Should Philosophers care about the history of philosophy Essay

Should Philosophers care about the history of philosophy - Essay Example Philosophers should have a considerable link to the history of philosophy as cited by many theorists and thinkers. Many philosophical concepts used today have their origin in philosophical history and they are just an evolved form of the ideas generated in the past. As a matter of fact, to give a an extensive interpretation of predecessors is quite common in the philosophical world where Hegel, Heidegger and Nietzsche are often quoted as to give a contemporary philosophical thought by reviewing the history (Sorell & Rogers, pp. 1). However, philosophers in the English-Speaking part of the world do not care about its history since; their type of philosophy is more of an analytical nature, which is required to be concise and relevant to the era in which people are living. The history of philosophy plays a significant role in giving an introduction and a deep knowledge of the subject to the aspiring students of today’s world. It is important for initial philosophers to have a tho rough understanding of the basis of the subject upon which they would base their further assumptions and concepts for the field to grow. Moreover, it is only through the knowledge of the history of philosophy that the philosophers would come to realize, which concepts and ideas were flawed and rejected like that of Descartes (Sorell & Rogers, pp. 2) so that they may look out for their new dimensions and correct them to widen the scope. History of any kind pertaining to any subject is an important aspect to retain if growth is one of the objectives. Considering philosophy, we know well that there have been quite well known philosophers in the history of humankind who have made tremendous efforts in analyzing different philosophical problems and searching for their solutions in a logical manner. It would be merely a waste of time, money and resources if contemporary philosophers involve themselves in the same process in case they do not give any heed to the subject’s history. N evertheless, philosophy is one of the subjects whose concepts and ideas always have a hook. They are grown with related links and this way, subsequently, the field advances (Sorell & Rogers, pp. 4-5). Every other point always has a relevance to something of the pas that helps in giving an advanced cognition for the contemporary philosophers and a chance to learn from their predecessors who might be dead but whose extensive researches are always present for them to learn and make progress. It is often said that the philosophers who fail to understand the past accounts and happenings in the related field, subsequently, fail to hold a firm grasp over following assumptions and thus end up with bas results (Sorell & Rogers, pp. 38). A philosopher can, certainly, not do philosophy without a perspective or without a standpoint. This standpoint or direction is given merely by having a thorough review of the past philosophers and their immense work done in this regards. The subject divided a multiple dimensional approach by the doer and a well-done background analysis to proceed (Makumba, pp-11). In many cases, there has to be an inspiration which drives a philosopher to make further detailed analysis and take the object forward. This inspiration is the result of the philosophers’ research and review of the historical literature and the earlier philosophers. Additionally, in philosophy there are reservation of thoughts and ideas held by the people against or in favour of any theory or assumption put forward. These reservations are further carried by generations and generations in the same manner without actually referring to the actually happening. While, in philosophy, the contemporary philosophers should have a proper understanding of the past ideas and concepts and should hold their own judgement without any biases carried for generations. Only on the basis of first-hand knowledge of the historical accounts of ideas and concepts can the philosopher base a str ong and authentic argument to

Sense and sensibility on the major characters Research Paper

Sense and sensibility on the major characters - Research Paper Example Marianne outspoken and unrestrictive while Elinor is otherwise. Austen disapproves sensibility and shows regard for sense. Elinor does counseling and decision making. Elinor’s love is concealed. Marianne makes mistakes. Marianne’s love is expressed. Marianne sees no attraction in Edward and ignores Colonel Brandon. Willoughby appears as a hero to Marianne. She realizes that she herself was responsible for her dilemma. Edward is a principled man. Willoughby’s real personality comes to forefront when he maliciously makes fun of Colonel Brandon. He was a flirt and devious person. Marianne and Willoughby demonstrate the theme of sensibility through their love bondage. The love bondage between Elinor and Edward demonstrates the theme of sense. Conclusion Elinor succeeds because of using sense. Marianne fails and learns to use sense in place of sensibility to be successful. Realizing her fault, she marries her true partner, Colonel Brandon. Sense has an edge over sensi bility. Effects of Sense and Sensibility on Major characters Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen portrays a number of characters that shape the story of the novel. The characters in Austen’s work describe life and journeying through the course of life with the help of sense and sensibility. Austen draws a line between ‘sense’ and ‘sensibility’. According to Austen, these terms are different from one another. In the novel, the character of Elinor, who is also the protagonist of the work, shows sense while Marianne’s character shows sensibility. Elinor and Marianne are sisters, but have different personalities. The major characters of the work are Elinor Dashwood, Marianne Dashwood, Edward Ferrars and John Willoughby. Other characters of the story circulate and help these characters to develop and get to a certain destination. Austen describes sense as rationality, reasoning and responsibility while sensibility as expressive, emotional, impetuo sity and passion. Elinor is successful based on her sense while Marianne falls short because of her sensibility. Sense and Sensibility draws a clear distinctive line between sense and sensibility with the support of two major characters of the novel that are Elinor Dashwood and Marianne Dashwood. Elinor is older than Marianne and stands for sense because of her qualities such as reasoning, self-control, accountability towards family and society and consideration of others’ betterment. However, Marianne stands for sensibility because of her qualities such as emotionalism, naturalness, outspokenness, impetuously and unnecessary expressiveness (Armstrong 53). Elinor loves Edward, but keeps her feelings concealed, and makes use of rationality while Marianne outspokenly and unrestrictive makes known about her feelings about Willoughby. The difference between their personalities is portrayed through their behaviors towards the men they love. However, this cannot be said that Elinor using sense never shows passion and Elinor using sensibility never talks intelligent. Elinor is passionate in her love, but her style is diverged from Marianne. Austen being against the sensibility of eighteenth century points towards the importance of sense in her novel. From Elinor’s success, she proves that sense is not a negligible characteristic while she disapproves sensibility by showing the failure in Marianne’s relationship to Willoughby (Lauber 21). In her portrayal of Elinor, she draws a picture of a woman who is able to succeed being restrictive and

