The United States Never Had a Closed-door Policy Essay Example for Free

The United States Never Had a Closed-door Policy Essay Lawmakers and policymakers in the United States can continue to enhance American diversity through immigration.   As the world moves toward becoming a global society, American diversity will ehance the global positioning of the United States.   However, careful management of immigration must remain a top priority.   The United States must have stringent immigration policy to prevent entry of undesirable aliens.   But the country should not close its door to good foreigners who want to enhance and develop their talents in the USA.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   America   has never turned good people away.   The USA has always been open to new ideas from others.   The US constitution is the product of a synthesis of divergent inclinations, from which comes the most effective constitution in history.   It has always been, and will continue to be, US   policy to give those who have the resolve to succeed every opportunity to thrive in this country. Persons aspiring to become US citizens are generally the cream of the crop in their home countries.   Most are very successful in their fields of expertise.   They are prepared to compete globally and will most likely be successful in the USA.   Since they are already top achievers   they will enhance the competitive edge of this country.     Just as American Blacks, who came here as slaves, are doing well in every field, it is important to remember that most Americans are descendants of   foreign countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A closed door Policy is not the American way.   Americans are naturally competitive.   The USA has prevailed in nearly every war or battle it has recently engaged in.   The USA has experienced several economic depressions, always recovering successfully.   The USA is not intimidated by the influx of foreigners with various backgrounds, training, and experiences.   The USA can prevail against any competitor because US citizens have a competitive edge.   These experiences have sharpened the USA’s instinctive ability to prevail against any adversary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this age of globalization Americans must not hide in cocoons.  Ã‚   To do so would be counterproductive to maintaining this country’s competitive edge.   The advent of the internet has placed everyone on equal footing with others.   Therefore the USA is able to face competition head-on and remain at the top of the global competitive scale.   Being the primary world super power, the whole world looks to the USA for guidance and as a role model in international affairs.   If the USA puts the brakes on its own national and international policies, the rest world will slow down with it.   The problem is that several countries are waiting and willing to quickly assume the role of world leader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of these aspiring countries is China which already has political, economic, and diplomatic clout with many countries.   China maintained a closed door policy for centuries, eventually finding out the hard way that it was counterproductive.   Now that China’s doors have been opened to outsiders, the nation is experiencing an economic boom unlike any that has been recorded in China’s history. In fact, some economic leaders in other countries are of Chinese descent.   While some Chinese immigrants have attained citizenship status in and adopted foreign countries as their home, their loyalty remains with China.   This gives China a major advantage in dealing with aggressive US policy toward other countries.   Therefore the USA must not be complacent in its role as world super power.   Nor can the US risk cultural isolation from the rest of the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This does not   mean that the USA   has to be liberal in screening prospective immigrants.   The USA   must retain its strict policy against illegal border crossings, especially since many illegal immigrants are instrumental in bringing drugs from Mexico and South America. Failure to secure our borders means that The USA will continue to lose the war on drugs while losing an important generation of Americans to those drugs.   It also means that the crushing burden of failed immigration and homeland security policies will continue to fall exclusively on the shoulders of working men and women.   Not only do illegal aliens, and those who employ them,   cost the nation tens of billions of dollars in social services, principally in health care and education, but they also depress wages for American citizens. (Dobbs 2005)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unskilled foreign labor must be minimized   because it is a   burden to health care programs.   Unskilled foreign labor also creates undue competition for local unskilled workers.   What the USA   needs is for those who have special skills and talents to help improve American society.   The Commission is concerned about unskilled workers in American society.   In an age in which unskilled workers have far too few opportunities available to them, and in which national welfare reform policies will require thousands more to find jobs, the Commission sees no justification for the continued entry of unskilled foreign workers. (Briggs 2001)    The United States must strike a delicate balance between maintaining a strict immigration policy and keeping the borders open to those who will enhance the nation’s reputation.   Americans must remember that that their diversity has helped this country through times of political and economic depression.   The United States continues to be the model for global citizenship. Therefore, policymakers must continue to create policies that enhance that position.   Finally, lawmakers must secure the borders so that the U.S. economy is not overrun with illegal activity and American social structures is not compromised by uncommited or unproductive residents.   The United States of America must be a union of people, from different races and nationalities, whose capabilities are synthesized to push this nation to further greatness.   Works Cited Briggs, Jr., Vernon M. American Unionism and U.S. Immigration Policy. Center for Immigration Studies.   Aug 2001. 1 Mar. 2008. http://www.cis.org/articles/2001/back 1001.pdf. Dobbs, Lou. U.S. policy on immigration is a tragic joke. Arizona Republic 28 Aug. 2005. 1 Mar. 2008 http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/ viewpoints/articles/0828dobbs0828.h tml.

Importance Of Motivation For Organizational Success

Importance Of Motivation For Organizational Success Related to the magnificent changes that have happened in technology that leads the world towards Common denominators, and a diversified change happened in the world economic extension. The main economic change that result the most challenge not only for the domestic organizations but also for the multinational one is the up growth of the universal market. In order to be successful in long term business handling employees is one of the most critical equipments for a universal business to compete with others especially for multinational organizations. From here it raze the importance of the HRM (Human Resources Management) as necessary process to handle the complexity requests and needs of those multinational overseas organizations and to differentiate those successful organizations from each other. The core business of the human resources management is to attract the talents from the markets, help the organizations to achieve their goals through retaining the organizational talented employees and improve the employees performance through different motivational tools. From here the organizations started to understand that inspiring employees motivation needs more than the old tactic of carrot and stick. Today organizations need to understand the needs and advices of their employees and start to submit rewarding systems that can match those needs. To increase the level of motivation to improve the performance of individuals the organizations started to make rewarding systems that can works on the Intrinsic and extrinsic needs of the employees as employees differ as individuals from one to another. Some employees may be in need of extra wages or incentive and the others may need more responsibilities or opportunities to growth. Accordingly, motivating staff is part of an employers responsibility to attract and retain employees. The motivation process will help maximize the ability of human resource and develop sustainable management strategies for the organization seeking success and longevity. This research will introduce the many factors and provide answers to the questions that affect employee motivation as follow: What employees look forward to gain from their job Intrinsic and Extrinsic, How leadership style affect the employees and the whole organization motivation, The Effective techniques to reward employees, The importance of creating a supportive workplace, The role of open communication in maintaining motivation spirit inside the organizations, How to handle the demotivated employees, How to keep motivation spirit inside the organization. Importance of motivation in todays workplace environment The most important challenges that are facing the employers are two, the first one is how to motivate the employees to work achieve the organization goals and the second one is how to meet the needs of the employees to keep them motivated. Meeting the goals and achieving the organizational goals are both the most difficult factors facing any managers and they become more and more complex with the huge changes that has happened in todays technology and economics that leads to more and more changes in employees needs. : Importance of motivation for organizational success What is Motivation? How it effects the workplace environment? And why is it important for both employers and employees? These are the main questions that need to be handled as indicated below. Motivation is a management style of operating attitude based on the knowledge of what make people act and achieve it starts with physiological needs that turn on employees behavior, Luthans (1998) confirmed that motivation is the operation that wake up, energize, command, and reinforce the employees performance and behavior. Daft (1997) indicates that motivation refers to the power even intrinsic or extrinsic to the employees that trigger eagerness and assertiveness to pursue a specific course of action. Motivation could be defined as the interesting to spend high level of efforts and persistence towards the organizational goals conditioned by this high performance the ability to satisfy the employees desires and needs (Stephen, 2000). Decenzo (2001) define motivation as a result of interaction between the individual employees and the status, employees differ in the motivation drive, but the employees motivation changes from status to status and from place to another. Motivation is the willing to spend high level of work effort to allow the organization to reach its goals, conditioned by the ability of the organization to satisfy some individual needs of the employees Robbins, et al .