The Motive Of Imposters Essays - Italian Films, British Films

The Motive of Imposters William Shakespeare attained literary immortality through his exposition of the many qualities of human nature in his works. One such work, The Merchant of Venice, revolves around the very human trait of deception. Fakes and frauds have been persistent throughout history, even to this day. Evidence of deception is all around us, whether it is in the products we purchase or the sales clerks' false smile as one debates the purchase of the illusory merchandise. We are engulfed by phonies, pretenders, and cheaters. Although most often associated with a heart of malice, imposture varies in its motives as much as it's practitioners, demonstrated in The Merchant of Venice by the obdurate characters of Shylock and Portia. We frequently see the intent of greed and selfishness covered up by the words and face of virtue. Such exploit is displayed by the exceptionally stingy Shylock, an unpopular Jew who makes his living through the practice of usury. When confronted about his unsympathetic trade, he resorts to citing scripture, thus comparing his selfish trade with the actions of holy men (I, iii, 73-87). Antonio, a well respected and honorable merchant, sees right through the falsehood of the justification and asks Shylock, "Was this inserted to make interest good? Or is your gold and silver ewes and rams?" (I, iii, 91-92). The response from Shylock to the question reveals a glimpse of his true meaning. "I cannot tell; I make it breed as fast" (I, iii, 93-94) is a rather boastful reply of his wealth than a righteous rationalization. To which Antonio can only turn to his friend and say "The devil can site Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling chee k" (I, iii, 95-97). Words alone are not the only means by which imposters operate. A far more effective mode is one that fools the eye for it cannot pierce through the surface. Portia, the new wife of Antonio's friend, dresses as a lawyer in order to deceive the court. However, unlike Shylock's motive, Portia's intent is far more noble and selfless. She manipulates the law in such a way to save Antonio from certain death by the hand of Shylock. Through the eyes of the law, the imposture of a lawyer, especially by a woman at that time, was seen as extremely illicit. But Portia saw impersonation as the only means by which to save a man's life. The action more than warranted the cause. Unquestionably a motive of honorable ethical values. The distinction between the intentions of Shylock and Portia is clear. Even though Portia did save the life of a noble man, she did use deception in order to do so. Nevertheless, one may argue that imposture of any form is dishonesty and the motive behind it cannot change that. The only way to preserve absolute truth would be with steadfast integrity. -Stan Szubiak, 9/22/99

44 Landlocked Countries That Dont Touch an Ocean

44 Landlocked Countries That Don't Touch an Ocean Approximately one-fifth of the worlds countries are landlocked, meaning they have no access to the oceans. There are 44 landlocked countries that do not have direct access to an ocean or ocean-accessible sea (such as the Mediterranean Sea). Why Is Being Landlocked an Issue? While a country such as Switzerland has thrived despite its lack of access to the worlds oceans, being landlocked has many disadvantages. Some landlocked countries rank among the poorest in the world. Some of the issues of being landlocked include: Lack of access to fishing and oceanic food sourcesHigh transportation and transit costs because of a lack of access to ports and world shipping operationsGeopolitical vulnerabilities from dependence on neighboring countries for access to world markets and natural resourcesMilitary limitations because of the lack of naval options What Continents Have No Landlocked-Countries? North America has no landlocked countries, and Australia is rather obviously not landlocked. Within the United States, over half of the 50 states are landlocked with no direct access to the worlds oceans. Many states, however, do have water access to the oceans via the Hudson Bay, Chesapeake Bay, or Mississippi River. Landlocked Countries in South America South America has just two landlocked countries: Bolivia and Paraguay. Landlocked Countries in Europe Europe has 14 landlocked countries: Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Vatican City. Landlocked Countries in Africa Africa has 16 landlocked countries: Botswana, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, South Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Lesotho is unusual in that it is landlocked by just one country (South Africa). Landlocked Countries in Asia Asia has 12 landlocked countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Note that several of the countries in western Asia border the landlocked Caspian Sea, a feature that does open some transit and trade opportunities. Disputed Regions that Are Landlocked Four regions that are not fully recognized as independent countries are landlocked: Kosovo, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Transnistria. What Are the Two Doubly-Landlocked Countries? There are two, special, landlocked countries that are known as doubly-landlocked countries, completely surrounded by other landlocked countries. The two doubly-landlocked countries are Uzbekistan (surrounded by Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan) and Liechtenstein (surrounded by Austria and Switzerland). What Is the Largest Landlocked Country? Kazakhstan is the worlds ninth largest country but is the worlds largest landlocked country. Its 1.03 million square miles (2.67 million km2) and is bordered by Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the landlocked Caspian Sea. What Are the Most Recently Added Landlocked Countries? The most recent addition to the list of landlocked countries is South Sudan which gained independence in 2011. Serbia is also a recent addition to the list of landlocked countries. The country formerly had access to the Adriatic Sea, but when Montenegro became an independent country in 2006, Serbia lost its ocean access. Edited by Allen Grove.