The Roles And Responsibilities Of Managers

The Roles And Responsibilities Of Managers It is very important if a manager wants cooperation from his team or employees, or to pay attention. A good manager practices empathy and respects the personal values, opinions and ideas of the people he interacts with. He should listen and respond and offer praises and encouragements when they make progress. By doing that he will enhance their self esteem and will build trust. As the boss, his ability to develop trust and confidence, resolve problems and issues will result in a productive, goal oriented work group. He should encourage his team to ask for help, get involved and participate. A capable manager is often described as having a vision of where to go and the ability to articulate it. Communication skill A manager is the middle person in between the top management level and the team that reports to him. He is also the teams link to the larger organisation. He must have the ability to effectively negotiate and use persuasion when necessary to ensure the success of the team and project. Through effective communication, manager supports individual and team achievements by creating guidelines for the career advancement of team members and for accomplishing tasks. He has to ensure that communication between the two layers is smooth and is conveyed clearly to avoid misinterpretations and dissatisfaction. Good communication skills are useful to develop his negotiation and customer service skills, especially if he deals with clients. A good planner In order for a manager to achieve long term goals and commit to strategies for substantial earnings, he has to communicate the vision of the company to his subordinates. He should break down and clarify the goals that each team or individual have to perform and assign work schedules and strategies to them. It also involves thinking and planning out strategies on how to improve quality and also being cost conscious and effective. Having goals and planning out the directions allow for effective time management and saves cost and resources. Setting deadlines and goals helps keep employees focused, busy and motivates them to do their work. A good manager should talk to each of his employees about the companys goals, and work with them to set individual goals directly linked to organizations target mission. He should make sure that the employees understand their professional growth path in the company. Decision Maker The daily routine of making decisions for a manger includes determining how to approach an employee who is not performing or lacking progress and how to bring about change to the organization and its team. His day to day decision is based on whats important, whats right and not whos right. Leadership skill This is one of the most important skill. His position entails him to guide and give direction so that the team can perform effectively. A good manager offers job coaching, training and support. In order for individuals to meet the needs and objectives, they may need extra input, information or skills. The performance of his team depends on his abilities to empower them. How well a person performs depends on his motivation. His task as the boss is to encourage and coach others to improve themselves and the quality of their work. He needs to implement in them the desire to excel and accept responsibility and self management. Appraiser A good manager need to have the capacity to evaluate and examine a process or procedure and decide on the best choice to produce an outcome. He looks at the importance, quality and values and then taking the best approach. He is also expected to track the progress of each individuals activities and effectiveness, review them and offer feedback and counselling. Recognize problems It is impossible for a manager to know about personality conflicts, lagging productivity or other problems in the office if he has his head in the sand. If he notices a change in an employees work habits or attitude, he should try to get to the root of the problem before that problem starts to affect rest of the staff. Provide Satisfaction The subordinates of a manager are happy when they are provided with the necessary tools and resource. They feel secure if the management puts priority to health, safety and cleanliness issues. And this in turn helps in satisfying customers by giving good quality of service or product and taking care of their needs. New methods and technologies A manager should keep himself updated on methods and technologies that can make him and his team more efficient. Proper use of power In order to achieve the goal expected from a manger, he must have power and authority to act in a way that will stimulate a positive response from the workers. A manager depending on the situation, exercises different types of power, viz reward power and expert power. Besides the formal basis, the informal basis of power also has a more powerful impact on organizational effectiveness. A manager is only effective when his subordinates obey his orders. So, the manager uses appropriate power so that his subordinates willingly obey the orders and come forward with commitment. Proper time management Time is the most precious and vital thing in management. There are three dimensions of time boss imposed time system imposed time self imposed time As the manager has a thorough knowledge of the principle of time management such as preparing time charts, scheduling techniques, etc., he should utilize the time productively in the organization. Relationship Managerial behavior implies the existence of a manager managed relationship. This relationship arises in an organization. A manager should have a very good relationship with all his subordinates. It is very important for both his personal and official life. Sources of influence In case of a manager, authority is attached to his managerial position. In other words, managers obtain authority from his followers or subordinates. Sanctions A Manager has command over all allocation and distributions of sanctions between employees. For Example, Manager has control over the positive sanctions such as promotion and awards for his task performance and the contribution to organizational objectives. Manager is also in a position to exercises the negative sanctions such as with- holding promotions, or mistakes, etc. A leader has different type of sanctions to exercise and grant. He can generate or with hold access to satisfying the very purpose of joining the groups social satisfactions and related task rewards. These informal sanctions are relevant to the individual with belongingness or ego needs: where as the organizational sanctions granted or exercised by the managers are geared to the physiological and security needs of individual. Competence Selection of managers in an organization is done on their ability to successfully lead others rather than on past technical expertise. A manager who has a winning track record is considered competent. Competence also requires expertise in management skills. A capable and competent manager has the ability to challenge, inspire, model, enable and encourage his employees. Cool under pressure In a perfect world, projects would be delivered on time, under budget and with no major problems or obstacles to overcome. This happens due to a manager who takes all these problems in stride. When efficient managers encounter a stressful event, they consider it interesting, they feel they can influence the outcome and they see it as an opportunity. They take these events as a challenge rather than a stress. To be an exemplary role model Managers who set high standards or goals and achieve them are great leaders by examples. The ability to tolerate stress and remain poise under job pressures and still maintain a high activity and energy level is the main quality of a manager. In order to be a respected and efficient manager, a manager needs to work hard in his personal growth. EFFECTIVE DEALING OF PROBLEMS BY A MANAGER In a workplace a manager suffers from a lot of problems from his employees. These problems may be personal or official. Some of the most common problems are briefed below : Poor performance People think that poor performance occurs due to lack of skill but it is not always like that, it may also occur as employees are disorganised. Proper guidance can correct this problem. If performance difficulties relate to a lack of skills, additional training or coaching can solve these problems. Job incompatibility Sometimes skills of an employee arent compatible with their assigned tasks or regular duties. In this type of cases, offering the employee additional training or assigning them a different set of tasks is usually the most appropriate course of action. Sloppy work Whenever a manager notices that, an employee has made some errors, he should point out the mistakes to the employee and monitor their work more closely. If the problem persists, he should speak with the employee and detail the most serious examples of problems with their work. A good manager always remains positive and remembers the employees contribution to the company. Create an effective message A managers message should fit executives, middle managers, supervisors and employees. An effective message by a manager should also explain the employees ´ day-to-day duties directly affect the companys performance and he should touch on the values and pride of the employees. A direct face to face interaction by a manager can help to inspire employees and to reinforce positive attitude in them. This interaction helps the employees to adapt any change in the organization. Listening to employees Employees feedback is very important in an organization in case of managing change. Holding focus groups with employees is a great way to gauge reaction and monitor the progress of change. A manager can also ask his employees to provide feedback through email or company intranet. Even a blog can be used for this purpose which is quite popular now. For a successful change management proper communication is very important. Talking to your employees is not an one-time event, a good manager should reinforce his message by communicating quite often and on a regular basis. EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT MANAGERS An efficient leader can be summarised as a person who has a lot of capability where as an effective leader is one whose works produce good results for an organization. Effectiveness and efficiency are mutually exclusive things. They are both fundamental preconditions for a manager. Being effective means that one has the ability to properly analyse the evolving environment and selecting the right things as the areas of strategic focus for the enterprise. On the other hand, being efficient requires a carefully carved cultural and operational framework which helps the manager to achieve a particular degree of success, given the level of resources applied to a particular objective. Both the terms efficient and effective refer to the ability of a person, enterprise, or process to perform a function well. High efficiency refers to an efficient person while an effective person has high effectiveness. However there is a small but very significant difference between these two measure of performance. Efficiency refers to the economy in use of resources for performing a task, and effectiveness refers to the total output generated. Efficiency is measured in terms of ratio of output generated divided by inputs used in the process for example, widgets produced per kilogram of raw material used. Effectiveness measures the total output produced for example, total widgets produced in a day. An example is given to understand the concept. Two different lathe operators, say X and Y, are assigned the task of making bushes on a lathe. Let us say A produces 200 bushes in a shift, and in the process uses up 8 kilogram of steel rod in the process. In comparison, B produces 120 bushes using 10.5 kilogram of steel rod. The effectiveness and efficiency of these two lathe operators based on their performance is compared in table below: Operator Effectiveness Efficiency X 200 Bushes per shift 25 Bush per Kg of Steel Y 320 Bushes per shift 18 Bush per Kg of Steel So, we see that operator A has higher efficiency but lower effectiveness. In management, both efficiency and effectiveness are very important. The relative emphasis to be given to efficiency and effectiveness depends from situation to situation. One more example will completely justify the concept. For example, we must be careful to control the quantity and cost of water used in a factory during routine operations. However, if the same factory is on fire, we will not think twice about using whatever water can be made available for putting out the fire. Effective Versus Efficient The difference between effective and efficient are loaded with some of the most important concepts : Efficient doing things right Effective doing the right things Both concepts are very important and both concepts are utilised in the management of work. These concept begins with organization and does not depend on the position of an employee whether he is a manager or a staff employee. The great business writer Peter Drucker defined five functions in his writings : Objective setting Organising the team or group Communicating and motivating Performance measurement Developing people Effectiveness means that the job was done correctly and was accomplished but does not regard whether the job was done inexpensively or on time. Whereas, efficiency means that the job was accomplished cheaply and on time yet may not be a very thorough and impressive accomplishment. Efficient is defined as working without waste or using a minimum of time, effort and expense. But, the definition does not define the goals of the operation. A person can be very efficient but still he cannot get a positive result because he is not doing the right things at the right time. Thats where effective comes in. Effective means having the desired result. Once the desired result is obtained, the tasks leading to the result can be isolated and these tasks can then be completed efficiently. Some characteristics of an efficient manager are : He is organized. He can find things quickly He know how to use the tools on his computer to the nth degree He writes readable and actionable emails His meetings are well run He processes all the financial reports properly and on a regular schedule He knows how to work well with his employees Some characteristics of an effective manager are : Meeting deadline for reports and contributions Making a quota Earning the amount targeted Leading the time to define and execute a project We will consider an example to clear out the difference between the two qualities, i.e. how a manager solves a problem efficiently : STEP 1: He defines the problem in detail. Once he satisfied that the problem is well defined, then he starts looking for a solution. STEP 2: The second stage is the alternative courses of action that solve the problem. In this stage multiple potential solutions are generated. This step involves some research and asking others about their ideas. Here, the manager comes up with 2-3 alternative solutions. STEP 3: The third stage is related with studying each option and the advantages and disadvantages related to it. One alternative may appear quicker but might be costlier whereas the other alternative might be less costly but requires a lot of effort and time. Proper understanding of each alternative helps to get the right solution. STEP 4: This step is related to the selection and implementation of the best solution. STEP 5: The final step is related to the monitoring of the implemented solution i.e. whether it worked or not. If the solution is not good enough then again need to follow step 1. CONCLUSION Efficiency and effectiveness are different but when combined leads to an unstoppable result orientation which feeds success. So, we can conclude that both efficiency and effectiveness are important for a successful manager. As a result of the managers hard work the employees work properly and in an efficient manner which as a result gives fruitful results to the company.

Analysis of Shawshank Redemption Essay -- Essays on Film, Movies

The movie of the Shawshank Redemption is based on a short story by Steven King. The movie shows how prison life affects prisoners during their sentence in jail and after when they are released. The director concentrates mostly on the personal cost of adapting to prison life and how some convicts, once they conform, lose the ability to survive beyond the barbed wire and iron bars. As a character puts it, ‘These [prison] walls are funny. First you hate them, then you get used to them, then you start to depend on them.’ The director shows us to what extent prisoners can be made to ‘depend on them’. The two episodes that I will analyse are examples of two different ‘paths’ prisoners can take once released from prison. One is to survive and live their life, another is to give up and end it. In the movie Red, a prisoner at Shawshank says, ‘get busy living or get busy dying’. This quote plays an important role in the movie because Red and Brooks, two important characters who get out of jail have to make the choice to either ‘get busy living or get busy dying’. Red and Brooks are characters with many similar traits and have gone through many of the same circumstances. Both entered the confines of Shawshank Prison youths but left its walls as old men. They have seen many prisoners come in and out. They spent decades behind the dull enclosure and got used to it. They have adapted themselves to the concepts of routine, forced conformity, power abuse and have lost all elements of individuality within themselves. Red says â€Å"you come here for your life and that’s exactly what they take from you†. The episodes of the release of both men contri... ...ds hug, the camera pulls back, revealing the wide, distant horizon of the blue Pacific with no end in sight. No longer are the Red and Andy confined by walls and iron bars nor watched on by guards. Both are free. Brooks had attained the limits at prison, he had become institutionalised and once released had found the only way out was death. Red, on the other hand, had hoped, and hope had led him to freedom, to happiness, to redemption. Through the themes and the cinematic decisions applied in these two episodes the director has made these vital to the understanding of the movie. He has given two examples of the extreme situations to which prisoners go depending on their emotions. One of the emotions is yet one of the main themes of the movie, hope, and in my opinion it has been brought up extremely effectively.