(2001). Motivation defined related to the dictionary Websters something inside people that causes them to action and that this motivation is different from one to another. While the new Merriam-Webster dictionary defined it as a need that makes a person work and achieve. There are key words that can conclude the definition of motivation such as behavior, process, attitude, physiological needs, management style, energize, performance, needs, individuals, aim, goals, drives, some of the researchers like Luthans )1998) and Evans (1998) agreed that the motivation starts from the behavior and it is management process starts with physiological shortage that stimulate employees behavior towards a desired incentive. And to understand this motivation process everyone has to understand those three key words needs, motives and rewards. Daft, (1997) and Decenzo (2001) agreed that motivation is a result of interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and it differs from status to status and from individual to another. While Stephen (2000) and Robbins, et al (2001) agreed that motivation is the willing to spend high level of work effort to allow the organization to reach its goals, conditioned by the ability to satisfy the employees needs. Understanding the meaning of the work place environment expression is very important as it effects the employee performance and motivation in direct way, The work place environment is like the iceberg the apparent part of it is the physical one that can be identified as the place that one works in an office building or from home, the air quality, decoration, equipment, and the safety measures while the hidden part which is the most important and it reflects about 80% of the work environment is the culture, values, believes, relation between employees and the employer, all those factors effect directly the employees motivation. Approaches theories for understanding employees motivation Motivation theories provides a way to understand the employees and human behaviors in different situations and status, and it gives attention to know what is the main factors and drivers that effects employees performance and increase the level of commitment and achievements, it also takes care of knowing what is the employees and human needs and how to satisfy those needs. Maslows Needs Hierarchy Maslow (1954) an American professor of psychology he arranges the human needs in a hierarchy pyramids starts with the physiological needs which is the basic needs and ends with the self-actualization. Maslow confirmed in his theory that once you fulfill the basic level of his hierarchy you can move to the upper one until you reach the top of the pyramids (figure 1). The five levels in Maslows Hierarchy are, (1)Physiological needs- the basic needs of employees which is comfortable workplace, fresh air, healthy food, main physical tools that allow the employee to finalize his day to day work. (2) Safety needs- rules that can keep secure employees safety such as life insurance and medical insurance, affording rules against harassment and violence, fair salary and incentive schema.(3) Belonging and affection needs- social needs, by affording the ability to work in groups, team building activities inside the organization. (4) Esteem needs- Ego/status the ability to be promoted, adding employees to talent of pool employees inside the organization, getting the opinion of the employees in company decisions. (5) Self-actualization- Special assignments to employees to allow them to show themselves against the others and to gain more personal and professional experience, giving more responsibilities in decision making and in handling other employees and ta sks inside the organization. Maslow indicates that the satisfaction progression allows the employees and humans to move from one level to another, which is not the case in practice as some employees can move from one level to any level else based on his capabilities and his level of maturity and not in that systematic way. Alderfers ERG Theory Alderfer condensed Maslows five needs hierarchy into three levels only: Existence needs- include all physical and safety desires, he merge the first two needs of Maslows hierarchy into one level. Relatedness needs- which show the belonging and affection needs of Maslow. Growth needs- which include esteem needs and the self-actualization in one level (figure 2). Alderfer also submit the Frustration-regression principle, which suppose that the employee can move in and out of the different levels based on if their needs have been done or not which is more logical than Maslows theory. Alderfer theory priorities the needs level based on the realistic, existence needs is the most realistic and the Growth needs is the low realistic as it based on the special capabilities of each employee. Herzberg Theory of Factors Frederick Irving Herzberg an American psychologist he adjusted Maslows needs theory and reached two areas of needs that motivated employees and those two areas are shown in (figure 3) as follow: Hygiene which includes the factors that leads to job dissatisfaction and this shows the lower level of motivators that include pay, work conditions, supervision and how the business is run. Motivators which include the factors that lead to motivation in the workplace and this show the higher level of motivators that include responsibilities, the nature of the work, recognition and achievements. Herzberg theory is very easy one that shows that the employees desires and needs is more than that on the hygiene level but the motivators in workplace is more important than the physical needs. McClellands Acquired Needs Theory McClellands build his theory in that the employees needs is not a natural or inherent but it is obtained learned and improved based on the experience that employee gained during life experiences and the three types of needs in this theory are shown in (figure 4): The first indicates the need of achievement- the n-ach employee is achievement motivated that needs challenging realistic goals, always willing to success, they prefer to work as an individual or with another high achievers employees and asking for feedback regarding their work progress. The second one is the need of affiliation- the n-affil person is belonging motivated that needs to belong to a team, like the cooperation environment than the challenging and competition one. The third one is the need of power- The n-pow person is authority motivated, want always to win and to control over things, enjoy emulation and wining. All the above theories have explained the human and employees motivators and how to motivate employees based on their needs and desires from different perspective. McClellands concept of achievement motivation is relative to Herzbergs motivation-hygiene theory, people with achievement motivation resort to be interested in the motivators. The motivation theories also furnished a ways and tools to understand and deal with employees behaviors in different situations. No theory of the above is suitable for all employees or for all situations as each employee has his own values, believes and capabilities and the reaction of each employee will differ from another based on the organizational tools submitted to increase the level of motivation of its employees. Motivation Framework Model Motivation framework Model consists of the rewarding systems; extrinsic rewards systems that cover the physical rewards that come outside the job and the other is intrinsic rewards system that reflects the personal satisfaction that comes from the job itself ( figure 5). And it covers leadership style and develop communication process. Extrinsic rewarding system Extrinsic rewards come from a source outside the job, mainly by management; extrinsic rewards are physical and material rewards they are divided into financial and non-financial type of rewards. The financial extrinsic rewards are divided into three main categories: The first one is performance based- such as bonus, commission, incentive plans and merit pay plans. The second one is implied membership-based- such as cost of living increase, labor market adjustment and profit sharing. The third is the explicit membership-based- such as protection programs, pay for time not worked and services perks. While the non financial extrinsic rewards that make life on the job more attractive are for example: Business cards, assigned parking space, own secretary and impressive titles. The role of the extrinsic rewards yes is important but it becomes to shrink nowadays after the huge change that has happened in transferring of data and information technology and increasing the complexity of handling business after merges and accusations that has happened in both multinationals and domestic organizations that leads to huge change in the world economical situations. Intrinsic rewarding system Intrinsic rewards reflect the personal satisfaction that comes from the job itself, the intrinsic rewards is more intangible and it is working mainly on the individuals and how they feel about their organizations and their job. There many types of intrinsic rewards such as: (1) Participation in decision