Module 6; Team Leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Module 6; Team Leader - Essay Example In the absence of wise and effective leadership, teams could exhibit rudderless behavior due to lack of purpose and direction. Nevertheless, there are specific styles and characteristics of leadership that favor the optimal functionality of teams (Sohmen, 2013). Similarly, teamwork cannot exist in the absence of reliable and favorable leadership. For optimal organizational performance, teamwork and leadership must be coordinated and balanced. If I were in charge at my own organization, I would watch out for both negative and positive behaviors where I would work on eliminating the negatives and further strengthening the positive behaviors. The positive behaviors include belief where the employees believe that they have the capacity to meet the predetermined goals, focus in that the employees have understood the direction and that they show unified focus when working, and motivation where the employees are showing the need to succeed (Sohmen, 2013). The potential negative behaviors would include competing factions among the team where members of a certain group are extremely passionate concerning their selected viewpoints as well as other behaviors that include lack of direction, belief and motivation. Identifying such behaviors would ensure that the leader has a picture of what is going on in the organization, which would help them in determining the next course of action. Measuring team behavior is a challenging issue and requires appropriate skills to accomplish. To measure team behavior in my organization, I would first assess their contribution to the organization’s goals. If the team has been fulfilling its tasks as required and within the provided period, then the behavior of the team is good. However, if the opposite is true, then the team requires additional input. I would also assess their communication while they are working on a project. If the team is constantly arguing and conflicting over the

Value of Pop Culture Essay Example for Free

Value of Pop Culture Essay Jim and Pam got married, Ke$ha brushes her teeth with whiskey, and Lady Gaga ponders if we are actually born predisposed to be weird. No matter where you look, we are surrounded by pop culture. Popular culture is a sub-culture that is often mocked and scrutinized as not being meaningful or significant, pop culture is seen as what is considered â€Å"cool† at the moment in time, and carries no long-term effects on society or culture as a whole. Emile Durkheim once said â€Å"For Sociology really to be a science of things, the generality of phenomena must be taken as the criterion of their normality. In the same book, He argues for the functions of crime in society, I believe that these functions are the same functions that popular culture has in society. In brief, these functions are to produce social norms, establish social boundaries, create rituals that generate social solidarity, generate innovation, and pave the way for social change. It is important to identify what â€Å"pop culture† is identified as, seeing as how it can be used in several different ways. When I refer to pop culture, I mean so in the commercial culture sense. Commercial culture produces a product in order to generate a profit. Allow us first to examine the way popular culture produces social norms. In the book The Dominant Ideology Thesis, the authors argue that mass media is the key by which ideas of the dominant class is spread to the rest of society. I believe this view is crucial to understanding how popular culture produces social norms. For example, let’s use what we wear as a way to show how social norms are produce. The fashion industry tells us what to wear in magazines and advertisements, these norms are reinforced over and over again by television, actors, film, musicians, and celebrities who embrace the fashion trends. Stores begin to only sell a certain type of clothing, and it becomes increasingly more difficult to not conform to the fashion norm. Popular culture is not limited only to the fashion world in terms of the norms it produces, it is impossible to go through a checkout at the store and not be bombarded by magazines that share what type of sexual practices are not acceptable, what type of music is on the rise, and even what type of foods we should eat. Even children are being conditioned to behave a certain way thanks to programming such as Sesame Street and Barney. In addition to producing social norms, popular culture also helps us establish social boundaries. The music we listen to, along with the clothes we wear and the television we watch not only helps to shape our identities but also helps us find those people more like ourselves. It is because of the rise in popular culture that we are able to embrace certain musical tastes and reject others, allowing us to find others who share the same likes and dislikes as ourselves. People who listen to Metallica probably don’t have much in common with those people who listen to Miley Cyrus. Pop culture offers us a unique system to identify those who are like us, this is seen more obviously in the pornography business. The internet has normalized amateur pornography to the point where there is an unjustifiable amount of naked people on the internet, most of whom clearly (and I mean clearly! ) do so for non-profit. Perhaps the easiest aspect of popular culture to observe is the rituals that it creates. Teenagers are brought together through dance clubs, college students come together to view television events, comic book fans wait in line hours to see a new movie. All these rituals produce feelings of belonging, bonding with members of society over a common interest. The super bowl for example is a multibillion dollar affair because of the fact that millions of people from all demographics will sit down and watch the game for three hours. Going to a concert gives you a since of social solidarity, singing along to a song in unison with fifteen-thousand other people creates close social bonds†¦ even if you hardly know anyone else at the concert. They share a sense of meaning in their identity; this shared meaning is the basis of group solidarity. According to Durkheim, it is solidarity that is the basic building block of social cohesion. Popular Culture has also helped to generate innovations that have no only progressed itself, but all of culture. Obviously the most important area that popular culture has helped progress is clearly the internet. The World Wide Web has progressed and is driven by what could be considered the largest are of pop culture, pornography. I suspect that pornography hasn’t exactly helped the advancement of civilization, but it has helped the advancement of technology greatly. The development of broadband internet, streaming videos online, high definition quality pictures, all came to be as a result of the pornography business. Of course innovation isn’t held strictly by the adult entertainment business; another huge industry spurred by pop culture is the music industry, specifically the way we listen and buy music. Before 1999, and the invention of Napster, the internet was not a medium that many in the music industry embraced†¦ and it wasn’t until Napster exploited the lack of regulation over the internet that big music corporations saw the advantages of using the internet as a means to spread their product to a whole new audience. Before, the customer had to venture to a record store and sort through hundreds of albums in order to find a new type of music or band to listen too, now it can be accomplished with a quick Google search. The film industry has also been touched by the advancement that pop culture has allowed. With companies such as Netflix set up to combine movies with the internet, and the invention of the DVD, thousands of films are at our disposal and all with crystal clear clarity. Arguably the most important function that popular culture serves in our society is that it paves the road to social change, numerous times it is actually the driving force behind social change. This can be seen all the way back to 1906 when Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle helped lead to a revolution of the food industry in America. We can see this clearly most recently with the sudden involvement of celebrities who got involved in the 2008 presidential election, primarily in Barack Obama’s campaign. Robert DeNiro, Oprah Winfrey, Usher, Chris Rock, Scarlett Johansson, Ron Howard, Magic Johnson, and John Mayer are just a few of the actors/athletes/comedians/musicians that are linked with Obama. It is no surprise that Obama won the 2008 presidential election in a landslide. Companies have long known the effect that celebrities have on America and have used them to push products. We are seeing this again with the involvement of such celebrities as Lady Gaga in the Gay Rights movement. Rap music is a great example of a group inside of pop culture which constantly challenges the social norms and the power structure of the white majority. It is clear that popular culture serves many functions in society, many of which are shared by crime. These functions include producing social norms, establishing social boundaries, creating rituals that generate social solidarity, generating innovation, and paving the way for social change. We cannot simply push pop culture off to the side as low-brow culture and has no significance.

physical education in elementry grades :: essays research papers

Physical fitness â€Å"There is a definite need for the youth of our nation to be healthy and physically educated, but our we going to do it right, or wait for others to take that responsibility†. Even though To put in effect the physical fitness classes there would have to be a lot of support and extra money allotted to the program, In all schools there should be a health and physical education class because In out nation today the young people are in poor physical condition and Physical education is a contribution to the total growth and overall development of a student. I.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To put in effect the physical fitness classes there would have to be a lot of support and extra money allotted to the program A.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There have been many mistakes with trying to implement physical fitness in the schools today with the teachers and the curriculum. â€Å"There are a number of factors that contribute to this variation including elimination on physical education programs in school districts, the reduction of trained specialists, inadequate budgets, and disinterested students and teachers†. There are certified health and physical education majors that can teach these programs and shift the emphasis on living healthy lifestyles. 1. There are many ways to implement physical education classes in schools. The classes can be in direct relationship to the athletic programs that schools have. B.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There has to be support from the school districts and the principle and the parents in order for this physical education program to be implemented in to schools. II.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even though to put in effect the physical fitness classes there would have to be a lot of support and extra money allotted to the program, In all schools there should be a health and physical education class because In out nation today the young people are in poor physical condition. A.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Many in the health related professions believe there is a correlation between the poor health/physical condition of our youth and the incidence of those chronic diseases due to self destructive lifestyles†. If the programs would be implemented in schools students would learn about living healthy lifestyles and have the information they learned and implement it in their lives. 1. One way to make a lasting impact is to teach the latest principles of physical fitness and let students know that they have to do these things they are being taught in there lives on a daily basis because they are responsible for there well being.

