursing students and fosters questions as to how that might be accomplished and by what means performance might be measured. Next, there is a review of past studies and a declaration of need to add to that body of evidence (Study, p. 569-570, Introduction Section,

Societal Functions of Religion According to Emile Durkheim and the Essay

Societal Functions of Religion According to Emile Durkheim and the Decline of Religion in the United States - Essay Example The wealth that the U.S. has enjoyed over the past decades, the freedom of expression entrenched in the U.S. Constitution, and the acceptance of other religions into the American society have diluted the place of Christianity in the U.S. The decline of Christianity in the U.S. at the expense of other religions and secularism risks to threaten the American society if it fails to provide a compromise to people from other faiths or sharing other beliefs. Such risk exists because there could be clashes between people from different communities/ faiths (e.g. Northern Ireland). The situation, however, is not alarming because religion has been replaced in the U.S. by education and to some extent a sense of patriotism. To revert back to Emile Durkheim's theory of religion, patriotism, education, the "American dream", Hollywood, etc. now ensure some form of social cohesion in the U.S. through the sharing of common values. With regard to social control, the law enforcement system and the judic iary system are now recognized as legitimate institutions to deal with conflicts. In this modern U.S. society, religion has been relegated to the personal realm and people living in the U.S. now enjoy the freedom to choose the religion that will answer their existential thirst.

Trends in Contemporary Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Trends in Contemporary Society - Essay Example This will be followed by an exploration of the cellular phone and its relevance today. Looking at the trend of banning cell phone use while driving, this section will explore the ways in which the cellular phone is perceived of as a hazard while driving. Finally, we explore television as the most ubiquitous technological phenomenon and the ways in which this media helps further democracy and free thought. Significantly, technological trends are at the forefront of social change and the following will explore a multitude of technological trends and look at their social significance. iPod, through its parent company Apple Computers, has fundamentally transformed the ways in which people listen to music. Whether it is through the Ipod personal audio system, downloaded tracks through iTunes, or through the highly popular innovation of the iPhone, Apple has successfully appealed to its target demographic through a variety of innovative means. iPod has successfully outmaneuvered nearly all of its adversaries within the personal music field and radically transformed an industry. Whether it is the iPod shuffle, the iPod touch, classic or nano, this particular product continues to innovate and thus has maintained its supreme position at the helm of the personal listening device field. With bright new flashy skins, as well as a series of interfaces which tie directly into the Apple network, the innovation of the iPod continues and has ensured that this product remains at the forefront of an ever-changing industry. Teenagers are the primary audience for Apple’s st rategic marketing campaigns as they are also an important buying demographic unencumbered by major financial obligations. Teenagers are the demographic who may be able to afford to spend $250 on the latest iPod or the accessories associated with the latest personal mp3 player. Because teenagers often have more disposable and non-discretionary income than most other demographic groups, they

Theory and Practice Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Theory and Practice Paper - Essay Example However, the primary function of the United States Department of Education is to formulate federal funding programs involving education and to enforce federal educational laws involved with privacy and civil rights. The quality of educational institutions and their degrees is maintained through an informal private process known as accreditation which the Department of Education has no direct public jurisdictional control over. However, there are reading intervention programs that have been developed to help struggling readers to improve reading in kindergarten and first grade students. This paper will discuss three early reading intervention programs that are designed to prevent early reading problem from developing rather than trying to correct a problem after it is established. These programs have been applied in first and second grade and have proved very effective. The early reading intervention to be discussed is The Scott Foresman Early Reading Intervention Program. The paper w ill also show the current assessment practice of the early intervention program in Ocean View School District in California. Early reading intervention programs refers to early school intervention programs that are designed to prevent early reading problem from developing rather than trying to correct a problem after it is established. These programs have been applied in first and second grade and have proved very effective. The early reading intervention to be discussed is The Scott Foresman Early Reading Intervention Program. The paper will also show the current assessment practice of the early intervention program in Ocean View School District in California. Early Reading Intervention Early reading intervention programs refers to early school intervention programs that are designed to prevent early reading problem from developing rather than trying to correct a problem after it is established. (Pikulski, 1997) To improve reading in kindergarten and first grade students, a number of early reading intervention reading programs have been invented. The programs are used in within the regular classroom to help the struggling readers and the classroom teachers carry out the program with the help of instructional aides or older students. They help struggling readers succeed in school and make good progress in reading especially in grade 2 through 4. In Scott Foresman Early Reading intervention, the program was designed to provide kindergarten and first grade children with an intervention to improve their reading. A teacher is supposed to deliver daily lesson of 30 minutes to small groups of 2-5 students. The intervention is comprised of 126 lessons distributed across 30 weeks of instruction. The Scott Foresman Early Reading Intervention Program is organized in a carefully planned sequence of skills; the explicit instruction and systematic review are intended to ensure student success. The teachers' guide provides a detailed lesson plans that are easy to follow and the instructional materials are well organized. The lesson takes 30-minute that consist of seven activities, with each activity designed to last only three to five minutes. In the first 15 minutes of the lesson, the emphasis is on the phonological awareness and alphabetic understanding while the next 15 minutes focuses on writing and spelling. To help teacher pace instructions, each activity is labeled with the amount of time it should last. For the sake of the students who do not grasp anything, the lesson provides immediate re-teaching strategy. It is recommended that a formal screening assessment, such as Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), during the fourth to sixth week of the school year should be administered in the Scott Foresman Early Reading Intervention program. A comprehensive assessment plan is an important part of this intervention program. The intervention prog

Rhetoricalanalysis of the new jim crow Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rhetoricalanalysis of the new jim crow - Essay Example The author has used rhetorical tools to emphasize how overt racial prejudices have become criminal offences but they are still covertly practiced within the system. It ultimately makes it difficult for people with color to become part of mainstream society and forces them to live like a second class citizen in their own country. The article becomes hugely pertinent because it underpins the issues that permanently stereotyped people of color into criminals that socially and legally discourages them to live with dignity. The text is also important because despite constitutional rights, the people of color are still vulnerable to the Jim Crow rules that deny them legitimate rights of a citizen. Stereotyping colored people has resulted in mass incarceration that helps to impose social control on them. The author has therefore, used rhetorical tools like ethos, pathos and logos to not only inform public about the subtle Jim Crow rules within the judicial system but also about the repercussion on the society that adds to the woes of the vulnerable. Throughout the article, author has been consistently using rhetorical approach to communicate important message or information to the target group or the public. The ethos applied in the article gives credibility to the author and convinces the reader about the authenticity of the text. It informs that the author holds a job of high repute. She is ‘director of the Racial Justice Project for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California’. Using the ethical paradigm of introducing herself as an esteemed public figure, the author has established her credibility. She also succinctly apprises the audience about her experience in working on ‘issues of racial profiling, police brutality, and drug-law enforcement in poor communities of color’ This is important information as it gives inkling about her experience and assures the readers that whatever she is talking

SOW-425 Assignments Soccial Walfare Policy & services Assignment

SOW-425 Assignments Soccial Walfare Policy & services - Assignment Example The help to increase relevance of social work professional in the society and ensure that the social needs of future generations are systematically catered for (Peterson, 2013). It has been reported that the rate of poverty and economic inequality will increase significantly. For instance the level of poverty has been projected to increase in the next decades at a rate of sixteen percent. The impact of poverty to personal life are numerous, among those impacts include; it denies a person an access to quality education, it further denies person an opportunity to access better healthy cares because most of poor people may not have necessary funds to pay for the best hospitals. Additionally, poverty leads to poor living standards for instance most poor people lives in poor housing facilities and can’t afford the best meals. Further, poverty causes people to engage in criminal acts such as stealing, prostitution and drug trafficking in a bid to move on with life. Additionally, poverty affects children’s in numerous ways. For example children’s from poor families may not be in a position to access quality education (MacNeil, 2010). Research indicates that children from poor families tend to die during birth and infancy. Moreover, children from poor have /been reported to suffer malnutrition related complications because their parents can’t afford healthy food. Additionally, children’s from poor families view education as a way to rescue themselves from poverty unlike those from the rich families. Moreover, poverty affects our society in numerous ways. For instance, in a society where there majority of people are poor, the cases of socials evils such as prostitution, drug trafficking and theft have been reported to be substantially higher (MacNeil, 2010). The impacts of economic recession are numerous. For example, economic recession has the impact of causing the number of children living in abject poverty to increase significantly. Additionally, the

