“Beowulf”, “The Odyssey” and Other Related Epics Essay

An epic is best described by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero. Epics like â€Å"Beowulf† and â€Å"The Odyssey† are perfect examples of this definition; they are each centered on the deeds and triumphs of their heroes, Beowulf and Odysseus. All epics are similar in a way that they are made up of elements. One major element of the epic is its themes. In all epics, the themes are what make and mold these narrative poems, they descriptively outline the story. Most epics, like â€Å"Beowulf† and â€Å"The Odyssey†, have themes like battles, homecoming, identity, recognition etc. Through themes like these, morals, values and traditions relating to the main characters’ customs and culture can be introduced to the reader. The setup and purpose of the story, through the theme(s), can also be introduced. Not only are the themes identity, battles, recognition and h omecoming related to â€Å"Beowulf† and â€Å"The Odyssey†, but they are also linked to other epics as well. â€Å"The Odyssey† is best described as â€Å"a guide to the Greeks, a guide to literature and a guide to the complexities of society, identity, and home†. There were many themes, both universal and timeless that thoroughly revealed the main ideas and issues of this legendary epic. The first and more stressed theme in â€Å"The Odyssey† is identity. â€Å"In Grecian times, the identities of human beings were associated with their properties, their name and their heritage or past†. A Greeks’ household was the foundation of his or her identity. Being that Odysseus was lost in search of his seized home, until he found it, he was considered a â€Å"nobody†, or as he called himself, a â€Å"no-man†. Like his home, Odysseus has to reclaim his great name as well. Without a name a man has no meaning or value. Not only does Odysseus search for his identity, but his son, Telemachus searches as well. Without knowing anything about his past (his father, Odysseus) Telemachus feels that he doesn’t know who he is or what he’s truly worth. Odysseus and Telemachus battle with their identities for the majo rity of the epic, which further explains why â€Å"identity† is one of the main themes. Next, the theme that relates to the theme of identity is homecoming. This theme supports Odysseus’s long journey home. â€Å"In Greek, the tales of returning home were called Nostoi†. To the Greeks, homecoming meant â€Å"reclaiming heritage, identity and loved ones† . There were many obstacles (Gods, people etc.) in the epic that tried to deter Odysseus from reaching his home once again. In the epic, Homer shows the reader how Odysseus feels by saying this, â€Å"sitting on the seashore and his eyes were never wiped dry of tears, and the sweet lifetime was draining out of him, as he wept for a way home†. By including the ideas of loneliness and longing to be home, Homer creates the theme of homecoming. Another important theme in â€Å"The Odyssey† is battles. As well as searching for his identity and home all throughout the epic, Odysseus also had to defend himself throughout the epic. The battles in epics help build the character. They almost always result in victories and turn the main character(s) into legendary heroes. In â€Å"The Odyssey† there was not a battle that Odysseus lost, he even defeated the almighty Poseidon, god of the sea, by returning home. He had a lot of help from the goddess of wisdom, Athena. Without the main idea of â€Å"heroes† along with battles and villains, epics would be undefined. Battles, as a major theme in all epics, are needed to keep the story moving. Like all the themes in â€Å"The Odyssey† each is linked to the other. The theme that is linked to the most important one in this epic, identity, is recognition. Recognition in this epic focuses on Odysseus and his disguise (an old man) that is given to him by Athena to help him reclaim his kingdom and his wife. Homer shows how Odysseus plots and schemes to take back everything he once owned. The whole idea of this theme is as he goes about with his disguise, only several of those closest to him recognize something familiar about him and see that he, the old man, is Odysseus. Although, his wife Penelope did not know until he turns back to his original being. Also, recognition is gained when Telemachus doubts that Odysseus is his father. But, Odysseus eventually persuades Telemachus to accept him as his father. As stated before, in Homer’s epic, â€Å"an identity cannot be claimed until recognition of that identity from others is claimed first†. Like â€Å"The Odyssey†, â€Å"Beowulf† is also a legendary epic that includes the themes identity, homecoming, battles and recognition as its primary focus. In â€Å"Beowulf†, the themes homecoming and recognition are very closely related. When Beowulf returns to Geatland, he is greatly rewarded for his works. He reunites with King Hygelac and tells of his great adventures. Recognition is shown by Beowulf giving most of his treasure received to the King, and in return is awarded with treasure of his home from King Hygelac. Beowulf was praised and glorified for his homecoming(s) to Geatland and his return from his victories over Grendel and his mother. He wasrecognized as a â€Å"true hero†, an Anglo-Saxon hero to be exact. In â€Å"Beowulf†, Kingdoms acknowledged Beowulf by showering him with treasures, feasts and celebrations. Like God, to the Geats and Danes, he was worthy of all praises. He earned his recognition. That’s what the homecomi ng of a hero is all about, heroes being rewarded for their works and receiving the uttermost respect. Recognition is the actual reward received from the heroine act, whether its treasures or shouts and chants of the heroes’ name. Just as the themes homecoming and recognition in â€Å"Beowulf† are related, the themes battles and identity relate as well. The battles that Beowulf fight, in a way, reveals the person he really is and what he’s all about. His triumph in each battle shows the reader that he is a true hero and that he’s willing to fight to be recognized and to gain a sense of self and national pride. â€Å"Beowulf† begins with a battle and ends with a final battle against the dragon. Being that he fights for the majority of the epic, and his adventures are molded from his battles, this must be included as one of the main themes. Yes, â€Å"Beowulf† and â€Å"The Odyssey† do share similar themes but each theme has a different significance for each epic. Each theme stands for something different between the two. The significance of the theme identity in â€Å"Beowulf† is that his battles help to reveal who he is all throughout the epic. Beowulf knows that he’s a hero and that he’s brave. He defeats all of the villains and saves the day, he just wants other to realize this too. But, in â€Å"The Odyssey†, Odysseus and his son Telemachus have to search for their identi ty. The theme recognition in â€Å"Beowulf† has the significance of Beowulf being rewarded and recognized for his great works. On the other hand, the significance of recognition in â€Å"The Odyssey† is for Odysseus to keep himself hidden as a tool to help him reclaim his kingdom. The significance of the theme battles is very similar in each epic except Beowulf fights because he wants to be the hero (and he is), but Odysseus fights because he has to, although he too becomes a hero like Beowulf. Odysseus is trying to return home to his family and regain his identity but Beowulf is trying to gain recognition. As far as the theme homecoming, they each get the same response upon their return. The people that respect and love them are happy to see them once again. Both Beowulf and Odysseus return home with adventures and stories to tell. Likewise they each receive treasures. Beowulf receives gifts and Odysseus receives a gift that’s more precious than gold or treasures to him, his family and his kingdom are once again in his arms. During the course of my research, I realized that the themes of â€Å"Beowulf† and â€Å"The Odyssey† relates to other epics also. These epics are â€Å"The Iliad† by Homer, â€Å"The Aeneid† by Virgil, â€Å"Gilgamesh† by an anonymous author and â€Å"The Rape of the Lock† by Alexander Pope. These epics are noteworthy as of proving my thesis because first, they are all epics and second, they all share at least one theme with â€Å"Beowulf† and â€Å"The â€Å"Odyssey†. â€Å"The Iliad†, a Homeric epic like â€Å"The Odyssey† is very popular and well known by many. Also it is very similar to â€Å"The Odyssey†. It has most, if not all the same themes and was written by Homer as well so it basically has the same setup as â€Å"The Odyssey† but more so focuses on war. This epic can best be described as a story within a story. Along with â€Å"the Iliad†, â€Å"The Aeneid†, an epic by Virgil, greatly focuses on identity and homecoming. this too is also a popular epic. Next, â€Å"The Rape of the Lock† is a mock epic by Alexander Pope intended to â€Å"lampoon† or make fun of epics. He presents the whole idea of battles, homecoming, recognition and identity like the â€Å"usual† epics but in a comic al way. And last but not least, â€Å"Gilgamesh†, an epic by an anonymous author is one that takes the reader through a world of adventure. Although all four pieces of literature I selected are epics containing more than one theme, my focus is on one specific theme for each that relates to â€Å"Beowulf† and â€Å"The Odyssey†. The theme that I’ll most focus on for â€Å"The Iliad† is the theme recognition. This theme in â€Å"The Iliad† is closely related to the glory and celebration of war and is † the predominance of military glory over family†. As far as recognition goes, the characters more so recognize the pursuit of glory and honor than anything else. True, like every normal person the characters love their families but â€Å"they honor the pursuit of â€Å"kleos†, â€Å"glory† or â€Å"renown† that one gains in the eyes of others by performing great deeds†. War and recognition are the key factors in this piece of literature. The characters in this story focus so much on war and recognition because Homer wants the reader to see that he sugg ests that the characters (mortals) try to live their lives as horribly as possible so that they can be remembered well. â€Å"For if mortals’ physical bodies and material creations cannot survive them, perhaps their words and deeds can†. Homer is trying to stress the fact that the mortals should make a huge impact on their life, something that no one will forget and what better way to do it than with recognition and glory. In this epic, the characters usually end up in a situation where they have to choose between their family and their glory. And of course by most, glory is chosen. Hector, one of the great warriors in the Trojan army chooses to win the great glory of his father no matter the cost, even though he could orphan his only son. Hector knows that if he fights among the front ranks then he will end his quest for kleos and receive great recognition from all. Hector willingly sacrifices his life. No other theme can best describe the entire epic, â€Å"The Iliad†, like recognition. Homer put so much emphasis on it that it’s very obvious to see that recognition honor and glory (kleos) are â€Å"The Iliad’s† main themes that overshadows all the others. Although it’s not one of the main themes, identity still is considered a theme in â€Å"The Aeneid†. The theme identity in â€Å"The Aeneid† is very similar to the theme identity in â€Å"The Odyssey†. In this epic, the first part discusses the wanderings of the Trojans from Troy to Italy. While traveling, the â€Å"wanders† were considered homeless. Ancient culture suggests that â€Å"a homeland is one’s source of identity†. So being that they did not have a permanent home, like Odysseus, they were † no-men†. Being homeless means that one is not stable with his or her situation as well as identity, in this epic this caused the men to suffer. Like Odysseus, the Trojans were in search of their identity and for them alone, a place where they belonged. But Odysseus knew where he belonged, at home with his family. Each time they landed on a different island they would get frustrated because they were not sure if it was their place (which was Italy) . The only reason why identity is considered a theme in this epic is because the Trojans were unsure of themselves. It took them some time to reach their desired destination. It is also considered a theme because again as a part of ancient culture, to have a home is to have an identity. Another theme that is related to â€Å"Beowulf† and â€Å"The Odysseyà ¢â‚¬  and other epics is battles. The theme battles agrees with the epic â€Å"The Rape of the Lock†. This narrative piece of literature is not the â€Å"usual epic†; it is considered a mock epic because it lampoons the themes and oral traditions of the usual epics. Being that â€Å"The Rape of the Lock† is a mockery of the usual epics, everything about it is silly and strange, yet still makes sense. For example, Cosmetics, clothing and jewelry substitute for armor and weapons. One of the battles is an intense game of cards, which of course results in the victory of the protagonist, but even still that isn’t the point. The point is to take the usual themes from the usual epics and twist them around to show mockery. â€Å"The majority of the great battles of this epic are related to gambling and flirtatious tiffs†. Although the characters in this epic fight over silly things, Alexander Pope still gets his point across to the reader. Finally, the last epic that has a theme that relates to those of â€Å"Beowulf† and â€Å"The Odyssey† is â€Å"Gilgamesh†. Homecoming is the theme that best defines this epic more than the others do. Like in most epics, Gilgamesh went on a journey and like Odysseus, on his wa y home a goddess propositions him. When he refuses her proposition, the goddess delays his homecoming by sending enemies out to destroy him. But of course Gilgamesh defeats them and returns to his homeland Uruk. When he gets there he praises the town walls and worships the land as he walks. This epic is a bit different as far as homecoming than â€Å"Beowulf† or â€Å"The Odyssey† because once Gilgamesh finally reaches his home, he doesn’t care about honor, glory or recognition, he’s just glad to be alive, glad to see something as simple as the walls of his town once again. But of course like the other epics he does reunite with his loved ones and friends. The only problem is that this theme (homecoming) for this epic isn’t as solid as it could have been, there was no big feast or treasures waiting for him at home, just his precious town walls and loved ones. In conclusion, not only are the themes identity, battles, recognition and homecoming related to â€Å"Beowulf† and â€Å"The Odyssey†, but they are also linked to other epics as well. â€Å"The Iliad†, â€Å"The Aeneid†, â€Å"The Rape of the Lock† and â€Å"Gilgamesh† each contain one of the themes that their stories concentrate on the most. â€Å"The Iliad† is mostly related to recognition because the characters recognize the pursuit of glory and recognition more than anything else in their lives. â€Å"The Aeneid† mostly relates to identity because the Trojan soldiers are homeless which leaves them searching for an identity due to their culture. â€Å"The Rape of the Lock† concentrates on the mockery of the â€Å"usual battles† of an epic as well as other themes and â€Å"Gilgamesh† somewhat focuses on the theme homecoming because of his eagerness to return home and all of the obstacles and villains he has to face to get there. Although each epic was surely different, they all still had something in common, they all had themes that related to those of â€Å"The Odyssey and â€Å"Beowulf†.