Analyzing Pilgrims From The Orient Form A Literature Perspective

Analyzing Pilgrims From The Orient Form A Literature Perspective Literary Analysis of Pilgrims from the Orient Comprehension: Pilgrims from the Orient is about Jade Snow Wongs youthful years with her parents. Wong was expected to be a perfect girl. She was taught the finest manners that her parents could teach. Wongs father is an entrepreneur and he tried to make a living by having his own business. This man is described as strict, but not talkative. Among his number of attempts of opening new businesses, his most successful business is mass producing denim garments. Wongs mother was dutiful in her tasks. When she was done with one thing, she would start on another. She would waste no time. She lived by the moral of working and saving. Wongs family had to work hard to keep their business alive and this was no exception to Wong herself. Not only did Wong have to work, but she was also expected to learn the English language and her native tongue. Being a girl, Wong didnt have the same privileges as her eldest brother, but Wong was taught that his privileges were his birthright. Knowing this, Wong didnt think much of it and accepted it as it is. Wongs parents had a strong bond with Chinese heritage. None is allowed to show physical affection, talk back, argue, or show gratitude for service. During the Depression, Wongs parents needed more hours of work from everybody, including Jade Wong. Because her father didnt have enough time to buy groceries and her mother had no time to waste on cooking, Wong was assumed both duties. Even with all of the tasks Wong was pitted against, she still managed to finish junior high school. As Wong advanced to high school, she had to work in part-time jobs to earn money to support her own self. During her high school years, Wong was introduced to non-Chinese customs. During these introductions, Wong compared her Chinese life with her American life. She compared the teachers and the ideals of both cultures. By the time Wong had finished high school, she had moved away to work for room and board. Her father, who is conservative about money, had Wong pay for h er own college education. During her college years, Wong took a sociology class. This class Wong had taken deeply impacted her mind. Wong was taught the rights of a human being. Wong was released for a week by her employer which gave Wong some free time. During this period of relaxation, Wong was asked out for a movie date by a Chinese-American boy. While dressing up, Wongs father questioned her dashing preparations. Wong refused to answer while think of her rights. With a thunderous voice, Wongs father forbade Wong from leaving, but she ignored her fathers command. This marks the beginning of Jade Snow Wongs rebellion. Rhetoric: Pilgrims from the Orient is a well picked title for this personal essay. Jade Snow Wongs family is exactly what the title is. The main idea of this personal essay is the fact that customs cant remain stable in a persons mind after many generations of evolution. Although this is not exactly stated, it is inferred. Wong questions her eldest brothers birthright and thinks about what is right and wrong. She disobeys her father in the end signifying that times are changing and people have rights. In the beginning of the essay, Wong capitalizes the D in Daddy. The word daddy derives from the word father. If Wongs father is devoted to Chinese customs, why would he like to be called the informal word of father? Such irony shows that even Wongs father is changing. Wong compares her American life with her Chinese life with various examples. One fine example is the comparison of her teachers. Chinese teachers are strict and non-forgiving. American teachers, however, are kind. This confuses Wong because she was taught to not show physical affection. In the end of the essay, Wong is in a quarrel with her father. The scene is flowing with fire as Wong and her father argue. This shows that Wong will break away from traditional Chinese customs. The customs of China are present throughout the whole essay, but conflict is also present. This makes the thesis of this personal essay is the fact that customs change over a long period of time no matter what. Synthesis: Wong, at first, sees herself as a slave to men. She is to do nothing but serve dutifully to her husband and work hard. Later as she grows up, she learns about her rights as an American citizen. Todays American society doesnt have many restrictions on either gender thus making it equal (to a certain extent). During Wongs college years, she learns about human rights and what is to be a model human. This puts a large question mark on Wongs Chinese customs. Wong doesnt mention which system of culture is best, but she does put down Chinese customs and raise the status of American culture. Although she does this, it is evident that she still has Chinese customs and culture within her and that will never change. Although she did rebel against her parents in the end of the essay, Wong does not hate her parents. Wong is proving that everything cant remain the same. Wong will always be Chinese because thats what she is. This can all be tied together by saying that culture will always be presen t, but not the same.

Knowledge Management And Organizational Learning Essay

Knowledge Management And Organizational Learning - Essay Example As Noe (2002, p. 168) noted, knowledge management is a management process that the performance of a business can be enhanced by designing, implementing and strategically aligning various tools, processes, systems, structure and cultures with a view to create and share knowledge among its people and to use for overall business purpose. The very basic three elements included in Knowledge management are 1) creation of the knowledge through some effective strategies, 2) sharing of the created knowledge among people and 3) making it available and useful for any business purpose.   Knowledge Management has been found to be useful for the organization as it helps it get the products to the target market quicker, develop innovative ideas, serve the customer well in order to maintain customer loyalty and retention and achieve sustainable competitive advantages. As Boxall and Macky (2009, p. 10) emphasized, knowledge management helps a business achieve high performance working through variou s strategic processes and organizational development programs.   Knowledge Management has emerged to be a management tool that focuses on data, information and knowledge among the employees in an organization (Awad and Ghaziri, 2007, p. 26) and encompasses the processes by which experience, skills, expertise, knowledge and abilities are gathered, then shared among the people and utilized so that these can be converted to collective organizational learning process (Foster, 2005, p. 397).  