Two Former Tyco Executives Found Guilty

The past three years have witnessed stunning financial collapses in many companies that were ranked among the most admired companies in America. Sunbeam, Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and HealthSouth were lauded, imitated, and studied for their stunning performances. Now they are studied for their failures. What went wrong? How could so much go so wrong? And, the inevitable question, where were the auditors and the accountants as these financial statements of well-being were released? Tyco International CEO Dennis Kozlowski, former CFO Mark Swartz, and former general counsel Mark Belnick were all indicted on charges that Kozlowski and Swartz, among others, stole $170 million from the company and pocketing $430 million from the fraudulent sale of Tyco stock. Belnick was charged with hiding $14 million in loans to himself. Tyco's management fired back as well. It filed a lawsuit against Kozlowski looking to recoup $244 million in pay and benefits. Tyco, over the period between 1964 and 2001, went from a small research firm based in New Hampshire to a conglomerate with a presence in over 100 countries and over 250,000 employees. Between 1991 and 2001, then-CEO Dennis Kozlowski took Tyco from $3 billion in annual sales to $36 billion in 2001 with over 200 acquisitions at a cost of $60 billion. It was through its expansive acquisition program that Tyco's accounting pushed the envelope. Tyco made its acquisitions look as anemic as possible. Called â€Å"spring-loading,† the goal was to have the acquired company seem to be a nonperformer in terms of earnings, much below its actual performance. However, if the acquired company then simply performs normally the following year, Tyco enjoys a boost to both its growth as well as respect for its management ability. Spring-loading is easily accomplished by, for example, having the acquired company pay all bills for the acquisition, even if that bill is not due, and also pay all other bills, whether they are due and owing. Raychem's treasurer sent out the following email when Tyco was acquiring Raychem: At Tyco's request, all major Raychem sites will pay all pending payables, whether they are due or not †¦ I understand from Ray [Raychem's CFO] that we have agreed to do this, even though we will be spending the money for no tangible benefit either to Raychem or Tyco. A report completed by David Boies, at the direction of Tyco's board, included an interview with an employee of another Tyco acquisition in which the employee indicates that a Tyco executive asked: â€Å"How high can we get these things? How can we justify getting this higher?† (Ackroyd & Thompson, 1999). The Boies report indicates that Tyco executives used both incentives and pressure on executives in order to get them to push the envelope on accounting rules in the acquisition process. The SEC has begun an investigation into Tyco's accounting in its acquisition of U.S. Surgical in 1998. Documents in the case include memoranda between Tyco financial executives proposing ways to slow U.S. Surgical's growth between the Tyco acquisition announcement and actual transfers of the assets. The memos refer to their ideas as â€Å"financial engineering†. Just prior to final closure, U.S. Surgical took a one-time hit of $322 million in miscellaneous charges. Beginning in the last quarter of 2001, Tyco's shares began to drop in price as shareholders realized the extent of the accounting creativity. By the summer of 2002, when Kozlowski was indicted for sales tax evasion on transactions involving his personal art collection, shareholder trust was dissipated and Tyco's shares had fallen 80 percent, from over $50 per share to just above $10. For purposes of examining ethics instruction for accountants, auditors, and managers, there are two common factors in these case studies. First, the financial pictures painted of the companies were grossly distorted. Only the level of sophistication in terms of masking the true financial condition varies among the companies. Enron used the slightly more nuanced SPEs while WorldCom used the less glitzy sleight of hand in turning ordinary expenses into capital expenses. Sunbeam relied on quantitative materiality standards to evade detection of its management of numbers, and HealthSouth seemed to start with the numbers it wanted for results and work backward. Second, these were also companies trying to maintain exponential growth. There were continuing pledges from their CEOs to keep the double-digit growth going. That pressure to maintain numbers increased with each passing quarter as the economy took a downturn and as their once unique strategies for growth fell victim to competition or the realities of economic cycles. The distortions were a function of their goals of maintaining an unrealistic pace of earnings growth. In short, individuals in the companies felt pressure and succumbed to deceit to satisfy increasing demands. These companies and those responsible for their financial reports were not dabbling in gray areas. The issues in these cases are clear and the conduct plainly wrong. With all the training in ethics and professional responsibility, the question that arises is as follows: How could so much go so wrong for so long in such large companies with no one raising an effective objection to halt the juggernauts of creative financial reporting and accounting? That this question must be posed in the wake of such staggering failures actually provides the answer. The answer is that those who were engaged in the creative and, often, not-so-creative but fraudulent accounting were trained in schools of business in which the curriculum (including ethics courses) is misguided in terms of training ethical leaders. The senior officer group of Enron included M.B.A.s who were trained during the financial wizardry era of M.B.A. programs in the 1980s. Mark Schwartz, the CFO of Tyco, held an M.B.A. Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former CEO of Enron, held an M.B.A. from Harvard. Andrew Fastow, then CFO, graduated from the Kellogg School at Northwestern. Clifford Baxter, another member of Enron's senior executive team, graduated from NYU's M.B.A. program. Tragically, Mr. Baxter took his own life following the collapse of Enron and during the period of daily revelations about its activities and the pending Congressional hearings. Mr. Baxter clearly saw the accounting issues within the company because Sherron Watkins, considered the whistleblower in the case, references him in her internal memo as someone who understood the accounting improprieties. Mr. Baxter left the company in the final months prior to its collapse. The M.B.A. curriculum has, since the time of the Milken and Boesky era, trained students in the importance of smoothing out earnings so as to maximize shareholder value, the often-stated role of business. While the role of business in society and the issues surrounding maximizing shareholder wealth are typical topics of coverage in ethics courses and modules in business schools, very little in textbooks and mandates from the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) focuses on moral absolutes or â€Å"bright line† virtue ethics such as honesty, fairness, or even false impressions in financial disclosures. The AACSB guidelines contain no mandates or references to these issues of honesty or training students in resolution of dilemmas involving honesty, disclosure, and false impression. The typical topics for business ethics textbooks, indeed for the literature in the field, center around social responsibility, and include a plethora of materials and cases on environmental issues, health and safety issues, sweatshops, diversity, and corporate philanthropy. The officers of all of the companies examined here and the companies themselves were all heavily involved in community and philanthropic work. Because of the focus of business schools on social responsibility as ethics, many of these officers and, to a large extent, the cultures of these companies, felt comfortable with deceptions in the name of shareholder value because they were accomplishing what they were trained to do in business school and they had ethics derived from their dedication to philanthropy, diversity, and environmentalism. These were all â€Å"soft† companies in the sense that they were not involved in those types of activities that are the targets of environmental protesters or labor activists. These were not companies running sweatshops or producing chemicals. Their perception of being â€Å"good† derived from the definition of good touted and taught by business ethicists in schools of business. The split, in their minds, between right and wrong did not lie along the lines of virtue ethics, but, rather, along the lines of social responsibility. Enron's CFO, Andrew Fastow, was beloved in Houston's Jewish community for his fund-raising for the city's proposed Holocaust museum. He was also involved in the city's art museum and virtually every other philanthropic cause related to the arts in the Houston area. Even those who worked with these officers in community projects and fund-raising had equated social responsibility with ethics, and were consistently shocked when Enron's financial conduct and reports were revealed. All of the companies noted here, as well as Charles Keating's American Continental and Finova Capital (the 7th-largest bankruptcy in the history of the United States), were widely known for their dedication to philanthropic activity, social responsibility, environmental activism, and dedication to community generosity. The curricula at business schools had permitted them the luxury of rationalization when it came to accounting and financial reporting because, in their minds, they had reached the conclusion Jeffrey Skilling touted in nearly every interview he gave, which was, â€Å"We are on the side of angels†. The behavior of executives in these companies reflects their grounding in any one of the three currently used models of business school ethics training: (1) the social responsibility model; (2) the code model; and (3) the stakeholder/normative model. Under the social responsibility model, students are educated in the importance of environmentalism, diversity, human rights, and philanthropy. Included in this approach may also be extensive discussions of product liability issues. Deficiencies in this approach are characterized in the previous section. The most descriptive list of this approach to ethics is found in the screens used by social responsibility investment funds, listed as follows: 1. The hiring of women and minorities; 3. Equity interest and ownership of South African operations (this screen is now dated because of the elimination of apartheid); 5. No layoffs and the hiring and promotion of those with disabilities; 6. No generation of revenue from weapons production; 7. Donations and the use of economically disadvantaged contractors and suppliers; and So long as stock prices are cranking up, it seems the CEO can be â€Å"cellophane man† for all anyone cares. But CEO divas are still quite an item in the business press. One thing is clear: Credibility and character count. Post-Enron, integrity and fair play matter more than the old gung-ho. Press reports about the lack of executive integrity are everywhere. One notable media story exposed the rise of companies conducting extensive background checks, complete with credit reports and neighbor interviews, for prospective CEOs. Ronald Zarrella, Bausch and Lomb's chief executive, was found to have shaded the truth about his credentials, saying he had an M.B.A. from New York University. Actually, he left prior to graduating. The board responded by cutting him out of a $1.1 million year-end bonus. Today CEOs are getting slammed for hoarding huge bonuses as they terminate legions of mid-level managers and production workers in the face of recession fears. Dennis Koslowski, CEO of Tyco, siphoned off millions from the firm by granting and forgiving employee relocation loans. He used the wealth for such essentials as a $15,000 umbrella. A guilty plea by one auditor and the criminal conviction of his audit firm have resulted in statutory reform, new policies on financial reporting, and stricter regulatory requirements for audit firms. When all the reform dust settles, however, and the new statutes, regulations, and rules are implemented, auditors and those who educate them will still be left with the same question: why were auditors willing to allow the types of financial reports and reporting decisions that produced fundamentally unfair and inaccurate portraits of the companies they were auditing? The answer to this question requires exploration of ethics education in both business schools and schools of accountancy. While there are voids in that training, there are also seminal works that could be used to help future accountants and auditors understand the dilemmas they will face and how to resolve such dilemmas. The Israeli bank-shares fiasco, the Enron affair, and, in its wake now, the WorldCom and Tyco scandals clearly demonstrate that unethical managers are a liability not only to their own organizations, but to the general public. The problem is that the formulation and publication of codes of ethics alone do not guarantee that managers and employees will behave ethically. Moreover, it is evident that managerial ethical behavior has a great deal of influence on the ethical climate and culture of the organization. Walking the talk is the name of the game, managers must not only be familiar with the ethical culture and accept it, but must serve as examples to the rest of the corporation. Any disparity between the declared ideology of the organization and managers' behavior has a deleterious effect. To establish a reputation of ethical leadership, managers must adhere to a high moral ground and ensure that their actions are perceived to be ethical. When ethical dilemmas are not confronted and when ethical aspects of daily managerial life are ignored, employees quickly perceive that ethical considerations do not constitute an integral component of the organization. They may rightly observe that bottom line and profits, not integrity and accountability, are core values. Consequently, when employees are faced with an ethical dilemma, the almighty dollar is most likely to rule the day.