making, (2) Greater job freedom, (3) More responsibility, (4) Opportunities for growth, (5) Diversity of activities. The intrinsic rewards appears to create a winwin equation for both employers and employees and it does not depend on more financial rewards to gain more performance achievements and it becomes more convenient when resources are scarce. Leadership Style Leadership style plays a vital role on workplace motivation; these styles may leads to very positive effect or very negative effect according to the leadership style that managers and leaders within organization use, and these styles may even vary from department to another within the same organization. The following characteristics are essential triggers to measure the leadership style: A. Leader Vision: If the number one factor that inspires employee motivation is a manager with vision, so the biggest challenge as a manager is to figure out a clear-convey to employees a clear vision of what Manager hope organization, division, department, or team will achieve, Then enabling employees to live out that vision by helping those set objectives, or strategic imperatives. When employees fully understand where their organization is headed and what their role is in meeting that goal, they are far more motivated than employees who are left in the dark. Organizations that have a clear, well written, and well communicated vision or mission statement that describes their ultimate goals has a higher chance to achieve its strategic objectives. It is also very important that all departments within all organizations articulate a vision for their own department and convey it to department team; and this vision will be very efficient when employees input are welcomed and treated with respect toward achieving this vision. B. Creating and Setting Strategic Imperatives: Employees should have individual strategic imperatives that will contribute to reaching departments overall vision. Get all employees involved in the process, not only in creating their own objectives, but in developing objectives for the department. Departments overall goal should already be evident or at least outlined departments Manager. It never hurts to remind staff members of the goals if Manager hasnt done so lately. Its hard for employees to remain inspired when they have no specific and clear goals. Organizational and departmental mission statements are good motivational starting points, but to keep and maintain such motivation, Managers are in need to set objectives, or strategic imperatives, for department and individual employees. Strategic imperatives are limited, specific goals that we can complete and measure. Employee who are willingly to take on more responsibilities, need their manager to Support their ongoing motivation by making their objectives extended to the others. Manager need to Explain to employees that though there is a defined list of strategic imperatives, if they see another item that needs to be included, by all means manager need to add it. Most importantly, managers must reward those employees for their strategic vision and the extra work they do. C. Recognition: Leaders must think positively toward their subordinates, so Leader need to be able to create more ideas when introduces some of his objectives on areas that are already successful. Plus, its fulfilling for employees that have good leader ship style be reminded of the things they have done well. Employees will be much more motivated to meet their strategic imperatives if they know that their work will be appreciated and recognized. That means that Managers or Leaders needs a way to measure their productivity and achievements. Praising is one of the most influential tools that leaders use to get the most and impressing ideas and innovative from employees. D. Creating Job Measures: Job measures provide a way to quantify employees improvement in meeting their strategic imperatives. Job measures should relate to the type of strategic imperatives that Manager and an employee have agreed upon. Here are a few variables leader might take in consideration when quantifying the job of his employee: first one is Timeliness- The number of times deadlines are met and the reasons why deadlines are missed. The second is Accuracy- The ability of employees to perform without mistake. And the third is Following procedures- The ability of employees to follow guide lines, policies and standard procedures in their work. To help employees get the most from performance measurement, leader need to keep these guidelines in mind: Encourage employees to believe on the measurement as a way to promote self-growth, not as a way for Manager to check up on them. Communicate measurement results when it will help to do so. Make sure that Manager are always measuring processes, and not assessing the value of people. Measure processes related to own position too. Some employees have a strong level of self-motivation; so Continuous Improvement can be an important part of managers drive to help them succeed and achieve outstanding results. The following are some guidelines to help Manager or leader Support employee motivation to maintain high quality: Manager or leader need to emphasize and confirm that every employee is a link in the quality chain. If one link breaks, the chain breaks. Leader need to Help employees recognize that quality rests not only on the performance of the entire group but also on the performance of each employee. Manager or leader need to allow each employee to refuse everyone when she or he knows something is not top quality. Quality needs to be the ultimate authority. Manager or leader need to Respect employees judgment and give them both responsibility and authority. Authority without responsibility is dangerous, but together they provide the essential support for accountability and motivation. Manager or leader need to make results measurable and transmitted those results so that everyone can see progress. Manager or leader need to make quality part of the operation even when its difficult. The test of a real quality organization is its qualification to maintain high standards under pressure. People who have difficulty maintaining their motivation over a long period of time are not suitable for an organization practicing Continuous Improvement, total Quality Management isnt a project that starts today and is finished tomorrow, it is a continues process. Employees are inspired by values as well as vision. Practicing values, such as honesty, transparence, respect and fairness, will not only inspire employees, but it will also reinforce them to use the same values when dealing with internal and external stakeholders. Communication Process The communication is one of the essentials elements for any motivation process and it has a very big effect on the success or failure of motivation, and to assure getting the most positive effect of communication there are a lot of considerations as follows: A. Maintaining Open Communication: Maintaining open communication with employees helps inspire and maintain their motivation. But open communication means more than just accelerating employees meeting or a good word from managers; open communication includes a number of factors: Communicating regularly with employees in ways that meet their needs, visiting employees in their work areas, listening to employee concerns and accepting constructive feedback from employees. B. Communicating Regularly-and Appropriately: When Employees use certain expressions such as I dont know, I just work here. this must be considered as a clue that something wrong, as When employees feel eliminated and ignored, they often believe that their contribution to the organization did not recognize, which impede their motivation. Manager can support high motivation by communicating regularly with employees and by adjusting communication to meet their needs. Communication in todays workplace should be easy. No matter you are working on the same building, same city, same country or even same continent as the technology development reached levels that one cannot imagine. C. Visiting Employees Work Areas: It is very important for managers to get to know and understand their employees in order to be able to offer them effective rewards and reinforcement, the fact that a manager need to spend some time with employees in their own work areas to allow them to understand and inspire motivation on them. One work situation that shows a real communication challenge for the manager is the telecommuting employee. Managers have not to ignore or miss those employees the improvement of the technology and telecommunication since has solved this problem as manager can meet those employees through webinars, video calls, e-mails, and managers can also allow those employees at certain period of time to visit the organization Head Quarter (HQ) as a sign of appreciation and showing interest on him. D. Listen to Employee Concerns and accepting Constructive Feedback: Communication with employees must be a two ways communication, managers have to accept the constructive feedback from their employees and to practice the active listening style when communicating with their employees, to improve their active listening there are some strategies that can help in that: Managers have to pay attention and show interest when employees speak with them, Managers have to provide communication alternatives, seek clarification, give feedback, and summarize employee comments, Managers have to respond to employees ideas and opinions, without attacking verbally or putting them down, to respond honestly and openly, and to treat employees the same way they want to be treated and Managers have to show employees that they can trust them by avoiding making assumptions, listen to the full feedback or opinion without interfering with their own comments. E. Shows Respect: When Manager are paying attention and making efforts in developing open communication with their employees, they start to feel that their point of view have been respected and that their contribution in business are appreciated. When employees know that they are the first one to know what is going inside their organization and their department and they are apple to participate