The Importance of the Diary for a Study of Archbishop Laud Essay Example

The Importance of the Diary for a Study of Archbishop Laud Paper William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 has traditionally been seen as one of the twin pillars of Stuart despotism1, and the councillor whose influence cost Charles his crown. Though a great deal of contention has surrounded these, and other assumptions about the Archbishop in recent years, the diary, which Laud kept between the years of 1602 and 1643 has not been widely used as a source for his study. It is important to consider Laud not only as primate, but also as an individual in order to obtain the fullest possible understanding of him. As Gaunt has argued that Laud is one of those unfortunate historical figures whose biography has been penned largely from the writings of his enemies2, I feel that an attempt should be made to study Laud solely through his own writings, but in particular his diary, as it was Pynnes falsification of the text after he seized it in 1643 that led to such negative views about the Archbishop, and tainted contemporary and even later historical opinion. Through examination of the diary, I wish to ascertain what can be discovered about Lauds aims and beliefs, his significant relationships, his fears and crucially, his character, and how all of these affected his policies and decisions. The primary source for the dissertation will be Lauds diary, with the composition chiefly focused upon perceptions raised from it, using Lauds other works, letters and charges, as well as Prynnes commentary of the diary and Clarendons account of Laud to supplement these notions. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of the Diary for a Study of Archbishop Laud specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of the Diary for a Study of Archbishop Laud specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of the Diary for a Study of Archbishop Laud specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer However this may mean that a large proportion of the dissertation will be theoretical as much of my argument will be based on what can be inferred from what Laud does, and even fails to record. A study of the diary is particularly important to me because I find Laud to be a fascinating character around whom much historiographical argument is centred. He was pivotal to the breakdown of the Personal Rule, and I believe it will be particularly interesting to examine events from his perspective. . Religion has been labelled a fundamental and deep-rooted cause of the English Civil war3; hence there has been much debate over the key priorities and aims of William Laud, who as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633, played a crucial role in the formation and enforcement of religious policy during the 1630s. Historians, such as McGee, have long claimed that Lauds outlook compromised of three central features; he set himself firmly against public theological controversy and believed in the benefits of ceremony. Underlying and informing these was his deep conviction that the Reformation had deprived clergymen of authority restoration of the clerical estate to its rightful place was absolutely necessary4. As evidence exists within the diary which supports this argument, each of these directives will be considered in turn through an examination of the text, in an attempt to determine the strength of Lauds ecclesiastical aims, and ascertain if there was, as McGee claims, a key priority within these. It is manifest that Laud believed the prevention of theological debate was imperative if order and stability were to be brought to the Church of England; an objective which led him to pursue a fierce campaign against radical opinion, focused particularly on Puritans. By rejecting the common forms of worships, Laud thought that they segregated themselves from the community and encouraged religious controversy, and were thus acting as a fifth column within the church; these are dangerous men, they are a scattered company5. Preaching, to Puritans the essential task of the ministry, was to Laud one such dangerous source of contention in need of regulation, a mindset which is palpable throughout the diary, for example 1625, he writes of the schedule he compiled at the Duke of Buckinghams request, in which the names of many Churchmen were marked with the letters O. and P. 6, in order that the King should be advised when appointing clerics as to which were Orthodox, and which were Puritan, and therefore suitable and unsuitable respectively. Aware that the Puritan laity were able to increase their influence over religion by financing lecturers from impropriated titles; lecturers who were often chosen to reflect their patrons preferment rather than uphold the articles of the church, Laud resolved to overthrow the feoffment, dangerous to both Church and State, an irrefutably strong intention given that he ranked it second in the extensive list of Things which I have projected to if God bless me in them7,written at the back of his diary. True to Lauds suspicions, in 1632 Attorney General William Noy uncovered that many lecturers paid for by the feoffees for impropriations, the City organisation involved with the buying up of church tithes and patronages, remained accountable to them, leading to allegations that the feoffees were an illegal corporation which was attempting to create a church within a church, outside the authority of the King. Noting in February 1632 his relief that the feoffees for impropriations were dissolved in the Chequer Chamber, Lauds adds that they were the main instrument for the Puritan faction to undo the Church8, which taken alongside his diary entry of 1638, the tumults in Scotland about the Service-Book offered to be brought in hath now brought that king down in danger. No question, but theres a great concurrence between them and the Puritan party in England9, conclusively demonstrates his deeply-held and unwavering belief that Puritans were engaged in organised political activity to destabilise the Caroline regime. Thus, despite the assertions of other ministers, such as Archbishop Abbott, that there is not in the Church of England, left any inconformable minister, which appeareth10, it is evident from the diary that Laud in no way shared this view, and instead set himself firmly against the danger posed by theological controversy which he believed Puritans, in particular, engendered. The diary also demonstrates the emphasis Laud placed on the prevention of predestination discussion, which by start of the Personal Rule had become a serious and explosive issue within the public and political sphere. Richard Montagus, A Gagg for the New Gospel, published in 1624, had ignited debate on the matter through his controversial Arminian assertion that the Church of England hath not taught it, doth not believe it, hath opposed it11. Though Charles and his Privy Council went to lengths to quieten controversy thereafter, Laud remained fearful that the political repercussions of the cause, book and opinions of Richard Montagu would constitute what he described as, a cloud arising and threatening the Church of England12. Attempts to control the destabilising impact of theological debate culminated in a royal proclamation in 1629 which banned discussion of predestination, as Charles and Laud believed that the way to secure orthodoxy was not to prove the true doctrine, but to silence all disputation which could lead to a re-opening of public debate. However, there has been much historical debate as to whom was truly impacted by the proclamation; Kevin Sharpe has argued that Laud himself was indifferent to the varying abstractions of predestination, as his main attachment was to uniformity of worship rather than the minutiae of theological dispute13, and thus where predestinarian debate was curbed, it was done so in an unbiased manner, a view supported by Julian Davies, who uses the Woodstock hearing of August 1631 as the foundation for his debate, asserting that it is here that Lauds theological attitude is most convincingly illustrated. At the hearing, Charles personally oversaw the case of several Oxford clerics accused of delivering Calvinist statements in direct contravention of the royal proclamation against predestination preaching. During proceedings, allegations were made that whilst these men had been silenced and punished for their beliefs, others had been freely permitted to express Arminian views, causing Charles, having ever desired that those points should be forborne on both sides indifferently, to demand of Laud the truth of the matter. Faced with Charles intervention, Laud made a solemn promise before God that he had upon all occasions required that those who preached either way should be proceeded with indifferently14. Davies and Sharpe have been content to take these words at face value, and indeed there is nothing in the diary that directly suggests Lauds subjective stance on the matter of predestination; his account of the hearing, though lengthy, is wholly factual, and nowhere does he record his own theological views or express any opinion on the issue, which lends weight to Sharpes claim that Laud did not debate doctrine because it was not of great interest to him15. David Como, on the other hand, refutes this claim and instead argues that Laud was engaged in a systematic policy to cut down Calvinist discourse, and that his assertions of impartiality at Woodstock were for the benefit of the manuscript of proceedings, which he knew would be printed and circulated, and were thus little more than a deliberate attempt to manipulate public opinion and quell rumours of unjust treatment towards anti-Laudians16. It is evident that Laud placed a huge amount of importance on the Woodstock hearing, as it is one of only eleven events that he lists in his days of observance to me at the fore of his diary, meriting a place beside incidents such as the Duke of Buckinghams death and the birth of Charles II. It must therefore be questioned why Laud should place so much significance upon Woodstock; if Como is to be believed, perhaps Laud recognised it as the key moment in which his neutrality on the issue of predestination was publicly accepted by the King and key privy councillors, despite the Arminian gloss he was in fact promoting on the articles of religion. However this is little more than an assumption as evidence on the issue is not wholly conclusive, thus the diarys vital importance lies in alerting the reader to Lauds fear of public predestinarian debate, and the importance he placed on the hearing at Woodstock in conjunction to this, though further speculation is required if the extent of significance the latter held for him is to be fully understood. Though McGees argues that Laud placed great value on the beauty of holiness, as he believed that the people would not respect the inward part of religion, the greater part, if the outward face were neglected17, extraordinarily little evidence to substantiate this can be found within the diary. Laud briefly writes of his desire to repair St. Pauls, and visits made to consecrate and view various parish churches, yet does not mention anything on the reforms implemented within them, nor his views on the controversy these changes caused, which is rather peculiar considering at his trial in 1645 he stated that for his whole career he had laboured nothing more, than the external worship of God (too much slighted in most parts of this kingdom) might be preserved18. Most divisive of these interior reforms was the charge to alter the placement of the Communion table from the centre of the church to the upper end of the chancel north and south and a rail before it or round it to keep it from annoyance19, which is usually accredited by historians as highly significant; indeed it is the only point out of thirteen in Lauds June 1635 Metropolitical Visitation Charge which is completely new. It is therefore surprising that nothing is mentioned in the diary of the November 1633 case of St. Gregorys, which held great importance because of its usage as a test case, in that Laud and Charles brought the relatively minor issue of the complaints of the St. Gregorys parishioners concerning the altar policy before the Privy Council in order to use their ruling as the national example. Davies argues that Charles was the chief enthusiast of the altar policy, because he believed that the communion table, as the seat of Gods presence in church, should be shown as much respect as his own throne, and thus its elevation was a visual and mnemonic means of impressing a greater respect for his pretensions to divine right20, and indeed if it was Charles who pushed for the reform, whilst Lauds support was only half-hearted, this could explain why nothing is recorded on the issue in his dairy. However, from records of the St. Gregorys hearing this does not seem plausible as it is Laud, not Charles, who attempted to drive the policy forwards; it is he who highlights the importance of consistency within the church and the significance of St. Gregorys close proximity to St. Pauls; when strangers come from beyond the sea and saw the table stand altar wise in St. Pauls but out at the door and saw the table stand otherwise in St. Gregorys, what a disunion would they say was in the Church of England, and he who argues the legality of the reform due to its basis in tradition, citing a ruling made under Queen Elizabeth that the communion table should be set in the chancel21. Although Charles ruled against the parishioners of St. Gregorys, his verdict in fact limited the extent of effective altar reform, as he left the decision of how the communion table should be placed to the discretion of each parish ordinary whose place and function it doth belong to give direction22, and therein lies the most probable explanation for Lauds silence; as he only achieved a half-victory at the hearing, it is plausible that he did not wish to record it due to disappointment, or perhaps anger. Nevertheless, despite this conjecture, it remains questionable that so little is mentioned of the other ceremonial and aesthetical reforms that were implemented under Laud, thus the possibility must be considered, despite the claims of multiple historians, that they were not as prominent a concern in Lauds daily life as other ecclesiastical aims. Last, and most important of Lauds key aims as argued by McGee, was that of his desire to re-establish the authority of the Church of England, an objective which stemmed from his belief that since the Reformation in the late 1530s the church had greatly diminished in power and influence. The loss of lands after the dissolution of the monasteries had led to a reduction of church income and eventual deficit of wealth, a concern of Lauds that is most clearly demonstrated in his diary entry of March 1624, in which his suggestion is recorded that, for the sake of the poorer priests, the four subsidies voted by the Clergy in Convocation should be paid by instalments. The idea was first presented by Laud to the Duke of Buckingham and Lord Durham, who strongly approved of the notion, and affirmed that, it was the best office that was done for the Church this seven years. However, when suggested to James, the proposal was met with his grave displeasure and the comment that never any Bishop attempted the like at any time, nor would any but myself have done it. That I had given the Church such a wound, in speaking to any laity to it23; a reaction which is very telling of the strength and singularity of Lauds determination if none but he would have dared propose schemes which benefited the clergy at the cost of the crown. From Lauds arguably rather impertinent response to James that I thought I had done a very good office for the Church: and so did my betters think. And I hoped, being done out of a good mind, for the support of many poor vicars who must needs sink under three subsidies in a year, my error (if it were one) was pardonable, the strength of Lauds feelings on the issue are indisputable as despite James strong negative reaction, Laud appears loath to relinquish his position on the matter, or admit his proposal as a mistake. Such devotion to the restoration of church wealth can also be seen through examination of Lauds attentions to Ireland, reports of the dearth of which had shocked him to such an extent that he avowed in his list of Things which I have projected to if God bless me in them, that he would procure King Charles to give all the impropriations, yet remaining in the crown, within the realm of Ireland, to that poor Church. 4 Lauds letters to Strafford verify that he did indeed acquaint his Majesty with this, and he likes it well25, which arguably demonstrates his particular fervency for this aim; having already experienced James severe displeasure when proposing a similar scheme which involved the loss of his own wealth in order to benefit the clergy, it is surprising that he risked a similar negative reaction from Charles, though it is possible he was more confident of his compliance with this aim.