Mitigating Toxic Leadership Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mitigating Toxic Leadership - Case Study Example Risk avoidance and risk reduction are the possible strategies that should be considered in helping the SVP, his employees, and the organization. Risk avoidance, according to Baker (2009) involves application of an alternative approach that eliminates a problem or its effects. Conflicting attitude from employees and clients identifies situational leadership approach that is yielding returns, though with employee turnover as a consequence. Introducing a management level between the SVP and his staff, while retaining the SVP’s direct contact with clients, is likely to eliminate the employees’ negative attitude, risk of high turnover, and its effects. Cost of employing the supervisor will be less than the long-term cost of recruiting and training employees and the negative image that the employees’ experience can have on the organization. Risk reduction, according to Boehm, Lane, Koolmanojwong, and Tuner (2014), involves lowering probability of risk occurrence and un derstanding the SVP’s expectations from his employees and training employees to meet the expectation is an example. This is better than recruitment and training of new employees but is relatively costly. The SVP’s strengths identify need for his retention in the organization. Risk avoidance and risk reduction are the possible mitigation strategies but relative cost effectiveness of risk avoidance, through changing structure, is the best option for managing the situation. Boehm, B., Lane, J., Koolmanojwong, S., and Tuner, R. (2014). The incremental commitment spiral model: Principles and practices for successful systems and software. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley

The Black Cat Essay Example for Free

The Black Cat Essay Short Story Analysis: The Black Cat The Black Cat by Edgar Alan Poe is a short story told in a first person narrative, from the point of view of an incarcerated murderer. There are several ways to interpret this story; the reader can also gain insight on the narrator’s state of mind. What I am going to talk about today is how the narrator uses a lot of symbolism and descriptive elements in his story, and in turn, how the reader will interpret the narrator as a person. A few characteristics that will be highlighted are death, psychosis/state of mind of the narrator, and alcoholism. The narrator admits an alcohol dependency right from the start. â€Å"One night, returning home , much intoxicated, from one of my haunts about town†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (2). This gives the reader the impression that it is in the narrator’s normal character to be under the influence. The narrator used alcohol as his reasoning for cutting the black cat’s eye out. He then drinks away his guilt and sins with alcohol, â€Å"I again plunged into excess, and soon drowned in wine all memory of the deed† (3). From these statements, the reader can assume that the narrator is an alcoholic and uses that to blur the reality of his decisions. Madness is defined as the state of being mentally ill or extremely foolish behavior. In this story it is apparent that the narrator could very well be mentally unstable. He immediately expressed his fondness for animals, he thought of animals as a â€Å"principal sources of pleasure† (2). He later gets pleasure from abusing one of his animals, the black cat, by cutting the cat’s eye out with a knife. All because he felt the cat was avoiding him. He later hangs the cat, and then constantly feels haunted by his acts. In a way, the narrator seems enticed by his evil actions. â€Å"Evil thoughts became my sole intimates-the darkest and most evil of thoughts† (5). The narrator’s last act of evil is the murder of his wife, when he hits her in the head with an axe. He then immediately thinks of ways to cover up the murder. He talks about cutting his wife up into pieces, but later decides that he will hide her body in the brick wall in the cellar of their home. From this the reader has gone from believing the narrator is just some troubled alcoholic, to believing the narrator is suffering some serious psychosis. There are many faces of death in this story. The first starts with the abuse of the black cat. The narrator comes home drunk and believes the cat is being disobedient so he cuts the cat’s eye out. Later, when his guilt builds up and he can no longer take it, the narrator hangs the cat. He becomes paranoid and believes the cat is haunting him from the grave. Although I thus readily accounted to my reason, if not altogether to my conscience, for the startling fact just detailed, it did not the less fail to make a deep impression upon my fancy†¦among the vile haunts which I now habitually frequented† (4). The next face of death is the cruel and unexpected murder of the narrator’s wife. It becomes apparent that the narrator has a disturbing fascination when carrying out the acts of murder. These actions tie into the narrator’s mental stability. It is one thing to have thoughts of harming one’s self or others, but it is another thing when those thoughts are acted upon. â€Å"My happiness was supreme! The guilt of my dark deed disturbed me but little† (6). From this the reader can assume that the narrator is a mentally unstable alcoholic murderer. The three main descriptive characteristics that I wanted to highlight about the narrator and the story of The Black Cat are alcoholism, psychosis, and death. With these three elements the reader can pass judgment on the narrator and create an overall opinion of him as a person. The reader can become first enticed by the story with the narrator talking about his love for animals and then later his cruelty towards them. Next the reader begins to wonder if the narrator is imagining these things, â€Å"Upon its head†¦sat the hideous beast whose craft had seduced me into murder, and whose informing voice had consigned me to the hangman† (7). Finally the reader can confidently asses their overall impression of the narrator. â€Å"Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. But to-morrow I die and to-day I would unburden my soul† (1).