Best practices in achieving a customer-focused culture (Article Critique) Essay

This paper seeks to prepare a critique of the article entitled â€Å"Best practices in achieving a customer-focused culture† by Bartley, B. et al. (2007). The nature of the critique to be applied is literature critique and an evaluation on the authors’ ideas, methods and results. The framework to make the evaluation is to whether the conclusions are supported by evidence, whether the methodologies and assumptions used have basis, whether statements made are consistent with premises laid down by the authors and whether the authors could accomplish their purposes in making the paper. 2. Analysis and Discussion 2. 1 On aims, methodology and approach of the research article The aims of Bartley, et al (2007) in writing the article â€Å"Best practices in achieving a customer-focused culture†, include the following: to provide practical insights into how organizations can become more customer-focused and to share with the researchers and organizations a framework that can be used to research â€Å"customer focus culture†. These two aims can be assessed to depend also on the validity of the results or conclusions of their paper. They also aimed to assess an organizations’ level of customer focus; to describe how New Zealand’s first consortium approach to benchmarking was managed so that others interested in planning a consortioun study can learn from experience. To assess the level of customer focus in an organization requires the use of a framework or hence the success and validity of such assessment will depend on the validity of the model. Describing the the approach to benchmarking could be assessed whether it has provided sufficient information to convinve readers that the researcher have applied the necessary means to accomplish their purpose. Bartley, B. et al (2007) explained that the study involved the use of the benchmarking body which was conducted by member organizations from the New Zealand Benchmarking Club (NZBC) and facilitated by a doctoral student from Massey University’s Centre for Organizational Excellence Research. Their methodology involved the need to conduct an extensive literature review to help them in identifying national and international best practices in customer focus. They also developed a survey that was completed by 32 potential best practice organizations, and selecting seven of these organizations for best practice list. Conducting such a literature review for the purpose used appears logical because the works of previous researchers were considered and analyzed to get the common characteristic of those that were successful with customer focus. It appears that researchers indeed have used sufficient number of researchers whose works appear mainly in academic journals signifying previous publication and this observation must lend some degree of confirmation of the literature review conducted by the authors. 2. 2 On literature review made by authors The authors asserted to have found a framework for the examination of customer-focused culture via the literature review made. It may be noted that the study included only a survey of 32 potential best organizations as identified by the reseachers and they may not necessarily represent the broader characteristics of other organizations in New Zealand and even in the world. They have indeed accepted a limitation of their study that benefits would have been gained if the study has extended to a larger international group. The limitation of the samples use is material into the validity of the survey on whether they represent the real value of customer focus culture to the organizations. In discussing the background of the study, Bartley, et al (2007) cited the the strong link between an organization’s culture and its performance which they claimed to have been widely recognised by practitioners where they cited the work of Basch (2002) and academics where they cited the work of Kotter and Heskett (1992). If organizations desire to have enduring relationship and loyal customers, they must be equipped with an effective customer-focused culture which will make it easier for these companies to have successful product and service delivery. To support their statements they cited the works of Macaukay Clark (1998) and Martin (1992). For the authors customer-focused culture was almost as good as survival in the long-term. These findings from literature review prompted the authors and the the 18 organization-members of the NZBC to asks for the componets and charateristics of a good customer-focused culture. For which reason, NZBC was formed by the Massey University’s Centre for Organizational Excellence Research (COER) in partnership witht the New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation to achieve the ambitious vision of becoming world-class performers of its members and to adopt excellent business practices within New Zealand. To measure the improvements by club members, they have agreed on a criteria for excellent performance on annual basis. See Figure 1 of their report and is made part of Appendix 1 of this paper. It appears that their agreement on criteria of performance excellence was just not a result of a tests or even a previous study. By merely agreeing and not conducting any test which are the factors there is basis the criteria may be just based on opinions. The results of their literature review resulted to their having identified six characteristics of organizations having performance of good to best practices. Bartley, B. et al. (2007) made use of same six characteristics as an analytical framework. They found the importance of leadership and used the works of Brooks, 1997; Whitely, 1991, Galreath and Rogers, 1999 which found that customers drive organizational direction and actions, to support the characteristic. They also included listening as characteristic where the views of customers are actively sought to have ease of contact/conduct of business where they cited the works of Scheuing (1999) and Plymie (1991). Bartley, B. et al (2007) also included analysis and understanding using the works of Brooks (1997) and Wikstrom (1996) which found that need to understand customer expectations. Further included is integration and deployment where the authors cited the work of Martin (1992) which could the need to act upon customers’ expectations. Still include is is people after citing the work of Kennedy, et al, (2002) which determined that customer-focused culture is understood and integrated in the whole the organization. They also included the need to review and improve where they cite the work of Alam and Perry (2002). The fact their literature review is supported by published works of other researchers on the basis of being mainly taken from academic journals and other published works, will lends some degree of validity of the summary of characteristics made as part of their analytical framework. 2. 3. On submitted figures as support to analysis Based on literature review made by the authors, they asserted the requirement for organizations to have customer focus culture must be made. Since the purpose is better performance for the organization whether financial or otherwisel, customer focused culture must be present in the whole organization. Bartley, B. et al (2007), did argue about the proven connection between customer focus and performance of organizations in individual and operational areas as in terms of service quality, customer and employee satisfaction and well as profitability citing the work of Appiah-Adu and Singh (1998) and Agarwal et al. (2003). The researchers had set six categories from which its decided which is the most effective way for its members organizations to improve and they stated to have voted to which customer focus issues were most important. Bartley, B. et al (2007) detailed which were the most important customer issues but they did not show what were the other choices of the respondents in the survey aside from those listed in Table I in the their presentation, which is not part of Appendix 4 of this paper. In the absence of the list of other choices, an inference of a predetermined result of survey may asserted and which will cast dount at to validity of the surbvey. Moreover, the nature of questions asked were neither presented nor discussed and it could be that the questions asked from respondents are leading and which again which cast doubt to result of the survey. Bartley, B. et al (2007) also argued that the decision to work on the study was supported by the results of club’s annual assessment against criteria for performance excellence. They stated that the resulst are shown in Figures 2 and 3 which are considered as Appendices 1 and 2 in this paper. Upon deeper investigation, it may be found that Figure 2 had it horizontal axis for customer focus results while the horizontal axis has financial and market results. This graph in Figure 2 would mean that independent variable was customer focus results while the dependent variable was the financial and market results. Since Figure 2 shows a signifant relationship of two variable as shown by graph, the researchers are saying the the higher customer focused results the higher would be the financial and market results. Since they did not show how they segmented each variable it would appear that the had measured the degrees of customer focus results in the vertical axis and that every increased in the same would give higher results of financial and market results which are not also explained in detail. In other words, in terms of the segmenting the degree of customer focused results the following question remain answered: How much additional degree of customer focused result would produce additional higher financial and market result? The graphs as shown in Figure 2 may seem to answer by merely viewing the same but from the minds of this reseacher , the results could in questionable because of the failture to define the meaning of degrees of customer focused resutls. Would it mean more time given to the customer? Moreover the financial and market resutls in the vertical axis or what may be called as dependent variable in Figure are not also explained. How come that financial and market resutls are combined? If it is financial it may be referring to profitability. Since profitability of the respondents may be best measure by the amount of dollars earned per amount or quantityf of customer focused results, it is difficutl to contemplate how the researchers have mixed financial and market resutls together. Does market resutls imply increased revenues in dollars and increase in market share? In the absence of a clear explanation the result of the researchers work could remain questionable and may lack the validity and use for decision making purposes. Figure 3, which is considered Appendix 3 in this paper, also uses confusing variables in the graph by making this time, horizonal axis to represent the Customer and market focus as independent results and making the vertical axis to represent the customer focused results. If Figure 3 is related to Figure 2, it would appear what was previously assumed as independent variable has now become a dependent variable. Since the researchers did not explain the graph, the most logical inference to find consistency with the what they have concluded is to assume that the more that respondents would have to increase customer and market focus, to have higher of the degree of customer focused results, which as explained earlier were not explained how were they segmented into degrees to afford appreciation of change in the degree. In other words, the confusion is not clarified by redundantly using a variable without explaining the composition and significant of each degree or level of focused results. As in Figure 2, the use of Figure 3 did not help to support the claim of the researchers and that their conclusion could utmost be considered as surmises or conjectures without sufficient evidence. In addition, the use by researchers again of the customer and market focus as the independent variable appears to be predetermined because of their failure to show convincing proof that it was the most influential among the criteria for performance excellence under Figure 1 of their paper, which is Appendix I of this paper. They have of course asserted that the choice of the customer and market focus as most controlling contributor was based on the response of the respondents in the survey. As to how much more important the criterion to other criteria was not also explained; hence it is possible that the results of the claim of increased profitability because of the criterion of customer and market focus may not be safely be taken with high level of confidence, statistically speaking.