Employment in America Essay

The United States is amongst the global states which are embracing low rates of unemployment. Except for the Latin America which is fiercely allied to high informal employment the rest of the American continent is having a low unemployment rate which goes as low as 3% compared to 55-60% for most Asian and African countries. Broadly, the effects of law rate of unemployment in the US can be allied to the interaction phenomena in both the macroeconomic and microeconomic structures which have acted to influence the broad array of the economic growth. The state of the economy is stable with few challenges into the inhibitors of poor states of economy. Over decade of years, US have enjoyed the superiority context into a stable state of the economy with elsewhere high purchasing power of the American dollar. Across the global imagery, it has enjoyed various economic benefits and economic integrations of its stable state of economy and strong purchasing power of its currency. High state of economic activity have been the launching pad and the benchmark into high capital inflows from other states through foreign investment in America and the economies allied to favorable balance of payments enjoyed by the America. From the favorability in the economic structures, America has continued to embrace the economic structures of a macroeconomic capacity which provide instruments for high rates of employment. For states within the Latin American region, the high rate of informal employment is much functional and beneficiary with even better wages than most formal employments in the developing countries. Broadly, the high rate of employment/low rate of unemployment in American can summarily be explained by the operation interlinkage between various macroeconomic and microeconomic structures. However, the great deal behind this situation can be credited to the macroeconomic variables which are captured in the broad economic equation. Elsewhere, the fiscal and monitory variables in the functional outlay of the American system provides an adequate pursuit for moral sense of high rates of employment. (Riggs, 2004) At one level, microeconomic variables lobby in to define the factors at an individual level which influence and determine the state of employment. This is mostly credited to the reciprocating factors in the relationship between household income and the levels of consumption and savings. Generally, the economic model of personal income is described as a function of consumption and saving. The relative changes to one another gives the respective marginal propensities (to consume and save). The two are reciprocals of one another where a decrease in one will increase the other. However, within America, the individual population has high marginal propensity to save due to the high income obtained from the formal employment and informal cases. With high saving ratios, the population is able to finance investment cost for new investment structure. The general investment portfolio within the US is highly favorable and highly growing to shoulder in the relatively high employment requirements. High investment structures provide an adequate room with which the broader human population is able to be absorbed within the employment structures. (Riggs, 2004) Macroeconomic influences provide a great refuge for creating employment opportunities. Such macroeconomic tools can be defined in terms of the economic environment to yield adequate economic conditions for a high rate of employment. Generally, the fiscal economic variable does a lot to provide adequate environment for ensuring high state of economic activity. Generally, the federal government has done a lot about its spending to the public. High government spending has been a benchmark in the foundations of high states of economic activity which does not compromise high employment rates. Government spending has been of a diverse nature in which it has provided various insurance allowances to the unemployed above other social structures allied to the public population. Government spending has helped to increase the broad income supply within the public. High expenditure has been an instrument in to the provision of capital for investment by the people. Elsewhere, the federal government has been in the forefront in instituting various structures aimed at providing adequate environment in its investment in government investment. Fiscal policy has also been promoted by various adequate systems in its taxing structure. Consequently, the taxing system has provided a comprehensive package of desirable rate of taxes which are less prone driving out investors from the economy due to losses through government taxation. Through adequate levels of taxes which include tax exemption and rebates for various persons within the economy, the people and investment bodies have embraced the value consequence allied to such law rates of taxes. (Riggs, 2004) Within the America, the monitory policy does a lot in providing an adequate environment for high rates of employment and the reduction of various unemployment inequalities borne of the people. The strong sense of the monitory policy provides a structure with which capital inflow is available. Indeed, America is amongst the global states in which case capital inflow is subordinately of high scale and encompassing no monitory rigidities. Broadly, the American monitory policy can be described in terms of the state of money supply and the demand for American dollar. However, the two sides (both the demand and the supply conditions) show a concrete rigidity in their equilibrium level. The state of money supply is equal to the relative demand which helps to provide an attractive state of equilibrium. With equilibrium in the money market, the American dollar has embraced a high state of purchasing power. Economically, such high purchasing power has been the backbone of facilitating high capital inflows within the states. High purchasing power has provided economic advantage in the international symmetry of economic integrations. Through favorable conditions of economic integrations, America has embraced high capital inflows from its trading partners. (Riggs, 2004) Alternatively a positive challenge into the monitoring system has been a solid factor for the influence of a positive balance of payment. Economically, desirable conditions and states of the monetary marketing are discretionally importance factors in determining the state of employment. Every high employment is an in depended variable of the state of monitory policies. Conceptually, stable monetary economy defines the stability in the economic integration and the parameters of balance of payments. A stable economy is discretionary important for providing structures aimed at improving the state of employment. For every essence of capital inflow within America, this has been a foundation aimed at improving the export level and decreasing the state of foreign imports. Every aspect of high exports than imports helps to improve the state of employment. To America, the low rates of unemployment are counter factors determined by the existing state of high export than imports. Stability in the economic state and the purchasing power of the currency has helped to improve the state of capital inflow within America High capital investment from the foreign world which has helped to improve the existing state of employment states. Summarily, the low state of unemployment in America can be allied to the prevailing economic structures existing within the American economy. The same has favored the stable state of investment which has on the other hand helped to increase the rate of employment within the state.

Dance Communicates Via the Human Body Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Dance Communicates Via the Human Body - Essay Example It offers undergraduate and post-graduate programmes in contemporary dance artist training and professional development (Laban website 2006). As for SDDC, since it was formed by Siobhan Davies in 1988, it has been Britain's flagship independent dance company (Siobhan Davies Dance Company website 2006). The company is primarily a dance production outfit, but it also focuses on professional development of dancers. Thus, SDDC holds activities such as workshops and masterclasses aimed at the higher level dance, music and visual arts students, educationalists and professionals (Siobhan Davies Dance Company website 2006). While the institutional nature of Laban and SDDC is not identical, the development of these companies illustrates that their general policy and direction are the same. For the past decade, both Laban and SDDC embrace the policy of enriching dance language through the diverse mix of performance (Laban website 2006, Siobhan Davies Dance Company website 2006). For instance, Laban encourages students to perform works that are experimental and defy traditional definitions. The Laban Theatre also presents work by companies as varied as The Cholmondeleys, Featherstonehaughs, Henri Oguike and Societas Raffaello Sanzio (Prospectus Introduction 2006). With regards to SDDC, it has moved away from presenting work in proscenium-arched theatres to different spaces. For example, since Plants and Ghosts in 2002, SDDC has used non-conventional performance areas such as an aircraft hanger, a gallery and a warehouse (Working with our audiences n.d.). The respective direction of Laban and SDDC also demonstrates a trend within British contemporary dance companies to encourage collaborative effort between different art forms and to design dance movements based on interactions across disciplines and passions. Recently, Laban and Trinity College of Music - two very distinctive specialists in their respective art forms - have merged to form Trinity Laban. Laban and Trinity relocated to the same quarter in South East London to facilitate conversations and collaborations between students of the two art forms (Prospectus Introduction 2006). In SDDC, works such as In Plain Clothes (2006), Bird Song (2004) and White Man Sleeps (2004) are clearly creations that attain new height due to Davies's exemplary choice of artistic and technical collaborators. Consider also, SDDC's successful commissioning of artists from different disciplines, including author Caryl Churchill and sound artist Max Eastley, to engage in extended periods of intensive r esearch with the company dancers (Working with our audience n.d.). In the realm of enriching the discourse about contemporary dance, British modern dance companies have embarked on sharing and extending their discoveries within and beyond the profession (Prospectus Introduction 2006). Consider, for example, Laban's ambitious programme of reaching out to the greater community and enriching the debate on dance through its varied publications. Laban regularly publishes the Dance Theatre Journal, which is UK's leading dance journal covering reviews on current thinking in dance and related art. Discourses in Dance, another journal published by Laban, has an international audience. It explores the rapidly expanding academic discipline of dance studies by addressing issues such as testing new methodologies and examining dance in relation to critical theories, cultural studies and cognate disciplines.     Ã‚  