The Thought-experiments in Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse Five or the C

The Thought-experiments in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five or the Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance With Death In 1945 Kurt Vonnegut witnessed a horrific series of bombings that led to the destruction of the German city of Dresden, where he was taken as a prisoner of war. The controversial fire-storm raid, carried out by bombers of the Royal Air Force and US Air Force, took casualties of up to a quarter million people (Klinkowitz x-xi). As a prisoner of war, Vonnegut was forced to participate as a corpse miner in the city's cleanup process. Upon his return from the Second World War, Vonnegut decided to write a book describing his traumatic war experiences. After twenty years of struggling with research, failing to recall personal experiences, and publishing two novels and countless short stories, Kurt Vonnegut finally published-as what he frequently refers to as-the "book about Dresden." It was titled Slaughterhouse Five or the Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance With Death, or more simply: Slaughterhouse Five. The result of twenty years of work is a biography that has been bizarrely fictionali zed by Vonnegut's incorporation of anecdotes about alien abduction and time travel. Prior to the publication of Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut invented the terminology "Chrono-Synclastic Infundibulum," defined as a phenomenon in the universe where matter scatters through space and time, resulting in their simultaneous existence in multiple places and times. Consequently multiple notions-often contradicting each other-can exist and consume the same space. While this strange yet imaginative "space" was conceived in a previous novel, The Sirens of Titan, Vonnegut crafted the structure and progression of Slaughterhouse Five with ... ... Ed. Harold Bloom. Jones, Peter G. "The End of the Road: Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade" Modern Critical Interpretations Slaughterhouse-Five Ed. Harold Bloom. Klinkowitz, Jerome. Slaughterhouse-Give Reforming the Novel and the World. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1990. Lundquist, James. Kurt Vonnegut. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1977. Marvin, Thomas F. Kurt Vonnegut A Critical Companion. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002. Sholes, Robert. "Slaughterhouse-Five." New York Times Book Review 6 April 1969, 1, 23. Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. Slaughterhouse-Five. New York: Delacorte Press, 1994. Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. The Sirens of Titan. New York: Dell, 1974. 1[1] For a technical treatment, please refer to http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/vvc/theory/relativity.html, under the section discussing relativistic properties of the speed of light.

An Investigation of the impact of staff motivation on organizational performance: A case study of comparing Primark retail store, Tesco Plc and ASDA Group Ltd.

