Feminism in Literature

Samuel Rodriguez 801-12-7900 INGL 3103-126 Prof. Nikita Nankov February 10, 2013 Feminism in literature Feminism is defined as a collection of movements and ideologies that are focused on establishing equal economic, political, and social rights for women. This includes equal employment opportunities for women. There is a big misconception of the feminist movement. A lot of people take a radical approach; they focus on a theory that there is a male supremacy to oppress women.The radical feminists tend to strive for greater feminine power and deviate from the original concept of feminism that strives for equality. Feminism was first introduced into literature in the nineteenth century. The number of published women authors was greater in the nineteenth century than in any preceding century. Women's access to higher education increased exponentially during the century, providing them with skills that they could use to develop their art.The growth of market economies, cities, and life e xpectancies changed how women in Europe and the United States were expected to conform to new social pressures, and made many women more conscious of their imposed social, legal, and political inequality. Many social reform movements led by nineteenth-century women, such as religious revivalism, abolitionism, temperance, and suffrage; gave women writers an audience and a forum in which they could express their views. Before the feminist movement migrated to literature women writers were largely confined into writing children’s poetry and literature.Women started migrating and started writing fiction. However the critical reviews of the age pummeled their works for lack of critical judgment and rationality and dismissed their work as being designed for the unrefined taste of women readers. Great novelist like Mary Shelly, George Sand and George Elliot never completely escaped the harsh criticism of their work based only on their gender. The legacy of sexism has been a historic element that helps dismiss the work of many great women writers. Feminist women writers come from all over the world, including Puerto Rico.Julia de Burgos is a well-known puertorican writer, but Burgos is best known for her feminist poems. Julia de Burgos poetry includes a variety of themes, including an inclination to the erotic and to social activism. Burgos feminist poems present a philosophical view of the role of women in Puerto Rican society. Burgos explores womanhood issues in her efforts to break away from hindering social patterns. Burgos stands out as an early feminist activist at a time when Puerto Rican culture restricted women to the traditional roles of spouse and mother.Authors of the feminist movement differentiate between gender and sex. They believe the person’s sex is predetermined and natural. Meanwhile the gender has been created by society along with the perception of gender roles. They believe that gender roles can be altered over time. The predominan ce of one gender of the other is seen in almost every society. The fact that this dominance is not in favor of women is a characteristic of feminist literature. Feminist authors argue that any society that does not provide equal opportunities to both genders is not an unbiased and complete society.Women in feminist literature are presented as protagonist, who usually does not accept the traditional predetermined roles dictated by society. Feminism in literature is not strictly limited to female writers; an example of this is James Joyce. Joyce’s texts are filled with feminine images. The way Joyce depicts women in his text may be tricky for people who reading his text for the first time. Joyce presents all the sufferings and hardships women go through. In Eveline the narrator talks about talks about a deprived female, referring to Eveline.Eveline lacks basic things that most people around the world have. For example she didn’t have a happy childhood. When she was playi ng as a little girl in the field her dad would chase her. In this example we can see the father is a dominant male figure that restricts the female of basic things like playing. Works cited Hudock, Amy, et al. Feminism in Literature. New York: Thomson Gale, 2005. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature. New York: Facts On File, 2006. Joyce, James. Eveline. N. p. : Pennsylvania State University, 2005.

Ego, Id, and Superego Essay

â€Å"The poor ego has a still harder time of it; it has to serve three harsh masters, and it has to do its best to reconcile the claims and demands of all three†¦ The three tyrants are the external world, the superego, and the id.† That quote was said by the physiologist Sigmund Freud. Freud developed a system of classifying individual’s mental life. The system is id, ego, and superego. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, id, ego, and superego are used to deepen the audience’s outlook on the main characters. Ralph represented ego, which could be compared to being human. Jack represented id, which symbolized evil. Finally, Simon represented superego, which can be compared to an angel. Ralph represented ego, which was a self serving person who had flaws. Ralph was self centered because all he cared about was being rescued, â€Å"we want to be rescued; and of course we shall be rescued.† (37). That quote demonstrated Ralph’s focus on being rescued. Ralph tried to obtain order by having the conch, and being a leader to the other boys. Ralph’s human flaws surfaced when he made fun of Piggy, and when he joined Jack in acting out the killing of the pig, eventually killing Simon. â€Å"‘That was Simon.’ ‘You said that before.’ ‘Piggy.’ ‘Uh?’ ‘That was murder.’† (156). That quote showed that Ralph knew what he did was very wrong, and he felt guilty. Ralph’s human qualities became very translucent. Id is best matched up to Jack Merridew because he would seek adventure, and look for personal pleasure. Jack represented evil from the beginning because of the way he took Piggy’s glasses and his cruelty to the little kids by yelling at them. â€Å"He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up.† (51). That quote demonstrated how Jack had transformed into a savage killer who didn’t care about being rescued. â€Å"The forest near them burst into uproar. Demoniac figures with faces of white and red and green rushed out howling, so that the littluns fled screaming.† (140). That quote showed Jack and his hunters attacking Piggy and Ralph. Jack scared off the ‘littleuns’ which showed he didn’t care about anyone. Jack becomes so savage that he killed Simon in an attempt to act out killing the beast. It was clear Jack that a representation of evil. Simon was a prime example of superego. All Simon did was good, the novel never showed Simon as evil. â€Å"Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless outstretched hands.† (56). That quote proved Simon was compassionate to all the kids, even the ‘littleuns’. â€Å"Simon, sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy.† (74). That quote was another example of kindness shown by Simon. Simon gave his meat to Piggy when the other boys refused to give him any. When Simon was killed by all the other boys, for no reason, he was going to find them to tell them that the beast was not real. That displayed Simon only wanted to do good, he was truly an angelic figure. Sigmund Freud’s system of classifying individual’s metal life was very applicable to the novel Lord of the Flies. Ralph represented human nature in ego because he was focused on his own desire to be rescued. Jack showed he represented evil by showing his meanness and savageness, which all fell into the category of id. Simon strived for good, which made him superego, and he would be represented by an angel. In conclusion, Freud’s system of mental classification is always conflicting, much like Ralph, Jack, and Piggy’s personalities.

Mordecai Richler. Duddy Kravitz Apprenticeship Essay

Mordecai Richler. Duddy Kravitz Apprenticeship - Essay Example In the whole novel we see Duddy as an ambitious but greedy person who holds no value for love and friendship and considers wealth as his ultimate goal. The major theme that runs in the story is the power of negative ambition, greed and materialism which overpowers pure emotions like love, decency and affection. From the start of the story we see that the family of Duddy plays an important role in taking Duddy’s ambition to a dangerous level. His grandfather advises him that "A man without land is nobody.† His father repeatedly tells him story of a young man who progressed from rags and riches by cheating people on his way. And then he sees his uncle who is extremely rich and successful and it burns a desire in Duddy’s heart to become wealthy. Duddy, in his greed and ambition fails to value relationships and we see him as a man who cheats on her girlfriend even though she loves him truly. Duddy also mistreats his long-time friend, Virgil and even cheats him out of his money when he is confined to his bed due to paralysis.

Performance Standards and Appraisals Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Performance Standards and Appraisals - Term Paper Example In my workplace, performance appraisal is an ongoing process whereby employees are evaluated in a constant basis. The role of performance appraisal in my workplace falls solely on the nurse managers. It is done in the form of an interview whereby both the employee being evaluated and the nurse manager fills a performance appraisal form on the employees performance. Performance in all areas is evaluated and employees are gauged in a scale of one to five with one denoting poor performance and five denoting excellent performance. This, according to Laureate Education Inc (2006) is important as managers may have divergent views in regard to the performance of an employee. This also fosters dialogue between the manager and the employee aimed at ensuring the employee understands all the aspects of the evaluation (Laureate Education Inc, 2006). Areas of weakness are identified and strategies are implemented to help improve employees performance for instance through training. All through the process, the manager conducting the appraisal documents the process through taking notes which are then co-signed by the employee being evaluated. Performance standards in my workplace are created in collaboration with employees. This is important as engaging employees in designing performance standards fosters a better understanding of the standards and guidelines and hence they are more likely to exceed expectations in their performance (Laureate Education Inc, 2006). The manager guides the employees in identifying behaviors and attitudes that are beneficial and constructive, and those that could have negative implications. These performance standards in my workplace are communicated through trainings, either on-the-job training or formal trainings. Effectively training employees enables them to understand and comprehend what they are expected to accomplish and achieve in their jobs (Laureate Education Inc, 2006). One of the strengths of this appraisal system in my workplace is

Building Standard Oil Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Building Standard Oil Company - Research Paper Example Rockefeller paid attention to every aspect of his business, checking every detail to cut his costs, to make his product better, and to add new products. Sometimes he worked with the manual laborers to understand his business better and greatly influenced his partners and managers to follow his example. Dominick Armetano described that his business: â€Å"prospered quickly in the intensely competitive industry due to the economic excellence of its entire operations. Instead of buying oil from jobbers, they made the jobbers' profit by sending their own purchasing men into the oil region. They also made their own sulfuric acid, barrels, lumber, wagons, and glue. They kept minute and accurate records of every item from rivets to barrel bungs. They built elaborate storage facilities near their refineries. Rockefeller bargained as shrewdly for crude as anyone has before or since; and Sam Andrews coaxed more kerosene from a barrel of crude than the competition could. In addition, the Rocke feller firm put out the cleanest burning kerosene and managed to profitably dispose of most of the residues, in the form of lubricating oil, paraffin wax, and Vaseline.† (Armetano, 1982) In his quest to make better products Rockefeller started in-house preparation of important inputs into the production process now recognized as â€Å"vertical integration†. ... Turning waste into a product to resell increases income and lowers the costs. Rockefeller made the oil-refining industry much more efficient, so he was able to purchase many of poorly managed refineries yet his competition like Sun Oil in the USA still existed while international competitors were even larger. Even his most hostile critics like Ida Tarbell (whose brother was in management of competing company, Pure Oil Company) recognized this efficiency: â€Å"Not far away from the canning works, on Newtown Creek, is an oil refinery. This oil runs to the canning works, and, as the newmade cans come down by a chute from the works above, where they have just been finished, they are filled, twelve at a time, with the oil made a few miles away. The filling apparatus is admirable As the newmade cans come down the chute they are distributed, twelve in a row, along one side of a turn-table. The turn-table is revolved, and the cans come directly under twelve measures, each holding five gall ons of oil — a turn of a valve, and the cans are full. The table is turned a quarter, and while twelve more cans are filled and twelve fresh ones are distributed, four men with soldering cappers put the caps on the first set†¦. The cans are placed at once in wooden boxes standing ready, and, after a twenty-four-hour wait for discovering leaks are nailed up and carted to a nearby door. This door opens on the river, and there at anchor by the side of the factory is a vessel chartered for South America or China †¦ waiting to receive the cans†¦. It is a marvelous example of economy, not only in materials, but in time and footsteps (Tarbell, 1972) Making good quality products efficiently and selling