Managing Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managing Change - Essay Example This move would have resulted in the loss of 600 jobs in its combined workforce of approximately 4,200 employees from the two plants. For that year, annual production targets were also reduce from 70,000 units to merely 40,000. Global overproduction and a 17% slump in domestic sales for the second half of 1999 were the reasons cited by Mitsubishi for the downsizing. Mitsubishi officials also claimed that the decline in the value of the Australian dollar had made it too costly to import Mitsubishi components. The decision to downsize in 2000 followed the downsizing of already 300 production jobs for the company yet despite these decisions, profits for the company did not improve. As of December 1999, the company reported a $A 130-million loss, its worse in twenty years in Australia (Cook, 2000). In 1997, the Howard government suspended plans to end tariff protection for the car industry until 2010 due to pressure from car manufacturers and threats by Mitsubishi that it will wind-up production in Australia. This was initially regarded as guaranteeing job security for worker, but despite the existence of tariff protection, major restructuring and downsizing still continued in Mitsubishi. The reason is that downsizing is attributed not to the company's national performance but to a major global restructuring program announced by Mitsubishi in October 2000 to cut costs by $US 3 billion by 2001. The plan involved cutting 9,900 jobs from the company's international workforce of 88,800 over a span of four years. Of the 9,900 jobs to be cut, 1,400 of these are production and clerical jobs in Japan (Cook, 2000). Another factor that compounds to the company's problems is its debt of 1.75 trillion yen or $A 27 billion. Mitsubishi continues to be under pressure from Daimler-Chrysler, who has a one-third holding in the company, and the power of veto over Mitsubishi's board. Daimler-Chrysler is demanding Mitsubishi to take drastic steps to reduce its huge debt and that the company focuses its future investment in more efficient production plants in Malaysia and Thailand (rather than Australia) where there is cheaper labour and favourable local investment incentives (Cook, 2000). In addition to these problems, Mitsubishi is also burdened by a failed vehicle financing scheme in the U.S. and losses amounting to approximately $US 2.8 billion in 2003. Daimler-Chrysler, the majority shareholder for the company, also refused to give Mitsubishi a $US 6.5 billion restructuring package (Spoehr, 2004). In 2004, Mitsubishi released a restructuring plan and formally announced its decision to close down its Lonsdale Plant resulting in the loss of 650 jobs, including the reduction of 350 workers in their Tonsley Park assembly plant workforce (Spoehr, 2004). The

Defining The Clinical Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Defining The Clinical Question - Essay Example Some studies have shown that education given to patients may be insufficient. Noncompliance with medication, diet, or symptom monitoring caused 15-64% of hospital readmissions. One way to combat these barriers is to design advanced practice nurse led heart failure clinics for outpatient management of heartfailure . Many studies have shown that heart failure clinics designed with advanced practice nurse post hospital follow-up improved patient education and compliance thus decreasing hospital readmissions (Paul 2008). The types of heart failure patient typically followed in advanced practice nurse led clinics are New York Heart Association Classifications II-IV. These patients were classified based on either echocardiography or radiography evidence of pulmonary congestion or signs or symptoms of heart failure. Background Despite advancements in the management of this debilitating condition, such as introduction of beta blockers, aldosterone antagonist, and angiotensin receptor blocker s mortality and morbidity among heart failure patients remain high. Generally 25-50% of hospitalized patients will be readmitted within 6 months of discharge (Gustafsson, Schou et al. 2009). The most cited incidents for readmissions are noncompliance with drug therapy, poor compliance with dietary restrictions, fluid restrictions, and inadequate medical therapy (Paul 2008). Thus, it appears that the readmission and mortality rates of heart failure patients maybe the result of less than optimal approach by the patient and provider. In terms of mortality the Framingham Study showed that once patient was diagnosed with heart failure the 6 year mortality was 85% for men and 67% for women . Heart failure puts a significant health and financial burden on patient’s families and society. Estimated cost of heart failure in the US is over $35 million according to the American Heart Association. As we all know the incidence of heart failure increases with age. According to the center fo r disease control 70% of the people over the age of 60 have heart failure and the number is expected to rise (Ferguson 2008) . For instance in 2000 approximately 12.7% of the American population was 65 years of age or older. It is estimated in 2020 this number will rise to 16.5%. In an effort to reduce 30 day readmissions, mortality, and overall cost a growing number of hospitals and medical groups are forming evidenced based heart failure clinics to combat this epic problem. The population to be evaluated in this project are patient diagnosed with heart failure with either systolic or diastolic impairment that have recently been hospitalized, The purposed intervention is one week follow up post discharge in a nurse practitioner led heart failure clinic. The patients will then be monitored by nurse practitioner and MD . A comparison will then be made to those patients followed by an MD only . The outcome that is proposed is that patients followed in a nurse practitioner and MD colla borative heart failure clinic will have a decrease in 30 day readmission rates to the hospital . Clinical Question Does the addition of a nurse practitioner to a heart failure clinic reduce 30 day readmission rates for heart failure patients? Keywords: A medline search was conducted using the terms â€Å"

Customer Satisfaction and the Banking Industry Essay

Customer Satisfaction and the Banking Industry - Essay Example Other important reports include those by P Carrol and F Reichheld, titled The Fallacy of Customer Retention, as well as the paper by M S Krishnan et al, titled Customer Satisfaction for Financial Services: The Role of Products, Services and Information Technology. These papers have important notes on not just acquiring customers but also retaining them - which is where customer satisfaction comes into play. This paper is based on the case study of ICICI Bank in India. Therefore, the information found on its website was used as well. In this case it is important to note that most of the texts used are journal articles are this is a very topical theme and it requires special classification which most books are not able to offer. With a variety of other papers that revolve around the theme of customer satisfaction and banking services, it is imperative to mention that there is still a lot of scope for research in terms of finding niche markets and catering to customers from these areas with a focus on need specific programs. Customer Satisfaction - Conception and Implications Customer satisfaction may be defined as that sphere within an organisation's operational area where the transmission of information and services with a focus on time and quality takes place. Customer satisfaction is an important tool with which it is easy to harness the potential of expanding one's customer base manifold. In the banking sector, this theory has special importance owing to growing competition and the fact that it is a service based industry where there is maximum human interface. The tools for measuring customer satisfaction include surveys as well as applying statistical analysis like the customer satisfaction index to which essentially... Customer satisfaction may be defined as that sphere within an organisation’s operational area where the transmission of information and services with a focus on time and quality takes place. Customer satisfaction is an important tool with which it is easy to harness the potential of expanding one’s customer base manifold. In the banking sector, this theory has special importance owing to growing competition and the fact that it is a service based industry where there is maximum human interface. The tools for measuring customer satisfaction include surveys as well as applying statistical analysis like the customer satisfaction index to which essentially measures market share and profitability. This will help provide an empirical base for any hypothesis on the basis of which models and programs may be formulated. Factors influencing customer satisfaction in Retail Banking in UK, author Anita Chakrabarty has pointed out how the last two decades have been seeing an increase in competitiveness in the retail banking sector in UK. This has a strong connection with the various activities that have been triggered in the banking industry all over the world. ICIC is a bank that has taken this conception one step forward by applying it in the context of the loyalty business model. Thus, one will find that the banks are now in a race towards consolidation of their positions and mergers. In this regard, they have realized that the primary focus of their activities must be on the optimum satisfaction of the customers.

Strategic Management Accounting Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic Management Accounting - Coursework Example The group has diversified its business to a vast magnitude in the past few years in various sectors for a successful venture. This particular strength has further helped the company to develop a strong brand and gain an impressive reputation in the market. In the similar context, it can also be argued that the brand reputation of the organisation is creating pressure on its management to preserve its success record and suffice the customers’ demand with consistent performances. Due to massive diversification, the corporate group has also faced few issues with respect to its services and strategic management initiatives. The business has accordingly been using the concept of brand stretching for its various products as well as services. With regard to Fransoko Group, strategic management is an important consideration required for the success of the business. There are various strategic factors that affect the business and its success, such as the management style, financial per formance as well as other relevant aspects, as can be apparently observed from the case reference. Industry rivalry- Fransoko will face intense rivalry from its competitors to enter the new market. To attain the required market share, the company will need to appoint skilled managers to accomplish their objectives. Although the personality of the Chairman deciphers his effective leadership abilities, it shall not be sufficient in meeting the intense rivalry and hence, proper strategic planning will be required. Bargaining Power of the suppliers- Suppliers need to provide resources on regular basis for the company to develop its market worldwide. Quality along with the reliability of the supplier is also deemed as an important issue, which needs to be mitigated by managing the resources effectively. Bargaining Power of the buyers- The bargaining power of the buyer is high in the industry context of Fransoko and therefore, it is

Federal express (slp module 02) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Federal express (slp module 02) - Essay Example According to Netscape Solutions Enterprise, â€Å"Intranet applications and information ranging from personnel guidelines, tax forms, employee evaluations, and project management documentation are currently or will soon be available to all corporate employees of Federal Express. Two critical intranet applications currently in use at Federal Express are one for publishing internal technology reports and another delivering adjunct help-desk support for internal staff. The intranet-published technology reports keep Federal Expresss technology staff current and help them stay abreast of project specifics, plans, and implementation procedures. The help-desk application is designed to streamline customer support by Federal Express information systems† (Netscape Solutions Enterprise, 1999, pg. 1). How project management specifically affects the different departments within an organization such as Federal Express depends on the type of project that is underway. For instance, replacing the computers in the marketing department would directly affect the marketing department, but may have little effect on human resources. â€Å"Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific (and usually) one-time effort, for example, construct a building or implement a new computer system. Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining project goals and objectives, specifying tasks or how goals will be achieved, what resources are need, and associating budgets and timelines for completion† (Free Management Library, 2008, pg. 1). The limitations for implementing the PERT and CRM methods at Federal Express are the same as they would be for any other organization that chose to implement these techniques. According to Hugg (1996, pg. 1), â€Å"A central weakness of both PERT and CPM is the inability to deal with resource dependencies. Resource dependencies are those that concern the availability of resources