Employability and Personal Development Assignment

Employability and Personal Development - Assignment Example Technological advances, multi-education programs, highly dynamic business environments and human mind-set have caused significant changes in the job-market over the last few decades. When it comes to the present day job-market, modern and traditional career makes greater differences, for instance, women generally tend to choose traditional career opportunities than the other, although they too embrace modern jobs in greater numbers. Modern career spans various jobs like skilled trading, services, professional and technical career etc. Modern jobs seem to be more challenging and better paying opportunities than the traditional careers. Technical or professional careers require higher qualifications and specialized skills whereas traditional careers are ordinary stereo-typed jobs that do not require such qualifications and skills. Modern jobs are more paying than traditional ones due to that traditional jobs are easy to perform and are requiring less skills and qualifications. As there are major differences between modern and traditional careers in respect to the skills, qualifications, knowledge and experience required for each, matter of interest and job satisfaction also become significant factors. For example, people seem to enjoy more satisfaction from skilled trading or technical jobs due to that it is more paying and more dignified jobs than the traditional ones. In these days, modern jobs are preferred by women and this trend has been increasing tremendously in many countries. It is not unusual to see females in many skilled trading, technical and professional careers like nursing, managing, sportscaster etc. The career being chosen must be one that gives satisfaction so that it may not be a burden throughout one’s life. I consider modern career to be approached and I feel that modern careers are challenges. There can be many formal job-seeking steps to be followed like meeting

Information System Analysis of Developing Parking Systems Assignment

Information System Analysis of Developing Parking Systems - Assignment Example This paper illustrates that management information has been used to improve parking systems in most many corporations. The principles of Management Information Systems in relation to car parking is to develop efficient car park systems. There is a current parking problem at MUN and it is affecting the operations of the organization. The parking spaces are assigned to specific individuals and they cannot be used by any other individuals. Furthermore, if the individuals are not available his or her parking slot cannot be accessed. The organization is looking for an intelligent parking system that will be used to address the current parking crisis. Management will help develop a method to improve transportation in the enterprise. On the other hand, intelligent car parking has been successfully used to reduce congestion near car parking areas. The parking area will help students and staff members at MUN. It will increase the range of parking convenience and vehicle security in the instit ution. The individuals at the faculty will be able to share their parking in the institution. This will allow them to take advantage of the different peak periods. Students will be able to park once and do their activities efficiently. The parking area will control by a barrier at both the entrance and the exit. The barriers will have CCTVs installed on them that capture the occupants of the vehicle. Vehicles will be issued with parking tickets that allow shows the time of entrance. Individuals will use the ticket to pay for the parking online or manually. Wireless sensor networks are used globally to collect and monitor information for the purpose of decision making. They can be used in different environments to monitor information for car parking. The sensors are low cost and are deployed in a car park field whereby each parking lot has a sensor node. The sensor node monitors the activities of the car park slot and sends a message to a database. The database is accessible by the u pper layer management system that analyzes the information.

Over Consumption in America Essay Example for Free

Over Consumption in America Essay Over the past 50 years, the standard of living for American families has doubled. Most of these families live in a two-income household in order to acquire the money needed to live up to these standards (Pierce). This change has enabled Americans to own more material possessions and has also caused them to want even more. It is this concept of wanting that is leading to the growing problem of over consumption in America. People are contributing to the problem by eating more and buying more and more non-essentials such as TVs, computers, and cars. People find themselves wanting more and more material things in order to become happy, when in actuality it may be having the reverse effect because it is not possible to ever obtain everything that he/she wants (Easterbrook 124). By living more simply we can become happier by spending more time with our families and communities and also by helping others. In the past, TV was thought to be a way to bring the family together. However, today, more than three quarters of American families own two or more televisions. Having multiple sets causes family members to watch different programs, in separate rooms, pulling the family apart as opposed to bringing them together. Even some children have TV sets in their rooms. Instead of playing outside, kids are spending hour in front of the television (Winn 465-66) Children are also being affected by other new electronics. High-tech childrens toys are becoming more and more common. Instead of playing outside with other kids, children in our society play video games or play on a computer. Even educational toys are being made electronic. Special laptops are being made for children as young as preschool or kindergarten. This is becoming all that children know. Their generation is growing up reliant on computers. In the future they might not have a choice to relax and live more simply because the high tech world is all they know (Kalson). Another issue contributing to the problem of over consumption is cars. For some people, owning a car can be necessary. For others, public transportation is an option. Owning one or more cars can also affect the  community by using unnecessary amounts of fuel and by polluting. The car also allows us to live a high-speed life. Americans are constantly traveling or working and are not taking the time to relax as we did in the past. Americas fast paced lifestyle is part of the reason we dont spend as much time with our families and friends as in other cultures (Wilson). Americans also contribute to over consumption by the amount of food we eat. Obesity is a growing issue in American society today. Twenty percent of children are overweight. If this problem persists, the next generation could be the first in 200 years to have a shorter life expectancy than the last. The greatest issue of this problem is fast food and the portions of it. Instead of eating healthy, home cooked meals, Americans are replacing them with fat and calorie loaded fast foods and precooked meals. This problem is leading towards more health problems. 30 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls born in the year 2000 are expected to have diabetes at some point in their life. Americans can fight this problem by trying to live more like people in other countries by eating healthier foods, smaller portions, and teaching children how to eat right (Mieszkowski). Part of the reason that Americans have such a large role in this problem might possibly be because of advertising. Because our media is so widely spread and easily accessed, Americans can be more easily persuaded. This issue can also relate back to the problem of watching too much TV. Because the United States has no regulations on advertising, anyone can be affected by any amount of advertising. Children, who are more susceptible, can be manipulated into thinking that they need something that they really dont. This problem could possibly solved by restricting the amount of advertising or where advertising is aloud. We can also resist this problem being more aware of it. By judging each ad to see if it is coercive, deceptive, or manipulative, we can remove the emotional appeal of the commercial and make a more rational decision (Hirschberg 61-68). However some people think that over consumption is not the problem: (S)quandering money on big screen TVs, McMansions, restaurant meals,  oversized cars and luxury vacations (are not to blame) for insolvency and all those maxed-out credit cards. Instead (it is) the high cost of housing and education (F)ixed expenses that can quickly create a sea of red ink when families face layoffs, illness, or divorce. Skyrocketing health-care costs add to the problem (Gardner). If Americans started to live more simply, we could not only gain happiness by relaxing and spending more time with our families, but we could also give some of our extra money or belongings to charity. Helping those in need can give us a sense of self worth that could not be obtained by living as we do now. Linda Pierce argues that simplicity values are important to enrich a persons life. She states that Limiting material possessions, Meaningful work weather paid or volunteer, relationships with friends and family, pleasurable leisure activities, and a connection to community are good values to strive for in order to live simply (Pierce). Over consumption is affection all Americans lives, especially the lives of children, the next generation: TV and video games have vanquished running around outside. Kids in the city have too few places to play. And (sic) ids in the suburbs have no sidewalks to walk on, much less places to walk to. Fewer kids walk or ride their bikes to school, either because theres no safe route, or its simply too far. At school, phys ed and recess have been shortened or eliminated, through the double whammy of budget cuts and he renewed emphasis on academic testing. And (sic) many schools sells junk food to kids in the cafeteria in attempt to subsidize shrinking budgets through soft drink and candy bar revenue (Mieszkowski). The longer this problem goes unsolved, the harder it will be to overcome it. It is important to overcome this problem to gain happiness by gaining leisure time and spending more time with their families and communities and also by helping others in need. If we can accomplish this, Americans can stop associating a good life with material possessions but with personal happiness instead. Gardner, Marilyn. Do two incomes mean deeper debt?. 5 Dec. 2005 http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/CollegeandFamily/P61852.asp. Easterbrook, Gregg. The Progress Paradox. New York: Random House, 2003. Hirschberg, Stuart. The Rhetoric of Advertising . Kalson, Sally. Study finds toddlers immersed in electronic media. Pittsburgh Post Gazette. 29 Oct. 2003: D1. Mieszkowski, Katharine. Growing Up Too Fat. Salon 4 pp. 5 Dec. 2005 http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2005/04/16/kids_obesity/index3.html. Pierce, Linda Breen. The Simplicity Resource Guide. 5 Dec. 2005 http://www.gallagherpress.com/pierce/overview.htmhttp://www.gallagherpress.com/pierce/overview.htm. Wilson, James Q. Cars and Theirs Enemies. Winn, Marie. Television: The Plug-In Drug.

