Personality Psychology †Sojourner Truth Essay

Sojourner Truth (c.1797 – 26 November 1883) Sojourner Truth dedicated her life to fighting slavery, and advocating equal rights for women. She first began speaking in 1827, giving personal testimony of the evils and cruelty of slavery; and later as a staunch supporter of suffrage, also advocated for equal rights for women. At the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, she delivered her speech â€Å"Ain’t I a Woman† which is now revered among classic text of feminism. She lived her life in the water-shed years of American abolition of slavery and became a leader and recognized as an icon for equality of rights and freedom. At birth, Truth was named Isabella and was a slave for the first twenty-eight years of her life because she was a child born by slaves. In 1826, Truth began life as a free woman; but only after eighteen years – in 1843 at the age of forty-six years, she rename herself, â€Å"Sojourner Truth is my name, because from this day I will walk in the light of His truth.† (p. 77). The moment of naming herself marked Truth’s cognitive freedom from her enslaved past. Neo-Analytic Approach to Personality The neo-analytic approach to personality asseverate that the individual’s sense of self as the core of personality; holding that the self â€Å"struggles to cope with emotions and drives on the inside and the demands of others on the outside† (Friedman & Schustack, 2011); that human nature is positive and goal-oriented; that society and culture shapes personality; and that development continues throughout lifespan. For the analysis of Sojourner Truth’s personality, the concepts of neo-analytical theorist Alfred Adler are selected for the purpose. Adler’s Concept of Humanity Feist & Feist (2006) described Adler’s concept of humanity as that people are self-determinant, and their unique personalities are shaped by how they interpret their lives and experiences. People are ultimately responsible for their own personalities and possess the creative power to transform feelings of inadequacy towards a final goal of either personal superiority or goal of success for society. i. Striving for superiority or success Adler believed that the central core of personality is the striving for superiority towards a final goal. The final goal – while fictional and has no objective existence – unifies personality and renders all behaviour comprehensible. According to Feist & Feist (2006), Adler posit that feelings of inferiority motivate a person to strive for either a self-centered (selfish) goal of superiority, or an altruistic goal of success for all humans. The final goal compensates and reduces feelings of inferiority and weakness, and drives the individual to seek either superiority or success. Truth was a slave for twenty-eight years. During her enslavement, she was abused and treated as chattel or property. Her slave-masters dictated and hold sway her life. Her enslavement caused Truth to feel inferior – but yet her reaction to those feelings of inferiority was to strived for a goal for success (for society). Throughout her life as a free woman, Sojourner Truth devoted herself to fight against slavery and for equal rights for all. During the American Civil War, Truth risked her life to gather and deliver supplies to black volunteer regiments; and was continually involved in various political causes. With the National Freedman’s Relief Association she continued to strive to better conditions and lives for all African Americans – of which her last campaign (sadly unsuccessful) was a land distribution programme for former slaves. ii. Social Interest Adler (1956) state that those who strive for success (instead of self-centered superiority) possess a â€Å"sense of personal worth that is tied closely to their contributions to human society. Social progress is more important to them than personal credit† † (Feist & Feist, 2006, p.72). Truth transcended her oppressed past; turned out to be a healthy individual who was motivated without personal gain to help others to â€Å"seek success for all humanity† (Feist & Feist, 2006). She was not motivated by personal gain. iii. Fictionlism / People’s behaviour and personality is shaped by their subjective perceptions. Adlerian approach maintains that that people are motivated by their subjective perceptions of what is true, and not by what is true. Their subjective perceptions of reality (i.e. fictions) influence them as if were reality. According to Feist & Feist (2006), fictions, regardless true or false, are powerful influence on people’s life. An example of a fiction is the belief in an omnipotent God that guides and helps shape many people’s lives and actions. This is clearly demonstrated in Truth’s life. Sojourner Truth’s parents taught her to believe in God, and that â€Å"God is always with her and she is never alone† (McKissack & McKissack, 1992, p.22). Throughout her life, she held this belief in an omnipotent God, and it was her source of solace (especially during her enslavement), and later – guide her in decision-making and actions. Truth believed that God was her true master. After eighteen years as a free woman, a chance encounter became the tipping point of her self-realisation. A woman asked for her name and upon that very moment Truth realized that all her life she had her slave-masters’ names and thereby declared, â€Å"The only master I have now is God and His name is Truth.† And gave herself the last name Truth (McKissack & McKissack, 1992, p.77). Truth maintained a practice of meditation and deep prayer through which she claimed God communicates with her. In her public speaking,she usually began with a declaration of her spiritual link, â€Å"Well, Children, I speaks to God and God speaks to me†¦I talks to God and God talks to me.† (McKissack & McKissack, 1992, p.82 and 117). Truth sought spiritual guidance during stressful times. For example when she had recently only left her former slave-master Dumont, she was intimidated by threats to her children to return to Dumont’s farm. After the incident she shared â€Å"Jesus stopped me† and that she experienced a powerful force that turned her around when she tried to go back to the Dumont farm. Truth held that the event was a profound meaningful spiritual experience that convinced her that she was never going back to enslavement (McKissack & McKissack, 1992, p.41). Another example of Truth’s staunch belief that God was on her side: In her fight to free and get her son to be returned to her, Truth prayed for divine intervention,â€Å"God†¦ show those about me that you are my Helper† (McKissack & McKissack, 1992, p.43). She was aided by Quaker abolitionists and a fair judge ruled justly in her favour. iv. Value of human activity must be evaluated on the basis of social interest. Adler posit that social interest is the natural human condition and that it binds society as a whole. According to Feist & Feist (2006), Adler held that social interest is the only gauge to be used in judging the worth of a person: Healthy individuals â€Å"strives for perfection for all people in an ideal community†¦are genuinely concerned about people and have a goal of success that encompasses the well-being of all people† (p.75 & 77). Sojourner continually spoke against slavery, campaigned for emancipation of slaves, suffrage and equal human rights. She spoke out against mistreatment and injustice in the army, gathered and distributed donations of food and clothing, and helped in military wards and hospitals. In 1864, Truth was recognized for her work and efforts by President Abraham Lincoln at the White House. v. Masculine Protest / Society & Culture Shapes People Adler reasoned that culture and society influenced people to overemphasize the importance of being manly, i.e. masculine protest. Many societies promote the belief that men are superior to women, implicitly implying that women are inferior. However Adler uphold that women have the physiological and psychological needs as men and therefore want â€Å"more or less the same things that men want† (Feist & Feist, 2006, p.85). This echoes feminists’ campaigns for equal rights: political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities. Truth attended the first national (USA) Women’s Rights Convention in 1850, and was inspired as well as motivated to speak and advocate for â€Å"Equality before the law without distinction of sex or colour† (McKissack & McKissack, 1992, p.106). From that time on, she spoke for abolition of slavery and equality for women. In her 1851 speech at the Women’s Rights Convention in Akron,Ohio, Truth challenge gender discrimination, subordination, and dispelled the illusion of woman as the weaker sex. â€Å"†¦That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman?†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (McKissack & McKissack, 1992, p.112-114) vi. Lifestyle A lifestyle encompasses daily activities erstwhile pursuing one’s goals. According to Hergenhahn (2009), Adler believed that for a lifestyle to be genuinely effective it must contain considerable interest, i.e. working toward a society that would provide a better life for everyone. People with a healthy, socially useful lifestyle express their social interest through action. (Adler described a lifestyle without adequate social interest as a ‘Mistaken Lifestyle’.) According to Feist & Feist (2006), Adler considered three intertwined social issues as fundamental to an effective lifestyle: occupational tasks – choosing and pursuing a career that makes one feel worthwhile; societal tasks – creating friendships and social networks; and love tasks – finding a suitable life-partner. Truth’s lifestyle embodied all of Adler’s identified three social issues: * Occupational tasks: Truth embraced a career to fight for emancipation of slavery and equal rights for women. Besides public-speaking against slavery, Truth also worked to improve living conditions for all. In 1865, at the age of seventy, Truth accepted the task to â€Å"promote order, cleanliness, industry, and virtue among the patients at the Freedman’s Hospital† (McKissack & McKissack, 1992, p.149). * Societal tasks: Regardless when she was a slave or as a free woman, Truth formed relationships which led to social networks of friends, supporters, and even ‘fans’. Her circle of friends included Lucy Stone, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, John Brown, Richard Allen, John Jay, Frederick Douglass, and many many more equally enlightened beings. * Truth was separated from Robert, her first love who was a slave from another farm, because his slave-master forbade their marriage as children from slave-parents would belong to the slave-mother’s owner. Later Truth married (on orders of her slave-master) Tom, one of the other slaves belonging to the same slave-master. Eventually, they grew to love each other in their own way and shared common respect for each other (McKissack & McKissack, 1992, p.33). viiCreative Power Adler believed that each person possess the power to create their own lifestyle. In line with existentialistic philosophy, Adler agreed that people are ultimately responsible for who they are and their behaviour. People are their â€Å"own architect and can build either a useful or a useless lifestyle† (Feist & Feist, 2006, p.79). The creative power propels each and every one towards a goal, regardless whether in the direction of social interest or not. An individual’s creative power empowers that individual to control their own life – to determine their final goal and strive for that goal, and contributes to development of social interest. Truth’s personality reflected her optimal creative power that helped her manifest an effective lifestyle, successfully overcoming her lamented enslavement and then striving for success for all humans. In Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Truth would be considered an actualized personality. Conclusion Adlerians maintain that people are naturally positive and goal-oriented. He also posited that mentally healthy people strive for societal success for all humans. In analysis of Sojourner Truth’s personality, it is found that Truth explicitly actualized Adler’s Individual Psychology: Truth manifested her creative power to strive for success (for all humans), thereby lived an effective (valued) lifestyle which embodied social interests and dispelled implicit inferiority of being a former slave, black, and a woman, with a staunch belief that divine power (God) guided and helped her throughout her life. References Feist, J., & Feist, G.J. (2006). Theories of Personality (6th ed.). USA: McGraw-Hill Asia. Friedman, H.S., & Schustack, M.W. (2011). Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Hergenhahn, B.R. (2009). An Introduction to the History of Psychology (6th ed.). Belmont, CA.: Wadsworth Liebert, R., Liebert, L. (1998). Liebert & Liebert; Spiegler’s Personality Strategies and Issues (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA.: Brooks/Cole. McKissack, P.C.,& McKissack, F.(1992). Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman? New York: Scholastic.