An Analysis Of Cousin Kate And The Seduction Essay

The title sounds like a woman is talking about her â€Å"Cousin Kate† and not especially about herself. It’s like her side of the story in the poem. The poem is about a lady in about the 1814 (the olden times). She falls in love with a rich person who sounds like the king which says here â€Å"Why did a great lord find me out† and then he flatters and uses her to the point where she is pregnant and has a child. This part from the poem shows that a rich person or so a king found her and abused her when she thought he really truly loved her but no he did not. â€Å"He changed me like a glove†. Then she praises her cousin about her looks and her wealth too. She says â€Å"You grew more fair I:† †¦ â€Å"Because you so good and pure† She then talks bout how true her love was and Kate’s wasn’t and she wants to spit in her ex lords face because she did not like him for his money or his land just because it was true love. â€Å"O cousin Kate my love was true, And your love was writ in sand:† This tells us that the Lord probably chose her cousin Kate because she was beautiful and because she was from a wealthy family and not then narrator because she says she was not that wealthy †¦ â€Å"Call me an outcast thing, Even so I sit an howl in dust†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ At then she goes on to talking about her son which I think she had mentioned before in the poem were it says â€Å"So now I moan, an unclean thing† as if she did not want a child but now I think she is pleased with having a special gift which is her child and then she goes on to saying that her cousin Kate will never get what she has got because she never destined to get it. It says in the poem â€Å"I’ve got a gift you have not got, And seem not like to get: †¦ I’ve little doubt you fret. My fair haired son my shame, my pride† †¦ So she does not regret anything that has happened. She criticises her sister a little throughout the poem and is always saying she made a mistake but she got the best out of it like her fair headed son. Seduction means to seduce which means to lead astray and then tempt them into a sin or crime which the whole poem is based on. The poem is about a girl who gets persuaded by a handsome boy that he is the one for her and she can trust him fully. In the poem it says â€Å"She had nodded, quite enchanted† †¦ â€Å"so she fell in love† so she thinks that he has chosen her or she is the one for him. Later in this poem she finds out that she is 3 months gone in other terms three months pregnant with her x boyfriend’s baby. â€Å"When she discovered she was three months gone† She is frightened and very scared and the poem tells â€Å"And realised, for once, that she was truly truly frightened† She hates her life so much that she would rather take drugs than live in this hell that she has made by herself trusting some boy she had met at the party. She tells us that she wants to take drugs by â€Å"But then again better to be smoking scented drugs†¦Ã¢â‚¬  From that moment on her life lead her into a totally different path. She talks about her bright and colourful past which she can remember very clearly and wants to go back where she was with her friends in different places lie Blackpool by saying â€Å"Where were the glossy photographs of summer, Day trips to Blackpool, jumping all the rides?† so that’s why she wants to go back into her lively past. This poem shows how life can be sometimes and that you can never trust it. It shows her experiences with a lovely, gorgeous boy (what she thinks of him) and after how she is completely shattered. â€Å"With fingers that stroked her neck and thighs†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ to â€Å"she cried that she had missed all her innocence around her† so that shows you what the narrator felt and was like from her past to her present. This poem might make boys seem bad and horrible but all boys are normally not like that and that girls always fall into a trap but sometimes they don’t from what it says in the poem like â€Å"All the parties where you’d meet the boy next door, Where you walk hand in hand, in an acne’d wonderland,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ This shows that she remembers the past and its like she cusses it and that she doesn’t want it to happen again like its going to happen again.

Lead Change Ba

lead Leading Change – British Airways case: references MBA 2013 Core Grugulis, I. , Wilkinson, A. (2002) Managing Culture at British Airways: Hype, Hope and Reality. Long Range Planning, 35, 2, 179-194. Kotter, J. (2007) `Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail’, Harvard Business Review, January 2007, pp. 96 – 103 Recommended Beer, M. & Nohria, N. 2000, â€Å"Cracking the Code of Change†, Harvard Business Review, vol. May-June, pp. 133-141. Vermeulen, F. , Puranam, P. & Gulati, R. 2010, â€Å"Change for Change's Sake†, Harvard business review, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 70-76 Supplementary Burnes, B. 2004, Managing Change, Fourth edn, Financial Times/Prentice Hall, London. Grey, C. 2003, â€Å"The Fetish of Change†, TAMARA: Journal of Critical Postmodern Organization Science, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 1-19. Jick, T. D. & Peiperl,M. A. (2003) (2nd edn) `Managing Change: cases and concepts’, Boston: McGraw-Hill (pp 26-44) Kegan, R. & Lahey, L. L. 2001, â€Å"The real reason people won't change†, Harvard Business Review no. November, pp. 84-92. Kotter, J. P. (1996) Leading change, Boston, Mass. Harvard Business School Press (658. 406) 4 copies in UniS library, and available as an e-book Morgan, G. 2006, Images of Organization, 4th edn, Sage, London. Robbins, H. and Finley, M. (1997) Why Change Doesn’t Work, London: Orion Business Books (out of print, sections 1,2, and 3 are available at http://mfinley. com/bizbooks/list-changebook. htm) Watzlawick, P. , Weakland, J. , & Fisch, R. 1974, Change: principles of problem formation and problem resolution W. W. Norton & Co. , New York.