Human character Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human character - Essay Example Others are Confidence, empathy, persistence, compassion, generosity and tolerance. I apply these in my day-to-day life to become a better student. For example, I am ambitious as I have a desire to excel in my academics, I am courageous as I am not afraid to take on new challenges. I am also, tolerant as I persevere until I achieve my targets, I am compassionate to others in the community, and I am also committed to accomplishing my goals. A vice is an immoral behavior and unlike virtues, vices destroy one’s character. Examples of vices include pride that makes one think he or she is better than others. Also, anger which makes one to act irrationally and jealousy which makes one to resent others because they possess something that you do not have. These traits render one self-destructive and make it very difficult for one to maintain close relationships with others. However, since we all possess both virtues and vices, it is important to practice self-love as one cannot

Comparing The Golden Pathway Annual to Blue Remembered Hills Essay Example for Free

Comparing The Golden Pathway Annual to Blue Remembered Hills Essay In the autumn term of 2006 I performed as Enid and The Head in The Golden Pathway Annual, a play by John Harding John Burrows, for my scripted performance. The class was split into groups of three (which was very fitting as in The Golden Pathway Annual most scenes have only three characters, only the odd few scenes had four) and then given different extracts from the play. My group was exceptionally conscious in keeping the props, costumes and especially acting appropriate to the time period, so some brief research was done using the Internet to give us a better understanding of, for example, what statuses the mother and father would have in relation to each other, or what costumes should be worn. Obviously, a reading of the entire play was done prior to any rehearsals, so that the scenes that we would be performing made sense to us. We also read through Blue Remembered Hills, by Dennis Potter, as a class. The Golden Pathway Annual is almost completely non-naturalistic. The same actor plays Michael, the lead role, throughout all his ages from the age of two-and-a-half into his adulthood. Also, two of the four actors play a range of characters, as opposed to one actor playing one character, as they would in a naturalistic play. At first glances, Blue Remembered Hills would seem to be a non-naturalistic play. Firstly, the characters are all children, whereas all the actors are adults, similar to The Golden Pathway Annual, where an adult actor would play the role of the child Michael. However, the scenarios in Blue Remembered Hills are completely naturalistic everything that happens could happen in real life. In contrast, The Golden Pathway Annual has moments, such as the fantasy sequences, where Michael is a dog with members of the Famous Five, which are evidently not naturalistic. The other very naturalistic thing about Blue Remembered Hills is that the play is in real-time one incident after another without the imposition or intervention of memory in the form of flashback in Potters words. The play is set in one day, unlike The Golden Pathway Annual, which spans a time period of more than 20 years there is even an instance in the beginning where the transition between two scenes indicates the change of several years, where a child had been born and raised to the age of two-and-a-half not naturalistic in the slightest. The emotions in Blue Remembered Hills are very naturalistic. This is because the play shows realistic emotions and how the different characters would react, for instance when Donald dies towards the end, all the characters are badly shaken. If the emotions were non-naturalistic, such as in a comic style, the emotions would portray Donalds death as humorous. The Golden Pathway Annual also has very naturalistic, touching moments, such as: Enid: Whats going to happen to us? George: When? Enid: When we die. Enid feels upset and slightly pessimistic now that Michael has left home, a natural reaction for a mother to feel. George, in the following lines, tries to be brave and attempts to convince Enid shes not talking sense an also natural thing for a husband to do. A noticeable difference between the two plays is the themes. The Golden Pathway Annual mainly has the theme of expectations, where Michael is pressured throughout his life, by his parents and by his school. He works hard, however this is only to find that all he worked for amounted to nothing. The main theme of Blue Remembered Hills is, in my opinion, childhood (other people may think differently it depends on a persons interpretation). The play goes through the emotions and activities of children, with an ending showing how all fun and games can end in catastrophe. Basing the two plays on their main themes, it could be said that they are divergent, however the two plays have other themes, which do relate the two of them. Nostalgia seems to be portrayed in both of the plays. A sense of looking back can be seen in both Dennis Potters and Ed Thomasons (the director of the first The Golden Pathway Annual productions) introductions; Every event in the script which had sparked off a personal memory, a moment of recognition for me, would do the same for an audience (Ed Thomason). It is clear that The Golden Pathway Annual was written with the intention of nostalgia and Blue Remembered Hills was written using Potters memories. Both the plays similarly experience the theme of fantasy, however one experiences it naturalistically and the other non-naturalistically. Blue Remembered Hills has times when the children will imagine they are Indians and cowboys, for instance, running through the forest wailing and shooting each other with their imaginary guns. This is naturalistic, as the audience sees the children playing pretend. The Golden Pathway Annual has non-naturalistic fantasy sequences. Michaels fantasies are much more like dreams the audience views a dream where Michael is a dog or is James Bond; it is not Michael pretending he is James Bond. Although Blue Remembered Hills was written for television, a successful stage adaptation has been made of it. A problem posed by this, which is overcome in different ways, depending on the production, is the staging. There is a section towards the end where there are instant transitions between inside a barn and outside a barn. On television, this is easy to do, however on stage this is harder. Therefore, the staging must be unnatural the stage could be split, for instance. This is alike to The Golden Pathway Annual, where the staging is very unnatural such as in a scene I performed a Grannys footsteps scene, where Michaels parents advance on him in the ironic fashion of this childs game. As a group, we decided to stage it abstractly, similarly to the way Blue Remembered Hills would be staged. The Golden Pathway Annual is set during the 1940s and 1960s. Our group established this time period in many ways; one was the way the two parents related. I performed as Enid in a way that allowed George to be the more dominant character, reflecting on the main beliefs of that time, that men still seemed to be the superior gender. The Golden Pathway Annual begins just after the war, whereas Blue Remembered Hills is set during the war. It is interesting to see that just the two years changes the historic period entirely, making the two plays acted very differently. There is a similarity in time periods between the plays, and that is that the time period is a given circumstance it is set, and cannot be changed. The reason Blue Remembered Hills cannot be changed is quite obviously as it is during the war, and the context of the play wouldnt make sense without the time period. The time period in The Golden Pathway Annual is essential to the characters, plot and emotions; without the time period, the nostalgia of the play would be lost. In addition, the production notes stress the time period heavily. One difference I notice about the style of how the two plays are written is the freedom the writers allow for the production, and what given circumstances there are. Blue Remembered Hills seems to be more flexible with how the play can be performed. Potter gives an option of what Willie can be doing in the first scene, whereas Harding Burrows have much more strict given circumstances, where the props, as examples, are much more set the placing of the two chairs (which are the props that create the illusion of many other items in the play) is stated. Society and culture is a significant difference between the two plays. The Peters family in The Golden Pathway Annual is of working class. The family was hard-hit by the war literally; their house was bombed and they lost everything. Society in the times of the beginning of when The Golden Pathway Annual is set had the popular belief that the future would get better, the high hopes due to the recent winning of the war. It was also believed that the young generation should make the best of what they have offered to them, a culture reflected deeply into Enid and Georges parenting, which is shown through all the pressure applied on Michael to do well at school and get good qualifications, so he can succeed in life. However, as the play progresses, we see that cultures change and Michael finds that like the pound, his degree has devalued. The class and culture are both very different in Blue Remembered Hills. The children spit, threaten and fight regularly in the play, something that Michael is never known to have experienced. Michael is always made presentable, as his parents believe that they need to fit in with the society. It is likely that the same case occurs in Blue Remembered Hills, however the culture is different the entire town is likely to be of the lower agricultural class, working on the farms; the way the children behave is normal in the society they are in. It is clear that the upbringing of the children in Blue Remembered Hills is not to get a degree and do well in life and to better themselves, as Michael is in The Golden Pathway Annual; the children are parented in a sort of the present matters mentality, in contrast to The Golden Pathway Annual where Enid and George have firm beliefs that it is the future that matters, and that everything is done for a child to better themselves in the future. In conclusion, I have learnt that although the two plays are very different in where they are set and the way the characters behave, similarities still lie in the themes and some of the styles, such as staging.