The Case Of Colombia Politics Essay

The Case Of Colombia Politics Essay No society is immune to corruption, however, it is obvious that the developing world has been prone to suffer more than developed countries; corruption is a problem that many governments as well as citizens from different communities in the third world prefer to ignore. This essay attempts to present the reader the most prominent forms of corruption in the developing world specifically the case of Colombia in a comparative perspective with Latin American, Asian and African countries where corruption is one of the main problems that have affected these parts of the world. This essay includes three sections; the first one presents the relevant literature review; definition of important concepts, types of corruption, and approaches of corruption in developing countries. The second section refers in detail to the case of Colombia and its most prominent forms of corruption. The third section covers the analysis of the Colombian case in a comparative perspective with some Latin American, Asian and African countries and portraits relevant ideas as conclusions. LITERATURE REVIEW Corruption in the last few years has become a contested concept due to the considerable overlap between various components and wide connotations to agree on a single definition; additionally, different perceptions and understanding of situations and behaviours have influenced the concept of corruption. The understanding of corruption among nations guarantees that no definition of corruption will be equally accepted in every nation. Therefore, this essay agrees with the definition of corruption presented by Transparency International (TI) because it is an international organization that reaches most of the countries in the world and maintains an unbiased performance. (TI) defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain  [1]  . In order to understand the implications of corruption, it is necessary to bear in mind the different types of corruption that have been considered by some authors. Each type of corruption has different origins and characteristics and therefore, they require diverse strategies to tackle it and different degrees of severity to punish it. Corrupt behaviour was coded in terms of black, grey and white (Gardiner: 2009) Black Corruption: indicates that certain actions in a majority consensus of elites and mass opinion would condemn and would want to see punished as a matter of principle. Grey Corruption: indicates that some elements, usually elites may want to see the action punished, others not. And the majority may well be ambivalent. White Corruption: signifies that the majority of both elite and mass opinion probably would not support an attempt to punish a form of corruption that they regarded as tolerable which implies less attachment to the values. (Gardiner: 2009) The critical emphasis of this essay is on developing countries and corrupt activities in the political sphere at the public and private level. It is clear that there exist different forms of political corruption with a range of characteristics, which need to be mapped. Alatas in 1990 distinguished between transactive and extortive corruption. The former refers to a mutual arrangement concerning a donor and a recipient to the mutual advantage of both parties, whereas the latter entails a sort of pressure, usually to avoid the harm being imposed on the donor or those close to him/her. It is possible to consider other categories which could contribute to a typology of political corruption: differences could be drawn between high and low level (grand corruption versus petty); the first one involves a substantial amount of money, it involves political decision-makers, the laws and regulations are abused by the rulers, ignored, or tailored to fit interests. Whereas the latter refers to the bending of rules in favour of friends, its the everyday corruption in connection with the implementation of existing laws, rules and regulations at the street level with minor public administration officials and services. (Heidenheimer: 2002, p. 150) In most developing countries, corruption has been widespread and has become part of everyday life; most societies are aware of it and some even make it look like part of their culture. Developing countries are more likely to experience à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²State Captureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ² and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²Kleptoraticà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ² corruption. State Capture represents a form of corruption Introduced by Hellman and Kaufmann and used by the World Bank in 2000  [2]   The World Bank report refers to State Capture as the actions of individuals, groups or firms in both in the public and private sectors. This is done to influence the formation of laws, regulations and other government policies to their own advantage by illicit and non-transparent provision of private benefits to public officials. Alternatively, the state can be captured to serve the private interest of a political leader who shapes the framework of reforms to ensure his private control over key resources State capture refers to the capacity of private interest groups to exert influence in high spheres of public decision making through corrupt practices (World Bank report: 2002).  [3]  . On the other side, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²Kleptocratic corruptionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ² refers to the actions of people within the government who use their power to exploit natural resources and wealth for personal enrichment by establishing policies that favour personal interests  [4]  , its very common in authoritarian governments specially in African countries characterized by the lacked of accountability and unqualified public officials. Kleptocratic corruption is characterized by nepotism, favouritism, cronyism, reflecting problems in the public services; where citizens may go to prison or be executed for treason. In some nations citizens do not even try to hold elections which allow leaders to remain in power for ever. (Case of the Philippines)  [5]  . Some of these characteristics are shared by some Caribbean, Asian and African countries. This will be presented and discussed later on. Many scholars have studied corruption through different approaches in order to understand how corruption affects the performance of a country; the first approach to consider is the Modernization Thesis established by Samuel Huntington. He stated that Corruption may be more prevalent in some cultures than others and seem to be more intense during the period of modernization and reflect their differences in political modernization and political development (Huntington: 2009, Ch. 15 pp. 253) The Modernization Thesis proposed by Huntington suggests that modernization involves a change in the basic values of a society; he refers to certain behaviours that were legitimate but became intolerable and corrupt when viewed through modern eyes, consequently, the fact that levels of education provide citizens with a more critical view of situations to demand an accountable and efficient government, however it contributes to corruption by generating new sources of wealth and power where new laws multiply opportunities for corruption and hence increase the capacity for violence. To comprehend the cultural approach this essay first understand culture as The deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving (Samovar Porter, 2003, p. 8) Abdiweli, M and Said Isse, H. (2003) identified the determinants of corruption by examining on factors related to corruption such as such as education, political regimes, the type of the state, ethnicity, judicial efficiency, political freedom, and the size of government to explain the differences across countries and how those actions considered corruption in the west are considered traditional gift giving in developing countries. Sandholz and Taagepara: 2004, referred to the cultural approach to corruption as: The most significant obstacle to democratization and economic development. Structural and cultural factors lead to higher levels of corruption, low levels of competition and increase the incentives for corrupt practices among bureaucrats or among those being regulated. Cultural patterns tendency to reproduce themselves through socialization entails a general expectation of continuity, culture changes but it tends to change slowly even when substantial changes occur (Sandholz and Taagepara 200,4 pp.109-111) THE CASE OF COLOMBIA This section outlines the case of corruption in Colombia as a developing country, where corruption has left political, social and economic effects; corruption has contributed to political instability, undermined governmental institutions, increase the lack of trust and the perception that corruption is normal. Despite its effort to fight corruption the Corruption perception index (CPI) seems to get worst.  [6]   In Colombia a clear example of petty corruption are the traffic violations where drivers may bribe a police officer to avoid a fine or get the car impounded; since traffic violations are extremely expensive, paying a bribe sounds more reasonable. Most of Colombian drivers have developed persuasive skills to approach a police officer finding a way to relate or build any personal connection such as economic difficulties or family problems. Sometimes the police officer will understand and will give in a ticket with a lower infraction without making personal profit. Sometimes, they will accept the bribe, give a verbal warning and just let the driver go; it basically depends on how the driver approaches the police officer. In terms of Grand Corruption, the problem of Colombia can be expressed in one world: Politiquerà ­a- bad politics, where it is hard to tell if corruption is the cause or the consequence of bad politics. A significant factor that determines corruption, is the illegitimate actors Guerrillas, paramilitary groups and drug dealers; they control large amounts of drug money, induce violence as a way to regulate the illegal and legal sector and resort to kidnappings for funding; they are influential in some parts of the country called red zone or conflict zone. There, Government has less control or there is absence of authority allowing these groups to reach several levels of public organizations. (Misas 2005: 120-122). In Colombia scandals of all kinds and cases of Grand Corruption And State Capture are characterized by the flaws in the political system, the non-existence of political parties as independent actors, the Internal division within political parties and the opposition at the inner and outer level enhancing contradictory performances responding to political rivalry or lack of competence; political parties use opposition to exert tension and pressure and bring to light the scandals. In this dynamic mass media plays a big role, in Colombia some cases of corruption are interconnected as a network of corruption; corruption becomes a scandal when it is impossible to hide or when it is convenient to bring it to light. The illegitimate impact of private interests on political decisions is another major problem in Colombia. Political parties system and campaign financing create some sort of liability of the politician towards the donor. In Colombia, is common to see that candidates pay back the favour after being elected. Positions within the government and the local level are given out due to personal relations rather than through academic careers and competition. (Lambsdorff, 2006) This is illustrated by the typical pattern of Grand Corruption, referred to as trià ¡ngulo de hierro (iron triangle) figure 3 The structure of a corrupt relationship is pictured as a triangle where each corner represents an actor and the sides the relationship between them. (Misas: 2005) Figure 3: iron triangle MAKES A CAMPAIGN DONATION HELPS GETTING A POSTION IN PUBLIC ADMINISRATION HELPS WINNING A PUBLIC CONTRACT In most of the countries in South America; cronyism, nepotism, conflict of interests, abuse of power, embezzlement and extortion to name a few are part of the main problems of public life and can be observed at all levels, from the local up to the National level. In Colombia there are rules and regulations properly designed but not correctly applied, the fundamental problem causing high levels of corruption in Colombia appears to be the failure to apply the existing rules. Therefore, a cultural pattern such as the consideration of sayings in daily life activities implies a rather flexible interpretation of rules. Hecha la ley, hecha la trampa (every law made, there is also made the loophole) (Lambsdorff, 2006) P.25. In addition to cultural patterns, Colombia is a developing country with a low GDP  [7]  where social inequality, great income differences between strata, poverty and exclusion predominate and lead to violence. It is not a secret that Guerrilla and Paramilitary groups control highways charging truck drivers a toll to use the road having the truck burnt or taken away. They also kidnap journalists, politicians, government officials and military men for