Personality Psychology- an Integrative Essay Essay Example

Personality Psychology Personality Psychology- an Integrative Essay Paper Personality Psychology- an Integrative Essay Paper Traditionally personality has been framed largely into multiple grand theories: psychoanalysis (Freud, Jung), humanistic theories (Rogers, Maslow), social-learning theories (Bandura, Mischel), cognitive-phenomenological theories (Kelly, Laing), trait theories (Eysenck, Cattell, the Big Five), narrative (McAdams, Bruner) and so on. However Personality psychology is yet to articulate clearly a comprehensive framework for understanding the whole person. This essay will attempt to provide a summary of McAdams integrative approach to personality with three different levels: dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations and narrative. McAdams proposed that evolution provides the general design for psychological individuality against which the socially consequential variations in human lives can be conceived. Human beings have evolved to take note of those variations that are most important for group life, summarized at the broadest level in terms of individual differences in dispositional traits. By sketching out the universe of broad trait dispositions that people in many different cultures use to refer to the most general variations in psychological individuality, the Big Five offers a comprehensive system for organizing basic personality tendencies. Whereas traits provide a dispositional sketch or signature, characteristic adaptations spell out many of the details of psychological individuality as contextualized in time, situations, and social roles. Goals, strivings, coping strategies, values, beliefs, and other motivational, developmental, and social– cognitive versions of characteristic adaptations are activated in response to and ultimately shaped by everyday social demands. Adler, Erikson, Rogers, Maslow, Kelly, Bandura- none of these personality theorists showed more than passing interest in dispositional traits. Instead, they emphasized motivation and the dynamics of behavior, social learning and cognitive schemata, strategies and coping mechanisms, developmental challenges and stages, and the ever-changing details of individual adaptation to the social world. What do people want? What do they value? How do people seek out what they want and avoid what they fear? In particular the humanist perspective, influenced greatly by the work of prominent humanists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, emphasizes the role of motivation on thought and behaviour. Concepts such as self-actualization are an essential part of this perspective, conceptualised by a hierarchy of needs each level both independent and interdependent of the next. If traits sketch an outline of human individuality, characteristic adaptations fill in some of the details. McAdams final level is that of integrative life narratives. Narrative approaches to personality suggest that human beings construe their own lives as ongoing stories and that these life stories help to shape behavior, establish identity, and integrate individuals into modern social life Narrative identity is indeed that story the person tries to â€Å"keep going†- an internalized and evolving narrative of the self that incorporates the reconstructed past and the imagined future into a more or less coherent whole in order to provide the person’s life with some degree of unity, purpose, and meaning. The psychosocial construction of narrative identity moves personality from broad trends (dispositional traits) and the specific responses to daily life demands (characteristic adaptations) to the challenge of making meaning out of one’s life in a complex world. Dispositional traits play the fundamental role of sketching the outline while characteristic adaptations fill the details of human individuality, then narrative identities give individual their unique and culturally anchored meanings. While McAdams describes personality in terms of these three levels: dispositional trait, characteristic adaptations and narrative; there is an underlying notion that influences them all, culture.. At the level of dispositional traits, culture provides display rules and demand characteristics for behavioural expression, but culture has little impact on the magnitude or strength of traits. At the level of characteristic adaptations, culture sets agendas for the timing and content of goals, strivings, relational patterns, and the like. Culture has its strongest impact at the level of life narrative, providing a menu or anthology of arrative forms from which individuals draw in making meaning out of their lives. In conclusion, Personality is an individual’s unique variation on the general evolutionary design for human nature, expressed as a developing pattern of dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations (notions from humanistic, psychodynamic, social-cognitive approaches), and integrative life stories complexly and differentially situated in culture. The principles articulated in this essay mark a newfound effort to assume a central and integrative position within the discipline of personality psychology.

