Ethical Issues Of Business Are Common - 1285 Words

Ethical issues in business are common. However, some people believe that if they just follow the law, that business will be ethically robust. â€Å"No matter how important, the law cannot and should not solve all the difficult issues which currently confront business people† (Cracium, 2015, p.43). Following the law does not always ensure morally sound decisions. Companies and each of their employee’s make choices that can have ethical implications. Ethical standards play a specific and irreplaceable part in the decision-making process involved in a fair market economy† (Cracium, 2015, p.44). We will take a closer look into the details surrounding an ethical issue for the well-known company, Apple in this paper in detail. The issue defined In March of this year, it was reported that the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI have taken Apple to court in efforts to make the engineers to de-encrypt an iPhone (Brant, 2016). The reason behind the federal government needing the engineers to develop a backdoor through the encryption is because of the attacker in a mass shooting in San Bernadino, California last year (Brant, 2016). However, if Apple would create this encryption backdoor, the company’s resources would take a significant impact due to how long it would take for them to create this workaround and engineers threatening to leave the company rather than undermining the security software they created (Brant, 2016). The basis of the issue Some of the ethical issuesShow MoreRelatedEthical Issues in Relations Between Business and Customers.1562 Words   |  7 PagesEssay Ethical issues in relations between business and customers. Suleimenova Nazira. Management 11.852 Ethical issues in relations between business and customers. Nowadays, people the most part of their life spend at the work. At work, person has a contact with other employees, meets the requirements of management or personally gave orders to his subordinates. But also, the organization (enterprise, firm) in which employees work, constantly interacts with other organizations, the stateRead MoreEthics and Decision Making1334 Words   |  6 Pagesbehavior within a society. Ethical behavior conforms to generally accepted norms-many of which are almost universal. VIRTUES – are habits that incline people to do what is acceptable. VICES – a re habits if Unacceptable behavior. THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRITY: - Your moral principles are statements of what you believe to be rules of right conduct. - A person who acts with integrity acts in accordance with a personal code of principles. - One of the cornerstones of Ethical behavior- is to extendRead MoreEthics in the Workplace1201 Words   |  5 PagesClassical and Contemporary Ethical Philosophies Ethical philosophies served as guide for people in the workplace to make moral decisions in conducting business. There are classical normative ethical philosophies as well as contemporary ethical philosophies being used. They have been applied in the different levels or dimensions of the business organizations. People do know that there are business organizations that have disregarded ethical standards and encounters ethical issues inside their companyRead MoreEssay on Emerging Business Ethics Issues914 Words   |  4 PagesStakeholders play a major role in the business arena, they are charged with the responsibility of ensuring their organization is a safe environment not only for themselves but for their employees. In a seemingly competitive and morally flawed world, business people and entrepreneurs are often presented with grave ethical challenges. For this reason their personal values and beliefs play a pivotal role in the success of the organization. When concealing doubts about the ethics of others, more thanRead MoreEthical Issues Of Business Environment850 Words   |  4 PagesUnder present day business environment, companies can face a number of ethical issues that require making hard and often dissatisfying decisions. In this context, it is necessary to mind ethical norms as w ell as results of actions taken in order to keep the efficient communication across companies and keep the right balance in communication with colleagues, subordinates as well as mangers (Horton, 2015). Taking into consideration that there can be distinguished a range of ethical issues that pertain onlyRead MoreIndividual Rights and the Business Organization1543 Words   |  6 PagesIndividual Rights and the Business Organization Individual Rights and the Business Organization Introduction In todays highly uncertain business environment, businesses and individuals face a number of ethical issues which arise due to different internal and external environmental factors and impact the individuals within and outside the organizations. The ethical issues which negatively impact the privacy, morale, and societal values of individuals include fraudulent business practices and unethicalRead MoreThe Ethics Of The Business Brand1367 Words   |  6 Pagestopic for many years. Every business must encounter situations where they are required to find solutions to fix a problem. There must be standards set by a business and these standards are expected to be a symbol of representation from leadership straight to its employees. In marketing, problems will arise. It is up to the individuals or parties involved to decide how they will act or react when the problem faces them or the business. An individual with strong ethical background will sense when somethingRead MoreEthics Of The Financial World1056 Words   |  5 Pagesin the Financial World My form of business includes finances, mainly accounting and auditing. As I progress towards my accounting degree, I found out that there are many issues that I have to deal with in regards to the business itself. Eventually, finances also have to go through ethical issues. The ethics of financial business is determined mostly by the numbers, but it also recognizes the business environment, as well. As I realized, there are many ethical issues affiliated with finances; some financialRead MoreEthical Challenges Of International Business1147 Words   |  5 PagesIndividual Response to Ethical Challenges of International Business. The International Business as a whole has this debate on ethics and it is not a surprise, we are interacting with people with completely different views, morals, and values. Each business that is present in an international setting, will be conducting international operations and they have domestic, foreign, or global ethical practices that differ from others, resulting in ethical dilemmas. Being exposed to that, I will always putRead MoreThe Ethics Of Business Ethics1471 Words   |  6 PagesReview Nowadays, the concern for business ethics is growing rapidly in the business community around the world. Business ethics are focused on the judgment of decisions taken by managers and their behaviors. The issue regarding these judgments is the norms and cultures that shape these judgments. Business ethics are concerned about the issue, how will the issue be solved and how will it move ahead along the transition analysis as well (Carroll, 2014). Business ethics can be addressed at different

Piaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development - 850 Words

Cognition is a complex idea, making it difficult to describe. Hooper and Umansky (p. 307, 2014) define cognitive development as an individual’s ability to translate objects and events into a symbolic form that can be stored in the brain. Cognition can be measured with perceptual and conceptual skills. Perceptual skills are the connection between the senses and experiences. Conceptual skills are higher level processing, such as, making decisions and problem solving (Hooper and Umansky, 2014). Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development and Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory are influential in our understanding of cognitive development for typical and atypical children. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development suggests two stages of development, sensorimotor and preoperational thoughts. These two stages describe children to the age 7 or 8 years old (Hooper and Umansky, 2014). Sensorimotor period begins when the child is behaving in response to their environment. C hildren have little understanding to what is occurring. Children begin to develop natural responses to stimuli. Children recognize how he/she can cause events to happen (Hooper and Umansky, 2014). For example: a child can hit a button and the button makes a noise while a light flashes. The child now learns to receive the sensory stimulus he/she must hit the button. Object permanence is a significant change that occurs during the sensorimotor period. Object permanence takes place when the child acknowledges an objectShow MoreRelatedPiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1289 Words   |  6 Pagesare many great cognitive theorists, but the one that comes to mind is a development psychologist by the name of Jean Piaget. One of his prized declaration was in 1934, where he declared that education is capable of saving our society from collapsing whether its violent or gradual. Piaget had a key effect on education and psychology, and because of that effect he made many contributions to l earning and to cognition. One of most important contribution was a model that was made by Piaget. This modelRead MorePiaget s Cognitive Development Theory1077 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to Piaget (1957), cognitive development was a continuous restructuring of mental processes due to varied situations and experiencing the world and maturing biologically. His view of cognitive development would have us look inside a child’s head and glimpse the inborn process of change that thinking goes through. â€Å"He was mainly interested in the biological influences on â€Å"how we come to know’† (Huitt and Hummel, 2003). Piaget’s views helps us to have appropriate expectations about children’sRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1813 Words   |  8 Pages ECH-130 Sociocultural Tables LLlllll Cognitive Development Definition Examples of Application of Concept Strategies to Support and/or Assess Learning Birth to Age 5/Pre-K Piaget Sensorimotor stage: :the first stage Piaget uses to define cognitive development. During this period, infants are busy discovering relationships between their bodies and the environment. Researchers have discovered that infants have relatively well developed sensory abilities An infant who recently learned how to rollRead MorePiaget s Cognitive Theory And Cognitive Development1494 Words   |  6 Pages 1) Examine how Piaget’s cognitive theory can help to explain the child’s behavior. Piaget confirms â€Å"Each cognitive stage represents a fundamentally new psychological reorganization resulting from maturation of new functions and abilities† (as in Greene, 2009, p.144). The case Vignette describes Victors’ stages of development through Piaget’s stages of cognitive development as exhibited behavior that occurred during the sensorimotor, preoperational, as established areas. Victor experienced a normalRead MorePiaget s Theory On Cognitive Development1449 Words   |  6 Pagesstrengths and weaknesses of Piaget’s theory on cognitive development. It will focus on Piaget’s work highlighting positive attributes and how they’re being applied in modern day and also delve on key limitations of the theory. Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who was interested on why children would give similar but wrong answers in an intelligence test (Vidal, 1994). Based on his observations, he concluded that children undergo sequential cognitive d evelopment patterns which occur in defined stagesRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development969 Words   |  4 Pages20th century, the development of psychology is constantly expanding. Erikson and Piaget are two of the ealier well known theorist, both being significant in the field. Their belief s are outlined in Piaget s Cognitive Development Theory and Erikson s Psychosocial Development Theory. These theories, both similar and different, have a certain significance as the stages are outlined.Erikson and Piaget were similar in their careers and made huge progressions in child development and education. WithRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1519 Words   |  7 Pagesrelates to both Piaget and Vygotskian theories in the sense that they describe how the child s mind develops through different forms of stimuli that occur during early childhood. Piaget s theory focuses mainly on things such as; how children think; how the world around them is perceived and how th e newly found information is explained through the language they use. Vygotsky s theory however differs as the effects of different forms of social interaction occur in cognitive development such as; internalisation;Read MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1111 Words   |  5 PagesPiaget’s theory of cognitive development Piaget’s theory of cognitive development was based around his belief that children will develop their intelligence through a series of stages: Sensorimotor (birth – 2yrs), Preoperational (2-7yrs), Concrete Operational (7-11yrs) and Formal Operational (11+). He believed these stages to be invariant, the same stages taking place in a fixed order, and universal, the same for every child regardless of their background or culture. (McLeod, 2015) Piaget believedRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development Essay1790 Words   |  8 PagesCognitive developmental theories provide a framework for understanding about how children act and perceive the world. However, every theory has both strengths and weaknesses. A certain theory may explain one aspect of cognitive development very well, but poorly address or completely ignore other aspects that are just as important. Two well known theories of cognitive development are Piaget’s stage theory and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. As I plan to be a pediatric nurse, these two theories willRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1325 Words   |  6 PagesJean Piaget developed a systematic study of cognitive development. He conducted a theory that all children are born with a basic mental structure. He felt that their mental structure is genetically inherited and their learning evolved from subsequent learning and knowledge. Piaget’s theory is differ ent from other theories and he was the first to study a child’s learning by using a systematic study of cognitive development. His theory was only concerning the learning of children, their development

