Free Essays on Mark

Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like a child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven†. When I look at this quote the first thing I realize is the part about becoming like a child. And when I think of children I think of purity, innocence and how simple minded they can be. I think what he is trying to say is that before you enter the gates of heaven you must be pure of sin like a child is at birth. When a child is born their souls are pure of sin. I think in order to enter a place like heaven you must first clean yourself of sin. The other aspect I see in becoming like a child is that children are simple minded. When a child is first introduced to God they do not question his existence yet just believe in him. As we age we find more and more reasons to loose faith in him. I think that before you enter heaven you must be simple minded in order to truly believe in the place you are going to. If you were to think heaven did not exist then you could never get there. Seeing isn’t always believing. Being simple-minded does not mean you are dumb yet it allows you to bel ieve in something that you have never seen like God when you are born and Heaven when you die. This quote to me makes perfect sense for the simple fact that children are more susceptible to believe in things like Santa, Easter Bunny, and more seriously God and heaven. After childhood people want proof of thing in order to believe in them as for a child tell them something once that interest them and you got them believing.... Free Essays on Mark Free Essays on Mark Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like a child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven†. When I look at this quote the first thing I realize is the part about becoming like a child. And when I think of children I think of purity, innocence and how simple minded they can be. I think what he is trying to say is that before you enter the gates of heaven you must be pure of sin like a child is at birth. When a child is born their souls are pure of sin. I think in order to enter a place like heaven you must first clean yourself of sin. The other aspect I see in becoming like a child is that children are simple minded. When a child is first introduced to God they do not question his existence yet just believe in him. As we age we find more and more reasons to loose faith in him. I think that before you enter heaven you must be simple minded in order to truly believe in the place you are going to. If you were to think heaven did not exist then you could never get there. Seeing isn’t always believing. Being simple-minded does not mean you are dumb yet it allows you to bel ieve in something that you have never seen like God when you are born and Heaven when you die. This quote to me makes perfect sense for the simple fact that children are more susceptible to believe in things like Santa, Easter Bunny, and more seriously God and heaven. After childhood people want proof of thing in order to believe in them as for a child tell them something once that interest them and you got them believing....