by their ideas and opinion in decision making they believe that their work is valued, and this helps build their motivation. Towards successful motivational framework à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Maintaining Effective Work Environment Managers have to support their employees who believe in their jobs and have high sense of motivation by creating a work environment in which employees feel appreciated, deputized and empowered. Two ways that can be used to create such type of positive and effective work environment: (1) Broadcast positive reinforcement- There are three basic types of reinforcement Positive, negative and punishment. Positive reinforcement given when managers rewards positive employee behavior or attitude with a positive reaction, while negative reinforcement given when manager rewards positive employee behavior or attitude by not carrying through on a negative response. The management uses the punishment when they meet negative attitude or behavior with negative reaction. Managers has to know the best type of positive reinforcement that can work efficiently with their employees as the motive changes from employee to another, and the only way to allow any manager to use this tool efficiently is to deal with his employees as individuals and this needs a lot of time from managers to spend with his employees to know them deeply and this is positive reinforcement by itself. (2) Create a friendly organizational culture- Besides working with employees as individuals managers have to spread a friendly work environment culture within their departments to increase the level of motivation, loyalty and team work culture, such as offering flexibility working hours, respecting diversity of workforce, opportunities for education and training courses, and some social exercises outside work. Handling Demotivated Employees Motivated employees are critical for the success of any organization, but a lot of managers are struggling to handle their demotivated employees, the problem of the demtivated employees in any organization is not only on them but also on the negative atmosphere that they spread inside the organization that for sure will have an impact of the motivation of the others. Sometimes the reason behind employee demotivation and poor performing is not related to the quality of the employee itself but to some other factors that effects his behavior and attitude, some of those reasons me be from outside work and the others are related to the job itself. Here is some reasons related to the job that can make the employee demotivated: If employees feel uncertainty related to stay in the same job or doing the same work for a long period without any increase in his responsibility or getting more empowerment that will him to lose the sense of achievement, If managers expectation for performance is so exaggerated that the employee cannot achieve it, If the employee did not have the enough skills that can help him to meet the expected performance. If the employee time is fully used in his current job and did not have much more time to spend in extra responsibilities, If the rewarding system inside the organization is not fair enough, If the rewarding system inside the organization can not fit the diversity of the experience and talented employees. The best way to determine the reason behind the poor performance is to have open discussion with the employee regarding his problem, and the manager has to be able to accept the unexpected feedback from his employee as the problem may be related to the leader ship style of the management. If the employee is consistently unable to meet performance standards for whatever reason will not allow the other team members to meet their goals and will decrease their motivation so it is the time to get red of such employee. Conclusion ( Must answer the introduction questions and complete it ) Related to the globalization that has happened during the last few years this requests high performance organizations and employees, the dilemma that there is a shortage of qualified employees and many business opportunities, this what makes the motivation systems a very hot topic inside the organizations as they are in need to extract the talented employees from market and at the same time keep the current high talented employees inside the organization. The second problem is that motivation is an internal factor and its benefit appears after a long period, and the needs of the employees are growing. The efficient development organizations and its management have to make feasibility studies about motivation types, the impact of it on employees performance and execution, and motivation sensitivity towards different external and internal stimulations. Organizations has to understand that they are handling humans, and those employees are the most important assets they own, and that motivation participation is to get the employees to do something because they want to do it, no business or job can be done without knowing or offering to the employees what they are in need of. The rewarding systems are extrinsic come from a source outside the job, mainly by management and they are mostly financial rewards, while intrinsic rewards reflect the personal satisfaction that comes from the job itself and are working more on individual needs and target mostly the talented people and they are not financial rewards. Organizations has to use the most suitable motivational programs intrinsic or extrinsic and to focus more during the next period on the intrinsic rewarding systems as it appears to create a winwin equation for both organizations and employees and it does not depend on more financial rewards to gain more performance and achievements and it becomes more convenient when resources are scarce. Based on the findings of this research, the following recommendations are made; Organizations should design developmental programs to increase its employees motivation in order to reduce their turnover, Organizations has to submit motivational programs that can retain their talented employees such as talent pool programs and career path programs, Organizations have to use fair rewarding systems to increase the level of motivation of their employees, Maintaining Open Communication and accepting constructive feedback from employees, Motivation on the job should not be restricted to extrinsic rewards only, but also intrinsic rewards, Organizations have to use employees Satisfactory Surveys (ESS) to measure the level of satisfaction and motivation of its employees.

Leadership In The Dead Poets Society English Literature Essay

Leadership In The Dead Poets Society English Literature Essay For this leadership report, we have chosen the movie  «Ã‚  Dead Poets Society  Ã‚ ». This movie was awarded for the best scenario in 1989 and was a great international success. We have selected this movie for different reasons that we will explain below. First, some members of our work group were teenagers when the movie was released. At that time, in some way, they identified themselves to the characters of the movie who are also teenagers. Carpe Diem had become a very popular concept in French schools because teenagers were concerned by the vision of life presented in the movie. The youngest members of our work group saw the movie for the first time a few years ago and were also impressed by the originality of the scenario. Moreover, we think that this movie covers many leadership aspects: each main character has his own type of leadership and there are interesting interactions and influences between the characters to speak about. For us, this movie has been like a leadership laboratory where to continue to learn from. We would like to point out that we have analysed leadership in this movie taking into account that the story takes place in 1959, that is to say at a time when educational standards were different from todays. In this respect, the behaviours of the adults like Mr Nolan (Director of the School) and Mr Perry (students father) sometimes may have appeared to us abusive, but at that time it was probably more common than today. The  «Ã‚  Dead Poets Society  Ã‚ » can be summarised as follow: In 1959, John Keating, an unconventional English literature teacher, has newly arrived at Welton Academy. This school is known for its prestigious teaching but also, and not the least, its rough and strict education. For the students, Mr Keating will be much more than a teacher: he will be their guide. He will teach them what cannot be learnt from books: speak up their mind, make their own choice of life, and in the end become free spirits. He will deeply influence his students especially Todd and Neil. Here is below a diagram that we have drawn up in order to represent the different characters and the influences they have on each others. This report will be divided in three different sections. First, we will focus on Mr Nolan, Director of Welton, and Mr Perry, Neils father, as they both appear as strong authority figures in the movie. In a second part, we will present Mr Keatings personality and leadership as an alternative to the authority figures. In a last part, we will focus on the personality and leadership of three other main characters that are students: Charlie Dalton, Neil Perry and Todd Anderson. We will then conclude this report by an open discussion on some particular aspects of leadership. Authority figures Mr Nolan Mr Nolans personality and relationships with the students Mr Nolan is the Director of Welton. His mindset is based on the Four Pillars of Welton which are tradition, honour, discipline and excellence. He truly believes in these values and is programmed to execute them. He wants the values of the school to be strictly regarded by the students. They all must know the four Pillars and adhere to them. As we will see in the following paragraph, his personality is authoritarian and his leadership can be qualified as traditional and conservative. At the beginning of the movie, his speech as part of the Welton welcoming ceremony reflects his mindset: he has a formal, solemn and very rigid attitude. He represents the prestigious Welton School and has a mission: prepare boys for college. It is his vision as a leader. During