Antigone Character Analysis: Compassion Of Love For Her Brother Essay

In the stage play Antigone, Antigone’s drive and compassion for the love of her brother lead to the sacrifice of her own well-being and life. She gets through the harsh reality of what is destined for her with her set beliefs for what she is doing. She dies a brave death, knowing that she died for all of the right reasons. Antigone is a tragic heroine, who cares about the loyalty to her family and doing what is right in her eyes. Because she has a strong stand on what she thinks is what she needs to do the negative thoughts from others don’t affect her decision to go through with it. When her sister Ismene and her were going back and forth about why she should and should not continue with the task, she disregards what Ismene says because in her mind she already has set what she wants to do and no one can possibly change that. Antigone shows how driven she is in many situations. â€Å"But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down With him in death, and I shall be as dear To him as he to me..† (Scene 2, lines 57-60). She is obviously very determined to accomplish the goal that she has set out for herself. These decisions she makes possibly set an example for other citizens of the community to see that is it okay to stand up for they believe in despite what society thinks isn’t right. Another character trait of Antigone is bravery. When knows the new law set by the new king Creon and still decides to go against it. Also questioning Creon’s authority, when arguing with him she technically insults him. â€Å"Think me a fool, if you like; but it may well be that a fool convicts me of folly† (Scene 2, lines 83-84). By Antigone saying this alone, demonstrates how brave she is. To speak as such to the king was a mighty thing to do, coming from a citizen at that. Throughout the whole play Antigone stands by her word, which could be seen as another strong character trait that she has.

Groupon Essay

Groupon gets commissions from the product and service providers. The providers are able to promote their products and gain benefits from the large quantity of orders. It is a model that can satisfy all the people: the customers, product sellers and the Groupon company. However, this business model is easy to imitate. It does not required high technology or unique skills to set up the business. Many internet companies, such as Google and Amazon, have stepped in this market. They have established similar business services. Those competitors are attempting to grab market share from the leader, Groupon. For example, Google has set up its own online group buying websites, Google offer, and released more attractive offers by lowering the price than the similar products or services on Groupon. Therefore, customers have more choices of online group buying providers. Customers are able to find better products from Groupon’s competitors. With intensive competition, Groupon needs to consider how to maintain its market share and how to improve its services to attract more return customers in the short run. In the long run, the company needs to think about how to improve the business model to make it more competitive. Alternatives Groupon could start a customer loyalty program to cultivate a high loyalty customer group. The company could build an award system for the program. The customers could earn certain points when they purchase the products. If they have achieved enough points, they could redeem those points to purchase new deals. The customers would spend more using this incentive because the customers could get more benefit if they shop more. The company could encourage its customer to keep shopping on its website and maintain the market share. But the reward system is easy to copy. Finally, the company has to choose whether to give more rewards than its competitors. Groupon could lose profits by giving away more benefits to the customers. Groupon could differentiate its service by sending customized offers. The company could require its customers to fill out preference information when they sign up for the website. The customers could get the customized deals regularly by emails. This strategy could periodically provide the customers with discounted services and products that they are interested in. But the process for the personal information may make the customers uncomfortable with it. Plan of action The company should choose the second alternative. By collecting the personal information, the company is able to analysis its customers’ needs in a more precise way. The company can build huge customer data base to find right products for the customers. The company could give special discount if the customer s can submit their preference information.

The Value and Importance of Training Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Value and Importance of Training - Essay Example They employ 2.2 million associates worldwide. With their ‘Every Day Low Cost’ strategy Wal-Mart has been able to become leaders in the retail sector. The company recognizes the contribution of its associates (Wal-Mart refers to its employees as associates) in the success of the company. The company since beginning believed in ‘bringing people up through the ranks’ (MMR, 2012). Associates that were keen to further their careers at Wal-Mart are regarded as potential management trainees. To support this, Wal-Mart had a well-established management training program and in the 1980s an increasing number of associated enrolled for the accelerated store management candidate program. Growth of Wal-Mart was so rapid that they had to go in for college recruitments in addition to its internal management identification and training program. Wal-Mart also has a reputation of high turnover of staff, which suggests that they need to motivate the staff to reduce attrition. H owever, associates need to have the knowledge and skills to serve, support and sell within their division (Wal-Mart, 2007). It is thus essential that associate learning is aligned to the business strategy of Wal-Mart. Training, for associates at Wal-Mart has to be specific to their area of responsibility. At the same time it must also prepare them for growth within the organization. Wal-Mart continually updates training and development programs and they adopted computer-based learning. However this has not been sufficient to motivate the associate to grow within the company. Wal-Mart needs to employ more effective training programs that could motivate and enhance performance of their associates. Training is fundamental in transforming the workforce but the training must start from the top and cascade down to the lower levels (Vermeulen & Crous, 2000). The best results are obtained when managers train their own people. However, for training to be effective it must be planned in a sys tematic manner. Training has to be ongoing not merely to meet the changes in technology but it also has to be relevant to the business environment in which the organization operates. In addition, training must be able to meet the future needs of the organization and should be organization-specific. Today it is no more sufficient to align training with the business strategy, especially as organizations employ young graduates. They need to fulfill graduate expectations as well (Connor & Shaw, 2008). Therefore, there has to be a shift from computer-based coaching. The efficacy of structured class-room coaching is debatable even if it is computer-based. Technology provides for alternate solutions including long-distance and e-learning approaches. The traditional programs curb creativity and do not encourage risk-taking (Cron et al, 2005). While technology is increasingly being adopted in training and development programs, it is necessary that such training is ongoing (Byers, 2005). Cons tant change in technology requires life-long learning. Change is inevitable in any business environment. Online training offers the flexibility and capacity to update the training instantly. This is not only a necessity as rapid change takes place in the business environment but it also adds to learner satisfaction. This enables the mature learners to avail of the training sessions at their convenience. Coaching activity in companies is declining which indicates that expected business benefits have

Listening Response Beatles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Listening Response Beatles - Essay Example In short, the song is appropriately recognized as one of the most complex recordings by the Beatles and the extensive overdubbing and editing has not weakened the effect. On the contrary, as Brennan remarks, it has created "the right setting for a very good song." (Brennan) The overall magical effect of the song is intensified by the sound pattern and the most appreciable feature of the song is the creation of a kind of 'sound picture' in the composition which reflects the feelings of the composer. The other chief characteristics of the song includes its orchestral music, the unusual instruments in lieu of the traditional vocal and musical styles, and sound effects such as cymbals recorded and played backward. According to Roberts, "Strawberry Fields Forever," written by Lennon, evokes the feeling of the flower shows in the Salvation Army Camp, conducted every summer. "His words and music are like a lighthearted walk through a summer garden." (Roberts, 67) Unlike any other rock 'n' roll song of the past, "Strawberry Fields Forever" exploited the recording technology as well as creativity to the maximum. To speak specifically about the composition of the song "Strawberry Fields Forever," it is important to note that Lennon was particular about the lyrics to be like a conversation.

Plato Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Plato - Essay Example ?The Allegory of the Cave† is taken from â€Å"The Republic† where he deftly handles the lack of knowledge of human beings and he elicits his answer from the mouth of Socrates his mentor. In this particular piece of writing, Plato cuts a clear distinction between knowledge of reality and shadows of illusion (ignorance) To portray this fact he takes the example of a cave in which human beings are chained to a wall with only a tiny light that casts shadowy images which some of the inhabitants take for reality. Those who are freed from the cave have a true knowledge of reality. Plato’s masterly use of imagery of light to depict knowledge and darkness to depict ignorance gives his essay the excellence it deserves, making it one of the most memorable ones. In his explanation of â€Å"absolute knowledge† and the way it affects the â€Å"shadows of images of justice†, he gives us another example of a person who is asked to look straight at the light. In doing so, the person is dazzled and feels pain and hence is unable to see the reality for what it is. But if his eyes get accustomed to the light, his vision would be clearer and he is moves on from seeing the shadowy images, to seeing the real objects. Finally he is able to gaze upon the sun in all its brightness and judge himself rightly. He would then be in a position to look back on his fellow prisoners who still live in the shadows of images and feel pity for them. This is what Plato means by â€Å"absolute justice†. According to Plato, it is better to suffer anything, than to live a miserable life filled with false notions and ideas. If a person lives a life in the shadows of ignorance, he would never learn the realities in life. But on the other hand, if his vision is not blocked or marred by the shadows of images, his vision would be so clear and he would be able to lead others out of their ignorance. In other words, if a person attains this beatific vision, he is unable to draw himself down to a lower level of