Parody - Definition and Examples of Parodies in English

Parody s of Parodies in English Definition A parody is a  text that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect. Adjective: parodic. Informally known as a spoof. Author William H. Gass observes that in most cases parody grotesquely exaggerates the outstanding and most annoying features of its victim (A Temple of Texts, 2006).See Examples and Observations below. Also see: AmphigoryCaricaturePasticheSatire Words at Play: An Introduction to Recreational Linguistics Examples of Parodies Christmas Afternoon, by Robert BenchleyHow Shall I Word It? by Max BeerbohmJack and Gill: A Mock Criticism, by Joseph DennieA Meditation Upon a Broomstick, by Jonathan SwiftThe Most Popular Book of the Month, by Robert BenchleyShakespeare Explained: Carrying on the System of Footnotes to a Silly Extreme, by Robert BenchleySome Historians, by Philip Guedalla You! by Robert Benchley EtymologyFrom the Greek, beside or counter plus song   Examples and Observations [P]arody works only on people who know the original, and they have to know it intimately enough to appreciate the finer touches as well as the broad strokes of the imitation. Part of the enjoyment people take in parody is the enjoyment of feeling intelligent. Not everyone gets the joke: if you dont already know about the peach, you wont laugh at the prune. Its fantasy baseball for bookworms.(Louis Menand, Parodies Lost. The New Yorker, Sep. 20, 2010) Lewis Carrolls Parody of a Poem by Robert SoutheyOriginal PoemYou are old, Father William,’ the young man cried;‘The few locks which are left you are grey;You are hale, Father Williama hearty old man:Now tell me the reason, I pray.’‘In the days of my youth,’ Father William replied,‘I remember’d that youth would fly fast,And Abus’d not my health and my vigour at first,That I never might need them at last. . . .(Robert Southey, The Old Mans Comforts and How He Gained Them, 1799)Lewis Car rolls Parody‘You are old, Father William,’ the young man said,‘And your hair has become very white;And yet you incessantly stand on your headDo you think, at your age, it is right?’‘In my youth,’ Father William replied to his son,‘I feared it might injure the brain;But, now that I’m perfectly sure I have none,Why, I do it again and again. . . .(Lewis Carroll, Alices Adventures in Wonderland, 1865) Lord of the Rings ParodyAnd that boy of his, Frito, added bleary-eyed Nat Clubfoot, as crazy as a woodpecker, that one is. This was verified by Old Poop of Backwater, among others. For who hadnt seen young Frito, walking aimlessly through the crooked streets of Boggietown, carrying little clumps of flowers and muttering about truth and beauty and blurting out silly nonsense like Cogito ergo boggum?(H. Beard, The Harvard Lampoon, Bored of the Rings, 1969) Characteristics of Parodies[M]ost parody worthy of the name is ambivalent toward its target. This ambivalence may entail not only a mixture of criticism and sympathy for the parodied text, but also the creative expansion of it into something new. Most other of the specific characteristics of parody, including its creation of comic incongruity between the original and the parody, and the way in which its comedy can laugh both at and with its target, may be traced to the way in which the parodist makes the object of the parody a part of the parodys structure.(Margaret A. Rose, Parody: Ancient, Modern, and Post-Modern. Cambridge University Press, 1993) Six Parodies of Ernest Hemingway  - Most of the tricks were good tricks and they worked fine for a while especially in the short stories. Ernest was stylish in the hundred-yard dash but he didnt have the wind for the long stuff. Later on the tricks did not look so good. They were the same tricks but they were not fresh any more and nothing is worse than a trick that that has gone stale. He knew this but he couldnt invent any new tricks.(Dwight Macdonald, Against the American Grain, 1962)- I went out into the room where the chimney was. The little man came down the chimney and stepped into the room. He was dressed all in fur. His clothes were covered with ashes and soot from the chimney. On his back was a pack like a peddlers pack. There were toys in it. His cheeks and nose were red and he had dimples. His eyes twinkled. His mouth was little, like a bow, and his beard was very white. Between his teeth was a stumpy pipe. The smoke from the pipe encircled his head in a wreath. He lau ghed and his belly shook. It shook like a bowl of red jelly. I laughed. He winked his eye, then he gave a twist to his head. He didnt say anything.(James Thurber, A Visit From Saint Nicholas (In the Ernest Hemingway Manner). The New Yorker, 1927)- I rolled into Searchlight around midnight and walked into Rosies beer joint to get a cold one after the ride over from Vegas. He was the first one I saw. I looked at him and he stared back at me with those flat blue eyes. He was giving me that kind of howdy wave with his good right arm while his left sleeve hung armless from the shoulder. He was dressed up like a cowboy.(Cactus Jack, The One-Armed Bandit, 2006 Bad Hemingway competition)- This is my last and best and true and only meal, thought Mr. Pirnie as he descended at noon and swung east on the beat-up sidewalk of Forty-fifth Street. Just ahead of him was the girl from the reception desk. I am a little fleshed up around the crook of the elbow, thought Pirnie, but I commute good.(E.B. White, Across the Street and Into the Grill. The New Yorker, Oct. 14, 1950)- We had great fun in Spain that year and we traveled and wrote and Hemingway took me tuna fishing and I caught four cans and we laughed and Alice Toklas asked me if I was in love with Gertrude Stein because I had dedicated a book of poems to her even though they were T. S. Eliots and I said, yes, I loved her, but it could never work because she was far too intelligent for me and Alice Toklas agreed and then we put on some boxing gloves and Gertrude Stein broke my nose.(Woody Allen, A Twenties Memory. The Insanity Defense, 2007)- In the late afternoon the Museum was still there, but he was not going to it any more. It was foggy in London that afternoon and the dark came very early. Then the shops turned their lights on, and it was all right riding down Oxford Street looking in the windows, though you couldnt see much because of the fog.(David Lodge, The British Museum Is Falling Down, 1965) David Lodge on ParodyIn a way, it may be impossible for writers themselves to identify what is parodiable in their own work. It may be dangerous even to contemplate it. . . .One would suppose that any writer whos any good has a distinctive voicedistinctive features of syntax or vocabulary or somethingwhich could be seized on by the parodist.(David Lodge, A Conversation About Thinks in Consciousness and the Novel. Harvard University Press, 2002) Updike on ParodyPure parody is purely parasitic. There is no disgrace in this. We all begin life as parasites within the mother, and writers begin their existence imitatively, within the body of letters.(John Updike, Beerbohm and Others. Assorted Prose. Alfred A. Knopf, 1965) Weird Al Yankovics Chamillionaire ParodyLook at me, I’m white and nerdyI wanna roll withThe gangstasBut so far they all think I’m too white and nerdyFirst in my class here at MITGot skills, I’m a champion at DDMC Escherthat’s my favorite MCKee p your 40, I’ll just have an Earl Grey tea.My rims never spin, to the contraryYou’ll find that they’re quite stationary.All of my action figures are cherrySteven Hawking’s in my library.My MySpace page is all totally pimped outGot people beggin’ for my top eight spaces.Yo, I know pi to a thousand placesAin’t got no grills but I still wear braces.(Weird Al Yankovic, White and Nerdyparody of Ridin by Chamillionaire) Pronunciation:  PAR-uh-dee

Legal Environment of Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Legal Environment of Business - Assignment Example A deal is made with the help of the mediator. Arbitration is more formal and can be heard by arbitrators. Each side gives testimony and they are recorded. Witnesses can also be called. Yes, Perry has done something wrong because arbitration is only supposed to take place when both parties are present. Anything that is said in the dispute must be said in the full view of everyone so that there can be no complaints later. Yes, the speech is protected under the freedom of speech clause. The Constitution of the United States allows free and fair speech without fear of discrimination or censorship. This law should not be allowed because it is unconstitutional. No, they are not correct because equal protection rights only allow them the same access to the law that everyone else has. The tax rate is decided by the state legislature, so it cannot be claimed that equal protection rights are being impeded upon. No, the actions of the defendant’s agents did not constitute and intentional infliction of emotional distress. This law was created for problems that would arise out of assault, and Munley was not a recipient of this. Yes, this new firm’s conduct was tortuous because they intended to harm the business operations of their former law firm. They have no right to interfere with the clients of a firm after they have left the company. The store will say that there was a â€Å"wet floor† sign in place and store procedure was followed. If she slipped on the rubber mat, then it was her fault for not being more careful as she entered the store. No, the plaintiff should not recover because any injuries were a result of the plaintiff’s own actions. The defendant put a warning sign on the mower and also mentioned it in the instruction booklet. This is mislaid money because, although the original owner put the money there, they did not intend to part with it. It does make a difference because if it was lost, Alice could have a claim to