extortion or to cause pressure in the government. (Lambsdorff, 2006) Although Colombians are aware that corruption exists, its not accepted. However, people instead use sarcasm or irony to refer to this issue influenced by cultural features such as morality, values and ethics. The cases of corruption in Colombia are innumerable and it is hard to tell if one is worst that the other first because some are related or connected and second because all of them have affected the country economically, socially and also in the way Colombia is perceived at the international level, affecting relations with other countries and levels of trust towards those in power who are supposed to look after the citizens rights. Examples that illustrate corruption in Colombia  [8]   8000 process  [9]  (embezzlement, illegal funding for political campaign) This is the name given to the process against the ex-president Ernesto Samper accused of receiving money from drug dealers Cali cartel for his presidential campaign. Despite the proofs, he denied it. Moreover, Fernando Botero Zea as the campaign director offered his bank account in New York to receive the donations from different business man to avoid taxes and exceed the amount of money permitted to develop the campaign. Botero seized control of US$413.898 to buy a country house and cover personal expenses. Botero moved to Mexico where he is originally from to avoid extradition and has not gone back to pay his time in prison which affected the relations and image with neighbouring countries. DMG  [10]  (campaign funding with money laundering- illicit enrichment) DMG is the acronym for the millionaire company of David Murcia Guzman which worked under the pyramid scheme for cocaine money laundering. DMG was also funding the referendum for the third consecutive presidential term of Alvaro Uribe as well as for the candidate in Panama  [11]  . This company worked across some Latin American countries (Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador) where not only politicians but also thousands of citizens invested their savings expecting high profits, in some parts of the countries people relied and depended on this profit as a regular income. Murcia accepted the charges and was extradited to the US. Para-politics  [12]   Para-politics is the term used to refer to the political scandals since 2006 that show connections between more than 200 politicians and government officials with the paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) which has direct implications with drug dealing and has used intimidation, extortion, slaughter, genocide, displacement and kidnapping towards public citizens to help politicians and public officers to reach positions in the government and then manipulate decisions and funds. Recordings, videos and intercepted calls are some of the proofs that involve government bodies and important national entities. Carousel contraction (Conflict of interest, Clientelism, Cronyism, Abuse of power, State Capture) This is the name given to one of the biggest scandals of political corruption that left obvious scars in the city, indignation and huge economic lost. Carousel contraction involves a group of recognized business men Los Nule  [13]  who won the grant for the biggest project in building an important highway in the country and several other contracts for the transportation system in the city of Bogota using retainers as bribes. Other people involved and found guilty are The ex-mayor of Bogota, (Samuel Moreno  [14]  ) who was suspended from office and is under police custody, some of Morenos relatives as his brother (Ivan Moreno) and several friends, government bodies, public officers and more than 30 companies who were sub-contracted to carry out they project. Health system embezzlement  [15]   A scandal in the Colombian health system involved five health insurance companies acronym for (EPS) associated with millionaire embezzlement. These EPS were audited and intervened with a police raid due to the irregularities in the provision of medications and misuse of funds. This has resulted in huge number of cases of double billing, seeking reimbursement for medications EPS are supposed to provide to patients. Public officers, EPS board members and the minister of social protection are some of the people involved in the scandal. These are just some of the examples that can provide a wide picture of what Grand corruption/ State Capture look like in Colombia; in the following section a comparative perspective is presented to illustrate corruption across developing countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa. This section refers to corruption in developing countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa in a comparative perspective with the case of Colombia. LATIN AMERICA Corruption in Latin America specifically in the case of Ecuador is a structural problem that goes beyond political parties or businessman funding campaigns; it has become an issue deep-rooted to cultural features. Low levels of education, weak Social Capital, and low levels of participation in elections are characteristics shared with Colombia. The most common forms of corruption in Ecuador are bribes, nepotism and cronyism used to speed up processes or get contracts. As an example, In June 2009 the media reported that companies associated with businessman Fabricio Correa (the presidents brother), had signed large public-sector contracts during the Correa administration. Another example is the contraction of unqualified unnecessary or inexistent public employees in the national congress known as Piponazgo  [16]  . According to CPI 2012 edition by (TI) the most corrupt country in Latin America is Venezuela; some causes of corruption are the lack of effective strategies to fight corruption and poor freedom of the press. In Venezuela more than 30 radio stations, TV channel and newspapers have been harassed and threaten by the government which creates opportunities for corruption. This situation is slightly different in Colombia where although its one of the most insecure countries for journalists; the aggressions are not provoked by the government but related to the armed conflict: (guerrilla, drug traffickers and paramilitary). Additionally, Venezuela shares two characteristics of corruption with African countries: mismanagement of oil resources, authoritarian government seeking influence through oil diplomacy and control of oil funds by the Government which has caused several scandals  [17]  . Another country that has suffered from similar types of corruption is Mexico, (kickbacks and bribery  [18]  from wealthy businessman, kidnappings of civilians and drug trafficking by the Cartels of Mexico  [19]  ). However, the comparative study carried out by (De la Torre L., 2000) showed that although the Police system in Colombia is not necessarily uncorrupted is one of the most efficient in Latin America. Colombia has implemented long term strategies, there is a better recruitment process, salaries, training and drug- related corruption remains confined to individual or smaller groups of policeman  [20]  . Figure 4: data taken from Transparency International web site CPI results 2012  [21]   ASIA In 2012 India ranked 94th out of 176 countries in TI with a CPI of 3.6 tied with Colombia and Greece. Apart from sharing the ranking position in the CPI score, India and Colombia share bribery, kickbacks and nepotism as some forms of corruption although at different levels of impact in the society. Transparency International India developed a Corruption Study in 2005  [22]  showing that the problem of corruption in India lies at the public service level (health care system, electricity, water supply and black money) affecting citizens daily needs. As a result, corruption in India is due to the Excessive regulations, poor implementation/ monitoring of laws, lack of punishment and highly strong cultural patterns create opportunity for corruption. (Vito Tanzi: 1998). While the perception, cases of corruption and impact in the population regarding public services (water supply, electricity and taxes black money  [23]  are higher in India, in Colombia Organized Crime and drug trafficking plays the main role dominating almost 50% of the country. Another Asian country which has been prone to suffer from widespread corruption and poor CPI score is Bangladesh; the most common forms of corruption are bribes, abuse of authority, nepotism, favouritism, fraud and patronage. Likewise Colombia many cases of corruption are intertwined with their consequences at the national or local level. In Bangladesh payoff include luxury gifts, overseas travel hotels, restaurant bills and personal liabilities while in Colombia payoff are mostly in the form of money or jobs. However in terms of political corruption both countries share the same characteristic Using position while in power to grant undue favour and benefit to ones relatives, friends and key supporters is a hallmark of politics. (Khan, 1997). Nonetheless, in terms of administrative corruption, in Bangladesh civil officers involved in corrupt practices in most cases do not lose their jobs. Very rarely they are dismissed from service on charges pertaining to corruption. Still more rarely they are sent to prison for misusing public funds (Khan, 1997), this is considerably different in Colombia where if found guilty most likely, they will go to prison although the sentence may not be significant; Corruption is all-pervasive in Bangladesh, is a part of the politico-administrative heritage, not only citizens have accepted it as a part of their daily life but also they feel themselves powerless to address the phenomenon at any level (Lewis, 1996). AFRICA Corruption in the developing world has been harmful for economic growth specially for transition or emerging economies and poor countries in Africa; where the influence of decolonization, type of economy (based on natural resources as a source of rent), low levels of education and types of governments (regimes or dictatorships) are directly related to levels of corruption. Africa is a continent where Kleptocracy dominates and leads to grand Corruption; an example of this is the rule of Mobutu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (1965-1997). Characterized by the misuse of foreign aid and rent from natural resources leading to worse governance, embezzlement and illegal enrichment. In the case of Nigeria, 2007 elections candidates were more likely to buy votes because is more reliable and less difficult.  [24]  In Nigeria, the misadministration of oil and natural gas resources from Kleptocratic governments, nepotism and graft are the most common forms of corruption. Another case worth looking at is Kenya which demonstrates how corruption can turn a stable country into political crisis. Corruption comes in the form of a little something to speed up processes or to ignore infractions; and Tribalism loyalty first to families then clan and then tribes. Kenya likewise Colombia has suffered from scandals within the government Goldenberg case  [25]  where the Kenyan government of Daniel Arap was found to have subsidised exports of gold beyond standard arrangements by paying the company Goldenberg International 35% more. Despite the fact that Colombia is an older democracy and the GDP less affected by corruption in Latin America than in African countries  [26]  ; clientelism, graft, bribery misuse of funds at the national level and embezzlement are shared forms of corruption; however, corruption in Colombia is highly generated by drugs traffic while in Africa is due to misuse of natural resources and abuse of power. CONCLUSION This paper has given an account of the most prominent forms of corruption in the developing world with deep focus on Colombia in a comparative perspective with other Latin American, Asian and African countries. In this paper, becomes evident and implicit that regardless the geographical position of a country, the developing countries studied in this essay share mostly the same types of corruption. Instead some variations in terms of forms and levels of perception of corruption may appear depending on type of government, levels of education, poverty and whether it is an emerging or established democracy. At the same time history plays an important role in places of Africa and Colombia where in order to understand the reasons and causes behind levels of corruption it is not only important to recognize the political, social, economic and cultural conditions of these countries but also to understand the impact of these situation on the levels of corruption, this will enhance comprehension of the strategies implemented or reasons for not implementing as well as for punishing or not corruption. From this essay can conclude that; Even though forms and types of corruption are shared across countries the political, social, economic and cultural patterns should be considered individually to fight corruption where political will and anticorruption programs work in reality effectively. In Latin American countries like Colombia where the drug war fosters corruption and increases private gain (money) at public expense (violence) while in Africa and Asia corruption affects foreign direct investment.