Aim of Study The study aims to determine employee motivation levels and its effect on organizational performance at the three retail stores. The specific related objectives are: To evaluate the extent to which the organizations provide different motivating factors for its employees To test the relationship between employee motivation and organizational performance Rationale of study Managers have the responsibility of attaining organizational success and competitive advantage through human capital. They can do this by improving the motivation levels of their employees (Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2010). The proposed study will seek to establish whether the management at the selected organizations has put in place measures for increasing employee motivation to influence organizational performance. Background to the Research Topic/Literature Review Motivation Motivation is a concept that is defined differently in literature. Some authors defined motivation as the processes where individuals focus on satisfy their perceived needs, personal goals, and basic goals and this activates human behavior (Guest & Conway, 2004). Another definition is motivation is a portrayal of the physiological processes that lead to stimulation and persistence of a voluntary action that directed toward specific goals (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2008). Employees who are motivated can be easily spotted based on their dedication, enthusiasm, performance, and their contribution to the objectives and goals of an organization. Other authors observed that a motivated individual has awareness of the particular goals that have to be attained in particular ways and focus their efforts on attainment of these goals (Nel et al., 2004). Motivation theories Various theories have been proposed to explain the motivation of employees in organizations. These include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and Herzberg’s hygiene theory, the expectancy theory, goal theory, and fair process concept theory. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs assumes that the motivation of individuals is based on achieving a hierarchy of needs (Griffin & Moorhead, 2009). Specifically, individuals have physiological, safety, social, self –esteem, and self actualization needs that have to be met in the work setting. Physiological needs include shelter, clothing, food, and water and are at the bottom of the hierarchy of needs. Safety needs involve protecting individuals from injuries in the work setting and providing work conditions that are stress free. Social needs entail meaningful interpersonal interactions in the workplace. Esteem needs are related to a person’s desire for competency, achievement, recognition, prestige, and status. Finally, self actualization entails an individual’s desire in reaching the highest potential. Maslow suggested that higher needs can only be fulfilled after those at the bottom have been met. Therefore, after employees have attained their physiological n eeds, they want their safety, social, self-esteem and self actualization to be satisfied in that order. Managers can offer job security, fringe benefits, and pay to meet the security and physiological needs of their employees. To meet social needs, managers should promote team work in the organization. Concerning esteem needs, these can be met by the rewarding employees for high performance with recognition and establishing linkages between performance attainment and pay. Finally, self actualization needs can be met through challenging work, promotion opportunities, training, and autonomy in job performance. Herzberg’s hygiene theory contends those individuals are motivated because of job satisfaction in their work environment. This theory views that individuals are motivated when specific motivators are found in the work environment (Griffin & Moorhead, 2009). These motivators include advancement, challenging work, recognition, growth, responsibility and achievement. In addition, the theory delineates needs related to the job context or environment. These factors comprise of interpersonal relations, security, status, continuous learning opportunities, organizational culture, working conditions, and organizational policies. However, these factors do not result in motivation among employees but when they are absent in the organization, employees become dissatisfied with the work setting. Based on this theory, a manager can motivate employees by ensuring that both hygiene factors and motivators are available in the organization. The expectancy theory argues that the behavior of an individual is determined by outcomes based on the concepts ofexpectancy, instrumentality and Valence (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2008). Valence describes the strength of an individual’s preference for a reward or outcome for performing a specific behavior. Expectancy is an individual’s belief that a particular action will lead to a specific reward or outcome. Instrumentality explains the extent to which a person believes that specific performance levels will result in the achievement of desired outcomes. Therefore, individuals are motivated to carry out specific assignments when they value the rewards associated with the accomplishment of the assignment. In this regard, if the outcome or reward of performance is very high, an individual will be more motivated to execute the required tasks to achieve the outcomes. This theory indicates that managers can employ various strategies to enhance motivation among employees includ ing setting achievable performance standards and offering the required support such as training to increase perceptions that employees’ effort will result in performance. In addition, managers should link rewards given to employees to performance standards and the employee’s personal goals. The goal theory postulates that individuals are motivated to achieve challenging goals (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2008). The theory contends that goals are vital in guiding the actions and responses of individuals. This theory places goal acceptance, specificity, and difficulty. Goal difficulty describes the degree to which a specific goal demands a lot of effort. Thus, assigning goals with more difficulty leads to higher performance levels. Goal specificity is associated with an adequately defined target for directing performance. Goal acceptance is associated with the extent to which goals are accepted as legitimate by individuals. Therefore, goal setting results in higher motivation as it allows individuals to focus their efforts in the required direction (Daft & Marcic, 2009). Managers can influence the motivation of employees through goal setting by providing feedback about the employee’s progress in achieving the goals and by linking incentives to the achievement of the goals (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2008). Finally, the fair process concept theory deals with the degree to which organizational members perceive that the organization treatments them in a fair manner (Greenberg, 1993). This theory focuses on procedural and distributive justice. Distributive justice is related to perceptions of fairness in allocating rewards among employees. Procedural justice is about perceptions of fairness in the procedures used in deciding reward allocations. Therefore, employee’s perceptions about the equity dimensions in allocation of rewards influences their motivation levels (Greenberg, 1993). Therefore, employees can be motivated by rewarding them based on performance, using a performance appraisal system for accurately measuring the performance of employees, consistently using similar standards for all the employees, and openly sharing information on the organization’s reward programs (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2007). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Motivation of employees depends on both extrinsic and intrinsic factors working together to improve the commitment of employees to task performance (Danish & Usman, 2010). Extrinsic motivation emphasizes external rewards including procedures and policy, awards, supervision, salary and fringe benefits. Extrinsic motivation has a great and immediate effect on the level of motivation but it cannot be sustained for a longer period. However, intrinsic motivation places emphasis on internal rewards and deals with quality of the work setting. Therefore, intrinsic motivation is about rewarding employees for what they actually enjoy doing and has a lasting effect on motivation levels. An organization can achieve intrinsic motivation by providing employees with challenging work and autonomy to enable employees to derive competence, achievement, and accomplishment from performing such tasks. The effect of motivation on performance An organization with a highly motivated workforce is able to achieve its goals through the performance of work tasks by employees. It is suggested that motivated employees are highly inclined to be highly productive compared to those individuals who are not motivated (Chaudhary, Javed & Sabir, 2012). Khan (2012) established a positive association between the performance of employees and their training and motivation and stated that organizations that want to enhance their employees’ performance should concentrate on training as this motivates the workforce to attain higher performance levels. Frimpong and Fan (2009) observed that motivation among employees has a significant effect on productivity and that managers should focus on channeling motivation toward the achievement of both organizational and personal goals. The researchers concluded that motivational factors and motivation have a positive effect on the performance of teams (Frimpong & Fan, 2009). Another researcher argued that motivation is one of the main factors in the productivity of employees (Mullins, 2006). The author suggested that providing employees with understandable job goals, a supportive work setting, and the adequate skills are inadequate in themselves for ensuring that the job is performed and that employees should have adequate levels of motivation to exert the required efforts levels to the realization of the specific work objectives (Mullins, 2006). Other researchers discovered that employee motivation through recognition, benefits, promotion and payment leads to higher productivity (Khan et al., 2010). Indeed, Gana and Bababe (2011) established that adequate motivation of employees using appropriate incentives enhances their performance and in turn this ensures the achievement of organizational performance goals. In summary, this section has explored relevant literature on employee motivation and its effect on performance. Based on this, the proposed study will examine whether the case study organizations use different motivating factors to influence the motivation of their workforce and achieve higher performance. Research Questions and Methodology The research questions for this study will include: Which motivational factors are used in the selected organizations What is the effect of motivational factors on the motivation of employees in the selected organizations What is the impact of employee motivation on organizational performance To answer these questions, this study will combine both interpretivism and positivism research philosophies. Interpretivism is concerned with understanding the research participants’ subjective reality in relation to the study topic (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2007). Therefore, to acquire knowledge about the motivating factors of employees at the selected organizations will involve collecting qualitative data from the employees. On the other hand, positivism involves considering social reality as autonomous from actors and quantitative methods are used in collecting data. Therefore, quantitative data in terms of a survey with managers will be collected and analyzed to determine the relationship between employee motivation and organizational performance. Therefore, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative research methods will enable a more comprehensive and holistic approach to be used in investigating the study topic. Relevant Data required and Data collection methods Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected in this study. The qualitative data will involve interviewing 5 employees in the selected organizations to understand the motivating factors offered by senior management in a way that is not influenced and controlled by the researcher (Patton, 2002). The interviews will be conducted using an interview guide with relevant open ended questions. Thus, interviewing the employees will ensure that important insights on motivation from the perspective of employees are acquired. On the other hand, quantitative data will be gathered using a survey questionnaire administered to senior managers at the organizations. The survey questionnaire will have questions related to the motivating factors available in the organization and the extent to which managers perceive these factors as influencing different organizational outcomes. Accessibility, reliability, and validity and ethics The participants for the study will be accessed by contacting senior management of the selected organizations via email to obtain their permission to conduct the study. The senior managers will then ask the sampled employees to be part of the study. The confidentiality and anonymity of the participants will be maintained by not revealing any identifying information in the data analysis. The results of this study will be valid and reliable as accurate measures of motivation and organizational performance will be used to collect quantitative data. The validity of qualitative data will be achieved by capturing the actual meanings of the participants during transcription and analysis of data. Furthermore, the use of suitable data analysis procedures to acquire findings indicating the relationship between employee motivation and organizational performance will further establish the validity and reliability of this study. References Chaudhry, A., Javed, H., andSabir, M. (2012) `The impact of transformational and transactional leadership styles on the motivation of employees in Pakistan’, Pakistan Economic and Social Review. Vol.50, No.2, pp. 223 – 231. Daft, R., & Marcic, D. (2009) Understanding management. USA: Thompson South Western. Danish, R., and Usman, A. (2010) `Impact of reward and recognition on job satisfaction and motivation: an empirical study from Pakistan’, International Journal of Business and Management, pp. 159-167 Frimpong, S., and Fan, L. (2009) `Comparative study on the relationship between employee motivation and team performance of the Banks in Ghana and China’, Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Management, Wuhan: Wuhan University of Technology Press, 2009 Gana, A., and Bababe, F.B. (2011) `The effects of motivation on workers performance (A case study of Maiduguri Flour Mill Ltd, Borno State, Nigeria)’, Continental Journal of Social Sciences. Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 8 – 13. Greenberg, J. (1993) `The social side of fairness: Interpersonal and informational classes of organizational justice’, In R. Cropanzano (Ed.), Justice in the workplace: Approaching fairness in human resource management (pp. 79–103). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Griffin, W., & Moorhead, G. (2009) Organizational behavior: managing people and organizations. USA: Thompson South Western Guest, D., and Conway, N. (2004) Employee wellbeing and the psychological construct. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Hellriegel, D., & Slocum, J.(2007) Organizational behavior. USA: Thompson South-Western Khan, I., (2012) `The impact of training and motivation on performance of employees’, Business Review. Vol.7 No. 2, pp. 84 – 95. Khan, K., Farooq, S., and Khan, Z. (2010) `The Relationship between rewards and employee motivation in commercial banks of Pakistan’, Research Journal of International Studies. Available at (Accessed on December 1, 2014) Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A.(2008), Organizational behavior. Boston: McGraw-hill Mullins, L. J. (2006) Essentials of organizational behavior. USA: Prentice Hall Nel, p., van Dyk, P. , Haasbroek, G., Schultz, H., Sono, T., & Werner, a.(2004) Human resources management. USA: Oxford University Press Patton, M.(2002) Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007) Research methods for business students. USA: Pearson Education Ltd Wagner, J. and Hollenbeck, J. (2010) Organizational Behavior: Securing Competitive Advantage. 1st edition. New York: Routledge