A trustee will be liable for breach of trust if breached

A trustee will be liable for breach of trust if breached Disclaimer: This work has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work produced by our Law Essay Writing Service . You can view samples of our professional work here . A trustee will be liable for breach of trust if that breach if breached Hence, in determining whether Sue has caused any lost to the trust, we must first identify whether the terms of the trust have been breached. And since the trust was created for the benefit of the GLEE club members, it is evident that the trust has not been duly administered in accordance with its provisions as the administration of the trust appears to be entirely in favour of Sue herself. This is exemplified by the purchase of shares in Poly-Sue, of which Sue is an owner, Sue’s life insurance policy, the life size statue of Sue and the bottle of wine. It is questionable whether the shares that were purchased in the soft drinks company was in fact beneficial to the trust, yet it is doubtful that the money which was paid into Vital Adrenalines account and the bet in which Sue placed upon Vital Adrenaline to win was in accordance with the trust provisions. As such, a breach of trust has undoubtedly occur red because as made clear in the case of Armitage v Nurse   [ 4 ]   , â€Å"a breach of trust may be deliberate or inadvertent and may consist of an actual misappropriation or misapplication of the trust property or merely an investment that is outside the trustees powers†Ã‚   [ 5 ]   . Furthermore, it was also made clear in the case that a breach of trust can in fact occur regardless of whether the breach was beneficial or injurious to the beneficiaries. Therefore, even if the shares which have been purchased or the bet which was placed were beneficial to the beneficiaries a breach will still be capable of occurring. This is because, as provided under section 1   [ 6 ]   of the Trustee Act 2000 a trustee has a duty to ensure that reasonable care and skill is exercised when managing the trust. Nevertheless, if Sue can demonstrate that she took all of the necessary precautions that an ordinary prudent man would have taken when exercising the trust fund then her breac hes will be discharged as shown in Speight v Gaunt   [ 7 ]   . It is however unlikely than an ordinary person exercising the same skill a Sue would have managed the trust in the way she did, yet as stated under section 3 (1)   [ 8 ]   of the Act, â€Å"a trustee will be capable of making any investments which he would have himself made if he was entitled absolutely to the trust assets of the trust†Ã‚   [ 9 ]   . Therefore, it could be said that Sue would have made the same investments had she been absolutely entitled to the trust assets and so her investments were in fact reasonable. Nevertheless, Sue’s investments are unlikely to satisfy the â€Å"standard investment criteria† under section 4 (3)   [ 10 ]   . This is because as shown in the case of Cowan v Scargill   [ 11 ]   , a trustee must ascertain that any investments which are made are wholly beneficial to the beneficiaries and not themselves. Thus, since this is not the case a breach of trust has evidentially arisen. As for Will, since he is also a trustee under the trust fund, he too will be liable for the breaches of Sue if it can be shown that he was â€Å"recklessly careless†Ã‚   [ 12 ]   . This has been demonstrated in the case of Re Vickery   [ 13 ]   , where it was held that a trustee will be found to be â€Å"recklessly careless†Ã‚   [ 14 ]   if it can be shown that he did not care whether his act or omission is a breach of trust. Consequently, since Will omitted in his duties to take proper care of the trust fund because of the fact that he has issue in his personal life, it could be said that he was â€Å"recklessly careless†Ã‚   [ 15 ]   and therefore, he too may be found to be in breach of his fiduciary duties. It has nonetheless been argued in light of this decision that the circumstances were exceptional since â€Å"trustees were rarely liable for the acts of their agent†Ã‚   [ 16 ]   . Whether the same can be said in the instant situation is arguable but seems likely given that trustees are assumed to have acted unanimously as in Re Mayo   [ 17 ]

Experience with application of theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Experience with application of theory - Essay Example ng our impressions of the experience – how unbelievable the lines were, what classes we were going to be taking, whether we had picked a major yet, and wondering how much longer it was going to take. During these early conversations, because they were a series of very short question and answer type talks alternating with long periods of silence while we watched other people, we didn’t talk too much about our personal lives. I almost forgot to even ask her for her name. I probably wouldn’t have remembered to ask except we discovered we would be in some of the same classes. That first day, as soon as we were finished with the whole registration process, we said goodbye and expected to see each other in class. The next time I saw Patti was when we accidentally bumped into each other at the student bookstore. We were looking about the same as we had been in the registration lines – both of us looking sheepishly around trying to figure out just how we were supposed to know which books were the books we needed and where we might be able to find those fabled used books that were supposed to be so much less expensive than the new books. The sight of a familiar face, even one that was only vaguely familiar like Patti’s, was a welcome sign in an unfamiliar world. Together, we figured out how to learn which books were required and discovered that one of the most expensive books on our shared list only had one used copy left. The new books were twice as much and both of us were going to college on our own funding. We decided to be practical about the situation. We decided that we would both save money by splitting the cost of the one book and then sharing it through the semester. Whe n we sold it back to the bookstore at the end of the semester, we would split whatever we sold it for. This conversation led to an exchange of addresses and we discovered that we didn’t live very far from each other, which meant that sharing the book would be even