Projective Techniques free essay sample

Such tests are based loosely on the psychoanalytic concept of projection, the assumption being that respondents project unconscious aspects of their personalities on to the test items and reveal them in their responses †¦ The website of the Association of Qualitative Practitioners (AQR 2004) defines projective techniques as follows: A wide range of tasks and games in which respondents can be asked to participate during an interview or group, designed to facilitate, extend or enhance the nature of the discussion.Some are known as ‘projective’ techniques, being loosely based on approaches originally taken in a psychotherapeutic setting. These rely on the idea that someone will ‘project’ their own (perhaps unacceptable or shameful) feelings or beliefs onto an imaginary other person or situation †¦ Projective techniques may be used in qualitative as well as quantitative studies (Levy 1994) and they are useful (Boddy 2004b) in both. 240 International Jo urnal of Market Research Vol. 47 Issue 3Projective techniques are commonly used in qualitative market research (Gordon Langmaid 1990) where the aim of the techniques is to facilitate the gaining of a deeper understanding of the area being researched. In discussing projective techniques they distance the use of projective techniques in qualitative market research from that of psychoanalytical practice, and suggest a more pedestrian and pragmatic definition: Projection [is] the tendency to imbue objects or events with characteristics or meanings which are derived from our subconscious desires, wishes or feelings.Dichter (1964) defined projection as meaning ‘to project subjective ideas and contents onto an object’, and said that one person could ascribe their own problems or difficulties to someone else. He described these techniques as being widely used in psychological work (Dichter 1960) and said that they are a non-directive interview technique where the respondent can project himself onto another and thus reveal some of the respondent’s own thoughts, feelings and fears.Projective vis-a-vis enabling techniques The market researchers Chandler and Owen (2002) define projective and enabling techniques quite suc cinctly and in a way with which most qualitative market research practitioners (Gordon Langmaid 1990; Goodyear 1998) would probably agree. This differentiation is useful to make at the beginning of this paper as the techniques are often used interchangeably and the distinction between them may have become blurred in the minds of some qualitative market researchers.Classically, the idea of a projective technique relates to a device that allows the individual research participant to articulate repressed or otherwise withheld feelings by projecting these onto another character. The idea of enabling techniques relates to a device which allows the individual research participant to find a means of expressing feelings, thoughts and so on which they find hard to articulate. Enabling techniques are held to be the simpler (Will, Eadie MacAskill 1996) of the two techniques as they just help people to talk about themselves. Will et al. ake the useful distinguishing point that while all projective techniques may be enabling, not all enabling techniques involve projection. Other researchers (Lysaker Bradley 1957) make the point that even pictorial devices, which do not function as projective techniques 241 Projective techniques in market research (i. e. devices researchers would nowadays refer to as enabling techniques), may still have utility in generating responses. Gordon and Langmaid (1990) state that the use of projective as opposed to enabling techniques is a false distinction in market research as the aim of both techniques is to facilitate deeper understanding. However, they do go on to say that in enabling techniques people are asked to do something that itself has no interpretive value (and so doesn’t itself need to be interpreted). In terms of analysis there is a distinction because with enabling techniques the research participants are talking as themselves (that is not to say that this speech should always be taken at face value), whereas with projective techniques the research participants are talking as someone else and the researcher makes the interpretative assumption that they are talking as themselves.This agreement over the definition of projective techniques is about as far as most research textbooks get on the subject. How they are subsequently used is little discussed and how they are then analysed is hardly explicitly touched on at all (Levy 1994; Catterall 1998), which is a situation that has hardly changed from ten or more years ago.This paper aims to look at current reports of how projective techniques are analysed and what support for their reliability and validity exists, and aims to stimulate debate in this area of market research so that a better and more accessible understanding of the subject can be offered to those entering research as potential practitioners, to interested clients, and to researchers who are more used to a quantitative or direct questioning approach. The origins of projective techniquesProjective techniques were employed in market research from the 1940s (Catterall Ibbotson 2000) to encourage research participants to express feelings and attitudes that might otherwise be withheld due to embarrassment or fear if more direct questioning methods were used. Market research originally borrowed (Robson 2000; Boddy 2004a) projective techniques from psychoanalysis and clinical psychology where they are still used (Richman 1996) to gain insights into personality and personality disorders. Projection, as a concept, originated from Freud’s work on paranoia (Lilienfeld, Wood Garb 2000), where he conceptualised projection as a defence mechanism by which people unconsciously attribute their own negative personality traits to others. Lilienfeld et al. say that Freud’s work 242 International Journal of Market Research Vol. 47 Issue 3 was subsequently developed by psychoanalysts and clinical psychologists.This development was based on the hypothesis that ‘research participants project aspects of their personalities in the process of disambiguating unstructured test stimuli’, and several different techniques were developed such as the well-known Rorschach technique, or ‘ink-blot test’, where subjects are assumed to project aspects of their personality onto the ambiguous features of a set of inkblots. Projective techniques in market research A commonly used completion technique (Gordon Langmaid 1990; Will et al. 1996) in qualitative mar ket research is ‘bubble drawing’. This is a device based on a technique called the Thematic Apperception Test where, according to Tucker-Ladd (2001), clinical psychologists use a series of standard pictures and ask subjects to make up stories about them. TuckerLadd says that what people see in the pictures says something about themselves and thus reveals their personality. Projective techniques can be used in a variety of market research situations as well as in social and educational research (Catterall Ibbotson 2000), and these do not have to be aiming at uncovering aspects of personality of any great depth.For example, a bubble drawing was used (Boddy 2004a) by one researcher to uncover students’ underlying attitudes towards the delivery of a lecture on marketing research rather than to uncover any deeper aspects of their own personalities. Projective and enabling techniques are thus useful when research participants have difficulty expressing opinions or feelings and researchers need some way of accessing these from the participants’ minds (Gordon Langmaid 1990; Kay 2001).

Rich Countries Should Lend Financial Aid to Poor Countries Research Paper Example

Rich Countries Should Lend Financial Aid to Poor Countries Paper Lending financial aid to poor countries has become a trend of rich countries since the second half of the 20th century. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter whether rich countries should lend poor ones financial aid or not but the way poor countries utilize this capital source because financial aid has both pros and cons. For the first reason, financial aid is a helpful source to poor countries. It provides huge capital for these nations to develop infrastructure, improve education as well as health care systems and carry out big projects which can not be conducted without a large amount of money. Moreover, because this aid is lent at low interest rates in a limited time, receivers will gain advantages if using this source reasonably. However, to some extend, poor countries often depend on rich countries who lend them money. For example, these nations often have to make some agreements with creditors in using the financial source. Sometimes rich countries even make their voice on political problems of poor countries. Borrowing large amount of money, in turn, they often have to make some economic commitments and give lenders priorities in auctioned projects in their countries. In additions, financial aid may put poor countries at risk. For example, when they borrow too much money but can not control this source effectively, they may go insolvent. And this will become a burden for the later generations. The debt crisis recently in Greece is a warning to any country that has borrowed too much and cannot use the loans cleverly. Therefore, the way a poor nation use financial aid takes an utterly important role in deciding the effectiveness of this support. We will write a custom essay sample on Rich Countries Should Lend Financial Aid to Poor Countries specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Rich Countries Should Lend Financial Aid to Poor Countries specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Rich Countries Should Lend Financial Aid to Poor Countries specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Simplifying administrative procedures, preventing corruption, investing reasonably and many other controlling methods are requirements posed for the governments so that they can keep them relatively independent of rich countries and well utilize the loans. In conclusion, lending financial aid is neither totally good nor totally bad. Its positive meanings depend on the real demand of poor countries and the way they use this aid. Poor countries will enhance their economies remarkably if they can use this aid effectively. In contrast, they may become the victim of overwhelming debt.