Marks of an Educated Person Essay

Holmes describes a liberal arts education as providing â€Å"an opportunity to steward life more effectively by becoming more fully a human person in the image of God.† (The Idea of a Christian College, Pg. 36.) The liberal arts that include subjects such as language, history, speech, philosophy etc. help in making the student a more complete person. Every student approaches learning with a subjective view based on his or her background, beliefs and opinions. A Christian liberal arts education teaches the Christian how to â€Å"be in this world but not of this world† (II Cor. 10:3) It not only addresses the practical aspects of educating for the purpose of career and employment, but it also offers Biblical concepts that help develop the spirit filled and spirit lead life. This adds depth to the liberal arts student that can be applied to the Christian’s witness to the world. The liberal arts education must encompass a broad range of subject matter regardless of the career field. Holmes offer examples such as the healthcare field. Because wellness involves physical as well as mental and emotional and is influenced by such factors as environment and the human spirit, the physician would, according to Holmes benefit from such studies as psychology, sociology in addition to the medical studies. A student’s depth of understanding is dependent on their concepts of communication and speech. For the student to fully integrate their knowledge base they must have basic communication skills. What does the word mean? The Christian liberal arts college incorporates all of these areas into a comprehensive education plan that not only helps to prepare the student to make positive career choices but it also enables the student to broaden his or her spiritual experience as his life witnesses to the world around him. In a world whose values vacillate with whatever is the popular ideology of the day, a Christian liberal arts program helps the student to build on a foundation anchored by God’s Word. As previously stated, we are able to be in this world but not â€Å"of this world.†

Francis Bacons Classic Essay, Of Truth

Francis Bacon's Classic Essay, Of Truth Of Truth is the opening essay in the final edition of the philosopher, statesman and jurist  Francis Bacons Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral (1625). In this essay, as associate professor of philosophy Svetozar Minkov points out, Bacon addresses the question of whether it is worse to lie to others or to oneselfto possess truth (and lie, when necessary, to others) or to think one possesses the truth but be mistaken and hence unintentionally convey falsehoods to both oneself and to others (Francis Bacons Inquiry Touching Human Nature, 2010). In Of Truth, Bacon argues that people have a natural inclination to lie to others: a natural though corrupt love, of the lie itself. Of Truth What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer. Certainly, there be that delight in giddiness, and count it a bondage to fix a belief, affecting free-will in thinking as well as in acting. And though the sects of philosophers of that kind be gone, yet there remain certain discoursing wits which are of the same veins, though there be not so much blood in them as was in those of the ancients. But it is not only the difficulty and labor which men take in finding out of truth, nor again that when it is found it imposeth upon mens thoughts, that doth bring lies in favor, but a natural though corrupt love of the lie itself. One of the later school of the Grecians examineth the matter, and is at a stand to think what should be in it, that men should love lies where neither they make for pleasure, as with poets, nor for advantage, as with the merchant; but for the lies sake. But I cannot tell: this same truth is a naked and open daylight that doth not show the masques a nd mummeries and triumphs of the world half so stately and daintily as candle-lights. Truth may perhaps come to the price of a pearl that showeth best by day; but it will not rise to the price of a diamond or carbuncle, that showeth best in varied lights. A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure. Doth any man doubt that if there were taken out of mens minds vain opinions, flattering hopes, false valuations, imaginations as one would, and the like, but it would leave the minds of a number of men poor shrunken things, full of melancholy and indisposition, and unpleasing to themselves? One of the fathers, in great severity, called poesy vinum daemonum [the wine of devils] because it filleth the imagination, and yet it is but with the shadow of a lie. But it is not the lie that passeth through the mind, but the lie that sinketh in and settleth in it that doth the hurt, such as we spake of before. But howsoever these things are thus in mens depraved judgments and affections, yet truth, which only doth judge itself, teacheth that the inquiry of truth, which is the love-ma king or wooing of it; the knowledge of truth, which is the presence of it; and the belief of truth, which is the enjoying of it, is the sovereign good of human nature. The first creature of God in the works of the days was the light of the sense; the last was the light of reason; and his Sabbath work ever since is the illumination of his spirit. First he breathed light upon the face of the matter, or chaos; then he breathed light into the face of man; and still he breatheth and inspireth light into the face of his chosen. The poet that beautified the sect that was otherwise inferior to the rest, saith yet excellently well, It is a pleasure to stand upon the shore, and to see ships tossed upon the sea; a pleasure to stand in the window of a castle, and to see a battle and the adventures thereof below; but no pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage ground of truth (a hill not to be commanded, and where the air is always clear and serene), and to see the errors and wanderings and mists and tempests in the vale below*; so always that this prospect be with pity, and not with swelling or pride. Certainly it is heaven upon earth to have a mans mind move in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the poles of truth. To pass from theological and philosophical truth to the truth of civil business: it will be acknowledged, even by those that practice it not, that clear and round dealing is the honor of mans nature, and that mixture of falsehood is like alloy in coin of gold and silver, which may make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it. For these winding and crooked courses are the goings of the serpent, which goeth basely upon the belly and not upon the feet. There is no vice that doth so cover a man with shame as to be found false and perfidious; and therefore Montaigne saith prettily, when he inquired the reason why the word of the lie should be such a disgrace and such an odious charge. Saith he, If it be well weighed, to say that a man lieth, is as much as to say that he is brave towards God, and a coward towards man. For a lie faces God, and shrinks from man. Surely the wickedness of falsehood and breach of faith cannot possibly be so highly expressed as in that it shall be the last peal to call the judgments of God upon the generations of men: it being foretold that when Christ cometh, He shall not find faith upon the earth. *Bacons paraphrase of the opening lines of Book II of On the Nature of Things by Roman poet Titus Lucretius Carus.