Ethical Egoism Essay Sample

Ethical Egoism Essay Sample Ethical Egoism Essay Ethical egoism is the view that each of us ought to pursue self-interest, and it is our own obligation to promote self-interest. In other words, one shall not act for the good of others, but for the benefit of oneself. It may be, however, for the good of others also, but doing the act is for the best interest of the doer. Basically, in simplest terms, the actions done by a person is for boosting his/her ego, no matter what kind of action it is. Under this view, it is moral to do such. There are, however, conflicting views with regard to ethical egoism. Morality depends on the customs, traditions, and laws where a person is domiciled. One’s action is dictated basically by the society. There are, however, other views that a person, by its nature, is good or bad. Nonetheless, it boils down to the customary of a society – it is always dictated. So for an action to be ethical, it must be within the standards of the customs. Because the person acts within the standards of morality dictated by the society, he/she will feel good about it. However, this actually depends on the action – whether it is an overt or covert act. If it is an overt act, it also depends whether the action is known by the society; that is, by donating blood in a drive or when killing a person and there is a clear evidence that will put the doer into incarceration. The act must be seen by the society, where it will be judged as moral. Then, it will be reciprocated by an ego boost. Otherwise, the act may be immoral yet still boosting one’s ego. There are however other people who choose a covert act, yet still the act is within the moral standards of the society. An example of ethical egoism is running for the highest position in the elections. The benefit depends on the doer. To win the election, one has to act accordingly to the morals of the society. When the candidate wins the election, he has to also fulfill his duties to his people. He only does this because running for election and winning the same actually makes the person feel good about it. It is for his self-interest because the position gives him the boost of his ego and the validation of the people makes him feel good. There is, however, a problem, when the person may seem to act well in front of the people yet is illegally trying to win over the hearts of the people: by cheating and killing people. The candidate still acts for his own benefit, but does he act morally? Maybe yes, maybe not. Another issue with regard to ethical egoism is the conflict of interest of two individuals. If two people share the same interest, how should this be resolved? Some philosophers that the resolution is to â€Å"might is right.† This means that the stronger gets to possess the benefit above the weaker one. There are however those who argue that the benefit must be shared by the two individuals. This raises the question of what are the standards dictated by the society. This view in simplest terms means one person will act only because it feels good. If the action does not feel good, one will not do the act. So, whether or not the action is moral within the dictates of the society does not matter in this case. As long as the action will benefit the person, it is moral. As most philosophers may argue, free will is the end all and be all of the actions of a person.

Da Vinci Surgical System Essay Example

Da Vinci Surgical System Essay Example Da Vinci Surgical System Essay Da Vinci Surgical System Essay The Da Vinci Surgical System is a large purpose-built robot controlled by a surgeon that performs minimally invasive surgical procedures on patients. The system incorporates an ergonomically designed surgeons console, a patient-side module with four interactive robotic arms, each with interchangeable surgical instruments and a 3-dimensional endoscopic vision system. Powered by high-tech supercomputers, the surgeons hand movements are scaled, filtered and then converted into precise movements of the surgical attachments. The designers of the system are a team of doctors, engineers and biomedical engineers at a company called Intuitive Surgical. The motivation that these designers had was to develop a surgical technique that would be minimally traumatic for patients and one that would speed up recovery time. Figure 1: The Da Vinci Surgical System showing the surgeons console and the patient-side module. The Industry The Da Vinci robot is part of the Biomedical Engineering industry. The industry is concerned with the application of engineering principles and techniques to the medical field. It combines expertise from medical and engineering disciplines to improve healthcare systems. The industry is very innovative and most universities now offer training in biomedical engineering. This is because it has always been a highly specialised field and required a designer to have both medical and engineering training and experience. Research and development is a very important aspect of this industry and it is very draining on a companys funds. Great emphasis is also placed on product placement and marketing. Though these products are usually marketed towards industry professionals such as doctors and hospital management. The physical location and layout of the enterprise The company is located in the U. S. A in California. Figure 2: The company headquarters Nature of the innovation As mentioned before the Da Vinci robot consists of two parts, the surgeons console and a patient-side operating module. Surgeon Console: During an operation the surgeon is seated comfortably at the console while viewing a 3-d image and controlling the robot. Image System This imaging system allows the surgeon to see an enhanced 3-dimensional view of the operative field and it provides direct eye-hand-instrument alignment and natural depth perception. This is possible through the use of a dual lens endoscope with two high-resolution cameras. Figure 2: The Endoscope with two cameras and a specialised light The image is fed through two independent vision channels that then run through an image processing stabilising computer system. The computer reduces the noise of the image and enhances the edges of the objects seen. The surgeon can also control the movement and zoom of the endoscope camera through hand controls and foot pedals. The resultant image is then projected on a high-resolution 3-D monitor. Figure 3: The 3-D image monitor Control System The surgeons fingers crasp onto a joystick-like perpheril instrument which then controls the precise movements of the robotic arms. The device also gives the surgeon a sense of touch by giving feedback as to how hard or how soft the tissue is inside the patient. Figure 4: Control device. The computer system translates the surgeons hand, wrist and finger movements into precise, real-time movements of surgical instruments inside the patient. Patient-side operating module Operation System The part of the robot that actually performs the operation consists of either three or four robotic arms. It can be configured to have two or three instrument arms and one endoscope arm. Figure 5: The operating module with three operating arms and one endoscope (2nd from the left) These robotic arms are inserted into the patients body through small incisions of 1-2cm long. This is the main advantage of the Da Vinci robot. It is the ability to perform major surgery on a patient without large incisions. The benefits of this are:  ·Shorter hospital stay  ·Less pain and scarring  ·Less risk of infection  ·Less blood loss and fewer transfusions  ·Faster recovery  ·Quicker return to normal activities Surgical attachment system The company has developed a wide range of attachments that can be paced on each of the robotic arms. These are very similar to the normal instruments that a surgeon would use, such as clamps and scalpels. Intuitive surgical has named these attachments Endowrist instruments. Figure 6: An Endowrist attachment known as the cobra grasper. It is used to secure dense tissue structures such as tumours. Figure 7: Curved Endowrist scissors All the instruments are designed with seven degrees of motion that mimic the dexterity of the human hand and wrist. Also, Each instrument has a specific surgical function such as clamping, stitching and tissue cutting. Quick-release levers speed instrument changes during operations. In summary, the Da Vinci Robot system provides a surgeon with a great deal of control, range of motion, fine tissue handling capability and a 3-D viewing system. It also allows the doctor to work through tiny incisions that is characteristic of minimally invasive surgery. The Use of Technology The use of technology in this particular innovation is extensive. Several different types of technologies are incorporated into one system to operate effectively. Electronics Electronics and Microelectronics are an integral part of the system. Through computers this technology controls the whole system and maintains the safety and efficiency of the device. Software Intuitive Surgical used CAD computer programs to design their product. They also used other software to test the product. For example the company used software that simulated a power surge or loss of power. The robot was designed to shut down and stop immediately after any such outside interference, as any damage to the onboard electronics could have devastating effects for the patient. Intuitive surgical employed the software company Novell to develop the programs that would control the robot. Robotics Robotic technology is also a very important part of the overall technological make-up of the system. Intuitive Surgical opted for existing robotic technology rather than using emerging technologies. The Da Vinci robotic system is almost identical to the system used in the manufacture of cars. The company chose to do this as they where looking for a reliable technology that could be adapted into a medical device. However, major alterations where made to the existing system to improve accuracy of movement, scaling down of movement and safety. Mechanics Mechanics was used in the development of the patient-side module and the Endowrist devices. Mechanics was incorporated with the robotic and hydraulic aspects of the machine in order to get the most precise movements out of the instruments. Biomedical technology Biomedical technology is essential in ensuring that the device is suitable and safe to use as a medical machine. The robot must be adapted so that it is appropriate for use in a medical scenario. Marketing and promotional strategies This particular innovation is not suitable for mass marketing to the general public. Rather the company markets its product to a number of key potential buyers: Surgeons. The company approaches senior surgeons at larger hospitals with big spending budgets and introduces them to the new technology. They then show the range of benefits for the patient of and even offer a training course for the doctors, showing them how to use the machine. The company hopes that the surgeons then go to the hospital management on their behalf and lobby to try and acquire the machine. Hospital management The company markets the product to hospital management on the basis that it will save them money. Although the initial investment is large, in the long-term it will save money. This because the robot greatly decreases the hospital stay of the patient and it also reduces the amount of pain management drugs needed. Government The company, although less frequently, also markets the robot to governments. They outline the patient benefits and the financial benefits. The purpose of this is to place more of these devices in public hospitals that would greatly increase the sales of the product. This is because it is currently mostly used in private hospitals. Quality Control In the medical industry quality control is very important, this because if a device is faulty it may lead to serious injury or death. The Da Vinci System is no exception to this. Quality control is extremely important for Intuitive Surgical and they have realised the need for highly effective quality control program. The company only manufactures a limited number of units per year as they use an extremely wide range of resources to ensure the quality of the product. The company employs the best industry professionals, use sate-of-the-art computer systems, use failsafe-manufacturing techniques and does rigorous testing on every unit before it is sold. The company does not outsource any part of the manufacturing process; all assembly is done at the company headquarters in California. The company also responds very quickly to any problems that may occur after the product has been sold. The company uses a system over the Internet that allows a surgeon and an Intuitive Surgical engineer to be in contact at any time if any problems arise with the robot. If the problem persists the company either sends an engineer to fix the problem or the whole system is taken back to the company headquarters for repair. Research and Development Research and development is a very important aspect of any emerging technology or innovation. Concerning the Da Vinci robot extensive research would have been undertaken into the nature of large operations, different robotic systems and different control systems. These results would then been amalgamated and the development process would then begin. Continual assessment of the development process is essential. If the current development strategies are unsuccessful, new research would be undertaken to identify problems and try to minimise them. RD is essential in ensuring the success of an innovation. With a strong RD program products are more likely to be introduced as a market-leading product, as a successful product and as a profitable product. What is Robotic Surgery? Robotic Surgery is an emerging technology that utilizes purpose-built robots to perform surgical procedures on patients. At present these robots are not autonomous, they are controlled by a surgeon at all times. Thesuarus Wiki Intuitive surgical Howstuffworks amdocs. com/successstories. asp? CustomerID=76SID=603.