I'll attach it Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

I'll attach it - Essay Example This young man lived at a time when violence was the norm and through his work became a beacon of peace in the region. He travelled extensively for work, listening and learning on his travels about the customs, faiths and problems of people. He realized that the people needed to bond to be able to live peacefully. His reliance on observation and contemplation was his greatest strength. His open minded approach to problems, his humility, compassion and humaneness that taught people to return to old tribal values of helping the poor and downtrodden; endeared him to his people then, as they do today so many centuries later. His life is a shining example of a wise leader. His policy of bringing the community of Medina together regardless of faith or tribe show a remarkable understanding of the power of unity in the face of external threat. His statesmanship is revealed in his exhortation to the people to create a just and decent society whereby by each member of the community took up the responsibility of maintaining peace and harmony. His emphasis on equality for all is enshrined in his farewell sermon as he reminds his people that â€Å"All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action.† (Prophet Muhammad, â€Å"Farewell Sermon†) The qualities of justice, compassion a willingness to learn and treat people of all denominations as equals are the hallmarks of a great leader. Prophet Muhammad displayed these abundantly. In a world riven by strife a nd violence, Prophet Muhammad’s guidance is sorely needed to heal the divisions between man and man and hence he is indispensable as a role model for today’s

Pros and Cons on Death Penalty Essay Example for Free

Pros and Cons on Death Penalty Essay Ms. Pat Johnson ENG-099 Pros and Cons of Assisted Suicide: Argument Essay When death is knocking at your door, do you answer or ignore the call? Unfortunately, some people answer the call willingly. Euthanasia is painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. All motives are compassionate for a patient, whether the killing is by a direct action, such as a lethal injection, or by failing to perform an action necessary to maintain life. The euthanasia movement started in l935 in Britain, in l938 in the U S A, and in l980 in Canada (catholicapologetics). Opinion polls show average support of 60 percent in the USA, 74 percent in Canada, and 80 percent in Britain (catholicapologetics). Many people disagree that death is a decision upon GOD but, why make a person suffer more pain being alive? Today, many people are against euthanasia because; they feel that it is murder. This is because there are certain cons of euthanasia that compel them to think this way. Firstly, medical science has made great advancements in the recent years. There is almost always a cure available for a disease. So euthanasia should not be kept as a viable option. One of the other cons of euthanasia is that sometimes there is pressure from family members who want to induce death for their own gains. The doctor may get influenced by the ideas that are put forward by them. In that case it becomes very difficult to decide whether euthanasia was completely necessary or was influenced by the family members. Sometimes even medical science cannot predict with certainty the fate of a patient. In such cases, euthanasia would mean snatching away the chances of a patient’s survival. There are many cases where mercy killing has often been misused. To prevent such manhandling euthanasia should be prohibited. Something that concerns the life of a person should not be left in the open for people to play around with.

Essay --

Literature Of The 1990's Culture – The Definition The word culture is a very broad-based term. Different people define culture in different aspects. People learn culture. That is culture's essential feature. The term culture is used to refer collectively to a society and its way of life or in reference to human culture as a whole. The Modern technical definition of culture, as socially patterned human thought and behavior, was originally proposed by the nineteenth-century British anthropologist, Edward Tylor. This definition is an open-ended list, which has been extended considerably since Tylor first proposed it. Some researchers have attempted to create exhaustive universal lists of the content of culture, usually as guides for further research. Others have listed and mapped all the culture traits of particular geographic areas. Barbarism Barbarism on the other hand, can be, or in fact is the exact opposite of culture. It is brutality and extremism, which definitely is not a part of culture in any sense at all. Lexically we define barbarism as, a brutal barbarous savage act, that is something not allowed by any culture. Barbarism is all about morals or rather no morals at all. Therefore, barbarism can rightly be termed as the devil in the cultured society. Relationship Between Culture And Barbarism It might not be very difficult to draw a relation between culture and barbarism. Barbarism starts right from where culture ends. It is the root cause of an uncultured society. Where culture is the strength of a healthy society, barbarism proves to be its destruction. Culture, as a body of learned behaviors common to a given human society, acts rather like a template (i.e. it has predictable form and content), shaping behavior and c... ... and physical being, this is the conception that now governs civilized humanity. It is, in essence, a return to and a larger development of the old Hellenic ideal, with a greater stress on capacity and utility and a very diminished stress on beauty and refinement; We may suppose, however, that this is only a passing phase; the last elements are bound to recover their importance as soon as the commercial period of modern progress has been over passed, and with that recovery, not yet in sight but inevitable, we shall have all the proper elements for the development of man as a mental being. References BOOKS Fugitive pieces - by Anne Michaels The God of Small Things – by Arundhati Roy WEBSITES http://sai.aros.net/aurobindo/barbarism.html http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vcwsu/commons/topics/culture/culture-definition.html http://www.princeton.edu/plasweb/courses/fall_2002.htm

Apush Taxation Without Representation Dbq

The motivations of American Revolutionary movement, at its peak from 1765 to 1780, are a much disputed subject between historians like Bernard Bailyn and Esmond Wright. One of the questionable motivations is the demand for no taxation without representation from the colonies at the time. It becomes clear through the documents of the Virginia House of Burgesses and Stamp Act Congress as well as letters from Thomas Jefferson that no taxation without representation was the primary motivation and unifier of the American colonies between 1765 and 1780.In the mid-1700’s, due to the high debt created by the British after the French and Indian War, parliament created a series of new taxes used on only the American colonies to gain revenue. One of the most unpopular taxes, called the Stamp Act, required a stamp to be put on all legal documents for a certain fee. This upset many people in the colonies including the Virginia House of Burgesses, which was the legislature in Williamsburg, Virginia, at the time.The committee there created a resolution to ask the same rights as Britons, who had representatives in Parliament to defend themselves against taxation without representation (Document A). Since the British Parliament did not listen to the colonial legislatures individually, some of the colonies joined forces to create Stamp Act Congress. This grouping was the first formal and organized unification of the American Colonies at the time and would snowball into the first and second Continental Congress which would take place ten years later.Stamp Act Congress (Document B) addressed issues and their possible solutions relating to the House of Commons in Great Britain, the Parliament. With the issue the Virginia House of Burgesses addressed, the Stamp Act Congress created the resolution of having a representative democracy styled legislature to discuss matters of taxation. These ideas were on par with that of the Considerations on the Propriety of Imposing Taxes in the British Colonies by Daniel Dulany which stated â€Å"A right to impose an internal tax on the colonies, without their consent for the single use of revenue, is denied. (Document C) â€Å"No taxation without representation! † was the slogan of many patriot groups like the Sons of Liberty in the mostly unified colonies of the 1770s. These patriots like Joseph Warren, who played a leading role in the patriot organizations in Boston and was a militia general at Bunker Hill, said that taxation without representation â€Å"could not be supported by reason and argument† and that â€Å"upon fair examination, appeared to be unjust and unconstitutional. † (D) Beginning with the Stamp Act of 1764, the colonists found themselves with an unfair laws and government on their hands.With this issue at hand, new legislatures were formed in the American Colonies like The Stamp Act Congress (B), First, and Second Continental Congress. These legislatures strived for a represent ative democracy, one better than the one they were deprived of in House of Commons in Great Britain. By the 1770s, the ideals of rights of men, as those mentioned in the Virginia House of Burgesses (A) and Joseph Warren (D), spread throughout the colonies. It was the demand of no taxation without representation that unified the colonies and drove them toward a representative democracy which every man has his say.