Religions Vs. Cults Is There A Difference Professor Ramos Blog

Religions Vs. Cults Is There A Difference Religions are such a touchy subject. There are thousands of religions in the world today, but they all differ in ideology. Anytime anyone brings up a matter of his or her â€Å"beliefs,† everyone seems to get uncomfortable and changes the subject. Cults, are an even touchier subject. Every time someone says â€Å"cult,† our brains automatically associate with Heaven’s Gate, Children of God, People’s Temple, David Koresh’s Branch Davidians, or Aum Shinriyko. What is a cult, exactly? What makes a religion a religion? Is there that big of a difference? I am going to explain what a religion is, what a cult is, and the commonalities and differences between cults and religions. This is important because when someone is looking for something to believe in or follow; one must know exactly what they are getting into. Converting to a religion is a big commitment, so people need to be aware of what they are getting themselves into and to notice to signs of a possible faux religion. According to the Lexico Dictionary, the definition of religion is, â€Å"the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods† (Religion). Having faith in a god, or numerous gods, usually means that is a religion. A religion has a set of beliefs that lay out a set of guidelines on how to reach the path to God, or the gods. Eric Dietrich Ph.D. states in his 2015 article, â€Å"Why Are There So Many Religions?,† â€Å"that there are tens of thousands of religions on planet Earth today† (Dietrich 2). The fact that there are so many religions in the world can be a little confusing. A theory of why there are so many variations of religions is that, â€Å"we are each seeking our own path to God, and our own paths vary because we vary† (Dietrich 2). Mostly all religious groups always feel like they are practicing the right religion over the others in the world. It is hard to say which is wrong and which one is right. The basic ideology of religion varies since they all are so different. The oldest religion, that is still being practiced today, is Hinduism. Hinduism’s ideology is, â€Å"the goal to become free from the law of karma† (Adamson). Hindus believe in numerous gods and goddesses, karma, and reincarnation, so in other words, one’s soul will continue to rebirth on Earth until the soul has fully reached spiritual perfection and can finally rest at peace. A more familiar religion in America is Christianity. Christians believe in the one almighty God, and the basic ideology is to worship only Him, follow the Ten Commandments, and to live for God. Even though these two religions are vastly different, they are similar in that they believe in a higher supernatural power, which is not here on Earth, and they also try to follow a peaceful way of life to reach the path of their god. In retrospect, even though each religion may be different in names and whom they exactly believe in , they both are very similar in the fact that they live for someone higher than them. â€Å"The term cult used to refer to a minor religious sect that practices its own peculiar rituals,† but, â€Å"nowadays, it suggests a secretive and dangerous group† (Galanter 1). Cults have always been a taboo to society. There is always a bad connotation with the word cult. A cult is traditionally defined as a new religious movement. From the beginning of religion, any branched off religion that was not the original religion, was considered a cult. Judaism, Buddhism, and Christianity were all technically associated with being a cult at the beginning of their debut. They only became religions when they got enough real estate and followers. Cults have basic ideology as well because they â€Å"align themselves with mainstream religions† (Coughlin). Members of cults believe in a higher power, but the higher power is usually the leader of that cult. They promise the path to a divine afterlife alongside God, or themselves, the leader. These religious groups, cults, are so appealing to people because â€Å"they offer the simple path to happiness, to success, to salvation by following their simple rules,† and â€Å"each member contributes to the power of the leader by trading his or her freedom for the illusion of security and reflected glory that group membership holds† (Zimbardo 2). The lines between a religion and a cult are very blurred. Because cults are based off of well-known religions, or religious beliefs, that we all are very familiar with, so it comes down to logistics to see the differences. The first difference is that cults â€Å"can be financially exploitative, like Scientology, which requires its members to literally buy into the religion at different checkpoints on their road to total faith† (What’s 2). Although, orthodox churches do ask for offerings or donations, but it is not mandatory to prove your faith to that church or god. On the other hand, these orthodox churches will have an â€Å"alms-giving policy that requires members to donate ten percent of their earnings out of charity† (What’s 4). Understandably, every organization needs money to operate, religion or cult. Another difference is that religions believe in worshiping the followings and teachings of a supernatural power, whereas a cult will have the leader , here on Earth, be the higher power. This contrast is where the idea of manipulation comes into play. Many argue that cults will twist the words of the religious beliefs they run off to make them have faith in â€Å"committing suicide upon command or destroying the cult’s enemies,† anyone not in favor of them (Zimbardo 4). Mainstream religions continuously preach to do no harm to others or yourself. In these popular religions, committing suicide or murder is a cardinal sin and against all teachings, and any act of it will be automatic damnation to Hell. Philip G. Zimbardo Ph.D. states in his journal, â€Å"What Messages Are Behind Today’s Cults?,† â€Å"that the major difference between a religion and a cult is what happens when a member tries to leave† (Zimbardo 4). His theory is that if a member of a conventional church isn’t happy with the way the church is being ran, or even disagrees with the teachings, one can choose to leave the chur ch in search of a new path, no problem. If one doesn’t agree with a cult’s teachings once they have already pledged their allegiance and attempts to leave, that member is now looked at as a traitor and can be held hostage, be punished, or even killed for their unsupportive feelings toward the group and it’s leader. These points of differences are very subtle, but they are a big factor is what distinguishes the two groups. The resemblance of a religion and a cult are so parallel, that they overlap in many concepts. Both groups â€Å"demonstrate great zeal and unquestioning commitment to their leader. Doubt, skepticism, and debate are discouraged and sometimes even punished. Current members are always looking to acquire new members and money. There’s a mentality that there are two kinds of people in the world: this in the group, and everyone else† (What’s 1). No one in a mainstream religion wants to hear that there are so many similarities in religions and cults, but this is reality. The two groups practice rituals and ceremonies, have reverence for spiritual leaders, have dogmatic adherence to myths, have a system of moral laws, have supernatural or deistic beliefs and have a veneration of sacred symbols. â€Å"A religion is an old cult. A cult is a new religious movement,† (What’s 3). Religions and cults go hand in hand. Even though people may not want to admit it, every religion started off as a cult because it was anew way of thinking. With all these new teachings and more options to follow, it allowed people all over the world to choose what worked best for their lifestyle. It is true, we all think differently and we all have a different outlook on which higher power is looking down on us, guiding our every move. Even though cults have now gotten a bad reputation for the radical groups that have been associated with them, all cults are not bad. Cults are the beginning to a new movement and a new path to salvation. Without the start of cults, branch offs of mainstream religions, we would not have any of the religions we have today. Adamson, Mariyln. â€Å"Connecting with the Divine.†EveryStudent.com, www.everystudent.com/features/connecting.html. This article gives the run down of the five major religions in the world still practiced today. It covers Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam. I am using this information from this article to compare and contrast the different religions today and how they are similar and how they are different. I want to prove that even if religions are not the same, the ideology is basically the same, with the exception of a few particulars. This is more of a blog post, but I feel like it is credible because the author has done religious studies and has traveled to many countries to study religious culture. Coughlin, Sara. â€Å"Where Is The Line Between A Cult A Religion?†The Difference Between A Cult And Religion, Explained, 31 Aug. 2018, www.refinery29.com/en-us/cult-vs-religion-difference. This article explains the differences from cults and religions. It really highlights the more modern cults that have a bad name. I think this article does a good job of comparing and contrasting the things alike and different from religions and cults. I am using this article to show some of the different points it makes aside from the journals, since this article in particular describing the bad cults that can be very manipulative and harmful. Although this source is from an online article that is just more opinion based, the author did an interview with Janja Lalich, Ph. D, who is a professor of sociology ar California State University, Chico. The author quotes the doctor and their findings in the research that they have conducted about cults over the years. Dietrich, Eric. â€Å"Why Are There So Many Religions?†Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 7 Apr. 2015, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/excellent-beauty/201504/why-are-there-so-many-religions. In this article, it breaks down the estimated number of how many religions there are in the world. It also continues to explain why the number of religions in the world is so high. The main point of the whole article is that everyone has a common goal, which is to find the path to their God, but everyone’s paths do not always align. There are many ways to findings one purpose, so that is why there are many different derivatives. I am using this information in my report to show the number of current religions in the world. I want to show that religion is such an open statement and can be interpreted in many different ways. This source is not scholarly, but it was written by, Eric Dietrich Ph.D., whom is a professor of philosophy at Binghamton University and is a current editor in chief of the Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence. I think his words are valid since he teaches philosophy of religion. Galanter, Marc.Cults: Faith, healing and coercion. Oxford University Press, 1999. This book is a sequel to the study of cults with updated research. In this book, the author goes into detail about what a cult actually is. Cults never used to be a bad, awful, terrible thing, it was just a new movement of a religious culture. Nowadays, cults are always associated with a bad reputation, but it is more complicated than that. I am using this information in my report to explain how cults came about and how they took a total left turn into what we know today. I am trying to prove the point that religions and cults are not that much different if you lay out all the facts that this book displays. This is a reliable source because it is scholarly. Marc Galanter wrote this book and he was a Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he taught religion and law. â€Å"Religion: Definition of Religion in English by Lexico Dictionaries.†Lexico Dictionaries | English, Lexico Dictionaries, 25 June 2019, www.lexico.com/en/definition/religion. This is an online dictionary sponsored by The English Oxford Dictionary, so I feel like it is a credible source to get a proper, and valid, definition. I wanted to use the definition of religion to have my audience get a better understanding of what exactly a religion is. Tremlin, Todd. Minds and Gods: The Cognitive Foundations Of Religions. Oxford University Press, 2010. In this book, it lays out a plethora of different types of religions and every single one of their ideologies. It explains the foundations of the religion in Sri Lanka all the way to the Catholic Church teachings. This book highlights the commonality between all the types of religions, which is the beliefs in gods. I am using this research within my report to explain the base foundations of religions and how they really are similar once you get down to the base of all the different teachings. It also goes into depth about the power of the mind and how religion goes hand in hand with what you believe to be right or wrong, or even which god is valid and which one is not. This is a scholarly book that was written by a Professor at Central Michigan University, whom is also the head of the religion program. â€Å"Whats the Difference Between Religion and a Cult? Is There?†Guff, 2015, guff.com/whats-the-difference-between-religion-and-a-cult-is-there. In this article, it does a good job of really comparing and contrasting cults and religions. It lays out soe base foundations and asks the reader to really think if those characteristics of a cult or a religion. This article states that the lines distinguishing cults and religions are really blurred, since technically, all religions were cults at one point in time. I am going to use the information form this article post to really drive the point that there is no difference between a cult and a religion because of ideologies are very similar, almost identical. This source is just more of a blog post, but I do believe that this post is credible because they do cite researchers that have done their research on religions. Zimbardo, Philip. What messages are behind today’s cults.(1997). In this journal, the author talks about the ideology and the appeal about cults. This author explains why a person might voluntarily join a â€Å"cult.† It also explains how the ideology of cults can easily be manipulated by it’s leaders into thinking this is really a new revolution. I am using this information to highlight the rational perspectives of the people who get wrapped up in these â€Å"new religious movements.† There are always two sides to the story, and in all cases, cults aren’t necessarily meant to be a bad thing. This information is from a scholarly source. The journal is written by Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo, who is a renowned social psychologist at Stanford University, and is also apart of the American Psychological Association.

Capabilities in the Workplace Bangles Pvt. Ltd. The WritePass Journal

Capabilities in the Workplace Bangles Pvt. Ltd.ï » ¿ Abstract: Capabilities in the Workplace Bangles Pvt. Ltd.ï » ¿ ). Bangles Pvt. Ltd has several core competencies which strengthen the firm and result in increased business. One of the core competencies of Bangles Pvt. Ltd is the diversified workforce, which consists of close friends and students of the owner who originate from different countries and are able to provide Bangles with unique and original ideas for bangle designs. Thus, the aesthetic appeal of Bangles’ products suits the modern tastes of consumers in the UK, India, Pakistan, Turkey, China, and Nigeria as the designers of Bangles originate from the countries mentioned. Another core competency of the firm is the owner’s personal involvement in the business and the fact that the owner provides customers with a personalized service and is highly interactive with the customers. Additionally, the owner also provides a customized service to customers who wish to get their own bangles designed at an affordable price. Also, the owner’s large social circle and connection s with people in Asia who can help in expanding and managing the business is also a core competence as the owner will not have to associate with unknown parties in order to achieve expansion into Asia. The organizational capabilities of the firm are the manner in which people are managed in a firm in order to gain a competitive advantage (Grafton, Lillis, Widener, 2010). The organizational capabilities of Bangles include the owner’s excellence in human resource management as she has been successful in motivating employees since the business’s inception. The owner’s charismatic leadership style and the informal organizational culture of the firm help the employees remain comfortable and united with one another. The owner also attempts to organize the employees in the organization through the use of various communication tools including a personal group on WhatsApp, an intranet which enables the employees to interact with one another, and through the use of video conferencing when applicable (Bangles Pvt Ltd, 2014).The business’s strong internal associations and the fact that all of the designers in the firm are educated, trained, and experienced in the f ield of arts and crafts enables the firm to perform faster and more efficiently in order to quickly meet customer demand. The lack of misunderstandings between employees and the close connection between employees and the owner also serves as a source of competitive advantage and enables the work to be done quicker. The organization is currently working on capacity-building as it has previously increased its capacity by purchasing three small machines, which help cut the thread and sew on the beads for intricately and delicately designed bangles. Using these machines has sufficiently increased the capacity of the firm and Bangles has been able to complete more orders than it previously had. The company has recently tried division of labour and instead of asking one designer to complete a full pair of bangles, they have tried to break down the tasks and let one worker complete a portion of an order while the others complete other portions. This has shown commendable results recently as capacity has slightly increased. In order to solve the problems arising from an expansion into the Asian market, Bangles must use its core competencies, organizational capabilities, and capacity-building tools to its advantage. The owner can use the core competency of having a diversified workforce to be able to accurately meet the aesthetic demands of customers in Asian countries. Moreover, the owner needs to use her social connections in order to appoint a reliable manager in Asia who will help in the distribution of Bangles’ products and also manage the brand image of the firm. The owner can make use of the firm’s strong communication network to set up a system in which she communicates with customers in Asia herself or responds to their messages as soon as possible if there is a difference in timings in order to provide them with a personalized and customized service where applicable. Thus, to efficiently manage business in Asia, the owner must make use of her charismatic leadership style to constantly remain in touch with employees and the manger in Asia and ensure she is updated upon changing trends. The owner must also have a rigid plan towards crisis management in order to ensure that she is able to solve such problems without increasing hassle and confusion and risk in damaging the brand’s reputation. The owner can also extend the intranet to include employees in Asia and to ensure that she communicates with them personally in order to ensure that they are familiar with the organizational culture and are absorbed into the enthusiasm of being a part of the organization. These are the strategies that the firm can use by making use of its existing core competencies and capabilities. However, the firm may also need to enhance other departments in order to efficiently compete in the Asian market. Conclusion and Recommendations: It is evident that the firm has numerous core competencies and organizational capabilities which enable the firm to efficiently compete in the market and which can be used to its advantage in expanding into the Asian market. However, the firm may consider increasing its efficiency and capacity by hiring additional designers in Asia who can produce the bangles there and ship them to customers easily and without additional cost. Moreover, the firm may also hire additional staff in the UK to ensure that there is always someone available online to cater to customer queries and demands. In order to appropriately achieve this, Bangles may also consider giving its staff training in customer service and managing across cultures. Hence, the firm’s core competencies of a diversified workforce, strong social connections, and the owner’s personal involvement in the business serve to be highly beneficial while organizational capabilities of a strong communication network and informal organizational culture are redeem high benefits. References Bangles Pvt. Ltd. (2014) Facebook Page [online] Accessed on: February 20, 2014 Available at: https://www.facebook.com/bangles Grafton, J., Lillis, A. M., Widener, S. K. (2010). â€Å"The role of performance measurement and evaluation in building organizational capabilities and performance.†Ã‚  Accounting, Organizations and Society. Vol.  35(7) pp. 689-706. Gupta, R. K. (2013). â€Å"Core Competencies for Business Excellence.†Ã‚  Advances in Management. Vol.  6 (10). pp. 712-723