3600 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

3600 - Essay Example Therefore, the evolution of the word clearly indicates that this branch of anthropological study actually deals with procedure pertaining to qualitative research methodology, precisely in anthropological studies or in social sciences and implies to the gathering of empirical data pertaining to human culture and science. The ethnography therefore focuses on the myriad aspects pertaining to socio-cultural milieu of a particular tribe or people residing in some of the particular geographical terrains. The ethnography by Daniel Neuman is about the music in the northern part of India known as â€Å"Hindustani Music† in the local language by the canon of musicians related with it. Music is a primitive language for communication in human civilisation. Various socio-cultural and historical perspectives of the people residing in a particular geographical area evolve through music or folklore and folk culture of that area. Likewise, â€Å"Hindustani Music† bears the typical cultural essence of North India and is an incarnation of the rich heritage and culture of the area with its myriad blend and influences. The ethnography, â€Å"The Life of Music in North India† is a journey through the history witnessing the origin and the development of ‘Hindustani Music’ and the way it nurtured in the hands of the magician musicians through ages. The ethnography is very strong as it bears the testimony and experience of these musicians who dedicated their life and passed on their legacy to the future generations even for the cause of the particular music and its development. The research content of the ethnography is based primarily on the field work which can be treated as the primary research too. The first-hand survey done by Neuman during the year 1969 to 1971 in Delhi forms the base of the ethnography. Neuman interviewed musicians during this time and he made a trip to the northern part of India, precisely the cities those are situated

ArelorMittal's policy in relation to dealing with cultural and social Essay

ArelorMittal's policy in relation to dealing with cultural and social environments - Essay Example Last year the company shipped more than quarter of million tons to the region. Renault has announced to set up a factory in Morocco to serve the customers of Europe and North Africa. The company has mills in Spain and France and supplies steel to Casablanca. ArcelorMittal has extended their footprints in Morocco which was identified as the potential country of the Maghreb region. In order to meet the requirements of Renaults, ArcelorMittal made serial deliveries to Melloussa from December, 2011. The company entered into agreements with leading appliance producing corporations and ensured supply of steel for the production process. To offer steel to the oil and gas industry the company is refining the products as well as identifying the existing steels which are suited for the energy sector. New markets are opening up for the company on the edges of Europe. Turkey is one such country. France and Canada are some of the countries where ArcelorMittal has entered. The company also has ope rations in Brazil and Mexico. Altogether the presence of the company is in 60 countries worldwide. Problems in integrating business The company needs to shift beyond the good intensions on social issues and turn the words into deeds. Although the company plays its part in corporate social responsibility it continues to pollute the environment. According to the new report of Global Action on ArcelorMittal the company risks the lives and displaces local communities. The resettlement plans for the local people were unclear while the company started iron ore mining operations in Nimba County, Liberia (ArcelorMittal Group-a, 2012, pp. 21-24). The people were deprived from permanent employment in the mine and posed a threat o the Mount Nimba Nature Reserve. According to the authorities of the Friends of the Earth Liberia the lack of transparency in the management is a concern when one studies the track records of the company on other countries. The residents of Eastern Europe and South Af rica complain that the company has done little in reducing the high levels of air pollution. The approach of the company towards reduction of air pollution has not been effective although several meetings were conducted with the local communities (ArcelorMittal Group, 2010, pp. 14-15). The European steel plants of ArcelorMittal benefited from huge amount of loans directed to them from the International Finance Corporation but the area of reducing pollution still remains ignored. The safety investments of ArcelorMittal have remained unchanged for Kazakhstan for quite a long time. In spite of the health and safety projects 35 miners lost their lives in the mines of the company in 2008 in two separate incidents. The city of Temirtau is chocked with pollution even now. Questions can be raised regarding the ethics of the company. The company established a mechanism for the employees with which they can raise their concerns against an issue in the working environment (ArcelorMittal-a, 201 2). The procedures are confidential and whistle blowing. The trade unions also work for the purpose of upgrading the safety requirements. The company grievance mechanisms were developed to be in line with the principles of human rights and business of United States. Exit from the market In order to cut down the debt problems, ArcelorMittal took the initiative in scaling down the investments

Expanding a U.S. based business (Shopko) into Scotland Essay

Expanding a U.S. based business (Shopko) into Scotland - Essay Example Edinburg is the capital town where the majority lives above middle class status. Geographically, the country is in the northern part of Great Britain, bordered on the Southern part by England. Most people live in the Central Lowland, which contain the three cities, Stirling, Glasgow, and Edinburgh and other large towns. Most of the other population lives in the north-eastern Lowlands in Dundee and Aberdeen. Inverness is the other populated city where majority lives and work there. The country has diverse climates ranging from temperate to tropical. However, the daytime maximum temperature in January and February is around 5 to 7 Â °C, but on rare occasions the temperature may increase to 15Â °C. Temperatures are cooler in Scotland than in Scotland. However, the country is cloudier than England because of its landscape from the Atlantic. Rainfall varies widely from 3, 000 mm per year to 800 mm in the Western Highlands and the East Cost respectively. English is the official language spoken, but some people speak different Scots dialects. The country has a strong culture that greatly influences the tourism industry. Scots are friendly, easy-going, and loving. Thus, there is no discrimination or cultural influence in the way business are conducted. The country’s economic development is largest based on the oil that remains an important element. Fishing and agriculture has also played a significant role in the country’s development. Compared to other countries, most people are living in the middle class income (Wilson, Murphy, & Lonely Planet Publications (Firm), 2008). Shopko Shopko is a company that has been growing tremendously for the past years. The reason for choosing this industry is because I work there and I have seen how the industry is important to international business. Shopko distributes various products such as clothing, jewellery, house wares, along with beauty and health products. The company has a superb reputation of referring to i ts employees from retail floor to the CEO as teammates. The company has established the need to break down barriers that hinder people to work as a team. To establish a strong teamwork, the company felt the need of referring to its employees as teammates regardless of their position. The management team works hard to collect informal feedbacks and customer surveys. The obtained feedbacks help the company to grow from one level of maturity to another. For instance, it helps in converting the first time clients to potential and frequent clients. For the past years, most clients have constantly affirmed that one of the main reasons they shop there regularly is because of the company’s ideal of friendliness and genuine teamwork. The management team and employee strive to make shopping at Shopko a more personal experience and friendly place. Specifically, feedbacks from teammates and comments posted on the social network sited confirm that Shopko is the ideal place to shop. Manage rial Implications To flourish in the tough economic times, the company should create brand ambassadors. The company should create a platform where employees are committed to the mission and understand the strategy of staying ahead of other competitors in the industry. Communication should be been the main ingredient that augments teamwork. The company shou

Explain what the term 'Fair trade' means and what are the important Essay

Explain what the term 'Fair trade' means and what are the important issues for the business world - Essay Example The basic intention of having fair trade is to move the works of the producers from the developing markets down towards the more urbanized quarters of the world, which suggests that the works of these developing countries are appreciated and allotted with revenues in return. This also helps the developing regimes to move from a position of vulnerability to security as well as economic self-sufficiency. The aspect of empowerment is also apparent from these undertakings since it allows for these developing nations to have more stakes in their produced goods over a period of time and thus allow them far more share in their own wealth. What this in essence does is to provide a greater share of equity which marginalizes the world trade levels as well as brings an end to the exploitation that has been happening over a long period of time, more so under the international trade tenets. A number of different global organizations work in close unison with fair trade regimes since this brings in aid for the poor countries, uplift in economic levels for the ones which are on the development curve and an overall prosperity scenario for the countries that have already been established and are making both ends meet in an economically self-efficient manner. These social and environmental organizations include Oxfam, Amnesty International and Caritas International to name a few. What these organizations try to do is to devise ways and means through which fair trade could be bolstered between different world regions and the societies could benefit from these steps that are taken under such levels. Also there is unity of purpose and actions are carried out in a manner which works to the advantage of the whole globe rather than a single entity at the very end. Because of these very steps, there are critics present under the banner of the fair trade regimes which suggests that the close

Presumtion of Innocent Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Presumtion of Innocent - Case Study Example Fair interpretation gives fair justice. Further, the rules, which are for guidance of human conduct, must be differentiated from rules of strict regulation. These rules of morality, which guide rather providing for strict regulation, must be recognised and allowed to stand. In the proper administration and enforcement of law, the distinction between criminal and civil matters should be clearly put in place, and in proper enforcement, there should be a clear court system where criminal and civil courts are in place. Whichever way, the rules of law must be clear and the enforcement agencies effective. A system of enforcement of the law lies before the Police and courts of law. These courts of law have been given discretion to award sentence or acquit. In their enforcement of the law, these officers should apply the law universally without fear or favour. The Police role of the Police in enforcement of law is maintaining public order and peace. Whenever the police have reason to doubt the commissioning of a crime, they must move in and prevent such a crime from happening. They must also investigate and prosecute the wrongdoers. The cause of action should be ascertained and the wrongdoers brought to justice. Conclusively, in enforcement of the law both agencies the courts of law and police must coordinate so that they can be able to enforce the law. Each organ should play its duty as prescribed in the law. Both the police and courts have the duty of enforcing the law so as to avoid a state of anarchy. Rules Which are Subject to Interpretation Interpretation is the act or result of interpreting, explanation, meaning translation, exposition etc (Webster's New World Dictionary. (i) Primary Rule (Literal rule) Under this rule the words of an enactment are to be given their ordinary and natural meaning and if such meaning is clear and unambiguous, effect should be given to a provision of a statute whatever may be the consequences. (ii) The Rule laid down in Heydon's case has attained the status of 'Mischief Rule'. The rule enables consideration of four matters in constructing an act: (i) What was the law before the making of the Act (ii) What was the mischief or defect for which the law did not provide (iii) What is the remedy that the Act has provided (iv) What is the reason of the remedy. The rule directs that the courts must adopt that construction which shall suppress the mischief and advance the remedy. Gardier v. SevenOaks (1950) The question in this case was if the cave was included in the word premises under English Statute. The court, Held it included and the statute therefore had application of X's case. (iii) Golden Rule Under this rule, a statute is interpreted in such a way as to remove any inconsistency, absurdity that might arise from a literal interpretation of the words used. Re Sigsworth (1935) The question here was whether x could be apparent heir as per the literal interpret

