Select an organisation and to develop a strategic review of its Essay

Select an organisation and to develop a strategic review of its external environment and the related issues it faces. It can be - Essay Example History of the Company Tyrrells Potato Chips Company is proudly and dedicatedly engaged in producing, farming, and processing of these potatoes into chips. This farm is located in Tyrrells Court, England. The company is progressing in this field of business for the last 20 years. The owner of the company had put extensive effort and dedication in converting his potato store into a small manufacturing factory after completing a detailed research in the field of processed foods and advanced machinery implementation and development. Tyrrells is famous for its flavors, which is the result of old grown potatoes (www.chelseamarketbasket.com, 2012). Manufacturing Process The process of Tyrrells Potato chips operations include production and harvesting of potato crop in small batches, prepared and cut into fine slices, and fried in high quality sunflower cooking oil. Lastly, these fries are packed in highly satisfactory packages sealed by using latest technology to ensure the freshness of th e potato chips. The packaging of the chips forms an additional lively image to the potato chips (www.chelseamarketbasket.com, 2012). ... Nibbles of Fritas, spicy, and Thai Chilli flavors. Tortyrrells of hot chillies, sour cream, cheddar and onion flavors (www.tyrrellscrisps.co.uk, 2012). The Business Progress The Tyrrells have made the highest volume of sales in 2008 i.e. 13 million pounds. It is reported that the owner of the company Will Chase have sold out major portion of stock of the company to the firm named as Langholm Capital for about 30 million pounds In addition, the company has originated a new subsidiary by name of Chase Distilleries, which is engaged in the production of a new kind of chips named as Vodka potato (PotatoPro, 2012). External Analysis Industry Analysis As per latest reports, the savory snack industry in UK is growing even during the times of decreased economic growth. According to the latest statistics, the savory snack market grew by 7.1% during 2011and earned a total of ?2.71 billion profit out of retail selling prices. The primary factors contributing to the success of savory snack indus try are growing fame and popularity of these snacks in the UK market, increasing number of adult lunch boxes, increasing in the trends of bag sharing adapted by manufacturers and increasing responses to the customer demand with regard to health safety and more innovative flavors (Keynote, 2011). Manufacture of potatoes has heavily dominated the snack industry as compare to simple crisps. The primary reasons behind it are growing responses of manufacturers towards customers with respect to issues pertaining to health, fats free food and lighter snack, therefore manufacturers have shifted their style of production and processing. In addition, there are higher demands of customers to introduce innovative flavors both British and exotic origins. The demand for nuts and pop corns has also

Training and Development Essay Example for Free

Training and Development Essay â€Å"Training and development refers to the imparting of specific skills,abilities and knowledge to an employee.† Training and development is any attempt to improve current or future employee performance by increasing an employee’s ability to perform through learning,usually by changing the employee’s attitude or increasing his or her skills and knowledge. WHAT IS TRAINING ? Training is concerned with imparting developing specific skills for a particular purpose.Traning is the act of increasing the skills of an employes for doing a particular job. Training is the process of learning a sequence of programmed behavior. What is Development ? Management development is all those activities and programme when recognized and controlled have substantial influence in changing the capacity of the individual to perform his assignment better and in going so all likely to increase his potential for future assignments.Thus, management development is a combination of various training programme, though some kind of training is necessary, it is the overall development of the competency of managerial personal in the light of the present requirement as well as the future requirement. Development an activity designed to improve the performance of existing managers and to provide for a planned growth of managers to meet future organizational requirements is management development. Why Employee Training and Development ? †¢ Training and development can be initiated for a variety of reasons for an employee or group of employees, e.g.: †¢ When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed †¢ To benchmark the status of improvement so far in a performance improvement effort †¢ As part of an overall professional development program †¢ As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned change in role in the organization †¢ To pilot, or test, the operation of a new performance management system †¢ To train about a specific topic. Types of Employee Training Communications: The increasing diversity of todays workforce brings a wide variety of languages and customs. Computer skills: Computer skills are becoming a necessity for conducting administrative and office tasks. Customer service: Increased competition in todays global marketplace makes it critical that employees understand and meet the needs of customers. Diversity: Diversity training usually includes explanation about how people have different perspectives and views, and includes techniques to value diversity Ethics: Todays society has increasing expectations about corporate social responsibility. Also, todays diverse workforce brings a wide variety of values and morals to the workplace. Human relations: The increased stresses of todays workplace can include misunderstandings and conflict. Training can people to get along in the workplace. Quality initiatives: Initiatives such as Total Quality Management, Quality Circles, benchmarking, etc., require basic training about quality concepts, guidelines and standards for quality, etc. Safety: Safety training is critical where working with heavy equipment, hazardous chemicals, repetitive activities, etc., but can also be useful with practical advice for avoiding assaults, etc. Sexual harassment: Sexual harassment training usually includes careful description of the organizations policies about sexual harassment, especially about what are inappropriate behaviors. Benefits from Employee Training and Development †¢ Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees †¢ Increased employee motivation †¢ Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain †¢ Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods †¢ Increased innovation in strategies and products †¢ Reduced employee turnover †¢ Enhanced company image, e.g., conducting ethics training (not a good reason for ethics training!) †¢ Risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity training Responsibility for employee training and development Employee training is the responsibility of the organization. Employee development is a shared responsibility of management and the individual employee. The responsibility of management is to provide the right resources and an environment that supports the growth and development needs of the individual employee.For employee training and development to be successful, management should: †¢ Provide a well-crafted job description it is the foundation upon which employee training and development activities are built †¢ Provide training required by employees to meet the basic competencies for the job. This is usually the supervisors responsibility †¢ Develop a good understanding of the knowledge, skills, and abilities that the organization will need in the future. What are the long-term goals of the organization and what are the implications of these goals for employee development ? Share this knowledge with staff †¢ Look for learning opportunities in every-day activity. Was there an incident with a client that everyone could learn from? Is there a new government report with implications for the organization? †¢ Explain the employee development process and encourage staff to develop individual development plans †¢ Support staff when they identify learning activities that make them an asset to your organization both now and in the future For employee development to be a success, the individual employee should: †¢ Look for learning opportunities in every-day activity †¢ Identify goals and activities for development and prepare an individual development plan