Sylvia's Bar in Birmingham Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sylvia's Bar in Birmingham - Essay Example Soon, even the popularity of the bar also faded away. Consequently, the main objective of this report has been to identify the issues surrounding the bar and to analyse the problems. It also aims at offering adequate suggestions to the company so that it can improve its profitability and recapture the lost popularity. Defining the Issue There are generally three reasons behind the failure of a restaurant which include economic perspectives, marketing perspectives as well as managerial views. Among these three perspectives, most of the restaurants have been observed to fail because of the economic perspectives. The economic perspective can lead to failure of a restaurant because of the reasons such as lowered profits, weakened revenues and declining profits. The restaurants may also fail because of the marketing perspective wherein they may fail to operate at any specified locations, deliberate strategic selection of relocation, adjusting with the changing demographics, meeting the un realised demand for any new product or service, consolidation of the market in order to acquire new market share in the targeted regions as well as rearrangement of the product portfolio necessitating chosen unit closures. Managerial perspective comprises the failures in the restaurants that occur because of the lack of competency within the managerial teams (Parsa & et. al., 2006). In the context of this case study, it has been noted that Sylvia faces many significant issues that need to be resolved in order to enhance the sales of the company and to increase the profits as well. One of the main issues that the restaurant has been confronting is related to the cost along with the menu of the restaurant. The drinks as well as the food menu have been targeted at high class people and therefore it becomes difficult for the middle class people to dine in the restaurant and thus the demand of the food has declined. Staffing has been the other vital issue related to Sylvia’s Bar. Since the restaurant employs the staffs who have completed their education from South Birmingham College, these staffs generally demand higher pay in comparison to the normal staffs. In such circumstance, it can be stated that a significant amount of the money earned by the company goes to the staffs which is a noteworthy issue in Sylvia. The other main issue hampering the profitability of Sylvia’ Bar has been related to the modes of entertainment that the restaurant uses for the purpose of attracting the customers. The restaurant plays old classic bands which belong to 1960s to 1990s. The old bands may be preferred by some of the customers but may not be the ultimate choice for the youth. Competition is one of the marketing problems that tend to hamper the effectiveness of the companies thereby impacting upon the sales as well as the revenues of the company. It has been noted that during the initiation of the restaurants, there were no competitors of Sylvia’s Bar. How ever, in the recent times there are many local bars which cause a significant problem for the company. The attractiveness of the High Street has also been declining in the current times with young customers wanting to visit fashionable canal district. The company’s customers as well as the staffs are also not much satisfied with the service offered by the company. Customers state that they dislike the weekend entertainment that

Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 37

Discussion Questions - Essay Example seven general principles applied by Steve Jobs which resembles the innovation and creativity are do things which people love, aspire which can help to change the world, reset brain, sell dreams to people, neglect unnecessary, create insanely and finally mastering the way of delivering message to the customers. Thomas Edison is another creative thinker. Thomas Edison is regarded as the most famous inventor and creative. Ideas of Thomas Edison on application of creativity and innovation are to focus on creative mind power and work on the ideas which have been previously worked by others. Something that occurs within the organization is referred to as internal driver of innovation. The forces outside the organization motivate and enables Company to trigger the mode of innovation for betterment is knows as external forces of innovation (Luke, 2013). External factors are changing economy, market, social changes, government policy, new trend, introduction of new technology. Internal driver of innovation is cost reduction, new product, changes in structure of organization, advance level of technology and innovation camps for brainstorming. The application of innovation is done by companies by reinventing the core business process. Effective organizational structure, ethical cultural background and processes that are designed in an organization can lead to innovation. These divers are applied in an organization by maintaining effective workplace and installing collaboration and partnering in business organization. There is no specific instance for production of positive result. The implementation of innovation in organization can produce result by the help of trial and error experiment. The active implementation of vision and strategy can help to produce positive result. The introduction of new services, products and technologies in an organization to gain competitive advantage over other competitors

Social Theory and Culture Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Theory and Culture Identity - Essay Example For example, the legacies of slavery, colonialism and imperialism took birth as the consequence of governing bodies or regimes, impacted the communities bringing about new social constructs and structures under which the society's psychological spaces or maps evolved, contributing to changes in Social Theories and redefining of Cultural Identities. (Adapted from Powell & Moody, 2003) This dissertation shall briefly analyze, the evolution of the concepts of identity and community and their significance in contemporary social thought, through the constructs of social theorists like Zygmut Bauman, Heelas, Alasdair MacIntyre, Chales Taylor, and Selingman etc. The community, according to communitarian discourse of Bauman (2001), has its foundation only on that of a shared agreement between its members or followers. The communitarian discourse is constructed upon two theories that, 1) people are individuals who should resolve their own problems and 2) that community should be built upon fraternal sharing; community has then an ethical foundation. These two are combined and collaborated, leading to almost confusing notions of community, as when he states, "When subjected to such evaluation we see community for what it is numb or dead" (Bauman 2001 p11). He further elucidates the relationship between cultures and identity - according to him, in the postmodern condition, cultures seem to be rather fragmented; and in addition, this fragmented culture allows individuals to select their own identities. He explains with contemporary examples of Blair, Clinton and others, attempting to put freedom and security on an even platform, by rebuilding th e idea of the community within a postmodern world. In short he argues that, "we as individuals should be both with the Other and for the Other. It is the poor whom are cast as the Other in communitarianism discourse. The difference between being - with and being - for the Other is about the level of commitment that we have for the Other, about having an emotional engagement with the Other" (Best, 2002). In contrast, the world seems to be a society that has lost its moral bearings in an unprecedented way, in the perception of the moral philosophers like Alasdair MacIntyre. (Oakes, 1996) MacIntyre points to the teleological alternative as the only remaining solution to this moral degradation, and combines the concepts of liberalism, laissez-faire capitalism, Marxism, and utilitarianism as proof for his science-fiction metaphor. Teleology according to MacIntyre, is the study of final causes, goals, purposes, and aims: similar to and filled with Aristotle's concepts. Consequently, the t erm 'Teleological' is crucial to MacIntyre's solution, the loss of which is the cause of the catastrophe described in his science-fiction parable. The concept of Emotivism is introduced here as a "doctrine that all evaluative judgments and more specifically all moral judgments are nothing but expressions of preference, expressions of attitude or feeling, insofar as they are moral or evaluative in character" (MacIntyre, 1984, pp.10-11). Relationship between the 'identity' in a heroic society has been explained as that which 'involves particularity and accountability'. I am answerable for ding or failing to do what anyone who occupies my role owes to others and this accountability terminates only

Implementing Effective Job Delegation in the Units Essay Example for Free

Implementing Effective Job Delegation in the Units Essay As a supervisor on our medical surgical unit, our hospital patient satisfaction scores for the past two years have been going down and there is a great need to improve patient satisfaction scores, particularly in the area of effective job delegation. Research (2011) has shown that a leader who does not delegate might likely feel stressed and overloaded. Although it might seem the best way for work to get done, is to do it yourself, but its not a good long-term solution. Feedback and review remain helpful and important, although the relationship is more likely one of mentoring, rather than coaching. The Question In order to improve patient satisfaction score in hospitals, the first question that health care providers should ask is what can be done to improve the quality of care given to our patients, and the second question is, how can effective job delegation improve our patient satisfaction score in our hospital? Will the creation of a policy on implementation of effective job delegation, encourage collaboration between the nursing staff and personnel to ensure that all personnel are not stressed or overworked? On our medical surgical unit, nurses struggle to deliver all the care their patients need, but are unable, due to stress and overwork. Good delegation saves time, develops people, grooms a successor, and motivates. Poor delegation will cause frustration, discouragement and Confusion, as such the delegated person will fail to carry out the delegated task. Effective job delegation will improve our patient satisfaction scores, even if most nurses would prefer to deliver all the care their patients need, but can’t, due to overwork and stress. The delegated task may be small, but has a large overall impact for all those involved. Nursing is a demanding profession, often nurses feel as though there are not enough hours in the day to complete all tasks, delegation of job will help nurses complete all the jobs allocated, this will help improve patient’s satisfaction scores. In the medical field today there is shortage of nurses, but still nurses are still expected to provide safe and effective care for their patients, by elegating some aspects of care to others this goal can be archived. Evidenced-Based Studies Many studies have been performed on effective job delegation. An article by American Nurses Association: Research and expert opinions suggest that effective job delegation frees up Nurses to do what they have been educated to do and coordinate patient care (ANA, 2020). It explained that delegating jobs help improve collaboration between healthcare workers, by delegating some aspects of care to others. Another article in the ADVANCE web site published by trustworthy researchers, who did the research on: why it is significant for healthcare workers to delegate job: since they decided what patient care intervention is necessary and how, when, and by whom these interventions need to be provided. The article narrated how effective job delegation will improve patient satisfaction scores; though most nurses would prefer to deliver all the care their patients need (Juno, 2010). An advanced research was carried out by nursing expert, who explained, that effective job delegation will improve patient satisfaction scores due to nurses shortage and the need to lower medical cost. The article describes how good job delegation saves time, develops people, grooms a successor, and motivates workers, while Poor job delegations causes frustration and overwork to nurses, making the task of healthcare workers difficult to give safe healthcare to their patients ( Juno, 2010). It explained that delegating jobs help improve collaboration between workers. An international research in South Africa discovered that there is a large disparity in service levels workload, between private and public sectors. The research point out that effective job delegation is necessary for both private and public sectors for jobs to be carried out efficiently (AFN, 2012). The organization Advocate for Nurses carries out a research and found out that the provision of health care in America has been compromised by the loss of trained health workers due to over work and stress, the article explained that when Managers or leaders engage in effective job delegation in the health care organization, Nurses will not leave the profession because of overwork and stress. It explained that poor job delegation lead to pressure and work overload, because most nurses think they can provide all the care their patient need, which is impossible to do, as such leaving one tressed, unhappy, and feeling that youre letting your profession down, the solution to prevent this feeling is effective job delegation (AFN, 2012). They also explained why health care worker have to delegate, because of changes in healthcare delivery, they stressed the fact that task delegation is here to stay at least for the foreseeable future. Job delegation is crucial to cost containment and Job d elegation is important; as such health care professionals should take it as an expected professional nursing activity (AFN, 2012). The Proposal The outcome of creating a policy is something that is realistically obtainable in a professional practice: Access to the hospital policies, meeting with floor managers/unit leaders and Identifying problems in our hospital have shown that our nurses and managers are stressed and overworked. The task of a competent manager is not to do all the work on his or her own, but to smartly deliver within the given parameters of budget and timeline I propose that all managers must make sure that the delegated person understands the importance of the task, the responsibility it brings and the long-term consequences. Once they are clear about the task it becomes easy for the job to be accomplished. Managers should make sure, those who are delegated, feel they are contributing to the success of the organization rather than standing on the periphery, and they must ensure that the job being delegated is handed to the appropriate individual, because if the task is not done, the person who delegated the job as well as the delegated person are responsible for non-performance of the job. Delegation is transferring a competent individual the authority to perform selected tasks in a selected situation. Effect job delegation facilitates success and trust among nurse, who then be able to deliver safe and satisfactory care of patients, as a result improve patient’s satisfaction scores. Conclusion Effective delegation involves achieving the desired results, managing the demanding deadlines, empowering and equipping the team. Ultimately, the responsibility of getting delegated job accomplished remains with the manager. Researchers have shown that leaders who do not delegate feel stressed and overloaded with work. Good delegation saves time, develops people, grooms a successor, and motivates. Poor delegation will cause frustration, discouragement and confusion. Effective job delegation strategies incorporated into health care practice can provide health care workers with more time for professional nursing roles, and enhance job satisfaction in the areas of decision-making and promotional opportunity.