Self Other And Social Context Management Essay

Self Other And Social Context Management Essay To help build Departmental capability over the medium and long term the identification of needs should be directly linked to the achievement of the Organisational goals as well as on the broader career development needs of individual employees. Numerous studies have shown that individuals process information differently. In todays educational environment the traditional educational delivery method of a professor standing in front of a classroom of students has been augmented, and in some cases supplanted, by various on-line, distance learning delivery methodologies. Studies have also shown that not all individuals learn at the same level when participating in courses which utilize different approaches. GLOBAL REVOLUTION A global revolution is taking place in the field of workplace learning. It is driven by the requirements of information explosion, increased globalisation, the changing nature of work and business as well as changing learner needs and aspirations. In the modern business environment, companies are forced to approach the way they conduct business activities with a more external focus. Not only the business partnerships extending across regional, national and continental borders, but international standards are also becoming the norm. Preparing workers to compete in the knowledge economy requires a new model of education and training, a model of lifelong learning. A lifelong learning framework encompasses learning throughout the life cycle, from early childhood to retirement. It includes formal, non-formal, and informal education and training. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Formal education and training includes structured programs that are recognized by the formal education system and lead to approved certificates. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Non-formal education and training includes structured programs that are not formally recognized by the national system. Examples include apprenticeship training programs and structured on-the-job training. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Informal education and training includes unstructured learning, which can take place almost anywhere, including the home, community, or workplace. It includes unstructured on-the-job training, the most common form of workplace learning. Recent knowledge and the accumulated stock of human capital are inputs in the production of new knowledge and wealth. The speed of change in the knowledge economy means that skills depreciate much more rapidly than they once did. To compete effectively in this constantly changing environment and globally, workers need to be able to upgrade their skills on a continuing basis. Change in the knowledge economy is so rapid that companies can no longer rely solely on new graduates or new labour market entrants as the primary source of new skills and knowledge. Schools and other training institutions thus need to prepare workers for lifelong learning. Educational systems can no longer emphasize task-specific skills but must focus instead on developing learners decision making and problem-solving skills and teaching them how to learn on their own and with others. Lifelong learning is crucial in enabling workers to compete in the global economy. Education helps reduce poverty; if developing economies do not promote lifelong learning opportunities, the skills and technology gap between them and industrial countries will continue to grow. By improving peoples ability to function as members of their communities, education and training also increase social capital (broadly defined as social cohesion or social ties), thereby helping to build human capital, increase economic growth, and stimulate development. Social capital also improves education and health outcomes and child welfare, increases tolerance for gender and racial equity, enhances civil liberty and economic and civic equity, and decreases crime and tax evasion (Putnam, 2001). Education must thus be viewed as fundamental to development, not just because it enhances human capital but because it increases social capital as well. ORGANISATIONAL REALITIES This article examines the organisational realities. The perspectives appearing in the literature, the structural, the perceptual and interactive are identified and examined. Additionally, a perspective termed the organisational culture, the change leader approach and organisational reframing will also be discussed. 2.1 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Realigning processes and roles to fit a new organizational reality is daily work for leaders. Planning and implementing changes is a fundamental set of skills at which all leaders must excel to ensure their teams and functions are set up to do great work. Improving an organizations success through aligning its culture became a popular focus of work in the 1980s. During this time, many behavioural science researchers acknowledged the power and importance of organizational culture. In the last twenty-five years, organization culture has become a frequent topic of discussion among a broad audience of leaders including operational managers and organization development, human resources, and training professionals. Culture is now a regular consideration or it ought to be during strategic planning sessions and throughout change management initiatives. Changes that go against a work culture or that are initiated without regard to the culture are likely to fail whereas culture-consistent changes ensure better results while reinforcing the most important workplace values and beliefs. Sometimes it is the culture that needs to change to support a new reality. Determining how to change a culture without wrecking intrinsic motivation or losing top talent is a delicate matter, indeed. To begin examining this challenge, lets first establish a common definition of organizational culture. What is an Organizations Culture? Many definitions of organization culture can be found in behavioural sciences literature. A frequently cited definition comes from organization development pioneer Edgar Schein. In his book, Organization Culture and Leadership, Schein described culture as being deeper than behaviours and artefacts. I will argue that the term culture should be reserved for the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organization, that operate unconsciously, and that define in a basic taken for granted fashion an organizations view of itself and its environment. Schein emphasized assumptions and beliefs while others see culture as a product of values. In Cultures Consequences, Geert Hofstede wrote, I treat culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Culture, in this sense, includes systems of values; and values are among the building blocks of culture. Culture is to a human collectively what personality is to an individual. Beliefs and values are linked. What about understanding? In the article, Organizations as Culture-Bearing Milieux, Meryl Reis Louis wrote that, any social group, to the extent that it is a distinctive unit, will have some degree of culture differing from that of other groups, a somewhat different set of common understandings around which action is organized, and these differences will find expression in a language whose nuances are peculiar to that group. These three descriptions of organization culture find root in collectively held individual thinking processes. In their piece titled, The Role of Symbolic Management, Caren Siehl and Joanne Martin argued that culture consists of three components: context, forms, and strategies. This description suggests a more systemic description of culture with both internal and external components. In Riding the Waves of Culture, Fons Trompenaars offers another systemic model and described three levels of culture: 1) the explicit layer made up of artefacts and products and other observable signs, 2) the middle layer of norms and values and, 3) the implicit layer, which is comprised of basic assumptions and beliefs. In Corporate Culture and Performance, John Kotter and James Heskett acknowledge internal and external components of culture, too. They see organization culture as having two levels, which differ in their visibility and resistance to change. The invisible level is made up of shared values that tend to persist over time and are harder to change. The visible level of culture includes group behaviors and actions, which are easier to change. Is it important, or even possible, to sort out these definitions and decide which is most accurate? Schein, for example, argued that artefacts and products reflect the organizations culture, but none of them is the essence of culture. The differences and Inter-connectedness of assumptions, beliefs, understandings, and values could be studied further to determine which are more elemental to culture, but would that be time well spent? Which is most important, that a definition be right or that it be helpful? Although we cannot determine the right definition, each of these descriptions adds value to our approach to strengthening organization culture. Based on the work of these and other researchers, we could make the following conclusions about organization culture: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Each company has a unique culture built and changed over time. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Beliefs, assumptions, values and understandings and the actions and norms they produce are important components of culture. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ We recognize culture by observing actions and artefacts (explicit factors). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ While some call it a sub-culture and others a climate within the larger culture, there may be cultural differences within subgroups of an organization. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Observable behaviours and actions are easier to change than are beliefs and values. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The observable elements of culture affect the invisible elements and visa versa. Change in one cultural element will impact other elements. Although not apparent in the above offered definitions, it is also important to consider how cultures external to the organization impact and affect the organizations culture. Employees sense their organizations culture soon after they join the company. They might have a hard time describing the culture, but they know it when they feel and see it. There may be similarities in particular industries but each company will have unique cultural attributes. Improving the Organisations Culture A workplace culture can enable or hinder success. Leaders can impact the alignment of the culture with the companys mission and strategies. How? Culture is socially constructed and leaders need to initiate great conversations that tie cultural norms to the organizations goals. If the current culture is not in alignment with the new reality, leaders need to be the catalysts, or bridges, who create a new understanding and help individuals select new behaviours and, eventually, beliefs. Leaders must also define, clarify and reinforce understanding of the actions and beliefs that build the desired culture. The organizational culture is particularly important when implementing organization-wide change. Many organizations are struggling to keep up they layer new initiatives onto the work processes before previous initiatives have taken hold. A culture can either enable or be a barrier to nonstop changes. If the culture is nimble (in the habit of being re-aligned), change will be more fluid and effective. Most large-scale changes need to be supported by complementary changes in the organizations culture. Change plans, then, should address current and desired cultural elements. Leaders can play a key role in facilitating change by aligning projects and development efforts to reinforce the desired culture. A culture of Continuous Learning- Key to improving Organisational Culture Many organizations say they want to build a learning culture. What does this mean? Generally, what they are saying is that they want people to grow and be receptive to changes and willing to take on new tasks. A culture of continuous learning goes deeper than this, although these behaviours are certainly important. Employees value continuous self-development and choose to make learning a priority in the face of competing demands. Leaders, also, match their intention to seek coaching and development with the attention they give learning each day and week. A culture of continuous learning develops when there is a collective understanding of the importance of personal and team growth backed up by actions a resolve to inject learning into everyday work practices. Cultures of continuous learning tend to be more nimble, which means that they are easier to align and realign when new goals or new realities change how an organization must conduct its work. Resistance to changes on an organizational level is more common when team members are unaccustomed to learning and relearning new tasks, projects, and processes. Here are several important indicators of a culture of continuous learning: People are curious and adventurous. They value mental exploration. Most people are naturally curious. To what degree does the work environment encourage people to be curious and adventurous at work? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Team members are allowed and encouraged to experiment. It is safe to venture outside of established practices and explore (within limits). Can employees try new ways and approaches? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The work environment is stimulating it is sensual. The sights, sounds, smells, and textures are interesting and engaging. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Employees at all levels seek and embrace learning in a variety of forms. This is the most telling clue. What level of participation is there in development opportunities? Are executives active learners? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ There is a healthy view of failure and mistakes. Employees are held accountable, but productive recovery is also rewarded and mistakes are looked at as learning experiences. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ .The workplace is intrinsically rewarding. When employees are self-motivated, they seek learning and development. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The organization is proactive about succession. Talent is developed and promoted. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The organization has a focus on innovation in all functions and at all levels. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The organization embraces Omni modal learning and communication in-person, over the web, virtual, formal, informal, one-on-one, group, as part of regular meetings, separate courses, on site, off site, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Managers and leaders can help build these conditions by engaging team members in a diverse set of learning opportunities. Being a role model for lifelong learning is important, too. Leaders need to practice what they preach and ways to fit professional growth into their busy schedules. The organizations culture is like a rudder under a large ship. To turn the ship, the rudder must move in the right direction. A nimble culture can help organizations explore and be successful while moving to meet new goals and seize new opportunities. Like an inoperable rudder, if the culture does not move, or moves in the wrong direction, it is hard for the organization to progress. Mahatma Gandhi once said, You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Every leader and manager should model the desired culture and his or her actions should reinforce excellence. 2.2 Change Leader To achieve their purposes, organizations must constantly learn, adapt, and grow, a process referred to as change. Research shows, however, that only a relatively few structured change efforts achieve great success-most just get by while the majority fail to reach predefined performance goals and objectives (Mansfield, 2010); ( Salem, 2008); (Schneier, Shaw, Beatty, 1992). At issue is what underlies this phenomenon of underperformance. Studies of complex social systems suggest that the major reason for failure lies in the way decision makers think about and execute the change process (Smith, 1999). If one looks at the typical change process, it is apparent most decision makers view organizations from an objective perspective-as an assemblage of parts that can be arranged and re-arranged to produce predictable outcomes; however, the magnitude of the failure of planned changes led us to ask the following questions: Research Question 1: What factors facilitate or inhibit the change process? Research Question 2: How do these facilitators and inhibitors evolve within an organization? Research Question 3: What are the implications of understanding this evolutionary process relative to achieving a more sustainable level of performance? The answers to these questions led us to propose an alternative approach to understanding and changing organizational performance, one that supposes that organizational learning and change involves understanding the organization from the objective and the subjective perspectives simultaneously. We call this the Full Dimensional Systems Model (FDSM), a perspective which draws heavily on the concepts associated with Complex Adaptive System (CAS). The FDSM perspective assumes there are multiple, interrelated domains of influence that impact change and that these domains must each be appreciated and addressed simultaneously to achieve sustainable performance improvements. The FDSM provides a valid and powerful rationale for determining how to implement meaningful change within organizations as well as identifying probable outcomes and consequences from those changes. Flaws in Traditional Approaches to Thinking About Change The fact that organizational change frequently fails underscores the flaws inhering in traditional approaches to change. These approaches to change are flawed in four ways. First, the need for change is framed in almost exclusively objective terms, thus overlooking important subjective issues. Secondly, the change problem is viewed as a puzzle to be solved (Mansfield, 2010), and the challenge is collecting and analyzing enough data until all the pieces form the right solution. Thirdly, using this approach means that decisions are often based on flawed and/or incomplete information. Fourth, decision makers tend to develop detailed change strategies (often based on the data collected around the need for change), assuming that, if they follow the plan, the puzzle will be solved and the organization will come through the process better structured to meet the needs of their clients. This typical mental model leads to a misalignment of how decision makers perceive and respond to the hard r eality of reality itself (Wolfberg, 2006). Myths and Other Dangerous Half-Truths About Change Adherence to traditional approaches to thinking has produced a number of myths, or dangerous half-truths, about how to make change happen (Kelly, Hoopes, Conner, 2005); (Pfeffer Sutton, 2006). Myth 1-Change starts at the top Organizational change starts with a goal and a plan created by senior management. This approach is usually met by what is referred to as resistance and typically does not work in the fast changing systems of today because the change strategy reflects the same paradigm that created the problem in the first place. The truth seems to be that change depends on the participation of many system members (agents) in an essentially self-organizing process. It may also depend on change agents who consciously influence self-organization toward new and more adaptable patterns of relationship. Myth 2-Efficiency comes from control Change is possible only when every detail is mapped out in precise terms. This prejudice ignores the fact that every process improvement adds new and/or changes existing subsystems, which adds even more complexity to subsystems/systems that already have problems. The result is that many efforts to solve problems actually lead to more serious ones. Myth 3-Prediction is possible It is assumed by many managers that an action in one place will have a replicable effect in another. This, it turns out, is usually false, in part because a complex system consists of many agents, with different ideas, biases, prejudices, and expectations, and each of these concepts interact with many subsystems to determine outcome. Even small variations in the patterns of interaction can produce enormous variation in outcomes. In other words, complex systems are usually very sensitive to inconsistencies in mind-sets and processes. Myth 4-Change is manageable Assuming the course of change is predictable, many managers make a related assumption-that you can manage the change process by developing and then implementing complex plans. The fallacy of this myth was very clearly illustrated by the recent Gulf of