The Cooperative Principle in Conversation

The Cooperative Principle in Conversation In conversation analysis, the cooperative principle is the assumption that participants in a conversation normally attempt to be informative, truthful, relevant, and clear. The concept of the cooperative principle was introduced by philosopher H. Paul Grice in his article Logic and Conversation (Syntax and Semantics, 1975). In that article, Grice argued that talk exchanges arent merely a succession of disconnected remarks, and would not be rational if they did. They are characteristically, to some degree at least, cooperative efforts; and each participant recognizes in them, to some extent, a common purpose or set of purposes, or at least a mutually accepted direction.   Examples and Observations We might then formulate a rough general principle which participants will be expected (ceteris paribus) to observe, namely: Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. One might label this the Cooperative Principle.  (Paul Grice, Logic and Conversation, 1975. Reprinted in Studies in the Way of Words. Harvard University  Press, 1989)[T]he  sum and substance of the Cooperative  Principle might be put this way: Do whatever is necessary to achieve the purpose of your talk; dont do anything that will frustrate that purpose. (Aloysius Martinich,  Communication and Reference.  Walter de Gruyter, 1984) Grice's Conversational Maxims [Paul] Grice fleshed out the cooperative principle in four conversational maxims, which are commandments that people tacitly follow (or should follow) to further the conversation efficiently: Quantity: Say no less than the conversation requires.Say no more than the conversation requires. Quality: Dont say what you believe to be false.Dont say things for which you lack evidence. Manner: Dont be obscure.Dont be ambiguous.Be brief.Be orderly. Relevance: Be relevant. People undoubtedly can be tight-lipped, long-winded, mendacious, cavalier, obscure, ambiguous, verbose, rambling, or off-topic. But on closer examination they are far less so than they could be, given the possibilities. . . . Because human hearers can count on some degree of adherence to the maxims, they can read between the lines, weed out unintended ambiguities, and connect the dots when they listen and read. (Steven Pinker, The Stuff of Thought. Viking, 2007) Cooperation vs. Agreeableness We need to make a distinction between communicatively cooperative and socially cooperative . . ..  The Cooperative Principle is  not about being positive and socially smooth, or agreeable. It is a presumption that when people speak, they intend and expect that they will communicate by doing so, and that the hearer will help at making this happen. When two people quarrel or have a disagreement, the Cooperative Principle still holds, even though the speakers may not be doing anything positive or cooperative. . . . Even if individuals are aggressive, self-serving, egotistic, and so on, and not quite focusing on the other participants of the interaction, they cant have spoken at all to someone else without expecting that something would come out of it, that there would be some result, and that the other person/s was/were engaged with them. That is what the Cooperative Principle is all about, and it certainly does have to continue to be considered as the main driving force in communic ation. (Istvan Kecskes,  Intercultural Pragmatics. Oxford University Press,  2014) Jack Reacher's Telephone Conversation The operator answered  and I asked for Shoemaker  and I got transferred, maybe elsewhere in the building, or the country, or the world, and after a bunch of clicks  and hisses and some long minutes of dead air Shoemaker came on the line and said Yes? This is Jack Reacher, I said. Where are you? Dont you have all kinds of automatic machines to tell you that? Yes, he said. Youre in Seattle, on a pay phone  down by the fish market. But we prefer it when people volunteer the information themselves. We find that makes the subsequent conversation go better. Because theyre already cooperating. Theyre invested. In what? The conversation. Are we having a conversation? Not really. (Lee Child, Personal.  Delacorte Press, 2014) The Lighter Side of the Cooperative Principle Sheldon Cooper: Ive been giving the matter some thought, and I think Id be willing to be a house pet to a race of superintelligent aliens.​ Leonard Hofstadter: Interesting.​ Sheldon Cooper: Ask me why?​ Leonard Hofstadter: Do I have to?​ Sheldon Cooper: Of course. Thats how you move a conversation forward. (Jim Parsons and  Johnny Galecki, The Financial Permeability. The Big Bang Theory, 2009)

Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Letter from Birmingham Jail - Essay Example King wrote a letter in response to criticisms he had received while in prison. He was responding to the critics of nonviolence means and injustices before the law. He addressed his letter to his fellow clergymen who termed his actions as unwise. He said that he was trying to answer their criticisms in realistic terms. His response begins by expressing the reasons for his presence in Birmingham. He added that his presence in Birmingham is because he is invited for organizational ties. He refutes the accusations of his fellows who had argued that he is an outsider in Birmingham. King says that his desire to end injustice like the eighteenth century prophets drove him to Birmingham. King accuses the leaders of criticizing his acts of peaceful demonstrations, yet they could not address the conditions that fuelled the demonstrations.King says that, any nonviolent campaign involves four steps; assembling of facts on the existing injustices, meditation, self- purification and real action. F acts about the situation must be established, and brutality identified. Campaigns require facts, not guesswork and are meant to change the existing conditions of injustice and not personal gain. He argues that Birmingham is the most segregated city in the United States, leading in brutality and unjust treatment of Negroes. He added that the Negro fathers had tried to negotiate with the city leaders who refused to listen to them. The promises made to the clergy leaders by the city fathers were unfulfilled.

Obesrvation of baskball game Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Obesrvation of baskball game - Essay Example Niels Giffey Defensive Rebound. Foul on Kenny Kaminski. DeAndre Daniels made Free Throw. DeAndre Daniels missed Free Throw. Adreian Payne Defensive Rebound. Adreian Payne missed Jumper. Niels Giffey Defensive Rebound. Ryan Boatright missed Three Point Jumper. Gary Harris made Layup. Assisted by Keith (Bonesteel, 2014). Appling. Phillip Nolan Offensive Rebound. Connecticut Turnover at the official time out. Branden Dawson missed Jumper. Niels Giffey made Jumper. Assisted by Shabazz Napier. Denzel Valentine made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Matt Costello then the first half ended .The second half; Jump Ball won by Connecticut. Foul on Keith Appling. Shabazz Napier missed Three Point Jumper. Gary Harris made Jumper. Adreian Payne made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Gary Harris. Adreian Payne made Jumper. Assisted by Denzel Valentine before Connecticut’s time out. Shabazz Napier made Three Point Jumper. Phillip Nolan made Layup. Assisted by Ryan Boatright. After Michigan’s time out Ryan Boatright made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Phillip Nolan and the game ended (Bonesteel,

The power of media on consumerist behaviour Essay

The power of media on consumerist behaviour - Essay Example In our daily lives, individuals are continually bombarded with advertisements encouraging them to buy things. These advertisements promote specific products and give an impression of a good life and what it means to be happy in the modern times (Crocker and Lehmann 45). Most people find shopping to be an exhilarating leisure activity. There are those that go deeply into debt trying to buy products that are beyond their means. Manufacturers mainly concentrate on profits and this means that they concentrate on capital gain over environmental sustainability. This means that most companies in the contemporary world are more concerned about capital gain as it is more profitable to them. On the other hand, environmental sustainability is seen as an expense to the company (Johan and Anthony 11). Some companies do not even have an environmental sustainability policy in place and instead devote all their time and resources towards capital gain which unlike environmental sustainability has immense gains for the company. Entities that fail to take issues of environmental sustainability into consideration are likely to have a reduction in the number of consumers. There has been an increase in the corporate outsourcing of the manufacture of products to developing countries. These lack appropriate safeguards against worker exploitation which is referred to as sweatshop labor. This helps companies to minimize on their labor expenses and maximize on profits (Johan and Anthony 11). However, it results to a rise in employee exploitation in developing economies since they are forced to do a lot of manual labor with minimal pay and under poor working conditions. Companies that are associated with sweatshop labor are likely to experience a decline in popularity among consumers. The media is a powerful tool that has contributed to the shape of consumerist behavior in society and this can

Domestic partner benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Domestic partner benefits - Essay Example Further requirements were then added for the partners to continue sharing financial obligations and that they  are  over eighteen (Badgett 2006).. A domestic partnership denotes a much that may be or may not be recognized by law as compared to  marriage. According to  Wikipedia, public and private employers in America provide health insurance and other benefits to spouses and same-sex partners of their employees. The employee receiving benefits for his or her spouse may sometimes be forced to pay tax for the benefits. The qualifications for benefits for domestic partners vary from one employer to the next. Different employers have different benchmarks for those that are suitable for these benefits and those that are not. Domestic partner benefits can be categorized into two: same sex partners and opposite sex partners. It is up to employers to determine which  partnership  to include. Some employers only  recognize  same-sex or different-sex couples, while others acce pt both categories. Employers ought to compensate their employees through more than salaries and wages. They should provide benefits such as health insurance. A growing number of employers are now offering domestic partner benefits to gay, lesbians, bisexual and transgender employees and the  partner’s children. These benefits include health benefits (dental,  sight  and medical); retirement benefits (pension plans); bereavement leave; travel assistance; adoption assistance; education and  tuition  assistance and disability and life insurance. Employers  are known  to create their own definitions of domestic partners. This is to  enable  them to know who is eligible for benefits and who is not.  Same sex  unions were usually left out of this consideration. Employers have since begun offering benefits to  same sex  partners. Employers have traditionally offered benefits, such as health insurance, to the spouses and legal dependants of their employees. In 1982, the first  employer  to break ranks and  offer  domestic partner benefits to its  lesbian  and  gay  employees was a New York City weekly  publication  called the Village Voice. Today, the Human Rights Campaign (a nonprofit organization devoted to working for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equal rights) claims that employees who  offer  these benefits stand at more than 2,500. In an effort to promote equality in the workplace, more and more employers are choosing to  offer  benefits to domestic partners. However, these efforts to  bring  more  equality  to the workplace are not without  consequence. Before adopting policies that  afford  domestic partners the same benefits that  are afforded  spouses, employers must carefully consider the benefits and risks to such an  approach (Badgett 2006).. Cost of domestic partner benefits According to Michael E. Hamrick (2009), lack of information has made it difficult to  es timate  the overall  cost  of domestic partner benefits. Some employers believe that the cost for providing benefits for domestic partners is much higher than providing benefits for married couples. An  excellent  example comes from a small group  plan  in California. It paid 17.1% more in the same year for