Relationship Between Balance Of Payments And Exchange Rate Finance Essay

Relationship Between Balance Of Payments And Exchange Rate Finance Essay The accedence of developing countries such as China, Thailand, Vietnamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to the international trade give them the prosperous and economic growth; however the countries have faced many issues in managing their macro-economy to sustain the economic growth and development. Especially, in Vietnam, the government usually has serious difficulties in managing and operating the economic with the deficit in the Balance of Payments, the depreciation domestic currency and retraining the local inflation. The balance of payment is one of the most considerations of the governments when they formulate the national trade, fiscal and monetary policies, so it has the significant important role in governments policy decision-making. It also has an indispensable part to organizations (i.e. banks, companies, nongovernment organizations) and individuals that are directly or indirectly involved in international trade and finance (Dominick Salvatore, 2011). And the Balance of Payments is a significant indicator of the pressure on the exchange rate of a country (David K. Eitman, Arthur I. Stonehill Michael H. Moeffett, 2010). In the context of Vietnam, the surplus in the Balance of Payments encourages the governments allow the value of the domestic currency to increase. On the other hand, the significant deficit in Balance of Payments force the government to devalue the price of VND (David K. Eitman, Arthur I. Stonehill Michael H. Moeffett, 2010). Next, the theories of exchange rate determination that related to the inflation and the balance of payments are Purchasing Power Parity Approaches and Balance of Payments Approaches respectively. According to Purchasing Power Parity approaches, the determination of the equilibrium of exchange rate in long term is the ratio of domestic prices relative to foreign prices (David K. Eitman, Arthur I. Stonehill Michael H. Moeffett, 2010). And along with Balance of payments approaches, the exchange rate reflects the transactions in the current and financial accounts of the balance of payments (David K. Eitman, Arthur I. Stonehill Michael H. Moeffett, 2010). The exchange rate movements also produce the risk for firms, because they result in foreign exchange exposure, i.e. transaction risk, translation exposure and operating or economic exposure. The transaction risk refers to the exposure of the firms contractual transactions in foreign currencies (Jeff Madura, 2008). The translation expos ure refers to the exposure when the firms translate or consolidate their subsidiaries financial statements to the currency of the parent company (Jeff Madura, 2008). The economic exposure refers to the exposure of a firms present values, which are affected from the changes in operating cash flows, which are effected movements of exchange rate (David K. Eitman, Arthur I. Stonehill Michael H. Moeffett, 2010). Thus, the transaction exposure is the subfield of the economic exposure (Jeff Madura, 2008). In the context of Vietnam, USD is considered as a tool to invest; thus when the value of USD increase with respect to the value of VND, people and investor will exchange from VND to USD. There are two reasons behind that fact; first, they want to invest in USD; second, they afraid of the inflation and the devaluation in VND. Therefore, the movements of exchange rate will impact the inflation in Vietnam. And the inflation impacts everyone directly or indirectly. It impacts on savers and investors, people with fixed incomes (i.e. pension payment); for example, if the inflation rate goes up higher than the return on savings or investment, the received money will be worth less than it was when they deposited. However, the increase in the inflation may impact positively the people who owe money; they may generally get benefit from inflation if the value of the money they repay is less than that of the amount of their loans. On the other hand, the inflation may affects negatively the people who lend money, if the value of the money they lend to other people is worth than the value of money the borrowers repay them. To be noted, the inflation will influences business; the inflation will increase the costs, so the companies have to try to increase their incomes higher than the increase in inflation in order to c ompensate the increase in the costs (Gerson Antell and Walter Harris, 2005). The inflation also impacts the international trade of a country. In the circumstances of other things equal, if the inflation rate increases relative to that of the trade-partner countries, its current account will decrease. Because the people in that country will purchase more imports from foreign countries due to the higher local inflation, while the exports of that country will decline (Jeff Madura, 2008). That will impact the demand for and supply of the currencies of that currencies (Jeff Madura, 2008) Next, I would like to mention briefly about the three things the research is going to study. First, tn principle, the balance of payments is a summary statement which embraces all the transactions of the residents of a nation with the residents of all other nations, and they are recorded during a period of time. (Dominick Salvatore, 2011:434).Thus, it summarizes all transaction into some categories and only the net balance of each one is included and has time dimension. The transactions in the balance of payments are international, and are classified as credits or debits. The credit transactions refer to the receipts of payments from foreigners and they are noted with a positive sign. On the other hand, the debit transactions refer to the payments to foreigners and they are noted with a negative sign. (Dominick Salvatore, 2011). Next, an exchange rate is the price of one currency expressed in terms of another (Glen Arnold, 2008:965). There are two ways of quotation for exchange rate (i.e. direct quotation and indirect quotation). Within the direct quotation, the exchange rate between a domestic currency and foreign one is equal to the number of the domestic currency to purchase one unit of a foreign currency (Dominick Salvatore, 2011). The indirect quotation is vice versa. Next, the movements of the exchange rate refer to the terms depreciation and appreciation. The depreciation is increases in the price of the foreign currency with respect to the domestic currency; and the appreciation refers to decreases in the price of the foreign currency with respect to the domestic currency page (Dominick Salvatore, 2011). Thus, the depreciation in this study refers to the increases of the price of USD with respect to VND, and the appreciation refers to decreases in the price of USD with respect to VND. In Vietnam, USD is the most popular foreign currency and it has an significant important role in the economy in Vietnam. Moreover, the people in Vietnam invest so much in USD in order to earn interest or avoid the risk of inflation of VND. Therefore, the exchange rate that the study will collect and analyze is the exchange rate between USD and VND USDVND. The rate is quoted directly, that means the rate reflect how much domestic currency (i.e. VND) for one unit of foreign currency (i.e. USD) Next, I would like to mention about the inflation, the method to measure the inflation in this study and the inflation in Vietnam. According to Romer Inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money (2006: 497). The inflation is measured by many methods such as: consumer price index, producer price index, GDP inflation indices, etc. The CPI and PPI are fixed-weight measures; that means the same basket of goods and services is analyzed each month. Meanwhile, the GDP inflation indices are a variable-weight measure; within this method, the basket of goods and services being assessed depended on what was produced during a particular quarter (Evelina M. Tainer, 2006). Among those methods, CPI is the most popular method to measure inflation in the world because it has many advantages with respect to other methods. For example, the GDP inflation indices cover more items than CPI, but the GDP inflation indices are released only quarterly; meanwhile the mo nthly release of the CPI help people observe the inflation closely and constantly. Moreover, the PPI just embraces the price changes in wholesales business; it does not involve services which is the fastest-growing section in the world (Bernard Baumohl, 2005). Therefore, CPI is more relevant to the cost of living and the cost of doing business. Consumer price index refers how much consumers pay for goods and services, that influences individual and corporate investment, the cost of business and the quality of life (Bernard Baumohl, 2005). And CPI is an index number which expresses percentage changes from base year. Structure of literature review The literature review of this study will follow the format: The Balance of Payment The definition The constituents of the Balance of Payments. When the Balance of Payments is surplus and deficit. Their impact on inflation and exchange rate An overview about the Balance of Payments in Vietnam and its challenges The Inflation The definition How to measure the inflation The method applied in the context of Vietnam The influence of the inflation on the exchange rate and the Balance of Payments The overview about the inflation in Vietnam and its problems The exchange rate The definition Why the author choose the exchange rate between VND and USD to study. The impact of the movements of exchange rate on the Balance of Payments and the deficit The overview about the Vietnamese currency regime and the exchange rate between VND and USD in Vietnam The relationship or reciprocal among The exchange rate, the Balance of Payments and the Inflation in the context of developing countries that has the conditions and situations like Vietnam The issue and challenges that Vietnam is facing in the relationships among the exchange rate (USD/VND), the Balance of Payments and the Inflation Significance of the study This study will produce the reader an overview and help them understand more about the relationship or reciprocal among the Balance of Payments, the movements of exchange rate and the Inflation in Vietnam. So, the study will produce significant benefits: The government in Vietnam will have one more useful research paper in the governance of the macro-economy, especially about the control and manage the Inflation, the state of Balance of Payments when the exchange rate moves. The benefit of the study is helping the firms in Vietnam can understand and forecast the inflation and the exchange rate (USD/VND) in Vietnam better. That will help them hedge their incomes and payments in order to reduce the risks. As we know, Inflation causes instabilities and distorts economic decisions; however only unexpected inflation rates causes problems, not anticipated inflation rates. (Evelina M. Tainer, 2006) 3. Research questions and objectives 3.1 Research questions The study will try to answer the following questions in the context of Vietnam: 1. How the exchange rate moves when the state of Balance of Payment is deficit or surplus? 2. How the inflation responds to the movements of exchange rate between USD-VND? The research will not only analyze the movements of the three factors in the past form 1995 to 2010 but also try to produce the main reasons and causes behind the movements. Those will help the readers can have a deep and big view about the relationships between the Balance of Payments the exchange rate (USD-VND); and between the exchange rate (USD-VND) The inflation. 3.2 Research objectives There are two main objectives: 1. Finding common movements of the exchange rate when the Balance of Payments deficit and surplus; and the common respond of the inflation to the movements of the exchange rate. 2. Clarifying the main reasons and causes in those facts. In order to achieve the objective one, the author will collect date from 1995 to 2010; then the data will be examined by employing SPSS or Microsoft Office Excel Next, the second objectives will require more comprehensive academic reading and secondary researches or from some specialists and officers in the government to clarify the deep reasons behind the facts. 4. Research methodology Research design 4.1 research methodology This part will involve in the methodology or procedure to find out the relationship between the three factors in the context of Vietnam. The study will the method involved in secondary data collection, and there may be interviews with some specialists; then the analysis will be used to find the conclusions. 4.2 Research design The author proposes the questions and hypothesis; then the author collected quantitative data and information from secondary resources to analyze and find the answers. The questions and hypothesis come first and guide the process of gathering data. According to what I mention above, I can declare that the epistemology of this research is positivism. The data of this research is analyzed to test the hypotheses. The author is independent from what are being researched. 4.3 Data collection The research method of collecting data in this study is collecting data and information from secondary data sources. The author will collect data for exchange rates between VND and USD, the state of Balance of Payments and the Inflation in Vietnam, the balance of payments in Vietnam and the inflation in Vietnam from 1995 to 2010. The research will collect the date from 1995, because that is the time U.S abolished completely the trade embargo to Vietnam. That influenced international trade in Vietnam and created the relation between the balance of Payments and the exchange rate between USD-VND as well as the impact of the exchange rate on the inflation in Vietnam 5. Time scale This study is divided into four stages and the duration of each stage in particular and that of the study in general are predicted as follows: Stages Working Duration 1 Literature review 4 weeks 2 Collecting Data 6 weeks 3 Data analysis and presentation 4 weeks 4 Conclusion and recommendation 3 weeks It is flexible to change the duration of study subject due to unexpected problems occurring during the research process 6. Resources The research process will be involved in the following resources: A laptop computer to do the study Internet access to collect data and information Online library access to approach academic papers related to the study. The assistance from governments staff to access the date of exchange rates, the inflation index and the state of Balance of payments. Particular, the researcher needs the instructors guidance of how to use software to analyze data such as Microsoft Office Excel or SPSS, or others.

Characters of Catherine and Heathcliff in Emily Brontes Wuthering Hei

The Characters of Catherine and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights      Ã‚  Ã‚   Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights can be considered a Gothic romance or an essay on the human relationship. The reader may regard the novel as a serious study of human problems such as love and hate, or revenge and jealousy. One may even consider the novel Bronte's personal interpretation of the universe. However, when all is said and done, Heathcliff and Catherine are the story. Their powerful presence permeates throughout the novel, as well as their complex personalities. Their climatic feelings towards each other and often selfish behavior often exaggerates or possibly encapsulates certain universal psychological truths humans are too afraid to express. Heathcliff and Catherine's stark backgrounds evolve respectively into dark personalities and mistaken life paths, but in the end their actions determine the course of their own relationships and lives. Their misfortunes, recklessness, willpower, and destructive passion are unable to penetrate the eternal love they share .    Heathcliff's many-faceted existence is marked by wickedness, love, and strength. His dark actions are produced by the distortion of his natural personality. Although Heathcliff was once subjected to vicious racism due to his dark skin color and experienced wearisome orphan years in Liverpool, this distortion had already begun when Mr. Earnshaw brought him into Wuthering Heights, a "dirty, ragged, black-haired child"(45; ch.7). Already he was inured to hardship and uncomplainingly accepted suffering. Heathcliff displays his strength and steadfastness when he had the measles, and when Hindley treated him cruelly if he got what he wanted. From the very beginning he showed great co... ...of the novel? Or is revenge the central and recurring idea? Is Bronte proposing that as humans we have the right to meddle with the cosmic, dark and questioning universe just as Catherine and Heathcliff manipulated with their own lovers and family? Perhaps it is simply a book about characters, each to his own, meandering through puddles, with cloudy morals and mistaken ideals. With a darkness within and beauty without, stumbling back and forth a two-mile stretch of land searching for something they've had all along. Maybe it's a book about reality.    Works Cited Damrosch, David, et al., ed.   The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Vol. B.   Compact ed.   New York: Longman - Addison Wesley Longman, 2000. Bronte, Emily.   Wuthering Heights. Norton Critical ed.   3rd ed.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ed. William M. Sale, Jr., and Richard J. Dunn.   New York:   W. W. Norton, 1990.