Changes in Roles and Responsibilities of Nurses in the Moder

Changes in Roles and Responsibilities of Nurses in the Moder Nursing staff have seen their roles and responsibilities change considerably within the modernisation of the NHS, but is this a good thing? There are some big changes in the nursing field in the last 50 years such as, uniform, salaries, job demand, the roles of nurses, the different roles for men and women nurses, the technology used, Litigation and Documentation, Holistic Care and patient load. Nurses are becoming more popular and demanding in all sorts of different working environments such as, working in nursing homes, hospitals, home help, travel nurse, school nurse and more. Years ago, nurses were seen just as little more than helpers or assistants for doctors. Today in 2010, nurses are health care professionals in their own right. They are bright, capable, and often have a clearer picture of the overall situation than the doctors they work alongside with. Nursing has not only changed on the face of it but the background work of a nurse has changed to, for example the education given to nurses, the scope of policies and practice, the structures of nurses and the principles of the care of the patient. People are lead to believe that the modernisation of the NHS will be beneficial to the care of the patient, but is this really the case? Due to the increasingly shortage of nurses, they have learned to be more independent which is an outstanding way to increase skills and keep up to date with the new trends in health care. As well as nursing changing, health care in general has changed too. Within the modernisation of the NHS and nursing the care of the patients is still the everlasting goal. This means that there is more work for the nurses, which then has a knock on affect leading to less satisfaction of patient care. Although the NHS and government are doing their best to modernize nursing with the patients interests are heart, it seems like there is less time for care due to time, but more time for paperwork. The Department of Health has laid down certain policy initiatives, targets and structural and organizational changes that can improve the quality of care received by patients through the NHS. These changes are emphasized along with the need for multi-agency and multi-organizational collaborative working acros s disciplinary boundaries. The four key interfaces for which collaboration and coordination measures are being suggested are health and social care; general medical and community health services; primary and secondary care; and interface with carers (DoH, 1996). The education of nurses now days are a lot more intense and harder than it was 10 years ago. Over the last 10 years, there has been a gradual shift for the education and training of nurses. Currently all nurses have to be trained to a degree university level before they can practice as a fully qualified nurse. Opportunities for nurses have increased by large, with one training opportunity being through the internet although this method of training has to be approved by the NHS. On the other hand, years ago nurses only had to have a diploma or LPNS. Now days all nurses have to attend and complete continuing education courses to keep up to date with the new trends and information used in the current day. In addition to the higher and more advanced education, which nurses now have to have, there comes an increases scope of practice. In the current worlds, nurses are doing more and going places that in the past they would not be allowed to have done. The scope of practice is an expression used for various professions that define the procedures, actions, and processes that are allowed to be used and practiced. In the health care profession, there are many different jobs with very different defined scope of practice laws and regulations. These include nursing, social workers, speech and language pathology,  audiologists,  training, radiography,  nuclear medicine, dentists, surgeons, paramedics, physicians and many more. In the interest of the patients, it is a good thing that nurses are allowed to do more and more as there are more doctors than nurses, so the patients may be seen quicker, but on the other hand, it is not a good thing as nurses are doing more and maybe caring for th e patient need and wished less. Nowadays in hospitals, the wards are not gender mixed although the nurses are gender mixed between wards. The stereotypical roles of a nurse have change a lot since the 1990s. There are more male nurses but still not enough. However although there are still not enough male nurses, the female domination of nurses is slowly decreasing and now more men are entering the caring profession. For patients the more male nurses is a good thing because some patients i.e. men prefer to be treated by a man. For example, a man may like to be washed by a man and not a woman for dignity reasons. In addition, for years, the majority of nursing was thought of as a female profession but every year more and more males are joining the nursing profession. Nowadays being a male nurse does not have a stigma attached to it and is now seen as a very good career. The demand of nurses now in 2010 is by large massive. The NHS is always asking for more nurses. When the baby boom started there was a very large need for nurses but as the baby boom is decreasing now there is time and money for improvement of standards of living and disease control, our citizens are living longer. As the general population increases, so too does the demand for nurses. Now more than ever nurses are overworked but with the increasingly shortage of nurses they have to work harder and longer hours, which again is not benefiting the patients. Because of the nursing demand and staff shortage, staffs are taking more sick days due to excessive stress and lack of sleep and self-time. This is because nursing is very demanding on a person not just mentally but physically too. This is seriously compromising the NHS. In 2010 compared to 1980, there is a lot more technology for nurses to use and to be trained to use. Nurses today have to keep up to date with a lot more technology than a nurse 50 years would have had to. Technology can be seen as a good gadget and as a bad gadget, because not only do nurses have to provide basic and skilled care, they also have to learn how to work with many types of equipment that are specific to their area of expertise. The more popular piece of technology used every day by a nurse is a computer. Nurses use them every day as a way to document the care given to a patient. Although new technology is a good advantage for health care, it has its negatives, for example training the staff to use it costs a lot of money, but on the other hand, it can save lifes. Other important technology that is used every day that benefits a patient is, air mattresses as they help to prevent DVTs and assistance with IV insertion which has made things a lot simpler. All of the new high tech equipment being simplified is for user- friendliness, which means that the new methods are speeding things up. Lastly, infection control plays a big part in the NHS every day, so new technology is being developed all the time, although the basic hand washing procedures remain very much the same. There are many different approaches to nursing care, one being the holistic care. This type of care has become more and more popular. The commutations between the Health and Allied Health services improving, a total Patient Care Model has come about. Resulting in decreased in-patient times and better health outcomes. The holistic care has been seen more popular within the complementary therapies and concepts. The patient load that a nursed has is massive. In America, there was a debate about the amount of patients under care of nurses. In 1999, the debate was won and there was a cap of the amount of patients allowed under care of one nurse. The results have been very effective from happier staff and better care for patients. There should be a cap in the UK. The changes of nursing over the last 10 years have been welcomed with open arms, but there are still teething problems and views that need to be heard. Optimal patient care is in a constant battle with budget and we can expect to see new policy reforms, new technology, and new demands created in the decade to come. It remains the responsibility of not only the nurses, but also the patients of the future, to voice their opinions in order to guide the Industry in the right direction. Nurses are now expected to come with a bigger patents load but more paper work as well. The importance of the paper work has increases over the last 10 years. This is due to the society that we now live in as it has been raised to need someone to blame for everything. As a nurse or doctor there are many emotional people around you every day as people are dying all the time. Therefore, sometimes people sue the nurses and doctors as they are upset and think the person died due to the NHSs fault. Following this, nurses and doctors keep finding themselves in court. Even if they have not done anything, all allegations have to be investigated. This is the reason for paperwork there is to write up. Paperwork is the only solid setting stone and proof/ backup of a nurses care. A nurse is required to document every blood pressure reading, every medication, every incident, and every day. They have to  account  for every action, and put it all in writing. The problem with documentation is th at it takes time. More time for documentation means less time for patients. Plain and simple. The polices that nurses have to follow are very similar across the whole world. In Australia, the no-lift policy was introduced in the late 1990s. To date the policy is still used and the nurses are trained using this policy. No-Lift means using Lifting Machines to mobilise patients, using slide sheets to manoeuvre them around the bed and promoting back care in general. Although this concept is yet to be adopted in the UK, the benefits are becoming obvious and discussions have begun on the implementation of a similar policy in the UK. There are many different types of nurses that work in the community and in the hospitals. These can range from, Adult nurses, mental health nurses, Childrens nurses, Learning disability nurses, District nurses, Neonatal nursing, Health visitors, Practice nurses, Prison nurses, School nurses and Healthcare assistants. There are also many different levels to being a nurse. A health care assistant is under a nurse, and then you have staff nurses, then sisters and ward sisters and then nurse manager/ matron. All in all these all make up our NHS and work as a team to provide the best possible care for the patient. There is a large scale of pay, which starts at around  £13,000 to  £67,000. The above table shows how the NHS works. The last 40 years nurses uniform has changed but not that much. In the 1960s nurses still wore dresses and stocking .In the 1970†²s more changes came to the way nurses dressed. Dresses were a little shorter and the white caps were beginning to lose importance in some hospitals across the country. In the 1980†²s there was an end of the nursing caps altogether. Nurses also began wearing disposable aprons at this point rather than cloth aprons and medical facilities became much less militant in regards to restrictions on jewellery and cosmetics. During the 1990†²s and today, nursing dresses have been replaced with much more user-friendly scrub suits. Scrub suits can be found in a wide variety of colours and styles. Some hospitals have specific scrub suit colours for different types of hospital staff and others allow nurses and other staff to choose colours and styles that appeal to them. Todays nursing uniforms are designed more for function than form but are also conside red much more comfortable than those worn throughout history are. There are many different theories towards nursing. The three main ones are needs based theories. The main point being that the focus of nursing is the assessment and care of the patients / clients needs, which they are unable to meet for themselves. The second theory is interactions theories. The main point of this being the focus of nursing is the relationship between the nurse and the patient / client. Lastly, the other theory is the goal-based theories. The main point again being that the focus of nursing is the outcome and emphasis is placed on facilitating the ability of the patient / client to adapt to changes in their health and regain stability and harmony. Today in the NHS nursing takes on a role of the biomedical model. The biomedical model has been around since the mid- nineteenth century as the most common model used to diagnose diseases. The biomedical model states that All illness and symptoms arise from underlying abnormality in the body, all diseases give rise to symptoms and that health is absence of disease. The model overlooks the fact that the diagnosis is a result of commutation between doctor and patient. Biomedical model has no doubt led to huge medical advances although the patient has little responsibility for presence /cause of illness. In conclusion, the changes in roles and responsibilities of nurses in the modernisation of the NHS can beneficial towards the patients but can also be damaging towards the patients. This is due to lack of staff and increased working hours, more paperwork, and more tasks that a nurse has to do and there are generally more patients now than 10 years ago. Therefore, a nurse has less time caring for the patients needs. On the other hand, the modernisation is seen as a good thing because there is more technology nowadays to make the nurses life easier, which also get a more persist result. Within the context of policies and procedures there are no many more rules than year ago, which does make a nurses life maybe easier but maybe harder. With all of these changes to nurses and the NHS in general, is the modernization is good thing, does it have the patients interests are heart or is it about saving money?

Bill Gates :: essays research papers fc

Bill Gates went from an upper middle-class family to the one of the richest men in the world; who owns the largest software company, Microsoft. Neither Bill, nor Microsoft have reached their peak, but many events helped to lead them to where they are today. In the beginning, Bill Gates, a skinny, shy awkward boy born on October 28, 1955 to Mary and William Gates. As a teenager, Bill seemed an unlikely successor to his overachieving parents. His father, an attorney and his mother a teacher, University of Washington regent, and chairwoman of the United Way placed him in Lakeside. This is a very elite private school. It was there, that Bill was first introduced to computers. The following year, he wrote his first computer program, then a scheduling program for the school - which coincidentally placed him and his best friend, Paul Allen, in the same classes as the prettiest girls in the school. Bill was accepted to Harvard University in the fall of 1973. Bill did not willingly venture to parties as most college students do, unless dragged there by his friend Steve Ballmer, whom he later repaid by naming him president of Microsoft. He slacked off a bit always trying to get the highest grades by putting in the least amount of energy. In his second year he dropped out, he and Paul Allen founded a company called Traf-O-Data, which analyzed city traffic data. Though a good idea, there was not much need for it. After reading an article in Popular Mechanics, Gates and Allen contacted M.I.T.S. in regards to providing software for the new computer Altair 8800. They were soon contracted for programming languages and moved to New Mexico and started Micro-soft (the hyphen would later be dropped). Soon IBM contacted the two asking for an operating system for their first personal computer. Bill told them he would be happy to make an operating system, although that’s not exactly wh at he did. Gates purchased a system QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System) for $50,000 from another company, changed the named to MS-DOS and sold it to IBM. So on the contrary to public opinion, Bill Gates did not write MS-DOS, he bought it, changed it slightly, and put his name on it. In order for Microsoft to get to the top, they had to have a very good business strategy. Their strategy is to sell software at low prices, until people are hooked.