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Leadership - Essay Example Leadership is a vital part of being a successful manager. Employees would tend to follow a good leader rather than a manager that does not posses leadership skills and will respond positively to their direction. A poor leader will often fail to win over staff and will have problems communicating with and organizing workers effectively. But what makes a good leader There have been a number of studies that have been carried out in order to answer this question. Some debate that leader's are born with innate abilities, aura or charisma that others will find appealing. While others argues that leaders can be trained to adopt the key attributes of a good leader and if there is desire and will power it is possible to be a good and effective leader. The traits that can be associated with a good leader form into three broad categories. Personality traits of a manager are those characteristics that combine together and form into an appealing personality that would be attractive and would influence others. Personality traits can be further divided into general personality traits and task-related traits. The general personality traits include extraversion, dominance, psychological adjustment and assertiveness. While task-oriented traits can be emotional intelligence, internal locus of control and also flexibility and adaptability to the changing work methods, environments or people. (Kelly, 2007) Motives is another aspect of the traits of a leader. Motives are revealed as the intentions seen in the behavior of leaders. Motives are also evident through the emotional energy which shows how important the leader considers things to be. The motives of the leader need to be clear. The motives are of four forms. Power, drive and achievement, strong work ethics and Tenacity. The power motive involves the leader influencing the actions and behaviors of others. Power is further divided in personalized power motive and socializes power motive. Personalized power motive is when the leaders pursue their own interests and use their power for their own self fulfillment considering it as a form of high-status and luxury. While, socializing power motive is when the leader uses the power in achieving organizational goals and to help others. The second form of motive is drive and achievement motive is very important it means that the leader has the motivation and persistent energy that is need ed in achieving goals. This motive also means that the leader will consider the aims of the organization as their own personal aims and thus, will put in extra effort in finding solutions, planning and taking risks and responsibilities. The strong work ethic motive involved the leader having a strong belief in work dignity. Workers with strong work ethic believe in working hard and not wasting and resources such as time. Intelligence in leader is as important as are other factors. Mental abilities are one of the important traits that a leader must posses. A person that is smart and mentally sharp solves difficult problems, brings a creative edge to the company and also inspires others and comes up as more sensible and thus, motivates people in his or her

Public health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 14

Public health - Essay Example Most importantly, they are tech savvy and greatly aware of their health and fitness. The Medicare is not able to handle the increased cost and therefore, they represent huge potential for marketers within the healthcare industry and healthcare service providers. Baby boomers have longer life expectancy which offers opportunities for health sector. They are looking for ways and means to incorporate their needs and requirements. Around 60% of the people above the age of 60 years are inflicted with atleast one chronic disease which rises with age. The health industry is anxious to exploit the opportunity to evolve new products for long term care, annuities, healthcare savings etc. to facilitate good health in their old age. Healthcare cooperatives and luxury retirement homes have increasing become popular amongst the boomers. Most importantly, boomers are active and empowered and therefore expect products that are not only useful but also have quality that would help them to maintain quality of life. Thus, they offer not only challenges but also huge opportunities for healthcare

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Leadership - Essay Example Leadership is a vital part of being a successful manager. Employees would tend to follow a good leader rather than a manager that does not posses leadership skills and will respond positively to their direction. A poor leader will often fail to win over staff and will have problems communicating with and organizing workers effectively. But what makes a good leader There have been a number of studies that have been carried out in order to answer this question. Some debate that leader's are born with innate abilities, aura or charisma that others will find appealing. While others argues that leaders can be trained to adopt the key attributes of a good leader and if there is desire and will power it is possible to be a good and effective leader. The traits that can be associated with a good leader form into three broad categories. Personality traits of a manager are those characteristics that combine together and form into an appealing personality that would be attractive and would influence others. Personality traits can be further divided into general personality traits and task-related traits. The general personality traits include extraversion, dominance, psychological adjustment and assertiveness. While task-oriented traits can be emotional intelligence, internal locus of control and also flexibility and adaptability to the changing work methods, environments or people. (Kelly, 2007) Motives is another aspect of the traits of a leader. Motives are revealed as the intentions seen in the behavior of leaders. Motives are also evident through the emotional energy which shows how important the leader considers things to be. The motives of the leader need to be clear. The motives are of four forms. Power, drive and achievement, strong work ethics and Tenacity. The power motive involves the leader influencing the actions and behaviors of others. Power is further divided in personalized power motive and socializes power motive. Personalized power motive is when the leaders pursue their own interests and use their power for their own self fulfillment considering it as a form of high-status and luxury. While, socializing power motive is when the leader uses the power in achieving organizational goals and to help others. The second form of motive is drive and achievement motive is very important it means that the leader has the motivation and persistent energy that is need ed in achieving goals. This motive also means that the leader will consider the aims of the organization as their own personal aims and thus, will put in extra effort in finding solutions, planning and taking risks and responsibilities. The strong work ethic motive involved the leader having a strong belief in work dignity. Workers with strong work ethic believe in working hard and not wasting and resources such as time. Intelligence in leader is as important as are other factors. Mental abilities are one of the important traits that a leader must posses. A person that is smart and mentally sharp solves difficult problems, brings a creative edge to the company and also inspires others and comes up as more sensible and thus, motivates people in his or her

Explain the significance of Marco Essay Example for Free

Explain the significance of Marco Essay In the play, Marco is very important. After all, he was the one person who killed Eddie Carbone which is the main event in the play. When Marco comes into the play for the first time, he is proven to be the most mature brother who has a quality life worth living. What can I do? The older one is sick in chest. My wife she feeds them from her own mouth. I tell you the truth; if I stay there they will never grow up. They eat the sunshine. Having children, Marco might feel they are a motivation to earn money to keep them alive as well as himself. The reason Marco came to Brooklyn, America to help and pay for food for his family as he would send money back to his wife in Italy to care for them. My wife I want to send right away maybe twenty dollars †¦ because I could send them a little more if I stay. Marco knows he has an obligation to Eddie and is trying to be good so he can stay in America in the house to earn money for his family. So to make sure he can stay, he is trying not to let Rodolph ruin his chances either by doing ridiculous tasks like singing which Marco thinks is inappropriate at the time so tells him, No no! †¦ Youll be quiet †¦ Youll be quiet. He also thinks Rodolph should tame himself down. ‘’They paid for your courage. The English like courage. But once is enough.’’ He is loyal and strong. He thinks before he acts which gives the impression that he is focused. He only punished Eddie by killing him as he felt threatened which is not a selfish action. He is the antagonist in the play and the Sicilian avenging angel that Alfieri hints at his comment to the audience. A man works, raises his family, goes bowling, eats, gets old and then dies. Now, as the weeks passed there was a future, there was a trouble that would not go away. Marco is also very important to the play as he is very respectful towards Eddie to begin with. Marco is willing to do any work to support his family as he is very proud of his wife and he is grateful to Eddie for his help and for giving him the opportunity to live in his home and work down the docks. Marco is realistic and tries to control Rodolpho’s exaggerations to keep them out of trouble. Even though during the play, Marco is furious and vengeful to some of the things Eddie does like snitching on them to the immigration officers; He is responsible, respectful, strong but silent towards his family, Eddie, Beatrice and even Catherine. Marco tries to bridge the increasing gap between Rodolpho and Eddie however as soon as Marco feels offended by Eddie he feels he needs to prove his strength and authority to him by lifting a chair up by one leg by one arm which is he successful in whereas Eddie cannot lift the chair. Marco if a family man because even though Marco cannot understand American justice when Alfieri tried to explain it and promised Eddie he will not betray or harm him if he promised the same, he did not apologise to Eddie as his honour means everything to him. As Marco will probably get deported back to Italy for immigration and killing Eddie, he is happy that Rodolpho has a chance of a green card a family with Catherine.