Cultural Background and First Language in Second Language Learners

Cultural Background and First Language in Second Language Learners Abstract Second language acquisition, cultural background, and first language dexterity have a considerable relationship. They influence communication skills and writing styles among individuals. Learners acquiring second language have their cognitive developments and learning processes influenced by numerous factors.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Cultural Background and First Language in Second Language Learners specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This ranges from physical provisions to verbal factors depending on the learning context, language used, and people they interact with. This study unveils the probable effects that cultural orientation and first language prowess can have on the second language prospects and writing styles. Evidently, how one has been brought up and the environment of existence have massive influences on the mentioned factors. Some studies have revealed positive results on this matt er. They indicate that cultural aspects and first language proficiency usually impact positively on the second language learning and writing styles. This simply indicates that those individuals who are proficient in their first language can easily learn to speak and write second languages. This is applicable if the cultural backgrounds are supportive in this quest. Conversely, some people have shown limited proficiency in learning second language due to their cultural hitches. Inability to communicate proficiently in the first language equally affects the mentioned endeavors to learn the second language. Investigating whether there is any impact of culture and first language factors on the second language acquisition and writing styles is a critical phenomenon. These factors relate to the effects of cognitive development, orientation, and the learning processes among the concerned individuals. Evidently, culture, language, and learning prospects are correlated factors that determine mental advancements in learners (Wood, 1998). It is important for learners to embrace cultural backgrounds and first language proficiency; nonetheless, if they front negative impacts on the cognitive advancements and second language learning and writing styles, they will be unworthy. Introduction Brief review about the cultural differences which affect learners The impact of cultural differences on learners cannot be underestimated. Different communities have different cultures, which they use to shape up their behaviors and learning capabilities. Some of these cultures are too strict to allow the concerned learners to adopt new skills.Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Nevertheless, there are some cultures, which have favored second language learning and writing styles (Wood, 1998). The rigidity and disparities in these cultures have played principle roles in the co gnitive advancement of the concerned learners. Numerous cultures have varied impacts on learners in the realms of language learning and other provisions. As indicated before, this ranges from cognitive developments, learning capabilities, social factors, writing styles, and health issues. Employing apt learning methods and exposing learners to viable interactive mechanism have positive impacts on their learning competency. A relationship exists amid the second language acquisition, mental developments, and cultural backgrounds as indicated before. Learners have the opportunity to change their language abilities and remove barriers that might hinder them from constructive learning capabilities (Lee, 2000). Usually, learning an additional language cannot affect the mental development of learners; nonetheless, cultural barriers can hinder the second language learning endeavors significantly. Brief review about the first language features that have influences on learners Concurrently, f irst language has features that can influence the mentioned learning and writing of second languages among learners. However, this varies from one learner to the next. The importance of this topic emerged on its ability to clarify the relationship that exists amid the second language attainment, cognitive developments/learning abilities, and the ultimate learning and writing skills affected by the first language and cultural obstacles. Evidently, first language gives a considerable foundation in mastering other languages. It can act as a barrier or promoter to the acquisition of subsequent languages. Clarifying the relationship and impacts of this phenomenon is of some substantial impacts (Goswami, 2004). It is desirable to deliver investigated findings on the matter rather than relying on perceptions and rootless claims.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Cultural Background and First Language in Second Language Learners specifically for you for on ly $16.05 $11/page Learn More Executing investigation on such issues has contributed immensely to the topic. This is evident by the resultant findings in relation to the cognitive developmental aspects, second language acquisition, writing capabilities, and other characterizing factors. Another feature in the first language is that it might be so complex, distinctive in vowels and structure of sentences, and possesses ambiguous pronunciations. These features might greatly affect efforts to learn and write second language proficiently. This is critical phenomenon, which requires appropriate approach when dealing with the second language learning phenomenon. A well-structured and spoken first language can massively and positively affect the second language acquisition efforts. The writing styles will also be commendable depending on the proficiency of the first language. Another element is that since the first language is initially installed in the brain, all subsequen t leaning capabilities depends on its proficiency. All new information gained will be interpreted and integrated in the mind using the first language (Sanz Leow, 2011). It can thus affect the succeeding learning capabilities as indicated before. Cultural Background The impacts of cultural values on communication efficiency Cultural values have significant effects on communication proficiency of an individual. Cultures dictate the behaviors and communication capabilities of the concerned parties. Evidently, some cultures prohibit the use of some words and learning of some languages. This provision can obviously affect the learning and writing capabilities. Such cultures affect the cognitive developments and advancements of the concerned learners. They can affect the learning endeavors adversely thus hindering the learning efforts. Second language acquisition equally depends on the cultural backgrounds, its values, and how the concerned individual in that community perceive other lan guages. Studies conclude that cultural values have massive influence on the second language attainment. The values embraced by a given community have considerable impacts on the learning capabilities and on the cognitive development /learning processes as indicated before. The claims that acquisition of such values might confuse the involved learners are inconsiderable in the learning and writing realms.Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The communication efficiency of an individual is subjected to cultural influences. People have the potential to learn other languages and later communicate efficiently. Despite the impact of cultural values, some individuals have managed to learn second languages with stringent proficiency and prowess (Cook Bassetti, 2010). It is proper to claim that cultural values might reconfigure the communicational capabilities of children. A former cultural value can be a barrier at the initial stages of learning; nonetheless, it has no any remarkable influence in the well-being and communicational capability of the concerned learners. Precisely, since cultural values can manipulate mental development, it equally interferes with the communicational proficiency and writing capabilities. However, positive cultural values can augment communication prowess among other provisions. The impacts of cultural perspectives on communication method The perspectives created by culture have tremendous impac ts on the communicational methods. Ability to communicate proficiently is subjective to cultural orientation of the concerned parties. This is an important phenomenon following its ability to dictate the cognitive developments and learning capabilities of the concerned learners. It is through this perspective that cultural impacts exhibit incredible impacts on the communication methods. The way one will communicate his or her ideas are dictated massively by the cultural perspectives. As evident from numerous authors, second language acquisition, communicational methods, and cognitive developments are influenced by cultural perspective. The fact that people perceive things differently based on their cultural orientation, any communication method is a derivative of cultural factors. Precisely, despite the availability of numerous factors that affects the mental development and communicational methods in learners, cultural factors still play massive roles with regard to this claim. Acc ording to sources, research has proved that second language acquisition and prowess in the communicational methods are subjects of numerous factors. However, cultural perspectives still assume serious roles in this context. Based on this, it is crucial to recognize that people who abide stringently by their cultures have demonstrated critical cultural provisions. Varying cultures have different communication methods. This might influence various people who embrace such cultures. Their ability to acquire other languages in this context has been influenced by numerous factors with cultural orientation fronting the list. The significance of the studies executed and findings achieved have relied on the implications of cultural factors identified in the communicational aspects. According to Gogolin (2009), communication methods are subjects of cognitive functions, which are influenced by cultural and environmental contributions. The method used by individual to communicate and learn othe r languages are subjects of concern. Lee (2000) indicates that positive cultural perspectives can emerge with viable communication methods The impacts of cultural background on writing style Writing style is equally influenced by the cultural background of the learner. Cultures dictate how individuals operate and perceive things. The way such people approach the aspects of learning and writing capabilities depend on the cultural orientation. Ability to write a second language proficiently depends on the cultural provisions, which dictate the mindsets and behavioral implications. Writing capabilities depend on the learning environment where one stays and the cultural influences that characterizes the wellbeing of such individuals. It is the mandate of numerous individuals to ensure that cultural provisions in their lives do not disfavor their learning and writing styles (Gogolin, 2009). Since writing depends on the knowledge and proficiency of one in the used language, it is proper t o conclude that in case cultural backgrounds influence proper language acquisition, it will also influence the writing style. Precisely, one only writes what he or she knows. For one to write proficiently, he or she must be proficient in the language used. The importance of this topic emerged on its ability to clarify the relationship that exists amid the second language attainment, cognitive developments/learning abilities, and the writing style used in this aspect. Cultural background contributes massively in the language learning and writing as indicated before. Evidently, the way a given culture speaks out their opinions and constructs their sentences is a subject of cultural consideration. Introducing learners from different cultures to new writing styles elicit varying capabilities in the realms of communicational trends and methods (Goswami, 2004). It is desirable to deliver investigated findings on the matter rather than relying on perception and rootless claims. This is evi dent by the resultant findings in relation to the cognitive developmental aspects. First Language The effects of first language vocabulary on communication Evidently, the initial words acquired in one’s life might affect the nature of communication that one assumes. This is a critical phenomenon following its applicability and reliability in numerous occasions. It is from this perspective that the previous claims on second language acquisition and writing style emerge. Evidently, the acquired vocabularies from the first language can dictate how one speaks and writes (Gogolin, 2009). If the acquired vocabularies are viable and conventionally used by numerous individuals, it is apparent that such individuals will communicate in a given manner different from other groups somewhere. Communicational proficiency is highly influenced by the aspects of first language acquisition and its vocabularies. Those who are proficient in their first language provisions have the capability of d emonstrating viable communication abilities. In this context it is proper to acquire viable vocabularies that will promote effective and respectful communication. The vocabularies used should be conventional and used by numerous individuals. From this context, allowing other cultural aspects to interfere with the first language vocabularies can significant affect communicational capabilities of the involved individual. It is apparent that first language vocabulary can affect communication aspects and proficiency in other subsequent languages. Evidently, it is difficult to forget what one learns at his or her initial stages of life. First languages and their vocabularies are component of these early learning provisions. They eventually affect communication skills and ability to integrate information among the concerned individuals. If the vocabularies of the first language were wrong and misleading, communication capabilities of the concerned individual will be at stake. Such people will not communicate effectively. The effects of the first language structure on writing skills The structure of first language in the realms of sentence construction, vocabulary, and accent can influence the writing styles of the concerned individuals. It is from this perspective that the entire communicational aspects and other provisions attain their mandated prowess. Some communities have languages, which cannot be written easily. This eventually affects their writing skills despite their efforts to correct the situation. When one endeavors to acquire a second language, there is a massive influence from the first language. The structure and nature of these languages tend to influence the structuring, writing, and communicational aspects of the concerned individuals. It is imperative to note that first language has massive influence on other subsequent communication and writing skills mentioned earlier. For example, it is evident that Iranians have problems in acquiring, writing, and speaking English fluently due to their first language influences, culture, and other characterizing factors. This is a critical provision in this context (Oates Grayson, 2004). It indicates how writing capability of an individual is dictated by the cognitive development provisions, which are subjects of environmental influence and other factors. For one to develop constructive writing skills, he or she must have a viable first language structure and communicational proficiency. Evidently, different languages are structured differently depending on the community involved. Such structures have massive influence on the writing capabilities and coherency of the concerned individuals. First languages structured ambiguously front massive difficulties in the writing styles. The effects of the first language nature on the organization method The nature of the first language can have considerable effects on the organization method. The way one organizes himself or herself is a critical phenomenon. It helps in understanding various life aspects. The fact that the nature of language can affect this provision is a massive concern. Additionally, it is crucial to identify ways through which first language can affect the mentioned organization. Several factors are behind this provision (Robinson, Shore Enersen, 2007). This relates to the aspects of communicational framework and other provisions that characterize the mentioned phenomenon. First language affects the aspects of relationships and expressions at individual’s level. This fact is of a massive concern due to its contribution in varied context. Self-organization is contributed massively with the kind of language that one embraces. Inability to conform to such factors has been identified and condemned considerably in various contexts. Conclusion Conclusively, there is a massive correlation amidst the cultural background of an individual, his or her first language, and the ability to learn second language s and acquire viable writing styles. In this context, individuals who intend to learn second languages and augment their writing skills have shown remarkable influences from their respective cultures. Globally, there are cultural disparities that affect learners in their studies. This is with regard to second language acquisition and writing styles. Cultural background can influence the learning prospects of an individual. This can equally dictate his or her language –learning prowess. Additionally, features of a first language have remarkable influences on learners. Cultural values within a community can affect communication proficiency of the concerned natives. Additionally, the methods of communication embraced by different individuals are subjects of cultural perspectives as indicated before. Similarly, first languages possess grievous influence on communication, writing skills, and organization in the realms of their vocabulary, language structure, and nature. References Cook, V. Bassetti, B. (2010). Language and Bilingual Cognition. New York, NY: Psychology Press. Gogolin, I. (2009). Streitfall Zweisprachigkeit: the bilingualism controversy. Wiebsbaden: VS Verlag. Goswami, U. (2004). Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley Sons. Lee, K. (2000). Childhood cognitive development: the essential readings. Massachusetts, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Oates, J. Grayson, A. (2004). Cognitive and language development in children. Massachusetts, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Robinson, A., Shore, B. Enersen, D. (2007). Best practices in gifted education: an evidence based guide. Texas, TX: Sourcebooks. Sanz, C. Leow, R. (2011). Implicit and Explicit Language Learning: Conditions, Processes, and Knowledge in SLA and Bilingualism. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Wood, D. (1998). How children think and learn: the social contexts of cognitive development. Massachusetts, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Cinema Limbo, 2-Person, 10-Minute Play by Wade Bradford