Concentration of Ownership and Decreasing Diversity in Print Media Essa

Concentration of Ownership and Decreasing Diversity in Print Media       For all who love to read books, imagine walking into bookstore after bookstore seeing the same type of books over and over. No variety, no choice, only repetition. Although America prides itself on freedom and democracy more than any nation in the world, this hypothetical situation is becoming increasingly closer to becoming a reality than some may think. Consolidation and concentration of ownership in print media companies may cause for the inability of some people to voice their opinions. What does this mean? This means that the basis of our country, including freedom from the first amendment, maybe be pulled out from under our feet. Causes of this lack of diversity in views and opinions may be linked to the fact that very few but extremely large publishing companies are publishing books and magazines. Conglomerate ownership becoming international will also lead to the lack of American publishing control. Finally, although the Internet supplies an outlet for new opportunit ies and a way of getting diverse information spread throughout the world, not all people are capable of obtaining this information. It was once thought that mass media would reflect very diverse points of view. Now that publishing of books and magazines has reduced to a few large companies, the outlook for diversity is beginning to shrink in size. In 1983, over 50 companies dominated the mass media of the United States. Today, this size has drastically decreased to nine major companies including AOL Time Warner, Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, News Corporation, TCI, General Electric, Sony, and Seagram1[1]. By allowing a few large companies to control m... ... Beacon Press 2000, Sixth Edition ed.: xx-xxi. 23 Sept. 2001 . 2[2] "Why Media Mergers Matter." Brill's Content Dec. 1999. 23 Sept. 2001 .       3[3] "The US media: a critical component of the conspiracy against democratic rights-Part 5." Editorial. World Socialist Website 27 Dec. 2000. 24 Sept. 2001 dec2000/med5-d27.shtml>.       4[4] New York Time Square. 23 Sept. 2001 location.asp?ID=New%20York%20Time%20Square>.    5[5] Columbia Journalism Review. 22 Sept. 2001 .    6[6] The Big Picture: Demographics. 21 Sept. 2001 demographics/article/1,1323,5901_768141,00.html>.

Letters to a Young Poet

Late in his life, the Czech great poet Rainer Maria Rilke maintained a correspondence with a young poet, Franz Xaver Krappus through his well-known ten letters.   While in military academy, Young Franz full of passion and deep-seated appreciation for good poetry, on reading a collection of Rilke's poetry, decided to send Rilke some of his poetry for Rilke to read and offer some advice in form of commendations and criticisms. The correspondence was thoughtful and filled within insight in various life themes, with profound messages for every one. It began in lasted from 1902 to 1908 and in June, 1929 three years after Rilke’s death, Franz gathered and published the letters in Berlin. Frank’ introduction of the letters detailed his encounter with the writings of Rilke while he was in the Military Academy, Vienna. He interacted with Professor Horacek who talked to him about the life of Rilke as a gifted serious gentle calm and introverted fellow while in the same academy who was dedicated to his training; Rilke continued his education at home in Prague when he could not cope in his new school away from the military academy. Through this correspondence, one understands the life of Rilke within the sentences he sent to this young poet. There is a hint to the transformation that he undergoes the principles that guide his life and how these changes influence his writing. The progression in the life of Rilke is visible in the letters sent to this 19-year old poet: his life is based on the finding of the direction of the inner pursuit; answering the basic question of life and then wait until the inner voice speaks with a bold answer. This is his opinion of the foundation of a viable career. He believes in the power of reading to build a strong writing career: good writers read and good readers write. To approach productive reading, it is important to come with an open mind and be ready to love the work. This is how best to understand writings and be in the best position to criticize them if need be. The central theme is love. He understands the difficulty associated with loving. He tells the young poet about the travail of learning how to love. He leaves him with the advice: keep learning. Sadness, aloneness also show in his write-up. This conflict with love may reflect the hitches he experiences in his family life, and why he seldom mentions his family. As an introvert, this is allowed. Rilke’s search for solitude is important in discovering the pace and direction of the inner man: this is a major theme of his life. This also keeps him away from the pressures of the outside world and its attendant conflicts. Let’s take a look at the letters: Letter One: ‘There is only one way: Go within. Search for the cause, find the impetus that bids you write.’ He writes this to advice Franz about life career starting with an introspective search for discovery of the true reason for essence in life. This letter shows the basis for his life pursuit and advice for the young poet on career choice. Letter Two: Live awhile within these books.   Learn of them, whatever seems worth the learning, but above all,  love them.   To live within the books is to be able learn, and to love them is the way to be open to its lessons and make appropriate life changes as required. Letter Three: Let me ask you right here to read as little as possible of aesthetic critiques.   It shows his distaste for criticisms that are not appreciative of the exclusive work of arts. Love is a prerequisite for true criticism. Letter Four: Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language.   Do not now look for the answers.    They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them.   The questions that arise in life do not come with answers by merely asking but until the questions are incorporated into daily living; that’s where they get answered. Letter Five: There is much beauty here because there is much beauty everywhere. Life is beauty, it al depends on what you see not where you are. Letter Six: Why don't you think of him as the coming one, who has been at hand since eternity, the future one, the final fruit of a tree, with us as its leaves? Live your life knowing there would be pain, but you still joy. Letter Seven: To love is also good, for love is difficult. For one human being to love another is perhaps the must difficult task of all, the epitome, the ultimate test. This letter was explicit on love, and detailed the enigmatic way he sees and experienced love. Letter Eight: And this is the reason the sadness passes: the something new within us, the thing that has joined us, has entered our heart, has gone into its innermost chamber and is no longer there either– it is already in the blood. Letter Nine: Your doubt can become a good attribute if you discipline it. It must become a knowing; it must become the critic. This gives advice on how to turn doubt to a useful tool in life and career. Letter Ten: Art also is only a way of life, and we can, no matter how we live, and without knowing it, prepare ourselves for it. He admonishes the Young Franz about the existence of art; he asserts that that art is part of us and our lives whether we accept the fact or not. REFERENCE Rainer Maria Rilke. Letters to a young poet Letters to a young poet. Accessed from www.sfgoth.com/~immanis/rilke/letter1.html Letters to a young poet. Accessed from www.carrothers.com/rilke_main.htm Rilke’s writing. www.floozy.com/allison/rilke/r.index.html    Letters to a Young Poet Brenda Benson Letters to a Young poet by Rainer Maria Rilke Letters 1-5 Letters to a Young Poet, letter 1: â€Å"No one can advise or help you- no one. There is only one thing you should do. Go into yourself. † I believe this advice goes for anyone, but I can identify with this. The reason is that you really can’t depend on anyone, because the other person will not care for the situation or whatever the way you do. Many of times, where I thought I could seek for other for help, they hadn’t come through for me.Even though, it is something disappointing, but it is life, we must deal with disappointment constantly. In the end, what doesn’t kill will only make you stronger, how true those words are. For when you are at your lowest point, that is when your strength shines through. Letter to a Young Poet, Letter 2:† Learn from what you feel is worth learning† Learning is not just learning from a book, it can also be about life, the experiences that a person has gone through.People have often advised me what I should do with my life and how I should live about it. It’s always difficult because we all are manipulated by society, and the slightest difference in personality makes for the biggest commotion. Well anyways, you can be told so many things, what is right and what is wrong. Sure, you listen to them, some of the advice you’ll take in and others just let it drift away. All in all, it doesn’t matter what people may say, it’s what you feel what is right.Letter to a Young Poet, Letter 3: â€Å"Always trust yourself and your own feeling, as opposed to argumentations, discussions, or introductions of that sort† This I believe is the hardest situation, which is being able to trust yourself. We always have doubts if we’re ever good enough, and always making things into a competition. Where we should make things into a learning experience, and appreciate others wisdom. When I began this sch ool I would say that I was intimidated by the students the class, they were so talented.I doubted if I could really accomplish my goals that I had here in New York and in Parsons. Later that day, I spoke to special people; they lend me their ear and some advice. All I needed to do, all I still need to do is believe in myself, trust myself, know that my abilities are exceptional, and keep moving forward. Letters to a Young Poet, Letter 4:†Don’t hate anything† Hating is a very strong emotion, hating consumes the heart and you don’t feel much. Your mind when preoccupied by hate has nothing much to offer. It’s an emotion that tiring, and hard to let go.When you learn you stop hating, your feel so relieved, and is at peace with the world. As a young girl, I hated many things, and I had let it consumed my heart. When you hate you feel very alone, and you feel that no one is there for you, nor do you believe they will understand you. When I grew older I rea lize how much energy it took, how much it keeps you in the past. To move forward you must forgive, and relinquish your hatred towards things. If I hadn’t my situation would be a lot different where life would probably be miserably for me.Letters to a Young Poet, Letter 5:† But there is much beauty here, because everywhere there is much beauty† In all the chaos of the world, in all the imperfections in the world, there is still beauty. I feel that people have to go through some tragic situation; for once they encounter something different, they can find and appreciate the beauty that is presented to them. At least that’s how I look at it, life is full of different shapes and colors, it’s very much easy to miss, but when I slow down time, I’m able to see things that I couldn’t see before.

To what extent can motivation be used as a leadership tool?