YMCA Baseball Team Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

YMCA Baseball Team - Research Paper Example Each of the players of the batting team, take turns hitting at the ball, while at the same time the pitcher’s teammates try to stop them from scoring ‘runs’ through several ways. As a sport, baseball has been linked with the struggle for self-rule and self-preservation; this being exhibited in such countries as South Korea and the state of Cuba: - In the former, against occupational rule by the Japanese, while in the latter against occupation and exploitation under Spanish colonial rule. The film â€Å"YMCA Baseball team† is based on the true historical aspect that ‘played out’ on the pitch in a hotly contested, emotional and captivating game. Through the game, there was a display of the protracted differences between the colonial Japanese masters and the Korean populace at large. In this movie, hitting the breaking ball by Ho-Chang (main character played by Song Gang-Ho) in the situation that Korean national baseball team was two points behind by Japanese national team in the 9th inning expresses the desire toward liberating from Japanese colonial force and protecting our own tradition. In the film, the hitting of the breaking ball by Ho-Chang (role played by Song Gang-Ho), in the situation where the Korean national baseball team was two points behind the Japanese national team in the 9th inning, expressed the desire towards liberation of the Korean people, from Japanese colonial military rule, and in the preservation and protection of their culture and traditionsi. Japan, as part of its 35-years imperialistic expansion, put Korea under it rule, this being in the form of military occupation. Korea as a whole was occupied and subsequently declared a Japanese protectorate in the year 1905 in the Eulsa Treaty; being annexed in the year1910, to form part of Japanese territory, through the enforcement of the annexation treaty. The Treaty was signed by Lee Wan-Yong; then given the General Power of Attorney by the Emperor Meiji of Japan. It should be noted, it is disputed that the Emperor himself actually signed the Treaty, thus ratifying it. Great-protracted disputes have fanned out as to whether this Treaty was actually genuine or not according to Law, this being because it was signed under the combined use of bribery, duress and even threat of force/coercion. The film titled, â€Å"YMCA Baseball Team†; a South Korean comedy film that was released in the year 2002, best illustrated the frustration, will and determination of the Korean People in expressing their desire towards total and sovereign liberation, from the Japanese colonial imperialism, and in the protection and preservation of their Culture/tradition. In this era, was born Korea’s first National Baseball team; named YMCA Baseball Team. It proved to being a great source of ‘Pride and Nationalism’ for the Korean people who, had over the years been humiliated by their forced subservience to the Japanese Empire. The fil m, directed by Kim Hyeon-seok, primarily, was inspired by the very real-life experiences of the Seoul based YMCA baseball teamii. The film’s cast brings out a ‘mature, thrilling; comical and yet politically captivating atmosphere’ in the film, that encapsulated the very nature of the Korean People, in their quest for sovereignty and self-preservation. The lead cast included: -â€Å" Song Kang-ho as ‘Lee Ho-Chang, the son of a Yangban scholar; Kim Hye-su as ‘Min Jong –rim, the Western educated female coach and teacher at the YMCA School; Kim Ju-hyuk , as a Japanese educated member of the team; Hwang Jeong-min as Ryu Kwang-tae, the son of a

The Colour Purple Essay Example for Free

The Colour Purple Essay Drama Essay Comparison of own improvisation with The Colour Purple  In this essay I am going to compare and analyse the differences and similarities between my improvisation and a film called The Colour Purple. My groups play was based upon a certain part of a painting, painted by our drama teacher Mr. Burgon. The painting was used as a stimulus. Our part of the painting was showing a man in a mask painting a car. WE had to build up upon it and produce a lengthy piece. The themes of our improvisation and The Colour Purple are violence and domestic problems, abuse. Our play could be thought of as quite controversial, as it deals with domestic violence, child abuse, and rape to a certain extent. In order to make our improvisation as realistic as possible, and not too offensive I decided to research the topic in more depth. Therefore I searched the Internet for information about the victims. I found out that the majority of the people affected were molested in their childhood/early teens. Most of them were naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and not fully aware of what was going on around them. A large amount was in a single parent family. I also found out that the experience had an immense effect on their adult life. Most are not able to have a sex life, they rely on anti-depressants, self-harm etc. I think that it was harder to cope for abused women in the Colour Purple because they had no one and no-where to run away to, whereas today women can call help-lines etc. to help them through their problems.  In our piece I play the role of Jade, a long distance relative (cousin) who 14 years ago was raped by Eddie, who then married Jades cousin Alison. She couldnt have children so they decided to adopt a child. Jade fell pregnant at 14 with Eddie, so she gave away her baby to him and Alison and Eddie raised up their child without her knowing that she was her cousins baby. According to Eddie Ellie (the child) is the source of all problems (not only finantional, but moral as well). He blamed Ellie for him relationship with Alison not working out. Another play that portrays similar family issues is The Colour Purple. This was set about a century ago (1900s) and can be firstly considered as completely different from our play, but if we take a closer look, we realize that there are some unusual similarities. Cilia are a young black youth, who at 14 was raped twice by her father. He is a rapist and an abuser. As a result to the rapes Cilia gives birth to two children: Olivia and Adam, who are taken away from her. Surprisingly a very similar situation occurs in my play where Eddie rapes Jade and he takes her baby to bring up as his own with Alison. In The Colour Purple Celia is shown as a young vulnerable girl, who gets raped by her father, then chucked out the house. She was forced to marry a grown-up man and move in with him. But that is not the end to her troubles. In the film we can clearly see the family status. We see that the husband is very important, and makes all the decisions. Celia has to call him sir.  In my play the family status is also publicized, but its not as drastic. I.e. Alison doesnt have to call Eddie sir. WE can clearly see he has control over Alison at the Dinner table scene: Alison: Ill just get the phone.  Eddie: [slams down hands on table] NO!!!!! SIT DOWN!!!!  In my improvisation as well as The Colour Purple the husband is a control-freak and the wife is scared to stand up to him. They might be afraid of his reaction or might think that he will go completely berserk and try to do something terrible. I.e. murder, or beat thoroughly. In The Colour Purple this is very clear when Celia is shaving her husband and he says you cut me and Ill kill you. Celia is scared and tries hard not to cut him. In my play Alison doesnt stand up to Eddie when he yells at her to sit down, she just obeys him in silence.  The way both characters deal with the abuse is different , because in the end Alison tells Jade that Eddie is abusing her and Ellie. Whereas Cilia, doesnt tell anyone about her troubles, she keep it all inside her. They deal in different way, but yet the abuse is very similar. Both characters get raped ( Cilia and Jade), both character are abused by their fathers ( Cilia and Ellie). I have noticed that the different things that happened throughout my play to 3 different characters( Jade, Ellie Alison) happened to one character in The Colour Purple. Also in The Colour Purple the husband cant do anything for himself. When he brings home a woman from a bar, he tried to cook for her , but he is completely useless.  There is a very similar situation in my play when Alison and Ellie leave Eddie and the flat is very messy, there is rubbish lying around everywhere, empty beer cans, half-eaten ready meals etc.  Even though both plays were set about a century apart, they still have many similarities involving family issues such as family status, respect, domestic violence (abuse). They both show how victims cope with the abuse and what effect it has on their lives.

Fame made me lonely :: Creative Writing Essays

Fame made me lonely "Julie, there's a new number one!" shouted Kayleigh to her sister. "Who is it?" questioned Julie. "It's Chris Riley and it's called First Time" rushed Kayleigh, eager to hear the song. Chris Riley was in his luxury palace, watching the top ten chart on his 78 inch plasma screen television. His agent, Mark Priestman, informed him that his single went straight to number one in just two days. Chris was pleased. He didn't look thrilled or excited. I didn't understand why he wasn't chuffed. Chris Riley lived in a luxurious mansion in a desolate place in the depths of Yorkshire. His mansion had four floors each containing at least seven rooms. The long, lavish corridors were beautifully decorated with a light blue carpet and portraits of him posing. There was an indoor extensive swimming pool that had gold railings. On the fourth floor there was a small private cinema that had twenty comfortable seats with large beverage holders. The cinema had several small spotlights and the stairs were luminous green. The mansion had everything a person could ever want, including a huge disco, which must have been used for parties. There was a large stage with a bar next to it but there was no one inside it. I had looked around most of the house and it was all empty. I eventually figured out which room was Chris's bedroom. It was very spacious with little inside it. Chris had a double sized bed with basic furniture. To the left of the room was a large photograph that showed Chris with a women and a young girl, about four or five years old. They all looked very happy and free from the popularity he had back in England. It looked to me as if they were on holiday because they were on a seaside when the sun was setting to give a magnificent effect on the photo. I looked round the corner and spotted Chris walking towards his room. He silently sat down on the bed and stared at the photograph. He looked deeply into the woman's eyes and wondered, "Why did you leave me? Why?" He questioned with rage. "You separated me from my own daughter!" His eyes had turned red and tears were escaping from his eyes and landed onto his black silk shirt. Suddenly, it had all made sense to me why his mansion was so empty of life and happiness. He laid down gripping his hair with devastation of his separation from the ones he loved. When they had left she had taken half of his money with her.