Cinema Limbo, 2-Person, 10-Minute Play by Wade Bradford Cinema Limbo is a ten-minute play (written by Wade Bradford). It is a comic, two-person exchange between two movie theater employees. The piece can be used, free of charge, for educational purposes and amateur productions. This short two-person play is also a usual character building tool for any actress using the Vicky Monologue for auditions and classroom performances. Cinema Limbo Setting:  The box office of the Grand Cinemas. No set is required. Two office chairs (capable of rolling and spinning) are placed center stage. A young woman spins in the chair. She is dressed in a rather ugly polyester outfit one expect to find on a movie theater employee. Her name is Vicky. And she is bored. (A young man named Joshua enters. Vicky suddenly stops spinning. Her boredom has vanished.) VICKY: So, you’ve finally made it to the fishbowl? JOSHUA: The what? VICKY: That’s what we call the box office. An inside joke between cashiers. JOSHUA: Oh. VICKY: So you’ve made it. JOSHUA: I guess. Mr. Boston said he wanted you to train me how to work the box office. VICKY: Then let the training begin. People come up. They say what movie they want. You press this button. Take their money. Give them their ticket. There, you’re trained. JOSHUA: Now what? VICKY: Now sit down and wait. But don’t get anxious. No one’s coming tonight. It’s Christmas Eve and all our movies suck. JOSHUA: This beats working at concessions. Thank God I didn’t get stuck with that Bar One job. That would’ve sucked. VICKY: Stuart is certainly loving it though. Have you seen that look in his eye when he’s running Concessions? JOSHUA: What do you mean? VICKY: He usually smiles, and treats the peons with respect†¦ but his eyes†¦ They’re lit up like a power hungry mad man. I think he pictures himself as some pharaoh who whips the backs of his slaves, just to sell a few extra drinks. JOSHUA: Really? I haven’t noticed. VICKY: He told me you guys went to grade school together. JOSHUA: Are you guys dating? VICKY: Why do you ask? JOSHUA: He told me you were dating but that you wanted it kept secret. VICKY: If I was dating someone why would I want to keep it secret? JOSHUA: Uh, maybe because Stuart’s kind of a nerd. VICKY: So you did go to school together? JOSHUA: We met in the fifth grade. You know how every class has a kid who gets picked on throughout the whole year by everybody? That was him. No one liked him. VICKY: Why? JOSHUA: Well, it started out just because he was the new kid. His folks just moved into town to set up a new church. They were husband and wife ministers or something. Very, I don’t know, just kind of friendly and creepy at the same time. VICKY: I met them. I know. JOSHUA: Anyway, kids in school picked on him because he was new, and a little weird looking. You can’t tell it as much, but his face was completely covered with freckles. Big brown freckles†¦ kind of like†¦ um†¦ like someone flicked splotches of paint at him. VICKY: I always thought they were kind of cute. JOSHUA: And then no one liked him because every chance he got, he started talking about Jesus. He did a book report on the entire Bible. In art class, he made a crown of thorns ashtray. He tried making Noah’s Ark out of clay, but it exploded in the kiln. And then one day we were supposed to give a speech, an oral report on the country of our choice and he picked Israel. VICKY: Well†¦ that’s not so bad. JOSHUA: During his whole oral report†¦ he spoke in tongues. VICKY: Really? I had an uncle who got into that. He’d speak in tongues before every Thanksgiving dinner. But he had one of those robot voices because of his throat cancer, so it was really low and scary. Like Darth Vader speaking pig latin. JOSHUA: Stuart wasn’t as entertaining. And to top it off, the kids started hating him more because he wanted to be the teacher’s pet. VICKY: That doesn’t surprise me. He kisses up to all the managers... JOSHUA: Same thing we the school teachers. And the lunch lady. And the principal. Most kids said he was a tattle tale. There was this one bully who hocked a loogie right in his hair, right in the middle of class. VICKY: Oh please, I just ate buttered popcorn. JOSHUA: But anyway, I felt sorry for Stu. So I let him hang around me at recess once in a while. He was okay. Sort of clingy. He never wanted to leave my side. I got beat up a couple of times by Troy, just for sticking up for him. VICKY: Are you two still friends? JOSHUA: I guess. But it isn’t like grade school anymore. We don’t hang out. I was kind of surprised to see him when I got hired here. He left before we finished junior high. His parents put him in some private school. So, are the rumors true? VICKY: What rumors? JOSHUA: I heard echoes from the girls locker room. VICKY: You perv. JOSHUA: Well, they were talking so loud, I couldn’t help it. VICKY: Okay, dork, what did you hear? JOSHUA: That you’re not interested in Stuart anymore. That you are, oh what were the words, that you’re almost done toying with him. VICKY: Well that makes me sound like a bitch. I kind of like that. JOSHUA: So? VICKY: So? JOSHUA: It’s just me, you, and the fishbowl. VICKY: Why should I talk about my love life? Or lust life? What about you? I bet youve had a lot of girlfriends. Probably broken a lot of hearts. JOSHUA: Not really. Ive never been in love or anything. Just casual dates and stuff. I mean, for all intents and purposes I’m pretty much like all the other geeks you’ve been describing. VICKY: But you wear that letterman’s jacket. You’re kind of a jock. I say that with all due respect. VICKY: Well, you have to understand. I’m the kind of girl who takes pity on poor pathetic geeks who have never kissed a girl. Let’s just say that I like someone who is easily trainable – someone who will truly appreciate me. It’s sad, I know. But hey, I’ll take an ego boost wherever I can get it. Unfortunately, these adorably nerdy boyfriends get boring after a while. I mean, I can only listen to their computer games and mathematic equations for so long. Of course, Stuart’s different in a  lot of ways. He’s terrible at math, for one. And he’s pretty clueless about technology. But he’s a comic book sort of geek. And a hopeless romantic. He’s pre-occupied with holding my hand. Everywhere we go, he wants to hold hands. Even when we’re driving. And he’s got this new pastime. He keeps saying â€Å"I love you.† It was so sweet and wonderful the first time he said it. I almost cried, and I’m not the kind of girl who cries easily. But by the end of the week, he must have said â€Å"I love you† about five hundred times. And then he starts adding pet names. â€Å"I love you,   honeybunch.† â€Å"I love you  sweetheart.† â€Å"I love you my little smoochy-woochy-coochi-koo.† I don’t even know what that last one means. It’s like he’s speaking in some brand-new, love-infected language. Who would have thought romance could be so boring? JOSHUA: Is it boring? VICKY: You mean you don’t know from  first-hand  experience? JOSHUA: Yeah, I swim. But that’s not what I lettered in. VICKY: What was it? JOSHUA: Well now you’re going to laugh. VICKY: Perhaps. JOSHUA: I lettered in  choir. VICKY: (Laughs. Falls off  chair.) They let you letter in choir?! Oh, that’s priceless. JOSHUA: You can also letter in drama. VICKY: Oh, that’s pathetic. JOSHUA: So, you’re done with school, right? VICKY: Since last summer. Sweet. sweet freedom. JOSHUA: Now what? VICKY: College I guess. Back to captivity. I’m taking a year off first. JOSHUA: Did your friends already go? VICKY: Friends? I hated everybody in high school. JOSHUA: Hey, me too! I was hoping the Grand Cinemas would improve my social life. VICKY: (Laughs.) Has it? JOSHUA: I’ve met some cool people, I guess. Like you. VICKY: Like me? JOSHUA: Yeah, well, and others. Like Rico. VICKY: OH. JOSHUA: Is that bad? VICKY: No. Rico’s cool. I just wouldn’t trust him with much more than a postage stamp. JOSHUA: Thanks for the advice. VICKY: I used to want a social life but I think I’m content here in the box. If you want to see people, just wait till Friday night, they’ll swarm around you, begging you for tickets. But the glass on the fishbowl keeps them from violating your space. If you want to talk to someone, you just pick up the phone, and when you get sick of talking, you can just hang up. You can read, you can do your homework, or you can veg-out and watch the Grand go by. You can swipe snacks from concessions and on hot days, we’ve got air conditioning. If you’re bored you can spin around on this thing. (She spins around on the chair.) JOSHUA: Wow. You’re pretty good. VICKY: My record is eight rotations. All thanks to twelve years of ballet. JOSHUA: Really? VICKY: Hey, what did you get at the Christmas party gift exchange? JOSHUA: A Chia pet. VICKY: I got the worse possible present ever. Listen to this. I’m in this dance group, right. Ballet. I’ve been doing the Nutcracker for the past two months. I’ve been having nightmares with the ‘sugar plum fairie suite’ playing in the background. Every mall or department store has been playing Tchaikovsky. I can’t get away from that God forsaken music! It drives me nuts. And guess which CD Mrs. Sanchez buys me? The Nutcracker. I hope I pick her name next year. I had no idea she could be so cruel. That’s why it must be nice to be religious like Stewy. You can doom people to hell. JOSHUA: Eternal hell over the Nutcracker? Now that’s a raw deal. VICKY: Eternal damnation. You’d think after a few thousand years you’d get bored with never ending  torment. Satan would come up to you and say, â€Å"Today you’ll be covered with man-eating ants and pummeled by a giant mountain gorilla.† And you’d just look at him and YAWN and say, â€Å"Again?! How dull. Are you running out of ideas already? Can I make a request for Bubba the mountain Gorilla, because he and I have a rapport going; we work well together, I think. (Pausing and completely changing the subject.) Do you think it’s possible to travel through time? JOSHUA: Someone has ADHD. VICKY: It’s this fishbowl. It really gets to you after a while. So do you? You know, think they’ll figure out time travel? JOSHUA: I doubt it. Maybe someday. VICKY: What would you do? JOSHUA: I don’t know. I guess I might travel back and find my great-great-great-great grandfather. Say hi. What would you do? VICKY: Well, if I had  a time machine, say they  invent  it when I’m like really old. Like 35 or something. Then, I’d travel back to right now, and I’d give myself advice. JOSHUA: What kind of advice? VIC KY: Who to be friends with. Who to avoid. What choices to make. What guys to like. JOSHUA: Why do you need a time machine? Just make the right choices now. VICKY: But how do you know if it’s the right choice? You don’t until after the fact. JOSHUA: Well, that’s the point. You take a chance and you learn from your mistakes. Or, you try something and it’s a great experience. VICKY: And what if you regret it? JOSHUA: Then you regret it. I think not knowing what happened next is part of the fun. VICKY: Really? JOSHUA: Yeah. VICKY: Come here. He pauses for a moment. Then, they roll their chairs toward each other. She kisses him. He kisses back. They pull apart. JOSHUA: So†¦ VICKY: So†¦ Do you regret that experience? JOSHUA: Not at all. Do you regret it? They are both started as they hear the sound of a door opening. They look upstage. JOSHUA: Oh! Hi. (Suddenly regretful.) How’s it going, Stuart? VICKY: Hey, Stewy. Joshua and I were just talking about regrets. (Listens.) What do I have to regret?  Oh  nothing. (A sly smile on her face.) Nothing at all. Lights out.