Organizational Development Essay

John F. Kennedy was quoted as saying â€Å"Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.† The world is in a constant state of motion. No one should expect things to always stay the same. Organizations require technologies and human resources in order to operate. A business needs to operate by learning from the past and planning for the future. Since, the economic collapse of 2008, the idea that any company is ‘too big to fail’ has been thrown out the proverbial ‘business window’. Business is now practiced in a global market and technologies have made the world a smaller place. â€Å"Managers and their organizations must anticipate the future and become proactive players.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, part 1.) Consider companies like Blockbuster Video. The demise of Blockbuster proves that leadership did not look to the future. This company considered itself to be the standard. Where is Blockbuster now? Instead of being an industry leader, it is trying to regain its footing in a marketplace it once dominated. Why? Blockbuster failed to take its competitors seriously. It did not consider technology surpassing the company’s own perception of practicing business. â€Å"In 2002 (Blockbuster) had 8,000 stores and a market value of $3 billion. Today, movie-by-mail Netflix is worth nearly three times that much. And Blockbuster is broke.† (Gandell, S., 2010, paragraph 19.) Successful companies are looking to the future as they learn from the past and present. Organizations that are successful will operate without ego, effectively communicate throughout the organization, and constantly reinvent themselves. Organizations need to be in constant development in order to move forward with any success. In this paper, I intend to define the importance of organizational development as it relates to my own company’s recent sale to a new group of owners. I intend to define organizational development as it relates to organizational trust, a strong practitioner-client relationship, the imperative nature of the diagnostic phase, effective communication between ownership and employees, and the importance of strategy as it relates to a successful transfer of ownership and culture to an organization. Organizations need to know when organizational development is necessary. I am a Managing Partner in the restaurant business. I currently have about 50 employees that I am responsible for. Recently, the restaurant I am running was sold to a South African group of owners. The owners actually bought two restaurants from the local restaurant group I was working for. After studying the Charlotte market and other markets throughout this great country of ours, the South African owners decided that Charlotte, NC would give them the best opportunity to grow a restaurant chain. The owners currently have over 150 restaurants in South Africa and this is their first venture into the United States. Once the sale became final, the owners began to evaluate all the current systems and business practices of the restaurants. The new owners began to re-develop the organization by defining its existing and future organizational identity. The owners sat down with staff and management to get an understanding of what the restaurants meant to each staff member. â€Å"The identity will provide an advantage if it is well aligned with the organizational strategy and well suited to the market niche, because identities tend to be socially complex and path dependent, and therefore difficult to imitate.† (Salgado, S.R., 2003, page 65.) The owners became the practitioners of change by purchasing the restaurants. After the sale became final, it was time to develop a sense of trust from the existing staff and management. One way of gaining that trust is to value the opinions of the current members of the organization. The new owners showed that they valued staff opinion of organizational identity. This process helped to develop the fundamental need to build a positive practitioner-client relationship. The new owners need an employee landscape that is friendly, not hostile. There is no way the new organization can move forward with a negative culture. Once trust was established, the new owners were able to begin to identify issues, problems, and opportunities each restaurant was having. The five fundamental stages of organizational development are: â€Å"anticipate the need for change, develop the practitioner-client relationship, the diagnostic phase, action plans, strategies, and techniques, and self-renewal, monitor, and stabilize.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, page 18). Ownership has followed the principles of organizational change and development in a very smart way. The new owners worked on building a strong practitioner-client relationship while gathering information about the businesses. They remained very approachable and worked hard to assist with the agreed upon change lists. Ownership made everyone feel as though they were not there to change what was not broken. Employees were made to feel proud about the restaurants they worked in. By developing such a good and trusting relationship, change has come easier. Once trust was established, new ownership quickly moved to the third fundamental of organizational development, the diagnostic phase. â€Å"Organizational diagnostic models and surveys have often been demonstrated by practitioners to be very effective in supporting organizational development   programs.† (Goldstein, L. and Burke, W. (1991), Vol. 19, page 5.) Diagnostic models are designed to help organizational development practitioners to â€Å"categorize data about the organization, enhance understanding about organizational problems, interpret data systematically, (and) provide appropriate change strategies.† (Lok, P., Crawford, J., 2000, page 108.) The practitioners have been reviewing every facet of the restaurant’s business practices. Ownership is constantly evaluating the effectiveness of each system. Technologies, equipment, and managerial functions are all reviewed and measured to the new standards and goals set forth by the owners. The ownership designed a â€Å"team approach to setting and reviewing targets, real participation by subordinates in setting goals, with an emphasis on mutually agreed upon goals, mutual trust between subordinate and manager, and a real concern for personal career goals as well as for organizational goals.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, page 327.) Ownership felt that the technologies were not tied in together very well. Ownership felt that the current gathering of data was cumbersome and inaccurate. The practitioners felt that the clients needed to stream-line the ways in which data was collected. By reviewing every program and system of accounting, the new owners were able to determine that updating would be necessary in order to move the two concepts forward. Looking to future growth was not going to happen for the organization until both concepts were able to produce accurate information about the actual business. Ownership also determined that it wanted its managers out in the restaurant more. There was simply too much to do in the office while running the restaurants. The practitioners asked current upper management to clearly define the responsibilities of each manager and chef position. At this point, the culture of the new organization had begun to take shape. Clearly defined roles and a change in managerial philosophies have started to grow. I have witnessed what I believe is a very successful transformation of culture. Responsibilities are clearly communicated. Accountability has improved. By creating clearly defined roles, the effectiveness of each manager is much easier to measure. At times, however, communication has been inconsistent. The massive restructuring of all current systems has taken a toll on some people in the organization. Missed deadlines and unforeseen problems have occurred. The way in which the new ownership has responded to the unforeseen issues has been impressive. I feel that new ownership has shown an unwavering amount of dedication to the new organizational vision it has set in place. Considering the amount of change, the owners have been very clear and approachable throughout the transformation. I respect and support their efforts in remaining approachable and supportive. They exude an understanding of what each existing member or employee is going through.   