As a Head Nurse Essay Example for Free

As a Head Nurse Essay We all must experience have responsibilities beyond our expectation and limitation as we can improve ourselves every now and then. Responsibilities are just within our shoulders as we go on with our lives we add more on to it due to the things we learn and experience and simply being a student nurse responsibility is already on our shoulders as we gained knowledge in every step of the way. As a student nurse, knowledge is easy to get as we experience, learn, read and study. But every knowledge comes with great responsibility, which is to help and share it to others who are innocent about specifically toward to their health. Experiencing being a student head nurse is good as it adds my capabilities to manage my time, and my staff nurses. I have been a leader for some time now but I need more experience to be better than before. I am not at my best now as leader as I haven’t yet experienced every problem and responsibilities but I want to get better than I am now. Being a leader is hard because responsibilities weighs more than you expect, for your time, group and for yourself. But as I experience it once, twice or more to it, it is very helpful due to that I improve from before. Finding myself being a student head nurse is part of being a student but when I experience it was a little hard because I have difficulty at first in coping because it is my first time to lead a group in ER but I can manage. I was a little bit of loss for a minute on how to manage my time but I made a time table on the different things I have to manage from the start towards the end likely checking the works of my group mates and reminding them of the different responsibilities they have to prioritize first on the certain time. I was at ease because I felt blessed that my group mates work with less supervision and questions as the before group mates I have had. Some take initiatives for the different assigned work for our report. They manage to finish it on time and we communicate well. They also show respect with it comes to work as they call me â€Å"ma’am†, which I am not used to, during our shift of duty. I also was glad that I experience new and improved group mates. The things that I experienced as a leader was uncountable and unforgettable, due that I experienced new in every leadership that I account for. Responsibilities are just at our forefront and the moment we move forward it comes our way so we must be ready, so every experience that we take, took it as learning and a good endeavor to become a good leader not for other people but also for yourself.