Mecican-American Culture in the Inland Empire Essay Example for Free

Mecican-American Culture in the Inland Empire Essay The area of California known as the Inland Empire, is comprised of Riverside, Ontario, and San Bernadino Counties, and is home to one of the largest, most concentrated populations of Mexican-Americans in the United States. As a result, the area has its own culture, its own style of music, dancing, art, and celebration. Ultimately, the culture of the Inland Empire is an American translation of cultural traditions that immigrants brought with them from Mexico, and they have created a world all their own. Life for Mexican immigrants to the United States, however, is not always easy. As a result, this is a high-risk population for mental illness and substance abuse. Certainly, the Inland Empire provides plenty of opportunities for the culturally aware social worker to provide help and services. According to a 2012 business report, fourteen cities in the Inland Empire have a majority Latino population. 2-million of the 4. 7 million residents in the area, are in fact Latino, suggesting a trend of growing Latino populations all over the United States (Gruszecki, 2012). The Inland Empire has a rich arts and culture landscape, with a strong emphasis on Mexican, and Mexican-American heritage. In a 2008 investigation into cultural engagement in southern California, the James Irving Foundation found that Hispanic populations in the Inland Empire tended to â€Å"practice traditions that represent their cultural heritage at higher than average rates and engage in community events that celebrate their heritage much more often than Whites,† (Brown et al, 9). The study surveyed thousands of people across the Inland Empire, and found that many Mexican-Americans in the area still celebrate many of the same holidays as their Mexican Ancestors, including Navidad, Virgin of Guadaloupe Day (Dec.12), Posadas, Cinco de Mayo, and Dia de Los Muertos (Brown et al, 74). Alamillo suggests that celebrating these holidays once in America may have been a way for the immigrants of the mid-twentieth century to â€Å"further the interests of the ethnic Mexican community† in the area, and the practice stuck (Alamillo, 57). He argues that â€Å"Mexican Americans used Cinco de Mayo festivals not only to promote ethnic solidarity, but as a tool of political opposition, (Alamillo, 59). Mexican culture is also notices in the types of stories that respondents to the James Irving Foundation survey reported that they’d brought with them to their new homes in the Inland Empire. These included many stories representing the strong family values of Mexican culture. Stories passed down from family, with family values, and those in traditional language were all among those types of stories that the study cites. Similarly, mariachi music followed Mexican immigrants to the US, as did making pinatas, dream catchers, and altars, as well as Flamenco and Pueblo dancing, (Brown et al, 77). One of the major problems among Mexican Americans, however, is often overlooked. It is thought that mental illness is more prevalent in Latino communities in the US than in white, non-Hispanic, or African American communities. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Latino girls are one and a half times more likely than white or black teens to attempt suicide, and Mexican-American immigrants to the US are at a higher risk for mental disorders and substance abuse than their counterparts living in Mexico (NAMI, 2002). However, due to the stigma associated with mental illness in Latino communities, many suffering from mental illness do not seek out treatment. Those who do seek out treatment are often more likely to see a general practitioner or clergy than a mental health professional or social worker (NAMI, 2002). There is also a stigma against homosexuality in Mexican-American communities, which may contribute to the high risk of mental illness, substance abuse and suicide among homosexual immigrants. Many studies have shown that â€Å"homosexuality is stigmatized among U. S. residents of Mexican descent and, more generally, in Latino communities in the United States,† while only a couple have found Mexican attitudes towards homosexuality to be on par with those in black and white communities (Herek and Gonzalez-Rivera, 1). It is likely that the same reverence for family that influences the beliefs of many Mexican Americans, also influences their attitudes towards homosexual behavior, ultimately leading to the alienation of Mexican-American homosexuals. The Psychological Counseling Center of California State University at San Bernadino runs a website listing places to turn for help in the Inland Empire: http://psychcounseling. csusb . edu/referrals. html. For many Mexican Americans, the Catholic Charities may be a good option as they offer a fait-based approach to dealing with mental health issues. There are many options available to residents of the Inland Empire to get help right in their community. Mexican culture has a deep and rich tradition in the United States, especially in the Inland Empire. Immigrants celebrate their Mexican heritage as a way of holding on to the history, people and place from which they’ve come. Along with these rich traditions however, come opportunities for receiving help. Often when it comes to societal issues such as mental illness and substance abuse, communities will need the help of a social worker who understands their culture and can meet their diverse needs. References Alamillo, Jose. â€Å"More than a Fiesta: Ethnic Identity,Cultural Politics, and Cinco de Mayo Festivals inCorona, California, 1930-1950. † Aztlan 28:2, Fall2003. Retrieved 15 Feb, 2013. http://josealamillo. com/fiestaalamillo. pdf Brown, Alan S. , Novak, Jennifer L. , and Kitchener, Amy. â€Å"Cultural Engagement in California’s Inland Regions. †Research Commissioned by the James Irvine Foundation,September, 2008. Retrieved 15 Feb. 2013. http://www. southarts. org/atf/cf/%7B15E1E84E-C906-4F67-9851-A195A9BAAF79%7D/Arts%20Part%20-%20Cultural%20Engagement_FullReport. pdf Herek, Gregory, and Gonzalez-Rivera, Milagritos. â€Å"AttitudesToward Homosexuality Among U. S. Residents of MexicanDescent. † Journal of Sex Research43:2, 2006. Retrieved 5March, 2013http://psychology. ucdavis. edu/rainbow/html/JSR_2006_pre. PDF Gruszecki, Debra. â€Å"ECONOMY: Latino Population Shifts. †September 27, 2012. The Press-Enterprise. Retrieved 15Feb. 2013. http://www. pe. com/business/business-headlines/20120927-economy-latino-population-shifts. ece National Association on Mental Illness. â€Å"Latino Community MentalHealth Fact Sheet,† 2002. Retrieved 5 March, 2013http://www. nami. org/Content/NavigationMenu/Find_Support/Multicultural_Support/Annual_Minority_Mental_Healthcare_Symposia/Latino_MH06. pdf.