Ownership has been very aware of the ego state of the organization. â€Å"Every interaction between people involves a transaction between their ego states. When one person converses with a second person, the first person is in a distinct ego state and can direct the message to an y of the three ego states in the second individual.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, page 230.) Ownership has made every effort to have open and complementary transactions with groups and individuals throughout the organization. At the same time, they have also shown that the organization will move forward with or without its current members. Holding people accountable has been extremely important. â€Å"In today’s changing environment, organizations that encourage individual ability and hold employees accountable for achieving goals are more likely to succeed.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, page 381.) The practitioners have been able to accentuate individual strengths and weaknesses within its existing employee body. This approach has brought on a spirit of contribution to the cause of the new vision presented to the ‘old guards’ of the organization. This is a very clever approach to affecting change. Also, the new leaders of the organization have discovered some hidden talents within its current team-members. Finding an existing and in-place pool of needed skills has helped the new leaders keep an aggressive time-line for the development of change. New owners did not have to look completely outside the organization for skills that will enable change. Instead, new owners were able to motivate change by looking for solutions internally. Looking for hidden talents helped to reaffirm the positive culture of opportunity and renewed perceptions of the employee skillset. An internal approach to solving or rectifying identified issues has also kept the cost of change down. Existing members already have a sense of where the shared vision of the company is going. Existing staff has a greater stake in the organization’s success. Because of shareholder accountability, ownership is smart to look internally for as many talents as possible. Ownership believed by stream-lining technologies and accounting systems, it could improve the quality of the guest experience and profitability of its organization. Ownership started this process by surveying all existing management to try and determine what each manager actually knew about the existing programs and technologies. A methodical and measured approach to re-designing office systems will enable the organization to become more consistent in gathering data and measuring the performance of both restaurants. Their  vision of the future of the organization has been effectively shared with everyone involved . The deadlines for improvements have been followed-up effectively. A weekly meeting between ownership and upper management takes place. In these meetings, organizational effectiveness is measured by how well goals and objectives are accomplished. At first, goals were very broad and basic. Managers were asked to evaluate their knowledge of existing point of sale programs, invoicing programs, and budgetary knowledge. Once ownership felt it had acquired enough knowledge about existing systems, the project or ‘goal’ chart was updated and tasks became more narrow and specialized in focus. Managers were held accountable to their goals based on their strengths or expertise. For example, one manager is very adept with computers. This has become his area of focus for the remainder of the re-development of the organization. â€Å"The collection of data is an important activity providing the organization and the practitioner with a better understanding of client system problems: the diagnosis.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, page 19.) Ownership has been very diligent about data accuracy. Every number and system has been reviewed for accuracy and consistency. In order for the company to move forward, ownership has to determine what is and what is not vital to the new organizational vision. Ownership has already picked two new sites for additional restaurants. It is important that both restaurants operate in the same way as the business grows. This is why organizational effectiveness has to be optimized and not hap-hazard. â€Å"Organizational practitioners need to assess the influence of variables in diagnostic models on organizational outcomes, and effectiveness has often been used as the primary outcome measurement. (Handy, 1985, p. 85; Burke and Litwin, 1992). The new owners have done an excellent job moving the new organization through a surprising change of ownership. I have enjoyed watching how these new owners have handled the organizational development of the restaurant. Organizational change and development is certainly not easy. Leadership from the owners to the managers has to stay on course with the changes. Total commitment and a positive attitude are necessary. Negativity spreads like wildfire when redeveloping an organization. The owners have worked hard to cope and shape their environments, through the way they organize and operate their organization. The history of organizational development has to be an interesting one. As I watch these new owners re-tool both establishments, I wonder if they are taking the same course in organizational development that I am. The owners have to pass forward their beliefs or values as to what the restaurants should be. Things that worked before might be tossed. New things are   introduced. The style of service and the menu, the technology, are all things the owners have to push forward to current and new employees. All the while, business is ongoing. The doors are open. Customers are hearing of the sale and are passionate about the changes. Some changes are subtle. Some changes are extreme. How does the ownership remain familiar to what the concept once was? The entire process is exhausting. The public’s resistance to change is fierce at times. One very popular item on the menu was discontinued when the new menu was rolled out. Granted, the menu had not changed in four years. Servers and cooks were tired of doing the same thing every day. The item that was discontinued was actually a very bland and tasteless item. Servers and cooks hated selling it. There was excitement and concern when the new ownership wanted to get rid of it. We all knew we were in for it when the new menu came out. Sure enough, customers have missed not having this item on the menu. Customers have been very vocal about this one item. Ownership feels that quality ingredients, perfect preparation, and impeccable service will build sales. There is a determination that the new regime can move past this one dish and convince the fickle public that there are a lot of other good reasons to dine at our restaurants. We are doing more than trying to keep our existing clientele. We are building a new clientele. Whatever perceptions the public had of us before does not matter. It is interesting to hear the complaints about some of our changes. All the while, most of the same staff works at the restaurant. The only real changes the public see are dress codes and menu changes. Otherwise, most change is behind the scenes. Because of the intense scrutiny mistakes in service or execution of the shift has to be perfect. We cannot afford to be less than perfect right now. Complacency has no place in the restaurant business. To be successful, we should always be looking ahead and learning from our past mistakes. We should always challenge ourselves to be better than we were yesterday. We are always training and learning. Managers should be acting as coaches and mentors to the staff. Management at all levels should not only ‘talk the talk’, they should ‘walk the walk’. However, the complaints are not always fair. The new menu is terrific. Quality and service are actually better than ever. The new owners spent a lot of money to help update and fix equipment that was vital to running the restaurant. Ownership has brought in more management and has improved the morale of the restaurant, not to mention the quality of life for all salaried people like myself. There has been a certain camaraderie resulting from moving toward common goals with other people. There is now a belief that we are a better place today because of our efforts. The best interventions from a   values point of view are those that help clients prepare their place in the future, whether its creation or adaptation. I am sure as we move forward that we will come in to our own again. The once faithful group of regulars will either go their own way or forgive us. Organizational development is a change strategy. â€Å"OD principles and techniques are experiencing a renaissance, thanks to the growth of the field of change management.