The impact of gender in research

The impact of gender in research Does the gender of the interviewer effect the response rate, interview and the results obtained? Many researchers have investigated the effect that interviewers gender has on research, this paper seeks to examine if there is an effect and how relevant that effect is. It will draw on academic papers, business examples and a case study. Hyman et al (1954) were one of the first to examine the effect gender-of-the interviewer has on the interview process; they found respondents replied differently to male and female researchers. Since then there has been an abundance of research in the field, much of the research is based on and argues that gender-of-interviewer effects are evident on, topics related specifically to feminism, politics and other sensitive issues. This paper will analyse the research and apply it to a case study. With the main aim to determine if the gender-of-interview affects all interview areas or whether it is topic specific. It is important to understand what is meant by interviewer effects; interviewer errors are expected to occur differently in every interview whereas interviewer effects refers to a specific interviewer characteristic i.e. gender (Dijkstra 1983). Interviewer effects look at how interviewer variance can bias the results of research. The case study being looked at took place in Oldham, it was a consultancy project investigating participation rates of food waste recycling, with the main objective to increase participation rates. The methodology used was semi-structured interviews and drop off questionnaires. The interviewers were made up of two women and three men. Researchers went out in pairs, for safety reasons, the researchers went out in four pairings, three pairs made up by a women and male interviewer and the final pairing was comprised of two male researchers. Due to time constraints and the nature of the work this case study was unable to talk to residents about their impression of interviewer-gender-effects. However all interviewers were interviewed extensively by the author of this paper, to grasp their view of the effect gender had. The main topics covered were response rates, lengths of interviews and results obtained. Does the gender-of-interviewer affect response rate? Gender can affect the response rate; Smith (1972) suggests that women are less likely to invite men interviewers into their home explaining that it is due to the perceived danger, this argues Smith can be an issue for male interviewers conducting research. When looking at the Oldham Case study this was evident, the response rate for the mixed paring had a higher response rate to the male only pairing. The mixed pairings had a response rate average of ? and the male only pairing had a response rate average of  ¼. This is backed up by Dommeyer (2008) whose study examined how using a photo in the cover letter of a drop off questionnaire effects responses. Female interviewers prove to obtain a higher response rate. His research found that rivalling the gender was only productive if they were female. Bean and Medewitz (1988) had similar results when sending out cover letters with a female signature; a higher response rate was produced than when a male signature was used 35% and 26% resp onse rate respectively. Moreover, Catonia et al (1996) experiments found that on a phone interview when respondents were given the opportunity to request a gender 82%, of women and 72% of male respondents did request with the majority selecting a female, suggesting that respondents prefer female interviewers. When interviewed, Keith from the Oldham case study expressed: Sandra seemed to get a higher response rate then I did, we quickly realised this and Sandra became the interviewer and I the scriber. Johnson and Delamater (1976) discuss, whilst looking at response rates in sex surveys, the effect gender has on respondents agreeing to be interviewed. They argue that the gender of the interviewer can have a substantial effect on response levels; attributing it to the type of survey suggesting that if they are embarrassed about the topic being discussed they may be less likely to opt to participate, especially with someone from the opposite gender. In the Oldham case study this can be compared to respondents who do not participate in recycling and are therefore are less likely to agree to be interviewed, however the gender of the interviewer is unlikely to make a difference there. Benny et al (1956) notes that male interviewers gain fewer responses to female interviewers and most of these are from female respondents. Rourke and Lakner (1989) discuss the gender bias that exists within the data collection.. How does gender affect the results obtained? Huddy et al (1997) looked at the effect that the gender-of-interviewer had in two surveys, where male and female interviewers were randomly assigned to interview male and female respondents. With the first survey; gender of interviewer had more of an effect on less educated and younger respondents. However these results were not replicated in the second survey. Yang and Yu (2008) argues that well educated people are not affected by gender as much because they are more use to inter-gender relations. Huddy et al (1997) also attribute it to the fact that people that are more educated are more confident in the company of the other gender. WHAT IS EDUCATION IN OLDHAM? Many researchers have suggested that the gender of the interviewer only has an effect on certain topics. Huddy et al (1997) suggests that the gender-of-interviewer is more predominant when; politics and views on feminism are discussed. Bellou and Del Boca (1980) found stronger gender-of-interviewer effects among women respondents on questions about the existence of gender inequality whereas men tend to be more affected when questions about women movements arose. Flores-Macias and Lawson (2006) claim that in the past research has shown effect on social and political issues when interviewed by different gender. Using a survey on households in Mexico the research tries to add to the field, they found gender effects were confined to sensitive questions, they concluded gender-interviewer effects are limited to gender topics. TOPIC OF RECYCLING In contrast Kane and Macauley (1983) note the opposite; Women were most effected by questions on womens movements for example collective action and women shared interest, while men were more effected by the interviewers gender when answering work-related gender equalities. Gender bias was highest with questions related to controversial politics and womens movements. Kane and Macaulay (1993) research looks at the effects of interviewer gender on responses in particular on gender-related survey questions. They look at if gender effects are present and how it differs from male and female. Huddy et al (1997) argue respondents are susceptible to gender-of-interviewer effects across a broad spectrum of gender-linked items. Groves and Fultz (1983) found that economic indicators receive more optimistic responses when interviewed by a male interviewer rather than a female interviewer. Landis et al (1973) reported that when women were interviewed by male interviewers they gave more feminist responses on womens roles. Kane and Macaulay (1993) summarise stating after analysing gender-attitude it is clear that interviewer-gender bias is present, it tends to include respondents giving a critical response to female interviewers than to male. On standard debate topics men are more likely to be effected by the gender of the interviewer and are less likely on less familiar topics. Womens responses vary dramatically in their responses to male and female interviewers on various issues. They did not see a vast difference in interviewer gender effects for example respondents to male respondents. It is therefore questionable on it social power effects conversational power in the interview process. Both male and female respondents are at times affected by interviewer gender. In contrast Herod (1993), who is a geographer, believes that the gender-of-interviewer can effect responses on any topic discussed. He argues that gender relations are an important aspect that can shape the interview process, gender can shape the type of data collected especially when carrying out interviews. Backing this up is McDowell (1992) who explains how interviews raise the issue of gender, Schaenberger (1992) agrees gender makes a difference (p.217). In the Oldham case study gender.. look at results! Herod (1993) gender can shape the use of interviews as a research tool (p.306). Even when all respondents are of the same gender, gender bias still shapes the interactions between interviewer and interviewee. Feminists support this statement gender is significant in society it is always going to effect gender relations in the research process (Keller 1985). Herods paper looks at work conducted across different disciplines on gender and its effect on interviewing. Turner and Martin (1984) in the classic work discuss how the gender-of-interviewer and the respondent has significant effect, the different options (male interviewer, female respondent/ male interviewer male respondent etc) have different effects in influencing opinions and feelings. Eagly and Carli (1981) showed a statistical relationship between the gender of the interviewer and outcome of the interviews showing both; respondents giving different answers to male and female researchers, but also researchers interpreting it differently. Thus this demonstrates that an interviewers gender can affect respondents answers. Looking at the Oldham case this can be demonstrated through interpretation of answers, when looking at how the answers were interpreted it is completely a subjective task, when a male was interrupting it, the results appeard whereas when a female was interrupting it is seemed. Even when it is the same gender there is an effect, Aries (1976) suggested that men tend to be more aggressive and macho to a male interviewer. Herod (1993) explains whereas a male interviewer may display one type of behaviour with female researcher he may show a different one to a male therefore obtaining different results. Oldham case study.. Piliavan and Martin (1978) found that in a group setting men and women acted differently, in the Oldham council case study, researchers went out in pairs often a man and women researcher, Aries (1976) explains that she observed women were less likely to interact than men in a mixed group. This could have affected female respondents answers when being interviewed by a male and female researcher in the Oldham case study. Moreover Herod (1993) notes the difference in the way male and female genders interpret information, on an interview he refers to the type of language used. Carli (1991) claims that women and men use language differently. Lakoff (1975) argues that women have to be socialised to use language that is less assertive then men and womens expressions are tentative. Herod (1993) puts forward that these stereotypes have implications when men and women interpret language. Sociolinguist, Deborah Tanen (1990) claims that men and women have different beliefs of how conversations are meant to work, as well as different views on the role of conversational interaction and building relationships (Wolfram Schilling-Estes, 1998). Herod (1993) explains that there is a danger in trying to generalise about gender relations in such broad categories. Arguing that they themselves did not look at race or class and how these shape gender. There is a need to look at how gender can mean different things in different context. Interviewing is about how interviewers generate meanings and understandings. Are men or women more affected by gender-of-interviewer? Whelcher (1987) and Ballou and Del Boca (1980) both argue that male respondents show more effect from gender-of-interviewer. Whelcher (1987) documents that men give more democratic responses to male interviewers as they try to give the response that they feel the male interviewer wants to hear. Ballou and Del Boca (1980) states how men give more democratic responses to female interviewers. Landis et al (1973) explain that it is expected that during an interview relationships are formed between respondent and interviewer and thus the behaviour of the respondent is influenced by their perception of the circumstances. Warren (1988) argues that women are better at building a rapport when interviewing. Landis et al (1973) found from their results that the women interviewed gave a more feminist response to the male interviewer, noting that the statistics were significant. They summarise that the gender of the interviewer does have a marked effect on response to women. Hyman et al (1954) found that gender of interviewer effected female respondents results when a male asked the question; 61% agreed with the statement, but when they were interviewed by women only 49% agreed. Hyman concluded women felt more obliged to give conventional opinions to a male interviewer. Benny et al (1956) note that both men and women act differently in the company of the other gender; acting more formally and expressing less. Benny et al (1956) and Hyman (1954) both argue that women in the presence of men talk more traditionally are more formal and tend to give the expected answer. Oldham Case study then this >It could be argued that as both these papers are dated, the findings may be less relevant. Macaulay (1993) claim the more egalitarian answers are more persuasive among male respondents when interviewed by a women. Flores-Macias and Lawson (2006) found that men are more likely to be effected rather than women. Furthermore that the social context has an effect, culture for example in Mexico City men were more susceptible to gender bias backing this up. Approximately 30% of men interviewed by men felt women rights were urgent however 40% interviewed by women felt it an issue. They also found women were more progressive when interviewed by men. Holbrook et al (2003) argue that effect from respondents believe they try to answer what interviewers want. Oldham Case study Davis et al (2010) argue that interviewer effects can impact the data obtained. They looked at measuring and controlling interviewer effects. Effects can occur from interviewer related issues such as the way questions are read, probes are used, instructions to survey etc (OLDHAM CASE study difference between male and female). Davis et al (2010) discuss how gender is the most noticeable characteristic of an interview and therefore is most susceptible to having an effect. In the past women were considered better interviewers because they are seen as less threatening and therefore there has not been as much research on this topic. But since telephone interviews gender has become more of an issue as no longer can the respondent see socioeconomic status, physical attractiveness, personal demeanour (Huddy et al 1997, p.197). Huddy et al (1997) note that there is growing evidence that respondents are more likely to give a feminist view to a female interviewer as the respondent seeks to give the answer they think the interviewer wants to hear. OLDHAM CASE Huddy et al (1997) had two goals from their study to test for the existence of gender-of-interviewer effects across a range of gender related questions. And to explore the characteristics of respondents most liable to gender-of-interviewer. Huddy et al (1997) wanted to test to see if the existence of gender-of-interviewer effected a range of topics or just gender related questions to achieve this they used two surveys both containing questions that dealt with womens issues and womens movements. Their results showed respondents were more likely to give a feminist view to a female interviewer on 11/13 gender related topics. However the difference obtained by male and female interviewers was small and consistent and was only significant for a minority of questions. The topics that showed gender-of-interviewer effects differed from the two surveys in the first, carried out in 1991 the largest gender-of-interview effects occurred on questions relating to feminist identity whereas in the second, obtained in 1993 they were on topics on abortion and anti-sexual harassment legislation. In both surveys a female interviewer collected more feminist views then a man. They did find, however that gender bias occurred most on both surv eys when topics on controversial politics were broached. With Huddy et al (1997) second goal they discovered significant interaction between interviewer gender and education less-well educated respondents were more influenced then well educated by the interviewers gender. Despite this the same results were not emulated in the second survey but they argue this could be because the gender bias was not as affluent either. To reinforce this Huddy et al (1997) assessed the statics of education and effect of gender on respondents with 12 and 17 years of education. They found that gender-of-interviewer effects were more prevalent with less educated respondents. Overall respondents with less formal education were more likely to be effected by the gender-of-interviewer and on gender related questions. Huddy et al (1997) note that gender bias decreases with age and income was the only demographic characteristic that did not increase. But how important is it, does it have a large enough effect to matter? Huddy et al (1997) found that small differences in their study. They conclude that it depends on the survey being administered. If it will effect then it is crucial that an equal number of men and women are randomly assigned to respondents. Finally Huddy et al (1997) believe that from their results it can be seen that gender could effect any type of survey and use the beginning of their first survey to demonstrate this point; where gender bias is present and the topic of the survey has not been disclosed. Huddy et al (1997) argue the view gender-of-interview effects questions is premature because; rarely have researcher controlled the individualism of interviews when examining gender-of-interviewer effects, few studies have measured the size of effects across a broad spectrum of questions to see if the effect is on feminist questions or all topics. Bellou and Del Boca (1980) did look into this in their 1980 study. Huddy et al (1997) continue explaining that effects are not standard even for questions on the same topic and few studies have tested the statistical significance across several variables with the same respondent. Huddy et al (1997) suggest that not enough research on which gender is most prone to gender-interviewer-bias as there is a contrast in theories. Lueptow, Moser and Pendleton (1990) argue women are more likely to give feminist views to a female interviewer, which they proved through telephone interviews. In contrast Ballou and Del Boca (1980) contrasted stating male respondents are more vulnerable to female interviews and appear more feminine. McDowell (1988) disagrees arguing that there is no gender split in research methods but rather a stereotyping in gender characteristics. Little work has been done on the effect of the interviewers gender; as traditionally interviewing was a female occupation Williams (1964) in his classic paper hypothesised that the greater the amount of social difference between interviewer and respondent the more likely of gender bias. Demonstrates the importance of the gender of interviewer and that the subject can have an effect.