Moral, Social and Political Philosophy Essay

Moral, social and political philosophies are fields that share similarities with one another. The most basic and common characteristic found in all three fields is the role and significance of these fields in the manner by which human beings conduct intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships, with one’s self, with one another and with the community. Social, moral and political philosophies all act as important bedrocks or foundations of ideas humans use to guide their actions. Another similarity or common ground between these three fields is the presence of the examination of the human feelings as well as rational ideas necessary in the development of specific philosophies inside these three fields, even though in some aspects other factors are absent. For example, Immanuel Kant believes that moral philosophy should be without the consideration on human emotions (Gadamer, Weinsheimer, Marshall, 2004, p. 29). Without great thinkers who examined, assessed and concretized ideas based from human experiences, ideas and feelings, moral, social and political philosophies would not have existed in the first place. There are many other different similarities. Examples are how all three influence practice, tradition, norm, culture and values, how they all impact human life and later, history, and how all three fields evolve and change over time depending on perspectives introduced by new individuals, new thinking, new ideas and new perspectives. As for differences, one of the main differences when all three are compared is the specific focus inside which each philosophy works, is applied to, and allows the influence of. The use of moral philosophy – believed to be as one of the two oldest forms of philosophy (Fitzpatrick, 2008, p. 4) – in aspects dealing with moral issues hardly can make any considerations for the use of or relevance of either social or political philosophies. These are not the best and most suitable perspective to use. Ideas are also different. For example, what can be acceptable to political philosophy can be unacceptable to moral philosophy and vice versa. The focus of the two has the tendency to move towards different, if not altogether contrasting, paths. Justifications for beliefs and the use of sets of philosophical ideas and content can vary depending on what is being argued or debated upon and how these ideas are being used. Social, moral and political philosophies allow the individual to examine, look closely, investigate, assess and explain life. This is accomplished by these fields via the questions that they offer to the people to answer and explore the answers for themselves through the use of, or guidance, of these different fields of philosophy. The questions these fields of philosophy pose figure into a consideration of modern human life simply because these fields of philosophy exist to tackle, explain and to provide reasons for modern life. What these fields of philosophy creates as questions for humans to answer all point to man’s ability to examine human life, the modern life, consistently. For example, questions posed by moral philosophy figure into a consideration of modern life. Moral philosophy asks the human being how and why he or she is behaving as he or she does, giving them the trigger for self investigation. This can I justify how I act and why I act with regards to existing moral philosophy, or have I really deviated from it and is thus considered as bad? The questions they pose figure into a consideration of modern life simply because these fields of philosophy is all about life, life experiences and the resulting ideas from these life experiences in the first place. In the discussion of Smith and Haakonssen (2002) on moral philosophy, it explained that human beings may have the tendency to be confused especially in consideration with the different ideas past and present inside moral philosophy that can counter one another (Smith and Haakonssen, 2002, p. vii). This instance illustrates the idea that these fields of philosophy bring forward questions that allows people to examine life, including modern life, making these fields of philosophy and the questions they pose something that eventually figures into the consideration of the modern life. Scheppele (1988) noted that people asks for directions, not just literally but also for direction in life and for direction in their ideas and beliefs (Scheppele, 1988, p. 143). Since philosophies are not cast in stone, at times they provide answers in as much as they provide questions, at the same time, allow the individual to make a serious consideration of the present modern life, like how there are questions arising from how law and the social and moral philosophies. For example, getting in the way of one another during particular instances and how the individual can get away from or wriggle from it with sufficient sense of justification for such action. In the end, the effort at comparing and contrasting social, moral and political philosophy begs the answer to this question – is any one area more important than another? This is a tricky question. Even though the answer is most probably either yes or no, there are complex considerations why it is difficult to arrive at any one of the offered monosyllabic answers. To say that one is actually more important than the other is to say that the philosophical ideas of the superior one can supplant or totally override the ideas of the other, which cannot be consistently true. Philosophical arguments and the use of philosophy is always a case per case basis with focus on considerations as well as the aspect and context inside which the argument is found. For example, moral philosophy may be important than political or social philosophy. Moral philosophy governs the basic actions of man. However, if the base of argument leans more towards political considerations and with consideration to accepted political practices that may go against moral ideals, then moral philosophy cannot simply be considered as more important to political or social philosophy. The best possible answer is that all of these are equally important. Its importance should not be gauged and measured and compared with one another. How it is applied to life is a complex process that is hardly possible to quantify or measure to ascertain any indication of measurable importance that can be compared with one another. All of these are important because they help govern, and even make organized human life that is becoming more and more complex and complicated. References Fitzpatrick, T. (2008). Applied Ethics and social problems: moral questions of birth, society and death. Bristol: The Policy Press. Gadamer, H. G. , Weinsheimer, J. and Marshall, D. G. (2004). Truth and method. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Schappele, K. L. (1988). Legal secrets: equality and efficiency in the common law. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Smith, A. and Haakonssen, K. (2002). The theory of moral sentiments. London: Cambridge University Press.

Edgar Allan Poe Compared to Robert Frost Research Paper Example

Edgar Allan Poe Compared to Robert Frost Research Paper Example Edgar Allan Poe Compared to Robert Frost Paper Edgar Allan Poe Compared to Robert Frost Paper Essay Topic: Literature When comparing Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Raven† to Robert Frost’s â€Å"The Road Not Taken† it seems that there are plenty of obvious similarities that are on the surface and there are subtle differences that one can find when they truly look deep into the meanings of things. In both poems the speaker is putting all meaning into what they are seeing. The speaker in â€Å"The Road Not Taken† is viewing what is in front of him, ready to make an important decision in his life. He is viewing the roads as a paramount decision to make in his life. In â€Å"The Raven† the speaker is watching the raven that has enters his room, giving it major importance in what he is going through. In both poems the objects that lay in front of the speakers are devices, they are metaphors given the utmost importance. Both speakers are haunted by what has happened in their life and what could happen based on the decisions that lie in front of them. The overall tone is the difference in Robert Frost to Edgar Allan Poe. You can look at any poem that either author has written and see this. Robert Frost dealt with the trials and tribulations that life throws our way, just as Poe did. At times Frost is dark and cynical about life, but overall he is an optimist and still sees beauty in life. Poe is the antithesis of this. Poe is inherently dark and gloomy in his work. In â€Å"The Road Not Taken† Frost’s speaker is given a choice. He’s at a fork in the road in his life. He’s seen the path he normally takes, it’s safe, but has not made him as happy as he wants to be in life. The other road is dangerous. It comes with many risks and potential pitfalls, but he feels ready to take on this challenge now. He understands this road won’t be easy, but believes that anything worth having must have hardships along the way. Life and taken the safe road has taught him this. It is an optimistic tone and feeling that you have once you’re done with reading it. In â€Å"The Raven† it is decidedly different. The speaker has lost his love. The raven enters his room tormenting him, uttering only â€Å"Nevermore† when the speaker asks about his lost love. The speaker goes mad by wallowing in his own pity and grief. By the end of â€Å"The Raven† there is no resolution. I believe that the raven was death himself sent to take the life of the speaker. The speaker could no longer live without his love, Lenore. Distraught with grief he dies. Poe and Frost have their speakers in very similar circumstances. With no pun intended, they are at a crossroads in their lives. Poe’s speakers succumbs to his grief and sorrow. He never saw a way out. Frost’s speaker is full of regret and grief, but he still sees hope that he can live a good life, as long as he takes the road not taken.

The Right of Private Defence

The Right of Private Defence The right of defence of one's own body or property is an unavoidable right. prior to the times when men began to live as members of organized communities, individuals were completely left to themselves to take whatever action for their protection .Even in ancient times the right of private defence had significance. Ancient law givers like Manu gave the authority of using arms in self defence in times of fear of danger. There were no limitations or restrictions as to how much a person can inflict injury on the other in defence of his body or property. But with the evolvement of complex crimes in this complex world there has been a necessity to include the provisions of the right of private defence, when can it be used, what are the various restrictions to use it etc.thus our penal code has entered this provision realizing its necessity. Though it is the duty of the state to protect the citizens of the country it has been found that under some circumstances the citizens have to defend their body or property under imminent danger.English: Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice of the...here the state provides the citizens the right of private defence as it may be impossible for the state to rescue him from the danger as a result of its imminenticity. Various restrictions are provided in order to ensure that the right may be exercised only when actually necessary and only to the extent required for such defence and also for ensuring that the citizens do not take law in its own hands. The authors of the Indian penal code observed "In this part of the chapter we have attempted to define, with as much exactness as the subject appears to us to admit, the limits of the rights of private defence. it may be thought we have...

20 Ways to Cry

20 Ways to Cry 20 Ways to Cry 20 Ways to Cry By Mark Nichol Opportunities abound for describing lachrymal lamentations. Here are twenty synonyms for cry, plus some related expressions. 1. Bawl: to cry out loudly and without restraint; also, to call out in such a manner 2. Bleat: to complain or whine 3. Blub: see blubber (mostly confined to British English) 4. Blubber: to cry while making sounds of distress or pain, especially through pouted lips (hence the onomatopoeic word) 5. Caterwaul: to cry harshly; also, to noisily complain or protest 6. Groan: a low-pitched cry of grief or pain 7. Howl: to cry out in grief; also, to cry out in laughter or anger 8. Keen: to cry out with a long, loud sound of mourning; also, to complain, usually tiresomely (the adjective keen, meaning â€Å"acute, sharp† or used as slang equivalent to cool or neat is unrelated) 9. Lament: to cry out with grief; also, to feel regret or sorrow 10. Mewl: to cry softly or weakly, like a kitten 11. Moan: a low-pitched sound of grief or pain more extended than a groan 12. Pule: see whine 13. Snivel: to cry with a stuffed nose; also, to act or speak as if in an emotional, tearful state 14. Sob: to cry while making sounds of distress or pain, distinguished from blubbering by the noisy intake of breath 15. Squall: to cry out loudly in emotional distress usually associated with infants or very young children 16. Wail: to cry out in grief at a high pitch 17. Weep: to cry while making sounds of distress or pain, distinguished from blubbering and sobbing by the gentler, quieter nature of weeping 18. Whimper: to cry softly and irregularly; also, to complain or protest as if whining 19. Whine: to cry in distress, or in a high-pitched, complaining manner; also, to complain 20. Yowl: see wail Idioms and slang synonymous with cry include â€Å"break down,† â€Å"burst into tears,† â€Å"choke up,† â€Å"crack up,† â€Å"dissolve into tears,† â€Å"let it all out,† â€Å"put on the weeps,† â€Å"ring the blues,† â€Å"shed (bitter) tears,† and â€Å"turn on the waterworks.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Using "a" and "an" Before Words41 Words That Are Better Than GoodCapitalizing Titles of People and Groups

Issues Concerning Economic Inequalities in America Term Paper

Issues Concerning Economic Inequalities in America - Term Paper Example Medina, John, The genetic inferno: inside the seven deadly sins, Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print. His essay apparently provides a lot of parameters that promote greed but does not seem to provide any scientific grounding on why this happens in any society. The element that may support this outlook can be seen from the fact that no real scientific evidence has been established as to why a particular individual, a group, society or even animals succumb to this concept of greed. John Medina, in his book ‘The genetic inferno: inside the seven deadly sins’ specifically focuses on the aspects of greed and the resulting avarice. â€Å"The problem is that no one has ever found a gene for avarice in human beings. No one has ever found a region in the human brain exclusively devoted to greed for that matter† (Medina. 110). Medina is a molecular biologist and hence considered for this paper as an eminently qualified person to provide opinions and suggestions on the t opic under study. The book is published by the Cambridge University Press and one that has an established reputation. The only negative factor seen in the text is that no peer-reviewed work in the book. But even so, the author with his qualifications and the backing of the Oxford University can be seen as a valuable source of secondary literature regarding this study. The lack of scientific evidence as to what constitutes greed has been established in the book. Edney, in his essay also does not purport any claim in this regard.

Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Analysis - Case Study Example The Daubert vs. Marrel Dow Pharmaceutical Inc. ruling resolved the debate on admitting evidence in the court. As a result, the Daubert ruling is one of the most consequential decisions about the role of forensic evidence in the judicial process. The Daubert case involved a toxic tort case. The court heard that two boys, Jason Daubert and Erick Schuller were born with serious defects because of the negative effects of a drug made by Benedictin. The plaintiff believed that they had been affected because the mother had taken the anti-nausea drug Benedictin while she was pregnant. The two boys decided to sue the organization. The decision placed them among numerous people who were suing for damages. The case got into the public domain because of disputes over the introduction of expert testimony (Gostin & Milbank Memorial Fund, 2002). The ruling would not only affect the case but also determine how forensic evidence such as digital evidence would be allowed in the case. The Supreme Court accepted the case due to the realization that it needed to set the standard for the admissibility of forensic evidence. The major issue was whether the adoption of Federal Rules of Evidence should get more prominence than the Frye standard that had played a significant role in the case. The Supreme Court ruled that the F.R.E should receive more weight than the Frye standard (Coleman, Swenson, Holloway, & Aulinskas, 1994). The rule shifted power from the Frye test and gave the judge powers of determining which evidence should apply in the case. The ruling implied that judges could determine the admissibility of scientific evidence as opposed to only determining the credibility of a witness. An evaluation of the ruling demonstrates that four criteria should apply when determining the admissibility of evidence. Firstly, the court should consider if the theory or

Mergers and acquisitions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Mergers and acquisitions - Essay Example Concerning this particular aspect, this paper presents a case study analysis of three recent mergers at a cross-border level, i.e. Johnson & Johnsons acquisition of Synthes GmbH, Microsoft Corporations acquisition of Skype Technologies, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)s acquisition of Nexen Inc. The study signifies that culture, business industry trends and also governmental policies among other attributes play a vital role as a cause of M&As performed by these companies. M&As are often considered as an important strategic function in the modern day business context where recent studies have revealed that companies principally tend to use the strategy of M&A with the intention of enhancing their performances in terms of profitability, greater market share attainment, better resources allocation, risk diversification as well as business expansion. Various factors have been identified in this context to be influencing the performances of companies and therefore, motivating organisational leaders towards the adoption of M&A strategies such as economic and political trade policies enactments as well as social functions. Moreover, globalisation as well as advancement of technology has influenced companies to adopt this strategy in order to perform effectively in the increasingly competitive global market (Coeurdacier & et. al., 2009). In this regard, companies have adopted M&A strategies with the objective of improving competitiveness as well as growth of its market share. It is in this context that M&A strategies assist companies in restructuring its business operations in order to improve its business performances in the global realm (Directors & Boards, 2006). Additionally, it has been observed that the strategy of M&As assist companies in acquiring larger market share, better resources accessibility and an enhanced competitive position within a short term period, thus minimising many hazards which are commonly witnessed by modern day

Changes in Public Speaking from Ancient Greece to Modernity Research Paper

Changes in Public Speaking from Ancient Greece to Modernity - Research Paper Example While crowds today may reach into the billions, speakers today are equipped with microphones, television, internet, and radio to reach the people. In Greece, the speaker not only had to have the passion for his subject but also had to have the ability to remember long quotes and ideas and to be able to amplify their voice for a long enough time to get their ideas across. Today, speakers can depend on note cards and prepared speeches, while Greeks had to rely solely on their memories. Today, unlike then, speakers are also not required to write their own speeches, and in fact, may not know the material until they step in front of a microphone. Effective speaking requires that the speaker be clear in what they are saying, and look and act convincingly. Eye movement, gesturing, even the subtle shifts of the person talking are all subject to interpretation by the listeners. While the movement of the speaker has mattered throughout history, it is only contemporarily that it can be shown, again and again, allowing an endless reinterpretation of meaning. Speaking before recording allowed the speaker to speak with passion, and while mistakes were still not desired, they were more forgivable. A grammatical mistake, for example, would be corrected in the speech was actually written down. Today, those same errors are lauded over the speaker and are used as ways to discredit them. Greeks did not permit women to speak publicly, and also had a unique way of stopping people who were not interesting enough. If the speaker lost the attention of the people, they were physically dragged off of the stage by the watchers. Today, we are required to sit politely by and let them finish out their speech or change the channel on the television. Public speaking was one of the most important skills an Athenian had. According to Nancy Harper: For many years, the Athenian could not hire a professional to speak for him in court. Each Athenian jury consisted of several hundred persons, and the citizen, whether the accuser or the accused, had to use his ability as a public speaker to persuade a majority of the jury to believe in his side of the case. Because lawsuits were common in Athens, legal speaking became the central concern of early communication instruction. (Warren 2)

Market Model Patterns of Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Market Model Patterns of Change - Essay Example In the year 1981, it introduced a Nordic mobile telephone (NMT); NTM was the first mobile phone or cellular phone which was able to permit roaming network. In 1987 the Nokia Corporation launched a mobile phone that was capable to be handled, the phone used NTM network. Regardless of its price and its weight, the phone became classic as it recorded biggest sell of the time. In the year 2002 the Nokia Corporation launched Nokia 3650, the phone had camera feature. Later in the year, the company launched Nokia 6650; it was the first 3G phone in the market. Currently, Nokia has made a major step on the models of the phone they are manufacturing. In the year 2011 February, the Corporation declared to work together with Microsoft Company to improve features of Smartphones they plan to manufacture. After the two major company united, in October they launched two models; Nokia Lumia 880 and Nokia Lumia 710 (Pulkkinen, 2011). Previously, Nokia Corporation was enjoying monopoly; it was the firs t company to develop hand mobile phone. Despite the size and the price of the phones, in made highest sell than what the company was expecting. In 2005, the company manufactured Nokia 1100 which recorded billion sell even though it was having less features. The monopoly of the industry Nokia to enjoy profits and failed to concentrate on the advancement of their products. As the industry evolved, new technologies were brought into the market. Small industry entered into the market and impressed technology, these new companies in the industry started manufacturing products that had more features, hence attracting more customers. With the increase in competition, Nokia Corporation started to follow new drift of the technology and started to manufacture better phone models. Initially, Nokia Corporation enjoyed monopoly, currently there is pressure in the communication industry. Different and new companies have entered into the market and are making remarkable profits; therefore, Nokia C orporation is facing oligopoly. At present, other companies that are into the market includes; Motorola Corporation, Samsung company, apple industry, Alcatel, Sony Ericson, and blackberry Corporation. Each new product brought into the market by one company, it is countered by other company by producing a more advanced technologically handset. With these competition trend seen in the market, consumers or the buyer of the product are the ones who enjoys better product. Also with this tendency of competition, consumers have a wide variety of product to choose from and at an affordable price (Morris, 2009). Presently, it is viewed that the market or the industry trend has changed to a perfect competition; there is no dominant company in the market. Each company is trying to manufacture best possible product than what the other company can produce. In the short term run, the major dominant or the giant company in the industry will enjoy the market as a result companies known and trusted names. This dominancy with major company will hinder penetration of the emerging businesses into market. The new company has never been on the market before and there product has never been used before; it will be difficult for them to penetrate into the market. Therefore, in a short run, the dominant corporation including Nokia, and Samsung; they will prevent entry of the new companies into the market (Gruber, 2005). In the long

Peregrine Trucking Co Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Peregrine Trucking Co - Research Paper Example In 2008, a total of 758 companies in the trucking business went out of business because of rising fuel prices. This shows how crucial this issue is in any trucking company. With the uncertainty in the prices, companies lose a lot of money when there is a spike. This is why it is important to reduce the costs as much as possible. This document tries to evaluate available methods of reducing fuel costs in the company by using equipment that is the most efficient and socially conscious. It also looks at other ways that relate to rules and software which the company can employ. It also considers efficient operating methods that can help achieve this saving. Finally, it looks at the results the company can expect from employing the different methods. Body Looking at Peregrine Trucking Company, the fuel price is one of the highest direct costs it incurs in its operations. This is because it is in the transportation industry. These costs affect the performance of the company in terms of pro fits where an increase in costs leads to a decrease in the profits (Taylor & Weerapana, 2009). This is the reason why it is important to evaluate the potential of reducing fuel cost to gain a competitive advantage. ... Another rule is for employees to ensure that the mile-per-gallon is as high as possible. To ensure that they abide by this rule, the company can motivate employees by providing incentive plans in form of rewards for providing the best records over a period of time. Employees also need proper driving skills through training as some may be forceful when hitting the brakes, while others may tend to drive fast around corners, which results to an increase in fuel consumption. Training also helps reduce the period that the trucks idle as employees will learn to appreciate the effects of doing this. It is important for drivers to be informed of the importance of turning off the engine when the truck is not moving, in order to avoid burning up fuel unnecessarily (United States, 2008). Drivers are also required to be trained on avoiding shifting too many gears and try to keep the vehicles continuously moving instead of stopping and then starting again. They also need to be trained on the impo rtance of avoiding overspeeding and the use of natural speed instead of the accelerator when going up and down hills. All these will help to reduce fuel consumption. Training results in better drivers and efficient working. Looking at the equipment, the company can adapt, first and foremost, the use of speed governor. It may seem as be increasing the expenses of the company; however, the long term benefits are visible. Speed governor reduces the maximum speed in trucks, thus preventing drivers from overspeeding. An extra mile or two per hour that can be saved as a result of using the speed governor can save fuel, which, in turn, reduces the costs incurred by the company. The company can also adapt