† (Worren, N.A.M., Ruddle, K., & Moore, K.,1999, paragraph 3.) Organizational development requires a change in behaviors. These behaviors, good or bad, become the organizational culture. The organizational beliefs and values start at the top of the food chain, the owners. What is important to the owner should be important to the worker in that organization. It is imperative that the owner or any organization find a way to keep his people motivated and passionate about his organization’s products. Therefore, the leadership of any organization has to ‘connect’ to develop change and organizational success. Leadership has to be viewed as the change master. An organization that wants to remain vital, must be able to deal with change. A restaurant is an excellent example of a business in a constant state of change. For some restaurants the menu can stay the same. Maybe that is what people like about the place. However, what goes on outside the restaurant can cause a need for change inside the restaurant. Roads are closed, the economy is shrinking, parking is now too difficult to bother, these are all worrisome real-life issues that any organization or restaurant might have to deal with. The restaurant cannot afford to maintain the status quo, change is simply that critical. Kurt Lewin developed the concept of force-field analysis. This philosophy is â€Å"deceptively simple and can be used to help plan and manage organizational change.† (Cumming, T.G., & Huse, E.R. 1989, page 3.) Lewin believed that an organizational behavior was affected by the balance of two opposing forces. When these opposing forces are at odds, change happens. According to Lewin, there are driving forces and restraining forces. Driving forces affect and assist in the desired change. Restraining forces do quite the opposite. Restraining forces represent obstacles to the change. â€Å"If the weights of the driving and restraining forces are relatively equal, then the organization will remain static.†(Cumming, T.G., & Huse, E.R. 1989, page 3.) Ownership has to remain aware of the balance of power these two forces represent for the organization. Change has to appear to always be for the good of the whole organization. People are wary of change and must be made to feel a part of its success in order to help embrace the new mindset. Lewin’s force-field analysis works as a method of environmental scanning and as a way for creating an empowering environment to the culture of the organization. The new owners have done an excellent job moving the organization forward. The efforts made to gather data and technical knowledge have been diligent. The new owners have moved forward by doing their homework. After reviewing all the necessary information, ownership has been able to assimilate all the necessary funds, materials, staff and time. As the organizational development process has moved forward, it has become obvious that the owners plan on giving their newly acquired business the tools it needs to accomplish the shared vision. This, of course, has led to the owners’ final phase of organizational development, the support of their people. At first, ownership had to tread lightly. In the beginning, it was as if the new owners wrapped their arms around us all and said â€Å"everything will be alright, just stick with us.† As the new team moved forward, some upper management was asked to leave. Time has been a good indicator of the ownerships’ dedication to the new vision and culture of the organization. Their efforts have been unwavering and very consistent. In this paper, I have detailed the importance of organizational development as it relates to my own company’s recent sale to a new group of owners. The process of organizational development has been fascinating to watch. Although the constant evaluation of all systems and actions throughout the organization has been exhausting, I believe ownership has succeeded in redeveloping a once tired and inefficient culture. Employees and managers have felt a greater sense of purpose towards the new organization. New ownership has successfully relayed a positive sense of urgency and purpose towards its existing staff and team members. The revamping of the organizational culture has brought forth a better quality employee and better quality experience for the organization’s customers. The organizational development techniques applied by the new ownership has helped to improve the profitability of both restaurants. New ownership had once touted that two additional restaurants would be opening within twelve months. Because of the success in developing organizational change, new ownership has now determined a new restaurant can be opened in only six months instead of twelve. This fast organizational growth is to be celebrated because it is a direct result of the diligent efforts of ownership and all staff involved after the transfer of ownership became official. Trust, a positive practitioner-client relationship, a successful diagnostic evaluation and change, effective communication between ownership and employees, and the importance of strategy has allowed this organization to become stronger and advance its number of concepts. In short, growth happens if organizational development is applied effectively. References: Brown, D.R., (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organizational Development (8th ed). Upper Saddle River Pearson Prentice Hall. Retrieved from: http://onlinevitalsource.com/#books/9780558857257/pages/31616081. Cumming, T.G., & Huse, E.F. (1989), Organizational Development and Change (4th ed.) St Paul, MN: West Publishing. Retrieved from: http://jeritt.msu.edu/documents/TallmanWithoutAttachment.pc. Gandell, S., 2010, How Blockbuster Failed at Failing, Time Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.time.com/magazine/article/0,9171,2022624-2,00.html. Goldstein, L. and Burke, W. (1991), Creating successful organizational change, Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 19, page 5-17. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/215864273?accountid=32521 Handy, C. (1985), Understanding Organizations, Penguin, London. Retreived from: http://search.proquest.com/business/docview/215864273/13901F6FOC3249E4570/1?accountid=32521 Lok, P., & Crawford, J., (2000). The application of a diagnostic model and s urveys in organizational development. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 15(2), 108-124. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215864273?accountid=32521.) Salgado, S.R. (2003), Fine Restaurants: Creating inimitable advantages in a competitive industry. New York University, Graduate School of Business Administration). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 161 p. retrieved from: http://www.search.proquest.com/docview/305261479?accountid=32521305261479. Worren, N.A.M., Ruddle, K., & Moore, K. (1999.) From organizational development to change management: the emergence of a new profession. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35(3), 273-286. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/236248857?accountid=32521.