Business Ethics Dealing with Poverty and Pollution in the Environment Research Paper

Business Ethics Dealing with Poverty and Pollution in the Environment - Research Paper Example Third world countries, due to poverty and lack of resources, are not able to invest in environmental friendly technologies and devise environmental regulations. This allows corporations to pollute in the third world countries without any problem. In this paper we will discuss the environmental pollution with the reference of businesses and third world countries. We will observe the reasons why businesses ignore pollution related regulations in the developing world. Other aspects of environmental pollution will also be discussed with reference to the case of ‘Poverty and Pollution’. Ethical Implications of Businesses Polluting in the Third World The ethical implications of businesses pollution in a third world country are significant. Environmental pollution affects the whole population of the region and therefore it cannot be ethically justified. There is no doubt that environmentally polluted technology is cheaper and therefore third countries use it in order to remain competitive in the global market. But the economic argument in favor of environmental pollution in the third world country is not justified because pollution affects a great number of pollution and not all people are able to get the economic benefits of businesses operating in their region. This is one of the ethical implications of businesses polluting in the third world. Another ethical implication of businesses polluting in the developing world is that it is not possible to value human life. Environmental pollution caused by firms in the third world countries create all sorts of health problems for its inhabitants and therefore decreases human life expectancy in the region. This is not ethically justified because people living in the region do not have any choice to move to another area as they are extremely poor. This is actually exploitation of human beings which can never be ethically justified. It is therefore proved without a doubt that environmental pollution is not ethical ly justified. Reasons why a Business Ignore Pollution Control Standards Businesses ignore pollution control standards in the third world because it drives down their production cost. Investment in required to reduce pollution for example in order to dump industrial waste in an appropriate manner significant investment is required. This drives the production cost up which hurts the profits of the firm operating in the third world countries. They are in the country just because of the promise of lower production cost and this is why they ignore pollution control standards. Organizations are profit making entities and therefore they do anything in their power to reduce their cost and maximize profits. Lack of will is another reason why businesses ignore pollution control standards. Laws are not strict in the third world countries and corporations therefore feel that they are not obligated to follow them. This is the main reason why firms don’t feel compelled to make a change and follow the pollution control standards. The firms are not willing to change their practices and this is why they lack the will to abide by the pollution control standards set by third world countries. Is Pollution the Price of Progress? It is argued sometimes that pollution is the price of progress. It is said that for developing countries to economically develop they require competitive edge over other developed countries

Manufacturing Engineering Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Manufacturing Engineering - Lab Report Example SafetySince the device may be improperly used and safety of a machinery is the key concern during its functionality; a safety factor of 1.5 was factored in all the calculations. 2.2 InexpensiveThe device must be produced within a strict budget by sourcing for cheap local materials according to the bill of quantities.2.3 Design EvolutionThe first concept generation was accomplished by creating an itemization of the design into the following functional and movable elements; pipes, chains and the support system.The team had a brainstorming session, whereby it was agreed that only the top rated materials will be considered for each functional component in order to develop an alpha design. The criteria for selecting components were based on the cost of the material and its manufacturability.3.0 Engineering AnalysisThe engineering fields that are applicable to the design process are statics, dynamics and materials. The appropriate basics and ideas from statics and dynamics are Newtonâ€⠄¢s law, bending moments, torque and friction. For materials mostly on the pipes and chains, the applicable properties are: fracture toughness, Young’s modulus, corrosion, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength.Newton’s Second law, was necessary to calculate the forces that will be applied to the support while the chain moves up and down while lifting an object. The bending moments, of the motor was calculated to ensure the mechanism does not degrade rapidly and maintain the factor of safety.