Sammy Quits A&P on a Whim

Sammy, an immature and impulsive 19-year old in Updike’s short story, â€Å"A&P,† allows infatuation with a scantily clad girl to override his common sense and good judgment.His juvenile thoughts spur a chivalrous act that may have long-term consequences on his career and the relationship with his parents.   Sammy’s foolish decision to quit his job as a supermarket cashier is based merely on lust, and he almost instantly regrets his futile move to woo the fleeting girl.Sammy’s base impulse is to ogle and crudely assess three young girls who enter the Boston-area A&P where he runs the register.   These girls, in their summer bathing suits, captivate and stun the seemingly adolescent Sammy.   He assesses the first young girl as a â€Å"chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can.†Ã‚   This crude reaction indicates that Sammy may have misogynistic tendencies.   Stunned by sexual thoughts, Sammy makes an eagle-eyed spendthrift ’s day when he double-charges her for an item.   Then, his misogyny is confirmed when he humorously surmises that if his perturbed customer had â€Å"been born at the right time they would have burned her over in (nearby) Salem.†Sammy then trains his probing eyes upon the majestic young girl, the â€Å"queen,† who will quickly become his undoing.   He is infatuated by the bare top of her chest that glistens, unshielded by her downed bathing suit straps.He is smitten with her looks and the way she carries herself, but he demeans and minimizes any thoughts and intelligence this girl may possess.   Sammy’s chauvinistic, superior attitude is glaringly exposed when he wonders â€Å"how girls’ minds work (do you really think it’s a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glassjar?)†Ã‚   Based on his upcoming actions, perhaps Sammy is the one with the tiny, insect-like brain.The lustful, arrogant Sammy is among his kind as he observes most of his male co-workers.   His married, slightly older cohort, Stokesie, and the older meat counter attendant, McMahon, seem just as prone to ogle and demean any cute young things who enter the store.Sammy holds other customers in contempt as he mocks them as dull compliant â€Å"sheep† that mindlessly follow their dreary, meaningless routines.     Only the store manager, Lengel, is mature and immune to instinctive male sexual impulses.   He bluntly confronts the bikini-clad girls and says â€Å"this isn’t the beach.†Sammy then stupidly succumbs to his juvenile mindset by defending the girls and challenging the judgment of his boss.   His primitive, simple-minded instincts overwhelm any reasonable thoughts that might suggest restraint and responsibility.When the â€Å"queen† pays the smitten Sammy with a folded dollar bill that has been sweetly lodged between her luscious breasts, his fate is sealed.   Sammy reflexively blurts, â€Å"I quit.†Ã‚   The prudish Lengel gives the impulsive Sammy a chance to reconsider his brash career decision, but Sammy is committed to his wrong-headed thrust.   Almost instantly, his queen flees out of his sight and out of his life forever.Sammy, recently unemployed, is stranded in the supermarket parking lot with the realization that an impulsive act of chivalry fueled by lust may have altered his life forever.   A likely bleak reality emerges as his â€Å"stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.†   

Choosing the Right College

Choosing a college is one of the biggest decisions a person will make in his or her life. It will mold the future for the individual and open numerous windows of opportunity for careers. Being such a huge decision it requires a lot of thought and research. Many questions need to be asked in order to make a decision, as well as visitation to many schools in order to know which one will work best for the student. The student should ask his or herself if they would like to attend a larger school or smaller school, private or public, and take into consideration the money he or she would like to spend in order to get a quality education.These main questions can narrow down the choices and make the process less stressful on the student. In this paper I will be comparing and contrasting the benefits and downfalls of two completely different schools; a private Christian school in Tennessee, Freed- Hardeman University, and a public state school in California, UCLA. Would a student be looking for a bigger college? Would he or she feel more accustomed to a â€Å"city-life† type of atmosphere? If so, UCLA would be the college of preference.UCLA is located in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. In simpler terms, this college is right in the heart of one of the biggest cities in all of America (â€Å"UCLA† – College Crunch). Current enrollment at UCLA is around twenty-six thousand undergraduates, eleven thousand, five hundred graduate students, and approximately four thousand faculty members. This all adds up to about thirty-seven thousand, nine hundred people on the campus each day of the active semester. As many have been informed, UCLA is one of the top colleges in the United States.Ranked in the top 20 undergraduate colleges in the nation, one can expect that he or she has a tall order to fill if dreaming of attending the UCLA undergraduate school. Preparations for college begin with the high school career of a peer. The college requires a system of c ourses taken in high school before even being considered, just as most big colleges do. With a total of fifteen total preparatory courses, English and Mathematics courses are the most important. One with aspirations of attending must complete four English courses, and three courses in math, although four are highly recommended.On top of that, two years of history and lab sciences, two years of foreign languages, and one year of VPA (or art) and college preparatory courses are required. That takes care of the high school classes. In addition to the required courses, a minimum GPA of three point four (3. 4) for non-residents of California is required throughout high school. Consequently, no grades lower than a â€Å"C† will be acceptable (â€Å"Admission Requirements† –Bruins Walk). UCLA also requires that one takes the ACT Assessment plus the ACT Writing Exam or, the SAT Reasoning Exam.If a student plans to go into a specific felid of study such as those of Engin eering or other majors, certain math exams are highly recommended. Those will only the make the journey of admissions easier on both parts. UCLA offers a great variety of majors that one could follow and pursue on the path of collegiate level studying. Choices that one may not be able to find too many other places are those such as Marine Biology, Film and Television, African Languages, etc. It is important to pick the major, then the college when thinking about the future.Other fields of practice include Architecture, Dentistry, Engineering, Law, Medicine, etc. As one may expect, such an extravagant undergraduate college is not going to be cheap. UCLA can be very expensive for in-state students, let alone students wishing to come for out of state. It’s total cost per year will add up to be around thirty- six thousand dollars, with a tuition being around twenty thousand of the thirty-six. Most students do research and receive financial-aid and attain scholarship money. Doing this however, requires a lot of work in high school.In contrast, what if the student didn’t want a big, city-life college? What if he or she was accustomed to a smaller, more private environment? If so, he or she might consider attending Freed- Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee. In contrast to UCLA, FHU is a much smaller, religious, private college. The current enrollment at FHU is around two thousand total students with a percent of males being forty- six percent to the female’s fifty-four. As you can see, FHU is much smaller (â€Å"FAQs† – FHU). Founded in eighteen sixty nine,Freed has always had a reputation around the south for being a wonderful school. The minimum GPA to be submitted into the school is two point five (2. 5) and the minimum test scores are a nineteen on the ACT and nine hundred and ten on the SAT. As for the classes, an individual must meet his or her state requirements where he or she attends high school. The student life a t Freed is different from UCLA. At Freed, there are more private social clubs, choral groups, sports teams, and such. FHU’s athletic program is a member of the NAIA (D1) and the Transouth Conference.Also, FHU is affiliated with the Church of Christ. Around eighty-three percent of the student body belongs to the Church of Christ, with a seventeen percent belonging to other Christian views (â€Å"FAQs† – FHU). All students attending FHU must live on campus unless either living with a family member or have credited a number of hours through the university. In turn, freshmen, and generally sophomores, are required to live on campus. The total cost to attend FHU from out of state is around twenty-eight thousand dollars a year.Tuition alone is about thirteen thousand. Ninety percent of the students receive some form of financial aid and there is a little over seven million dollars awarded annually in scholarship money. Since FHU is a private college, this money is rai sed privately and through the school. They receive little to no government help. In ultimate conclusion, there are a variety of options out there. There have been two researched here and there are thousands of others. One must learn to explore his or her options. What does he or she want?One may possibly want a fast pace, â€Å"city† lifestyle while attending college. He or she may want more of a â€Å"party-life. † Or, on the other hand, a student may want a more â€Å"one-on-one†, private, religious lifestyle. In the end, education is the key to life. One must choose which path he or she wants to take to achieve the end result; a college degree. By comparing and contrasting two different schools, students will have a better understanding of the options that are available and the many choices they will have to make.