Every Child Matters: Green Paper

Every Child Matters: Green Paper In 2003 the Government released the original Every Child Matters: Green paper, it was a response to the Joint Chief Inspectors report on the findings of Lord Lamings (Victoria Climbies death) public enquiry. It highlighted many failings from services to communicate and intervene. It set out proposals on how to address the issues of concern that had been identified and suggested measures that were needed to improve and reform childcare The Green Paper identified four areas of action: Support for parents and carers Effective protection and early intervention Accountability and poor integration Reform of the workforce The aim was to not only protect children but also to enable children to improve and fulfil their lives. The Green Paper built upon the foundations of Sure Start, aiming to eradicate child poverty and raising school standards. The success of the Green Paper led to the paper being transformed in to Every Child Matters: The Next Steps. Alongside this and with the support of the Houses of Parliament, the 1998 Childrens Act was reformed and adapted into The Childrens Act 2004. This Act aimed to encourage. It also aimed to ensure that LAs (Local Authorities) were given more flexibility when implementing their provision. One result of this act was the development of Local Safeguarding Childrens Boards. These boards aimed to co-ordinate between all LAs in a local area in order to safeguard children. The Act also resulted in the formation of the Every Child Matters Framework Every Child Matters: Change for Children, became a national framework. The title Every Child Matters was used to amalgamate all of the documents, that aimed to organise and deliver services that ensured every child and young person became an active member of society. There was also the aim of preventions as opposed to just dealing with the consequences. For this to work the framework suggested multi-agency collaboration from all those working with children and young people. Through this collaboration of services it would hopefully allow children and young people to achieve the five outcomes of the The Children Act 2004 (Section 10). Section 10 requires public services to ensure all children and young people are: Protected from neglect and harm Have the right to education, training and recreation Physical and mental health and emotional well-being Contributing to society Achieve social and economic well-being These are summarised as enabling children or young people to: Stay Safe, Be Healthy, Make a Positive Contribution, Enjoy and Achieve, and Achieve Economic Well-Being. These five outcomes are referenced to throughout Every Child Matters. To ensure all children and young people progress against these outcomes, policies and practices needed to be developed and implemented. The framework also focused on trying to ensure every child had provision regardless of their background or circumstances, and to enable children and young people to have a greater say about the issues and problems that affect them collectively and as individuals. This was evident in 2005, when the first Childrens Commissioner for England was elected; this gave a voice for children. This was one action aimed to prevent problems rather than dealing with consequences. As well as this the framework was seen as an inescapable moral imperative that it intended to assist a radical reform of services In 2007 The Childrens Plan was published, this aimed to build upon the Every Child Matters framework. The Childrens Plan: Building Brighter Future was a ten year plan that aimed to centralise children and young people, and increasing the focus on parental roles and the wider communities. The Plan focused on the Childrens Trusts, and believed that this was central to delivering quality, and set high expectations of them to deliver. The Childrens Trusts had similar aims to those of the Local Safeguarding Children Boards, they both aimed to collaborate. The Trusts take the child centred approach and use an integrated strategy of joint planning and commissioning, and pooled budgets. This inter agency co-operation aims to be sustainable by using a shared language and similar processes. Working in this manner means that the trust will hopefully be able to deliver a service that is very child centred, and has no restrictions from professional boundaries or any other existing agencies. Other frameworks, initiatives, acts and policies that have been a result of, or linked to, the Every Child Matters policy include Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006) and The Equality Act (2006). My Local Authority has made many changes and developed many policies. The LA has developed a policy on e-safety, explaining the risks and what can be done to stay safe. They have also developed an Assessment and Response to Children System (ARCS). This explains the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and how it aims to assess The LA are also currently undertaking a consultation of the Thurrocks Draft Children and Young Peoples Plan 2010-2013 (CYPP). This is the revised plan is signed up to by many organisations that provide key services for children and young people in Thurrock (including the Council, the NHS, the Police, schools and colleges and the voluntary sector). It sets out the priorities for the Childrens Trust, based on the analysis of the needs of children and young people, and what has been learnt through various consultations and interactions with children, young people, their parents, carers and professionals. These plans have to be prepared by every area in the country and the Department of Children Schools and Families (DFSF) provide guidance to help them do this. These plans will form the main planning document of all Childrens Trust agencies, and partner agencies, meaning that whatever is done with children and young people in Thurrock it will contribute to achieving the collective ambiti ons everybody has for them. Thurrock Children Young Peoples Plan 2007-10, developed many policies such as Each Child, Every Young Person, All Agencies Our Plan 2007 2010. This identified the priorities that were needed and the goals to be set in order for all children and young people in Thurrock to be able to achieve the five outcomes of ECM. It aimed to improve services in Thurrock over the past three years. The plan was delivered through the Children and Young Peoples Strategic Partnership (CYPSP), which aims to meet the need of children and young people in Thurrock. It sets out 12 goals that they aimed to achieve to be able to meet the ultimate five goals of ECM. In January of this year A Review of School Improvement was also conducted by Peter Wylie for Thurrock Council. It was a review of how effective school improvement services in Thurrock were, and it went on to propose options for the future whilst keeping in mind the local and national policy priorities. One such policy: Your child, your schools, our future: building a 21st century schools system aims to create a school system. It is a system that aims to respond to changes in economy and society and enable every child to enjoy growing up, and develop their potential and talent. It also gives them the broad skills they will need for the future. There are many guidelines, policies and legislation in place to ensure children are protected and achieve wellbeing, and each covers various areas and ensures multiagency collaboration. As a trainee teacher and a qualified teacher I will need to be aware of these because they underpin everything that I do. Within school and within my teaching and planning, the five key principles of the ECM framework must be at the forefront of my mind, they need to be at the heart of every aspect of the school, including. Within Every Child Matters, at the heart of the curriculum it states that ECM requires teachers to be committed and passionate, and offer. It also states that teaching should include activities that are beyond the school, that involve parents and relate to real life experience. It also suggests. The curriculum is designed with ECM at the centre; the design features address all 5 aspects, such as ensuring children are given the opportunity to learn in many subjects, and in a variety of settings and environments. ECM is at the centre when considering and ensuring opportunities for events such as productions and sports days, and when considering the schools routines. Also when considering any extended hours, offering opportunities before, during and after school, and links with health and social agencies. Young peoples lives are centred around school, and they clearly have an important part to play in supporting children to achieve the five aspects of ECM. Schools need to take into account the needs of all learners when planning. I will now consider how each aspect is/can be promoted in the curriculum. Schools can promote being healthy and staying safe by having a positive school ethos, which promotes inclusion. It should also follow many policies and procedures, to ensure children stay safe. When working as a Trainee Teacher and a qualified teacher I will need to be aware of all the policies that the school follows and ensure I am kept up to date with these. For example: safeguarding and health and safety policies. Some procedures for this might be: questioning any adults in the school without a name badge; and safety hinges on doors. I will also need to ensure I promote inclusion by methods such as personalisation. The school in which I am training tries very hard to ensure that children stay healthy. They have gained the Healthy School Award and have recently been given The Sports Unlimited Award. The school now offers a range of after school and lunchtime clubs, and provides healthy snacks for Foundation Stage and KS1 children. The school also brings in coaches to take P.E. lessons, to motivate learners and teach them the sport that they are experts in. Drinking water is provided throughout the day and each child has their own water bottle for them to drink from when in lessons. The school also actively promotes walking or cycling to school, and conducts cycling proficiency for pupils. Over the past year lunchtimes have become more structured with MDA and LSAs taking structured activities. Another good initiative that the school has adopted is the use of peer buddying and mentoring, with each adult in the school mentoring at least one child that is in need. The school also provides opportunit ies for learners to grow vegetables. As well as having regular assemblies taken by police officers and visits from health workers. The school makes many links between the community with visits to sing at old peoples homes and links with reading schemes through the library. When I am planning and teaching I will need to ensure that I use circle time to explore health and personal issues as well as encourage debate and peer decisions. I could also provide a quiet area within my classroom where children are able to take time out. Opportunities should be given to promote and encourage and to learn to be healthy in many subjects. I will need to be aware of this and apply them in my teaching. A few examples include: allowing for leaners to be empowered through making their own decisions, encouraging diversity, respecting difference and teaching them about their own identity, and using mathematics to investigate data on diet and health. History could also be used to explore community history and individual identity. Schools have the responsibility to ensure children are able to enjoy and achieve whilst staying safe when they are at school, through a wide range of policies and procedures. For example rules for how to use equipment safely, safeguarding, carrying out risk assessments, and bullying policies. However the staying safe element of ECM goes much further than the school and it is about. The school in which I am training provides many opportunities to ensure children are able to stay safe. They provide day and residential trips and set rules around the school based upon the schools Core values. With the increase in the use of the internet, the LA have also developed a policy for E-safety. The school provides mentoring and home work clubs to ensure the learners dont fall behind with work and also provide pupils with the opportunities to discuss any issues they may have. The school also has a council that acts as the student voice and gets learners more involved in the school. The school also encourages confidence for children to speak out, and uses role play, performances and presentations to promote this. The school uses visits from outside professionals, such as community police officers, and before any school trips, a safety check has to be conducted. There are also many opportunities to promote staying safe in the subjects that are being taught in my school. For example art, and design and technology could be used to promote safe practice and managing risks that may occur. ICT could be used to develop safety, such as questioning information and how to sit correctly at computer, i.e. .posture. When Teaching I need to be aware of how I can incorporate staying safe in my planning and in my classroom. I would also need to use the schools Core Values to assist safety and set class rules with the children. I will also need to take some responsibility in ensuring the school is safe, because it is everybodys responsibility not just the head teachers or senior managers. I could use stories in my class to deal with behaviours such as bullying and challenging stereotypes, resolving conflict and consequences. Schools need to ensure every child is making a positive contribution by ensuring the environment is created to encourage all to participate. They also give learners a voice, and vary in teaching strategies. The school where I am training has a school council that provides the children with a voice to speak out. In the Every Child Matters, at the heart of the curriculum booklet it states that if the children are aware that they have the opportunity to enrich the lives of others and support and care for them, and ultimately change things for the better, then they are much more likely to be more sociable beyond the school gates. The school I will be training at provides opportunities across the curriculum to ensure children give a positive contribution. The school council gives the opportunity to make decisions such as what equipment shall be built in the