Feminist Epistemology Essay Example for Free

Feminist Epistemology Essay Abstract In this paper I analyze the potential of Allison Jaggar’s suggestion that emotions in general, and outlaw emotions in particular, be incorporated into feminist epistemology. Jaggar advocates a standpoint theory of emotions, and suggests that the emotions of the oppressed in particular are helpful rather than inimical to acquiring knowledge. I argue that although there are some potential problems with Jaggar’s approach, these problems are common to standpoint theories and can be addressed by applying the solutions offered by other feminist theorists. One common criticism made by feminist epistemologists[i] is the critique of traditional epistemology’s notions of objectivity and neutrality. As Naomi Scheman puts it, in traditional epistemology â€Å"[t]hose who are taken to be in the best position to know are those who are believed to be objective, distanced, dispassionate, independent, and nonemotionally rational† (3-4). [ii] According to Allison Jaggar, the result of this conception of the knower in modern epistemology is a sharp distinction between reason and emotion where reason is privileged because emotions are viewed as involuntary responses that distort our rational observations of the world, which in turn distort the knowledge we can gain from these observations (1992). She further argues that this distinction contributes to the denial of women’s epistemic authority since women are associated with emotions and men with reason, and so men became the standard by which epistemic authority is judged. This is just one of many concerns feminist epistemologists share. However, there are many dissimilarities between feminists as to how to deal with the problems in traditional epistemology. [iii] One approach that I will focus on in this paper is feminist standpoint theory, particularly the standpoint theory offered by Jaggar in â€Å"Love and Knowledge: Emotions in Feminist Epistemology. † What Jaggar aims to accomplish in her paper is to â€Å"begin bridging the gap [between emotion and knowledge] through the suggestion that emotions may be helpful and even necessary rather than inimical to the construction of knowledge† (1992, 146). The bridge she wants to build includes a methodology for identifying biases of the dominant group that leads to false appraisals of the world. This methodology relies on the notion that perspective can be altered by the way one is situated in the world, particularly how one’s situatedness can affect one’s emotional perspective and response. I will explain the concept of emotional perspective and response in a moment, but I want to first note that the type of emotions she thinks are important to feminist epistemologists are outlaw emotions—which are emotional responses that do not follow or support the values and norms we have been taught to accept. Because outlaw emotions are usually a negative response to norms and values, they can help us identify which biases are causing errors in our methods of seeking knowledge. The point that Jaggar wants to make clear is that impartiality in our epistemic methods is impossible, therefore, we should give up on the notion of impartiality and work towards identifying biases that will better guide our epistemic endeavors. There is much debate between feminists over the potential of feminist standpoint epistemologies, yet, I think that Jaggar’s methodology warrants some consideration. [iv] However, because she offers just a sketch of how emotions might be incorporated into epistemology, there are some aspects of her theory that are problematic. The first problem is that standpoint theories seem to neglect the differing experiences of particular individuals within groups by trying to speak about the experiences of these groups in general. The second problem is that Jaggar needs to address how to distinguish which outlaw emotions could potentially further feminist interests from the other emotions, outlaw or otherwise. The general aim of this paper, then, is to initiate an investigation into whether Jaggar’s proposal will be a fruitful endeavor for feminist epistemologists. The more specific aim of this paper is to point out some of the potential problems that arise from her theory, as a feminist theory, and to offer some potential solutions for these problems, some of which are solutions that feminists have previously used to answer similar problems in other feminist theories. 1. Jaggar’s View Jaggar argues that theories that make the distinction between reason and emotion as it pertains to knowledge are mistaken in that they falsely assume emotions are involuntary responses that can be separated from reason. Jaggar contends that most emotions are socially constructed, intentional, and can influence our perceptions of the world. For example, when someone feels anger at a slight from a friend, this anger arises not as an involuntary response, but rather there is a judgment being made about the way friends ought to behave and the response of anger is the appropriate emotion that corresponds with one’s expectations being disappointed. We form beliefs about what constitutes a slight by a friend at the same time as we learn what our society values as appropriate friendship behavior and appropriate responses to different experiences—say affection as a response to respect from one’s friends and anger to disrespect. The idea that emotions are constructed suggests that socialization influences our appraisals of the world and the judgments we make are often emotional responses to observations that reflect the norms and values of our society. For example, when someone tells a joke the expected response is for a person to be amused. However, my being amused by a joke presupposes a number of social conditions. For instance, when we hear something like ‘a priest, a rabbi, and a duck walk into a bar’ we immediately feel an anticipatory amusement, since we recognize this as a joke formula. [v] If I do not recognize this formula then my lack of understanding could cause me to not share the same social experience as the other people who are hearing the same joke. Second, in order to find the joke amusing I must not only understand the language in which the joke is told, but also the content of the joke. I must share the same appraisal of the world in order to actually be amused by the punch line. Third, emotional responses are neither automatic nor passive in the sense that we have no control over them. I may be amused and laugh at a joke of this type. However, I may not laugh if I find the joke to be in bad taste even though not laughing when amusement is anticipated often creates moments of social tension and discomfort. The important thing to note here is that in both cases whether or not I am amused can be a deliberate conscious decision. From this example, we can see why Jaggar suggests that, â€Å"every emotion presupposes an evaluation of some aspect of the environment while, and conversely, every evaluation or appraisal of the situation implies that those who share the evaluation will share, ceteris paribus, a predictable emotional response to the situation† (1992, 153). Just as I would have to share a similar appraisal of the world in order to understand the punch line of a joke, I am also influenced by those preconceived notions to think the joke is funny. At the very least, I am conditioned to some extent to recognize a joke when I hear one and laugh when I think laughter is the expected response. Jaggar thinks it is important to recognize that emotions play a role in how we seek knowledge, given that if we maintain the distinction between emotion and reason in epistemology, then this distinction will influence whom we think are good epistemic agents: namely, dispassionate investigators who can keep their emotions from interfering with their observations. Ironically, because the notion of a dispassionate investigator is considered the ideal, we are biased in our assessment of who is a good investigator and who is not. Note that Jaggar is not saying we are not being impartial enough in our assessment of investigators; rather she is saying our bias in favour of the dispassionate is inhibiting because emotion is an essential part of knowledge. Moreover, the distinction between emotion and reason is problematic, as Jaggar points out, because â€Å"reason has been associated with members of dominant political, social, and cultural groups and emotion with members of subordinate groups†, like â€Å"people of color†¦and women† (1992, 157). The result of the false distinction between emotion and reason is that it produces a myth about investigators that functions in a circular pattern where the myth reinforces the oppression of those who are perceived as emotional, while the oppression reinforces the myth that it is bad to be emotional. In order to give a full account of what it means to be a good investigator, then, we should acknowledge how emotions function to produce passionate investigators who are reliable observers. The first point Jaggar thinks a full account should include is that in many ways emotions are socially constructed in a way that reflects the norms and values of our society, and that this emotional construction influences our evaluations and observations of the world. The second aspect of the social construction of our emotional constitution she wants to point out is that our emotional construction is not complete in the sense that there are people who do not always respond to or evaluate particular situations in a manner that reflects social norms and values. Jaggar calls these unconventional emotional responses and evaluations â€Å"outlaw† emotions, and states that they are usually experienced by â€Å"subordinated individuals who pay a disproportionately high price for maintaining the status quo† (1992, 160). However, when the distinction between emotion and reason is maintained biases against emotional responses in general and unconventional emotional responses in particular, are disregarded. For example, a woman may feel anger or fear when a sexist joke is made, but when she tries to voice her opinion she is told either that she did not understand the joke or that she has no sense of humour. Thus, when the distinction is maintained it makes it difficult, if not impossible, to realize that the joke is not funny because it is based on a negative stereotype. That is to say, it is not acknowledge that the stereotype and the expected emotional response is dictated by the current norms and values. Furthermore, because a woman, who may already be identified as a bad observer, is pointing out that there may be a mistake in our way of thinking, her response is disregarded as emotional and unreliable, and the oppressive norms and values go unquestioned. 2. Jaggar’s Methodology and Potential Problems The benefit of ridding ourselves of epistemologies that do not acknowledge the role of emotions, both conventional and unconventional, is that we can begin to recognize which norms and values are causing harmful biases and negative stereotypes. Furthermore, Jaggar claims that feminist outlaw emotions—which are outlaw emotions that â€Å"incorporate feminist perceptions and values†Ã¢â‚¬â€are particularly useful in feminist epistemology because they â€Å"can help in developing alternatives to prevailing reality by motivating new investigations†¦Feminist emotions provide a political motivation for investigation and so help determine the selection of problems as well as the method by which they are investigated† (1992, 161). Although Jaggar meant to offer a rough sketch of some of the changes that need to be made to our epistemic theories and practices, I think there are  some potential problems that need to be addressed. For one, I think she needs to say more about how we should determine which emotions will lead to fruitful norms and values, and which emotions we should reject. To her credit, it seems that Jaggar recognizes this is a question that needs to be addressed given that she tries to give reasons for why â€Å"certain alternative perceptions of the world, perceptions informed by outlaw emotions, are to be preferred to perceptions informed by conventional norms† (1992, 161). She claims the reason women’s outlaw emotions should be given consideration is because women are not members of the group that conventional beliefs about emotions privilege. Given that women experience the consequences of not being privileged, they are not as likely to adhere to these norms without question. Hence, they are better able to articulate the negative aspects of their experiences because they do not fear that this questioning of norms will threaten their privileged status. The problem with this response is that it does not seem to fully answer the question, because some outlaw emotions will not provide reliable guides to identifying biases, and so the difficulty will be distinguishing which emotions are reliable from those that are not. In order to give a more robust argument for why we should give special consideration to the emotions of oppressed people she needs to first address the fact that the â€Å"oppressed† do not share one perspective. As pointed out by Marilyn Frye, one problem with making claims about the standpoint of women’s emotional perspectives is that such claims seem to presuppose there are universal types of emotions—outlaw or otherwise—that are consistent throughout the emotions experienced by women. Frye notes that this is a mistake often made by feminists given that it is common for epistemological theories to espouse that â€Å"all knowers are essentially alike, that is, are essentially like oneself: one thinks that one speaks not just as oneself, but as a human being† (35). What happens in feminist theorizing as a response to this attitude is feminists become convinced they need to speak as â€Å"Women† in order to be taken seriously. As Frye points out, feminists often face the difficult task of trying to articulate â€Å"the circumstances, experience and perception of those who are historically, materially, culturally constructed by or through the concept women. But the differences among women across cultures, locales and generations make it clear that although all female humans may live lives shaped by the concepts of Woman, they are not all shaped by the same concept of Woman† (36). [vi] The point I want to stress from this passage is that not all women will experience the same emotions in the same contexts because we are formed by different concepts of â€Å"Woman† even though women in general face oppression in one form or another. In response to the problem of women’s differing experiences, Frye suggests feminists approach epistemology with a different methodology. That is, a methodology that will allow women to give meaning to their own experiences even though they are not experiences that are shared by all women. Part of this project entails that feminists give up the notion of a universal women’s experience. Another part is that they listen to many different women’s experiences and look for patterns of similarity. Frye suggests this methodology will result in the following: The experiences of each woman and of the women collectively generate a new web of meaning. Our process has been one of discovering, recognizing, and creating patterns—patterns within which experience made a new kind of sense, or in instances, for the first time made any sense at all. Instead of bringing a phase of enquiry to closure by summing up what is known, as other ways of generalizing do, pattern recognition/constructions opens fields of meaning and generates new interpretive possibilities. Instead of drawing conclusions from observations, it generates observations. (39) I think this methodology will be helpful in pointing out the outlaw emotions that can offer guidance as to which of our norms and values are questionable, and opens a dialogue over potential ways to change them. The methodology Frye advocates can be further developed if we consider potential ways in which women can express their experiences such that patterns can be recognized. One approach that I find particularly convincing is offered by Morwenna Griffiths. Griffiths suggests that feminist epistemologists can employ autobiographical accounts of women’s experiences as a means of articulating the differences between women’s experiences. Like Frye, Griffiths also notes that there is no one experience common to all women. However, Griffiths further claims that, â€Å"[i]ndividuals are not entirely of one group or another. On the contrary, individuals are fragments of an uncertain number of groups† (62). The conclusion she draws from this point is that it is an oversimplification to limit the types of knowledge humans can acquire into categories like women’s knowledge. One person can experience oppression from the perspective of more than one position. To name a few, one may experience oppressions from the perspectives of a particular race, class, gender, or sexual orientation, and intersections of these. For example, the oppression experienced by a native woman is not the same as that experienced by a native man or that experienced by a white woman. Hence, Griffiths suggests that one’s positions in the world at different times can contribute to her understanding of the world, which in turn will influence the knowledge she can acquire about the world. Noting the different positions from which an individual can have experiences and acquire knowledge is important because it suggests that there can be similarities between the positions we occupy and the individual experiences we have. This potential to have similar experiences of the world further suggests that similarities in experience make it the case that we are not completely denied access to other people’s understanding of the world. The reason Griffiths thinks autobiographical accounts are a crucial feature of feminist epistemology is because the way in which individuals come to find similarities in experiences is through language. To further clarify her point, she argues that, language has a considerable power to determine what we see and do, but this power is not absolute. We also create new language, by working on the languages in which we live. Individual experience can be used in creation knowledge in combinations with the experiences of others. Groups can develop languages of their own if they share particular psychosocial, social and linguistic experiences. Thus women in society, for instance, who share particular positions within it can develop a way of talking about this. (66) In short, Griffiths suggests that language is key to feminist epistemology because it points out how women with different experiences can nonetheless come to some consensuses on the oppressions they experience and the knowledge developed from these experiences. 3. Conclusion I think that if we incorporate Griffiths’ and Frye’s approach on Jaggar’s theory what we will find is a more tenable response to questions about which outlaw emotions can be regarded as being particular to women: namely, patterns of outlaw emotions that feminists have recognized through the expression of different women’s autobiographical accounts. And once we can start pointing out the commonalities between the different perspectives that arise from the standpoint of different women, we can begin show that there is something about women’s reality that makes it the case that they are experiencing the world differently than men. I have not even scratched the surface with respect to giving a detailed explanation of exactly how Jaggar thinks a fully functional theory of outlaw emotions might look. However, I am assuming that once theorists start admitting that emotion is an integral part of epistemology the intricate details of how to identify fruitful outlaw emotions will be worked out. For instance, we might be able to start identifying patterns of emotions that could be considered outlaw emotions and which norms and values that they are a response to. And this recognition will further our abilities to start questioning the norms and values that guide our epistemic practices. I think this is the sort of thing Jaggar had in mind when she states that the benefit of bridging the gap between emotion and knowledge is that our emotions, when properly accessed, â€Å"may contribute to the development of knowledge, so the growth of knowledge may contribute to the development of appropriate emotions† (1992,163). The development of this project may be slow and arduous, but given the problems that exist in traditional epistemology I think Jaggar’s project seems worthy of consideration as a potential contributor to a solution. NOTES [i] For the purposes of this paper I will equate feminist epistemologists with feminists philosophers of science given that there are many overlapping interests between the two. [ii] For similar arguments, particularly with respect to how positivism had contributed to the notion of the ideal objective knower, see Jaggar (1992) and (1983), especially pp. 355-358; Code (1993). [iii] As noted by Louise Antony, â€Å"For discussions of epistemological frameworks available to feminists, see Sandra Harding, The Science Question in Feminism, (Ithaca, N. Y. : Cornell University Press, 1986), especially pp. 24-29; Mary Hawkesworth, â€Å"Feminist Epistemology: A Survey of the Field,† Women and Politics 7 (1987): 112-124; and Hilary Rose, â€Å"Hand, Brain, and Heart: A feminist Epistemology for the Natural Sciences,† Signs 9, 11 (1983): 73-90. † (Antony 2002, Note 3). [iv] For discussion of Feminist Standpoint Theory, see Bar On (1993); Harding (1993); Longino (1993). For a more general analysis of essentialism in feminist theorizing, see Spelman (1988). [v] Thanks to Elizabeth Brake for clarifying the distinction between the emotion of amusement and the behavior of laughter, as well as supplying me with an example of amusement anticipation. [vi] Jaggar does mention that she is speaking â€Å"very generally of people and their emotions, as though everyone experienced similar emotions and dealt with them in similar ways† (Jaggar 1992, 157). And she further notes that â€Å"it is an axiom of feminist theory†¦that all generalizations about ‘people’ are suspect† (Jaggar 1992, 157). So she does, at the very least, seem to recognize that she may fall prey to Frye’s criticism. However, she goes on to argue that making generalizations about the emotionality of women is part of how the epistemic authority of men is perpetuated, and she does not address the issue of how she should deal with the problem as it applies to standpoint theory. I find this particularly odd given that in another work she claims that part of the project of feminist ethics entails that feminists be sensitive to the fact that all women are not similarly situated in such a way that universal claims can be made about them even though there are commonalities between women’s situatedness at times. (Jaggar 1991). So, although I am uncertain as to why she does not deal with problems that might arise from this issue as it applies to standpoint theory, I gather that she would welcome rather than reject feminist theories that could aid her in avoiding this problem as it would apply to feminist epistemology. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alcoff, Linda, and Elizabeth Potter. 1993. Feminist epistemologies. New York: Routledge. Antony, Louise. 2002. Quine as a feminist: the radical import of naturalized epistemology. In A mind of one’s own 2nd edition, ed. Louise M. Antony and Charlotte E. Witt. Colorado: Westview Press. Bar On, Bat-Ami. 1993. Marginality and epistemic privilege. In Feminist epistemologies. See Alcoff and Potter 1993. Code, Lorraine. 1993. Taking subjectivity into account. In Feminist epistemologies. See Alcoff and Potter 1993. Frye, Marilyn. 1996. The possibility of feminist theory. In Women, knowledge and reality 2nd edition. ed. Ann Garry and Marilyn Pearsall. New York: Routledge. Griffiths, Morwenna. 1995. Feminisms and the self. New York: Routledge. Harding, Sandra. 1993. Rethinking standpoint epistemology: â€Å"what is strong objectivity†?. In Feminist epistemologies. See Alcoff and Potter 1993. Jaggar, Alison M. 1992. Love and knowledge: emotions in feminist epistemology. In Gender/body/knowledge. ed. Alison M. Jaggar and Susan R. Bordo. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. . 1991. Feminist ethics: projects, problems, prospects. In Feminist ethics. ed. Claudia Card. Kansas: University Press of Kansas. . 1983. Feminist politics and human nature. New Jersey: Rowman Allanheld Publishers. Longino, Helen E. 1993. Subjects, power and knowledge: description and prescription in feminist philosophies of science. In Feminist epistemologies. See Alcoff and Potter 1993. Scheman, Naomi. 1993. Engenderings: constructions of knowledge, authority, and privilege. New York: Routledge. Spelman, Elizabeth V. 1988. Inessential women: problems of exclusion in feminist thought Boston: Beacon Press.