Southwest Airlines Corporations

Southwest Airlines Corporations In year of 2006, Southwest Airlines celebrated its 34th consecutive year of profitability. While other airlines paces of profitability appear to be stagnant; Southwest Airlines was announced as one of the most admired corporations by Fortune 500 Magazine (Southwest 2006). Southwests success is deeply related to the new strategies that other airlines dont even dare to consider. The corporate culture and strategic philosophy stands out, making Southwest the leader in the whole airline industry. Southwest Airlines strategy can be described as â€Å"short-haul, low-fare, high-frequency, and point-to-point carrier (Fortune Magazine 2006)†. A lot of people consider that the marketing strategy that Southwest Airlines currently using is the low cost provider strategy. Low cost provider strategy is a strategy which is committed to driving down the cost through its value chain system (Broydrick 1995)†. This strategy allows companies to compete aggressively on price earning high pr ofit margins than rivals. But the low cost provider strategy is not the cure-all prescription for all the problems. If the quality of a product or service is not guaranteed, the low cost provider strategy is not likely to work. From a macro perspective, it seems that Southwest Airlines is using the low cost provider strategy to stand out among all other airlines. Rather, it is using the best cost provider strategy because from a competitive positioning standpoint, best cost strategies are a â€Å"hybrid, balancing a strategic emphasis on low cost against a strategic emphasis on differentiation (supervalue) (Entrepreneur 1995).† In order to analyze the factors which contributed to the success of Southwest Airline Corporation more efficiently, we can use the McKinsey 7-S Model. In Peter and Watermans masterpiece â€Å"In Search of Excellence†, the book summarized that in order for a corporation to be successful; there are factors which it must acquire. The reason why that they are considering the success in this way was because that successful corporations they picked from the top list of the Fortune Magazine all possessed seven criterion. That is the famous McKinsey 7-S framework that Southwest Airline based its strategies on, which guarantees that â€Å"any intelligent approach to eventual success of organizing had to encompass (Peters and Waterman, 1982)†. The McKinsey framework includes eight attributes: 1) A Bias for Action. This attribute is based on the principle of â€Å"can do, let try.† This means that the principle favors experimentation. Southwest often goes out of its way to â€Å"amuse, surprise and entertain† its passengers (Peters and Waterman, 1982).† 2) Close to the Customer. This implies that the closeness to customers are expressed as an attitude concentrating on â€Å"valued clients† rather than valued employees of Southwest Airlines treat the customers as â€Å"valued clients† rather than â€Å"valued wallets.† They care about the customers not only just for one trip, but their futures as well. Moreover, the letters from customers are answered personally rather than using a standardized formula. Southwests CEO Kelleher actively supported that because he declared that there are three advantages which could be drawn from the service. First, it is the employee performance. Kelleher considers it the best way to value its employees. Second, the inputs from the letters which are authentically wrote indicates the real deficiencies that Southwest might encounter. Third, there is no worry about the letters because if cu stomers are willing to spend time on writing it, there is a great possibility that their concern shown on the letters are true and realistic. Southwest rarely uses survey questions to test its customers to test customer satisfaction. Because most surveys are made up of multiple choices from scales such as from 1 to 10, or from excellent to bad. It is hard from customers to think that the corporation belongs to which category. The difference between scales 5 and 7 might be real close which confuse the customers (Dauble 2005). As a result, some customers filled up the answers in guessing way that they dont even know what they are doing. They just want to get over with it. 3) Autonomy and Entrepreneurship. This indicates that in the whole corporation, every employee is a leader. They are respected just like any top managers. Everyone is welcome to submit new ideas or weakness of the corporation, and it has no hierarchy. Moreover, their will be competition within the corporation, but not suppression. Every competition is conducted in friendly manners. Unlike other corporations that the CEOs rarely allows themselves to meet the employees, the employees of Southwest can have lunch with Kelleher any day at any time (Marcial 2005). All the departments often shower free ice creams, pizza and other good stuffs to celebrate for each other when an assignment gets well done. Some employees from different departments in other corporations dont even know each other. All they do is doing their own work. Therefore, once there is a problem, it is extremely difficult for departments to work as a whole to solve the problem because they hardly know each other. This will wastes a lot of time, have the possibility of leading the corporation into the wrong direction, and intensifies the relationship of managers between departments in the situation that when they are unable to reach consensus (Lynch 2005). Furthermore, Southwest welcomes failures as well as successes because it firmly believes that failure is the mother of success. When a failure appears, it means that the success is coming down the road. 4) Productivity through People. This strategy implies that there is no existence of personality tests. Sense of humor and an outgoing attitude is a must. At Southwest, communications are frequent and concerns of old people and young people are treated by old employees and young employees with outgoing attitudes and personalities. In this way, the negative effects and misunderstandings due to generation ga ps can be avoided. 5) Hand-on, Value-Driven. At Southwest, there is a policy that in every quarter, the top managers and executives must spend one day experiencing the jobs of their employees. By working on positions such as ticket agents, baggage handlers, or janitors, people from the top level will have an authentic feel of whats going on and where are difficulties and deficiencies (Bunz 1998). 6) Stick to the Knitting. This theory indicates that corporations should never expand too fast just because their financial results in the short run show success. Southwest will not expand recently because it follows the strategy and every move it makes is conducted in an extremely careful way. Southwest understands that if â€Å"hot meat appears, your eating it fast strategy probably will burn your mouth (McNerney 1996)†. 7) Simple Form and Lean Staff. This strategy means that â€Å"keeping an organizational staff lean simplifies channels of communication in an organization (Peters and Waterman, 1982).† The reason of this is because that the more layers a hierarch has in a corporation, the longer it makes to make a decision which could result in wasting time and resources. At Southwest, it is not the janitors clean up the airlines. Rather, flight attendants and top managers are people who do the cleanings. In this way, Southwest can save both money and time. Moreover, Southwest is always loyal to its employees as they are to the Southwest. Southwest uses the â€Å"always hire and rarely fire† principle when dealing with human resources (Peters and Waterman, 1982).† It never fires its employees just because of external factors such as the stagnant of economy or internal factors such as financial loss. 8) Simultaneous loose-tight properties. This means that the corporation has both a centralized and decentralized system which de-emphasizes hierarchy. Southwest has a democratic style of corporation culture with autonomy and a tight control of finance by the CEO to make sure that money and resources are not wasted. Besides the above-mentioned eight crucial strategies that successful corporations must acquire, Southwest has two more strategies that other successful corporations do not possess. One is the University of People, and the other one is its CEO Kelleher (BusinessWeek 2005). University of People is a program established by Southwest for training new emplo yees. The trainees treat rookies just like the way they treat customers with great respect. Southwest firmly believes that the way it treats its employees will be an indicator of standards and positive motivation for employees to treat customers in same manners in the way which they are treated, or even better. As the CEO of Southwest, Kelleher is a successful executive with great responsibilities. He is also looked upon as a person with great sense of humor. An employee described that â€Å"wherever Mr. Kelleher goes, you will always hear sounds of laughs and feel an atmosphere of harmony (Gavinderajan 2002).† The successful corporation structure and philosophy of centralized and decentralized differentiation of the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy brings a change, as well as a revolution of corporate structure innovations from old styles to the new ones. The â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy is very successful currently. Southwest is successful not only because of the â€Å"Short-Hauls† strategy. Southwests corporate strategy in areas of human resources, financial control, employee motivation and promotion, frequent communications between different levels, and the hardness for other airlines to duplicate are also factors which go with the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy, differentiating Southwest from the rest of airlines, and therefore ensuring the success of such great achievement. However, huge problems are likely to take place in the long run. Just like Darwins Theory â€Å"survival of the fittest† indicates that every element is on its way of evolving, being unchanged will eventually be discarded by time and success in the long run. It is true that Kellehers â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy is extremely successful at present, but it will never guarantee that depending solely on this strategy will still be succes sful in the future. Looking into the history of the human kind, and look at ourselves now, how is it different from the past and the present? If all human beings have not evolved, if the science in every field has not changed, will we still have the same outlooks as what we are having now? I dont think so. Without the evolving of human kind and the improvements in scientific field, we will be no different compared with the primary humans in the early stages. Dont even mention about watching television, taking shower, surfing on the internet, flying in the airplane, or even having delicious meals. Without changes and improvements, we will still be in the primary forests where once we belonged, eating raw meat like barbarians and sharing room with animals. There is no government, business entity or element which is able to stay unchanged forever. During the medieval period, the Roman Empire was the most powerful nation in the entire world. But it collapsed. The British once said that â€Å"the sun will never set on Great Britain†! It also collapsed. China invented three of the four ancient miracles, the method of printing, compass and gunpowder more than 3,000 years ago. It was also the center of power and civilization during the Tang Dynasty which lasted for more than 800 years. China also paved the way for the first international business that never had happened between the east and the west. When Marco Polo traveled to China during the peak of its prosperity, he was shocked and thrilled to see that difference between the east and the west. When the European were sharing rooms with animals, China already had palaces made out of gold, even the miracle of Great Wall which is the only manmade mark that can be seen from space. The dynasty also collapsed. From all the examples that I mentioned above, you can clearly see t hat every nation has its ups and downs. Forever power never exists. This is exactly the same as business. I will be astonished if you can tell me a business entity which has lasted for 500 years. Many people believe that Wal-Mart is unstoppable, and unfortunately, they are absolutely wrong. Decades ago, Sears was the â€Å"Wal-Mart† at that time. Look at Sears now, how different it is between the past and present. Who can guarantee decades later, there will be no corporations replacing Wal-Mart? If Kelleher has the same concerns as I do, it is possible that he will be worried about Southwest in the future. What if the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy stopped working? What if an underdog suddenly comes out, making Southwest stand on the border of failure? The situation for Southwest in the future is not as optimistic as it seems. However, it does not mean that Southwest is meant to be a failure. All roads lead to Rome, and whenever there is a will, there is a way. Kelleher can still use the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy to succeed. But the strategy must be converted from a micro-perspective to a macro-perspective. In order for a company to be successful in the long run, it must expand. Kelleher said that Southwest has not made any decision to expand at present. But it does not mean that Southwest will never expand. As a business entity, corporations must expand globally to obtain more profits. Look at Wal-Mart, how many stores does it own worldwide? Need I say more? This also reminds me of an old saying which has it that â€Å"the largest fish in the river is never a big fish in the ocean†. If Southwest is satisfied just because of current profits and competitive advantages it has in the short run, it will not be Southwest anymore. I think that Southwest is on its way of planning its expansions, but with a very careful and conscientious attitude. It wants to make sure that the new strategy will work when the decision of expanding is made. There might be countless strategies for Kelleher to come up with. I know one strategy which I consider the best strategy because using this new strategy, Southwest can be very successful in the long run. It can also save time and resources. So what is this so-called strategy? I consider it the most successful not because of my arbitrary standing point of â€Å"pride and prejudice.