Mexico oil tragedy that cost 11 lives and did untold damage to the Gulfs ecosystem. The assumption was made that through design and control alone, the company could achieve the aim of hazard elimination-This turned out not to be the case. The validity of these myths is not supported by the facts. Decisions made in the manner described above often produce unanticipated and unintended consequences. A typical occurrence is illustrated in one of the organizations we studied (Owen Mundy, 2005) where a shared services human resources model was created to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of human resource delivery. Although the delivery model seemed very efficient, it produced the unexpected and unintended consequences of bringing about a loss of direct contact with customers and direct accountability at the local level. The result was that the quality of service delivery actually declined significantly as did the level of customer satisfaction and, instead of saving money, costs soared as a quiet revolt of internal customers ensued. An important effect of these flaws is the creation of what might be thought of as ripples of dissonance in an organization. These ripples, which represent the diverse patterns of self-interest (significant differences) that exist relative to the change, behave like attractors and exhibit all the properties associated with attractors, that is, the emergence of self-organized, adaptable networks, and so on. The psychological mathematics of how this region of dissonance is resolved, then, is at the root of much of the wasted energy observed when an organization tries to implement a large-scale (organization-wide) change or intervention. Any change that involves new patterns of relationships among members, new ways of behaving, and new processes requires a different mental model than the one that is typically used to understand and execute change. A NEW WAY OF THINKING IS NEEDED The contention is that decision makers must shift from a puzzle-solving perspective (a typical fact-based approach) toward a mystery-solving perspective (a value-based approach). The puzzle-solving perspective rests on the assumption there is one right answer; as soon as it is discovered, events can be expected to flow in a predictable manner (Mansfield, 2010). The mystery-solving perspective rests on the assumption there is no one right answer or even a right way to get to an answer; rather, there is an array of possible outcomes, none of which is predictable. Because there are many possible outcomes and consequences associated with any organizational change decision, decision makers need to be able to anticipate and understand the implications of their decisions, and how to respond should the improbable outcome become a reality (Wolfberg, 2006). The only way to do this is for decision makers to create a fully transparent environment in which the many differences of potential releva nce to a change are put in the open for analysis. Although there are many organizational change methods available, few are based on such a mystery perspective. The result is that change efforts are generally disconnected from a significant pool of knowledge. The bottom line is that the way a change agent views the causes of change determines how she or he sees the world and, therefore, determines how she or he intervenes on behalf of the organization. If change agents see the organization as a machine, then they use interventions consistent with this view; if they see it as a complex, multidimensional system, then they use methods appropriate to that paradigm to change (Kim Mauborgne, 1999). Modern organizations are complex. Simply moving from the organizational chart to examining how work gets done in most organizations easily demonstrates this. Work is a complex process involving multiple interactions between the members of an organization and their teams, teams and other teams, teams and other organizations, and so on. Changes in one part of an organization will invariably have an effect on other parts of the organization-some obvious and others less so. As organizations grow and change through time, their complexity grows and changes as well. (Anderson, 1999) proposed integrating four attributes of CASs into our thinking of modern organizations: agents, feedback loops, self-organization, and coevolution. All human systems comprised numerous semi-independent agents, each of which is capable of autonomous action; such action follows that agents schema of the organization. A schema is a mental model of how the world works and how to interpret events in that world. These schema act like self-fulfilling prophecies and thus can have powerful and sometimes disruptive effects on a change. A second concept is that agents are connected to one another by feedback loops. One agents behavior can affect the behavior of numerous other agents in self-reinforcing cycles of influence. These feedback loops underscore the importance of coevolution. Third, agents coevolve with one another. A given agents adaptations impact the efforts of agents to adapt, and these co-adaptations lead to patterns or waves of self-organization that flow throughout the organization. Finally, CASs evolve over time through the entry, exit, and transformation of existing agents, and new agents can be formed by recombining elements of previously successful agents. Furthermore, the linkages between agents also evolve or coevolve over time, shifting the pattern of interconnections and their strength. CHANGE IN CASs: A METAPHOR How can organizations hope to adapt to the ever increasing level of complexity and in the process remain vibrant, responsive, and healthy? The answer to this question lies in the principles of CASs. (Dooley, 2002) offers the following three principles about the nature of the CAS: (a) order is emergent as opposed to hierarchical, (b) the systems history is irreversible, and (c) the systems future is often unpredictable. The basic building blocks of the CAS are agents. Agents are semiautonomous units that seek to maximize some measure of goodness of fit by evolving over time in response to the environment. Rather than focusing on macro strategic-level changes, complexity theory suggests that the most powerful processes of change occur at the micro level (e.g., the individual and groups) where relationships, interactions, experiments, and simple rules shape emerging patterns. As everything in an organization is interconnected, large-scale change occurs through the integration of changes that affect the smallest parts. Organization change occurs through the evolution of individuals and small groups. Like biological changes, these changes are sometimes not incremental but dramatic. From a complexity perspective, everyone can be a change agent if they are aware of options to help the organization adapt to its environment. A metaphor will serve to clarify these points. A jazz ensemble is a CAS. Each musician is autonomous. They interact as they play. They bring their own intents, biases, levels of interest, experience, and aesthetics to the performance. A minimum number of rules are put in place regarding set, place, time, and so on. Usually, the players know one another very well, and they are all very competent in the theory and practice of jazz music. The music is a balance of control and improvisation (in the moment changes or adaptations in the melodic and/or harmonic line). They listen to each other and adapt themselves to fashion their music. Their enthusiasm influences the other members of the band and the receptivity of the audience. The audience influences the band. In the end, the quality and creativity of the performance is the result of the interaction of all these elements. These emerging patterns influence not only the current selection but also the next piece as well as successive pieces. This metaphor illustrates how creativity and efficiency emerge naturally in human organizations. Some basic rules, positive contacts, and relationships among members allow solutions to emerge from the bottom up. In this CAS, the musicians and the audience all act as autonomous system agents; the setting, roles, rules, and duration of the concert constitute the container/context; the contribution of each instrument and the continuous change of melodies and harmonies are significant differences, whereas the influencing processes between musicians and their audience are transformative exchanges; the continuous successions of music are the self-organizing patterns. Each of these concepts is highly interdependent REFRAMING THE ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT Reframing is about changing perception by understanding something in another way. (Bandler Grinder, 1982) explained reframing in the following manner: What reframing does is to say, Look, this external thing occurs and it elicits this response in you, so you assume that you know what the meaning is. But if you thought about it this other way, then you would have a different response. Being able to think about things in a variety of ways builds a spectrum of understanding. None of these ways are really true, though. They are simply statements about a persons understanding. BASIC TYPES OF REFRAMING There are two basic kinds of reframes: context reframing and content reframing. Both can alter our internal representations of events or situations, which permits us to experience the events in other, hopefully, more resourceful ways. Context reframing Bandler and Grinder noted that every experience in the world and every behavior is appropriate, given some context, some frame (1982,p.9) Context reframing offers an understanding of how we make meaning through the environment physical, intellectual, cultural, historical, and emotional in which a situation occurs. It can also provide a pattern of thinking that helps us see the value in every situation regardless of any perceived downside. Context reframing is taking an experience that seems to be negative, not useful, and distressing and showing how the same behaviour or experience can be useful in another context. Childrens stories are full of reframes designed to show children how what might seem a liability can be useful in another context. For example, the other reindeer made fun of Rudolphs bright, red nose; but that funny nose made Rudolph the hero on a dark night. Context reframing can be used as a perceptual filter, taught and practiced until it becomes an integral and habitual way of organizational thinking. It is a very useful tool in business as it is the way of thinking that gives one the ability to make lemonade from those unexpected

