My opinion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

My opinion - Essay Example Such technological intelligence has enabled them to be the leaders in some of the most cherished brands of automobiles and machinery in the world. So dedicated in their work, the Germans always believe in perfection and competence in anything they do (Detlev 78).Interestingly, Germans are a people who talk with a lot of specificity and precision. The culture of beating around the bush and hiding the truth is totally news to them. Wrong a German anywhere and they shall reprimand you on the spot! It is common to see most people in several countries proud to be associated with the histories of their countries. In America for instance, the history of the United States is something every American cherishes. On the contrary, the most Germans do not generally feel obligated to associate with the history of their country. Perhaps this is a result of the turbulent nature of the German history. I feel a great learning opportunity exists in the analysis of the German cultural context and how the Germans have managed to hold their country together amid the turbulent nature of the present age. In any case, the whole course was a rich inundating

Models of Segregation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Models of Segregation - Essay Example That is, he observes the happenings in the human habitations and forms an idea about it, in his mind. And from the mind only, the idea flows out and transcribes into the written script. And, this paper will review one of the written scripts of Thomas C. Schelling called Model of Segregation. The main thesis of the paper as the title itself suggests is segregation, or if a simple word is used, separation. Both the words give wide range of meanings, which can be used on various occasions. But, segregation and separation will be normally used or set into motion, when a set of visible and invisible factors push an individual or a group to leave their current locations, where they were minority. That is, these factor, which pushes the individual from his/her place, is the same in most places, with little variation according to the situations. â€Å"There is segregation by sex, age, income, language, color, taste, comparative advantage and the accidents of historical location.† (Schelling 488). So, in the first page itself, the author sets the agenda of the paper by concentrating on one of the factors that is causing segregation. According to Schelling, the main issues which cause the movement of individual or groups from one set up to another, through the mode of segregation is the individual‘s personal behavior and choices. That is, each person will have a thought process which will be unique to him/her, and which might have got evolved in different settings. So, based mainly on that thought process, an individual will decide his/her racial leanings. But the problem will arise when that individual would form an opinion and, in some cases it could in a discriminatory form. Discriminatory in the sense some individuals would form an opinion and judge other individuals only on the basis of religion, status, education, race etc. This is a very undesirable thing to do and is fraught with danger. The transposition of individuals could not be stopped and the

Pain Management Interventions and Chronic Pain Disorders

Pain Management Interventions and Chronic Pain Disorders Introduction This essay will identify the issue of how poorly addressed acute pain in hospitalized patients may lead to chronic pain disorders, critically compare and discuss a range of pain assessment tools referring to contemporary research literature and practice guidelines for patients who are able to self describe their pain and who are unable to self describe their pain due to verbal communication barriers, critical illness or delirium/dementia. Main Body According to the International Association for the Study of Pain, pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience arising from actual or potential tissue damage. The emphasis of this definition is both the sensory and emotional experience of an individual in pain. According to Tsui, Chen Ng (2010, p.20.), Pain can be emotional, behavioral, sociocultural and spiritual. The exhibition of pain is multidimensional. Therefore, in the assessment of pain, not only a general guideline for a quick review is needed, but also a specific tool to help the professionals to have a more accurate assessment of the experience of pain from a multidimensional perspective. Clinically, â€Å"Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever he/she says it does† (McCaffery, 1968). The temporal profile classification is most commonly used to classify pain.This broad classification of pain duration is often used to better understand the biopsychosocial aspects that may be important when conducting assessment and treatment. For example, many times chronic pain is a result of unresolved acute pain episodes, resulting in accumulative biopsychosocial effects such as prolonged physical reconditioning, anxiety, and stress. It is obvious that this type of time categorisation information can be extremely helpful in directing specific treatment approaches to the type of pain that is being evaluated (Gatchel Oordt, 2003). Acute pain is usually indicative of tissue damage and is characterized by momentary intense noxious sensations (i.e., nociception). It serves as an important biological signal of potential tissue/ physical harm. Some anxiety may initially be precipitated, but prolonged physical and emotional distress usually is not. Indeed, anxiety, if mild, can be quite adaptive in that it stimulates behaviors needed for recovery, such as the seeking of medical attention, rest, and removal from the potentially harmful situation. As the nociception decreases, acute pain usually subsides. Unlike acute pain, chronic pain persists. Chronic pain is traditionally defined as pain that lasts 6 months or longer, well past the normal healing period one would expect for its protective biological function. Arthritis, back injuries, and cancer can produce chronic-pain syndromes and, as the pain persists, it is often accompanied by emotional distress, such as depression, anger, and frustration. Such pain can also often significantly interfere with activities of daily living. There is much more health care utilization in an attempt to find some relief from the pain symptoms, and the pain has a tendency to become a preoccupation of an individuals everyday living. Assessment of a patient’s experience of pain is a crucial component in providing effective pain management. A systematic process of pain assessment, measurement and re-assessment (re-evaluation), enhances the health care teams’ ability to achieve: increased satisfaction with pain management. According to Buckley (2000) nurses are the primary group of health care professionals responsible for the ongoing assessment and monitoring of patients to ensure that pain is effectively and appropriately managed and that patients and families are informed of the consequences of acute pain. Assessment of pain can be a simple and straightforward task when dealing with acute pain and pain as a symptom of trauma or disease. Assessment of location and intensity of pain often sufà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ces in clinical practice. However, other important aspects of acute pain, in addition to pain intensity at rest, need to be deà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ned and measured when clinical trials of acute pain treatment are planned. If not, meaningless data and false conclusions may result. The 5 key components: Words, Intensity, Location, Duration, Aggravating factors pain assessment are incorporated into the process. Objective data are collected by using one of the pain assessment tools which are specià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ c to special types of pain. The main issues in choosing the tool are its reliability and its validity. Moreover, the tool must be clear and, therefore, easily understood by the client, and require little effort from the client and the nurse. According to Husband (2001) to measure the pain severity or intensity, several scales can be used such as a numeric rating scale (NRS), the visual analog scale (VAS), observation scales with indicators of pain, and even creative depictions of pain intensity with scale using a pain thermometer. The numeric rating scale allows patients to rate their pain on and 11-point scale of 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). The majority of patients, even older adults can use this scale. The thermometer scale may be useful in the elderly, according to Rakel and Herr (2004). It shows a picture of a thermometer arranged on a background with a vertical word scale. Finally categoric scales use verbal descriptors to quantify the level of pain and those scales have been validated and are considered to be reliable. Pain assessment in older adults can be challenging and very difficult in some situations (Rakel Herr, 2004). When the patient cannot report his/her subjective pain experience, proxy measurements of pain must be used, such as pain behaviours and reactions that may indicate that the person is suffering painful experiences. Besides communication difà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ culties caused by language problems, patients in the extremes of age, and critically ill patients in the intensive care setting, are common assessment problems. Older patients may prefer to use alternate means to express their pain through the use of word descriptors that best characterize the pain, such as aching, hurting, and soreness (Herr Garand, 2001). The most important components of pain assessment in older adults are regular assessable, standardized tools, and consistent documentation (Horgas, 2003). Pain assessment may also be complicated by decreases in hearing and visual acuity, so tools that require extensive explanation or visualization to perform will be more difficult and possibly less reliable. The verbal descriptor scale may be the easiest tool for the elderly to use. This measure allows patients to describe what they are feeling with common words rather than having to convert how they feel to a number, facial representation, or a point somewhere on a straight line. An observational assessment of pain behavior may be more appropriate for people with severe cognitive impairment, for example, the Abbey pain scale. Identifying pain in the cognitively impaired older adult depends heavily on knowing the patient and paying attention to slight changes in behavior (Soscia, 2003). An interesting veiw was expressed that nurses ma y lack knowledge and have attitudes and practices toward pain management that may compromise pain management for older patients ( Yates et al., 2002, p.403). Conclusion In conclusion, References American Geriatric Society Panel on Chronic Pain in Older Persons (2002). The management of persistent pain in older persons: AGS panel on persistent pain in older persons.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 6(50), supplement 205-224. Horgas, A.L. (2003). Pain management in elderly adults.Journal of Infusion Nursing, 26,161-165. Soscia, J. (2003). Assessing pain in cognitively impaired older adults with cancer.Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 7, 174-177 Drayer, R. A., Henderson, J., Reidenberg, M. (1999). Barriers to Better Pain Control in Hospitalised Patients. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 17(6), 434-440. Yates, P. M., Edwards, H. E., Nash, R. E., Walsh, A. M., Fentiman, B. J., Skerman, H. M., Najman, J. M. (2002). Barriers to Effective Cancer Pain Management: A Survey of Hospitalised Cancer Patients in Australia. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 23(5), 393-405. 1

Free Julius Caesar Essays: Expediency vs. Ideology :: Julius Caesar Essays

Expediency vs. Ideology in Julius Caesar Expediency is the concept of doing something fitting, practical, useful, and advisable. It is the suitable means to accomplish an end. Ideology is the body of beliefs or ideas of any person or group. These two words, if put together, clash. It is a battle between what is really best between what one thinks and what needs to be done. An excellent example of this clash is in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Was the death of Caesar something that was done pragmatically or was it an action taken because of certain convictions, an ideology? Was Caesar’s death practical? Would it bring about positive change for Roman society? The main reason that the conspirators gave for their action was that if Caesar were crowned king, he would become a tyrant, an oppressor of the Roman people. It was done in the best interests of the Republic. Now that he was dead, Caesar could never be a tyrant and the Romans could live in freedom. His murder, therefore, was necessary. Brutus and Cassius took it upon themselves to be the operative forces to kill Caesar. These were expedient men who cared only for Rome. Or were they? The flip side to being practical and doing what is best for others is taking action because of what one thinks needs to be done and/or actually doing it for selfish reasons. Julius Caesar’s death also can be considered an ideological decision. In I, ii, ll. 35-180, Cassius brings forth the issue that he thought Brutus could be as good a ruler as Caesar. Why does Cassius bring this up? What does he get from saying this? One might say that these were encouraging words from one friend to another. However, these words serve as a catalyst for Brutus’ plan to murder Caesar. Among the conspirators, did they have any motives behind their participation in Caesar’s murder?