Impact On The Natural Environment Construction Essay

Impact On The Natural Environment Construction Essay The building sector has a significant impact on the natural environment. It consumes almost 33 of the worlds natural resources, including 40 of its energy and up to 12% of its water. These estimates do not consider embodied energy (i.e. the energy used to obtain, manufacture, use and dispose of building materials), which can represent a significant proportion of a buildings lifetime energy consumption. The building sector is also responsible for 40% of global green-house gas (GHG) emissions and 40% of the waste which ends up in the landfills (World Green Building Council, 2006). The consumption of natural resources, particularly none-renewable energy sources, is an important factor in the economy of many nations. Authorative reports show such trends in many parts of the world. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the building sector consumes almost 50% of all the countrys energy. While in the United States, about 40% of the total national energy production and almost 70% of electrici ty production is used in the building sector, as well as 28% in transportation a factor which is partly influenced by urban design. The building sector in China currently accounts for 19% of the countrys total energy consumption. This relatively small percentage is due to energy intensive industrial production. The same scenario occurs in the rich oil-producing areas of the Gulf Corporation Council Countries (GCCC). For example, the building sector in Kuwait account for nearly 45% of the yearly electric energy consumption, whilst in Saudi Arabia this sector consumes about 70% of the total electricity consumption. In Bahrain, the smallest country within the GCCC, buildings account for 83% of the national consumption of electricity (EIA, 2010). Apart from its energy consumption, the building sector is also one of the largest contributors to changes in the environment and atmosphere: firstly, building construction, raw material processing and product manufacturing overall are the largest sources of GHGs. They account for some 40% of the world GHGs emissions. The building sector creates the most waste, habitat destruction and is responsible for the most pollution. Second, GHGs, particularly CO2, are the main by-product of fossil fuel energy consumption, and as buildings are, in total, among the largest consumers of energy, they are also the major contributor to the increase in CO2 emissions and hence global warming. While most available data related to these contributions are for the developed world, reports show that, on the whole, these contributions are worse in developing countries such as the GCCC. These countries have become major GHGs emitters. According to the International Panel of Climate Chang (2007), the GCCC are amongst the top countries in terms of CO2 emissions per capita. Recent statistics show an increase of CO2 emissions due to excessive energy consumption in different GCCC sectors, particularly the building sector. The increase in CO2 emissions had been within the range of 30-35% between 1997 and 2006. The GCCC are found to contribute two and half per cent of the global GHG emissions (United Nations Statistic Division, 2007). One of the main principles of the GCCC is to enhance the economic and environmental actions related to the adoption of policies and unifying environmental laws as well as the conservation of natural resources (GCC, 2008). Within this context a two-fold policy aims at promoting energy regulations and sustainable developments has been adopted. A major role has been given to the building sector, with a special focus on the important role that efficiency regulations can play in reducing energy consumption and protecting the environment. On the ground, some actions have been taken by the GCCC in order to achieve sustainability in buildings, such as the implementation of green building regulations. Most of these regulations are based on the USAs Green Building Councils (US GBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, with modifications made to account for the local environmental conditions. In terms of green construction, many attempts have been made in different parts of the GCCC. Examples can be seen in the Bahrain World Trade Centre in Manama, the large-scale Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, the campus of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia and the Energy City in Qatar. These projects incorporate several efficiency techniques and green materials. A consideration of these huge, costly projects shows that three parties can benefit from such developments: governments and owners can save energy and protect the environment, thereby gaining a favourable image; contracto rs and suppliers can sell green products and developers can use the affirmative image as a positive marketing tool. However, in his article The Business of Green Elsheshtawy (2010) claims that some green and LEED certified buildings in the GCCC end up consuming much more energy than the evaluators predicted due to poor energy practices. Coupled with this is the economics of energy efficiency and green buildings. Cost of building green A great number of available projects, such as those mentioned above, shows that if building green is a target at the outset of the design process and material selection then the cost of the green building is competitive. In a commercial setting, such projects can result in reduced energy consumption, saved environment, improved occupant health and comfort and reduced capital costs. Many rigorous assessments show that the overall cost of these projects is no more than that of any equivalent conventional project. Increases in first cost are reported within the range from five-ten per cent. During the construction phase the use of the green strategies, such as downsizing of costly mechanical, electrical and structural systems can increase the saving in initial costs, while during the first two decades the increases due to the use of green technologies will result in a savings of at least ten times the initial investment in operation costs for utilities such as electricity. In rental pro perties, owners are concerned only with the initial cost, especially in the cases where tenants are paying the bills. Governments and some owners, however, can realise the energy savings and so are willing to pay more for minimising the operation cost and reducing the environmental impact. The trade-off between economic costs and environmental benefits can stimulate people on the basis that adoption of green technologies will have environmental and social benefits outside the margin of cost consideration. Although the concept of eco-efficiency, in many cases, does not take into account the social benefits, such an approach can balance environmental design with cost-effectiveness. To achieve eco-efficiency in the building sector, it is necessary to apply an integrated approach with the assistance of a team of professionals across different areas. This is realised in what is called the whole building approach. This approach represents a key factor in the design and construction of green buildings, especially with the advance of technology and increased complexity of constructional systems. The incorporation of the whole building approach at the projects conceptual design phase enables the evaluation of a buildings design, materials and systems from the perspectives of all the project team members as well as from the perspectives of owners and occupants. A principal advantage of this approach is the coordination and mutual dialogue between project team members, which represent a cornerstone for any successful projects. By applying the whole building approach initial and other cost savings can be realised, energy efficiency evaluated and environmental impact asse ssed. The role of cladding systems in making buildings green Green buildings are generally designed and built in an ecological and resources-efficient manner. They often respond to their local environment and, therefore, different building designs are found in different regions. In any region, however, the ultimate target of green buildings is to provide a comfortable environment in an economic way. The buildings skin, particularly building facade, represents the connection between the internal environment and the outside conditions, and hence a key function of the building facade is to reduce the need to modify the indoor environment as little as possible in response to the environmental load from the outdoor climate. Sometimes, a building facade fails to meet its objective due to one or more reasons, such as the insufficient design of wall systems or the inappropriate selection of cladding materials that probably make it impossible for any specific level of comfortable environment to be achieved. Then, it is necessary to rely upon electrical and mechanical systems to achieve comfort. This reliance leads to higher cost which is translated into bigger capacity requirements for lighting and mechanical equipment and higher capital costs for such equipment as well as larger amounts of energy consumption by the lighting system and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. In contrast, efficient environmental design and appropriate selection of green cladding materials can result in a comfortable inside environment, reduced project initial and running costs and a building that is energy and resource-efficient with lower operating costs than conventional buildings. Practitioners have demonstrated that the implementation of green strategies contributes to a buildings comfort, economic and energy performance. The use of green cladding systems, in particular, is able to make a significant impact on the thermal and operational performance of green buildings. Reports show that when green cladding systems are taken in to account at the conceptual design phase, significant improvements in the energy performance can be achieved (Radhi and Sharples, 2008). Aside from their influence on building operational energy, the external wall systems and cladding materials are major contributors to changes in the natural environment. The production of construction materials such as precast and aluminium increases atmospheric concentrations of GHGs. The environmental impact starts with the chemical reactions during the production phase, where such materials represent one of the largest source of CO2 emissions and other GHGs. Then, the transportation of the materials to construction sites consumes considerable amounts of primary energy and generates high levels of GHG emissions. At the installation phase these materials generate different types of waste, whilst at the operation phase some of them influence the interior and exterior spaces by producing unhealthy components into the air. Some construction materials have relatively short useful lives and, consequently, the disposal and manufacture of replacement materials occurs, thereby generating mo re GHGs and waste. Research experts have shown that a careful selection of low environmental impact components and materials reduces the CO2 emissions by up to 30%. Some cladding materials are reported to have the capacity to reduce ozone emissions and other sources of pollutants such as CO2 (Radhi, 2010). How can the eco-efficiency of cladding systems be measured? The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD, 2000) terms eco-efficiency as the synthesis of economic and environmental efficiency in parallel. Within this context, eco-efficiency in the building sector can be determined by three broad objectives: Reduce natural resources consumption by minimising the use of embodied and operational energy, raw materials, water and land as well as enhancing recyclability and material durability Reduce environmental impact by minimising GHGs emissions, waste disposal, water discharges and the dispersion of toxic substances, as well as encouraging the use of renewable resources. Increase the value of materials and systems by providing more benefits through material functionality, flexibility and modularity. In the light of these objectives the important question is how the eco-efficiency of cladding systems can be measured. Significant scientific work has been addressing this issue by introducing suitable assessment methodologies and rating systems. This is best seen in the environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) and life-cycle cost (LCC) approaches developed by the international standards for LCA principles and framework ISO 14040 (ISO14040, 2006). Assessment is performed in four phases, including goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation. Two main approaches are available to classify and characterise environmental impacts. The first is the problem-oriented approach (mid-point). The second is the damage-oriented approach (end-point). A great number of methods have been developed under these two approaches such as the critical volumes (weighted load) and ecological scarcity (eco-points) systems in Switzerland, environmental priorities system in Sweden, eco-indicator 99 in Netherlands and the environmental problems system in the United States. The use of such methods makes it possible to select building systems and materials that achieve the most appropriate balance between environmental and economic performance based on certain values of the building team. Case study: assessing eco-efficiency of cladding systems in Bahrain The current assessment, based on the LCA of residential buildings (Radhi and Sharples, 2012), is performed to characterise the eco-efficiency of cladding systems in Bahrain. Bahrain is chosen as many of its building construction approaches and techniques are typical of those found in the GCCC. The production, construction, use and disposal of a 75 m2 front facade of a typical Bahraini house (Fig. 24.1), formed the basis of this assessment. Technically, the building facade consisted of two main components that included the wall system and cladding layers. The wall system is generally classified as cavity wall, barrier wall or mass wall (National Institute of Building Sciences, 2012). The cavity wall (sometimes called the screen wall system) is the preferred method of construction in many climatic regions due primarily to its ability to achieve pressure-equalisation. The barrier wall is an exterior wall system of assembly. The principal difference of this system is its ability to integ rate the surfaces of outermost exterior wall and construction joints, which can offer resistance to bulk moisture ingress. The mass wall relies principally upon a combination of wall thickness and storage capacity. Some fundamental differences exist among these systems such as the thermal performance, fire safety, moisture protection, acoustics, maintainability and material durability, and so consequently their impact on the environment. In terms of cladding, it is the exterior finish layer that is installed to cover wall systems and/or support structures. This finish layer serves several functions, including improving appearance, optimising thermal and environmental performance and keeping undesirable outdoor elements away. Today cladding systems are available in many forms and materials, which are often chosen based on economic and aesthetic factors. Structurally, the use of any alternatives of cladding determines the type of wall system and vice versa. The mass wall system, for example, can form structural elements or finished cladding systems. This system is commonly associated with plaster and masonry cladding systems. On the other hand, the barrier wall is used with precast concrete spandrel panels and some types of metal cladding systems such as composite and solid metal plate as well as with exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS). With the advance in building technology and construction materials, many alternatives of cladding systems are now available in the market. Examples are studied in the current work, namely, stucco, masonry veneer, marble, ceramic tile and the EIFS. Stucco is a hard, dense, thick and non-insulating material, such as cement plaster, that can be used to cover exterior wall surfaces. Both Portland cement and masonry cement are used with sand for the base and finish coats of stucco exterior walls. Unlike the ordinary stucco system, the EIFS (also known as synthetic stucco) is a lightweight synthetic wall cladding that includes foam plastic insulation and thin synthetic coatings. The masonry veneer is made from a mixture of Portland cement and aggregates under controlled conditions. It provides cladding and resists transferring wind and heat loads to the building support structure. The marble cladding system is a natural stone, while the ceramic tile cladding system consists of a mixture of clay and other ceramic materials. To improve environmental and thermal performance, recycled windshield glass is often added to the ceramic mix (Brookes and Meijs, 2008). These five cladding systems are assessed under real construction and thermal scenarios with the same wall system (mass wall), as illustrated in Fig. 24.2. To provide each scenario with the basic systems quantities per functional unit, the existing facade parameters and wall materials of the typical house are considered as a reference scenario, in addition to the operational aspects that are influenced by the building facade. Data inventory of cladding systems The LCA method and LCC technique are integrated to deliver a complete and detailed assessment of the overall potential impact of the typical house. An important point to note is that system and material selection based on a single impact could obscure other factors that might cause equal or greater damage. Therefore, the adopted LCA methodology takes a multidimensional life-cycle approach, in which multiple environmental impacts are considered over the entire life of the assessed cladding systems. To balance the assessment, the LCC is performed over a 60 year life span, and is based on published data and methods outlined in (Radhi 2010). Categories of expenditure typically include costs for purchase, installation, maintenance, repair and replacement. Measuring the economic performance is relatively straightforward by using real cost data collected through a field study. The data in question are the real cost data that occur and the subsequent cost, which will occur in the future. Normalisation is carried out in this work in order to present a more useful scale of measurement and to make comparisons of various systems simpler. Normalisation is an optional step in impact assessment and can be described as a form of benchmarking, where the flows of each environmental impact are first summed and then divided by fixed Bahraini scale impact values. This can yield measures that are placed in the context of Bahraini activity contributing to that impact. The placing of each measure in the context of its associated Bahraini impact measure makes it possible to reduce different values to the same scale and allows the comparison across impacts. The resulting performance measures are, thus, expressed in non-commensurate units. For credibility, the commercially available BEES model (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2007) for building construction materials coupled with the international inventory data (Hammond Jones, 2011) were used to compare and check. The BEES model is generally used to measure the environmental and energy performance of building products and facade materials using the life cycle assessment approach outlined in ISO standard 14040. Environmental impact assessment Given the desire to link environmental and economic performance through the concept of eco-efficiency, the ideal way is to base the eco-efficiency indicators on international agreement as far as possible. According to the framework of the United Nations (2006), the assessment of eco-efficiency includes various generic environmental issues such as energy use, global warming contribution, water use, ozone depletion substance and waste. From these indicators, energy consumption and CO2 emissions, water use and ecological toxicity are of the greatest relevance for this study. Fig. 24.3 compares these indicators with respect to the five studied cladding systems. Some of these systems, such as the marble cladding, have significant impacts on water use but moderate impacts on global warming and embodied energy. Other systems, such as stucco, have a significant impact on both the energy consumption and global warming but a minor impact on water use. The others, such as the EIFS, have a minor impact on different generic environmental issues. From the illustration, the EIFS system seems to be the best performer, followed by the ceramic tiles, marble and finally the brick. Stucco is found to be the least effective system in terms of energy consumption and ecological toxicity as well as in relation to CO2 emissions. This can be related to the large amounts of CO2 emissions during cement production, which is the main component of the plaster cladding system. Environmental versus economic When the overall environmental impact of the examined systems is considered, a different scenario occurs. The overall environmental performance is illustrated in Fig. 24.4. Two main observations can be highlighted: firstly, the overall environmental performance ranking of the five systems is different from single measures such energy use and global warming. The EIFS cladding system is the best environmental performer, whilst the ceramic tile system is the worst performer. The difference is more than 24 points. As systems with lower scores are greener, the EIFS cladding system is greener because it contributes, on average, 0.1% of annual per capita Bahrain environmental impacts, whilst the marble contributes a larger share, 0.35%. Secondly, the environmental performance ranking is different from that of the economic performance. The illustration shows that the economic impacts of cladding systems are various and different from the environmental impacts. For example, the stucco claddin g is illustrated as the best economic performer, but it is not in terms of the environmental performance. The difference in score is significant, being almost 11 points. This can be also seen in the case of the ceramic tile cladding. In contrast, the marble cladding achieves a high overall environmental performance and a low economic performance with a difference that reaches almost 21%. The EIFS cladding seems to have a balanced environmental and economic status. The same ranking occurs when both environmental and economic performance are estimated. By using the multi-attribute decision analysis technique, environmental indicators and the economic performance are combined into an overall performance measure (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2007). It is important to mention that the overall performance scores in this work are not indications of absolute performance. Rather, they are reflecting proportional differences in performance and representing relative performance among system alternatives. By following this procedure, these scores can be changed when the number of system alternatives are increased or reduced. The potential overall performance of the studied systems shows different scenarios when compared with the environmental and economic performances. The stucco cladding seems to be the most eco-efficient systems in spite of its poor environmental performance, followed by the EFIS system with a score of 29%, with the masonry veneer coming next. In contrast, the ceramic tile cladding is found to be the wor st with almost 50%, in spite of its moderate economic performance. Overall, different cladding systems have different environmental and economic performances. Some cladding materials improve the environmental performance, but provide a moderate influence in terms of economic performance, and vice versa. Others positively improve the environmental performance and can optimise the economic performance. Therefore, a careful eco-efficiency assessment should be undertaken in selecting wall cladding systems. Such an assessment can benefit the appraisal of green cladding systems and hence into the design decisions made in developing various scale of green buildings. Conclusion Todays modern buildings systems, particularly cladding system, are often selected and assessed based on aesthetics and cost rather than their environmental performance or their overall potential impact. The concept of eco-efficiency introduced in this book balances the environmental performance with economic aspects. This chapter presented a systematic eco-efficiency assessment of cladding systems and explored its role progressing a green future in the building sector. The interrelation between environmental indicators and economic performance was examined by comparing various cladding systems, considering both overall environmental impact indicators and life cycle cost. The differences in environmental indicators of various cladding systems, namely, stucco, masonry veneer, marble, ceramic tile and the EIFS systems, are generally significant. The ranking of these systems in terms of environmental and economic performance are different. Some of the cladding systems, such as the marble cladding, reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, but provide a minor reduction in terms of the life cycle cost, and vice versa. Others, such as the EFIS system, impact positively upon the environmental indicators and can optimise the overall potential impact. This system has the ability to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions; however, other aspects, such as maintenance and life expectancy, should be considered at the time of system selection. The scope of the current study focused on the eco-efficiency of representative residential cladding system in a developing country. Consequently, the outcome of this assessment may not be applied to buildings in countries with different economic and environmental situation. In spite of this shortcoming, this assessment approach may provide useful quantitative and qualitative information for cladding design decisions. Therefore, it is important to highlight some general notes: New green building technologies, such as the exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS), are effective cladding systems in promoting a green future in the residential building sector. To improve the overall potential impact, wall cladding systems in desert climate regions, such as Bahrain, can be designed as exterior insulation and finish systems. Every building is unique in both design and operation. Academic experts and practitioners benefiting from this work should consider the impact of related variables, and therefore a careful assessment must be performed during the selection process in order to achieve eco-efficiency in the building sector. In addition to its ability to assess building cladding systems, the eco-efficiency concept can be used with various other systems, materials and innovative applications. It can yield a precise assessment in the case of multifunctional problems in relatively short times and at relatively low cost. In the near future the concept of eco-efficiency will become more important in the context of the green built environment in order to show which design process, building systems and renewable technologies are more favourable than other alternatives.