Changes in Public Speaking from Ancient Greece to Modernity Research Paper

Changes in Public Speaking from Ancient Greece to Modernity - Research Paper Example While crowds today may reach into the billions, speakers today are equipped with microphones, television, internet, and radio to reach the people. In Greece, the speaker not only had to have the passion for his subject but also had to have the ability to remember long quotes and ideas and to be able to amplify their voice for a long enough time to get their ideas across. Today, speakers can depend on note cards and prepared speeches, while Greeks had to rely solely on their memories. Today, unlike then, speakers are also not required to write their own speeches, and in fact, may not know the material until they step in front of a microphone. Effective speaking requires that the speaker be clear in what they are saying, and look and act convincingly. Eye movement, gesturing, even the subtle shifts of the person talking are all subject to interpretation by the listeners. While the movement of the speaker has mattered throughout history, it is only contemporarily that it can be shown, again and again, allowing an endless reinterpretation of meaning. Speaking before recording allowed the speaker to speak with passion, and while mistakes were still not desired, they were more forgivable. A grammatical mistake, for example, would be corrected in the speech was actually written down. Today, those same errors are lauded over the speaker and are used as ways to discredit them. Greeks did not permit women to speak publicly, and also had a unique way of stopping people who were not interesting enough. If the speaker lost the attention of the people, they were physically dragged off of the stage by the watchers. Today, we are required to sit politely by and let them finish out their speech or change the channel on the television. Public speaking was one of the most important skills an Athenian had. According to Nancy Harper: For many years, the Athenian could not hire a professional to speak for him in court. Each Athenian jury consisted of several hundred persons, and the citizen, whether the accuser or the accused, had to use his ability as a public speaker to persuade a majority of the jury to believe in his side of the case. Because lawsuits were common in Athens, legal speaking became the central concern of early communication instruction. (Warren 2)

Peregrine Trucking Co Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Peregrine Trucking Co - Research Paper Example In 2008, a total of 758 companies in the trucking business went out of business because of rising fuel prices. This shows how crucial this issue is in any trucking company. With the uncertainty in the prices, companies lose a lot of money when there is a spike. This is why it is important to reduce the costs as much as possible. This document tries to evaluate available methods of reducing fuel costs in the company by using equipment that is the most efficient and socially conscious. It also looks at other ways that relate to rules and software which the company can employ. It also considers efficient operating methods that can help achieve this saving. Finally, it looks at the results the company can expect from employing the different methods. Body Looking at Peregrine Trucking Company, the fuel price is one of the highest direct costs it incurs in its operations. This is because it is in the transportation industry. These costs affect the performance of the company in terms of pro fits where an increase in costs leads to a decrease in the profits (Taylor & Weerapana, 2009). This is the reason why it is important to evaluate the potential of reducing fuel cost to gain a competitive advantage. ... Another rule is for employees to ensure that the mile-per-gallon is as high as possible. To ensure that they abide by this rule, the company can motivate employees by providing incentive plans in form of rewards for providing the best records over a period of time. Employees also need proper driving skills through training as some may be forceful when hitting the brakes, while others may tend to drive fast around corners, which results to an increase in fuel consumption. Training also helps reduce the period that the trucks idle as employees will learn to appreciate the effects of doing this. It is important for drivers to be informed of the importance of turning off the engine when the truck is not moving, in order to avoid burning up fuel unnecessarily (United States, 2008). Drivers are also required to be trained on avoiding shifting too many gears and try to keep the vehicles continuously moving instead of stopping and then starting again. They also need to be trained on the impo rtance of avoiding overspeeding and the use of natural speed instead of the accelerator when going up and down hills. All these will help to reduce fuel consumption. Training results in better drivers and efficient working. Looking at the equipment, the company can adapt, first and foremost, the use of speed governor. It may seem as be increasing the expenses of the company; however, the long term benefits are visible. Speed governor reduces the maximum speed in trucks, thus preventing drivers from overspeeding. An extra mile or two per hour that can be saved as a result of using the speed governor can save fuel, which, in turn, reduces the costs incurred by the company. The company can also adapt

Client-Server Networking Essay Example for Free

Client-Server Networking Essay What I can think of to return the computer to an operational state is troubling a video problem. It maybe relating to the graphic card and the program that may run with it. The graphics adapter may either be corrupted or installed wrong under a different version. For example if the graphic is supposed to be run on a x64 based window 7 instead of a x86 version. Making sure that your video card must have a display driver installed in order to do anything but the most basic drawing to the screen. If youre having any problems with your video card, one of the first things you should do is download the latest display driver, uninstall the current display driver, and then install the new driver you downloaded. This could help with any other problems that may have occurred. Another thing to remember is to uninstall your current display driver before installing one. If you dont uninstall first then you can sometimes cause some pretty obscure problems. Another potential problem solver is to try another monitor that can handle the screen resolution.