Success of Singapore Airlines Essay Example

Success of Singapore Airlines Essay Example Success of Singapore Airlines Essay Success of Singapore Airlines Essay Since its official formation dating back to 1947, Singapore Airlines have founded its business on world-class service quality in the airline industry. Such a reputation is built on core aspects of the airlines service delivery which includes features like the friendly service, prompt flights and in-flight entertainment system. As consumers, we only see these final outcomes and therefore, often forget that these qualities are a product of much planning, trial and of course teamwork. The efficient, continuous use of teams throughout the business is a fundamental tool in which Singapore airlines is able to deliver `quality to its customers. More specifically it is the way that the team operates and the values instilled within those teams that make them so effective. By designing and training these teams to be highly motivated, creative, able to communicate and equipped with comprehensive decision making skills, Singapore Airlines are able to achieve high performance. Team Design First and foremost lets examine how SIAs team is designed. Firstly, the issue of task interdependence can be applied. Task interdependence is the degree which a task requires employees to share common inputs or outcomes, or requires them to interact in the process of executing their work. In relation to how SIA operates we can certainly see a high level of interdependence. For example, when customers arrive at the airport they have to check-in through the counter. If there are delays at this stage, personnel in customs and onboard the plane may have to deal with agitated customers and subsequently run into difficulties. The check-in staff sets the foundation for the service provision to begin and therefore employees from that point onwards are dependant on its efficiency. It is also important to note that Singapore airlines staff have aligned goals of providing top quality customer service. Such an outcome is made possible by the utislisation of various training centers within the company which unifies employee direction and motivation (Cabin Crew, Flight Operations, Commercial and Management Development). Team Size and Composition is also relevant. IN terms of team size SIA is able to achieve efficiency by appropriately building `right size teams. What this implies is that the team size is optimal for efficiency in that they are large enough to perform the necessary tasks and small enough to maintain efficient coordination. An example of this is the 15-20 onboard hosts/hostesses who are onboard the B777-200 aircraft. This allocated team size is appropriate for the environment in that it allows for the employees to be able to communicate with each other effectively and also perform all the tasks needed. Singapore Airlines also promotes team diversity. One of their most notable team design characteristics is how they effectively use both homogenous and heterogeneous teams. For example, heterogeneous teams are utilised in their Product Innovation Department which requires more complex decision making whereas homogenous teams are used more on the operational level (onboard) as they tend to be more effective in the response time and emergency problems. COMMUNICATION Singapore Airlines attaches a very high priority to the concept of communication in their operating activities. This stance predominates because they view their employees, contractors and agents as critical components of their success. The application of communication in regards to this company can be broken into two parts, external and internal. External communication refers to the airlines ability to influence its reputation and its portrayal to customers. It also refers to improving customer relations with innovations in physical communication. External communication has been as integral to Singapore Airlines success, if not more, than internal communication. Singapore Airlines prioritised in consistent brand image to the public. This strategy has been used by the company in all its communication vehicles to the public. They achieved this through the iconic `Singapore Girl. The primary message Singapore Airlines A Great Way to Fly has been consistently conveyed in exclusive print media and also in selected TV-commercials of very high production value to underline the quality aspirations of brand. But all these messages are featured through the iconic Singapore Girl in different themes and settings. The result of this is reduced information overload. By simplifying their message, and introducing non-verbal cues like the smiling Singapore girl, the message has less chance to be affected by noise, and becomes universal, transcending cultures. Everyone understands a smile. The Girl is the personification of the great service, and is the brand identity. The Airline also makes a concerted effort to stay in touch with customers through in-flight surveys, customer focus groups and rapid replies to every compliment or complaint they receive. The company then consolidates this input with other key data to create a quarterly `Service Performance Index that is very closely watched throughout the airline. This increased communication with the passengers increases relation, in the sense that passengers identify more with the company. Frequent flyers are also distributed, connected with special messages, attractive offers and publications sent regularly to Priority Passenger Service members. Overall, the airline makes an effort to always communicate with passengers, to ensure the right message is conveyed, and that any feedback received is clearly understood and worked on. Internal communication refers to Singapore Airlines ability to facilitate effective feedback and integration between employees and management. They do this by exploring various channels and mediums in which to communicate, and making an effort to raise stakeholders awareness of the workings of the company. The company itself, subsidiaries included, is a large organization, with more than 28,000 staff located around the world. To facilitate communication between employees, regular dialogue sessions between management and staff keeps communication flowing. They rely on both verbal and non-verbal communication. These sessions take the form of regular meetings and briefings. They also actively encourage the use of intranet to communicate regularly. The company holds semi-annual business meetings, as well as end of year meetings. This means that situations concerning rich medium, non-routine, ambiguous information can be transmitted and discussed through the regular meetings, whereas the routine, clear information can be sent as documents through email. Employees have direct access to management through the intranet, making it easier for information to circulate around the organisation. The intranet also erases the social status of employees relative to management, which has the effect of empowering them. Management also seems very responsive and attentive to issues relating to employees, becoming in effect, very active listeners. This ensures that whatever message is being debated between persons is clarified and understood, minimising conflicts and negative issues. Of the things discussed between management and employees include sharing and evaluating results in sales, marketing, yields and customer satisfaction levels. The company also initiates a program called `Staff Ideas in Action. This scheme ensures that new suggestions for improvement are constantly put forward by employees, for management to review. Singapore Airlines recognises that its employees are the `sensors of the organisation, and that they are the ones who are on the ground floor who know how things work, and how to improve it. The company pays a particular interest in maintaining effective internal management because they recognise that it is a key organisational concept, integral for success. Because of the size of the company, and the reaches it has over the globe, the airline is immensely rich in cultural terms. For example, the company currently has pilots from 25 different countries. Although the cross cultural diversity may hamper communication in normal circumstances, Singapore Airlines have countered the problem with by creating more opportunities for employees to communicate. To keep everyone on the same wavelength, the company publishes a variety of department newsletters, websites and a monthly company-wide magazine. These publications ensure that employees from different cultures all understand how the company is run, its outtake on the future, and how to further work together to produce a seamless and consistently positive customer experience. DECISION MAKING Effective decision-making is integral in achieving organisational success. Singapore Airlines demonstrates how a coherent team environment fosters innovation and ultimately maximises the effectiveness of decision-making. The key to SIAs success is their high level of employee involvement despite the size of the organisation. Employee involvement in decision-making is beneficial in that it enables better problem identification, diverse choice generation, increases probability of selecting the best alternative and increases commitment to the decision. In regard to the `model of employee involvement in decision-making, the contingencies of employee involvement in SIA facilitate participative management thus SIA is able to reap the benefits of employee involvement. Due to the often-unpredictable nature of the airline industry, many decisions that need to be made are non-programmed. The Senior Vice President responsible for cabin crew, Mr. Sim Kay Wee, emphasises the importance of individual employees decisions in optimising customer satisfaction and encourages employees to make innovative decisions, as opposed to following guidelines regimentally, in order to overcome unforeseen problems. The `Deputy Chairmans Award has been introduced as a prestigious annual reward for outstanding individual or team response to a `unique customer situation. This emphasis on the importance of employee involvement in decision-making motivates employees to continuously strive for excellence. As SIA is operating within a service industry, the source of decision knowledge is often subordinates who have more intimate contact with customers, rather than those in management positions. Mr. Yap Kim Wah, Senior Vice President responsible for product and service asserts that employee feedback is one of the most valuable inputs to decision-making as they have the most direct interaction with customers and can help identify problems that may otherwise be overlooked. It is this willingness to address problems at all levels that has enabled SIA to achieve seamless consumer satisfaction. SIA has also acknowledged that decision commitment is improved by participation. Accordingly, they encourage employee participation through corporate newsletters, regular staff meetings and recognising staff members who have actively contributed in decision-making processes. Employee involvement also reduces the risk of conflict over a decision made. A common issue that arises in organisations is that employee goals conflict with organisational goals. SIA have worked to ensure that this is not a risk factor within their organisation as they constantly strive to align employees with the organisation as a whole. This can be seen in the values underpinning SIAs mission statement whereby staff are described as valuable and there is a focus on providing them with fulfilling careers, there is also an emphasis on viewing the organisation as a `worldwide team. Such a corporate culture reduces the likelihood of conflict when decisions are made. As already mentioned, SIA succeeds in promoting a high level of creativity in their organisation. Such a creative work environment is made possible through various initiatives from upper management which is filtered down through the business. Firstly, SIA has achieved organisational support through tolerating mistakes. The corporate culture encourages giving new ideas a try and if they dont work out they are removed from service. They place more value on amending mistakes made than not taking any risks at all for example the introduction of fax machines was unsuccessful. Additionally, the aforementioned emphasis on communication within the organisation and job security (through performance appraisal, training and development, and promotional opportunities) also enhance organisational support. Another factor in achieving a creative work environment is providing intrinsically motivating work. The `team concept was developed in order to achieve this. The