the ceremony, we can see pride on his face, particularly when he announces: Last year we graduated 51. And more than 75% of those went on to the Ivy League. (03:10) Both Mr Nolan and the ceremony he leads are traditionalist and conservative. We immediately understand that there is no place for imagination, innovation and creativity in this school. Later on, when he meets some of the students at the end of the ceremony, we can see how important excellence is for him and how he subtly puts pressure on the boys: Mr Nolan to Todd: You have some big shoes to fill. Your brother was one of our finest (04:42) Mr Nolan to Neil : We expect great things from you this year (04:50) The major trait of his personality is authority. His authority shows up very clearly in the middle of movie (01:12:06) when he arrives in the teachers room. He is very irritated due to an article that was written in the Welton Honour (school journal) that he qualifies as profane. This word profane that he uses is very strong. He wants strict sanctions to punish the ones that have written this article. He is also very suspicious. He has full power in the school and he is sure to find the guilty persons shortly. He expects a denunciation. His aim is to track down the ones that have dared to disregard the rules and the principles of the school and, in the end, defied his authority. Mr Nolan uses repression to serve the schools values which illustrates some dictatorial behaviour. Mr Nolan uses corporal punishment as a leadership tool. For instance he beats Charlie Dalton who is the boy who had written the article and then had dared to challenge him in public. Mr Nolans relationship with Mr Keating Mr Nolan is suspicious towards Mr Keating and discreetly observes him while he is teaching outdoor (01:03:06). The dialogues between Mr Nolan and Mr Keating look like a cordial confrontation as we will explain below. Mr Nolan says to Mr Keating that he is older, has more experience, knows what education is and that he was teaching English as well  «Ã‚  (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) long before your time  Ã‚ » (01:15:25), which shows that he expects respect from Mr Keating. Mr Nolan is imposing his vision of education on Mr Keating who is new in the school. Mr Nolan uses the word  «Ã‚  unortodox  Ã‚ » to qualify Mr Keatings methods. Mr Keating does not seem impressed and is both polite and sarcastic when he answers to Mr Nolan: Well, your reprimand made quite an impression, Im sure (01:16:09). Mr Nolan is not dupe and changes tactics towards Mr Keating asking him more concrete questions on his class. Mr Keating explains his own vision of education and life. Mr Nolan is then able now to openly criticize Mr Keatings methods. Here follows a portion of the dialogue between the two characters illustrating the above: Keating: I have always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself   (01:16:30). Nolan: At this boys age? Not on your life! Tradition, John. Discipline. Prepare them for college and the rest will take care of itself.  . This dialogue clearly shows that none can dispute Mr Nolans views on education at Welton. This discloses an autocratic leadership from Mr Nolan. All teachers must have the same vision. Mr Nolans behaviour shows some aspects of the transactional leadership model that we saw in class: when people have agreed to do a job, a part of the deal is that they cede all authority to their manager. That is what he wants Mr Keating to understand. Moreover, it is obvious for Mr Nolan that the prime purpose of a subordinate is to do what their manager tells them to do. There is no possible discussion. Mr Nolans leadership and honour After Neils death, Mr Nolan keeps his self-control. He wants to put a final point to this incident by finding an ideal guilty person. Such a serious incident must not soil his honour and the prestigious image of Welton. A guilty person responsible for this tragic event must be found. This will exonerate Welton. Mr Keating is for Mr Nolan the perfect scapegoat as his methods and way of thinking are too different from the schools principles. All over the film, Mr Nolan is still the same: authoritarian and dictatorial: He does not tolerate to be challenged. He cannot stand  «Ã‚  thinking different  Ã‚ ». There is no change from the start to the end of the movie. He steers a course and his objective his clear: to be Weltons servant and keep it in traditionalism and austerity to preserve its prestige. Mr Perry Mr Perry is Neils father. As we will see below, he can also be regarded as a strong authority figure. Mr Perry is a very strict man. He has a rigid behaviour both in his own way of life and in the way he educates his son. The way he wears, the severity of his face (when he is angry at his son) and some details like the way he carefully aligns his slippers on the ground when he goes to bed at the end of the move (1:38:27), reflect his mindset. His conception of life is based on strict order, discipline and planning. On the one hand, Mr Perry is very authoritarian with Neil: You do what I tell you, is that clear? (08:09) He commends Neil: I have spoken to Mr Nolan, youre taking too many extracurricular activities this semester. I have decided you must drop the annual school. (07:31) On the other hand, Mr Perry becomes gentler with his son only when Neil agrees with him If you need anything, let us know. In that way, Mr Perrys leadership towards Neil has some patterns of the transactional leadership: he has full authority on his son and Neil just has to obey him. If Neil obeys, his father offers him his support, if not, he is punished. More than authoritarian, the leaderships style of Mr Perry is dictatorial: Mr Perry does not listen to his son and imposes his own views to Neil without asking him his advice. He is uncompromising. For instance, he says to his son: Tomorrow, I am withdrawing you from Welton and enrolling you in Braden Military School. You are going to Harvard and youre gonna be a doctor. (1:36:20) Mr Perry does not understand his son. For instance, he says: You have wasted your time with this absurd acting business (1:18:52). It is like if Mr Perry and Neil were not speaking the same language: Mr Perrys language is based on reason and Neils language is based on passion. Mr Perry also behaves as if he was himself persecuted by his son why is it that you insist on defying us (1:36:10). For instance, he also says dont ever dispute me in public, do you understand (07:59). He uses blackmail you know how much this means to your mother, dont you (08:15). He wants his child to do the studies and have the carrier that he would have liked for himself I have made many sacrifices to get you here and you will not let me down (1:20:07). You have opportunities that I never even dreamt of and I am not going to let you waste them (1:36:41). The result of Mr Perrys leadership is that communication with his son is impossible. His son cannot see any exit to the situation, except suicide. An alternative to the authority figures: Mr John Keating A leader must have the courage to act against an experts advice. James Callaghan : thats what Mr. Keating does. He goes against the schools rules. John Keatings leadership has two sides: a charismatic one and also a visionary and entrepreneurial one. Charismatic leadership Charisma is a sparkle in people that money cant buy. Its an invisible energy with visible effects. Marianne Williamson John Keatings leadership is mostly based on his personality. He is dynamic, enthusiastic, very dedicated to his students and very excited about schooling. The least we can say is that he is a very eccentric teacher that contrasts with the schools strict atmosphere. He makes a strong impression on his first day of class. The first scene when he meets the students for the first time is very important for the future relation he will have with them. They are all expecting a strict work atmosphere and teacher, but instead of that John Keating gets in the classroom whistling. The way the students are staring at each others shows how surprised they are by John Keatings casual manner and apparent lack of concern. He is the master of orchestra, trying to get the best of everyone. He can be seen as a guide, a spiritual leader who is providing an alternative way of learning, usually a funnier one. He makes the students realize they are the actors of their own destiny and that they have to choose their path. He pushes the students to go find answers by themselves using words as find your own walk, strive to find your own voice, free up your mind ,dare to strike out and fine new ground (1:02:39). He seems to have a halo over his students, like a preacher. He believes in them and the students believe in him. Mr Keatings aim is that the students get more confidence in themselves and dare go further taking initiatives. The movies tagline He was their inspiration. He made their lives extraordinary also very well illustrates the charismatic leadership of Mr Keating. Entrepreneurs and visionary leadership Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence. Bernard Montgomery He is an entrepreneur: he has the guts to do things differently, to take initiatives. He is a risk taker. Indeed, instead of following 100 years of conventional education like his predecessors have done, he chooses an alternative: teach the students how to become free men and seize the day. He teaches in unconventional ways. For example, the first lesson is done outside the classroom. Mr Keating makes it like a game, more tempting and dynamic. Here is below a sample of the dialogue between Mr Keating and one of the students illustrating the above: Mr Keating: Why the author does use these lines? A student: Because hes in a hurry Mr Keating: No! Ding! Thank you for playing anyway! (13:57) Later on, he asks the students to rip out the pages of a literature book, which is unbelievable for the students. Doing this, Mr Keating wants to teach them that what is written in books is not always right and that they must think by themselves as free men. Mr Keatings relationship with the students Tell me, I will forget. Show me, I may remember. Involve me, I will understand. Chinese Proverb Mr Keating has a special way of teaching: he involves