Compare and contrast mongol rule Essay

During the 12th and 13th centuries the Mongols swept across Eurasia and conquered various peoples, including the Persians and Chinese. There are many slmllarltles and differences In the political and economic effects of Mongol rule on the Abbasid Empire In Persia and on the Yuan Dynasty In china. In both regions, the Mongols were relatively tolerant of all religions. However, they differed in that the Mongol’s allowed Persia to have native administrators but did not allow China to. When the Mongols ruled in Persia and China, they respected all the religions they encountered. In Persia, the Mongols were attracted to Islam and overtime they ssimilated to it. The Mongols were intrigued by Muslim society and by the year 1295, the Persian khanate had converted to Islam. They built mosques throughout the region and returned Islam toa privileged position of Persian society. The Mongols were also tolerant of the other religions in Persia including. Nestorian Christianity, Buddhism and Judaism. In China as well, the Mongols respected all cultural and religious traditions. They began to adopt some of Chinese culture, like ancestor worship. Khubilai Khan even built temples for his predecessors, so he could practice ancestor worship. The Mongols tolerated religions and belief systems such as, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and Christianity. They allowed churches, temples and shrines to be built, because they wanted to maintain a good relationship with the people ot the region. Although the Mongols tolerated Confucianism, they did not allow It to have official support. The Mongols effects on rellglon In Persia and china were quite similar. The Mongol’s ways of governing In Persia differed from how they governed In China. In Persia, the Mongols ruled using ideas from Persian bureaucracy. They set up many district and appointed provincial governors. The highest government positions were held by Mongols, but Persians were allowed to be government offcers at lower levels. Persians served as state officials, ministers and provincial governors. The Mongols allowed the Persians to govern the ilkhanate because they knew the Persians had a successful government and would be able to maintain order. However, the Mongols required the Persians to deliver tax receipts as a way of limiting Persian power. The Mongols set up government in China very differently than they had in Persia. The Mongol’s pushed native Chinese people to the bottom of the hierarchy. The Mongols got rid of Civil Service Exams because they thought there was no need for them. They did not make use of Chinese administrative talent; instead they had foreign administrators govern China. The governing staff included Persians, Arabs and some Europeans. The Mongols didnt want Chinese people to rule because all they wanted from China was to generate revenue and have the people be cultivators. The Mongols governed and treated the Chinese and Persian people very differently. The Mongols political and economic control on Persia and China were alike In some ways and unalike in others. The treatment and tolerance of religions in China ere very similar to that In Persia. Yet, the administrative control in Persia differed than the administrative control In China. The Mongols had multiple methods of ruling conquered regions, none 0T wnlcn were very successTul. However, tnrougnout the Mongols rule, they facilitated trade and encouraged long distance communication throughout Eurasia, which led to cultural diffusion that can still be seen today. Additionally, the Mongols support of Islam helped establish its popularity and encouraged its spread, which has contributed to Islam being the fastest growing and second largest religion.

I Heart Huckabees

‘Know thyself,’ said Socrates, Greek philosopher. His argument was we must know ‘thyself’ in order to be wise. As people grow up, they want to find out about themselves. Students, for example, think critically about what they want to become because adults say the thought of money equals happiness is wrong. Dr. Carl G. Jung states that, â€Å"one must get in touch with the Shadow and Anima/Animus before one can truly get in touch with Self. † The film, I love Huckabees, shows examples of existentialism and the process of finding one’s true self. Albert, Tom, and Brad were successful in dismantling and getting down to their true selves because they accept their shadow, polarize with others, and realize their persona. Albert Markovski is the protagonist who is the director of coalition called ‘Open Spaces. ’ He initially seeks the existential detectives, The Jaffes, to question the coincidental incidents with Steven. Through the process of dismantling with the Jaffes, Albert shows signs of his shadows such as jealousy, denial, and over-reaction. One’s shadow can be easily seen from a third-person point of view such as friends. Albert’s shadow is clearly shown when Bernard uses the body bag method. Jealousy, which is a sign of desire of love, is visualized in the image where Dawn says, â€Å"Stop looking at me. † Albert’s denial and over-reaction is clearly shown when Brad, Albert’s shadow, first visits the Jaffes with an objective of getting Albert fired. With unsatisfactory results from the Jaffes, Albert follows Tom and meets Catherine, student of Jaffes. Catherine identifies that Albert’s reasoning for feeling embarrassed for sadness is derived from his mother. Catherine says, â€Å"You were orphaned by indifference. † After realizing his true self, liar, he accepts and follows Catherine’s philosophy. However, he realizes that the Jaffes philosophy and Catherine’s philosophy are polarizing ideas. Through those ideas, he accepts his shadows; when he derives that him and Brad are the same and desire for love through experiencing sex with Catherine. Catherine also teaches the feeling of ‘pure being’ which is being in a state of empty thought. There are many claims and theories that emptying one’s mind can get close to one’s spiritual self such as Anima/Animus. Albert loves the feeling of ‘pure being’ state, but there is not enough information to explain if this progress is finding his spiritual self. Tom Corn is a fire fighter who is obsessed with petroleum. Due to his obsession, his wife leaves him along with his daughter. He also meets both philosophers but he mainly focuses in Catherine’s philosophy of nihilism. His success in dismantling was from the event where he saves Dawn in the burning house and falls in love with her. This attraction is because they are two opposite extremes. For instance, Tom is an aggressive type of person whereas Dawn is very positive type of person. Tom and Dawn show their successful dismantling when Dawn breaks up with Brad. It proves that Tom and Dawn trust each other which are derived from their honesty. Their relationship also shows Tom’s acceptance towards his desire for love in which he denies with rage when he sees Albert and Catherine having sex together. Although Tom needs improvement on finding his true self, his relationship with Dawn is the perfect condition which requires trust, honesty, and commitment, to help each other identify their shadow. Unlike Albert and Tom, Brad Stand is less successful in finding his true self. He only cares about other people’s opinions or rather, the society’s standard. He meets the Jaffes and does not take them seriously at all and in fact uses them to get Albert fired. His dismantling is successful when Vivian brings the recording of him repeatedly telling the story about the chicken salad and Shania. The Jaffes point out that Brad is doing this just to keep him cheerful. Brad refuses and states that he will stop telling the story. He does manage to not say the story when the corporate board of directors asks to tell the story but instead, ends up vomiting. Another significant event for Brad is when Albert burns down Brad’s house. Brad starts to question his existence just like Albert has. Although this event is nothing like his shadow, it is significant because for a person who barricades behind their mask, questioning one’s existence is a successful start. He accepts the fact that he needs help from someone when he mentions, â€Å"Yeah, okay, I’m caught up in that shit† inside the elevator with Albert. Albert suggests him to meet Catherine. Hence, Brad heads to the right direction to finding his true self. Through all the insane events that identified one’s shadow, polarization, and persona, Albert, Tom, and Brad dashes through to their true selves. Although Brad had hard time finding the starting line, Albert comes to help by burning off Brad’s mask that was blinding him. ‘Life is like a long marathon, you can’t stop, but to keep going. ’