concept is concerned with viewing each cabin crew as a team unit in order to develop camaraderie between members. This also enables more individual evaluation and means good performance can be rewarded with ease. The concept aims to increase empowerment and a sense of belonging to the organisation. SIA also encourages informal pressure, which has resulted in increased levels of discussion between various levels within the organisation leading to new ways of approaching problems and ideas. Evidently, Singapore Airlines is a prime example of how the encouragement of a team environment facilitates decision-making within an organisation. Employee involvement in decision-making has been a major contributing factor in SIAs success. Additionally, such involvement also serves to foster innovation and divergent thinking thus enabling SIA to continuously meet and exceed consumer expectations and maintain a competitive advantage. CREATIVITY Singapore airline is successful in Asians fiercely competitive airplane service industry because it relies on creativity for innovative new services. Creativity is the development of original ideas that make a socially recognized contribution. Such a concept is integrated into the company through its Product Innovation Department which focuses on anticipating needs consumers didnt even know they had. An example of this is SIAs have pioneering of the in-flight experiential and entertainment systems. Their in-flight entertainment system (IFEs) `Krisworld was developed in 1997 and significantly raised the standard in that department. Prior to that, only Emirates and Virgin airlines had IFEs and they were expensive and had limited options. Singapores Krisworld offered a significantly broader entertainment experience including Krisvision which offered over 50 different viewing options SIA was also the first to introduce hot meals, free alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, hot towels with a unique and patented scent, fax machines on board, telephones in every seat, personal entertainment systems, and video-on-demand in all cabins. Furthermore, they were the first to introduce the alert service, which sends short text message informing the customer of flight arrivals and delays. In addition, Singapore Airlines introduced its Suites in a class beyond First, together with cabin improvements in all other classes while still providing excellent service. The company keeps driving innovation as an important part of the brand, and the cabin ambience and combined experience are key factors of SIA success. Organizational conditions supporting creativity SIA leaders also maintain a work environment that supports the creative rocess for everyone. SIA has the task of trying to create esprit de corps among its cabin crew, cabin crews, as a unit, flying and working together, allows them to build camaraderie, and crew members feel like they are part of team, not just a number, they tend to be more creative when they believe that their work has a substantial impact on the organization. Cabin crew can directly gather information from customer to know what their needs and wants. They pursue novel ideas, which can improve and sustain service excellence through understanding customers and anticipating their needs, In addition, the team leader will get to know cabin crews strengths and weaknesses well, and will become their mentor and their counsel, when team member get new idea about improving services. The team leader support authority and encourages team members to take initiative and â€Å"have a go†. They encourage team members to try-it-out, make-it-work and see-it-through. Not every innovation succeeds, and some are eventually removed from service (the fax machines are long gone), team leader tolerate mistakes and recognize the reasonable mistakes as part of creativity process. Even if unsuccessful, the leader insists no one should be punished for taking initiative and trying new services. Singapore Airlines recognizes that each innovation has a relatively short life span. Once other airlines adopt it, it is no longer considered innovative. Therefore, the airline continues to invest heavily in R, innovation and technology as an integrated part of the business strategy to further differentiate itself. MOTIVATION Based on MARS model, motivation is one of the four important elements that contribute or influence individual behavior. Motivation is the cognitive, decision making process through which goal-directed behavior is initiated, energized and maintained. It will determine direction, intensity as well as persistence. How SIA staffs can achieve such a high motivation? These can be explained by a number of motivation theories. If we look at historical approaches, SIA does not follow the traditional approach such as scientific management which only emphasizes on wage incentive and management control. Instead, it uses the human relation approach in motivating its staffs. It believes that fulfillment of individuals needs and making them feel useful and important are more important than giving out monetary incentive. It belief, the illusion of involvement and importance will motivate its staffs more in performing their jobs. In SIA, staffs are regularly appraised for their performance and potential. Furthermore, high- flyers are identified and given opportunity to learn and grow. This make them to feel valued, thus, motivated to work harder. Basically, theory of motivation can be divided into two parts. First, the content theories of motivation which identify the motives for our behavior and second is the process theories of motivation which explain the reasons why we are motivated to act in certain way. For the content theories of motivation, by referring to the four drive theory, SIA staffs are motivated to join SIA, to perform their job very well and to achieve the company goals due to their drive to acquire, drive to learn and drive to bond. SIA lets its staffs to deal with customers on a one-to-one basis. By dealing with different type of customers in different circumstances, they will be able to gain a lot of experiences, thus, meet their drive to acquire. They will also be able to satisfy their drive to learn in SIA since in SIA, training is not a `one time affair. In meeting customers increasing expectation, SIA provides four training centers within the organization. These centers offer a wide range of educational programs whether in classroom, on the job or through full scale simulations. On top of that, SIA also could meet ones drive to bond that is form relationship and social commitment. SIA is a large company with more than 28000 staffs which located all over the world and comes from different background. This enables its staffs to mix around and work together in giving their best service to customers. All these drive motivate them to remain in SIA and perform well. For the process theories of motivation, expectancy theory can be applied in SIA context in explaining the reason why its staffs are motivated to do their job very well. This theory says that motivation depends on how much you like or want something and how likely you think you are able to get it. In SIA, its staffs believe their efforts will increase their performance which then will be recognized and rewarded by SIA. And most of the rewards are valued and liked by these staffs which include increased pay, increased position and the annual `Deputy Chairmans Award. Therefore, they are always motivated to work towards SIA goal. Apart from that, referring to goal-setting theory, specific goal lead to higher level of motivation and performance. SIA fundamental mission or goal is clear to its entire staff which is to provide high quality service to their customers. This is why its staffs are always on the right track. Apart from that, SIA also motivate its staffs through job design. According to Herzbergs motivator-hygiene theory, job design can affect staffs satisfaction or dissatisfaction and in turn affect their motivation. SIA does job rotation whereby there is frequent rotation amongst top positions in the organization. As a result, there is management team with great and shared understanding of the `big picture of the organization and with the commitment to do what is best for customers and the business as a whole. It also uses the job enrichment strategy where it establishes client relationship and put the staffs in direct contact with clients. Last but not least, SIA motivates its staffs through training and investment. For example, SIA undertakes a teamwork project. The objective of this project is to develop specific skills associated with effective cross-functional working across the airlines Flight Operation, Cabin Crew, Engineering and Airport Management department and to avoid `silo mentality within the organization which personnel in one department take little consideration for the requirement of other departments. PERFORMANCE/CONCLUSION Now, I am going to talk about applied motivational practices used by SIA. As mentioned before, SIA has a financial rewards system as one means of motivating its staff. Bonuses are paid according to the profitability of the company, which is employed throughout the entire company, no matter the level of seniority. As a result there is a lot of informal pressure for each other to perform from everybody. SIA has also adopted a Performance-based Reward system in the form of recognition, which is used to encourage good service. The â€Å"Deputy Chairmans Award† is given yearly to teams or individuals for responding to unique customer situations with an exceptionally positive, innovative or selfless act of service. This award carries no financial benefit, but is considered as the most prestigious of all awards in the airline. Winners and their families are flown to Singapore for a special dinner celebration, the story of their unique efforts is published in the monthly Outlook magazine, and their personal status as a Deputy Chairmans Award Winner remains a badge of distinction for life. The company considers recognition as being essential to functioning of a successful company, believing â€Å"a good pat on the back, a good ceremony, photographs and write-ups in the newsletters. They also award a special badge for those individuals who have received a lot of passenger compliments. They recognise our heroes and heroines. † The performing stage of team development is critical to the accomplishment of tasks. Singapore airlines is an example of a high-performance team, and this is exemplified by the airline being named as winner of the prestigious â€Å"Airline of the Year† title not once but twice, and most recently last year. A high performance team is one where members are highly co-operative, have a high-level of trust in each other, are committed to the group objectives and identify with the team, all of which are demonstrated by SIA. Their successes may be attributed to their team concept a workforce of 6,600 members is divided into small units of 13 people, with a team leader placed in charge. These teams can be thought of as Self-Directed Work Teams. The teams are rostered to fly together as often as possible which creates camaraderie The team leader plays an important role in establishing the Self-directed work team structure they get to know all team members well, including their strengths and weaknesses. This assists in the assignment of tasks whilst on board a flight. For example a team member with stronger speaking skills or more experience will be given the duty of announcing the in-flight emergency procedures at the beginning of the flight. The team leader is also a mentor and counsel to the members of the team, and, someone to whom they can turn if they need help or advice. A team leader is also essential in providing team-level feedback and rewards their staff appraisals are meticulous and detailed of each staff member. This is important in identifying the need for re-training in some areas and if a member has performed particularly well, the possibility of a promotion. As discussed before, Singapore Airlines has been internationally recognized as one of worlds leading carriers. Not only making profit every year (the group made $675 million in the third quarter of the financial year 2007-2008), SIA also frequently wins international awards for top flight quality and service including the 2007 Skytrax Airline of the Year Award voted by over 14 million travelers. Basically, there are many different factors that lead to their success today as a high-performance team, including sound team design, a high priority towards both external and internal communications, cohesive team decision making processes, creative innovations, and most importantly a high motivation among SIA staff.