his students. Indeed, he has a strong conviction and belief that his students could do and be the best. He feels he has to fulfil a mission: to take to them far away, the further they can go. He just has to show them the way, which explains why he has a special bond with the students. The relation is based on trust, more than a teacher/ student relationship. The fact that the students are keen to follow him and play his game shows that he has succeeded in making this vision come true. As an alumni of this school, he, better than anyone else, knows what it is like to be in their position. We can assume that it is why he is trying to be different and wants his lessons to help the students in real life. He is a sensible and intuitive man: since the beginning, he is able to detect his students personality. He is very fast in getting the flaws of his students. He understands them and acts to help them develop their skills. This can be noticed in his behaviour with Todd. He sees that Todd needs some help. He detects Todds fear and takes actions to make Todd go beyond it: Mr Keating à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I would kike you to compose a poem of your own, an original work. (Hes leaving the class and comes back a few seconds later) Mr Anderson. Dont think that I dont know that this assignment scares the hell out of you, you mole. (42:28) The limits of Mr Keatings leadership However, an unexpected event will put an end to Mr Keatings methods: the suicide of one of the students, Neil. Mr Keating is held responsible for Neils death by the Management of the school and is then dismissed. Mr Keatings objectives were to develop the students. However, he has had no control over them and their actions. He has proposed an appealing alternative of learning, but has not cleared up the negative possible consequences. We can think that he has been too idealist and that he has brought with him too many big changes in an organization whose values and objectives were totally different from his. For this reason, we can assume that Mr Keatings leadership was expected to probably fail one day or another. Portrait of three different leaders among the students Charlie Dalton Where he comes from Charlie evolves in the same religious school environment as his friends. This environment is very authoritarian. It is based on rules and habits that must be respected. We know that Charlie comes from a wealthy family and that his father is a banker. Charlies personality Charlie has a strong personality. He likes provocation and is sometimes a rebel. He is also the funny guy of the group. He is a happy-go-lucky person and can reveal himself thoughtless of the consequences of his actions. All over the film, there are examples showing his rebel side. We can see this trait of his personality very clearly when he announces to his friends that he has released an illegal article in the school journal. In this article, he pleaded for the admission of girls at Welton, which is by nature an insult to the Management of the school. Charlie does not see the consequences of his act, but his friends do. Following the release of this article, the Director of the School, Mr Nolan wants to find the guilty person and for this purpose he organizes a meeting with all the students. At the meeting, Charlie follows up his idea and defies the authority of Mr Nolan, pretending that he is receiving a call from God asking for the admission of girls:  «Ã‚  Welton Academy Hello  !   Yes, he is. Just a moment. Mr Nolan, its for you. Its God! Hey says we should have girls at Welton (1:13:07). He is also very proud. The scene that best shows his pride is just after he was kicked out by Mr Nolan as a punishment for the release of the article in the journal. As he is talking with his friends, he does not admit that he got hurt, but raises his head and reminds his friends of his warriors nickname Nuwanda (1:15:15). Charlie likes his new teacher, Mr Keating, not only because of his original vision of poetry, but also because Mr Keatings teaching methods make him free to experiment daring innovations. Charlie likes to experiment freedom. This is what we can see in the scene where Mr Keating asks the boys to walk in line. Charlie decides not to do the exercise saying to Mr Keating that he is Exercising the right not to walk (1:02:58). Mr Keating accepts Charlies position as he is precisely teaching the boys how to become free men. Charlies leadership At the beginning of the film, Charlie appears as a natural leader due to his personal traits: his is extravert, self-confident and impulsive. He has a sense of humour that the others appreciate. Because of his strong personality, his is the one that is noticed first in the group. He is the one who makes initiatives in the group. For instance, he is the first to hear Mr Keating and rip out the page of the poetry book: Mr Keating: Go on. Rip out the entire page. You heard me. Rip it outà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Thank you, Mr Dalton (22:15). He also chooses his own nickname Nuwanda (1:05:50) as if he was an Indian warrior. He is the only one in the group to do that and the others seem to admire him for his creativity. This shows that he also has some charisma. Charlies strong personality remains constant all over the movie, but does not match with the austere and strict rules of the school. However, Mr Keatings class and methods allow Charlie to express himself more freely. Time after time, Charlies leadership over the group is getting less important because of Neils leadership that is showing up and growing. For instance, when Mr Keating asks the boys to stand up on the tables, Charlie is not the first to go, but Neil is. We can say that Charlie does not remain a strong leader in the students group because his friends do not always understand and agree on his behaviours. Charlie acts on his own without consulting his friends. The result is that Charlie appears as uncontrollable and as someone who can put himself and his friends in danger (he released an illegal article in the journal). Charlie has then not kept the others confidence and cannot be considered by the others as their leader. Neil Perry Neils personality Neil is also a student at Welton and is one of most important characters in the movie. He lives in an authoritarian and respectful environment not only at Welton but also at home. He is expected to be compliant with strict and heavy rules and obey the strong authority of his father and school. Like all the students at Welton, he is supposed to follow a detailed order built around the four values of Welton: discipline, excellence, tradition and honor. Neil is an enthusiastic and a dynamic boy. He is the initiator of the re-launch of the Dead Poets Society. Judging by the way he acts and talks, he is very determined and self confident. For instance, a lot of his sentences begin with I want. His excitement and passion show up very well when he decides to follow his vocation: drama. In the movie, we can see that Neils personality has three different sides. Each of these sides appears depending on his circle of acquaintances: Neil appears as submissive to his fathers authority, he is more like a leader in his own group and finally he has a special bond with Mr Keating. Neils relationship with his father Neils personality weakens in front of his father, who represents the family authority: Neil seems to become compliant and passive. He does not dare to face him up, or to tell him that he wants a path different from what his father expects. He has a whole life planned by his father. His fathers authority overwhelms Neil and Neil cannot fight with him, but only express his agreement. Here are two examples of his apparent obedience to his father: 1. Mr Perry: Youre taking too many extracurricular activities this semester, and Ive decided that you should drop the school annual [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] Mr Perry: [..]. Dont you ever dispute me in public. Do you understand? Neil: Father, I wasnt disputing Mr Perry: After youve finished medical school and youre on your own, then you can do as you damn well please. But until then, you do as I tell you. Is it clear? Neil: Yes, Sir. Im sorry. (7:23) 2. Mr Perry : Dont you dare talk back to me. Its bad enough that youve wasted your time with this, this absurd acting business, but you deliberately deceived me. How did you expect to get away with this? Answer me. Who put you up to it? Was it this new man? Keating? However, we have noticed that there is a big difference between what he says to his father and the way he acts. Indeed, although it is difficult for Neil to tell his father what he wants for himself, he does not hesitate to write a false letter usurping his fathers signature in order to play in the drama in which he has a role. Neils relationship with his father contrasts with the one he develops with his teacher, Mr Keating. c) Neils relationship with Mr Keating One of the most interesting relationship in the movie is the one between Mr Keating and Neil, and more noteworthy the way it evolves. Neil is the first professors follower. He becomes totally fascinated by this teacher. Every time Mr Keating speaks, Neil is like captivated by Mr Keatings words. He admires him and considers him as a model with whom he can have free and confidential talks about his passions and dreams. Neil sees in his professor a mentor, teaching him how to live his life. He fully trusts his speech without questioning Mr Keatings mindset. d) Neils relationship with Todd Regarding his relation with Todd, Neil is like a mentor to him; he takes him under his protection and decides to help him live his life. Various scenes highlight the fact that Neil wants to help Todd by opening his mind to the world. For instance, Neil succeeds in convincing Todd to be part of the Dead Poets Society even if at first Todd does not want to because he does not want to take turn in reading. Neil does not want Todd to be excluded. He then offers to adapt the Dead Poets Society rules so that Todd does not have to read and feel comfortable in joining the Dead Poets Society. Here is a scene illustrating the above: Neil: Todd, are you coming tonight? Todd: No Neil: Why not? God, you were there. You heard Keating. Dont you want to do something about that? Todd: Yes, butà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Neil: But? But What? Todd: Keating said that everybody took turns reading, and I dont want to do that. Neil: Gosh, you really have a problem with that, dont you? Todd: No I dont have a problem. I just I dont want to do it, okay? Neil: All right. What if you didnt have to read? What if you just came and listened? Todd: Thats not how it works. Neil: Well, forget how it works. What if they said it was okay? Todd: What are you gonna go up and ask them? No Neil. Neil: I will be right back. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (30:47) In this scene, Neil pushes Todd to participate in the Dead Poets Society meeting. He could have just let him be alone but he wants him to come: he cares for him. Neil reproduces with Todd the same type of relationship that exists between Mr Keating and himself: He listens to his friend and tries to help him the same way Mr Keating listens and tries to help Neil. Neil maybe recognizes himself in Todd as a shy boy who does not dare to speak his minds. Indeed, Neil behaves the same way when he is in front of his father. Neil knows too much this feeling of weakness and just cannot let his friend like this. Finally Neil becomes a leader in his friends group thanks to his fascinated, enthusiastic and dynamic personality. He pushes his friends to rebuild the Dead Poet Society which makes him become a leader. e) Neils leadership Based on the characteristics of his personality as described above namely passion, enthusiasm and energy, we can say that Neil is a charismatic leader. He is the initiator of the re-launch of the Dead Poets Society and he has been able to communicate his energy to the other boys. Moreover he represents a model especially for Todd. He is also an entrepreneurial leader. Indeed, he is a risk taker who does not hesitate to break rules. Indeed, he rebuilds a society that is unauthorized and must remain secrete. He also writes a false letter to serve his objective which is play in a drama: he dares to take initiatives. He is also a relational leader who cares about developing the others skills particularly with Todd as we have explained in the above section. f) Neils evolution Leadership is a serving relationship that has the effect of facilitating human development. Ted Ward Mr Keatings leadership has revealed Neils personality: It evolves throughout the film. At first, we discover a person with an erased personality in front of the familys authority. Thanks to Mr Keating, Neil is going to develop his self-awareness and freedom of mind. This new awareness will lead him to position himself as leader in his friends group. Neil then becomes more passionate and dreamy. He fulfills his passion for drama thanks to the self-confidence he has developed. However, this personal development will not help him to speak up his mind to his father because he probably realizes that there is a too big difference between his fathers expectations and his own ones. He believes that communication with his father is just not possible and that he has no solution, but suicide. Todd Anderson Where he comes from Todd is a new student at Welton. His brother was himself a student at Welton before. Todds brother was one of the finest students and is remembered in everyones memory as an excellent student. As the Director of the School meets Todd for the first time, he says to Todd that he will have big shoes to fill. When Todd is introduced to Neils friends, one of them immediately refers to his brothers success: you are that Anderson! Valedictorian, National Merit Scholar (07:05). The strong image of his successful brother is difficult to cope with for Todd. Todd depreciates himself. This probably comes from the fact that his parents are completely focused on his brother and not sufficiently on Todd. For instance, each year Todd gets the same present from his parents for his birthday. As a result, Todd feels like abandoned by his parents. He feels like an outsider. This may illustrate the psychodynamic leadership theory: The parents have an influence on their childrens leadership when they are grown. Todds brother probably has had the esteem and confidence of his parents as the older son, which helped his development and success. Todd, the younger boy, probably has had less attention from his parents which has resulted in his lack of self-confidence. When he arrives at Welton, his family environment, and more especially his brother, is a heavy burden to cope with for Todd. Todds personality Todd is shy and introvert. He does not feel comfortable with others. He does not take any initiatives to make friends, but only responds to initiatives made by Neil and his friends. He is often on his own, studying at his desk. Todd lacks self-confidence and does not want to be noticed in a way or another. For instance, when Neil offers him to be part of the Dead Poets Society, Todd says no, noà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Keating said that everybody took turns reading and I do not want to do that (30:58). He does not want Neil to ask the other boys if they would agree on the fact that Todd would not read. This shows that he wants to be transparent to others. He also has some self-awareness as he points out his weaknesses to Neil: I am not like you Neil, you say things and people listen, I am not like that (45:49). Todd sticks to the rules strictly that is how it works (31:20) he says about the rules of the Dead Poets Society. He does not explore creativity and is then not able to look at alternatives different from the existing framework. For Todd, the authority of the adults (parents, director and teachers) prevails over everything else. When Neil wants to write a false letter usurping his fathers signature, Todd says that it is impossible to do that. Instead, he tries to convince Neil to ask his father the right to be in a play. In doing this, he tries to protect Neil from any serious problem with his father: he will kill you if he finds out you went to an audition and did not tell him (44:38). On the one hand, due to his personality and family context, Todd does not dare things. He is very static and conformist. On the other hand, he is cautious and does not take any unconsidered risks. Todds relationships Todd develops a strong friendship with Neil. He admires his friend who has charisma, vision and creativity. Todd is considered by Neil, which is something Todd had lacked so far as his parents have been focused on his brother only. Todd seems to consider Neil as a mentor: He can talk with him of personal difficulties, and get boosted b

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Stephen W. Hawking Stephen W. Hawking has a mind set that is beyond today's general way thinking. His attempts to identify a grand unification theory that unites everything we know about the physical world and science far exceeds any realm of thinking that has ever graced this earth. Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 in Oxford, England. He spent most of his childhood in and around London, and was always a bit of a self-educator. He was interested in the stars, and his family used to lie out on the grass looking at the stars. His writing was appalling, and he was one of the only people at school to be issued with a copybook. He was never really good with his hands, and gave the impression of nervousness, being lanky and awkward in movement. Stephen Hawking wanted to study mathematics and physics in a university, but his father believed that there would not be any jobs in mathematics and thus Hawking took physics and chemistry, and only a bit of math. Another reason he didn't do mathematics is because when he attended University College, Oxford in 1959 they didn't do mathematics. Hawking's peers didn't really realize how intelligent he was until his second year of University. They were assigned 13 honors questions in the area of Electricity and Magnetism, and while it took his friends Derek, Gordon and Richard a week to do 2 1/2 of them, Hawking did the first 10 in 3 hours. "Because he didn't have time to finish the rest" was his reason for not completing all 13. He was a coxswain in the Boat Club, and was of course a member of the Boyle Society . At one point during his time at the University, when Hawking fell down a flight of stairs, he totally f! orgot who he was for a few minutes, but eventually he remembered who he was, where he was, and what he did last week, last month, and last year. It took 2 hours for him to remember actually falling down the stairs. Shortly after this he took a Mensa test to see if he was still bright or not and got 200 or 250: so there was no permanent damage. In his 3rd year he began to notice that his hands were less useful than before. Hawking graduated from Oxford in 1962, at the age of 20, and took a trip to Persia with a friend. During the visit he got sick and after having tests shortly after returning and going up to Cambridge to do Graduate work, he was diagnosed with Amytropic lateral sclerosis also ... ...t. A Brief History of Time was meant to explain the basic ideas of laws that govern the universe. Hawking said that "Equations are necessary if you are doing accountancy, but they are the boring part of Mathematics. Most of the interesting ideas can be conveyed by words or pictures". The book was published on April Fool's Day, 1988--6 years after he started writing it. Since then it has been translated into 30 languages, and has sold about 5.5 million copies. A film has also been made, as well as A Brief History of Time: A Readers Companion . Hawking is also a Fellow of the Royal Society. He attended the induction of Prince Charles into the Royal Society a year or two after his own induction, at which time he ran over Prince Charles' toe with his wheelchair! Hawking believes that he is no different than anyone else. He believes that science is for everybody, not just a few scientists. If ever there is a complete theory of the universe, he believes that it should be understandable by everyone and discussed by everyone. "If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we would know the mind of God." -Stephen Hawking.