Antigone :: essays research papers

Antigone is a play written by Sophocles that became a classic due to its controversial content. In this play, the Greek dramatist reflected mainly on Civil Disobedience. Antigone believes in the individual rights over the state rights. Creon, however, strongly believes in putting state over religion. The play does not only revolve on the political and religious issue, but also deals with the battle of the sexes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The play is about a strong-willed woman defying the laws of a proud king. Antigone is torn between her devotion to the gods and her loyalty to the king. Creon, ruler of Thebes, issued the order to leave the traitor Polynices’ body â€Å" to be left unburied, his corpse carrion for the birds and dogs to tear, an obscenity for the citizens to behold!† Antigone was not about to simply obey this absurd decree. She felt that her personal responsibility lies to the gods and her family rather than the king. She then asked Ismene, her sister, to assist her with the burial, but was denied of any help. She was disappointed at first, but later on decided that she will do this with or without Ismene’s help. Creon was warned about this and later found the culprit. He issued the death sentence for Antigone’s action. Creon informed his son, Haemon, of his fiancee’s deceit. Haemon, however, defended his beloved. He told his father that the whole city was on her side, but were afraid to say anything. He was instead accused of â€Å"being a woman’s accomplice†, â€Å"fighting on her side, the woman’s side.† Creon continued to threaten him with witnessing the execution of Antione. She was to â€Å"die, now here, in front of his eyes, beside her groom!† Haemon countered him with a threat of his own that he will never set eyes on him again if he continues this violence. Crion was apalled with his son. For that, Antigone was to die a very agonizing death. she was to be taken â€Å"down to some wild desolate path never trod by men, and wall her up alive in a rocky vault, and set out short rations, just the measure piety demands†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The prophet Tiresias warned Crion of the consequences if he does not release Antigone soon. He told him of his dreams that he would lose the people he loves if he continues to be stubborn and stupid. Creon admitted that the prophesies troubled him greatly.

Lady of the Manor Essay -- essays research papers

Andrew Pickett  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  May 31st 2002 Macbeth Ruthless Essay  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Period 2 and 3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be ruthless is to act with malice regardless of the consequences. In the first two acts of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is clearly more ruthless than Macbeth himself. While when both characters are faced with the idea of murdering Duncan they appear equally as ruthless, it becomes clear as the scenes progress that ultimately, Lady Macbeth is the more ruthless of the two.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lady Macbeth and Macbeth appear equally as ruthless when faced with the idea of murdering Duncan. In an aside to himself Macbeth exclaims, â€Å"The Prince of Cumberland! This is a step on which I must fall down or else o’er leap, for in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.† (1.4.55-59) When Macbeth learns of his new position his mind almost immediately thinks of what is now standing between him and the throne. His ruthless nature takes charge almost instantly as his mind turns toward murdering Duncan to secure the throne. Lady Macbeth’s ruthless nature also takes charge almost immediately after she learns of Macbeth’s new title. â€Å"†¦unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.† (1.5.48-50) Lady Macbeth calls on the spirits to strip her of her womanhood and fill her with cruelty and evil. With these new qualities she believes she will be able to take charge and through with the plan to murder Duncan. She is clearly passionate about securing the thrown for her husband, Macbeth. Both Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s ruthless personalities clearly take charge when they consider murdering Duncan. However as the time of the murder draws closer, Lady Macbeth’s ruthlessness will surpass that of Macbeth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prior to the murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth is clearly more ruthless than Macbeth. In the last scene of the first... ...hat fears the painted devil.† Lady Macbeth offers no emotion or compassion for Macbeth and the murder he has committed. She even proceeds to call him childish for being sensitive to the fact that he just murdered. Lady Macbeth is undoubtedly more ruthless as she is cold to Macbeth and his feelings and only looks ahead to covering up the task. Her cruel, malice nature is most evident as she will not even comfort her husband when he is most panicked.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is clear that Lady Macbeth is more ruthless than Macbeth in the first two acts of the play. In the beginning, it appears that both characters are equally as ruthless, yet as the story progresses the true evil nature of Lady Macbeth is revealed. Her coldhearted ruthlessness is far beyond that of Macbeth both before and after the murder of Duncan. Lady Macbeth’s ruthless personality clearly overpowers all the good in Macbeth creating an evil pair that will stop at nothing to achieve the throne.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lady of the Manor Essay -- essays research papers Andrew Pickett  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  May 31st 2002 Macbeth Ruthless Essay  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Period 2 and 3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be ruthless is to act with malice regardless of the consequences. In the first two acts of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is clearly more ruthless than Macbeth himself. While when both characters are faced with the idea of murdering Duncan they appear equally as ruthless, it becomes clear as the scenes progress that ultimately, Lady Macbeth is the more ruthless of the two.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lady Macbeth and Macbeth appear equally as ruthless when faced with the idea of murdering Duncan. In an aside to himself Macbeth exclaims, â€Å"The Prince of Cumberland! This is a step on which I must fall down or else o’er leap, for in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.† (1.4.55-59) When Macbeth learns of his new position his mind almost immediately thinks of what is now standing between him and the throne. His ruthless nature takes charge almost instantly as his mind turns toward murdering Duncan to secure the throne. Lady Macbeth’s ruthless nature also takes charge almost immediately after she learns of Macbeth’s new title. â€Å"†¦unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.† (1.5.48-50) Lady Macbeth calls on the spirits to strip her of her womanhood and fill her with cruelty and evil. With these new qualities she believes she will be able to take charge and through with the plan to murder Duncan. She is clearly passionate about securing the thrown for her husband, Macbeth. Both Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s ruthless personalities clearly take charge when they consider murdering Duncan. However as the time of the murder draws closer, Lady Macbeth’s ruthlessness will surpass that of Macbeth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prior to the murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth is clearly more ruthless than Macbeth. In the last scene of the first... ...hat fears the painted devil.† Lady Macbeth offers no emotion or compassion for Macbeth and the murder he has committed. She even proceeds to call him childish for being sensitive to the fact that he just murdered. Lady Macbeth is undoubtedly more ruthless as she is cold to Macbeth and his feelings and only looks ahead to covering up the task. Her cruel, malice nature is most evident as she will not even comfort her husband when he is most panicked.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is clear that Lady Macbeth is more ruthless than Macbeth in the first two acts of the play. In the beginning, it appears that both characters are equally as ruthless, yet as the story progresses the true evil nature of Lady Macbeth is revealed. Her coldhearted ruthlessness is far beyond that of Macbeth both before and after the murder of Duncan. Lady Macbeth’s ruthless personality clearly overpowers all the good in Macbeth creating an evil pair that will stop at nothing to achieve the throne.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