Facts About the Order Cetacea

Facts About the Order Cetacea The Order Cetacea is the group of marine mammals that includes the cetaceans - the whales, dolphins and porpoises. Description There are 86 species of cetaceans, and these are divided into two suborders - the mysticetes (baleen whales, 14 species) and odontocetes (toothed whales, 72 species). Cetaceans range in size from just a few feet long to over 100 feet long. Unlike fish, which swim by moving their heads from side-to-side to swing their tail, cetaceans propel themselves by moving their tail in a smooth, up-and-down motion. Some cetaceans, such as the Dalls porpoise and the orca (killer whale) can swim faster than 30 miles per hour. Cetaceans Are Mammals Cetaceans are mammals, which means they are endothermic (commonly called warm-blooded) and their internal body temperature is about the same as a humans. They give birth to live young and breathe air through lungs just like we do. They even have hair. Classification Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: MammaliaOrder: Cetacea Feeding Baleen and toothed whales have distinct feeding differences. Baleen whales use plates made of keratin to filter out large quantities of small fish, crustaceans or plankton from the sea water. Toothed whales often gather in pods and work cooperatively to feed. They prey on animals such as fish, cephalopods, and skates. Reproduction Cetaceans reproduce sexually, and females usually have one calf at a time. The gestation period for many cetacean species is about 1 year. Habitat and Distribution Cetaceans are found worldwide, from tropical to arctic waters. Some species, like the bottlenose dolphin may be found in coastal areas (e.g., southeastern U.S.), while others, like the sperm whale, may range far offshore to waters thousands of feet deep. Conservation Many cetacean species were decimated by whaling. Some, like the North Atlantic right whale, have been slow to recover. Many cetacean species are protected now - in the U.S., all marine mammals have protection under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Other threats to cetaceans include entanglement in fishing gear or marine debris, ship collisions, pollution, and coastal development.

Gender Based differences and management style Research Paper - 1

Gender Based differences and management style - Research Paper Example The Author has therefore explored the challenges of stereotyping gender and the levels of the stereotypes among different communities. The author has therefore considered the role that culture plays in the beliefs of stereotypes. The author of this book has therefore outlined the different issues as the stereotypes are evident. The Author has based his views on the analysis of the texts which has formed the foundation of his arguments. The author of this book has therefore discussed the three different perspectives which the author believes are the most common and compelling ones. The author has discussed the gender conscious among the different cultural communities, whether the communities recognize gender or they are gender blind and the perception (Johnsen, Maznevski & Schneider, 23). The Author asserts most communities wants to believe when the reality is created through seeing. The main idea of the book is that it outlines the gender differences in leadership. The write of this book has examined the differences in gender across cultures, and how the management principles and tactics are influenced by these diversities. This book hold the view that this diversity and differences in gender and leadership may influence a company’s initiatives, policies and other principles making them even more diverse. In this perspective, the writer of this book advocates for the differences in gender within the leadership of a company especially the top management teams. The author of this book actually asserts that the differences in gender plays an important role in diversifying the company’s planning and hence the company would be capable of including both the long term goals as well as the short term goals which are very important. It is also important to note that the company would escape overlooking certain areas that might be important for the company in

A Critique on the Kyoto Protocols Research Paper

A Critique on the Kyoto Protocols - Research Paper Example In the discourse, global warming was specifically defined as â€Å"climate change that causes an increase in the average temperature of the lower atmosphere.   Global warming can have many different causes, but it is most commonly associated with human interference, specifically the release of excessive amounts of greenhouse gases† (ibid.). With the alarming levels of greenhouse gases continuing to increase at an unprecedented pace, scientists all over the world drastically made efforts to inform the international organizations in charge of environmental protection. An international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) deemed it of primary importance to address global warming issues through its governance and with the assistance of another international agreement, the Kyoto Protocol. According to the official website of UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol â€Å"sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These amount to an average of five percent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012† (UNFCCC, 2010, par. 1). In this regard, the essay aims to proffer one’s personal opinion as to  what world leaders and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) should agree on. Likewise, the essay seeks to address the following concerns, to wit: (1) is there a solution that they should commit to? If so, what is it? If not, then what should they do? (2) Why haven't the Kyoto Protocols worked? What has not worked and why? What has worked and why? (3) What should be the role of the US? And (4) what should be the role of China?   Diverse articles and publications on UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol reveal that their primary thrust is â€Å"to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will  prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.  

Iraqi Legal System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Iraqi Legal System - Essay Example Iraq’s legal system is based on Sunni and Shii fiqh sects and this is applied through the Sharia courts. Its legal system is an integrated form of various laws and customs; such as the constitutional law, legislation and statutory provisions, judicial precedents, customs, and juridical opinions. The Hanafi School of fiqh, originated in Iraq. In the 17th century, Iraq came under Ottoman rule, which introduced several new codes into Iraq’s legal system. These included civil, penal and commercial codes based on the European legal systems. After World War I, British Mandate was established in the region. This brought to an end, the control exercised by the Turkish Ottomans on Iraq. As such, Ottomans could not implement the Ottoman Law of Family Rights (OLFR) 1917 in Iraq (Legal History). The British administrators did not implement the OLFR because it was not a part of local law. In addition, there were an equal number of Shia and Sunni members in Iraq. After the Arab Revolt, King Faisal established a kingdom in Iraq in the year 1921. In 1932, Iraq obtained full independence from the British. The monarchy of King Faisal was overthrown in 1958, by a military coup; and Iraq became a republic. The Iraqi Law of Personal Status provides that the courts should deliver judgments, in accordance with the principles of Islamic Sharia law. Thus, the customary Islamic Sharia law constitutes the source of law in Iraq. This was confirmed by Article 1 of the Civil Code (Legal History). There are two important schools of fiqh in Iraq, namely the Jafari and Hanafi schools. In addition, Iraq contains other religious minority groups, like the Christians, Jews and Yezidis. It adopted a provisional constitution on 22 September 1968, and Article 4 of this constitution, declares Islam to be the state religion (Legal History). Iraq has adopted a legal system that is founded on European civil and Islamic law. However,

Canada Employment Labor & Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Canada Employment Labor & Law - Essay Example Canadian labor laws require every employer to implement programs that are helpful to employees, the employer, the dependents of the employee and the community (the Canadian Charter for Occupational Health and Safety Act). This act obliges employers to provide a safe work place from sexual harassment and discrimination. On the employee and his dependents, occupational health programs should facilitate low personal health care costs, sustained earnings and increased productivity. It is the duty of the employer to offer safe work place from incidents such as discrimination and sexual harassment. The employer needs to probe incidents and take relevant actions to prevent similar event from happening in future. For instance, in this case, the employer should terminate work contract with Marcus Marques because his behaviors are dangerous and might lead to injury of other employees at the work place. The position of other nurses should not make the employer reinstate Marcus since they did not complain to the management. The situation would not be different if the Union was supporting Marcus reinstatement because his work relationship with nurses has proved futile. Marcus has violated the law by sexually harassing the two nurses at work. Even if the Union defended him, it would be hard for him to positively relate with fellow workers. The union needs to represent the interests of all employees including the two nurses; they should not be discriminated against. However, based on collective bargaining agreement between Marcus and Lester William hospital, his firing was not justified. Therefore, the union needs to step in and represent the grievances of the worker against the employer for failure to honor the collective bargaining agreement. Despite the fact that the two nurses are against Marcus reinstatement, it is the duty of the union not discriminate against him until the case is heard and

Gender differences in Business Leadership Style Thesis

Gender differences in Business Leadership Style - Thesis Example This makes them better communicators, more sensitive to other peoples feelings, while their verbal fluency makes them better able to communicate speak well and influence others. Differences in leadership styles: Leadership has traditionally been associated with management, but this may not necessarily represent an accurate view because managers think incrementally while leaders think radically. Moreover, leadership involves a transformation in individuals, according to Spencer, â€Å"â€Å"transformational leadership is a process that changes and transforms individuals†. (Spencer 1). According to Warren Benis, leaders are â€Å"able to express themselves fully. They also know what they want', why they want it, and how to communicate what they want to others, in order to gain their co-operation and support. Lastly, ‘they know how to achieve their goals†. (Bennis 1998: 3). As detailed further below, the brain structure in women which provides them more communicativ e ability may be more conducive to transformational leadership. Three different leadership and decision making styles have been identified, namely (a) authoritarian (b) democratic and (c) bureaucratic, based upon decision making patterns of the leader(Burns, 1977). When the leadership style is authoritarian or autocratic, then the leader seeks to retain as much of the decision making power as possible, exercises authority and control and retains the responsibility for decisions (Burns, 1997). The advantages of this leadership style are faster decision making and a work group that functions in a structured manner. The disadvantages however, are that team members may not respond well to being ordered around or may become too dependent on the... Leadership has traditionally been associated with management, but this may not necessarily represent an accurate view because managers think incrementally while leaders think radically. Moreover, leadership involves a transformation in individuals, according to Spencer, â€Å"â€Å"transformational leadership is a process that changes and transforms individuals†. (Spencer 1). According to Warren Benis, leaders are â€Å"able to express themselves fully. They also know what they want', why they want it, and how to communicate what they want to others, in order to gain their co-operation and support. Lastly, ‘they know how to achieve their goals†. (Bennis 1998: 3). As detailed further below, the brain structure in women which provides them more communicative ability may be more conducive to transformational leadership. Three different leadership and decision making styles have been identified, namely (a) authoritarian (b) democratic and (c) bureaucratic, based upon decision making patterns of the leader(Burns, 1977). When the leadership style is authoritarian or autocratic, then the leader seeks to retain as much of the decision making power as possible, exercises authority and control and retains the responsibility for decisions (Burns, 1997). The advantages of this leadership style are faster decision making and a work group that functions in a structured manner. The disadvantages however, are that team members may not respond well to being ordered around or may become too dependent on the leader and helpless to function in an emergency.