Hester vs. the Community in The Scarlet Letter Essay examples -- Scarl

Hester vs. the Community in The Scarlet Letter      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter seems to be created around Hawthorne's obsession with the forbidding quality of the scarlet "A", the symbol from which the novel takes its title. Rrom the rose-bush which Hawthorne selects a flower from as an offering to the reader(1) to the "elfish" child Pearl, every aspect of the story is drenched in this letter's scarlet hue. Perhaps this repetition reflects Hawthorne's own repressed desires, as some critics suggest(2). However, what seems more compelling is the function which the symbol serves for Hester Prynne and the community which has condemned her. For Hester the symbol is clearly a literary one; she fashions the scarlet "A" to fulfill the function of telling, in one solid image, her story of sorrow and strength. For the Puritan community the symbol does not lead to truth, but rather conceals it. They place their fears and darkest imaginings into this brand. Hawthorne's possible artistic obsession brings to l ife a tortured woman, and the torment of the society that inflicts her punishment.    Freudian symbolism must be differentiated from literary symbolism in order to form a deeper understanding of the symbolic scarlet "A" conceived as a punishment by a Puritan society's desire to uphold its truths, but brought into physical existence by Hester Prynne's "fancy."(3) Daniel Weiss embarks on the enterprise of solidifying this distinction in the first chapter of his book titled The Critic Agonistes: Psychology, Myth, and the Art of Fiction.(4). Weiss suggests that "the literary symbol is a concrete and untranslatable presentation of an idea, or an experience that cannot find its way into consciousness except throu... ...Art of Fiction. Ed. Stephen Arkin and Eric Solomon. Seattle: U of Washington P. (1985): 21. 11. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter: Ed. Ross C. Murfin. New York, New York: Bedford Books of St. Martins P., (1991): 74. 12. Weiss, Daniel. "The Critic Agonistes". The Critic Agonistes: Psychology, Myth, and the Art of Fiction. Ed. Stephen Arkin and Eric Solomon. Seattle: U of Washington P. (1985): 21. 13. Brodhead, Richard H. "New and Old Tales: The Scarlet Letter." Hawthorne, Melville, and the Novel. Chicago: U of Chicago P., (1973): 44. 14. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter: Ed. Ross C. Murfin. New York, New York: Bedford Books of St. Martins P., (1991): 58. 15. ibid. 57. 16. ibid. 112. 17. ibid. 75. 18. ibid. 75. 19. ibid. 161. 20. ibid. 154. 21. ibid. 200. 22. ibid. 201. 23. ibid. 134.   