Organizational Behavior Human Behavior at Work

Organizational Behavior Human Behavior at Work Organizational behavior refers to the study and appliance of information in relation on how people or else how groups operate in associations. Organizational behavior takes classification approach to construes people-association affiliations in requisites of the entire person, whole group, whole party as well as the as the whole societal scheme.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The principle aim of organizational behavior is to put together enhanced relations through attaining human goal, managerial objectives and also communal ambitions. Organizational behavior can also be described as the study of entities and their behavior inside the context in an organization in an agency locale (Davis 1967). In other words it is an interring punitive field that takes account of administration, psychology, sociology as well as communication. There ar e various private companies inflowing the health care information field and hence leading to both positive and negative results. Some of the positive as well as negative consequences are elaborated below. With the personal companies getting into the health care field there has been a lot of improvement on the services provided to the patients. This engrosses the cost on patients that is by provision of more pleasant hospital foods and also improved parking (Newstrom 1993). There have also been enhancements in the use of contemporary information technologies and also in commerce practices in the health care schemes. In Gary’s response, the health care is portrayed as affordable and efficient. The health care is useful to patients as it has introduced an appealing concerns with the patients portals through which the patient accesses the health vault. By this the private companies are definitely expected to commonly accepted arrangements.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand, the provider is also in a position to restrict his patient from accessing data from an external provider. With the private companies there has been ascertained baseline of data such as office notes as well as medications that ought to be provided to the patients for motivating payments for the providers. In Malka’s response tries to elaborate further on the private companies and the domains of health care that are involved as well as the consequences of the private companies. The two domains explained includes the Private Health RECORDS and National Health Information Networks. Personal Health Information Records composes of various submissions that help people bring together, deal with, scrutiny and also share copies their private health information. For fundamental civilization health care the health care consumers ought to be empowered by means of placing data directly on their hands also via engaging and absorbing them. Milka responds by arguing that it is possible to systemize as well as to store customer’s health data online via Google health and Microsoft Health Volt thus making it easy to put together your medical records to the patient’s account from connected doctors’, pharmacies or even from various hospitals. In addition these two can sort out in a single place the health of the whole family. Bailor had a vision of making health data available via network at anytime as well as anyplace. In conclusion organizational behavior should be aimed at attaining the set out goal whether via a group of people in an association or by an entity. In case of drawbacks that may be encountered the companies or organizations involved should come up with a way of overcoming those (Revans 1982). With the entrance of various private companies in the health field has lead to improvement of services offered to the patient as well as costs have been regulated. This is seen as a positive result coming along with the private companies entering in the health field.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More References Davis , K. (1967). Human relations at work: The dynamics of organizational behavior.  9th ed., New York: McGraw-Hill. Newstrom, John W. Davis, Keith (1993). Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at  Work. New York: McGraw-Hill. Revans, R. W. (1982). The Origin and Growth of Action Learning. Hunt, England:  Chatwell-Bratt, Bickley.

DAECHER Surname Meaning and Family History

DAECHER Surname Meaning and Family History Occupational in origin, the Daecher surname most likely derived from the Old High German word decker, denoting one who covered roofs with tile, straw or slate. The meaning of the word expanded during the Middle Ages to encompass carpenters and other craftsman and was used to refer to one who built or laid the decks of vessels From the German Decher, meaning the quantity of ten; this may also have been a name given to the tenth child. Surname Origin: German Alternate Surname Spellings:  DEKER, DECKER, DECHER, DECKARD, DECHARD, DEKKER, DEKKES, DEKK, DECK, DECKERT, DEKKES, DECKARD, DEKK, DECK, DECKERT  Ã‚   Famous People with the DAECHER Surname Jessie James Decker -  American country pop singer-songwriter and reality T.V. personalityEric Decker - American National League Football wide receiverDesmond Dekker - Jamaican  singer-songwriter and musicianThomas Dekker -  English  dramatist and pamphlet writer Where is the DAECHER Surname Most Common? The Daecher surname, according to surname distribution information from Forebears, is primarily found in the United States- especially in the state of Pennsylvania, followed by California and New York. WorldNames PublicProfiler indicates the Daecher surname is most common, as might be expected, with people living in Germany, followed by those in the United States. Within Germany, the Daecher surname is found most frequently in Hessen, followed by Nordrhein-Westfalen and Thuringen. Within the United States, the majority of the individuals with the Daecher surname are living in Pennsylvania. Genealogy Resources for the Surname DAECHER Daecher Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Daecher family crest or coat of arms for the Daecher surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. DECKER DNA ProjectMore than 100 members have joined this project for the Decker surname (and variants such as Daecher) to  work together to find their common heritage through DNA testing and sharing of information. DECKER Family Genealogy ForumThis free message board is focused on descendants of Decker ancestors around the world. Search the forum for posts about your Decker ancestors, or join the forum and post your own queries.   FamilySearch - DAECHER GenealogyExplore over 1.3 million  results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Daecher surname on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. DECKER Surname Mailing ListFree mailing list for researchers of the Daecher surname and its variations includes subscription details and a searchable archives of past messages. GeneaNet - Daecher RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Daecher surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. The Daecher Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Daecher surname from the website of Genealogy Today. Ancestry.com: Daecher SurnameExplore over 2.6 million digitized records and database entries, including census records, passenger lists, military records, land deeds, probates, wills and other records for the Daecher surname on the subscription-based website, Ancestry.com - References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Back to  Glossary of Surname Meanings Origins

Assignment for International Economic Relations Lecture

Assignment for International Economic Relations lecture Topic:Milton Friedman as the criticised economic agitator which has chances to succeed In my opinion, things which are fascinating in the economy for people without more than average knowledge about this science are not elaborate models, taxation or tariff systems. Really captivating issue for ordinary man is a picture of economy as a metaphysical force which rules our lives. In this context it is a reasonable tool for explaining global processes. Somehow, we should be a little skeptical, because it is quite dangerous to think that one and only impact on world society is supply and demand rule. In my essay I would like to focus on the understanding and the idea of world which Milton Friedman offered in the book „Free to Choose†. In the reality as he presented it there are two categories of action- according to â€Å"real economics† and against it. That real and good economics is a set of actions, but also lack of any action, which are undertaken for purely economical reasons. One should emphasize that Friedman sees economics as overwhelming power which, in terms of the effectiveness and the profit, is the best solution. As an example he is points to ZSSR- an opposite of the model to free economics. In his view commonwealth with the planned economy would be in even worse condition if it werent for the elements of drawing aside from the Marxist ideology in the direction of the capitalism. American economist illustrates the way in which the system works by describing the situation of the Soviet citizen who is decides to break the principles of soviet economy. He is handing the washing machine over to the national point of repair illegally. He is paying more, but repair is done without the queue and he has his working washing machine in the short time. What is more a mechanic from the national point of repair gets some additional earnings. Both benefit from that transaction, which is a pure example of capitalistic way of handling business , all that happening in the center of gravity of a planned economy. Friedman is also assigning a very important role to the price as the notifying, stimulating and regulating factor. One should add typical Smiths attitude to the role of the government presented in the epitaph for Hong Kong of the end of years 80, written in the same spirit. My point is not to report Friedmans ideas, as I think that what he presents to his readers is not only the image of economics. I can see it more as the program, desired state of affairs. In my mind a Nobel Prize winner in field of economics from the year 1976 is in a way reminding of Karol Marx. Despite the fact that the Communist Manifesto is from other times and presents the opposite ides, I could say it uses similar rhetoric. As a matter of fact the American economist is scoring the program of the co-founder of the International Workingmens Association, as if he wanted to show that the capitalism won already as the best economic system, now is the time for it to become the leading ideology. Finding support in such attributes as the freedom, the equality in the access to goods explicitly in the context of the economic system is making the text of Friedman agitational. In the following part of the essay I will be trying to confront utilitarian (or even Utopian) vision of Friedman with views of other economic minds. It is probably the best to argue against Milton Friedmans theory by using the achievements of the school of John Maynard Keynes. It is obvious that the British scholar sees the role of the government and the state rather differently. Keynes wants administration to take care of citizens in the full-time manner, rather than only as a night watchman. However he agrees with the global scope of economics. According to him the domestic production depends on the world demand, and unemployment is an effect of the insufficient demand. When comparing the two points of view I shall focus on the vivid aspects. There is a method of the psychoanalysis with the colloquial name „ dictator †. The test examines 2 persons- one is assigned to be a dictator receives for example 100 dollars. He is supposed to share money with the second person, so that the other accepts the exchange. If the second person agrees on the division of money, the amounts are given to the participants. If the division wont be accepted money is coming back to researchers. It isnt possible to negotiate and the second person knows what amount the dictator has at his disposal. Supposedly the situation is simple- the second person should agree to accept any amount the dictator offers, as it would always result in the intrinsic gain for him. Meanwhile, 69% of people for which the suggested amount stayed from 1 to 3. 7 dollar decided not to agree for the division. Dictators most often pay amounts between 28 and 44 dollars. It is one of many undoubted proofs for the fact that people do not always act reasonably and according to the spirit of economics. Adam Smith wrote, that the exchange between sides based on the principle of the freedom would take place exclusively when both sides will recognize it as profitable. How can receiving 3 dollars for nothing not be recognized as profitable? It turns out that there is something else apart from the profit as understood by Friedman. In „Free is Choose† and „The Essence of Friedman„ is summoning the famous Leonard E. Reads pencil, of which „ no man knows how to make a it†. Read is describing all stages of the coming into existence of the pencil, with a broad spectrum. The pencil â€Å"is saying† that thanks to the function of price none of the buyer is interested in a aspect who is getting the graphite: believer of the Yahweh or the Allah and whether Americans or Japanese people cut the trees down. The whole matter is showing itself not to be so simple and that is why nobody is registering international price of pencils, and more a barrel of oil concerns us. Furthermore an example of the â€Å"dictator† shows that the point of reference is extremely important in making economic decisions. Not to search far, let us take the example of the European Union, which ideology is more related to Keynes than Friedman. What I mean is the Union as the institution bristling with the customs, rates, and artificial subsidies of Community economies. After all opening to other markets, with cheap products (provided it is not dealing with the dumping) should benefit the EU. Isnt it a fact that the more participants in the free global exchange, the more effective the economy is? We, Europeans prefer to pay extra for â€Å"our† grain, by subsidizing it, rather than allow for goods from Africa. Maybe the explanation for this is the fact that we are aware that even tough the profit is less, it stays within European economy, and does not allow inhabitants of Africa to make comparatively higher profit. It is worthwhile to mention the opponent of classical economics and the self-regulation of the world market. Karl Polanyi regarded specific business activity and its rooting in the culture together with the historical moment and the social situation as the main factors influencing the shape of the economy(„ The Great Transformation †). According to Polanyiego economic transactions are not as much guided by receiving an economic or financial benefit as they are aimed at supporting and refreshing norms and social values. He found global markets moving on into the side of the laissez-faire, the main reason for the atomization of the society and the breakdown of social bonds. From the other side Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto is slightly narrowing the issues. He definitely rejects the argumentation of supporters of liberal economics, who claim that capitalism is not working in some countries (e. g. South America) due to cultural differences. He regards these views as offensive and unconvincing. In his „ The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else †, he highlights the inborn feature of entrepreneurship of inhabitants of countries which find it difficult to function as the free market economy. De Soto claims that the poor men of noncapitalistic world have significant amounts of the saving which are being estimated to account for as much as forty-fold the entire foreign help from 1945 to 2000 r. The Peruvian can see the problem in the lack transparency of these goods. The wealth which people have from outside of the range of capitalism, is not circulating in the worlds economy. It is not possible to take a loan or to pawn the central mortgage with the help of these assets. For de Soto capital is not only a transparentness. The secret of Capital lies in abilities of people of capitalist systems which can see living their wealths which they can invest as a living capital. For them it works already on the principle of the unconditioned reflex, however the rest of the world is left with the dead capital and not being able to invest it. Here Hernando de Soto is seeking the cause of the poverty. I will devote the last paragraph to the quite obvious accusation, that in the model of Friedman there is no such an instrument like social benefits. The government, which is not helping poor men to rise their quality of living and help become economically active or in more extreme cases giving them a chance to survive, seems worthless. Apart from that, words about equality of opportunities and of the access to goods, seem to be empty words in the context of a society diversified in terms of wealth from the assumption. It is not difficult to attack Milton Friedman and his views. Equally easily like Karol Marks and his social and economic model . After all in the communism a logical cohesion and an adequacy in relation to reality were not the most important issue, its aim was to give an uncomplicated and interesting interpretation of world surrounding us. The same concerns the laissez-faire of Friedman. This gives the American economist greater chances of the success than the German a philosopher had. If to examine the criticism of de Soto, Keynes, Polanyi and socialists it it is possible enough to reach the conclusion that they criticize small shortcomings rather than serious professional errors. Following Keynes thoughts, it is possible to say that there are other factors which influence human action then mere economics. However it is worth to remember the fact that at one time we didnt know how to measure the social capital, social tensions, social inequality. Perhaps at one time in the future we will manage to measure even more intangible factors such as love, pain or the dislike. Then when they become measurable and countable, it will be possible to include them in the system of economic exchange, and to check whether being a â€Å"dictator† is still more profitable. It is difficult to force people to retreat from global exchange, in favor to the local one which is fulfilling the social role, as Karl Polanyi wanted. As for de Soto, the poor of developing countries must learn the same lesson as the Americans in The Wild West did- the important of title deeds and the fact that they are liable to an exchange for other goods, that is in short transparency. There remain two questions: how to convince people for acting within the free economy, and how to solve a problem which the laissez-faire doesnt predict? First what is coming to my mind it is a Grameen Bank example. First bank in the world which opened to people without essential capital. The homeless, unescorted women, families in need could take the microcredit fitted to their needs. Everything acting as a bit as in the fairy tale- as people are rising their standard of living and Grameen notes considerable profits. What is more they already have their followers in major banks: Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, BNP Paribas. Of course, just as in every other system there are already certain shortcoming, but one should remember that the project is young. One should appreciate the fact that it is satisfying social needs of the welfare state belongs, and it is not in opposition to the laissez-faire. And if the economic liberalism would be supposed to control entire world, it is in my opinion one of the best solutions we could offer yet. It is as if we corrected the shortcoming of the framework by using the tools that the framework gives us. Maciej Bialoruski, IS UW(International Economic Relations, Wed,16. 45)

Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Strategic Management - Assignment Example king from both internal and external influences, explains strategies used by Davies in launching this new line, and proposes recommendations about whether this new launch can provide a return on the investment. The PEST Analysis, as part of environmental scanning, provides an opportunity to witness the different external conditions that influence decision-making. This model recognises political, economic, social and technological forces that will determine a firm’s adaptability to external trends. From the political view, Davies’ new business intends to launch 25 stores. Success domestically will determine whether to take this brand international and strategy could be impacted by different taxation or tariffs on imported products, cutting into the profit margin. Depending on the country where Davies might export his goods, political forces can determine speed of new market entry or regulate volume being delivered. The economic environment plays a considerable role in how a business develops strategy. Where this new line will be introduced, the UK, there is a current recession that impacts consumers at all different levels and market segments. In response to consumers slowing their purchases, especially in retail, high-end companies like Versace have stopped production on five different product lines in lower-priced ranges since they were not showing signs of profitability (Choi, 2009). Further, Tiffany closed its business focusing on Iridesse pearl jewelry to focus on diamonds due to sales slumps (Choi). This illustrates how the economic environment drives companies to streamline their product lines or enhance their sales focus on higher-profiting products. Spending patterns in consumer groups can strongly impact strategic direction, especially at the operational level like at Versace. Social trends, also external, impact how a company conducts business in a certain environment. A recent survey of citizens in Asia identified that Asians tend to worry about

Diversity in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Diversity in the Workplace - Essay Example Capitalizing and maximizing on diversity in the workplace has become a very critical management issue today (Thiederman, 2008). The leadership and management teams in organizations need to recognize that workplace environment is diversifying, evolving, and changing. Management and employees must be equipped to value multicultural differences in both customers and associates in order for everyone to be handled with dignity. Considering that managing diversity remains an important organizational challenge, leaders and managers should learn the skills required in a multicultural and diverse environment (Devoe, 1999). This paper will discuss various aspects of diversity in the workplace. Generally, diversity is defined as understanding, valuing, celebrating, accepting, and acknowledging differences among people with regard to ethnicity, race, gender, spiritual practice, age, public assistance status, class, sexual orientation, and mental and physical ability (Shakhray, 2009). In the wake of globalization, diversity issues are considered fundamental and are projected to become even more critical in the coming years because if increasing differences in the populations around the world. As such, organizations are required to focus on diversity particularly within the work setting and to look for ways of becoming completely inclusive organizations since diversity has the potential of resulting to greater competitive advantages and productivity. Diversity especially in the workplace is believed to be an invaluable competitive asset that any organization cannot afford to ignore (Devoe, 1999). Valuing and managing diversity is an important component of effective people management that can go a long way in improving productivity and satisfaction in the workplace. Demographic changes such as the organizational restructurings, equal opportunity legislation, and women in the workplace will need organizations to assess and review their practices of management, as well as to de velop creative and new approaches to manage people. Such changes will increase customer service and work performance (Harvey and Allard, 2005). There is no doubt that diversity in the workplace is a reality around the world. this is not only reflected in the organizational demographic trends, but also in how issues are being addressed in the workplace including the issues of disability accommodation, flexible work arrangements, elder care and child care among others (Thiederman, 2008). Diversity is beneficial in many ways to the organizational as a whole and also to the management and employees. Even though employees are interdependent in the work environment, respecting differences of individuals can significantly increase productivity. Workplace diversity can increase marketing opportunities, business image and creativity. In the modern era when creativity and flexibility are critical to competitiveness, workplace diversity is important for the success of any organization (Lewis, 2000). Proper management of diversity in the workplace can provide a distinct advantage in this era of enhanced competitiveness. Various studies have shown that heterogeneity promotes productivity and creativity. In addition, heterogeneous groups have demonstrated to produce better solutions to challenges within a workplace

FORTH ROAD BRIDGE MAINTENANCE Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

FORTH ROAD BRIDGE MAINTENANCE - Coursework Example This paper examines maintenance/upgrading/repair of the bridge’s crucial members, with particular emphasis on the main cables. This, in the context of identification of the faults associated with the cables, and the methodology adopted in repair or remedy of the observed damages. The techniques involved/applied in the maintenance of this bridge will also be discussed. Recommendations will be made, and where appropriate, alternative repair methods would be suggested. The methodology entails a critical assessment based on literature research, hence references will be made to available studies on the subject, and where necessary, other relevant material would be cited. The maintenance of the Forth Road bridge is multi-dimensional in nature. Generally, there could be a categorisation into two broad classes: (a) small to medium-sized maintenance operations, and (b) major operations. The first category serves the general purpose of simply keeping the bridge usable, while the second category serves the more vital purpose of enhancing, improving or elevating the serviceability of the structure to a higher level. It is noteworthy that training of staff, risk assessments and method statements are carried out prior to any task, to ensure that work is carried out as safely as possible. This can perhaps be described as yet another dimension of these maintenance operations, impacting on quality of the procedures involved, in the context of safety. A number of simple or basic operations have been identified in connection with maintenance of this bridge. There are, for instance, routine tasks during the summer months involving the washing of the steelwork of the suspended span truss with freshwater to remove surface salts and guano. There are, and have been, small to medium-sized maintenance works carried out since the Forth Road Bridge commenced service, and, in this context, these