How to manage the SMART targets in your career plan. Essay

To complete Business course with DDD by the end of the year. I will do this by attending classes, doing tutorials, turning up to one to ones and studying the course work book at home. I will also aim to hand everything in on time and meet all my deadlines in order to stay on top of the work. In order to get a DDD by the end of the year I must get Merits in all my subjects, if I get a one pass for a unit then I must get a distinction in another unit in order to level it out. Select an appropriate course at a reputable University. I will do this by going to open days and logging on to the universities individual websites where there are usually options to do a virtual tour. In order to go to a university that will offer me good teaching in the area of graphic design I will have to look at a graphic design university leader board in order to see who offers the best learning. I must also speak to graphic design students at different universities to see their opinion on what the teaching is like and how good the facilities are. Apply for university before December. I will apply to university before December by making sure I have written up my first draft of my personal statement early to give my tutor enough time to give back amendments and for me to improve it. I will also look on the internet to find good examples of personal statements and guides on how to write them. Find cheap student accommodation. I will find cheap student accommodation by first selecting the university that I wish to study at and then asking at their help desk for some leaflets about the surrounding places I can live at as a student. I could also check the university’s website for links to student accommodation or details on the site about living in the halls of university. I will try to get the cheapest deal I can whilst not compromising on quality by looking through a lot of student apartments. Complete university course with 2:1 by 2014. I will attempt to complete my university course with 2:1 by purchasing the correct equipment before going to university. This will be a laptop that can stand high end applications and will help me be more efficient in completing assignments because my computer can cope with the programs needed for graphic design. I will also purchase books that will prepare me well for the course; these will be details about HTML coding and guides on how to use Adobe products that will be used in university. I will study hard by attending as many lectures as possible and taking notes on the subject, I will then take this theory into practice into the workshops provided by the university. I will keep on top of the assignments from day one in order to keep on top of my work and in control.

Analysis on Personal Philosophy

As defined by Webster†s Dictionary, a teacher is â€Å"one who instructs, directs, and disciplines other individuals.† This definition is correct, however, teaching encompasses much more. A teacher is an integral part of the learning process of a child. A teacher also aids the child in personal growth and life development. Teaching has always been my lifetime desire. I look forward with great anticipation to the day when I teach my own class. This will give me the opportunity to instill in the children a thirst for knowledge. This is also a chance for me to make the children realize their unique potential for greatness and open their eyes to the beautiful world around them. Before getting involved in my formal education classes and field experiences in Elementary Education at Pennsylvania State University, I thought being an educator involved teaching the students basic skills, assigning homework, and testing their knowledge. I soon found out that this monotonous routine does not maximize student interest and learning. Through my valuable student teaching experience, I have come to identify with a teaching paradigm known as Inquiry learning. In this particular paradigm, knowledge is viewed as functional and pleasurable. Children learn from the questions they pose. Key skills are learned in context and focus on child interest rather than artificial and made-up. This type of education concentrates on student interest. Children are focused and on-task because they are directly involved in their own learning. The Inquiry Paradigm also allows for numerous hands-on learning experiences. Another aspect of Inquiry learning is that the teacher is viewed as a â€Å"partner along the journey† instead of â€Å"Supreme Being†. I firmly believe that a teacher should treat her students as partners on a journey. This allows students to feel independent and responsible for their own learning.