Canada Employment Labor & Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Canada Employment Labor & Law - Essay Example Canadian labor laws require every employer to implement programs that are helpful to employees, the employer, the dependents of the employee and the community (the Canadian Charter for Occupational Health and Safety Act). This act obliges employers to provide a safe work place from sexual harassment and discrimination. On the employee and his dependents, occupational health programs should facilitate low personal health care costs, sustained earnings and increased productivity. It is the duty of the employer to offer safe work place from incidents such as discrimination and sexual harassment. The employer needs to probe incidents and take relevant actions to prevent similar event from happening in future. For instance, in this case, the employer should terminate work contract with Marcus Marques because his behaviors are dangerous and might lead to injury of other employees at the work place. The position of other nurses should not make the employer reinstate Marcus since they did not complain to the management. The situation would not be different if the Union was supporting Marcus reinstatement because his work relationship with nurses has proved futile. Marcus has violated the law by sexually harassing the two nurses at work. Even if the Union defended him, it would be hard for him to positively relate with fellow workers. The union needs to represent the interests of all employees including the two nurses; they should not be discriminated against. However, based on collective bargaining agreement between Marcus and Lester William hospital, his firing was not justified. Therefore, the union needs to step in and represent the grievances of the worker against the employer for failure to honor the collective bargaining agreement. Despite the fact that the two nurses are against Marcus reinstatement, it is the duty of the union not discriminate against him until the case is heard and

Marx's concept of alienation and Christianity's concept of sin and Essay - 1

Marx's concept of alienation and Christianity's concept of sin and disordered will - Essay Example We should realize alienation as a means in which, individuality, freedom, and subjectivity develop. Christians should view it as a process of self realization and self development. They should not view it as a way of creating fragmentation and division among people (Harvey 18). The concept of sin and disordered will should not be linked to alienation, nevertheless should Christians take excuse for the hostile alien powers that operate as if they are uncontrollable powers of nature. The remedy for Christianity and the actual meaning still remain debated. It is viewed in other terms as to being interpersonal or personal. We are, therefore, required to have a conscious choice of actions with Christians advised to reject techniques that are incompatible with the Christian world. We should be ready to accept things that promote unified and coherent world. Alienation should not be taken as an excuse for any sinful activity (Fromm

Organizational Planning Verizon Wireless Essay Example for Free

Organizational Planning Verizon Wireless Essay Organizational Planning: SWOT Analysis for Verizon Wireless Before planning can begin, a framework should be built to guide the decision making process by identifying what the overall goal is to be. At Verizon Wireless, the mission statement, or credo, is broken into 5 sections that are the pathway for leadership within the company, as well as for internal stakeholders, to ensure the success of the company. Verizon Wireless identifies strengths as being a high quality provider of communications services, being committed to customers through teamwork, and acknowledging that just being the biggest is not the same as being the best. By identifying weaknesses such as being reactive to competitor offerings, pricing structure of plans, and the perceived lack of a global presence, reviewing the credo can initiate change to address these weaknesses and create opportunities from them. Identifying the opportunities of network infrastructure growth, simplification of pricing plans for both businesses and consumers, and providing varied equipment pricing options allow the company to address some of the weaknesses. Threats are identified as competition from other providers, market penetration for services, and proposed regulations from the F.C.C. with regard to net neutrality. As a whole, these identified areas provide the roadmap to achieve success for both the internal and external stakeholders. When setting a long term goal, or strategic plan, the credo is consulted to ensure that the areas identified in the SWOT are being addressed. With a strategic plan in place, Verizon Wireless can set long term goals on how they plan to broaden their strengths, lessen their weaknesses, capitalize on their opportunities and minimize the threats. One of these strategic plans in place is to grow market share by gaining additional customers. Long term growth of customers is fundamental to the longevity of the company. Without new customers the company becomes stale and profits may fall. Both the internal and external stakeholders would be unhappy if Verizon Wireless did not provide a value to them either  monetarily or through the service itself. Review and confirmation of programs being offered to customers is constantly being revised as changes within the marketplace dictate. This long term strategic planning will be fluid as the needs of the customer change. An operational plan has a shorter time line to achieve the goal. The target of initiating new growth through new products and service can be accomplished through the Verizon Wireless Partner Program. The adoption of new technology and integration of devices ensure Verizon Wireless to achieves this goal going forward by partnering with companies to provide equipment and services. According to Partnerships Verizon (n.d.), Verizon’s award-winning Partner Program focuses on better serving the needs of customers by enabling them to simplify how they consume communications and IT services in a way that best meets their needs, while giving them access to the full Verizon portfolio. Whether teaming with Verizon directly, indirectly through program members, or as a hybrid, customers can take advantage of Verizon’s next-generation services portfolio.† (2). These types of partnerships build from the commitment that Verizon Wireless has stated, â€Å"We hold ourselves to a very high standard of performance. We prize innovative ideas and the teamwork it takes to make them happen. We never stop asking ourselves how we can make the customer experience better, and every day we find new answers.† (Commitment Values, n.d.) In this operational plan, the internal stakeholder is satisfied because the company is initiating new growth, and the external stakeholder is satisfied because the new products and services are providing additional revenue. With both strategic and operational plans in place, Verizon Wireless is poised to achieve success in both the near term as well as far into the future. Reference Verizon Wireless. (n.d.). Commitment Values. Retrieved 2/28/15 from http://verizonwireless.com/about/commitment-values Verizon Wireless. (n.d.). Partnerships Verizon. Retrieved 2/28/15, from http://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/partnerships/ (2)

Looking At Romantic Period Poetry

Looking At Romantic Period Poetry In the Romantic Period in England there was a shift taking place in literature. Poets of the time period believed that a personal relationship with God or the Universe was more important than a larger collective religious or political one. The introduction of the Romantic Period in the Norton Anthology of British Literature states, And the pervasiveness of nature poetry in the period can be attributed to a determination to idealize the natural scene as a site where the individual could find freedom from social laws (Greenblatt, 1377). The poets of that day also believed that one could receive that personal relationship through the natural world. Literature focused on the individual great or small and was much more personal than it had been in the past. In accordance with the importance of the individual, Romantic poets expressed an importance and love of nature in their poetry. The poets William Wordsworth and Percy Bysshe Shelley use their interpretations of nature, although differe nt, to express the romantic idea of individualism. These poets used nature to express their feelings toward the individual and the importance they placed on a personal relationship with ones inner self as well as God. William Wordsworth loved nature and lived in remote natural regions of England for much of his life. He had a relationship with the natural world that he lived in and around and this is evident in his writing. His poetry describes how he learns more about himself, and his relationship with God through learning and becoming more acquainted with nature. This principle is portrayed in this passage of Wordsworths Tintern Abbey. He says, For I have learned/ To look on nature, not as in the hour/ Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes/ The still, sad music of humanity,/ Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power/ To chasten and subdue. And I have felt/ A presence that disturbs me with joy/ Of elevated thoughts a sense sublime/ Of something far more deeply interfused/ Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns/ And the round ocean and the living air,/ And the blue sky, and in the mind of man:/ A motion and a spirit, that impels/ All thinking things, all objects of all thought, / And rolls through all things (Wordsworth, 88-102). This passage describes how Wordsworth has learned to feel the power of God or the Universe through nature. He has an individual spiritual experience when he looks at the natural world that he could not experience with masses of people in a church or in everyday society. He then goes on to say that nature is a very important to him and is in a way a part of who he is. Wordsworth, when speaking about himself in this passage, says that he is well pleased to recognize/ In nature and the language of the sense/ The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,/ The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul/ Of all my moral being(Wordsworth, 107- 111). To Wordsworth, nature was so important to him because he felt as if it was a part of him. He felt it was his compass and guide in his life. His view of nature is that he has grown and expanded because of what he experienced from it. This individual relationship he had with nature affected him so much it guided his actions in politics, religion, and other facets of life. He uses nature to symbolize himself and his soul. Individualism is shown in Wordsworths depiction of the natural world because in essence he becomes nature in his writing. In similitude with Wordworths poetry, Percy Bysshe Shelley uses the natural world in his writing to express individualism but in a slightly different way. In Mont Blanc, Shelley uses the daunting description of the mountain and the land around it to suggest that imagination has a lot to do with what ones individual experience is from nature. He almost suggests that the mind is natures creator. In this passage from Mont Blanc, Shelley says, The everlasting universe of things/ Flows through the mind and rolls its rapid waves,/ Now dark-now glittering-now reflecting gloom/ Now lending splendour, where from secret springs/ The source of human thought its tribute brings/ Of waters,with a sound but half its own./ Such as a feeble brook will oft assume/ In the wild woods, among the mountains lone,/ Where waterfalls around it leap forever,/ Where woods and winds contend, and a vast river/ Over its rocks ceaselessly burst and raves (Shelley ,1-11). This excerpt shows Shelleys view of nature and the mind. He talks about how the universe flows through the mind and then he gives menacing descriptive imagery of woods, waterfalls, and the mountains. The imagery suggests that the mind or imagination was the creator of these daunting natural scenes. This shows Shelleys opinion of nature in regards to the human imagination and the individual. A further example is evident in another excerpt from Mont Blanc, The secret strength of things/ Which governs thought, and to the infinite dome/ Of heaven is as a law, inhabits thee!/ And what were thou, and earth, and stars, and sea,/ If to the human minds imaginings/ Silence and solitude were vacancy (Shelley, 139-145). This passage reinforces the contrast of Shelleys view of the human mind in regards to nature rather than the Wordsworthian view. Shelley firmly shows in his texts and particularly in Mont Blanc his belief in the natural world being born from the imagination of the individual ther efore giving power to the person who created it. Along with typifying the imagination as a creator of nature, individualism is discussed throughout his writing. Mont Blanc also displays the romantic notion of individualism through the discussion of the mind and human thought. The poem suggests that nature comes from the mind which creates a very personal and individual nature for everyone. In the mere suggestion of imagination and the human mind being the creator of nature, there lies individualism. The way Shelley portrays the individual in nature holds true to the Romantic notions of the time. Individualism is a very romantic principle that was becoming increasingly important in this time period. This power given to the individual mind to think, believe, and understand ones self was embodied through the natural world in the works of William Wordsworth and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Wordsworth suggested that the individual mind gains power and understanding from and because of the influence of nature. Shelley believed that the individuals mind and imagination gives nature the power that it has over the individual. Although the method they used to establish individualism through nature was different, both of their works embodied that principle and epitomized the Romantic view of Individualism.