† Rather, I recognized its importance and advantages because I have done a lot of research to make sure that this approach makes sense. The strategy I am using now is one strategy from the masterpiece called â€Å"The Art of War†, written by the greatest military strategist ever in history more than 3,000 years ago. The authors name is Sun Zi. What is so great and amazing about this book is that it has listed all the strategies which can be applied and used in all scientific fields, such as military, business, geometry and all other natural sciences. Japan is renowned for its management which almost cracked down the American automobile industry, and every top manager in Japan always makes sure they the book ‘The Art of War† lays on his desk. India is renowned for its financial system which also takes some strategies fr om â€Å"The Art of War†. United States Department of Defense and its military also adopted the strategies from the masterpiece of â€Å"The Art of War†, and manipulate them from a military science standing point (The Spread and popularity of the Art of War). In order to implement these strategies appropriately, one requirement must be met. The prerequisite is that the user must have a good understanding of military science built on the views that can be related and flexibly applied and manipulated from a perspective which solves problems based on methods of essence indirectly related from all other sciences. Knowledge is similar to a big family in that every element from every field mutually supports each other. For instance, when in process of establishing a military strategy, the person responsible for it must have good understandings of sciences such as geology, meteorology, physics, chemistry and even languages as well. In order for the strategy to operate well to the fullest extent of its capacity, the central strategist must have a good command of what geological area is the enemy in; what weapons has the enemy obtained; is it possible to use the scientific competitive advantage from a military perspective; what will the weather be like when the battle takes place; what mathematical calculation is needed for the army to defeat the enemy in a timely, resource-saving and casualty-reducing standpoint; after invading the area, what language and culture pattern that the enemy uses and has, etc. For geography, it is crucial for the strategist to decide which altitudes in the region would likely to be an advantage when fighting the battle. For weapons, the strategist must know whether the wea pons invented through the methods and formulas of physics and chemistry is a helping factor, and the basic laws and functions of the scientific principles in which the weapons are made based on knowledge of physics and chemistry. For meteorology, the strategist must have a good command of whats the weather would be like when the battle takes places because fighting on a sunny day and rainy day will have different results which could be the factors leading to either the victory or failure of the battle. For mathematics, the strategist must be pretty clear that why way is actually the nearest way offering competitive advantage for his troops. For linguistics, people who speak the enemys language and understand their cultural patterns will be a good indicator to lead the way. Ignorance of these necessary elements that eventually leads to failures is countless. In the Korean War, both sides have tried everything to keep control of the highest geographic positions; the first Russian space shuttle to the moon would provide Russia with a competitive technological advantage on weapons based on the same laws of sciences that were applied to the shuttle; the shuttle never comes back because the Russian scientists ignor ed one hundredth of a decimal point, and it resulted in deaths of all its excellent astronauts; the lost of the space shuttle which the government had supported financially, the time Russian scientists had devoted themselves to, and suspicions of scientific laws; all the hard work, the money and resources was wasted, and the laws of science were meant to be retested; the American troops in Iraq resulted in more casualties as expected because the strategist ignored the power of language, and hiring locals who hate Americans as translators who intentionally led Americans to opposite and wrong directions which resulted in lost of many lives which can possibly be saved if language and cultural pattern were considered. Finally, the reason that George Bush still could not find Bin Laden is because that he has no idea of the Iraqi landforms. If he knew that well, Bin Laden should already be caught and Saddam Hussein will not be the scapegoat. The strategy that Southwest Airlines should use in order to continue its success is also based on the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy. The difference is that the strategy must be inter-converted. Southwest can try its best to duplicate its â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy globally. For instance, it can do exactly the same business with the same strategy once again. But this time, Southwest has to do it in every part of the world. For instance, Southwest can expand its business in France, Germany, Australia, Russia, China, Japan, Poland, Greece, etc. All Southwest has to do is doing â€Å"Short-Haul† business in all the countries. Once the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy has spread to almost all the nations with economic prosperity, Southwest can start its â€Å"Long-Haul† strategy. Its global network will be linked like the solid structure of an atom, from Russia to Germany, Germany to France, France to Australia, Australia to China, and China to Switzerland, etc. By doing this, Southwest will have an extremely solid structure of global airline network that is likely to be very durable. The structure is similar to that of an atom. The structure of an atom can be described as one of the most solid structure among all other solid elements. This strategy adopted from â€Å"The Art of War† is based on the theory of strategic transformation, especially from a micro-perspective to a macro-perspective (Chapter IV, Art of War). By duplicating its successful strategy of â€Å"Short-Haul†, Southwest will have the capabilities of accumulating more strengths little by little. When Southwest considers it the right time to transform the â€Å"Short-Hauls† strategy to â€Å"Long-Hauls†, it can connect its business in every corner of the world. Each business in a certain place can be regard as a dot; there will an enormous amount of dots that Southwest has worked on. Therefore, connections of all the dots will change the network s imilar to that of an atom. Atom is said to have the toughest element structure on earth. One atom does not mean anything; two atoms only make a molecule. But through countless chemical reactions of nuclear fissions, millions and billions of atoms will have the energy as powerful as that of the atomic bomb. This strategy is also flexible. When Southwest considers itself too hard to manage all its subdivisions, it can back up its structures to original format, transforming from a macro-perspective to a micro-perspective. It can also change some parts to macro and other parts to micro. Whenever it is needed, Southwest is capable of interchanging its structure into different forms that best fits can be calculated according to different situations. The huge advantage of this strategic has three crucial characteristics: First, all Southwest has to do to force other airlines out of business just by doing a slight shift. Once the headquarter take the move, every connections of the network over the world can either do the same as a whole or a slightly different according to its own situation. The reason that Southwest is able to do this is because it possesses both a centralized and decentralized structure which can choose the best outfits. Second, once the network is complete, it will be very durable. It can last for a very last period until the strategies made by other airlines are superior. As I mentioned above, every element is on the way of changing so that there is no forever monopoly. But when Southwest has the ability to applied the â€Å"Long-Hauls† strategy, it will already have obtained the role as the leader in the industry. It will then be extremely difficult for other airlines to innovate new ideas expecting to replace the Southwest because under that situation, Southwest have the power to make sure that other airlines do not have chances. I dont mean that there is no possibility another innovation of internal structure of corporations. But the probability is not likely because at that time, Southwest will have the possibility with a confidence interval of at least 90%. Finally, I will be thrilled and stunned if other corporations are able to come up with better strategies under such a suppressed atmosphere. In order for other airlines to jump out from the â€Å"vicious cycle†, they must have the ability to obtain two important factors, which are financial resources and time. The network at least will take Southwest ten years to complete with financing of trillions of dollars. It is not likely for other airlines to come up with trillions of dollars at once, and even Wal-Mart does not know if it possesses the ability. Moreover, there is another requirement of more importance. That i s the time. The most valuable thing in the entire world is time. There is no opportunity cost for time because time is always moving on and it is eternal. It can never stop. As a result, do those airlines have time to do it? How long do they need in order to come up with a better strategy, replacing that of the Southwests? Therefore, the possibility is extremely slight. Southwest has this advantage. It is only a matter of time! Its about how long Southwest can last! Bibliographies â€Å"Americas Most Admired Companies 2006†, Wall Street Journal, available @ http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/snapshots/1253.html Dauble, Jennifer, â€Å"Top Fifty Companies to Watch, October 31, 2005†. Wall Street Journal, available @ http://www.dowjones.com/Pressroom/PressReleases/Other/US/2005.html._ Marcial, Gene, â€Å"Southwest Airlines Wings North†, November 7, 2005. BusinessWeek, available @ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_45/b3958118.htm Lynch, Pat â€Å"Southwest Airlines†, Online Blogs From Google, April 5, 2005. Available @ http://finance.google.com/finance?q=luvhl=en â€Å"Southwest Fact Sheet†, March 28, 2006. Southwest Airlines Corporation, available @ http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/press/factsheet.html Bunz Ulla, â€Å"Learning Excellence, Southwest Airlines approach†, Volume 8, 1998. Available @ http://bunz.comm.fsu.edu/southwest.pdf Peter, TJ. And Waterman, R.H. (1982), In Search of Excellence: Lessons from Americas Best Run Companies, Harper Row, New York, NY. McNerney, D.J. (1996), â€Å"Employee motivation: creating a motivated workforce†, HR Focus, Vol.73 No.8, pp.1, 4-6. Gavinderajan Vijay, â€Å"Southwest Airline Corporation†, 2002, no. 20012. Trip Tracy, March 2006. â€Å"Best Practices Case Study: Best Perks, Southwest Airlines†, available @ http://vault.com/nr/newsmain.jsp?nr_page=3ch_id=402article_id=19258