Japanese Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Japanese Economy - Essay Example Its major undoing is the slow reaction to external events due to the fact that players in this system are in part protected from factors emanating form external markets. (Moffatt, 2011) It is of ample importance to revisit the definition of what the system of Keiretsu comprised before tackling it further. Keiretsu was that system adopted by Japanese firms where they would have transactions between or among them in the long-run. One of the major firms that took up this system is those in the automobile industry besides others like the banking industry and insurance sector. In this line, it is quite notable that the major information that is exchanged among the concerned firms involves broadly technology and this is especially in the subcontracting of tasks. Mostly, parent companies have the knowledge about the production capacities of the subcontracting firms, the financial conditions, employee’s skills, corporate cultures among other things. On the other hand, subcontracting f irms are bestowed with the knowledge of their parent firm’s requirements in terms of production plans of the future, and technological needs, among others. This knowledge that has been shared between the two groups of firms is made easy by the exchange that is witnessed whenever they are giving each other consummatory kind of information by way of relations that have been set for long-run by the parent firms and subcontracting firms. Keiretsu, therefore, is a major example of social exchange based on relations. Social exchange has been merited for its transaction costs’ reduction. Opportunistic behavior is also discouraged by the long-term relations, which are dependent on shared knowledge amongst these firms. These long-term relations that are social exchange based to a high extent reduce the costs of transactions in consideration to technology, where the technology meme is divided more effectively in the parent-subcontracting firms’ relationship. Vertical inte gration is, particularly noted to be the main way transaction costs are reduced. Therefore, in the Keiretsu system any given transaction is preferred to display a vertical kind of integration and the benefits to the parent company are a must so that the independent subcontractors are allowed to enjoy their freedom as independent entities. The vertical integration type of approach means that the meme of the parent company absorbs that of the subcontracting company’s in terms of at least the management style or the corporate culture. If it happens that the meme of the subcontractor has proven beneficial to the parent company, then the parent company will pick the keiretsu as opposed to vertical type of integration. (Yamamura, 1997 p253) According to Tabeta and Rahman, in 1996, Keiretsu is to huge extent efficient and besides this it aids in environmental adaptability of the companies of Japan. The structure of a Keiretsu group reduces the costs relating to transactions as well as enhancing coordination between the suppliers and automakers. It was founded from the 1984’s discussions by Aoki as well as Asanuma’s and their studies were focused on the economics of transaction cost outlays in the system of subcontracting in the automobile industry. (Tabeta and Rahman, 1996) In the period towards the late 1980s, the economy of Japan enjoyed a Keiretsu contribution to the economy of around 17% in terms of total sale revenues as well as

The Art of Lucid Dreaming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Art of Lucid Dreaming - Essay Example I was moving slowly into the forest. My eyes were blackened by the energy around me, and all I could see were flashbacks of my time there, some time ago. As I moved forwards and reached the hill, I started visualizing empty spaces as a part of my trekking adventure. It took me further into it, and now, fully aware that I was in an array of infinite time and space, I started juggling with my visuals. I used the force of my memory and consciousness to forge a mountain, albeit a different one to where I was, and through this mountain I entered a cave, where I met my match, a tiger waiting for me, with his sprawling features and unfettered look, like a warrior, ready to fight me. I found him and finally entered into a battle scene, where with my superior confidence managed to kill the tiger. By doing so, I won the cave to myself, where in the coming days and weeks, I spend time in chilling inside it.I found myself in my hotel room. I was awake there, smoking with my friends. I was laughi ng and enjoying myself. There was no room for any negativity, any sort of bad trip. Suddenly, I realized that it was not real, and I was in a dream, very subconsciously I realized this and then I immediately triggered the dream to a beach, where I was chilling with the same group of people I was with. At this time, I decided to drop LSD. And all these emotions and actions were happening inside my mind by not out of chance, but out of a conscious energy present inside the dream, which was making it happen by force and awareness. Probably this was my sucbsciousness coming out in full picture and dictating the use of LSD, something it felt was beautiful and it had to try during the dream. As I found out later, this was a good chance to go back to the old glory days with my friends, to live those days again, although in a dream, but still real from the perception with respect to where I was at that time. Lucid dreaming often tends to be on the level of a man walking in the sky, while at the same time he knows that he is in bed and is going through a different parallel universe of space and time. It is the open awareness of the man which is crucial to the fast that he can go through lucid dreaming.