Platos Repulic, book V Essay -- essays research papers fc

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the viability of certain aspects (the sex lottery) of Plato's Republic, book V. It is college level 'A' paper. Book V of The Republic finds Socrates explaining the practical details necessary in the creation of an ideal polis. He proposes a system for population control and human eugenics based on a lottery of sorts which will determine who will mate with whom and when. The lottery is â€Å"rigged† by the rulers in order that the best of the â€Å"herd† will mate much more frequently than others. However, only the rulers of this society will know the lottery is rigged. This system will presumably assure that children will be conceived as the result of reason, not irrational behaviors such as love or lust, and will produce the best possible future generations (Plato 458d – 460c). I argue that Plato’s lottery would not have worked in his time, nor would it work now because the desire to propagate was and still is a human instinct propelled by passion, not something that can simply be reasoned away. While Plato proposed that licentiousness would be forbidden and matrimony given the highest degree of sanctity (458e), I do not think that would be enough to stop a massive rise in sex crimes and passionate affairs. Instead of a just society, Plato’s proposal would have created one of fear, self-doubt and lack of trust in the government and is not something I would advocate implementing. While we can never really know how this utopia would have â€Å"played out† in Plato’s time, the negative effects on a society when passions are forcibly controlled can be illustrated in a modern sense by the Catholic Church and our penal system. Plato wrote that guardians would be â€Å"drawn together by a necessity of their natures to have intercourse† (458d) and yet, their sexual interludes should be limited by the use of the lottery. It is important to point out that since reliable and accessible birth control is a recent luxury, Plato was not simply advocating for selective child birth, he was talking about abstaining from heterosexual sex unless you â€Å"won† the lottery. I don’t think Plato’s lottery system would have worked out as well as he envisioned. When the less desirable of the population were consistently â€Å"unlucky† and unable to propagate year after year, what would have happened to them psychologically? Given that copulation was to be an honor bestowed upon... ...or other punishments. Whether restraint of sexual instincts are willingly accepted or forced upon a community, the results can lead to a decidedly non-ideal situation. By looking at some modern examples, I have shown how human desire can, and often does, override reason and the law even when faced with community imposed consequences or dire punishments. While current society differs greatly from Plato’s Greece, people are still people and human instinct existed then just as it exists today. People who are denied the ability to choose if and with whom they can have sex are liable to become irrational or turn to violent means to reach that end, regardless of the era in which they live. In Plato’s ideal society these unsanctioned actions could have lead to an increased level in the public’s fear for their physical safety. Individuals consistently denied by the rulers to copulate might develop self-worth issues and finally, a pin-prick of imperfection in this utopian society may be discovered by those who are forbidden from enjoying physical relations with those they desire or love. Works Cited Plato, The Republic. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2004.

Uncontrolled Fate :: essays research papers

â€Å"Uh oh, says Lance. â€Å"I can see the police. I better pick up some speed.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I can still see the prison behind me after five long minutes of hard running through three-foot tall weeds. The searchlights from helicopters above provide adequate lighting for me. I take one step at a time trying not to make any unnecessary noise. As I strip down to my shorts and t-shirt I take notice to how cold it is outside. I haven’t seen daylight in months due to the fact that I’m confined to my tiny death cell. I am approaching what seems to be a forest. I see hundreds if not thousands of tall, massive trees. I figure this is the perfect hideout until I find neutral ground. The searchlights can’t penetrate through the thick branches of the trees, so I must now rely on my other senses to get around. I feel my way through the pitch-black forest. I get on my hands and knees to crawl. After ten gruesome minutes my head bumps into something solid. I assume it is a tree, but after close examination it turns out to be a door. I anxiously hop to my feet and to my surprise the door is unlocked. As I step through the door I feel a sense of relief. I take a deep breath and bellow out at the top of my lungs, â€Å"Is anyone home?† I figure it’s a big house so I wait for a response. Minutes pass and I begin to hear soft thumps on the floor. They become more and more thunderous as time passes. It seems as if someone is darting towards me. I panic, and out of fear I let out screech, but I am so terrified it comes out as a squeal. I run out the house. I take a look back and a bulky figure is charging towards me with a butcher’s knife. I cry out, â€Å"STOP,† but he still persists, so I prepare to go into combat. Before I could do anything I feel a sharp pain in my right shoulder. Oh it hurts. This dim-witted guy threw a knife at me. I stumble to my knees. I reach to pull the knife out, but it’s stuck. I’m bleeding uncontrollable, and I’m becoming dizzy. It’s happening just like the movies; it’s getting darker and darker, stars appear, and I’m passed out.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I awake I tall, colossal man is hovering over me.