Nandos

Nandos ________________________________________________________ Nando’s, is a well-known fast food restaurant which was found in 1987 in South Africa. Nando’s is specializing in chicken, especially its unique Mozambican-Portuguese style of Peri-Peri Flamed Grilled Chicken. Nando’s opened its first international strore 12 years ago and the Nando’s Peri-Peri trail has blazed from South Africa across the seas to other 22 countries, comprising 400 stores worldwide. The signature menu item at Nando’s is a Portuguese specialty, Peri-Peri chicken which has a truly unique taste. Delicious alternatives and additions to Peri-Peri chicken include chicken breast burgers and pitas, prego steak rolls, vegetarian and bean burgers, chicken livers etc. Businesses today face three major challenges and opportunities which of course, as an international company, Nando’s is also facing the same challenges which bring opportunity to the business: Globalization, Technological Advancement and Outsourcing. Further details will be discussed in the following. Globalization, Technological Advancement and Outsoucing _______________________________________________________ Globalization is the growing integration of economies and societies around the world and legal system. That make people around the globe are more connected to each other than ever before. At a business level, we talk globalization when companies decide to take part in the emerging global economy and establish themselves in foreign market. Globalization means a company will adapt their products or services to the final user’s linguistic and cultural requirement. Then, take the advantage of the internet revolution and establish a virtual presence on the international marketplace with a multilingual corporate website or even as an e-business. Nando’s first created in South Africa and had a fast development overseas. Nando’s has decided to go to an international market. Different stages in term of globalization are possible. Nando’s has acquired overseas outlets and branches. Nando comprises 400 stores worldwide with 176 stores in South Africa and the rest in international markets. It plan to have rolled out excess of 600 quick service restaurants to world wide within 3 years serving peri-peri marinated, flame grill chicken and associated food items under the Nando’s brand name. In our opinion, globalization of Nando’s brings the greatest opportunities for higher economic growth and better living standards that more openness bring, policymakers to international, national and local. Chief executive Robbie Brozin had anticipated the fast food chain to introduce Nando’s unique flamed-grilled chicken to world wide. Nowadays, Nando’s already establish many restaurants in Asian like Singapore and`Malaysia. To define the models of strategy used, the four P components of the Marketing Mix will help us understand nando’s view. Nando’s needs have a big promotion for their products to create a successful global brand. The first promotion of their product is advertised their grill-chicken by using the poster method. They provide four-different color chicken and create a slogan for their brand â€Å"We’re all the same on the inside, Pauline†. Then it used a radio advertisement featuring a soon-to-be-grilled chicken parodying a recording made by Hanson. A vital part of low cost marketing strategy is to be flexible and topical and grab channel as soon as they arise to influence out of the publicity. Nowadays, Nando’s also create a website to introduce their tradition proteges food to world wide. Consumers can also download Nando’s peri-peri chicken recipes if they are interest to it. In Malaysia, the most attractive promotion is the Nando’s have classified their peri-peri chicken to four flavors, that is lemon-herb, mild peri-peri, hot peri-peri, extra hot peri-peri. These promotion is aim to attract the people who interest to challenge for the level of spicy of Nando’s peri-peri chicken with their spicy chilly sauce. Beside the well-known of the brand, its products are well-positioned for international growth because of the healthier image of grill chicken. The famous food of the Nando’s is their peri-peri chicken. The chicken are butterfly-cut and marinated for 24 hours before they are flame-grilled to succulent perfection and are basted with your choice of peri-peri flavour when order are taken. Nando’s are not change the recipe to prepare the peri-peri chiken while the peri-peri chicken is introduce to different countries because they want the consumer to enjoy a traditional Afro-Portugnese styled eating experi-perience and knowing the culture of their food at Nando’s. They are also ensuring that the ingredients to prepare the chicken are positive effect on life. For an example, the well known Nando’s peri-peri chicken has a high content of vitamin C and their peri-peri chicken release endorphins. By the way, they are only using A-grade chickens, which are trimmed of any excess fat before cooking. Thereafter, the chicken is flame-grilled on custom designed grills, which burn away most of the remaining fat. This means that Nando’s chickens are low in fat and cholesterol. The results of recent nutritional research have confirmed that Nando’s has a lot to crow about when it comes to health. However, comparing to its competitors, Nando’s has the advantages to provide a better quality and speed. As explained by Hume, they want to be the best, not the biggest. They found a niche market where they can develop their product. Nando’s not only recognize their food to the global, they are also promise that the Nando’s experience is universal. They ensure that consumers will find the same warm friendly service delicious chicken and a relaxed informal atmosphere when they walk in anyone of Nando’s restaurant. Beside that, Nando’s also want kids to share in the Nando’s experience, so they have special non-spicy flavour especially for children. They are intended that everyone can enjoy wonderful food and service in the restaurant In order to achieve globalization and challenge with the international competitors, Nando’s have to set their own price for each product. So, Nando’s have five options to review pricing strategy. First, adopt a ‘bugger them’ attitude and keep your prices as they are. Second, slash your prices to undercut the undercutters. This two option could find yourself in the bankruptcy court. Third, adjust your prices downward to meet those of the competition. Forth, increase your prices and target a niche market. Select options three and four and need the financial clout to outlast the competition. The best bet is option five that is cut costs to lower your prices and add value to customer service. It involves using resources (human and material) more efficiently. It may involve restructuring organization from top to bottom. It will certainly involve developing a customer service culture. Nando’s will choose their restaurants located in the high population location. This restaurant is under franchise whereby, this restaurant can find it in certain place. Normally, we can easily find it in Midvalley, KLCC, 1-Utama. As a consumer, the cheap and better food is a first choice to them. It can not be denied that this restaurant is very convenient to consumer because after shopping, and then can enjoy this famous restaurant. The alternatively is this restaurant is very suitable for those people who are run out this means for the working people, this kind of people only 1 hour to enjoy their lunch, therefore, this restaurant is the better choice for them, because, the restaurant has this concept ‘ fast, cheap, near, convenient, best services, fair’. This concept really attack attention for this kind of people. If we discuss the convenient place which the restaurant is located? The question wants to ask that, what the ordinary people are regards as the convenient place. It can not be denied that everyone can but car, bus, taxi, LRT, to the nearest shop which the restaurant. The especially go through by LRT it is most convenient for people whatever go to certain destination. Therefore, due to this convenient of the traffic, the indirectly can promote he restaurant to people about the special food, special services and so on. The indirectly the special rest6aurant will also one of the food in this restaurant because of the convenient which to improve the business of the restaurant. Therefore, the convenient place is very important point. As we know that the changes foreseen over the next decade or two will be more comprehensive and have a higher degree of impart on every aspect of our lives than has ever been witnessed. Technology is advancing exponentially and the rate of advancement is accelerating; it is impossible to throttle back innovation and technological advancement. We need to approach policy decisions with a new predictive model that is built upon fact-based assessments. However, technology also provides the capabilities for countries to defend themselves- thus creating some degree of security. When we look at the rate of technological advancement or progress, we can see as time passes the technologically advanced and technologically disadvantaged to increase. Thus, a very good example is Nando’s UK. Nando’s UK is different to the other Nando’s chains world-wide in that its 70 odd stores are not franchises but directly owned and managed. Nando’s UK started with a range of line-of-business applications and separate Web-enabled solutions, all requiring professional developers to update. Basic changes required HTML and other development skills. This process made timely posting of content more difficult than it should have been, and the Intranet was not being used as effectively as it should have been as an internal marketing, communication and management platform. The solution had to have a single point of call, be easy to update, expandable, secure, utilizing the current structure with the ability to evolve, and be scalable. Nando’s IT department had built an earlier Intranet solution in-house. This experience had taught them the importance of security and authentication of users together with flexible user management within an expandable navigational structure. They also thoroughly understood all of the technical issues and problems and realized that the solution to these issues had to be esigned into the system at a fundamental level. When they went to market for a solution they knew how difficult and expensive it would be to develop an in-house solution and that there was no point in reinventing the wheel if there was a flexible system already in existence that could meet their requirements or could easily be adapted. High on their priority list was a solution that had already solved the problems of security, authentication, and int erfacing with third party applications allowing consistent branding. In addition they wanted a system that did away with the need for HTML staff to update content and allowed them to target these skills on enhancements. Non-technical users needed an easy-to-use application that would allow them to create and publish, directly to the site in a matter of minutes. In addition, the solution needed to be flexible and extendible so it could dynamically evolve to reflect changes within the company. Nando’s UK identified other requirements as the project evolved which ActiveWeb was flexible enough to address to produce a value for money solution to meet their needs. Furthermore, ActiveWeb responded to this brief enthusiastically and with a commitment which impressed Nando’s staff. For example, the project management had the technology expertise to instinctively understand what Nando’s wanted to achieve and how it could be achieved using ActiveWeb CMS. They had already solved the problem of ease of use security branding and expandability. Besides that, the ActiveWeb CMS solution empowered Nando’s content contributors to take control of their own content and take a far more proactive role in terms of prompting their individual areas. Moreover, the ActiveWeb cms is a NET development which ensures Nando’s has invested in a future [proof technology solution which can be integrated with back office systems, when required, with the Intranet and Extranet. Outsourcing is purchasing a significant percentage of intermediate components from outside suppliers. Furthermore, this also refers to a company buying services from another firm. For example, if company X is outsourcing its e-commerce services, it means that it is relying on another company to do this job rather than doing it internally with its own employees and resources. Many companies, like IBM, outsource much of their production to Taiwanese firms. In addition, outsourcing is the transference to third-parties, the performance of functions once administered in-house. Outsourcing is really two types of service: ITO – IT Outsourcing, involves a third party who is contracted to manage a particular application, including all related servers, networks, and software upgrades. BPO – Business Process Outsourcing features a third party who manages the entire business process, such as accounting, procurement, or human resources. In this case, Nando’s has taken Portuguese food to the world. For decades during the twentieth century, tens of thousands of people emigrated from Portugal, some to search for better lives, others to escape desperate poverty. And with them went much of Portugal’s entrepreneurial spirit. Initially, the migrants were fleeing a military dictatorship which governed the country for almost half the century: Under the rule of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, wealth was greatly concentrated in the hands of a small upper class, leaving the rest of the population without the spare cash or opportunity to ever consider large scale business propositions. After the military leaders were toppled in 1974, ending 48 years of dictatorship-ideas about profits and free enterprise were further curbed for years by the country’s left-wing rules. But now the entrepreneurs are back, as symbolized by the rapid rise of the popular Nando’s chain of spicy chicken restaurants-â€Å"official taste of Portugal 2004†. ________________________________________________________ From the opportunities offer, Nando’s has now operated in the fiercely competitive international markets for years. It has stood the test of time and today it is an international high-street brand trading successfully in many different international countries with equally diverse cultures and customer needs. The Nando’s culture and chosen empowerment style has proven to be particularly suitable in adapting to this global expansion path.