Abstract Numerous investigations have linked organizational success to effective leadership. The fact that leaders provide guidance as well as monitoring and evaluation of the staff in an organization they provide a link between the organization’s objectives and the needs of the staff. Good leadership should ensure both the organization and the staff are satisfied with the outcome of the processes and operations of the organization. This paper analysed the importance of using motivation and a leadership tool and its application in the military. Motivation is an important aspect of effective leadership since it not only guarantees performance within an organization but also ensures sustained effectiveness of the staff. The analysis of this factor as a leadership tool was conducted based on literature review of various sources that examine organizational motivation processes and practices that are applicable in military environment. The main theories of motivation identified to influence leadership with respect to military environment were Humanistic Theory of Motivation, Incentive theory, Drive theory, and Cognitive dissonance theory. Social incentives have been identified in the paper to play an important role in leadership success of a military organisation. This is mainly due to the fact that they develop the intrinsic motivation that makes the workers highly productive. Generally, social recognition, collaboration, talent retention and productivity and reinforcing the corporate culture are the social incentives that can be used to motivate military officers. More so, friendship at the workplace should be upheld as it fosters learning among the workers and it also makes it easy to identify small problems at the work place. The paper concludes by asserting that in the case of military training together in one country, the use of the stated motivation tools are bound to enhance the levels of leadership efficiency. As such, motivation should only be extended to social recognition, collaboration, talent retention and productivity and reinforcing the corporate culture. Introduction Leadership is not a captivating personality that results due to ability to charm and talk nicely. Neither is leadership defined by the ability to influence and make friends. These are empty qualities of leadership that can be viewed as flattery. Leadership is making an individual change his/her vision to hire levels, raising an individual’s performance, and building a unique personality that inspires the followers (Foti, 2007) this are very essential elements of effective leadership in military units. All these aspects of leadership revolve around motivation of the followers. Motivation is highly individualised and complex and can be achieved physically, psychologically, instinctively, and sometimes unconsciously (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). In many organisations, motivation is an important factor that drives performance and innovations. It is commonly agreed that once an individual is motivated he/she becomes productive because work becomes passion. Therefore, motivation is th e intrinsic desire that drives an individual to give his/her best at work. The level of relatedness of leadership and motivation among the followers places motivational tools at a central position in achieving good leadership. The approach to leadership in the military is a complex amalgamation of directive, coaching and delegating leadership styles, where discipline is the universal rule (Horn & Walker, 2008). It is common knowledge that whenever an order has been given out, it is a must for the junior officer in that ranking to act immediately. The fact that discipline requires motivation in order to maintain it at highest standards; the military leadership are required to develop approaches that can ensure the officers are highly motivated. This paper intents to analyse the concept of motivation as a leadership tool and its application by the military to enhance leadership. Theories of Motivation Motivation is an important aspect in organizational leadership in that is used in ensuring the staff are mission driven (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). Approaches used to realise motivation vary from one organisation to another depending on the nature and rules of the job. There are four common theories of motivation that have been used by many research studies into the issues revolving around staff and employee motivation. These include; Humanistic Theory of Motivation, Incentive theory, Drive theory, and Cognitive dissonance theory (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999).Humanistic Theory of MotivationThis theory is rooted on the fact that most human beings are rational and anything done by anybody is driven by reason (Hoffmann, 2007). This type of motivation is realised either through a push and pull model or self control (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). Push and pull is used to create external motivation while the self control is emotional intelligences that give an individual the will to perform a task without being rewarded. This theory is well illustrated by the famous Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs which has divided motivation into various levels with numerous reasons that promote the performance of the affected actions (Hoffmann, 2007). In a military environment, the soldiers can be motivated by providing the staff a reason to why they should be motivated to conduct the stated task.Incentive TheoryThis theory proposes that motivation and behaviour are influenced by beliefs or engagements that are profitable to the individual (Guay et al., 2010). This theory is based on reward system is the major focus of motivation because it is generally believed that by attaching a reward to an action, there is a likely chance that the same action will be repeated (Guay et al., 2010). However, since it is coined from the value of a reward, the time taken to give the reward is an important driver of the motivation. Additionally, continuous rewarding is a catalyst for a prolonged behaviour towards achieving the target. Conversely, the incentive theory focuses on the reinforcement principle as the fundamental mover of motivation because it determines the behaviour in the future. For example, if an individual is rewarded for an action, maintaining the same behaviour requires a pledge of another reward. This way, the promise is a positive reinforcement of the action. Contrastingly, if there is no clear plan for the next reward that person would not maintain the same behaviour because of negative reinforcement.Drive TheoryA drive is an individual aspect that causes a behaviou ral change such that the individual is confident of attaining the objective (Eccles, & Wigfield, 2002). The desire, which acts as the drive for attaining the goal can either be external or internal within the person. For instance, during starvation a person is compelled by the force of being hungry to seek food. The drive will only be relaxed after the individual has accessed food and he or she is no longer hungry. Another good illustration of the drive is the desire for sex, which is a biological push that is found in all animals because it is a hormonal controlled system in the body. Depending on the hormonal level in the animal, the drive would either be surfeit or low. This shows that the drive theory proposes that intrinsic factors are the major forces that make motivation possible. Therefore, the drive theory is rooted in the escapism and seeking models because it is what develops the drive in a person (Guay, et al., 2010). This theory can be analysed from a military point w here the main drive is search for peace where an individual is motivated not to stop functioning at his/her best until peace is realised (Horn & Walker, 2008).Cognitive Dissonance TheoryThis theory proposes that cognitive dissonance results after an individual becomes uncomfortable based on the opinion of people around him and what he /she believes in (Eccles, & Wigfield, 2002). For example, when a consumer buys an item, it is common knowledge that the item provides him/her the desired satisfaction. However, if the consumer prefers another item for the same purpose shows that the value of that item is not consistent with the view of the consumer. Consequently, this theory highlights that people are forced to become motivated in the hope to reducing dissonance. This can be achieved through changing their attitudes, beliefs, mitigating, blaming, rejecting or actions in fear of facing the inconsistencies resulting from mental strain (Guay, et al., 2010). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Based on the analysis of the above theories, motivation can either be internal or external depending on how and where it is applied. Intrinsic motivation is a determination to perform in an individual that is driven by personal interest or enjoyment of the role given. It forms an important element of cognitive, societal and physical development of a person in the organisation (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999). In this regard, intrinsic motivation does not rely on external factors or reward for it to be nurtured in an individual. This is a very important form of motivation in the military since it gives them a sense of purpose even when the situation they are facing is life threatening (Horn & Walker, 2008). On the other hand, external motivation also known as extrinsic motivation is a managerial tool whereby a certain activity is performed with an aim to realise a desirable outcome. Thus, it is a dependant of the external factors that would drive the desire to become a will through giving reward or other forms of incentives (Eccles, & Wigfield, 2002). Competition is considered a major ingredient in developing extrinsic motivation among a group of people. Competition in the military can be cultivated through development of reward system which can be in monetary form or grade (Eccles, & Wigfield, 2002). The disadvantage of embracing this form of motivation is that it may lead to over justification, which has a devastating effect to the overall intrinsic motivation level created in an individual (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999). Furthermore, external motivation in the military can be created through threats. This is common during military training where, only those who display the ability to train hard and pass all the hurdles graduate to become soldiers. For the case of those who are reluctant, they are punished by being dropped from the graduating lot. As a result, all the recruits strive to attain the requirements to qualify for graduation. Leadership and Management in the military Leadership is a social ability that a person uses to influence others in a community or an organisation (Bonnie, 2008). Through the social ability, the person is able to win the support of the majority. When an individual assumes the leadership of a group or an organisation, he becomes responsible for attaining a desired goal. There are several forms of leadership that does not depend on the formal education of a person. However, leadership can also be natural or acquired. The major role of a leader as in the case of the military is to give directions on certain matters affecting a group so as to avoid conflict among its members (Bonnie, 2008). The only similarity between a manager and a leader is that they are both tasked with ensuring the success of an organisation (Udge, 2002). The manager is responsible for administration while a leader creates ideas. Therefore, a manager can be made, but a leadership is natural. Managers are supposed to implement all the structures while a leader is more concerned with its constituents. Managers are more concerned with systems while to a leader the constituents are given the first priority. A new economy manager is tasked with nurturing the skills of workers and motivating the workers to produce results, but a leader is ensures that there is efficiency (Udge, 2002). From this analysis, it is evident that military organizations operate with leaders and not managers due to the uniqueness of the military work environment (Horn & Walker, 2008). Furthermore, the differences between a manager and a leader can be reconciled through defining the roles of each person (Foti, 2007). The difference between a manager and a leader has made many people think of leadership as the ability to deliver results. When a manager is able to handle his workers properly, then the result is a good performance of the organisation. Also, a leader’s success is measured on how he/she is able to change the well- being of his constituents. Therefore, both leadership and management is measured in terms of success.Qualities of an effective leader in a military organisationA learning organisation is a setup that promotes a continuous state of acquiring knowledge and skills within an organisation (Shannon, 2002). The learning process can be both beneficial and disastrous depending on the learning program itself. However, in other cases an individual can learn, but fail to disseminate this information to others in the organisation. As such, the basis to which learning can be promoted depends on the leadership skills and capabilities. Learning is a process that involves the transfer of information, and it greatly depends on whoever is mandated with disseminating the information (Foti, 2007). The first effective quality of a military leader is to have good communication skills. A good communicator will enable learning because the information will be relayed to the desired audience properly. Another quality of an effective military leader is the ability to embrace teamwork (Foti, 2007). The team spirit is the determining factor for the success of learning because through teamwork it is possible to consider both the strength and weakness of an individual military officer. More so, a good military leader should be able to anticipate change in the organisation to facilitate the process. In addition, other important qualities of an effective military leader include: knowledge about organising meetings, interest, a positive attitude, commitment, the ability to maintain confidentiality, the ability to adapt and function in times of uncertainty, the ability to plan and set goals effectively, honesty, a high character, enthusiasm, patience, and logic (Cromwell, 2004).Leadership strategies and Organizational LearningLeadership strategies are an important tool in organisational learning because it ensures the direction adopted by an organization will ensure full realization of th e organization’s objectives. Military heads need to develop effective leadership strategies that will form a framework to realising positive outcomes during the learning process. The most important leadership strategies in promoting staff motivation are organisational culture and leadership style (Cromwell, 2004). Organisational culture is a supposition that exists between staff and leaders in a military organisation that help to attain positive organizational performance (Shannon, 2002). It is a leadership strategy because it outlines the responsibility of an officer in the military institution. For instance, if the organisational culture is networked with high sociability and high solidarity, then it will facilitate teamwork; this gives the organisational learning a positive outcome because the information will be shared amongst the members (Shannon, 2002). On the other hand, if the culture is fragmented with low solidarity, then it encourages individualism hence it can lead to negative outcomes