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Use of Satire to Target Religion, Military, and Optimism in Voltaire's Candide    In his work, Candide, Voltaire uses satire as a means of conveying his opinions about many aspects of European society in the eighteenth century.   Voltaire successfully criticizes religion, the military, and the philosophy of optimism.   Religious leaders are the targets of satire throughout Candide. Voltaire portrays the religious clergy as men who use their positions to further their own causes. In addition, the priests keep the less fortunate oppressed, so the clergy members can continue to enjoy extravagant luxuries. Candide discovers the young Baron, whom he thought to be dead, living among the Jesuit Priests of Paraguay. Assuming the native people must be thriving under the protection of these religious/military leaders, Candide believes this to be a most pleasant place to live. However, he soon discovers that the religious leaders are pilfering the resources of the natives. The young Baron is found eating from golden bowls while the native people live in poverty with very little food. Th... Use of Satire to Target Religion, Military, and Optimism in Voltaire's Use of Satire to Target Religion, Military, and Optimism in Voltaire's Candide    In his work, Candide, Voltaire uses satire as a means of conveying his opinions about many aspects of European society in the eighteenth century.   Voltaire successfully criticizes religion, the military, and the philosophy of optimism.   Religious leaders are the targets of satire throughout Candide. Voltaire portrays the religious clergy as men who use their positions to further their own causes. In addition, the priests keep the less fortunate oppressed, so the clergy members can continue to enjoy extravagant luxuries. Candide discovers the young Baron, whom he thought to be dead, living among the Jesuit Priests of Paraguay. Assuming the native people must be thriving under the protection of these religious/military leaders, Candide believes this to be a most pleasant place to live. However, he soon discovers that the religious leaders are pilfering the resources of the natives. The young Baron is found eating from golden bowls while the native people live in poverty with very little food. Th...

High School and Prom Essay

‘’ Did I dream that we danced forever, in a wish that we made together on a night that I prayed would never end ‘’ One of the most unforgettable moments in my life is in my high school days particularly the most awaited event of high school student is the junior and senior prom. I’m in my third year high school It’s Friday February 15, 2008 all the junior and senior students are required to join this once in a lifetime event. I’m so excited I can’t wait to wear my dress which is color pink, to put make up and to fix my hair. Before the prom begins I my friends and my classmate met on the gate we kept taking photos of us. We were so noisy at the entrance. And when the marshal said we have to go to the covered court because the prom is going to start now, I was so nervous. I kept on thinking ‘’what if i fall while I’m walking?’’ there’s so many ‘’what if’s’’ in my mind. The court where our prom held was beautiful. I was amazed and our court was so huge. I was excited to start the prom because I am one of the student chosen to be part of the cotillion and my partner is Darwin. Darwin is one of my closest friends during high school days. The cotillion was perfectly done. After the cotillion our student president made her speech I and my other friends were so bored and some complained that they were starving. After the speech of our president we could finally eat our dinner. After our dinner the program continued there was a lot of funny moment during the program. It was hilarious. But for me, the best part of that night was party party time. We all dance like crazy animals and the best part of it is that all my guy friends asked me to dance. I also dance with my girl friend we were laughing and just have fun. After the dance I decided to go home and change my clothes at the bathroom but my bestfriend Christal told me to wait for the party to end so I change my heels and put my slippers. The speaker starts mentioning those people who are nominated to be the prom queen and king of the night. And I was busy chattering with my friends when one of my classmate told me that my name announced by the host and I was shocked i said that I can’t go to the stage because I’m wearing my slippers already. But my best friend told me that it’s ok. So I went to stage with my slippers on and walk in front of the crowd. I am so shy and embarrassed because of this but thank God that I am not the one who choose to be the prom queen. And this is one of the unforgettable moments of my life it’s just a natural moment but because of this I gain more confidence and faith in myself.

History Coursework Essay

In this essay I will be explaining the main features of the New Deal, I will include Roosevelt’s main aims and alphabet agencies which helped America recover through the financial crisis. Emergency Banking Act – Roosevelt closed all banks for a four day â€Å"Bank Holiday†. Every bank was inspected only honest, reliable well run banks with enough money were allowed to re-open this was incredibly important because this was one of the major causes of the depression, the banks were giving large amounts of money to people who could not pay it back and so this caused a knock on effect. The Economy Act – Roosevelt cut the pay for everyone working for the government, army, navy and air force by 15% and saved a nearly 1billion dollars to be re-invested into the economy, these tough measures were needed for people who were unemployed or having financial crisis’s this money was extremely important so that the economy could make a slow but steady recovery. F.E.R.A – The Federal Emergency Relief Agency was given $500 million dollars to help the homeless or people who were struggling to make ends meet. They helped people with basic things such as food, clothes, mortgage payments, they gave great support for people who needed money for basic things. H.O.L.C – The Home Owners Loan Co-operation loaned money to people with very low rates of interest and people who could not keep up with their payments this was very important because it took the pressure of the home owner because they could rely on the government to help or support them with their finances. F.C.A – Farm Credit Administration helped farmers. They loaned money to farmers who were unable to meet their mortgage payments they loaned 100 million dollars in 18 months. A.A.A – Agricultural Adjustment Agency paid farmers to produce less food so that there was more demand for farmed products. The farms were overproducing and so they were losing a lot of money because there was no demand for those products. The AAA paid them to destroy their food and because there was more demand for the products there incomes increased, they nearly doubled! In conclusion Roosevelt was helping America’s economy unlike Hoover his aims of helping the economy were succeeding and the public began to lie him.