The History of Affirmative Action Research Paper

The History of Affirmative Action - Research Paper Example n the schools, denied equal chance at acquiring good jobs and rejected from housing areas all reserved exclusively for the pale-skinned dominant culture of the west Europeans. This separation was made possible because of an ideology that believed white people were of a higher, more refined nature than those who had not yet been ‘cleansed’ of their barbarism. In many cases, minority members of society were restricted to slave or near-slave status even after the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865. Through a variety of tactics, the prevailing opinion of the ‘less civilized’ minority people of color was perpetuated by existing legislation and unfair practices that prevented these people from achieving the same kinds of success discovered by white people. Even after legislation now collectively referred to as the Jim Crow laws were abolished, inequality prevailed through shady or evasive business practices, finally forcing the enactment of countermeasures now kn own as Affirmative Action. Although controversial, this legal action was required in order to try to equalize the opportunity for all, extending the right for all free people to reach the potential they are willing to work for. Without affirmative action to help ensure equality, the balance in this country would still be heavily in favor of the ethnic majority and segregation would be much more blatant than it is today. Social evolution depends on widespread social acceptance of differences. It is a process that doesn’t seem to occur naturally in this country without the benefit of affirmative action polices. Since its enactment, affirmative action has succeeded in balancing the opportunities available to men and women of all ethnicities. Although the majority ethnic group, the white people, may now feel they are being treated unfairly simply because they have lost their stranglehold on the economic high ground, affirmative action has been successful in distributing opportuni ty on a more equal basis. A

Philosophy of education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Philosophy of education - Essay Example Aristotle strongly believed that education has a potential to make a person live a happy life as it is through education that he learns to acquire, develop and evolve different virtues in life. Hence, he was of opinion that schooling should be provided publicly and should follow one method for all people in the society. Moreover, Aristotle’s belief that only that person who has better judgment, thoughtful observation and purpose in life is the happiest person, is true to a great extent as these are the qualities that helps in flowering human being’s personality and making him achieve his highest potential. Hence, it is extremely important to consider education as a pillar of human happiness and not just a means of gaining a ‘qualification’. However, Aristotle’s belief that education should be ‘one and the same for all’ is not applicable in today’s time. Science has evolved and developed to a great extend and has proved that different children have different intelligences and hence, need to be taught in different ways. I believe in this theory and would like to integrate it in future, if I get an opportunity to become a teacher. I aim to become a teacher and make learning in schools a joyful and fulfilling experience for children, as it was made for me by my teachers. I was fortunate to have inspirational and encouraging teachers in school. I loved going to school and enjoyed learning from my teachers. They have inspired me to aim for becoming an excellent teacher and contribute in building a strong educational foundation for children. While exploring different studies in the field of educational psychology, I came across some interesting ideas in articles by John Staddon and David Geary. John Staddon has pointed out that application of Skinner’s methods of ‘positive reinforcement’ and ‘operant behavior conditioning’ to the field of education, is not good for development of children. This is because the method of ‘operant behavior

FORTH ROAD BRIDGE MAINTENANCE Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

FORTH ROAD BRIDGE MAINTENANCE - Coursework Example This paper examines maintenance/upgrading/repair of the bridge’s crucial members, with particular emphasis on the main cables. This, in the context of identification of the faults associated with the cables, and the methodology adopted in repair or remedy of the observed damages. The techniques involved/applied in the maintenance of this bridge will also be discussed. Recommendations will be made, and where appropriate, alternative repair methods would be suggested. The methodology entails a critical assessment based on literature research, hence references will be made to available studies on the subject, and where necessary, other relevant material would be cited. The maintenance of the Forth Road bridge is multi-dimensional in nature. Generally, there could be a categorisation into two broad classes: (a) small to medium-sized maintenance operations, and (b) major operations. The first category serves the general purpose of simply keeping the bridge usable, while the second category serves the more vital purpose of enhancing, improving or elevating the serviceability of the structure to a higher level. It is noteworthy that training of staff, risk assessments and method statements are carried out prior to any task, to ensure that work is carried out as safely as possible. This can perhaps be described as yet another dimension of these maintenance operations, impacting on quality of the procedures involved, in the context of safety. A number of simple or basic operations have been identified in connection with maintenance of this bridge. There are, for instance, routine tasks during the summer months involving the washing of the steelwork of the suspended span truss with freshwater to remove surface salts and guano. There are, and have been, small to medium-sized maintenance works carried out since the Forth Road Bridge commenced service, and, in this context, these

Philosophy of education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Philosophy of education - Essay Example Aristotle strongly believed that education has a potential to make a person live a happy life as it is through education that he learns to acquire, develop and evolve different virtues in life. Hence, he was of opinion that schooling should be provided publicly and should follow one method for all people in the society. Moreover, Aristotle’s belief that only that person who has better judgment, thoughtful observation and purpose in life is the happiest person, is true to a great extent as these are the qualities that helps in flowering human being’s personality and making him achieve his highest potential. Hence, it is extremely important to consider education as a pillar of human happiness and not just a means of gaining a ‘qualification’. However, Aristotle’s belief that education should be ‘one and the same for all’ is not applicable in today’s time. Science has evolved and developed to a great extend and has proved that different children have different intelligences and hence, need to be taught in different ways. I believe in this theory and would like to integrate it in future, if I get an opportunity to become a teacher. I aim to become a teacher and make learning in schools a joyful and fulfilling experience for children, as it was made for me by my teachers. I was fortunate to have inspirational and encouraging teachers in school. I loved going to school and enjoyed learning from my teachers. They have inspired me to aim for becoming an excellent teacher and contribute in building a strong educational foundation for children. While exploring different studies in the field of educational psychology, I came across some interesting ideas in articles by John Staddon and David Geary. John Staddon has pointed out that application of Skinner’s methods of ‘positive reinforcement’ and ‘operant behavior conditioning’ to the field of education, is not good for development of children. This is because the method of ‘operant behavior

Life-Based Leadership Principles from Jack Welch Essay Example for Free

Life-Based Leadership Principles from Jack Welch Essay During the hundreds of millions of years of natural evolution on this planet, survival has always been a continuous challenge for living creatures. It has recently to come into light that in the past four million years, there have been scores of human species on the earth, besides us homo sapiens. However, all of these various human-like beings including the Neanderthal man perished in the course of evolution; we humans have outlived all of them. We have emerged as the true survivors. We are the last â€Å"man† standing. However, in the whole history of the world, survival could have never been as tough as it is in today’s world of big business. It is an ever-changing, dizzingly fast-paced, intensely competitive and danger-saturated environment out there. There are many survivors and many winners in this arena, of course. Of all such exceptional people in the recent decades, there is one man who stands out as a celebrated icon of leadership and business success. And it is none other than Jack Welch of GE, arguably the finest CEO in the latter half of the twentieth century. Speaking from a broad perspective, he is not just an exemplary business leader, but a hero, a survivor, a symbol of the triumph of man. Jack Welch is a man who believed that each individual should control his or her own destiny. Welch sums up his conviction thus: â€Å"Today, I see winning as people defining their objectives and fulfilling them, not being a victim. You define where you want to go, and then you go for it ([emailprotected]) And from the depth of this belief perhaps sprang the secret of his greatness. Starting from the early Eighties, Jack Welch, CEO of the General Electric Corporation, has led his company through one of the most revolutionary and far-reaching changes ever witnessed in modern business history. Having taken GE with a market capitalization of about $12 billion, Jack Welch turned it into one of the largest and most admired companies in the world, with a market value of about $500 billion, when he stepped down as its CEO 20 years later, in 2000. Although Jack Welch was the legendary leader of a global manufacturing giant noted for its technological might and superiority, he has utilized a very human process to drive change through GEs vast organization. He honoured the individual above all, and the humanity of the individual. To him, the individual was the pivotal force in bringing about organizational change. And for the major part of his immensely successful career at the helm of GE he relentlessly embraced change. It was change that made GE businesses leaders in their markets, added profitable, productive businesses to GEs family, and tapped the brains of knowledgeable employees. Welch worked for change, and change worked for him. Jack Welch of course knew how difficult change could be. Nevertheless he viewed change as his only real chance to transform GE into the kind of top-notch competitive enterprise that he wanted it to be. Only through continuously undergoing massive changes, GE could win, and Jack Welch firmly believed in winning. He wanted to be a winner. And winners were not afraid to make changes. However, pursuit of change, empowerment of individuals, and such principles are only part of a broder human-centric principles of successful leadership in which Jack Welch passionately believed in. Welch’s original approach to management and leadership, which proved so successful in transforming GE could be summed up unders six heads: Control your destiny, or someone else will. Welchs first maxim became the title of a semi-autobiographic bestseller that described the revolution at GE. The basic approach that Welch followed to carry out a dramatic revolution at GE was to trust the individual and let him or her believe in their own desitiny. Welsh believed in delegating authority freely, fairly and responsibly, within the company. In a general context, however, while no mere human being can have absolute control over his or her destiny, the point is to take total personal responsibility for one’s own life and actions, and assume intelligent control of the course of things. 2. Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it were. Facing reality is tough. Facing reality means looking directly into suffering, failure, inadequacy of ourselves, others, and the world, something which we human beings are programmed to avoid. When corporations do not face simple realities, however, such as their products costing more to produce and being worthless than those of their competitors, market share and profits drop, the company and its employees suffer. Welch saw all these things happening at GE. Only when we are ready to honestly examine ourselves and acknowledge our shortcomings, will we be able to do anything about them. Acceptance can lead to transformation. 3. Be candid with everyone. Traditional wisdom says that honesty is the best policy. This home-spun truth has great relevance in today’s hyper-modern corporate settings. Welch strove to create an atmosphere at GE where people could effortlessly speak up to somebody in authority, who could then do something about their problems. It is an atmosphere, it is in the air of GE. Welch himself regularly spoke with front-line employees on the plant floor. Welch was equally open to hear both the good and bad things about GE. Honesty, sincerity and candor: they have their own rewards. In a bureaucracy, people are afraid to speak out. This type of environment slows you down, and it doesnt improve the workplace, says Jack Welch. He therefore calls for promoting a corporate culture that appreciates and rewards honest feedback. You reinforce the behaviors that you reward. If you reward candor, youll get it. 4. Dont manage, lead. Welch abhorred a strictly hierarchical type of management built on the concept of control. To Welch, managers should become leaders who show the way to other people by inpsiring and motivating them. Instead of controlling and exploiting workers, leaders should liberate and empower them. Do not push and pull your employees at every opportunity, gently guide them towards greater possibility. Welch’s leadership philosophy continues to be very simple: empower others, ask questions, tap into the potential of all of your associates, choose integrity and candor over charts, graphs, and politics, and spend more time in action instead of planning and posturing budgets. 5. Change before you have to. That is to say, proactivity. One has to be able to look ahead and predict changes that future is going to necessitate. In the context of a business organization, it is far better to change early those things in a company that need to be changed to stay competitive, when there is still plenty of time, rather than forcibly having to change them later when an adverse reality in form of failure and loss thrusts itself in the face of the organization. Welch was fond of yelling across the table at meetings, Change, before its too late! 6. If you dont have a competitive advantage, dont compete. Welch often quoted his business maxim that every division at GE had to be number one or number two or get out of that specific business. In the 1980s, Welch was convinced that inflation would soon become rampant thereby slowing down economic growth. The elimination of the old-line businesses was not going to be an easy job in terms of loss of jobs and lowering of morale that it implied. But Welch had to do what he had to do. The Number 1 or number 2 philosophy – as ruthless as it sounds – had been critical for GE to grow and survive in the modern world.