“Three Men in a Boat and Nothing of the Dog” Analyses

â€Å"Three men in a boat and nothing of the dog† The story I am going to screen is entitled â€Å"Three men in a boat and to say nothing about the dog†. It was written by a famous English writer Jerome Klapka Jerome. He born in Walsall, Staffordshire, England on May 2nd, 1859, in the family of a preacher and coal mine owner. Leaving school at the age of fourteen after his mother's death, Jerome worked such diverse jobs as a railway clerk, a journalist, and a schoolmaster. He also tried himself as an actor, playwright, editor, and at last he found fame through his writing.His first book â€Å"On Stage and off† was published in 1888. In 1889, Jerome published the humorous Three Men in a Boat. It might be interesting to know that these three characters are based on Jerome himself and two real-life friends, George Wingrave and Carl Hentschel, with whom he often took boating trips. The dog, Montmorency, is really fictional but, Jerome K. Jerome admits that in all Eng lishmen, contains an element of the dog. What brought him fame was his original idea and using simple plot structure which helps readers to understand and be involved in the story.Let me introduce a brief plot of the story for the film: As the beginning of the story three main characters come to Sonning, a town on the river Themes, where they decide to put up for the night. After that friends have plenty of time that is enough to cook a supper. In the inciting incident, they make up their mind to prepare an Irish stew; therefore, it would be a good opportunity for gentlemen to eat all odds and ends. Next we’ll show the process of cooking in details, and it is used as rising actions of the story.In climax, Montmorency, the dog, brings a dead rat, which is the point of a little discussion. Finally, all the characters are satisfied with the supper that means that the Irish stew was very tasty and delicious. To understand how the friends successfully managed to prepare an Irish s tew we should analyze the characters of each hero. . As for George, he is household and a leader, because he proposed to make an Irish stew. He gathered woods and made a fire, it means that he’s an experience cooker. In addition, he is creative, that is proved by his adding ll odds and ends to the stew. And as it’s said, every housekeeper has his own recipe of the Irish stew, so George used all his knowledge and imagination and invented his own recipe. He is hard-working and level-headed. Moreover he determined and economical; it can be seen in all his actions and metaphor words: â€Å"Oh, that won’t do! You’re wasting them. You must scrape them. † To say more, George refused the idea of adding a dead water rat to the stew, and that’s enough to say that he is a very conservative gentleman.To tell about Harris, I can say that he is totally emotional, open-minded and joyful. Besides, he is sociable, cheerful, enthusiastic and talkative. Harris suggested adding the water rat, brought by Montmorency. He must be very extravagant and experimental, so even judge George to be a man hampering the world’s progress. Harris’s partner of scraping and peeling potatoes was easy-going and single-minded narrator. I think he is calm and flexible, and at the same time is very enthusiastic, talkative and romantic, judging by the way he describes the sonning and nature.I think they are all romantic because they were all inspired by the idea of making this great trip. And they enjoy and admire the nature, new places and their adventures. To show their joy characters there’s such hyperbole is used â€Å"I should never have thought that peeling potatoes such an undertaking†. Then the author uses such stylistic devise as metaphor, for example ‘they stood in the potato-scrapings half-smothered†. Judging by dialogues of the main characters of the story – Harris, George and the narrator, it’s clearly that they are intelligent and well-mannered people.The author uses indirect speech in order to male characters contrast. He avoids stock characters; they are quite individual and original. It’s hard to identify a development of the characters, they just try to travel and learn how to survive without early experience. The author describes the actions in ironical and humorous way. The method of presentation is subjective and the reader sees everything from first-person narration. Also that method helps the readers to feel the atmosphere of the story and imagine themselves on the heroes’ place.Every use of language devices presents how Mr. Klapka Jerome talented and skillful. In fact, Jerome K. Jerome is famous for his art of story-telling, the basis of our screen adaptation is the way the author presents the situation. The atmosphere of the story is warm and his vivid style and humour which is generally expressed in laughter-provoking situations often based on mi sunderstanding created a bright and comfort mood and witty and ironic tone. The story is full of such stylistic devises as metaphors, epithets, similes and hyperboles.And they help us to image town and understand what the characters felt at that time. While describing Sonning the narrator uses simile â€Å"it’s more like a stage village than one built of bricks and mortar†; it’s also used metaphor â€Å"every house is smothered in roses† to show how beautiful houses were. The language of the story is rich in colloquial idioms and phrases. Each sentence contains a complete thought, and the writer makes it a point to have all the causes of events fully expressed, without leaving anything for guesswork on the reader’s part.The author’s manner is highly emotional and in that time is easy to read and understand the topic of the story. The idea of our film would be real friendship. It is proved by the title of the story and the behavior of the mai n characters, which respect each other and stay friends in spite of little quarrels. The main idea is not expressed in a straightforward categorical manner, but it’s clear how important to stay friends during long period of time, don’t hurt each other and be ready to help in any case.And the river Thames seems to symbolize the life-stream and the boat is like friendship itself that helps us to avoid and solve problems. And in conclusion I’d like to say that our film would teach people to be friendly and look at problems in a humorous way, that’s very important in our life and what more not to turn the life into a routine. We are people and should not only work, spend and earn money but we also should develop, travel and pay attention to life values.

Improving Performance of the Work Team Essay

1.1 My company has defined expectations of Team Members which are given to each employee in the form of a job description backed up with a work contract signed by each employee when they join the company. These expectations include, a timekeeping policy which requires the individual to be at work at the stated shift start times and to contact the Team Leader within 30mins of that start time with any reasons why this can’t be achieved. This will allow the Team Leader time to call in help to keep production on target. Absenteeism and sickness are also closely monitored using a system called the Bradford Scale. This concentrates more on the number of occasions when an employee is off rather than the number of days as regular short periods of time off are more disruptive to the working team. If the number of points on the scale reach a certain level then the disciplinary process is used. Personal conduct is also expected to be appropriate as disruptive or aggressive conduct will affect the performance of the work team meaning targets may be missed or team members will be in conflict. Employees are also expected to reach certain levels of performance depending on the job they do. Training needs to be completed and personal objectives which are set annually by the area manager during appraisals are used to keep a continuous improvement mentality within each employee. Completion of set objectives also help towards future promotion and possibly pay increases. All these expectations help the company keep well motivated work teams who are self driven with good moral. 1.2 The objective for my team is to ensure we supply our customers (the other departments in our company) with enough optical fibre to meet the order demand for all the different types of fibre laser we manufacture. To help us meet this objective we use a system of KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) to indicate to us the current level of various indicators throughout the manufacturing process. These Include stock levels against the stock plan, current fibre yields, amount of work in the process at any given time, fibre consumed, fibre in validation, validated fibre, number of man hours available, shipped fibre. All these indicators are passed down through the organization as Laser orders are placed with our company. On the shop floor we break them down to a weekly plan of work depending on the position of current fibre stocks and yields. Each Friday the next weeks plan will be decided at a joint meeting between the area manager and team leader. Once the plan is drawn it is communicated to all the team members and then checked daily during the following week to report progress and any concerns or adjustments that need to be made. In turn the departments we supply with fibre will also have been set there weekly targets and depending on the work that they have in process will determine what target is given to us to supply. Our company works on a Lean basis meaning that no work will be in the line that has not been already ordered and this keeps online stock costs to a minimum. Due to the nature of our production process However, optical fibre is only confirmed as good quality once it is built in product, so to keep supply of good (Validated) fibre between us and our customers my department has to go against the lean principles and hold a stock of fibre on the shelf waiting for Laser orders. This ensures if a fibre fails in build we have enough stock to react quickly and replace the fibre without holding up the laser build line. 1.3 Individual team member performance has a very great effect on a teams overall performance, especially if the Individual is under performing. For instance if a team member was not completing the required amount of work each day this would put extra pressure on the remaining members of that team to meet production targets. This puts the team in a position of possibly not meeting realistic targets which are set on the basis that all team members perform to a set level. Team targets are also set around the number of available man hours per week. If a team member is constantly late or sick this will also put the team under unplanned pressure to meet any set targets. A four man team with one man out sick is down 25% in man hours which usually means most targets will need to be adjusted or missed. This then has a knock on effect in the next department who will be only receiving 75% of the product that they were planning for, and that effect depending on the ability to catch up on lost hours may go all the way to a customer in the form of a late delivery of a promised order. This reflects badly on customer relations and could at worse mean lost or cancelled future orders. Also a team member who does not put enough effort into their work can cause ill feeling and conflict in the team possibly leading to arguments and low team moral. This will have a drastic effect on the capabilities of the team sometimes causing other team members to reduce their efforts also. Underperformance of team members is a serious issue in a target driven environment and needs to be taken seriously by team leaders. It may be the case that outside of work influences are causing a team member to under perform so a friendly chat and understanding approach may be all that’s needed to encourage the team member to improve. Team members who perform above expectations can also boost the performance of a team in a positive way. These team members can motivate others to increase there efforts also. This results in better overall team results against target, which brings praise from management, improving team moral. This then means happy customers, more orders and longer term job security. 2.1 My own team has many indicators that we use to measure under performance. These include, Product Yield Charts, Disruption Reports, Weekly Targets, Scrap Reports and annual appraisals. A disruption report can be raised against our department for any problems our customers have regarding our supply to their line. This could mean damaged fibre, incorrect paperwork, failure to supply parts on time, or any event that â€Å"Disrupts† them from achieving set targets. These reports are then discussed each morning and depending on the severity of the disruption immediate solutions are put in place or a process of problem solving is started and monitored until the problem is solved. Yield Charts give indications of process and operator performance. Product failure codes are recorded and investigated. Process detractors can be used to highlight improvement areas, and operator caused defects can be feedback to the team or individual concerned. Scrap reports are also used to put a financial value on product scrap allowing prioritizing of the most expensive problems first. An annual appraisal is given to each employee by the line manager. If a team member has been under performing, the reasons will be discussed and a plan will be drawn to encourage the employee to improve. 2.2 Underperformance needs to be constantly monitored in the manufacturing environment. It could just be that a team is not meeting targets because the target is set to high which puts to much pressure on them, causing mistakes due to rushing. Team moral is an important factor regarding Team performance. If you have conflict between certain team members it will cause them to take their mind off the workload resulting in reduced production and quality issues. This can have a knock on effect and eventually spread across all team members unless it is dealt with promptly. Poor training can also be a reason why an individual or Team are not able to meet targets. Inadequate training will not only increase scrap costs it can frustrate operators who cant do the work properly and even put them in harms way if Health and Safety measures regarding the work they do are not included in the training. Sometimes people may have domestic or personal worries regarding health problems which affect their performance at work. These need to be discussed with supervisors or managers and depending on the circumstances help may be given to the individual. 2.3 The different causes of underperformance require different actions to rectify them. If a team member is underperforming for no other reason than being lazy then a quiet chat from the Team Leader away from the ears of other team members usually helps re motivate them. If the poor results continue then a disciplinary route of verbal and written warnings may be needed. Re training or extra training will help someone who is falling behind due to lack of process knowledge. If a Team is underperforming they can have a meeting and discuss the reasons as a team, and with all the ideas on the table from all team members, come up with a plan of action to improve their results. In my place of work underperformance can come in the form of a disruption report. A disruption report can be raised against our department for any problems our customers have regarding our supply to their line. This could mean damaged fibre, incorrect paperwork, failure to supply parts on time, or any event that â€Å"Disrupts† them from achieving set targets. These reports are then discussed each morning and depending on the severity of the disruption immediate solutions are put in place or a process of problem solving is started and monitored until the problem is solved. 3.1 Motivated employees are more productive than those who are unmotivated. They enjoy their work more and are usually less stressed. Companies work hard to find ways to motivate their staff. Motivation is the driving force behind all people’s actions. Psychologists have developed various theories about motivation in an attempt to better understand and control human behavior. This theory of motivation is based on the idea that people have strong cognitive reasons to perform various actions. This is famously illustrated in Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which presents different motivations at different levels. First People are motivated to fulfill basic biological needs for food and shelter, as well as those of safety, love and esteem. Once the lower level needs have been met , the primary motivator becomes the need for Self-Actualization, or the desire to fulfill one’s individual potential. Maslow believed employers would see better results from workers if they recognized the various needs of individual workers and if they varied the rewards offered to them.