Labor Day A Holiday for Workers Everywhere!

Labor Day A Holiday for Workers Everywhere! Happy Labor Day weekend! This weekend, the United States and Canada commemorate the contribution of workers to society- your daily efforts, all you produce, and how you bolster the country’s economy. That likely includes you, so that means this holiday is yours to celebrate. What is Labor Day?Aside from the obvious fact that all hard work deserves a day off in its honor, Labor Day originated when groups of people around the country took a stand to improve their horrible working environments.The first Labor Day took place in 1882 in New York City. It was the height of the Industrial Revolution, and many Americans- including young children- were working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, just to have the basics.The hours were long, the conditions were unsafe, and the pay was low. Faced with these terrible conditions and looking to protest, 10,000 workers met at City Hall and marched the streets- the first Labor Day parade in the country’s history.In the years that followed, o ther states adopted the trend, celebrating the importance of workers to a successful society.  Congress officially recognized the holiday in June of 1894 as the first Monday in September.Celebrating Work with†¦ RelaxationFor many, Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer- the last hurrah before kids go back to school, the temperatures begin to drop, and apples and pumpkins find their way into farmers’ markets.Soak up your long weekend of sunshine (fingers crossed rain isn’t on the agenda)! Pack a picnic, find a local parade, hit up the beach, or just enjoy time at home with your family and friends.And, if you’re lucky enough to have Monday off, enjoy your well-deserved break from all the hard work you do.

Fascinating Facts About Arctic Bearded Seal

Fascinating Facts About Arctic Bearded Seal The bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) gets its name from its thick, light-colored whiskers, which resemble a beard. These ice seals live in Arctic waters, often on or near floating ice. Bearded seals are 7-8 feet long and weigh 575-800 pounds. Females are larger than males. Bearded seals have a small head, short snout, and square flippers. Their large body has a dark gray or brown coat that may have dark spots or rings. These seals live on or under the ice. They may even sleep in the water, with their heads at the surface so that they can breathe. When under the ice, they breathe through breathing holes, which they may form by pushing their heads through thin ice. Unlike ringed seals, bearded seals dont seem to maintain their breathing holes for long periods. When bearded seals rest on the ice, they lay near the edge, facing down so that they can quickly escape a predator. Classification Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: MammaliaOrder: CarnivoraFamily: PhocidaeGenus: ErignathusSpecies: Barbatus Habitat and Distribution Bearded seals live in cold, icy regions in the Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. They are solitary animals who haul out on ice floes. They may also be found under the ice, but need to come up to the surface and breathe through breathing holes. They live in areas where the water is less than 650 feet deep. Feeding Bearded seals eat fish (e.g., Arctic cod), cephalopods (octopus), and crustaceans (shrimp and crab), and clams. They hunt near the ocean bottom, using their whiskers (vibrissae) to help find food. Reproduction Female bearded seals are sexually mature at around 5 years, while males become sexually mature at 6-7 years. From March to June, males vocalize. When they vocalize, the males dive in a spiral underwater, releasing bubbles as they go, which creates a circle. They surface in the center of the circle. They make a variety of sounds - trills, ascents, sweeps, and moans. Individual males have unique vocalizations, and some males are very territorial, while others may roam. The sounds are thought to be used to advertise their fitness to potential mates and have only been heard during the breeding season. Mating occurs in spring. Females give birth to a pup about 4 feet long in length and 75 pounds in weight the following spring. The total gestation period is about 11 months. Pups are born with a soft fur called lanugo. This fur is grayish-brown and is shed after about a month. Pups nurse their mothers rich, fatty milk for about 2-4 weeks, and then must fend for themselves. The life span of bearded seals is thought to be about 25-30 years. Conservation and Predators Bearded seals are listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. Natural predators of bearded seals include polar bears (their main natural predators), killer whales (orcas), walruses and Greenland sharks. Human-caused threats include hunting (by native hunters), pollution, oil exploration and (potentially) oil spills, increased human noise, coastal development, and climate change. These seals use the ice for breeding, molting, and resting, so they are a species thought to be very vulnerable to global warming. In December 2012, two population segments (the Beringia and Okhotsk population segments) were listed under the Endangered Species Act. NOAA said that the listing was due to the likelihood of a significant decrease in sea ice later this century. References and Further Reading Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Bearded Seal. Accessed January 31, 2013.ARKive. Bearded Seal. Accessed January 31, 2013.Berta, A.; Churchill, M. 2012. Erignathus barbatus (Erxleben, 1777). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species, January 31, 2013.Discovery of Sound in the Sea. Bearded Seal. Accessed January 31, 2013.Kovacs, K. Lowry, L. (IUCN SSC Pinniped Specialist Group) 2008. Erignathus barbatus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. Accessed January 31, 2013.NOAA Fisheries: Office of Protected Resources. Bearded Seal Accessed January 31, 2013.