Economy of the Netherlands :: essays research papers

The Netherlands has been a trading nation for centuries due to its open economy and outlook. The Dutch are seasoned travellers. They are proficient in languages and skilled in negotiating trade agreements and implementing projects against the odds. As an open economy, the Netherlands is susceptible to international developments, notably in recent years the global recession – which has been exacerbated by falling share prices, the attacks of 11 September 2001, the war in Iraq and the outbreak of SARS. Nevertheless, the Netherlands was the world’s eighth largest exporter of goods and services in 2003. Its workforce numbered 7.5 million, three-quarters of whom worked in the service sector. Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was â‚ ¬27,900. The unemployment rate was 5.3%. And growth was strongest in the public sector, education and health care.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Traversed by the rivers Rhine, Maas and Scheldt as they meander towards the North Sea, the Netherlands is a hub of transport and distribution: a natural gateway to Europe and centre for multinational enterprise. Its advantages include an advanced infrastructure both for transport and telecommunications. Many Asian and North American imports to Europe are transhipped at Rotterdam or Amsterdam, the country’s two transport centres. The seaport of Rotterdam is the largest in the world, transhipping tens of millions of tonnes of goods per year. And Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is the fourth largest airport in Europe for both passenger and goods traffic. Dutch transport companies are clustered around the two main import and export centres: Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the seaport of Rotterdam. The best-known transport companies are Nedlloyd, Frans Maas and Smit International. The world’s oldest national airline, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, had to merge with French airline Air France in 2003.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many Dutch companies operate globally. The Netherlands' three largest international trading companies are Ahold, SHV Holdings and Hagemeyer. Many manufacturers, such as Unilever Philips, Akzo Nobel and Shell, also do a great deal of trade. Dredging is a Dutch specialty and companies such as Boskalis, HAM and Ballast Nedam have larger foreign operations than domestic ones. And KPN Nederland is a major player in international telecommunications, working with many non-Dutch companies. Dutch manufacturers too have a global outlook. They export goods worldwide, maintain subsidiaries in many countries and often join forces with foreign partners. The main manufacturing industries are chemicals, food processing, metalworking and the refining of gas and oil. The printing and electronic engineering industries are also world-class. Dutch

“Religion was more important than politics in the failure of King and Parliament to reach a settlement. 1646-1649”, Assess the validity of this statement Essay

â€Å"Religion was more important than politics in the failure of King and Parliament to reach a settlement. 1646-1649†, Assess the validity of this statement. In January 1649, King Charles I was executed after being charged with high treason due to political and religious reasons, some of which contributed to his refusal in accepting the peace settlements given to him by Parliament. Charles’ refusal to compromise was supported by the division that had emerged within Parliament on how to fight the civil war between the Political Presbyterians and Political Independents. The main factors of the failure to reach a settlement were religion, politics, Charles’ intransigence, the New Model Army and the emergence of radical ideas; all of which eventually concluded to Charles’ execution. One of the main reasons why Charles and Parliament failed to reach a settlement was due to religion, especially with the division between the Political Presbyterians and Political Independents. The differences between the two were that Political Presbyterians favoured a negotiated peace with Charles and did not approve of the New Model Army, and were also drawn more closely to the Presbyterian Scots whereas the Political Independents were in favour of a more considerable measure of religious toleration and disliked the authoritarianism of Scottish Presbyterianism. This division throughout Parliament meant that they had failed to reach a settlement negotiating peace terms that was to be decided upon them. In July 1646, the Political Presbyterians had presented Charles with the Newcastle Propositions as their plan for settlement which consisted of severe terms such as Charles was to accept Presbyterianism for three years in England, Parliament was to have control of the militia for 20 years, and the Triennial Act was not to be abolished and to have regular parliaments. Charles rejected these terms of the Newcastle Propositions and instead offered counter-proposals suggesting that the Political Presbyterians would have a three year trial run and reduced parliamentary control over the militia to ten years. Smith1 says that â€Å"there was a good deal of influential opinion† when writing the Newcastle Propositions and was under the impression that Cromwell had expressed his input with these terms. As a result of this, it caused division in the army and more within Parliament as the Presbyterians responded by organising rallies in favour of peace on 26th July. The emergence of radical ideas links with religion as a reason for the failure to reach a settlement in the year 1646 to 1649 as the ideas of the Levellers and Diggers were starting to break through. The Levellers were based in London that needed to gain support by taking advantage of the army’s adjutators movement, which therefore led to their concern that increased within the army, radicalising them. The development of the Leveller movement was the result of economic distress which was cause by the civil war, particularly in London, in a time of political and religious uncertainty. At the end of April 1647, eight cavalry regiments chose men as representatives for the adjutators and met with the senior officers. The Levellers ideas, under their leader John Lilburne, had clearly influenced the policies of Henry Ireton and Oliver Cromwell condemning them as â€Å"grandees†, which expressed them having deceived what people were fighting for in the first place; driving them to accept a less moderate approach to their negotiations with the King in years to come. The Levellers had come up with a pamphlet called the â€Å"The Case of the Army Truly Stated†, which led on to the Putney Debates in October and November of 1647. The Putney Debates had the main focus on the ideas of the Levellers for the extension if the franchise which had provoked a fiery argument between John Wildman and Ireton. Still Ireton spoke for the grandees which did include Cromwell and â€Å"insisted that the franchise should be restricted to those with a permanent fixed interest in the kingdom† as Seel 2 says, and that the vote should go to those who possessed property or there would otherwise be a â€Å"disturbance to a good constitution of the kingdom†. This was seen as important because the views of the religious radicals made settlements more difficult and furthermore increased the tension of division among those in the army and in parliament. The politicisation of the New Model Army also played a significant role in the failure to reach a settlement in the years 1646 to 1649 between Charles and Parliament. What made the army politicised was the concerns of their wages of  £3 million in arrears and the possibility of being faced with the charges of committing offences from the First Civil War, as Parliament had not passed an indemnity act. The army presented Charles with the Heads of The Proposals in 1647, which links back to religious division in parliament, , under Cromwell and Ireton’s influence, putting forward more stricter terms such as religious toleration was to be more effective to a wider degree and that the army was to be controlled by parliament for only ten years instead of twenty, making the army seem like a political force however historian Coward 3 has put forward the argument that â€Å"the army was not apolitical when it was first established.† Despite these terms, Charles still refused to accept them which then led to the Vote of No Addresses in January 1648 and settled that no more future negotiations were to be made with Charles. The importance of this factor was important as the army had felt that they had been pushed to resort to drastic methods and realised that it was most likely that Charles would never accept them. Another important factor that contributed to the failure to reach a settlement was Charles’ intransigence. In July 1646 the Newcastle Propositions were offered to Charles, which still would have granted him much power if he’d have accepted them, but refused to accept them. At the end of December 1647 after refusing both the Newcastle Propositions and the Heads of Proposals, Charles made his escape from confinement at Hampton Court where he would sign the Engagement with the Scots, in which Charles had agreed to allow Presbyterianism in England for three years only if they would grant him a Scottish invasion that would enable him to return back to power. With the possibility of the invasion going ahead, the chances of another civil war had increased. In April 1648 the New Model Army met at Windsor to pray before facing their enemies and declared that Charles was a â€Å"man of blood†, which soon would be one of the religious reasons for Charles’ execution in January 1649. Furthermore another political reason such as the Presbyterians’ offer of the Newport Treaty to Charles, who was now being held captive on the Isle of Wight, was sent to him as a matter of desperation to end the Second Civil War and prevent another one from occurring. However, the army and Ireton were not prepared to allow these negotiations to be undertaken and were forced to act, Kishlansky 4 says â€Å"Ireton had always been the Army’s strategist, the penman who could write the stirring propaganda of the Army’s declaration† and that he demanded a â€Å"purge or dissolution of Parliament and a trial of the King†. For the Newport Treaty to continue, a vote in Parliament took place on 5th December which had 129 for the continuation, and 83 against it, leading Ireton to act immediately and organise the army led by Colonel Thomas Pride who purged Parliament of those who were in favour in negotiating with the King; through this action taken against Parliament, the Rump would take over and conclude that Charles was to be put to trial. In conclusion, the failure to reach a settlement in the year 1646 to 1649 was due to the main religious factors such as the Windsor Prayer meeting of April 1648 where Charles was seen as â€Å"a man of blood†, the religious division in Parliament between Political Presbyterians and Political Independents and his agreement with the Irish which reinforced his support of Catholicism and his defeat in the two civil wars which came across as God’s judgement on his cause. Nevertheless, the main political reasons were down to Charles’ intransigence, fear amongst those in Parliament and the army that Charles would agree to the terms of the Newport Treaty, and fear of him starting another civil war. Overall the main reason for the failure of reaching a settlement was because of religion, although politics became very important in years to come as Presbyterians and Independents became concerned and needed a settlement for the sake of the kingdom.