Nonverbal Communication In Negotiations Cultural Studies Essay

Nonverbal Communication In Negotiations Cultural Studies Essay Cultural specific studies have focused attention on cultural and communication practices in specific countries, while conflict resolution and negotiation studies have integrated intercultural communication in their theories. Studies have identified factors influencing intercultural business communication which include effects or emotions and non-verbal behaviour. The earliest of these comparative theoretical and applied studies reflected in the conditions existed in the early stages of globalization following world war two. During this period complex international business transactions could be channeled through fully bilingual specialists who provided translation and interpretation services, while simple communication exchanges such as obtaining and fulfilling sales orders could be processed through routine channels. These transactions did not impose the same communication requirements as do the interactive and intercultural communication channels of the present day of international business communication environment. Since 1960s, language studies traditionally emphasized verbal and written communication, however in the recent times more research studies seriously began to consider what takes place without words in conversations, in instances were verbal and nonverbal communication meets (Hartley Bruckham, 2000). The research would start by discussing problems of communicating across social boundaries and then define and discuss some of the concepts associated with non verbal miscommunication in cross cultural meetings and negotiation. Then it would also focus on both verbal and non-verbal communication factors and consider how much scope there is for ambiguity and interpretation. If it can be anticipated how other people will interpret to what we say and do, then our communication can be made more effective. We also need to bear in mind that communication is not just the transmission and reception of information. No matter how carefully we feel we have encoded our message, we need to be aware of all the factors which can influence how other people will interpret our behaviour. The research would also address how cultural factors affect cross-cultural communication and explain in bridging cultures, and some strategies they can use to overcome cross-cultural communication problems. Nonverbal behaviours unintentional, beyond the words, can be interpreted by a receiver as having meaning. They either accompany verbal messages or are used independently of verbal messages. They may affirm and emphasize or negate and even contradict spoken messages. They are more likely to be used unconsciously and spontaneously because they are habitual and routine behaviours. There are seven key elements of Nonverbal Behaviour which include gestures, body moments, facial movements, eye contacts, postures, vocalics and haptics. Gestures, body moments, facial movement and eye contact are combined in the kinesics code, which vary culturally, also referred to as body language. The study of this caters to traditional linguistic principles to the parts of the body particularly the face, hands and arms or body as a whole. It also addresses posture in standing and sitting as well as with eye and facial expressions such as the arching of eyebrows or rolling of the eyes. Vocalics refers to a ll vocal activities other than verbal context, also called the paralanguage. Paralanguage may be expressed consciously or unconsciously and it includes the pitch, volume, and, in some cases, intonation of speech. Sometimes the definition is restricted to vocally-produced sounds. The role of Haptics focuses on touch as an element of communication and is very much a function of culture. It can vary from touch and the frequency and intensity, like many other roles of non verbal communication. The communication environment consists of physical environment and spatial environment. Secondly, there are the communicators physical characteristics like physique general attractiveness, height, clothes and other accessories. Here I would wish to bring into focus an incident which I had observed on television. When Americans go for negotiation to Saudi Arabia, the female members accompanying the team would always wear a full body cover named Abhaya (not Burkha). But recently when Indian Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh visited Saudi Arabia, Mrs.Manmohan Singh who accompanied him did not wear that. So looking at this incidence and by carefully observing, it can be said that there was a wrong cultural assumption from the Indian think tanks whereas even Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, did wear them during their respective visits. By wearing them is like respecting the feeling of Saudis, so here its the miscommunication made and the body language is like I dont care attitude, the opposite party can interpret it in that way. India is going there and its equally important for both countries, especially more for India, by doing this India is putting them in a wrong position right at the beginning itself. An another instance is when I was watching NDTV, a popular Indian news channel, there was a discussion with two leading political parties of India namely UPA and Left, which also included prominent news reporters. The discussion was regarding the past performance of the newly elected government. Usually a discussion of this kind can heat up at any time without warnings because thats how the Indian political scenario works. As expected, there was a hot exchange of words between the representatives of the parties who were sitting in close proximity. It was surprising to note that the opposite partys gesture by touching the hand of the other party member, couple of times to ease the tension. In Indian culture, this gesture is commonly used in easing tensed situation and making the opposite person calm during a meeting or discussion. A soft touch in the hand is considered as a humanitarian way of showing that there is no intension to start a fight (usually these gestures can be seen done my males) thereby avoiding the situation to get worse. This happens between people of Indian origin and in an Indian context; understanding and acting these small gestures can win a situation or even stabilize it. But in general, Asian cultures tend to discourage touching outside of intimate situations whereas certain other cultures like US allow cross-gender touching while same-gender is less acceptable. These rules change in Japan, where women are frequently seen holding hands but not men. In the Mediterranean, it is common to see men holding hands or touching in public but not women. So an awareness of these local norms is important and would help negotiators for better cross cultural negotiations. The use of space is called proxemics, and the use of time is chronemics. Environment involves the communicative value of the physical space. Unconsciously, we all keep a comfortable distance around us when we interact with other people. This distance has had several names over the years, including personal space, interpersonal distance, comfort zone, and body bubble. This space between us and another person forms invisible walls that define how comfortable we feel at various distances from other people. Business people, for example, assume significant meaning about desk size; its commonly assumed that the important people of companies occupy the top most floors of the company. Artifacts likewise is connected with communicative aspect of objects visible in a room such as art or possessions, these may be personal indicative of status of revealing lifestyle. In some societies much meaning is presumed by ones choice of automobile. Artifacts certainly play a role in cultural significance. For instance in many Western countries, pet shave great emotional significance; among many Arabs rugs are prestigious. It should be further emphasized that these codes do not usually function independently or sequentially, rather they work simultaneously. Moreover, nonverbal behaviour is always about sending messages. We cannot communicate without using them even though at times these messages are ambiguous. This wide range of nonverbal behaviour serves various functions in all face-to-face encounters (Gesteland, 2002). For instance at a companys important social meeting, the general manager is introduced to several new employees whom he has not met. Having greeted them with a dominant handshake, he stands at the social distance from the new employees. Knapp Hall (1997) claim that leaders and dominant personalities tend to also choose specific seats but seating position also can determine ones role in a group. Johnson (1993) says that choosing where to sit even if it means moving a chair or even deciding whether to sit, is significant. Anderson (1993) states that leaders and powerful people take up more space than others do. By taking up more space, they appear to be taking charge. Conversely, after shaking hands with the boss, the new employees take full or partial arm-fold gestures because of their apprehension about being in the presence of the companys top man. Both the general manager and the new employees feel comfortable with their respective gestures as each, is signaling his status relativ e to the other. A study conducted in the United States brought to light that, in more than 93 percent, the messages is transmitted by the speakers tone of voice and facial expressions; only 7 percent of the persons attitude was conveyed by words. Probably its a fact that we express our emotions and attitudes more nonverbally than verbally. There are however nonverbal differences across cultures that may be a source of confusion for foreigners. For example, expression of sadness, in culture such as the Arab, grief is expressed openly but this is just the opposite in the case of other cultures like the Asian. Here the general belief is that it is unacceptable to show emotion openly, whether its sadness, happiness or pain. Negotiation is a broad conflict management process involving discussions between and among individuals who are interdependent and need to come together for a decision or course of action; frequently associated with the need to compromise effectively (Shockley-Zalabak, 1988, p. 247). Negotiation consists of two distinct processes: creating value and claiming value. Creating value is a cooperative process whereby the parties in the negotiation seek to realize the full potential benefit of the relationship whereas claiming value is essentially a competitive process. The key to creating value is finding interests that the parties have in common or that complement each other, then reconciling and expanding upon these interests to create a positive situation. Parties at the negotiating table are interdependent and their goals are locked together. A seller cannot exist without a buyer. The purpose of a negotiation is a joint decision-making process through which the parties create a mutuall y acceptable settlement. The objective is to pursue a win-win situation for both parties. Sun Tzu once wrote: Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster. It is perhaps a bit extreme to compare a business meeting to a battle and a business partner to an enemy but the main principle still holds. In order to be reliably successful in business you must understand both yourself and your partner. This understanding will enable you realize what makes your corresponding person tick, and thus understand how he is likely to react in a given situation. In order to gain the full advantage of this knowledge, it is also necessary to understand oneself, both so that one can accurately grasp in what areas the other party is similar or dissimilar, and in order to accurately see how your counterpart is likely to view you. Hill (1998) mentions cross-cultural literacy, and defines it as an understanding of how cultural differences both across and within natio ns can affect the way in which