Harriet Tubman Essay -- essays research papers

Freedom Harriet Tubman was a brave woman, she managed to take eleven slaves to Canada, with no one noticing anything. She also did something that was surprising, she took the gun that she had with her to make a slave stay or to die, "We got to go free or die." She didn't allowed a slave to go back while they were traveling because someone might figured that he/she were returning from the running slaves and might have to answer questions. She traveled to differents places to stay like Thomas Garret's house in Wilmington, Delaware. She wanted to get to Canada to have a chance to feel what it would be like to be free. She painted pictures of what she thought Canada would be like, that shows she wanted to be free. In the couples of houses she stopped to get food and to get warm, I believe the persons that owned the houses agreed that they should be free, but they were too afraid to make a move. At the start of the story they were searching for Moses who they thought it was a ma n, which it was not it was Harriet Tubman, who wanted to run off slaves. The slaves at the story were patience. Harriet had promised them food, and shelter, when they got to the first stop in the farmhouse the man said they were a lot of slaves and that it was not safe, because the farmhouse had been searched a week ago before they arrived there, so they didn't had what she had promised them. The slaves didn't screamed at her or complained. When they arrived to Canada I think that even though th...

William Shakespeare Essay -- essays research papers fc

William Shakespeare Ask anyone who Shakespeare was, and he or she will immediately rattle off at least three different plays that were required readings in English, not to mention a few blockbuster movies bearing his name. Many revere the works of Shakespeare as paramount in the world of literature, dedicating entire books, classes and festivals to the study and celebration of his work. Although the ancient language is a common stumbling block for even the most seasoned readers, his varied tales of love, hate, fear, betrayal, laughter, defeat and victory are just as fitting today as they were four hundred years ago. He is amazingly timeless. Yet, while we might know what Shakespeare is, will we ever really know who Shakespeare was? Ah, there’s the rub! Much about the Bard is a mystery to even the most scholarly enthusiasts. The hard facts that are actually known about him could fill one neatly handwritten page, but what is speculated and complete legend could fill volumes of books. So, what is fact and what is fiction? According to the little documentation that chronicles his life, Shakespeare was not even a true ‘Shakespeare’ at all; he was born in April 1596 and entered in the baptismal record as â€Å"Gulielmus filius Johannis Shakspere.† Even his actual date of birth is somewhat of a mystery. While we do know that he was baptized on April 26th, 1564, there is no existing record of his birth date. We can assume that he was born on April 23rd judging by the customary three-day period that most families waited before baptizing their children, but this is only speculation. Since the records of the Stratford grammar school have not survived, we cannot prove that Shakespeare attended school. In all actuality, we have no evidence that he was even literate. His father had no educational training, so it is quite possible that he also lacked in schooling, but that’s only guesswork. The next piece of hard information that we come across in our search is a register entry showing a Wm. Shaxpere being granted a license to marry Anne Whateley on November 27, 1582. The very next day this same register records a marriage bond issued to William Shagspere and Anne Hathwey. Six months later Anne gave birth to their first child, daughter Susanna Shakspere, and then in February 1585 she gave birth to twins, Hamnet and Judith. It is presumed that Shakespeare made it to London ar... ...peare’s literature will probably never be laid to rest, it will always contribute to the enjoyment of studying his work. Students of the subject are compelled to read and re-read the plays and sonnets in an attempt to gain a better understanding of who was holding the pen. Debates involving fact and fiction keep the name Shakespeare in constant movement, reminding us that we have not outgrown him, not even after four hundred years. The writing of Shakespeare, whomever Shakespeare is, is a gift for us to continue unwrapping, and pass down to our children to appreciate as well. One must hope that the mystery will never be solved, so that it may never lose it’s magic. WORKS CITED Charters, Ann. The Story and Its Writer. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 1999. Mowat, Barbara A. and Werstine, Paul, ed. A Midsummer Night’s Dream The New Folger Library. New York: Washington Square Press, 1993. Shakespeare Oxford Society. 27 Jun. 2001. Van Duyn, Barbara. Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. 5 Aug. 2000. http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engl/346/proj/barb/ All Shakespeare. Allstudyguides.com.

Razzle Dazzle

‘Competition destroys the fun and enjoyment of activities like dance. ‘ Drawing on events in the film, write an essay arguing for or against this statement. ‘ Competitive dancing is a popular activity that involves competitors performing dance routines in various styles before a panel of Judges. Dancing in a competitive program can enhance natural ability, self-esteem and confidence.However, the film Raze Dazzle shows that there are the downsides of competitive dancing which can include extracting yourself from everyday activities and a social life, feeling strained, reassured and nervous which can cause a build-up of anxiety that could potentially affect a performance as well as ruin friendships and/or relationships. Competitiveness can change the nature off person's personality.In the film Raze Dazzle, Tinsel's mother Justine is an overly competitive stage mother who pushes her daughter hard in order to make her famous by assisting her performance related needs an d requirement as well as obnoxiously demanding special treatment for her daughter and placing unnecessary and inappropriate pressure on her. The use of Tinsel's archival footage shows the audience a perspective of a past and makes it Lear that Justine is eager for her daughter to be a star.When the new student, Grace, comes with the possibility of stealing some of Tinsel's spotlight, Justine breaks down from the pressure and has to be consoled by Tensile. Tensile eventually has enough of Justice's pressure and collapses from exhaustion. Placing too much pressure on a child can make them dislike the activity. Miss Elizabeth is a perfectionist and strict dance teacher who is brutally critical on her students' errors and flaws, removing those whom she labels as â€Å"fat, lazy and untalented†. We learn hat her mother was also a dance teacher who later on got married and the business's name was later on changed to ‘Mrs..Elizabeth' and went somewhat downhill. As Miss Elizabe th is committed to her career, she literally has no life and refuses to get married like her mother. During a scene where she is discussing her success, the symbolic placement of her trophies in the foreground represents her love for her Job as a dance teacher she claims she is married to it. A announcement is a type of film in which dramatic techniques are combined with documentary elements to present fictional events in a documentary style. Satire is used in the film to represent and mock the inside world of competitive dancing.Mr.. Jonathans choreography comes off us Weird' to others and they contain political messages, but his Gazetteers eventually get first prize. Barbara didn't need to capture a boy from the orphanage and Justice's pressure on Tensile was unnecessary. The satirical nature of the film is trying to show us that we need to value our creativity and be true to ourselves. In conclusion, competition destroys the fun and enjoyment of activities like dance as the press ure and competitive attitudes has a negative outcome.A competitive attitude can help you feel good and ready to be able to take on challenging tasks and ready to achieve many things in life. However, competitive behavior can change the nature of a person. Rather than being there to have a good time as well as showcase their talent and creativity, competitiveness can change their focus to only being there to defeat others and associating people around them. Unsuccessful and falling short of winning, dancers can be left feeling like their efforts and skills aren't good enough therefore feeling even more pressured to be the best.

Dark Child Essay

Ideology-Countries whose autobiography is strongly marked by occidental European immigration or settlement, much(prenominal) as the Americans, and the Australians, and is not restricted to occidental Europe (Wikidpedia. org). M either countries around the introduction have been influenced by the horse opera ideology. westbound Ideology includes components such as literary, education, semipolitical and philosophical views, and most of all, religion. In the autobiography, The crepuscular Child, Camara Laye, is a person who faces these types of challenges. He make ups stuck between his own traditional and the western ideologies.In the Dark Child, Camara Layes jejuneness and development of his cultural and personalized determine as a young humans is explained. He is disjoint of the Malinke tribe in the village of Koroussa in Upper wop and is eldest egress of many brothers and sisters. In the beginning, he learns slightly many of the traditions and customs duty his peo ple. He is told about Totemism-the fact that everybody has a spi ritual animal that is chosen by the persons character. darn education about his people, he has attends a playscript condition and then a French school in another part of town. later in the book, he learns about Konden Diara- a ceremony that is a ritual used to conquer a boys fear before the fundament of circumcision. He undergoes the ritual and circumcision-represents a observance of passage a boy is right collide with a man. After graduating from his school, Laye leaves at 15 years of age to attend a technical college in Guineas capital city of capital of Guinea. Like any mother, Layes warns him to be careful with strangers and sends him off on a train to tolerate with his Uncles Sekou and Mamadou in Conakry where he comes crosswise many cultural veers.In the school, in a new city for the starting signal time in his baffle, Laye encounters difficult speech barriers and a hot, humid climate to a greater ex tent taxing and oppressive than that in his Koroussa home plate. He also seeks changes during the mean solar day where people at their work are dressed in a Western style, that in boubous when they come home from work. Laye lives the heart of a typical college school student, studying at the schools campus and returning home to Koroussa during the holidays. When he returns, he sees the rendering within his family and friends.Later, he finishes his studies in Conakry and is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to study in France. His mother greatly disapproves, but Laye and his get under ones skin convinces his mother. At the end of the book, Laye leaves for France, and promises to himself that he pull up stakes return to his people. As I was schooling the book, it made realize the position of Africa and where it stood as a country. I felt distinctly as I was reading passim the book, western values and traditions were overrunning the traditions of not simply Africa bu t Layes life as well.Since the beginning of the book, he not an fair child in the village peoples eyes. He was one of the many who was sent out to attend school and be educated. His pay back knew what was to come of Africa, modernization. In my opinion, I conjecture his father placed Laye in school for the purpose to contribute to his people, as agitate to being a goldsmith exchangeable himself. As he moved to Conakry, he moved in with his uncle Mamadou. His uncle lived in a European-style household. Was it unfamiliarity, or the humid heat of the town, or the fatigue of two days in the train that kept me from sleeping? but it was a very comfortable house the room I slept in was large, and the acknowledge soft, softer than any I had previously slept on (147). Laye was astonished about his living headquarters. He was not used to this style and roominess. As I earlier stated, people in Conakry dressed differently during the day than at home. It took him a little piece to get u sed to this as well. Later in the book, he would return home during the holidays.As he came back, he notice that his mother had been plastered with white clay. primarily it had been like the other huts, but piecemeal it began to acquire a European timber (169). His was trying to adapt to the style of the west through her sons experience in Conakry. She was expressing not only her pick out for Laye, but also her feelings toward the western tradition. While he was in his village, one of his friends Chet was bad ill. The medicament men gave him remedies and charms to help her but there was no significant change at all.Laye and his other friend knew that he had to see a white sterilise at the hospital. Chet passed away after a week. Because of Layes education from the west, he knew that the medicine men were insufficient. From experiences and education of the west, he has become a man with wisdom of two cultures. The Dark Child is a terrific journey through Camara Layes persona l experiences. It shares many of his experiences and challenges through his life as a youth and young man. I in reality enjoyed the book and thought it was really educating.