Cross Culture Analysis

(A) Critical review of cross-cultural models (1)Introduction Culture has played an important role in the evolution of humans enabling them to adapt the environment to their own needs instead of depending solely on natural selection to achieve success in all walks of life. Culture typically is made of customs, ideas beliefs, customs, codes, techniques, tools, taboos, symbols, rituals and ceremonies. Every society has created its own culture which is unique to its society. Culture is characterised mainly of three components which are explained as below: Values – Ideas which are considered important in life can be termed as values. Norms – Different people behave differently in various situations. Norms can be understood as the expectations of how people react to these situations. Artefacts  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Artefacts are manufactured by men who reflect the culture’s values and norms. (2) Cross- cultural Analysis In 19th century, renowned anthropologists Edward Burnett Tylor and Lewis H Morgan have performed first cross-cultural analysis. Both Anthropology and Social Anthropology have made significant progress from the stages of Victorian England’s lower savagery to civilization. The concept of culture can be understood as a response against to those Western concepts and according to the anthropologists, culture is embedded in human nature. All people irrespective of the location and regions have the ability to categorise experiences, understand them by decoding using symbols and communication effectively. Several fields such as Sociology, Psychology, Communication and Anthropology have contributed to the creation of main theories of cross cultural communication. These theories are primarily based on the value differences among several cultures that are spread all over the world. Some of the important researchers who contributed to this field include Fons Trompenaars, Edward T. Hall, Shalom Schwartz, Geert Hofstede Edward Burnett Tylor and Lewis H Morgan and Clifford Geertz. (3) Aims of cross-cultural analysis The main aim of cross cultural communication is to understand the responses of different people from varied cultural backgrounds in different situations. Some guidelines are produced to decipher these differences and help them to better communicate with one another. According to Alvesson, M. (1993),  Cultural Perspectives on Organisations, 1992, Members of a group who share a particular culture can be understood and interpreted using some functions. The group can be of different sizes. It can be a small group in a village, or as big as a continent. Though the responses of the members of these groups can be understood as a whole depending on their culture, it further depends on the individual’s personality. The expressions of culture-resultant response can also depend on their own experience from life and the upbringing of that particular individual. The aims of cross cultural analysis are to harness the utilitarian function of culture as a means for human adaptation and better communication. Cross-cultural management can be understood as a subset of International management focusing on cultural clashes. The conflicts and miscommunication leads to differences in the cultures and cross cultural management aims to develop tools to understand and handle them. (4) Hofstede and his 5 dimensions Hofstede conducted investigations across the world to understand and analyse work-related attitudes in different regions. These studies have resulted in identifying five dimensions. These dimensions are masculinity-femininity, power distance, individualism-collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and long term vs. short term orientation. Social psychology between and within many cultures are being investigated actively in many respects and has acquired its own momentum over a long period of time. According to (Draguns, Lee & McCauley, 1999) comparisons with in the cross cultures can be made with the help of personality variables within that culture. As opposed to this, dimensions can also be derived in multicultural research projects can be used to study the relevance and the proximity to their home culture. In order to elucidate the conceptual nature of the cultural dimensions, Hofstede made various efforts to elaborate the contrast between the individualists as well the collectivist cultures. As this is not the only source of difference, several other Researchers such as Draguns, Lee & McCauley, 1999 also carried out studies on individualist cultures where the individuals are not tightly connected. They found that the priority lies ith looking after themselves or any other members of the immediate family. These individuals have different goals and aspirations that might not be in line with the values and norms of the entire group. However when there is a conflict of ideas, in individual societies they put their personal goals first by feeling autonomous. I n this type of social framework, the focus is on achieving personal goa ls. Such individuals are loosely attached to each other and if needed they can easily detach themselves from the rest of the group. They can also sever relations quite easily with their norms, partners and religion. However in collectivist societies, the most important factor is the group and there is a sense among the group members for solidarity and shared activities. According to (Goodwin, 1999) these kind of groups dominates in general as the obligations and duties of the individuals are not important when compared to that of the group. On the flip side, the collectivist societies are keener to protect the interests of the members of the group. They are not very concerned and may not necessarily help those members who are outside their group. The boundaries of the group are strong and explicit and they develop group egoism. Though it is costs, the individuals of the members contribute more especially in the personal events such as marriage and other links with the families with in the group. They do not behave like mere individuals. One of the other dimensions of Hofstede’s dimensions, power distance, is also widely discussed in the cross cultural studies. It represents the members of the society that agree to the inequalities in the power distribution among various members of the group. It may be in the organisations or institutions in which the degree of respect given those people who occupy superior positions. According to Deal T. and Kennedy, A. A. (1982),  Corporate Cultures, the acceptance to power inequality depends of the high distance and los distance societies. In High distance societies, they see power as the basis need of the group where as in low distance societies, they believe that power can only be used when it is legitimate. The next dimension of Hofstede’s model is Masculinity vs. Femininity. According to him, factors such as heroism, material success, assertiveness as preference for achievement are considered as masculine. Other factors such as caring for the poor and downtrodden, modesty, relationships, and the quality of life are considered subdued and feminine. The differentiation is based on the sex of that individual as the relationship between the Masculinity and femininity concerns about the relative emphasis and interpersonal harmony. While feminine culture gives preference to quality of life, warm personal relationships and fluid sex roles, the masculine cultures success, a sense of performance and competition and being brave. The fourth dimension, uncertainty avoidance, lays emphasis on the extent in which the members of a particular culture respond to the unknown situations or uncertain events. The cultures where the uncertainty avoidance is low are very curious whereas the cultures where the uncertainty avoidance is high are more dangerous. Uncertainty avoidance generally refers to the planning and the method of dealing with the unknown events in life and those with high uncertainty avoidance generally have a strong desire for mutual consensus. Any behaviour other than this is not acceptable in that group or society. The final dimension is long vs. short term orientation. The focus is mainly on the time horizon of the society. The orientation in this dimension of the study is to determine the importance that is being given to the future when compared to the previous history of that nation or society than the present state. In this dimension issues such as persistence and others are resolved by applying the orientation framework. Hofstede’s diverse studies of various cultures have provided the necessary inputs to understand the similarities or differences of cross cultures. (4. 1) Limitations of Hofstede’s model: Though Hofstede made several studies to identify the cross cultural similarities and differences, there are some limitations in this model. The primary limitation is the limited use of samples. The samples with Hofstede conducted the study is not applicable to the all the nations and therefore the results cannot be generalised to all the nations. The findings are generally based on the culture of the nation at a certain time which may be different from the result of the same nation at a different time. Another limitation to his model is the negative feedback of the participants. Some people are happy to cooperate with the study but some people may get offended by it (Barrick, Ryan & Schmitt, 2003). Another limitation is the importance of the study to their organisation or the country they live in. Another limitation is to create changes not all people would like to agree. More often than not, majority of the people cannot accept abrupt change in a short period of time. (5) Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner model: To explain the national cultural differences in an organisation, in 1998, popular management consultants Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner developed a model named ‘Seven Dimensions of Culture’. They tried to explain the differences in a heterogeneous business environment and the challenges faced by the global managers in managing them. Their study is primarily based on the responses of several respondents on a given dilemma. The dilemmas are contrasting in nature and this method is used by them over ten long years to observe the responses of various individuals on these dilemmas which will be used to interpret the basic attitudes and values of the individuals. This method is characterised by developing seven different processes which are formulated into dilemmas. By preferring one side of the dilemma, the individuals from one culture differentiate themselves from the rest of the others. According to Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, these responses provided them a tool to analyse how national cultures differ from one another and how culture can be measured. They also suggested that the differences in cultures play a major role in achieving success globally and observed that reconciling these differences can lead to competitive advantage in the increasingly competitive global business environment. (5. ) Limitations of this model: * Failure in recognising the impact of personal characteristics on one’s behaviour. * Though this model differentiated between several cultures, it failed to suggest any recommendations on how to work with specific cultures. * The dilemmas that are developed by Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner may not satisfy that it will cover all the aspects of cross cultural studies. * Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner suggested th at the organisations must acknowledge the similarities and differences between the cultures that they operate in. However, other authors such as Ohmae (Borderless world) and Levitt (Globalisation of Markets) argue that national borders are diminishing day by day and emphasised on the need to look at the world as one big global market instead of viewing it as different countries that are made up of different cultures. (B) National Management Styles: Analysis and Personal experience. The ideas about the national management style over the past four decades have been dominated primarily by two nations. First by the American management model then followed by the Japanese. National cultural heritage was thought to be the primary reason for a particular management style. Having that as an underlying assumption, claims have been made that the management style is highly influenced by the cultural force of a country. Do the Japanese in general manage their organisations differently from Americans? This lead to evolution of two main standpoints which are called as culture-free and the culture-contingent position (Child/Kieser, 1997 and Osterloh, 1994). According to the culture-free position, the management style reflects the deeper understanding of industrialism producing essentials of technological and economic nature. The management style of firms over the personnel does not depend too much on the nation’s cultural values but more dependent on the technology, size and the industry environment of the organisation. According to Barrett, E. (1992),  The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Corporate Culture Analogy, the competition among the organisations in a business environment need conditions which support the management style. As we all know that those firms which compete on innovation use a more participative and professional management style when compared to the management style of those companies which are traditionally mass producers of plastic toys, screws or hamburgers. This can be observed across various nations all over the world. Likewise, the cultural settings do not seem to have much impact on the management of fast food chains. The contrasting viewpoint is culture-contingent position. Experts argue that societies exhibit distinct and relatively persistent cultures which include shared patterns of manners and ideas. Though different organisations in different organisations compete in varied conditions, they all adopt similar cultural contingencies within that country. This may be one of the reason as to why these organisations though compete against each other manage their firms with similar management structures which are appropriate to the cultural forces of the country. Culture of the country may matter for management, but it certainly is not the primary factor which influences the management style of the organisation. (6) European Cultural Diversity According to (Hofstede, 1993; Munch, 1993), despite sharing a lot of history, it is quite surprising that many of the European countries are still heterogeneous culturally. Though the integration of European countries brought about some economic forces, the culture and traditions of these countries still remain very different to that of each other. The nations that can claim to have developed distinctive cultures are American and Japanese. European countries are far from having a distinctive culture of their own. In order to overcome the present day pressures, they have developed diverse approaches of their own to cope with them. Among the European countries the national differences between the countries are greater than that of the non-European countries when it comes to dealing with the problems of technology development, economic growth and pollution control. (7) British Model of Pragmatic Management: Though Britain had a strong industrial dominance in the nineteenth century, after Second World War it has lost its strength both economically and educationally. Over the past decade or so, the global competitiveness and the economic recovery signs have been strong for Britain. Several factors such as political stability de-regulation of industries, and the English language advantage has attracted foreign direct investments from all across the globe which lead to the creation of entrepreneurial dynamism (ul-Haq, 2000). However according to Porter (1990), one of the important reasons for the continuous decline in the economic performance is the lack of quality in British educational system? Top-quality education has been restricted to a few groups. Important sectors like technology and engineering has been given lower priority. This resulted in the impact on the management in general and society in particular. While there are exceptional employees who are well trained for professional work, majority of them lack in depth education and skills when compared to the other highly industrialised nations. This can explain about the difference between blue-collar and white-collar workers, especially managers, appear to reflect the social structures of the society. The relationship between the workers and the management is generally characterised by mistrust and hostility, as a result of the conflict of interest between the two classes. Source: Martin, J. (1992),  Cultures in Organisations – Three Perspectives Let us discuss various management styles and critically examine if that is the style in my own country. i. Autocratic: In this management style, the decision making lies with the managers and they enforce their decision on the employees. They do not have a two way communication with the employees because they don’t trust them. This can be demotivating to employees, but this style is suitable for organisations that have to take quick decisions and manage large number of employees. I am from India and I can say that this management style is not widely used across the country but can be seen in large organisations particularly in IT firms that have large number of employees to manage. ii. Paternalistic: Paternalistic managers listen to the concerns of the employees before taking decision with respect to their social and recreational needs. The information flow is from top to bottom as they give direction to the employees. Interesting aspect is that they also take feedback form the employees which can be very effective. But the decision making on an issue may take longer than usual. This will help improve the morale of the employee. This management style can be observed in India though not widely. An organisation from the Marketing and Service industries and tourism industry in particular adopts this style of management. iii. Democratic: Everyone is involved in the decision process in this management style. Productivity and job satisfaction is improved as the communication flows from top to bottom in this approach. Employees’ motivation will be high as they are recognised and considered to be important to the organisation. On the flip side, it is difficult to get consensus on any issue and therefore slows down the process significantly. Sometimes there is also a risk that the managers may not be able to implement the best decisions. This style is not usually adapted in India as the mind sets of people are quite different and it may take quite long to take a decision. However this management style when implemented effectively with a judicious mixture can result in producing desired results. Source: Adler, N. J. (1991)  International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour. Personally, my style has always been employee empowerment. The people I choose to have thinking people work under me, not automatons. Because of this, my task gets simpler and I can accomplish the targets in due course. I have learnt a great deal and also enriched my knowledge base as well as my skill levels. I am always aware of the fact that my task is to manage my team and they have their own tasks. I must enable them to deliver their best whether it is sales, operations or something else. Due to this, the members of the team can come up and discuss their ideas with me without any fear. To my mind, no organisation can grow if its employees do not grow. 8) Conclusion: As per my experience, persistent growth can be achieved by organisations by implementing proper management styles. They can solve organisational problems; improve employee productivity and loyalty and satisfaction. Satisfied customers and higher returns of the investment is the key for all the organisations at the end of the day. On the flip side, adopting an incorrect manage ment structure will lead to tensions between managers and their subordinates resulting in diminished employee morale and depleting productivity. (9) BIBLIOGRAPHY i. Alvesson, M. 1993),  Cultural Perspectives on Organisations, 1992 ii. Deal T. and Kennedy, A. A. (1982),  Corporate Cultures, iii. Barrett, E. (1992),  The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Corporate Culture Analogy iv. Martin, J. (1992),  Cultures in Orgnanizations – Three Perspectives v. Kono, T. (1990), â€Å"Corporate Culture and Long Range Planning† vi. Adler, N. J. (1991)  International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior. vii. Riding the Waves of Culture  (Fons Trompenaars & Charles Hampden-Turner), 1990. viii. Five Minds for the Future  (Howard Gardner), 1982 ix. Burack, E. H. 1991), â€Å"Changing the Corporate Culture’’ x. Hampden-Turner, C. (1990),  Corporate Culture (10) Web References i. http://ezinearticles. com/? How-To-Understand-Cross-Cultural-Analysis&id=4031 11 ii. http://www. itapintl. com/facultyandresources/articlelibrarymain/the-use-and-misuse-of-questionnaires-in-intercultural-training. html iii. http://www. blurtit. com/q410358. html iv. http://www. blurtit. com/q792848. html v. http://ivythesis. typepad. com/2010/07/what-are-the-limitations-on-hofstedes-and-globe-studies. html vi. http://www. wright. edu/~scott. williams/LeaderLetter/culture. htm