business is practiced (1998:66) If we consider the fact that negotiating with our fellow citizen is not an easy task due to many individual differences, it would be reasonable to suggest that negotiating in a cross cultural setting with people from different cultural boundaries may be even more difficult. The way we perceive and create our own reality may be completely different to our counterparts way of thinking, behaving and feeling. Its also a fact that gaining knowledge of different languages is not enough to face and solve the problem. Language is a cluster of codes used in communication which, if not shared effectively, can act as a barrier to establish credibility and trust. Nations tend to have a national character that influences the type of goals and process the society pursues in negotiations. This is why specifying and understanding cultural differences is vital in order to perform successfully in inter-cultural communication. As we better understand that our partners may see things differently, we wil l be less likely to make negative assumptions and more likely to make progress during meetings and cross cultural negotiations (Zieba, 2009). Japanese negotiators are known for their politeness, their emphasis on establishing relationships and their indirect use of power. Japanese concern with face and face-saving is one reason that politeness is so important and confrontation is avoided. They tend to use power in muted, indirect ways consistent with their preference for harmony and calm. In comparative studies, Japanese negotiators were found to disclose considerably less about themselves and their goals than French or American counterparts. Silence and pauses in conversations are normal. Two can strategically use breaks in conversational flows even in situations where they could process information faster and send messages sooner. In essence the period of silence provide a twofold advantage of reducing the possibility of introducing unproductive and destructive commends into conversations and providing breaks for reflection, designation of ideas and planning of communication strategy and tactics during negotiations. Thes e are consistent with the norms of Chinese and Japanese, however westerners might have discomfort in the same situations. They are very formal and polite and place great importance on proper protocol. They are also concerned with proper etiquette. British negotiation behaviour is characterized by the soft sell and their culture is relatively high in context. Americans usually like to get down to business quickly in a meeting which may lead to people from Chinese and Japanese cultures being offended. In spite of that, the discussion mostly proceeds at a much slower pace than US business people are accustomed. The Chinese uses high context speech and therefore use a lot of non-verbal cues to communicate. They may use feelings of guilt, shame and obligation to get certain kinds of concessions whereas Americans use less risk taking tactics to misrepresent in order to gain more information. In general, most Westerners expect a prompt answer when they make a statement or ask a question ra ther than long pauses and silence (Weiss, 1992). This form of Kinesic messages shows that even if one keeps silent, one is still conveying messages. Knapp Hall (1997, p. 332) state that The face may be the basis for judging another persons personality and that it can (and does) provide information other than ones emotional state. They found that how something is said is often more important than what is being said. In addition, Anderson (1993) suggests that people perceived as powerful, shift their position occasionally, making themselves appear in charge. However, the rise in the global business trend and cross cultural meetings has paved way for the Chinese and Japanese professionals in doing business with the West with relative ease and have shown tendency to modify their behaviours to accommodate west. Nonetheless, doing business in Japan necessitates preparing oneself by understanding areas such as business culture, business etiquette, and negotiation meeting protocols. For instance, bowing your head is an integral part of J apanese culture. It is used for greeting at beginning and end of the meetings to show gratitude or used in other occasions to express sympathy or to apologies but a Westerner would not be expected to bow and will most likely be greeted with a handshake combined with a slight nod of the head (Nelda Spinks 1997). The French, expect everyone to behave as they do when doing business which includes speaking their language. Negotiations are likely to be in French unless they occur outside France. The French enjoy conversation for the sake of conversation but they are also very pragmatic about details of the proposed agreement during negotiations. They are very much individualists and have a sense of pride that is sometimes interpreted as supremacy. They follow their own logic, referred to as Cartesian logic, when negotiating. These logics are based on principles previously established. It proceeds from what is known, in point-by-point fashion, until agreement is reached. Protocol, manners , status, education, family, and individual accomplishments are keys to success when dealing with the French. The French prefer detailed, firm contracts. They enjoy conflict and debate and will interrupt even the opening presentations with arguments of little or no relevance (Moran and Stripp, 1991). It is widely acknowledged fact that people from different countries tend to communicate in different ways. We argue that these differences are more related to different communication cultures than other differences. Being aware of these differences usually leads to better comprehension, fewer misunderstandings and to mutual respect along with the prospects of success and benefits in negotiations and cross cultural meetings (Janosik, 1991). The key to successful nonverbal cross-cultural communication is that one must be experienced, motivated, knowledgeable, skilled and competent communicator in the global marketplace. These factors are interrelated and a deficiency in one would impacts at least one of the other factors. The more the deficiency is reduced there is more likelihood of achieving a high level of cross-cultural communication. Spitzberg (1991) points out in his model of interpersonal communication competency that, there is an additive effect of these factors resulting in co mmunication satisfaction, perceived confirmation, and conversational appropriateness and effectiveness (p. 22). However these may not be true in all cases. For example, I would like to point out a particular instance from my personal experience wherein a subject becomes more important or more influencing factor in a face to face space negotiation, the subject is something slightly different than a pure technical one. If I am trying to create a thinking process or an idea or an ideology, I would like to spread that and make others understand, which is really important. So my aim would be to make others understand my thinking process, and to do that, I better do my homework properly and know exactly what others think, hence this topic is more valid in such context. When the negotiation is highly technical then all these dont make much difference because technical things are tangible. For example, if we say we would like to export one ship of rice to Kenya, the quantity of rice that can go to that ship load is tangible and the product in talk is also tangible as we can specify the type of rice. H ere, the negotiation is only about the final loading price for that particular merchant, so whatever language we talk (say I know everything about Kenya, I have hired a secretary for that and I have done everything for that) it work only if its feasible for me hence its pure technical. TATA motors was trying to sell their cars and trucks in Africa region but finally succeeded only in selling trucks because the tertian needed in that region is almost same as that of the Indian region. So there the buyer was only interested in the efficiency of the truck and the total maintenance cost, rest all was of least importance. For instance, consider an advertisement of any car in the daily, they are also communicating. We can see that some of these advertisement are related to festive moods like Easter so by means of picture, it is trying to relate us to that particular festival which helps us to get connect faster and thereby leading to buy the content. So here the language they use is a vis ual one. Another example is say early morning a person is ready to go for negotiation and finds that he has forgotten to take the thoughts and has the habit of sweating (sweating here indicates nervousness in a sense). Now imaging the condition of that person, he going to attend a important meeting, he will be biased because of the sweat and his body language would be completely wrong because of this irritation factor which is definitely going to affect his meeting. His conversation would be influenced by this irritation factor and there is a possibility that other members might misunderstand his body language or it could even be medical problem or a digestion problem or it could be something like a pillow given in the hotel. Instead of a soft pillow the person would have got a hard one and say that person has a spontaliaties problem, he would have a very bad night of sleep and this would reflect in his gestures. So its always not correct to say that one can understand and interpret the body language rightly, even if he has enormous experience and skills relating to it, as according to the above example, under such circumstances it would be very difficult to communicate in proper body language and even verbally may not be saying what he intended to say. Sometimes persons would be forced to do things they are not aware of because of various other factors related to it. It is not a pure science where oxygen and hydrogen combined together gives water, in any instance. In a positive sense, everything could hype a person up like the food that he had last night or the drink that he had or the company that he had, so there again he is not projecting his real self. The next day when he goes for a negotiation his spirits are high which also could be misread and misinterpreted by the opposite party. The opposite party would think that the person is much interested in the business or negotiation but the reaction would only come later, seeing him in high spirit, the opposite party would start in a entirely different way from what he had prepared earlier. As human beings, we act on the basis of our perceptions and beliefs. So if we have a particular view of human communication, then we will act on that view. If we have a faulty view, then our behaviour may cause problems. The behaviour of humans is bundled up by different complex set of factors from individual personality, the social context their respective cultural values. Negotiating behaviour can vary depending upon various other aspects from the age of the participant, class, religion and character, its complexity gives nuanced explanations (Hartley Bruckham, 2000). This is a classical example to show how different cross cultural non verbal signals are misread, the cost of it being delays and missed opportunities. This case comes during the early days when the American diplomats attended a meeting of US -China reconciliation. Cohen (1991) points out that U.S. observers entirely missed the most significant Chinese signal of reconciliation of all in the 1970-71 periods. In October 1970, Chairman Mao invited an American author and journalist to stand next to him at the Gate of Heavenly Peace. While this gesture seems obscure to American diplomats and hence they did not respond to it, the symbolism was clear to the Chinese, who expected a significant response. These gaps in nonverbal gestures created friction among these two nations, if addressed in its rightful instance could have brought out fruitful results beneficial to both nations.