Exam Question Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Exam Question - Coursework Example However, the complexities of the case arose with the inability to tamper with the provisions over a private contract specifically because consumer rights are private and not linked to state regulations. The legal relations for consumer protection were then one of the main considerations with the case. The proceedings that were created from the main debates were based on consumer rights that could follow under the law. The first proceeding stated that a credit agreement should not affect the rights of the consumer against the purchase of services or goods. The consumer enters an agreement with the contractor, specifically with the understanding that the services or goods will be supplied. This makes it a legal obligation for the supplier to carry forward with all contractual agreements, specifically which is made under the assumption of the agreement through a pre-existing agreement. The right to pursue credit or to be granted a difference in the contract occurs only in the instance w hen the consumer is not satisfied with the services delivered or when there is a failure to meet the demands through the services and products that are expected through the pre-agreement of a given contract. However, it was noted that the consumer may pursue the justification of lack of fulfilment of a contract. This does not entitle the legal proceedings to match this, specifically which is created according to the direct effect that this has on the consumer. The conditions and the remedies then have to be looked into with the contractual agreement and potential breach of contracts that are created. The case that was created not only referred to the consumer protection and the need to fulfil contracts for consumer protection. The court also found that the Treaty of the EU, Article 3s, 129a, created different levels of contribution to consumer rights. The community was responsible only for contributing to consumer protection, specifically with political and legal integration through the internal market. The duty of consumer protection created an effect where consumers had the right to have the fulfilment of products and services within the internal market. The horizontal direct effect then had a direct bearing on the consumer protection, specifically with the need to create and define consumer protection and credit. b. The legal issue that was associated with the case was based on the need to have consumer protection. Private entities are regarded as having freedom of offering services and products while having the right to refuse service or to terminate contracts with consumers. There is also the ability to allow the service or product providers to refuse fulfilment of consumer credit under given circumstances. The question which arose was based on how much consumer protection should be granted if there is a contract that is unfulfilled by those who are offering product or services. The level of interference from a political and legal entity was questioned, s pecifically with how much this could move into consumer rights and protection among those that were looking at the private contracts that were expected to be fulfilled. The rulings of the case were based on the horizontal direct effect. The effect was one which stated that the services or products provided with a contractual agreement were required to be fulfilled. If the services or products harmed or affected the consumer, then it was considered an illegal breach

Long-Term Investment Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Long-Term Investment Decisions - Essay Example The consumer will have to consume the commodity as normal even if the prices are increased. The managers thus should consider the reactions from the competitors before raising prices. Since consumption of the food is maintained, increasing prices may lead to rival firms to sell more units than the firm. This will reduce its sales and market share and hence loses a lot to the competitors. Consumers usually have believed that high prices are associated with high quality. If the firm wants to attract more sales, they should consider increasing quality or rebrand the product as this would change the consumer’s perception of the product in a positive way. They would thus increase their purchasing power making the firms to have high sales. Managers should also have a good timing as to when to increase the prices. During low seasons of the business, they can keep the prices low so that they keep with the increased customers demand however little it may be. These losses can then be recovered in off seasons through producing more units at high prices. For example, during festive seasons and holidays, consumers spend more than expected. The government usually enters into the production process majorly by providing incentives and changes in taxation. Providing subsidies lowers the production cost of the company. The company is able to produce more and increase the market supply (Tisdell & Hartley, 2008). To increase production, they will hire extra labor leading to employment in the economy. As supply increases, demand is relatively constant leading to low prices to the consumers. However, if the government does not provide subsidies, the company operations cost will be high and hence reduce output and will lay off workers leading to unemployment in the economy. This decreases supply and since demand is high, prices will increase leading to inflations in the economy. The government can decide to use tax