Relationship Between Employer and Employees | PEL, Pakistan

Relationship Between Employer and Employees | PEL, Pakistan Every business is looking for a key that unlock their success and satisfy their employees. Employers need employees who go the extra mile and do their best work and employees need jobs that fulfil their needs and encourage them. Simply it can be said that employers need an engaged workforce. Employee engagement can be said to be a combination of commitment to the organization and organizational citizenship (willingness to help out colleagues) (CIPD, 2010). The purpose of this research is to understand the role and importance of employee engagement and to identify the causes of employee disengagement at PEL in Lahore, Pakistan. In todays competitive business environment it is very important for every business to improve productivity and sustain competitive advantage to survive in the market. Marchington (2001 cited in Bratton and Gold, 2007) state that employee engagement is a key dimension of employee relations and plays a central role in the development of higher performance system. Most organisations expect employees to perform well and follow rules and regulations of the work place engaged employees can fulfil such expectations of employers. Similarly employees have some expectations of job security, growth in future career, to be paid well and be recognised in response from an organization. A positive attitude held by an employee towards the organization and its value employee engagement defined by Robinson et al (2004) cited in Markos Sridevi (2010). An engaged employee is aware of business context and work with colleagues to improve performance within job for benefit of the organization. PEL must work to develop and nurture engagement, which require a two-way relationship between organizational goal and employee. Company Profile The research will be carried out in PEL (PAK ELEKTRON LIMITED), based in Lahore, Pakistan. Pak Elektron Limited (PEL) was established in 1956 in technical collaboration with AEG of Germany and is a part of Kohinoor Industries Limited. PEL is the pioneer manufacturer of electrical goods in Pakistan with approximately 7000 employees all over the Pakistan. In October 1978, the company was taken over by Saigol Group of Companies. Since its inception, the company has always been contributing towards the advancement and development of the engineering sector in Pakistan by introducing a range of quality electrical equipment and home appliances and by producing hundreds of engineers, skilled workers and technicians through its apprenticeship schemes and training programmes. PEL export many products to other countries like Afghanistan and Bangladesh. PAK ELEKTRON LIMITED spends a considerable amount on employee training and development to improve their performance and to boost organisational productivity (Company History, 2010). There are two main divisions in PEL Power Division and Appliances Division. PELs Power Division manufactures Transformers, Switchgear, Electric Motors, Energy Meters, Kiosks, Compact Stations, Shunt Capacitor Banks, etc. of highest quality and of latest international Standards.ÂÂ  PELÂÂ  is one of the major electrical equipment suppliers to Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), and Karachi Electrical Supply Corporation (KESC) which are the largest Power Companies in Pakistan. In additionÂÂ  PELÂÂ  is also supplying to major projects in the private sector. The PEL Appliances Division was established in 1980-81 when the Company launched the first consumer product to its production range i.e. Window TypeÂÂ  Air conditionersÂÂ  of 19000 BTU. PEL is also manufacturing Refrigerators, Deep freezers, Microwave Oven, Split Air Conditioners andÂÂ  Colour Televisions. This research was carried out in the switchgear department of power division. Approximately 1000 employees are working in this department. Organisational Context Pakistan has been facing both economic and political instability over last few years in parallel to the global financial crisis. PEL is a manufacturing company that contributes a major part in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. Manufacturing industry is badly influenced by the recent flood and power shortage problem in Pakistan (Statistics Pakistan 2010). Purchasing power of the customers is also adversely influenced by inflation in Pakistan. The direct competitors of PEL are Dawlance, Waves, LG, and Haier. The Dawlance is market leader in the refrigerator followed by PEL. But PEL is dominant in market with maximum share in window room air conditioner (WRAC) in Pakistan. Statement of Problem: PEL Annual and monthly production reports show production targets were not achieved in time. After discussion with a PEL HR representative it understood that the production gap is possibly due to low level employee engagement. Some other important factors that can influence production are machinery faults, poor materials, poor logistics, unavailability of material, falling demand due to recessionary pressures and labour faults such as unskilled worker, skilled workers and low/no employee engagement. Significance of Research This research focuses on current employee engagement in PEL. Causes of employee disengagement will be identified that can help organization to choose appropriate strategy. PELs mission statement says To focus on personal development of our employee to meet the future challenges. PEL is committed to employee engagement and selection of practise according to employees needs and wants is very essential to achieve the organisational goal. An organization with an engaged workforce can perform better and employee can be engaged by different factors such as; job security, future growth, appreciation, motivation etc. This research helps PEL analyse the level of employee engagement, empowerment, satisfaction and causes of disengagement. This research will be helpful to the organization to review the current employee engagement practices and importance of effective employee engagement practices. Research Aim and Objectives Aim: To identify the effectiveness of employee engagement in PEL Pakistan Objectives: To investigate current levels of employee engagement in PEL. To critically evaluate the perceptions of employee engagement by different worker groups in PEL. To recommend an improved set of practices to aid employee engagement in PEL, Pakistan. Chapter 2:Â  Literature Review Employee Engagement: Employee Engagement is defined by Corporate Leadership Council (2004) cited in Lockwood (2007, p11), The extent to which employees commit to something or someone in their organization, how hard they work and how long they stay as a result of that commitment. Employee engagement concerns employees beliefs about organization, leaders and working conditions. Employee engagement is not only simple job satisfaction and loyalty with employer but it is a passion and commitment with job, willingness to help colleagues and discretionary effort for success of the organization (Macey and Schneider, 2008). Rutledge (2005) also explains truly engaged employees were attracted to and inspired by, their work, committed and fascinated. Organizational success depends on engaged employees along with other resources like material, machinery, finances etc. If an organization has disengaged employees it may likely suffer because people can be a source of competitive advantage or disadvantage Catlette Had den, (2001). There is no universal definition of employee engagement but according to some authors employee engagement can defined as: According to Kahn (1990, p694) engagement means in engagement people express themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally during role performance. A positive attitude held by an employee towards the organization and its value an engaged employee is aware of business context and work with colleagues to improve performance within job for benefit of the organization Robinson et al (2004) cited in Markos Sridevi (2010, p90). Kroth and Boverie (2003) said engaged employees feel passionate and energised by their work. Excitement, enthusiasm and productivity come with passion. Erickson (2005) referred Kroth and Boverie employee engagement definition cited in Macey Schneider (2008, page number) employee engagement is a desirable condition, passion, enthusiasm, commitment, loyalty for organization, focused effort, energy and connotes involvement this definition also supported by Katzenbach (2000), engaged employees are committed motivated, energetic, enthusiastic and enjoy problem solving. Saks and Rotman (2006) argued that commitment is different from engagement, commitment refers to a persons attitude and attachment towards the organization whereas engagement is not merely an attitude it is the degree to which an individual is attentive to their work. Employee engagement has both physical and behavioural components. If employees work under all these physical and behavioural conditions the consequences are thought to be valuable for organizational effectiveness depending upon the nature of the organization. Importance of Engagement: There is a psychological relationship between business performance and employee engagement (Harter et al, 2002) and it has a positive impact on both employees and on the organization (Schaufeli and Bakker, 2004). Managing the workplace in such a way that promotes engagement, employees are said to be happier and organization benefits as a result Harter et al. (2003) cited in Rich (2006). Along with all other factors like labour, machinery, materials and finance etc two important factors; lack of commitment and motivation can lead some organizations to poor performance (Harter et al, 2002). An organization that wants to keep valued workforce, employee engagement is critical for them. Engaged employees look for challenging work in the organization because they are in a cycle of building skills and knowledge so they are finding work according to their abilities (Csikszentmihalyi Hunter 2003). Engaged employees think innovatively for the growth of the organization. Engaged employees perform better than others they think about organizational not personal goals. Employee outcomes, financial performance and organizational success predicted by employee engagement (Saks and Rotman, 2006). There is a link between employee engagement and profitability engagement leads to employee retention that leads to customer satisfaction, a satisfied customer use products again and again that boost organizational profitability. There is also a physical relationship between engaged employees and the organization, engaged employees express themselves physically in their roles (Kahn 1990). Engaged employees build an emotional relationship with the organization: emotions play a vital role in ones performance; emotions energize an employee psychologically for an appropriate action (Rich 2006). They put their emotional commitment at work that enables them to make or deliver better services that can constitute as a competitive advantage (Katzenbach, 2000). Their attitudes reflect care for organizations customer thereby it improves customers satisfaction. Key Drivers of Employee Engagement: Along with the definition of employee engagement many authors define several key drivers of employee engagement. Research shows that there is a relationship between organizational strategy and employees job, employee understanding that how important is his work for the success of the organization is the most important driver of employee engagement Lockwood (2007). Some of factors that not only aid employee engagement but also provide means for measuring current level of employee engagement in an organization such as organizational culture, leadership and communication. In the past, many researchers worked on employee engagement and contributed their ideas in form of models and explained factors that influence employee engagement in the workplace. There are two most important factors that drove employee engagement explained by Hosford (2007) cited in West (2008); awareness about operational and organizational goal, policies and procedures. Other is their participation to drive these goals depending on their knowledge. McCoy (2007) criticised these factors as it is difficult to communicate organizational goals, policies and procedures throughout the organization to foster employee engagement. Gallup (2009), contributed to employee engagement by providing a set of 12 questions that drive engagement (1) expectations at work (2) availability of material and equipments (3) opportunity to do what an employee do best every day (4) any recognition or praise for good work (5) care from supervisor (6) encouragement for development (7) participation in decisio n making (8) importance of an employees work for organizational mission (9) co-workers commitment (10) friendly environment at work (11) discussion about employees progress (12) opportunities to learn and grow. Little Little (2006) also referred to these factors. Robinson (2004) describe following characteristics of employee engagement Involvement of employees in decision making Value for employees ideas and their contribution Opportunities of growth for employees and job security Organizations concern about employees heath and well being Following are some important factors that can influence employee engagement in an organization. Organizational Commitment: Organizational commitment has a significant importance in the study of employee engagement. Organizational commitment is an individuals psychological attachment to an organization and desire to remain part of it (Encyclopaedia, 2006). Meyer et al (2002) defined three component model of commitment; affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment. Affective Commitment means positive emotional attachment of an employee with the organization. William (2004) also agreed to Meyer and Allen (1991) commitment concept and defined three types of commitment affective, continuous, and normative commitment. Affective commitment refers to employees perceptions of their emotional and psychological attachment to with the organization. Continuance commitment means employee is committed to the organization because he doesnt want to leave organization. In Normative commitment an employee remains commits because of his feelings of obligation (Meyer et al, 2002). If an employee can find opportunities for growth and job security he would be more committed (Robinson, 2004). Organizational commitment is directly linked with employee engagement few benefits to employee engagement by organizational commitment are demonstrated here: organizational commitment increase job satisfaction (Vandenberg and Lance, 1992), it decreases employee turnover, decrease intension to search for other employers and decrease absenteeism (Cohen, 1991), Balfour and Wechsler (1996) also said that organizational commitment decrease employee intension to leave the organization. Organizational Culture: Organizational culture has a significant influence on employee engagement. It is a concept that explains values, attitudes, beliefs and experiences of an organization (WiseGEEK, 2011). Every organization consists of formal and informal dimensions, it is simply impossible to understand organizational working without understanding its informal characteristics. Organizational culture is critical to any organization which distinguish individual of one organization to the other organization (Hofstede, 1997). Most of the organizations believe that managers have the power in the organization/employee relationship but that is not true always. Employee engagement is the key to capture the employees mind, hearts, intensions and attitudes (Fleming and Asplund, 2007). The culture of a group/ organization is defined by Schein (1993) cited in Shafritz and Ott (2001) as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that a group learned to solve internal problems and problem of external adaption after valid ation that assumptions taught to new members. Martin (1992) defines that there are three different perspectives of organizational culture: (1) Integration perspective mean employees share a common set of values and basic assumptions that facilitate them to understand organizational environment. (2) Differentiation perspective explains that organization consist of different subcultures based on power and areas of interest. (3) In fragmentation view organization is a web of individuals which are interconnected loosely (Martin, 1992). One of the employee engagement key drivers is organizational environment if there is a friendly environment in organization employees would be more engaged. Secondly healthy relationship with other colleagues and managers also facilitate employee engagement. Organizational culture provides an environment for employee engagement and it helps in strengthen the employee commitment. Organizational Leadership: Effective leadership motivates employees to stay with the organization become responsible and engaged. Leadership is defined by Stodgill (1950) cited from Huczynski and Buchanan (2001), The process of influencing the activities of an organised group in its efforts towards goal setting and goal achievement Organizational culture directed by the leadership style. Leadership means to guide, to influence, course, action or opinion. Goleman (2000) explained the emotional aspect of leadership that leaders motivate, inspire, guide and persuade employees to achieve organizational goal. Burnes (2004) said management is about today and leadership is about future. An important factor that influences employee engagement is employee and leader relationship (Lockwood, 2007). Organizational Communication: An effective organization knew how to communicate its goals and objectives to its workforce (Hoffman and Tschinda, 2007). If leaders want to effectively lead a group they should have efficient thinking and communication. Organizational communication can maximise employee engagement along with organizational commitment and organizational leadership. If an organization is communicating organizational goals and objective clearly and successfully that can improve employer and employee relation which leads to better engagement (Lockwood, 2007). Effective organizational communication can create engaged employees that can improve organizational performance by providing better services and creating loyal customers (Blanchad and Bowels, 1998). These characteristics support the Kahns (1990) and Maslach et al.s (2001) psychological condition of employee engagement in the workplace as discussed before. All these characteristics include physical and psychological attachment with the job and with the organization. Engagement Models: In the literature there is a dearth of research on engagement (Saks and Rotman, 2006). However research work done by Leter (1997) and Maslach (1999) provided in-depth analysis of engagement. There are two main streams of research that provide models of engagement first one is Kahns (1990) meanfulness, safety and availability theory and second Maslach et als (2001) six areas of work life (Saks and Rotman, 2006). According to Kahn (1990) there are three psychological conditions which relate to engagement or disengagement in the workplace; meaningfulness, safety and availability. He argues that an employee in the workplace thinks of these three factors (1) how meaningful is to perform at this level? (2) Is it safe to do so? (3) Am I available for this job? He found more engaged employee when conditions were psychologically meaningful, safe and workers were psychologically available. May et al (2004) empirically tested Kahns (1990) and found that engagement is significantly related to meaningfulness, safety and availability. According to Maslach et al (2001) six areas of work lead to burnout and engagement at workplace; workload, feelings of choice and control, rewards and recognition, community and social support, perceived fairness, meaningful and valued work. He argued that job engagement is associated with sustainable workload, feeling of choice and control enables employee to think openly, reward and recognition motivate employees, supportive and friendly work environment help to enjoy the job, equality at work, employee understand value of its work to the organizational success. May, Gilson Harters (2004) research also support Maslach et als (2001) meaningful and valued work is associated with engagement. Both models discussed here are explaining the psychological conditions that are required for engagement but both models are not explaining how an individual will react depending upon his level of engagement (Saks and Rotman, 2006). Social Exchange Theory (SET) can explain employee engagement theoretically in a better way. SET argues that obligations are generated when two parties are reciprocally linked which each other. A relationship between two parties can be strong trusting, loyal and mutual commitment over time as long as they abide by certain rules of exchange (Cropanzano and Mictchell, 2005). Rules of exchange mean give and take, if an employee getting something from an organization in return he will try to benefit the organization. Robinson et al (2004) refers to social exchange theory as description of employee engagement is a two-way relationship between employee and employer. Chapter 3:Â  Research Methodology Introduction An investigation has been conducted after literature review in chapter two regarding employee engagement and motivation with the help of theories. At this point for the selection of appropriate research method a clear understanding of research philosophy and methodology is essential so that trustworthy results of research objectives can be find out. Continuum of ontological assumptions Objective 2 Objective 1 Reality as a concrete structure Reality as a concrete process Reality as a contextual realm of symbolic discourse structure Reality as a social constructivism Reality as a projection of human imagination POSITIVIST REALIST INTERPRETIVIST Source: Morgan and Smircich, (1980) cited in Longwe, (2010) Research Philosophy Importance and significance of research philosophy and methods would be different for different researchers who are carrying out their research on the same industry but with different perspective. For example, if a researcher is concerned with requirement of resources for manufacturing process, will adopt a totally different philosophy and method for research, from a researcher who conducted a research to find out feelings and attitudes of employees towards managers Saunders et al. (2007). Use of research philosophy may be significant with reference to the research methodology. It helps the researcher to be specific and refine the research. Understanding of research philosophy enables researcher to choose the right methodology and leave the inappropriate at the early stage of the research Easterby-Smith et al. (2002). According to Saunders et al (2007) there are three different ways of thinking about the research: (i) Positivism (ii) Interpretivism and (iii) Realism. Positivism Research undertaken by this approach will be on quantifiable observations and results in statistical analysis. Positivism approach in social sciences used biology and physics Nwokah et al. (2009). Doing a research on human beings without considering their social context is impossible, researchers bring their own values and interest in research results in positivism approach, measuring the complex phenomena in a single measure is misleading Hussey (1997). Interpretivism Some researchers argued that Interpretivism is highly appreciated in business management particularly in the field of human resource management, marketing and organizational behaviour (Saunders et al. 2007). Interpretivism is known as anti-positivism because it takes the view that scientific methods are inappropriate for the study of society (Abbott 2010). Realism Realism says that reality is totally independent of the researchers mind. According to this philosophy existence of an object that senses of researches shows is real and independent of his mind (Saunders et al 2007). Realism has some aspects of positivism in it as it develops knowledge with scientific approach. There are two types of realism Direct Realism and Critical Realism. Direct realism means that things should be considered as they appear. Critical realism says that what we experience are sensations, images of the real world not actual things (Saunders et al 2007). Selection of Research Philosophy: All the approaches have been used in majority of management researches depending upon the nature of research. First objective is investigation about current level of employee engagement. Level can be measured (positivism) but perhaps causes of (low) level of engagement are rooted in interpretivism. Both philosophies cannot be adopted so the position adopted will be realism. This is highly dependent and influenced by social process that exist inside the organization. Organizational culture and leadership play an important role in improving employee engagement. Second research objective is related to perceptions of employees which makes it social construct which can be determined by what employees say it is. This objective refers to an interpretivist approach. According to the aim and objectives of this research realism is likely to be used in this research. The research is based on understanding perceptions rather than any statistical analysis also according to aim and objectives phil osophical position of this research work is that of realism. Research Strategy There are several strategies available for doing a research but this researcher adopts a case study (of PEL) strategy. Case study strategy involves observations, empirical results and multiple sources of evidences (Robson 2002). Case study can also include interviews, questionnaires, observations and documentary analysis (secondary data). This strategy usually used in explanatory and exploratory research. An advantage of using case study strategy is to use multiple sources of data collection that is useful for triangulation (Saunders et al. 2007). Case study strategy enables researcher to challenge existing theories and provide source of new research questions. Research Methods Research is a systematic method of finding solutions to problems. Following three methods will be used to achieve the results according to the research objectives: Secondary Data Analysis Self-Administered Postal Questionnaire for Workers Telephonic Structured Interviews with Executives Secondary Data Analysis These data can be analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. According to Ghauri and Gronhaug, (2005) cited in Saunders et al., (2007) secondary data are very useful and it provides saving in time, less expensive and it can be of higher quality data than could be obtain by oneself (Stewart and Kamins, 1993), it is helpful in triangulation, it can be useful to compare research results. There are disadvantages in that secondary data may differ from research objectives of this research; it may be too old; it may be unobtainable. There may be fewer resources available (Saunders et al 2007). Sometimes it is very difficult to find secondary data related to research work. Self-Administered Postal Questionnaire for Workers Questionnaires can be used in case study research strategy in order to collect primary data (Saunders et al. 2007). Questionnaires are more objective then interviews. It is relatively a quick, easy and cost saving way to collect information using questionnaires; information can be collected from a large group of peoples at the same time (Kirakowski, 2000). The most important thing in questionnaires is design of questions because reliability, validity and response of participants totally depend on that. Questionnaires normally require fewer skills to administer than semi-structured interviews or in-depth interviews (Jankowicz, 2005). There are few disadvantages of questionnaires it tells only users reaction as user perceives situation, questionnaires usually designed to fit certain situations thus it cannot tell what is right or wrong in the organization (Kirakowski, 2000), there is a possibility that a one person complete all questionnaires which would not answer research objectives effectively. 758 workers are working in switchgear department at PEL in 7 different workshops i.e. Quality Control, Maintenance, Health and Safety, Paint, Design, MV Equipment Workshop and LV Equipment Workshop. Simple random sampling has been used to select the samples. In random sampling few important issues can be a problem such as how long is the employee working with organization, what are personal issues of workers and management, a new employee may not be aware of organizational engagement practices. N = Total population = 758 N = Sample size =190 n/N = 190/758 (y sample size is 190?) A pilot research Questionnaires will be sent to 20 workers so that result of those questionnaires can be compared against the research objectives. Improvements will be made after pilot test if required any. Final questionnaires will be sent via e-mail to person who is coordinating with researcher from PEL he will print out all questionnaires for researchers time saving purpose. These questions are specially designed for workers who are important entity of this research, questions would be closed. So that workers can easily answer that without hesitating and without wasting anytime. Telephonic Semi-Structured Interviews with Executives In this research third method for data collection is telephonic semi-structured interview with executives so that they can discuss every aspect of employee engagement related to asked questions. Semi-structured interviews are non-standardised interviews and are often referred to as qualitative research interviews (King, 2004). 24 executives are working in Switchgear Department at PEL. One executive from each section of Switchgear Department will be interviewed telephonically who has minimum one year experience in PEL. There is a flexibility in semi-structured interviews that researcher can ask more questions or omit some questions in particular interviews. No need to encourage interviewee because they can ask questions from interviewer. Semi-structured interviews not only provide answer to research questions, but the reasons for answers. Individual interviewee can discuss sensitive issues easily and freely depending on how sensitive the issue is. There are also some disadvantages of semi-structured interviews such as it is difficult to collate more, difficult to control interviewee it can bring a lot of unnecessary information and it can be time consuming (Saunders et al, 2007). It might be difficult to evaluate nonverbal behaviour of interviewee. Response from interviewee may be very quick and interviewer has to be very quick to record all discussion. Triangulation Combination of different methods to collect primary data effectively can be said triangulation (Bryman, 2004). Use of more than one method to understand one phenomenon broadly and more clearly (Veal 2005). Three different methods have been used for the effectiveness of triangulation, validation and reliability of data in research secondary data from the organization, questionnaires from worker and semi-structured interviews from executives. Validation and Reliability of Data:

Lifes Many Obstacles - Catcher :: essays research papers

Life’s Many Obstacles   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In J. D. Salinger’s â€Å"The Catcher in the Rye† the protagonist, Holden, is faced with many obstacles. Like most tragic heroes, he is a man who is reasonably happy at the beginning of the tragedy, but as the tragedy develops, some failure in his personality begins to affect events, so that his progress is a movement from happiness to misery. The ultimate misery results from his final awareness of his personalities limits or failures. Much of Holden’s misery is a result of his inability to successfully handle particular problems regarding adolescence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Holden’s loneliness and overall low self-esteem are the primary adolescent motivaters for his breakdown. Holden’s general need for female companionship leads him to a reasonably accurate self-analysis: he thinks that he is the â€Å"biggest sex maniac you ever saw,† but later admits that he really doesn’t understand sex or know much about it. Holden, however, finds himself feeling rather â€Å"horny† and decides to call upon the service of Faith Cavendish. She â€Å"wasn’t exactly a whore or anything but she didn’t mind doing it once in a while...† Holden feels this experience will thrust him into what he considers the adult world. The conversation with Faith was a long one but inevitably led to nothing. An incursion into the adult world, or what Holden considers it to be, had been thwarted. In part, the failure happens because he doesn’t really know the rules, and also because loneliness is not a subs titute for experience.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Habitual lying is a trait not only found in adolescence but also in people of all ages. It is sometimes generated from a lack of self-esteem, boredom and self-preservation. Holden exaggerates many truths not out of a conscious decision to deceive, but rather to lend emphasis to facts he is unsure of as when he states, â€Å"Pencey Prep advertises in about a thousand magazines.† However, Holden also has no convictions against telling outright untruths if he can come out for the better on the other side of the exchange. â€Å"I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It’s awful. If I’m on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I’m going, I’m liable to say I’m going to the opera. It’s terrible. So when I told old Spencer I had to go to the gym to get my equipment and stuff, that was a sheer lie.