Quasars Essay -- Essays Papers

Quasars Since their discovery, the nature of quasars has been one of the most intriguing and baffling problems as evidenced by the following quotations: " the problem of understanding quasi-stellar objects†¦ is one of the most important and fascinating tasks in all physics" - G.Burbidge and Hoyle. "The quasar continues to rank both as one of the most baffling objects in the universe and one most capable of inspiring heated argument" - Morrison. "The redshift problem is one of the most critical problems in astronomy today" - G. Burbidge. "Quasars still remain the profoundest mystery in the heavens" - Hazard and Mitton. The conventional interpretation of the spectral lines observed in quasars is based on the redshift hypothesis. Three hypotheses have been advanced to account for the supposed redshifts: 1. Cosmological hypothesis; the redshifts are due to the expansion of the universe, 2. Gravitational hypothesis, 3 Local-Doppler hypothesis; in this hypothesis the redshifts are due to the Doppler effect, but the quasars are relatively nearby and have nothing to do with the expansion of the universe. Of these hypotheses, the first one is the most publicized one. One is led to attribute to quasars very many mysterious properties if one assumes the redshift hypothesis to be correct. A patient analysis of the data on quasars over the years has led to the conclusion that the real source of the trouble is in the assumption that the spectra of quasars have redshifts. In the early 1960's quasars were known as 'radio stars' because the method used to discover the first quasars was based on coincidences between a strong radio source and a point-like optical source. Since each radio source was associated with a star it was originally thought that quasars were objects within the galaxy hence the term 'radio stars'. Quasars or quasi-stellar radio source, from the method by which they where originally discovered: as stellar optical counterparts to small regions of strong radio emission. With increasing spatial resolution of radio telescopes the strong radio emission often seemed to come from a pair of lobes surrounding many of these faint star-like emission line objects. The initial method of selection was strong radio emission, and then later any object with blue or ultraviolet excess wa... ... between galaxies, either through direct collisions or near encounters, can be important in turning on a quasar, by dumping fuel onto a black hole. However some quasars look unperturbed, so there may be other, more subtle mechanisms for feeding the black hole. Some of the galaxies we observed don't appear to know they have a quasar in their core. 3. Quasars that are radio quiet are often in elliptical galaxies, not always in spiral galaxies, as previously believed. Advanced instruments planned for Hubble should also help pin down more details. The Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS), to be installed in 1997, and the Advanced Camera, to be installed in 1999, will have coronagraphic devices which will block out the glare of a quasar, allowing astronomers to see closer into a galaxy's nucleus. By viewing galactic structures in infrared light , the NICMOS should be able to provide important new details about the host galaxies of quasars. The continued study of quasars and the information that it will provide us with may help us to develop a better understanding of space and how we fit in to this great puzzle.

Colonel Sherburns Influence on Huck in Huckleberry Finn Essay

Sivilization is a far cry from civilization, though they look the same and sound the same and one can easily be confused for the other. Civilization refers to an advanced state of humanity. The people who make up civilization are generally thought to have a higher intellectual and moral standard than those not part of it, and to be more mannered and well bred. Sivilization is a faux form of civilization. It appears to be equivalent to civilization, but where the superior attributes are sincere in civilization, they consist of ersatz gentility in sivilization. Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the adolescent protagonist Huckleberry Finn, in his flight from â€Å"sivilized† society, encounters many people who have the act of refinement down pat, but who are in essence vicious, self-serving, and pusillanimous. Huck becomes aware of this hypocrisy throughout the duration of the novel with the help of many characters, and one of the characters that helps him rec ognize sivilization for what it is is Colonel Sherburn. The first lesson that Huck learns from Colonel Sherburn ...

Scarlet Letter Notes Ch. 8-10

Scarlet Letter Notes American Lit. ACC Per. 1 9/17/11 Chapters 8-10 Plot- (Chapter 8) Hester and Pearl meet Governor and guests. Governor and Wilson call Pearl a child of Satan or sin? Governor wants to remove Pearl from Hester’s care Hester says she can teach Pearl from her mistakes. Wilson questions Pearl regarding Christian faith. Pearl tries to escape through the window and refuses to answer his questions even though she probably would of gotten them right. Pearl announces she was not made but plucked from the rose bush. Wilson states Pearl should not be with HesterHester argues her case but the governor and Wilson don’t listen to her so she goes to Dimmesdale for help. Dimmesdale comes to her aid and argues her case. Succeeds and Minister and Governor rests the case. Pearl shows a sign of love towards Dimmesdale and he kisses her on her brow in return. Chillingworth tries to get the men to look for the father. Men refuse his plan. Governor’s sister invites H ester to witch’s ceremony. Hester refuses (CHAPTER9) Describes Chillingworth. He left behind his entire identity after he found out that his wife committed adultery.He severed all ties with his past life and created a new identity as the town physician. The people like him because of his vast knowledge of herbs and medicine that he learned from being with native Americans for a long time. Treats Reverend Dimmesdale. People start to wonder if Dimmesdale wants to die or something else after he refuses treatment but later on accepts. Chillingworth scrutinizes Dimmesdale’s actions and finds something suspicious in them. The two men reside in the same house so that Chillingworth can take care of him. Dimmesdale has no interest in marrying any of the townswomen.They have live in two completely different kinds of rooms (holy vs. scientific) People start to wonder about the physician and the more they look at him his face becomes more evil and sooty. They began the theory that the physician was sent by the devil and is fighting a war with Dimmesdale making him sick. (CHAPTER10) CHillingworth wants to find out more about Dimmesdale’s background and his story. The men are talking about burying sin and a heart of sin They hear pearl and Hester outside in the graveyard. Pearl runs away telling her mom that the devil has gotten the minister and she dosent want him to get them too.The two men talk and when the minister falls asleep, Chillingworth opens his shirt and finds something on him and rejoices. Setting- Governor Billingham’s Estate- grand estate filled with pictures of the Governor’s ancestors and decorated with medieval things (ex. The armor) Old English castle like. Chillingworth and Dimmesdale’s house- in between the church and the graveyard. Characters- Governor Billingham- old, elderly man who governs the town. Likes Old English things ( his house) John Wilson- strict pastor Hester Prynne- committed adultery and had a b aby, Pearl.Pearl- child of Hester and is accused of being a witch or child of Satan Dimmesdale- town’s reverend, health declining due to pastoral duties Chillingworth- friends with Dimmesdale, been in town for two to three years, physician Conflict- Hester Prynne v. Society- the people want to take away Pearl to educate her in a Christian manner but Hester states that Pearl is better of with her because she can learn from Hester’s mistake. Dimmesdale saves her by arguing her cause. Dimmesdale v Himself: He is described as more ill than before. He keeps his hand to his heart and â€Å"his large dark eyes had a world of pain in heir troubled and melancholy depth† (101). Religion v. Science- There had been many arguments between science and the divine nature. Chillingworth is science driven while Dimmesdale is devoted to God and his religion. This can become a greater conflict later on in the book. Chillingworth v. Dimmesdale- chillingworth is trying to find out th e mystery behind the reverend. Townspeople v. Chillingworth- at first welcome him but then grow weary when his facial features turn evil and deceiving. Symbolism- Pearl- she is a physical representation of the scarlet letter, a constant reminder of Hester’s sin.Saved Hester from becoming a witch after she was granted guardianship of Pearl forever. â€Å"Heavenly Father†- represents the God as the father of everyone and also my theory about Dimmesdale being the father since he is holy and a reverend. The House- it is pretty but it resides on and in between the graveyard and the church kind of like Dimmesdale himself. He is a reverend yet he looks physically dead because of his illness and heartache. Chillingworth- the Devil, from what Hester called him when they talked and what the people and the narrator describe as his changing features (demon-like)