Planning in SWA Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Planning in SWA Group - Essay Example This has resulted in the organization’s services been leased. The planning model that the organization intends to use is the rational model of planning (Mullins, 2010). This involves identifying the problems they are encountering, formation and evaluation of their criteria’s of planning along with the creation and implementation of alternative solutions (Murphy and Willmott, 2010). This model is mainly used in the planning of towns and their systems of transport and this paper will elaborate how SWA group manages planning. The organization will start by confirming, describing and laying out the details of the problem being encountered. This will involve first identifying the problems at hand and then defining a possible solution to begin making changes. The solution is then analyzed for the purpose of checking whether it adequately solves the problems at hand. This involves the management’s ability to come up with more creative designs, schemes and breakthroughs. This model facilitates the decision making process to become a group process since ideas will have to be shared. The organization’s competitors such as Brennerplan and the Taylor Siefker Williams group of design have experienced success in their activities due to the influences of their group decision making processes (Morgan, 2006). The decisions that result from group decisions are normally well thought of with their repercussions being evaluated. Many, diverse opinions are also offered with the best alternatives being selected to efficiently solve the issues in question. After the identification and analysis of the problems being experienced, the organization embarks on the generation of different solutions to the problem (Mullins, 2010). This will involve the suggestion and selection of up to three solutions to solve the problem along with their implementation to the problem’s site. This will involve their efforts in revitalizing the slums and developing planned u nits in the towns. Such activities will be carried out in groups for the purpose of achieving the different solutions to these problems. The emergence of alternative solutions for the organization enables the management to apply rationality in selecting the best possible solutions. The organization collects information using their available technology for the purpose of discovering alternatives to their problems. These alternatives will undergo evaluations to determine their levels of success or failure before being implemented. The analysis will provide final solutions to their problems. It will include activities such as carrying out an examination of the sites in question to determine their sensitivity and appropriateness. This assists in evaluating the consequences of the solutions they have chosen to implement. The organization will also consider the various options they have of evaluating their different solutions. This will be done before the implementation of final solutions to the sites. The organization’s competitors use different models that the management will also have to evaluate. This will be done to determine their efficiency in solving the problems before discarding them. Once the best decision has been selected, their application to the problems site will then be implemented. The above steps form the heart of the decision making

My experience of studying abroad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

My experience of studying abroad - Essay Example Therefore, our expectations from the government were really high until the day I was denied admission in prestigious universities because of not having the `right` contacts or connections in high positions. This unfair treatment, not only affected me, but my entire family as well. â€Å"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere†. This is a saying by Martin Luther King Jr, a strong promoter of equal rights, who believed that the entire human network is bound together and if one individual suffers, then it affects the entire human race (Injustice Quotes, Web). What is injustice? It is the violation of the rights of other individuals, by treating them unfairly or not giving them their rights (Injustice Definition, Web). Every human being is entitled to a fair, just and an equal treatment and it is the responsibility of a country`s government to make sure that no prejudice is taking place Being denied admission in one of the most prestigious colleges of Russia, I am one of these countless victims who suffer from discrimination worldwide. Since childhood, my parents have encouraged me to work hard in order to fulfill my dreams. Education has always been an important part of my life. I strive for academic excellence, always willing to make the most of it. Along with studies, I have been involved in extra-curricular activities like sports, public speaking and even voluntary services. All of these made me an excellent candidate for this college and I had my hopes high. All my family and friends were sure that I would get in as I fulfilled all the criteria of this college. As this was a public college, my education would have been for free and my parents were happy about it. When half of my classmates were accepted, I was just waiting for my admission and my teachers were sure that I my admission letter was on its way. But I kept waiting and waiting. My professors and colleagues told me not to give up hope and assured me that there had been some mistak e. I wondered whether I had made some blunder in submitting my application and started blaming myself. After much pressure from my instructors and family, I wrote to the college again and asked for the status of my application. The very next day, there was a letter in my mailbox from this college. My family became really excited knowing that it was my acceptance letter. As soon as I read it, tears filled my eyes. Thinking that they were tears of happiness, my family started hugging and congratulating me. The pain that I felt at that particular moment was the worst of its kind. I did not know how to tell my parents about the truth, knowing that it would ruin the perfect smiles on their face. But I knew I had to tell them, there was no other way. With much courage, I told them it was not an acceptance letter and was a rejection one. The expressions on their faces made it worse for me. Thinking that their ears were deceiving them, they took the letter from me and realized that I was sa ying the truth. They embraced me and assured me that this college was not worth having such an outstanding student like me. But whatever they did, I know that my life-long dream had been destroyed. But why was I rejected? I fulfilled their criteria then what possible reason did they have for rejecting me? The answer was clear and obvious. My parents did not have high contacts in the government and that was the highest criteria that any candidate should fulfill before getting accepted in this college. Not just this particular college, but every other public college here. Many of my classmates were rejected because of this reason only. My instructors understood this but there was nothing they could do and they advised