Irish Studies in the Informatics Age :: Irish Culture European Research

Irish Studies in the Informatics Age [†¦] and Gutenmorg with his cromagnom charter, tintingfast and great primer must once for omniboss step rubrickredd out of the wordpress else is there no virtue more in alcohoran. For that (the rapt one warns) is what papyr is meed of, made of, hides and hints and misses in prints. Till ye finally (though not yet endlike) meet with the acquaintance of Mister Typus, Mistress Tope and all the little typtopies. Fillstup. Finnegans Wake (London: Faber & Faber 1939), p.20. Television kills telephony in brothers' brawl. Ibid., p.52. This essay aims to trace the history and development of the electronic book in Ireland with some consideration of wider cultural issues involved in the very notion of digitising literature for the computer-based reader. In regard to digitising, the Irish book is subject to precisely the same conditions as any other literary product, so considered; that is to say, the processes applied by computers are precisely the same, be the books Irish or otherwise. In consequence the subject of this essay properly concerns textual archives and collections rather than discrete texts, whether held on national servers or linked together in cyberspace in such a way as to constitute a definite cultural topography for the internet user. The electronic Irish book is, then, less the name for a new way of producing literature than a new medium for the 'Irish anthology'—that is, a library of digital texts, however extensive, which has been created to represent (in sample or totality) the Irish lite rary tradition. In prevailing cultural conditions, each item in such a library is likely to be a digital copy of a formerly printed work of the kind in question rather than a new cultural entity generated ab initio within a new cultural medium. As to whether we call our subject the 'electronic Irish book' or the 'Irish electronic book', the difference is roughly analogous to that between 'smoked Irish salmon' and 'Irish smoked salmon'—a significant consideration for shoppers since the former implies a greater authenticity of actual contents than the latter, though not necessarily a superior dining experience. For practical purposes, it is Irish texts that concern us here, whether digitised in Ireland or elsewhere. Texts of other national provenance, whether in English or in another language, are the equivalent to 'Irish smoked salmon' in the foregoing culinary comparison; these may well abound to the degree of greatly outnumbering the others (as they do in any sizeable bookshop), but they are not the subject of this essay.

Bible: Exodus 20:4-6

The Old Testament ends with the prophets. These teachers provided insight on many issues facing Jews who were desperate to know God. Idolatry, social injustice and religious ritualism are three areas that are emphasized in their teachings and instilled in the minds and hearts of believers today. The prophets were great teachers who had much to say about God and the way man lived, social issues they faced, religious rituals they took part in, and their teachings are just as important today as they were in the past. Idolatry was a prominent issue among the Jews.God confronted this problem early in the Bible in Exodus 20:4-6. It is clear that following God requires complete and total attention on Him. The prophets considered this very an important issue. Consider Hosea who was commanded to marry an unfaithful wife to represent Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness towards God. During this time, Israel was unwilling to worship God and sought to find their own idols to worship and besto w glory upon. Hosea taught through his marriage the extent of unfaithfulness the Jews had in their relationship with God.Hosea compared Israel to spoiled grapes, a wild vine, a trained heifer, and a rebellious son and led into God to lay ruin to a large portion of His people causing the remnants to seek repentance before Him. Hosea, through using a marriage metaphor, showed the Jews how deep God’s love for them truly was and still is. Hosea’s example has modern implications. Because man can see how deeply God cares for them, there should be no reason to place importance of other things before their worship of Him. Yet, they do.If society could focus more on God today, the issues the world faces would cease to exist. Because this is not the case, man continues to destroy themselves as their eyes and minds stray from God and their own idols. The prophet Jonah put the truth about idolatry bluntly in his prayer to God: â€Å"Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake thei r hope of steadfast love. † Amos was a prophet with a lot to say about social injustice. He preached of a coming judgment against Israel for (among other things) oppressing their people.The Old Testament had charged the Israelites to take care of the disadvantaged and the poor, but there was a great disparity between the rich and the poor as Israel continued to reject God’s commands. Amos compared the wealthy women of Samaria to well fed cattle because they oppressed the poor while being consumed by selfish pleasures. Amos 5:14-15 states: â€Å"Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.†The goal of Amos was to show that Israel was not keeping their charge to care for one another despite God’s command. This was due, in large part, to the people focusing on self interest s. This sentiment is echoed in Micah where the wealthy conspired to steal the land of the needy. The world today mirrors Israel during the time of Amos. History has shown time again that wealth and personal selfishness blind man to the plight of the needy. In the United States, there is a huge disparity between the rich and the poor that requires personal conviction to change.Man must stay focused on God and care for one another to bring blessing upon them. Man’s negligence of the needy has led to homelessness and even suicides. Micah was a prophet who fought social injustice and idolatry like the other prophets. However, he offered a unique insight on what God looks for in man’s glorification of Him. As Micah reveals, God was not primarily interested in Israel’s sacrifices and offerings, no matter how extravagant they may have been, He was interested (and still is) in man’s humble obedience to Him reflected through a lifestyle of mercy and justice.The ot her prophets spoke to religious ritualism, but Micah put the concept simply and this concept is definitely true today. Man can go to church, sing the hymns, tithe their money, and hear a sermon, but God is most concerned with what man does in their obedience to Him and their receiving of His revelation. Church rituals are practically meaningless without obedience and positive action. James 2:20 is very relevant in this respect: â€Å"But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? † The Prophets of the Old Testament deliver instruction, wisdom, and warning.Man learned from them that idolatry takes the focus from God and puts the focus on self. Their teachings on social injustice show that God requires us to love and care for one another. Their teachings on ritualism show that God is more concerned with our obedience and reflection of Him than He is with offerings. Though the teachings of the prophets occurred many years ago, they are certainly releva nt today. Man can learn a great deal from the teachings and warnings presented by these men. Praise God for His patience in man’s stubborn ignorance.As man began to drift away from God’s own heart they began to create their own religion and beliefs. Many cultures have materialistic things that became their Gods! There social injustices in these cultures and many religious rituals. We all know the 10 commandments but the first commandment God said there will be no other Gods before me. A lot of people of that time were so far away of God and had so much wickedness in their hearts. In Ezekiel chapter eight it talks about an idolatry temple and God took him all around the area to show him how and why God’s presence has left.Ezekiel 8:17-18 says â€Å"He said to me, â€Å"Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them. † Obviously after reading this you can tell how mad God was with all the Idol worshipping going along at the land.As you continue to read the book of Ezekiel you read that the presence of God departed from the temple. God seem so disgusted with the people and right fully so we see how man put other idols in front of God. The word of the Lord always came to the prophet Ezekiel and God exposed him to many things that the people did. When God told Ezekiel â€Å"set your face toward the south; preach against and prophesy against† not only did God believe in Ezekiel but he had enough with these false Gods. It’s so easy for our society to be drowned into having an Idol.In my opinion our time period has more of a temptation of having Idols because of social media and it’s easier to get the things you strongly desire to use a s an idol, but with that we are seeing the people getting to know Jesus by the millions. It has it’s pros and cons but I believe that we have so many things to guide us in the right path that it would help us to draw near to God. Amos’ statements are daring for him to make because they directly challenge the generally accepted religious practices of his time.Strong opposition to Amos developed at once when Amaziah, a priest, sent word to King Jeroboam that Amos was a dangerous character and should be expelled from the land. Although Amos insisted that he spoke only the words that Yahweh told him to proclaim, Amaziah told him to leave the country and never to prophesy again in the land of Israel. The prophecies of Amos mark an important point in the development of the religion of the Old Testament. The prophet was indeed a spokesman for Yahweh. That he was not speaking for himself or trying to please his listeners is made clear by the content of the message he delivered .Critics have often maintained that the Old Testament Prophets created the god of whom they spoke out of their own imaginations. However, had these prophets done so, it does not seem at all likely that God would have spoken so critically of what was being done by the prophets’ own people. Some of the rituals we in our time are like fasting (sun rise to sun set), acts of kindness, buying your way to heaven. Honestly if you can think of it being a ritual it probably is a ritual somewhere. Just like how it is today back then you the old days (bible) they were social injustice.The book of Amos 5:11 it says â€Å"You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not their wine. I wish I can just say that it’s only in the Old Testament that dealt with social injustice but it happen in the New Testament as well. Thinking about social in justice reminds me the time when Joseph was captured by pharaoh and he was held captive for such a long time. In our society we have so much injustice. We have the very wealthy branch of people then we have the middle and the lower.If you’re not in with a group of people then you are good enough to be around them. It seems like it is something you deal with in high school but not so much. I deal with it in the military. In the book of Micah chapter six verse eight it says â€Å"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? † what has our society has come to that they lost the love and compassion for people. We have become complacent that we forget to love our neighbor and I fall into this subject. We need to be a people who Love not hurt others