playground. It is important that children are able to make choices that have a true impact. Learners are also given various responsibilities around the school such as being responsible for the library, putting books away or giving them out, watering and looking after the garden, and collecting the register. They also encourage learners to participate in clubs and projects around the school. The school offers various clubs and everybody participates in the Christmas plays, as well as using buddying and mentoring schemes. They make links with the community through projects such as Christmas singing and also use such projects to raise money for charities. I will need to be aware of these points to ensure that I incorporate them into my classroom, for example by giving children responsibilities. I will also need to be aware of the ways the children can offer a positive contribution in certain subjects, such as promoting group work in English, including listening, speaking and responding to others, or encouraging children to contribute to a performance in music. When I am teaching I will need to ensure I enable and provide children with an opportunity to speak out and tell me the support they need, and provide an environment which is created for all to be able to participate in. I could use various methods to promote positive contribution such as using talk partners, incentives and mentors. Enjoying and Achieving is promoted in schools by lessons always taking account for different learning styles and abilities, thus ensuring that learners enjoy their learning. To ensure they enjoy and achieve, I may need to refer a child that may need more specialist help, research any needs they may have, differentiate and personalise my lessons, and celebrate achievements. If children are enjoying learning and have good supportive relationships, they are more likely to achieve. Every child has a talent, and it is the responsibility of the school to uncover these talents and ensure that all young people view themselves as a success and can live a fulfilling life. This means that the curriculum needs to be full of challenges and surprises. Children need to be able to build upon their own aptitudes as well as being able to enjoy what they are learning, and should be given opportunities to take on responsibility, whilst always considering each childs individual needs. The school that I am training at offers the pupils many opportunities to achieve and enjoy across the curriculum. The school gives each year group a topic every term, this allows children to see links between subjects, and provides them with opportunities to deeply explore issues. The school provides many trips from adventurous activities to historical sites, and provides opportunities for children to participate in the community through activities and projects. The school also provides many opportunities for children to demonstrate their skills through concerts, plays, and sports, and uses an achievement wall to praise children that achieve and/or participate, as well as having ac hievement assemblies once a week. In the achievement assemblies many awards are given: sporting awards; awards for effort; knowledge and reading; or anything else that is considered an achievement. The school also provides catch-up lessons and additional support through lunchtime and afterschool. I need to ensure that I see the school as a learning community and that I see myself as a lead learner. I will need to ensure that I provide opportunities for children to explore deeply and widely. When I am planning I will try and ensure to incorporate the childrens interest into lessons, and I will also need to ensure I arrange trips to help them to enjoy and achieve. I will need to try and use experts and organisations when teaching, and reach out and use parents where possible. I will also need to fully participate throughout the school to ensure I assist in allowing children to enjoy and achieve. There are many opportunities in lessons where I can plan to ensure children enjoy and achieve. In PSHE I could provide practical learning activities that relate to real life. I could also use real life situations in mathematics or use investigation games and strategies. I will need to be able to incorporate and ensure the children enjoying and achieving is at the heart of my teaching and planning. I must understand that it isnt about just teaching the lesson; it is about them understanding, enjoying and learning from the lesson. Economic wellbeing is about contextualising learning by relating it to the real world, and learners see the value of their learning. It also helps learners to create a. This means that children can achieve a great sense of satisfaction from being responsible for their own future. The school where I will be training uses many opportunities in the curriculum to help children to achieve economic wellbeing. The school provides learning opportunities for children to fundraise, in school or in an outside school setting. The school also encourages children to take on jobs in school such as taking responsibility for the school library or collecting the register. The school also provides leadership opportunities for pupils, such as becoming mentors or part of the school council. The school also actively promotes and embraces cultural difference and diversity. I could help children to achieve economic wellbeing by making them responsible for their dinner money and make it their responsibility to work out any change. I must ensure I encourage children to take on responsibilities in the school and in the class. There are many opportunities for learners to achieve economic wellbeing in subjects. For example I could use English to develop communication skills, and expressing views and ideas effectively. Learners could also develop their skills in obtaining information, analysing it, and evaluating it in science. P.E. could be used to teach children to work both as an individual and as part of team. When considering my personal development, my priority is to learn how to plan correctly, ensuring I use various learning environments and take into account the different childrens contexts. I will need to sit down with my School Based Trainer and maybe the classs last teacher, and consider each childs context. I will then be able to use this to personalise and differentiate planning. It will also inform me of the childrens interests, this will help me to plan for their interests and ensure they enjoy the lessons. ECM has greatly affected education and the way teachers teach. It has impacted many areas from, planning, safety, and dealing with behaviour. It has played a major part in radically reforming many children and young peoples services and lives. It is important however to not only praise the policy but also to criticise the policy in order for it to be developed and improved. This can be seen in the development from the Green Paper. At every stage the original policy aims were evaluated and then reset. For ECM to fully achieve its aims it is important that there needs to be multi-disciplinary work, and that teams and colleagues need to continuously reflect and evaluate. The overall effect of Every Child Matters and been massive, and Im sure that the results will continue to be seen for many years to come. Why Doesnt the UK Have a Constitution? Why Doesnt the UK Have a Constitution? Does the UK need a Republican Constitution? ANSWER There is a long and a short answer to this question. The short answer is â€Å"No†. The long answer is â€Å"Definitely not.† This may seem a flippant response, but this commentator predicts that it is precisely the kind of reaction that this question would engender in the majority of United Kingdom lawyers, commentators and politicians. Moreover, justification of this negative response is likely to be equally pithy: If it ’aint broke, don’t fix it. The United Kingdom is a stable, peaceful and wealthy constitutional monarchy. It is very far indeed from â€Å"broke†. Human rights are protected, the power of the state and its agencies are subject to the rule of law, corruption is relatively minimal and our legal system, welfare state and national health service are envied the world over. Democracy functions well, or at least relatively well in comparison with examples overseas. The Queen is generally respected and in many quarters cherished as a national figurehead. UK armed forces police the world and we have a seat at the highest global tables exercising far more influence over world affairs than our size and population merit. There is little in the way of civil strife or serious unrest no state of emergency or sense of impending doom. Our system, with all its typically British foibles and idiosyncrasies, undeniably works, and has done for the greater part of one thousand years.[1] It may seem like a prosaic claim but it is a blunt fact that almost no other country in the world can lay claim to a history the like of which graces these islands. The question as to whether the United Kingdom needs a Republican constitution is therefore unarguably flawed. Of course it doesn’t need a Republican constitution. The Status Quo The United Kingdom operates as a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral (two house) parliament comprised of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Supreme executive power is technically invested in the Crown, but in practice this power is discharged in the name of the Crown by ministers of state led by the Prime Minister. The House of Lords acts as essentially as a consulting chamber and while it can delay the enactment of legislation even the fact that it is comprised of appointed rather than elected members has proved advantageous, because it leaves the authority of the House of Commons unchallenged. The system works and there is no sign of imminent frailty or jeopardy to the status quo. There is no formal separation of powers between the executive and the legislature and while the Sovereign in Parliament stands as the supreme legislative authority, ministers carry out the agenda and work of the government. In the House of Lords, Law Lords sit as judges in the Appellate Committee and they also play a full part in the legislative work of the House. All that said it must be conceded that the United Kingdom does not actually possess a formal constitution at all.[2] The United Kingdom is one of a tiny minority of countries that lack a single comprehensive document laying down the legal system of the state, the roles and functions of the apparatus of government and the procedural rules by which it should operate. It is submitted that such documents have proved useful in other countries as the ultimate statement of a nation’s supreme law with the sovereign legal authority to empower a nominated constitutional court to rule acts of the legislature illegal if they are found to contravene the rights entailed within. However, that revelation aside, it does not appear to matter that the United Kingdom lacks a single constitutional document. Our constitutional basis is found in piecemeal form shot through our entire system of government. Aspects of the United Kingdom’s constitutional system can be found in a multiplicity of rules that establish and govern the very practice of governance. It is a time-honoured system founded on a combination of Acts of Parliament conventions, judicial decisions and political practice. Perhaps it could not work in every state, but it appears to work here. A New Republican Horizon? Need it be said, a Republican Constitution would demand the abolition of the monarchy or more realistically a dramatic reduction in the power of the monarchy and a transfer of authority to, for example a Presidential executive. None of the mainstream political parties subscribe to such an ambition and one must descend to the third tier of political activity before the issue attracts even a modicum of fringe support. This commentator could identify only one Republican pressure group with a significant presence on the Internet, and even this group professes to have no political ambitions of its own.[3] This suggests that the issue of a new Republican Constitution for the United Kingdom, while titillating for students of politics and law, is simply not on the agenda. One could easily infer that the reason it is not on the agenda is that there is no perception of current need or even of current advantage, inherent in such a move. This view, which is as stated is held by the overwhelming majority of political actors and commentators, speaks for itself. It is a view that may well change over time as future events are unpredictable, and the succession to the throne of Charles may weaken the prestige of the Crown. However, with the popular Prince William waiting in the wings that may only be a temporary blip in the history of the British monarchy. Concluding Comments It is submitted that there can be only one reasonable response to this question and that is, as stated in the introduction to this paper â€Å"No†. The fault lies in the question itself and in particular with the use of the word need. The United Kingdom has developed into one of the most successful countries in the world. This commentator can see no imperative demanding immediate constitutional reform.[4] It would have made for a more interesting intellectual exercise if the question had asked if the United Kingdom would benefit from a Republican constitution? Does it need a Republican constitution? From the perspective of 2006, the answer is manifestly and unequivocally No. Indeed, this commentator would go further: it is argued that the United Kingdom seems to operate quite satisfactorily without any formal constitution at all. BIBLIOGRAPHY Brazier, R., Constitutional Reform: Re-Shaping the British Political System. (1998) Oxford University Press Dicey, A.V., Introduction to the study of the law of the constitution. (1959) London, Macmillan Republic: The Campaign for an Elected Head of State: http://www.republic.org.uk/faqs.htm Oliver, D., Constitutional Reform in the UK, (2003) Oxford University Press Footnotes [1] For comment see: Brazier, R., Constitutional Reform: Re-Shaping the British Political System. (1998) Oxford University Press. [2] For insightful comment see: Dicey, A.V., Introduction to the study of the law of the constitution. (1959) London, Macmillan. [3] See: http://www.republic.org.uk/faqs.htm. [4] Contrast the views of: Oliver, D., Constitutional Reform in the UK, (2003) Oxford University Press.