because there is no sharing of information (Shannon, 2002). Therefore, the leadership style adopted by the management determines the effectiveness of a military organization. A style that is all inclusive is likely to lead to a positive performance outcome because it allows brainstorming and sharing of information. However, segregated leadership style is likely to result to negative performance outcomes in an organization because the followers do not interact with the leaders limiting the level of motivation in the organization.Qualities a leader exhibits that may hinder the learning process in a military organizationThe success of the learning process depends on the qualities of the military leader in that the qualities may promote or hinder the learning process (Horn & Walker, 2008). There are several qualities of a leader that may hinder learning, including poor communication skills, negative attitude, lack of interest, failure to maintain confidentiality, dishonesty and an impatient leader (Cromwell, 2004). It is worth identifying the implications of these qualities for a leader in the process of cultivating a learning environment in an organization. Poor communication may result in a situation whereby the leader cannot disseminate the correct information effectively. As such, either the information is misrepresented or misunderstood. Having a negative attitude towards something makes an individual to become less committed to the learning process (Cromwell, 2004). A good leader should be fully committed to the activities involved in learning at all costs to ensure that all information is disseminated properly to the intended persons as it is a major tool that promotes motivation among military personnel. The organisation information requires a lot of confidentiality. For example, some members of a military unit may find it hard to learn in a team especially on professional issues. This information should be treated as confidential by the leader so as not to expose such persons.The role of ethics in the decision-making process in military organizationsEthics is personal attribute that helps an individual to effectively execute his responsibilities in a unified way (Shannon, 2002). Decision making is an inevitable aspect of leadership that ensures the smooth running of processes within a military organization. A poor decision making process leads to unwanted results that may have detrimental effects to the organisation (Cromwell, 2004). Therefore, ethics play a role in critical thinking to ensure that decisions made effective and ethically acceptable in the organization. Since ethics is an individual belief, it determines the way an individual would respond to a certain situation because it gives the basis through which the thought will be propagated. According to Shannon (2002), â€Å"moral philosophy can be summed up in three approaches: materialism, utilitarianism, and deontology† (p. 271). Therefore, the decision making capability of an individual depends on the moral approach. In decision making, an individual’s personal ethics can deter making substantive decisions even where there are options available. For instance, sometimes leaders are forced to a make decision whose impacts greatly satisfy their self-interest. Take the example of a politician who promises to implement safety rules in the passenger service vehicles. As much as this is a decision that would affect the entire population positively, ethical issues may arise if the politician makes it mandatory to buy safety belts from a specified company for his/her own vested interests.Effects of using a systems perspective in decisions makingDecisions in a military organisation can be both constructive and destructive. Therefore, the decision making process should be bound by organisational and leadership systems that limit the extent to which the decision can be altered with regard to the organizational objectives, vision and culture (Shannon, 2002). When a decision is not made on a system perceptive, it is likely to lead to conflicts within the organisation. For instance, members of a military organisation are bound by the culture and objectives of the organisation that are specific to that organisation (Horn & Walker, 2008). Most military organizations have an elaborate mechanism for decision making that ensure that all the interests of the stakeholders are considered in the decision. More so, organizational decision making mechanism serves as a control measure that ensures the decisions made by the leadership do not promote self interests, but the objectives of the organisation in general (Cromwell, 2004). Conflicts will always develop in cases where decisions are made without abiding to the organizations system’s perspective. This is a major demotivating factor in military settings (Horn & Walker, 2008). This occurs mainly when a leader makes a decision that is based on his self interest. For example, tendering is a vital exercise within a military organisation that is affected by decision making. Individuals holding power in such an organisation have the ability to influence the tendering process in their favour. In such a case, the tender may be awarded to a bidder who does not meet the required qualifications specified in the systems perspective. This would lead to a situation where the work done is shoddy, or the organisation pays more for low qualit y services. Employment Relationship and its application in the military setting The term ‘employment-relationship’ is transposable with others when describing aspects of the general relationship between the leaders and the staff in an organization.According to Kaufman (2004), this relationship basically describes the exchange of work by employees for pay from employers. The role of a well defined and productive employment relationship is to equitably lead the various employer worker relationships in an organisation and resolve conflicts within the organisation (Kaufman, 2004). As such, several employees have developed a psychological contract with their employers. Breaching the developed psychological contract has negative implication to the business because loyalty, motivation and commitment of the workers is greatly reduced (Hodgkinson, 2003). The goal of most military organizations is to developing an effective production mechanism to promote the output level. This is achieved if there is an elaborate employment relationship within such an organisation. Most successful organizations have a well established Human Resource Management department which is in charge of the employment relationship. This department has been obliged with the responsibility of monitoring the employment relationship and both internal and external factors that affect it. According to Gospel and Palmer (1993), employment relationship is an economic, social and political association in which employees provide labour for an accepted reward by the employer. Thus, a successful employment relationship must be formulated using a psychological contract that is developed in the mutual agreement between the employer and the employee. On the other hand, Lewis and his colleagues (2003) define employment relationship as an economic, legal, social, psychological and political relationship where employees dedicate their time and expertise experience to the best interest of the employer in exchange of a varied range of rewards in terms of personal financial and non-financial gains. Therefore, the application of effective employee relationship management in the military context as a motivational tool requires in-depth analysis of the employee to ensure hi/she is highly motivated.Social incentives and motivation in the militaryThe workplace happiness is one of the ma jor factors that contribute largely to the success of a leader. Every leader has a unique role to play in order to ensure that all the staff is happy at the workplace so that they can become productive. David (2012) found out that workers’ productivity is significantly higher when an employee is attached to friends who are more able. Perks, monetary rewards and social incentives have been widely used as approaches of enhancing workplace happiness and hence staff motivation (David, 2012). However, the perks and monetary rewards have an insignificant effect in promoting motivation in the current organizational environment (Deci et al., 1999). According to the Harvard business review, perks and monetary rewards do not promote happiness, but instead they promote a culture of entitlement (David, 2012). However, monetary terms can be used for those workers under the piece rate terms as a social incentive. This results to a complex situation when analysing leadership approaches that are founded on followers’ motivation. Social recognition is a leadership tool where positive relationship is maintained at the workplace through acknowledging and rewarding employees’ achievements (David, 2012). This is an important tool because it enables employees to celebrate their success thus improving their work experience. There is a social pressure created among the employees when he or she is given credit of an outstanding work. Additionally, other workers are also forced to compete for the social recognition thus promoting productivity. The idea of social recognition sets to bring about the intrinsic motivation aspect that makes the worker productive. Moreover, it helps the workers build a corporate culture and advance personal legacy (Robison, 2006). Once the culture is developed at the workplace, then it becomes a long term solution to promoting happiness. As a result, social recognition is a powerful leadership tool in promoting the happiness that can be used as a motivational tool in the military. Th is can be achieved through fostering collaboration, increasing talent retention and productivity and reinforcing the corporate culture of the military organisation (Rath & Clifton, 2004). Collaboration at the workplace is a sure way of motivating the workers because it satisfies the social recognition of that particular worker. This can be achieved through allowing praise and recognition to become public at the workplace so that those who are praised feel appreciated (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). Perks and monetary enumerations do not promote happiness because they do not promote the intrinsic factors that spur contentment. A worker would only work to get into the next job group to get the enumeration, but this does not mean he or she is contented. Collaboration rewards the best out of a pool of workers thus making the individual blissful because it creates friendship within the departments. On the other hand, collaboration can be used to facilitate the distribution of workers ability that has a positive effect to the firm’s aggregate performance. Thus, the use social incentives by the management promotes sustained productivity as opposed to monetary motivationa l packages which have limits. Furthermore, staff motivation can be realized through increasing talent retention and productivity (Robison, 2006). Different employees have different capabilities, and those with the best abilities should be retained as much as possible. This is because such employees work hard for the company to realise its goals. The productivity level of such workers becomes better when they are offered an opportunity to enhance their ability and realise their full potential. Additionally, talent retention saves the organization extra cost of recruiting and training new employees. Moreover, the morale of workers is maintained at high levels in an institution where workers with good talents are retained for a longer period (Rath & Clifton, 2004). This is because such workers feel recognised and happy about their role at the workplace. Tapping into the talent and ability of an individual is a motivational aspect that makes the employee work more to obtain innovations. In this way, the employee sets to gain in developing the career and monetary incentives where talent has led to important innovations. Additionally, motivation can be realised through reinforcing the military operational culture because it gives the workers an opportunity to share the success story within the organisation (Horn & Walker, 2008). Success is not automatically inclined to organizational infrastructure, but the extent of the human capital. This is evaluated in terms of how comfortable and content the staff is as they are more productive when contented with the work and the environment. Therefore, leaders have the responsibility of motivating the workers, and this can be achieved through establishing peer-peer programs that develop a shared culture (Robison, 2006). A strong culture will give the workers an opportunity to become more productive in their duties. More so, culture develops a network that is capable of attracting competent employees across the board to improve the performance and effectiveness of an organization in general (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). Leadership Style and staff Motivation in the military Leadership style is significant to determine the level of motivation to the staff in the military. This is because during the entire life of a person, his or her ambitions keep on changing depending on the needs and the environment (Shannon, 2002). Therefore, the leadership style under which an individual works is a clear catalyst of motivation because it provides the social incentive as well as environmental settings that define the ambitions of the followers. Further, it has been realised that command-and-control leadership reduces ambition while worker responsibility increases ambition. As such, the leadership style should focus on developing ambition because it is a major motivating factor for specified job requirements (Udge, 2002) such as the military job. For instance, a military leadership style that is based on minimal supervision enables the staff to be motivated to trust their decisions. In this case, the workers have decision making responsibilities which make the whole team to be motivated to work. Consequently, where the leadership style offers both limited supervision and worker responsibility in decision making, the leader should consider goal, reward and recognition as motivation (Lewis et al., 2003). On the contrast, where the leadership style is highly supervised and command-and- control, there should be peer, authority, threat or fear motivation. Here, the motivation will be to be like others, adherence to policy and resist change. This means that there is high status quo dependency, and obviously the leadership style focuses on resisting change. As such, there is low efficiency as compared to the other forms of leadership. Conclusion Motivation is a central aspect of effective military leadership since it not only guarantees performance within a military organization but also ensures sustained effectiveness of the staff (Horn & Walker, 2008). Social incentives play an important role in leadership success in an organisation. It develops the intrinsic motivation that makes the military officers highly productive. Where monetary incentives are used, maintaining motivation among the staff becomes hard since they work towards increasing their income. Social recognition, collaboration, talent retention and productivity and reinforcing the shared culture are the social incentives that can be used to motivate military personnel. However, friendship at the workplace should be upheld as it fosters learning among the officers and it also makes it easy to identify small problems at the work place. 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