Can You Imagine a World Without a Superpower?

Coined by Dutch-American geo-strategist Nicholas Spykman in 1943, the political term ‘superpower’ is used to refer to a country with the ability to influence events or project power on a global scale. ’ It is difficult, if not impossible to envisage a world without a superpower. There are a number of reasons to support this assumption. We begin with the first and most blaring- It is simply difficult to imagine a world without a superpower because history itself has shown that there has yet to come a time when one or more powers do not rise above its counterparts in terms of economic and/or political factors to the extent that they are able to impact various issues on a global level. From the ancient civilizations such as the Persian, Roman, Mongol, Portuguese and Spanish empires to the Russia during the Cold War and the USSR today, we have yet to observe a period of time when the world has observed an equitable balance of power. It can be argued that just because it has not happened yet, does not mean it will not happen one day. This is a firm basis for a counter-argument, however, it must be understood that in the foreseeable future, with more and more powers working towards this ‘superpower’ status (examples include China, Brazil, India and Russia), a world without superpowers is merely a sanguine, idealistic idea. Another issue that would make a world without a superpower a seemingly utopian concept is the difficulty of administrating such a world. Indeed, if no policing power (such as the USA) had the ability to influence global issues, the world would lack a clear sense of direction. Indeed, major decisions would probably be taken by a representative, multilateral body such as the UN (without a system of permanent seats). In such a scenario, it would be quite difficult to please all the parties involved and a conflict of interest would be inevitable. In a setup such as today, whereby the United States largely acts as the dominant political enigma, at least decisions are made and issues addressed. For example, in 1991, when the USSR was finally removed from its position as the dominant power of Eastern Europe, its surrounding sphere of influence fell into a spiral of economic and political despair. One can only imagine the repercussions if this happened on global level. According to Professor Niall Ferguson at New York University’s Stern School of Business ‘power, like nature, abhors a vacuum. In the history of world politics, it seems, someone is always the hegemon, or bidding to become it. ’ This idea proposed by professor Ferguson, is based on the theory that inherently, every country would like power. It is this elusive pull of power and all that it brings with it that would make a world without a superpower merely a product of idealism.

Militant Nonviolence Essay

Erik Erikson, the world-renowned author of the book Gandhi’s truth has also been popular because of his stages of psychosocial development (Niolon, 2007) . The said stages are enumerated in this manner: Infancy (Birth – 18 months) wherein the main psychosocial crisis is trust vs. mistrust, Toddler (1 1/2 – 3 years) which usually involves autonomy vs. shame & doubt, Play Age (3-6 years), usually involving the psychosocial crisis of initiative vs. guilt, school age (7-12 years), which often related to industry vs. inferiority, adolescence (12-19 years), identity vs. role confusion, young adulthood (20-34 years old), intimacy vs. isolation, adulthood (35-60 years), generativity vs. stagnation, and finally, late adulthood (60 years and above that is usually associated with the psychosocial crisis integrity vs. despair (Niolon, 2007) . This paper shall look into the book authored by the same person, entitled Gandhi’s truth, a book that has been said to be the acclaimed study of Mahatma Gandhi, taking the psychoanalytic theory developed by its author into consideration. This non-fictional literary work shall be analyzed based on the theory developed by the same psychoanalyst together with the discussions obtained from the book Development and Aging by Papalia, Sterns, Feldman and Camp, including topics such as health and aging, intelligence and its measurements, creativity, mature thought, wisdom and moral intelligences; education, work and leisure, etc. It has been a known fact that humans face their decline when they reach a certain age. It is often heard from different people that this kind of decline happens as most people are not as productive as they were once was in their childhood or early adulthood. This is also most prevalent in most senior citizens (Godrej, 2002). Apparently, for most studies, development stops at a certain stage . On the contrary, Erikson’s theory disproves the fact that development stops. In fact, it continues throughout the life cycle. According to the psychoanalyst and author of the very popular book, older people are not finished developing. Older people are said to come up to terms with their own morality, making them look deeper into their while lives. More often than not, they look back to the good times with gladness, at their hard times with self –respect, and finally, look at their mistakes and regrets with forgiveness (Lasch, 1969) . It is doing so that they rediscover integrity as they get ready for whatever challenges that life and death could bring upon them. On the other hand, those who remain isolated to the hurts and sadness that their life brought to them, shall be dissatisfied with the life that they have led and would easily get depressed. These are the concepts being described by Erik Erikson in his stages of psychosocial development. He has reflected these said concepts onto the life of Mohandas Gandhi, more popularly known as Mahatma or the great soul, the father of the Indian Nation. Almost everyone on the face of this planet has heard about the contributions of one of the humans who has been said to lead a great life to the history of India and the whole world (Anderson, n. d. ). He was generally known, as mentioned, as the father of the Indian nation who continuously fought for the independence of his nation from the British colonizers, despite the consequences he faced, despite his old age. Erikson’s Gandhi’s truth is generally a psychological reconstruction of Gandhi’s early years in Kathiawar on the Arabian Sea as well as his exile in London and South Africa. In the same manner, it provided an in depth analysis of the 1918 textile workers’ strike in Ahmedabad where Gandhi was first seen to practice his doctrine of Satyagraha or non violence (Lasch, 1969) . Erikson looked into the other aspects of this great man’s life that influenced his adoption of Satyagraha. The said author looked into the precocious and relentless conscience of the great soul by looking onto these said events which included the way Gandhi nursed his father, the civil servant whose career and health declined during his son’s youth, which helped him, set the pattern for a leadership that could defeat a superior opponent nonviolently (Lasch, 1969). Gandhi’s unsuccessful and premature marriage’s effect on his adoption of Satyagraha was also examined. Generally, this unsuccessful marriage of his left him in horror of his sexuality (Anderson, n. d. ). At the same time, it encouraged him to develop the religious and spiritual aspect of his life that played a very important role in his battle for the independence of his beloved country (Lasch, 1969). Of course, this has been the reason why Mahatma Gandhi started his quest for sainthood which had taken a political form. Gandhi’s leadership in the said textile strike has also been reexamined. It is where Erikson focused his study on the life of the great soul, in relation to that of his developed theory (Anderson, n. d. ). According to the said author, this has been one of the most unusual exercises in nonviolence though it led to the victory of Mahatma and the textile workers. This does not only reflect Mahatma Gandhi’s doctrine of nonviolence but his faithfulness to dharma (Lasch, 1969) . Aside from the religious life led by Mohandas K. Gandhi, more popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, his spatial intelligence and creativity should be reconsidered. These two has contributed so much to his doctrine as he was able to devise ways, using his intelligence as a wise man in devising ways to battle their colonizers (Lasch, 1969). Generally, his spatial intelligence allowed Gandhi a better and quicker ways of correcting mistakes than other forms of political action. Gandhi’s doctrine aims to cure men of their righteous and fanatic moralism that has been said to be the cause of violence that are quite irrational (Anderson, n. d. ). It is obviously seen that Gandhi’s actions as an aged man has not declined due to the challenges he experienced during his childhood and young adulthood (Chawla, 2001). In the same manner, his doctrine of non-violence or Satyagraha has not only been affected by his deteriorating health but of his beliefs, religiousness and faithfulness to dharma that has contributed so much in his fight for the freedom of his motherland, India, the land which had been infamously known for its division brought about by differences in religion (Anderson, n. d. ). Basically, the analysis of this book, together with the psychoanalytical theory developed by Erik Erikson, has provided the psychological foundations of what has been known all over the world as great leadership and non-violence. It showed how Gandhi’s previous experiences affected his life as an aged man. As Erikson suggest, the spirit that Gandhi had ever since his childhood has influenced standardization (Anderson, n. d. ). Every individual is then encouraged to follow his own path, a path that is based on his insights with regard to the realities of the world that he is living in as well as the realities by which he or she knows his or her own self. If this perceptions turn out to be true, then the path he has taken shall be the path of truth. This is what the life of Gandhi, based on Erikson’s book showed us. His perceptions that have been developed and continuously developing throughout his own life has influenced the development of a doctrine and philosophy that has gained him the title of a great soul (Chawla, 2001) . It is through this that he was able to influence not just his countrymen but the whole world as well. Eventually, looking into the brighter side of life can do so much good to a person who is in the last stage of his psychosocial development. In Gandhi’s case, he did not allow his weaknesses to serve as barriers in his fight, instead, he utilized them in such a way that his opponents looked onto it as his strengths (Anderson, n.d. ). References Anderson, H. (1971. ) Gandhi’s Truth: On the Origins of Militant Nonviolence. Theology Today. Vol 28. No. 2 Retrieved December 18, 2007 from http://theologytoday. ptsem. edu/jul1971/v28-2-bookreview10. htm Chawla, A. (2001). MOVING BEYOND GANDHI’S TRUTH. Retrieved December 18, 2007 from http://www. samarthbharat. com/truth. htm ERIKSON’S THEORY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (2007). Retrieved December 18, 2007 from http://www. fractaldomains. com/devpsych/erikson. htm Erikson, E. (1969). Gandhi’s Truth. Journal of Religion and Health. Volume 9, Number 3. Godrej. F. (2002). Gandhi’s Truth: Nonviolence as Epistemological Arbiter. Retrieved December 18, 2007 from Lasch, C. (1969). One Man’s Quest for Sainthood and the Revolutionary Philosophy to Which It Led. Retrieved December 18, 2007 from http:// www. nytimes. com/books/99/08/22/specials/erikson-gandhi. html Niolon, R. (2007) Erickon’s Psychosocial Stages of Development. Retrieved December 18, 2007 from http://www. psychpage. com/learning/library/person/erikson. html