College Essay Topic #4 7 Essay Tips for Writing a College Application Essay About a Fictional Character

School Essay Topic #4 7 Essay Tips for Writing a College Application Essay About a Fictional Character How might you compose an article about a character from a novel, play or film without winding up with a book report rather than a school application essay?â Follow these rules and you will show your capacity to ponder writing, film or theater, just as about yourself. 1.â â â â â â Choose a character who really motivated you, shocked you, or in any case moved you. Show that you know the character well.â Re-read the book or watch the film again on the off chance that you need to! 2.â â â â â â Ask yourself, â€Å"How am I like this character?â How am I extraordinary? Expound on it. 3.â â â â â â Write about the exercises you gained from the character.â How have you applied those exercises throughout your life? 4.â â â â â â If the character is from the past or the future, or from an alternate town, nation, or even planet, ask with regards to how you would charge in the character’s world. 5.â â â â â â Similarly to #4, how might the character passage in your world?â What if the character needed to watch sibling or do your science reasonable undertaking? 6.â â â â â â Share simply enough data about the character and the character’s circumstance to permit us to see how you are like or unique in relation to that character.â Keep the â€Å"story† to a base. 7.â â â â â â Make sure the exposition is at any rate 75% about you!â If you wind up composing over 25% about the character, step back, ask yourself inquiry #s 1-5, and change the parity. Keep in mind, in light of the fact that you’re expounding on a character doesn’t mean you need to re-recount to the whole biography of the character.â Keep it individual and intelligent and you’ll compose a triumphant paper. For instances of fruitful school articles, The Essay Expert suggests Accepted!â 50 Successful College Admissions Essays by Gen and Kelly Tanabe. Still not certain how to compose an incredible school application article about your sport?â Contact The Essay Expert for a FREE brief meeting.

Lawrence Snake Essays

Lawrence Snake Essays Lawrence Snake Paper Lawrence Snake Paper The duality of the last part in the sonnet where he thinks about the unimportance of his activities can be viewed because of the difference between an emergency reaction which is fitting (assaulting the snake as instruction and social show would endorse), and an emergency reaction which is masculine, that is permitting the snake opportunity to cross the territory and leave in harmony. His sonnet figures out how to consolidate inconspicuous perceptions of a short, pressure filled show with the Insights of an ethical mastermind and author. Maybe what is generally upsetting about the sonnet Is not that Lawrence was Hesitant about what to do, however that a harmful snake presents an Inimitable adversary, and that Lawrence for all his bluster was fortunate to have gotten away with the end that he acted too selfishly. D. H. LAWRENCE SNAKE Perhaps D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930) Is a misjudged author. This Is not to guarantee that the essayist has comprehended him effectively. After all It Is a style for any abruptly of writing, and without a doubt the essayist Is not one, to guarantee that lone he/she has comprehended a writer effectively and all others have either misconstrued or incompletely comprehended. D. H. Lawrence Is metal known for his books than for his beautiful capacities. In the event that we believe that the incredible author was fixated on sex or his works were principally about sexuality, we will be mixed up. Almost certainly, D. H. Lawrence was very genuine about the topic of connection among genders and its effect on human life. A solid comprehension of the human sexuality is a genuine inquiry for a sound life. Be that as it may, humanity needed to pay a weighty education costs before it comprehended this reality. It required a Freud to disclose to it the essentialness, all things considered, The strict clerics felt that humanity was indecent till they name into the scene to lecture them ethical quality, especially sexual profound quality. Yet, this is a major subject. Let me go to the fundamental inquiry. Snake is a sonnet composed by D. H. Lawrence rushing to exactly eighty lines. It is about his demonstration of assaulting a snake that was entering an opening after it took water in the water trough under a tree in his nursery and his quick sentiment of regret and self judgment for the weak demonstration. This sonnet is highly discussed for its sexual pictures. It isn't the snake however the creators derivation from the little scene that issues. What is the significance of drinking on a hot, hot day? It is a most characteristic demonstration of human life. It is wonderful. Be that as it may, the Voice of instruction tells in any case. It says that there are blameless snakes and Venomous snakes and venomous snakes ought to be slaughtered. The offensiveness is In human psyche and in the Voice of training and not In the sexual go about all things considered. Am I befuddling? Let me attempt to make it understood. Try not to slaughter your sexuality, however design the equivalent as indicated by the social need. One need not feel regretful as a result of ones sexual power which is organic in nature. Be that as it may, mankind Is burdened with this blame cognizance which doesn't bode well, certainly not In the sexual sense. This Is the fundamental topic of D. H. Lawrence Snake. Len the end the creator curses himself for having tossed that suck at the snake that was going into Its natural surroundings after It took water. Sheathed sonnet Snake, In the Reptiles area of D. H. Lawrence book Birds, Beasts, and Flowers subtleties a ground-breaking few seconds when Lawrence Is gone up against by a snake at Lawrence water trough, In Terrain, Sicily. Uncertain about whether to assault it (for it is harmful) or whether to just appreciate it for its AAU , Lawrence eventually leaves ten peruser at ten Ana AT ten sonnet mind n Nils feeling of insignificance at an endeavor to drive it away by tossing a pitcher at it as it withdraws down an opening in the divider. It is a celebrated sonnet about three pages long that is unrushed, written in free stanza, and delegate of pioneer writing. It was first distributed in 1921 and most pundits concur that the experience among Lawrence and the snake really occurred.

What Will Future Jobs Look Like Article Example

What Will Future Jobs Look Like Article Example What Will Future Jobs Look Like â€" Article Example > The paper “ What Will Future Jobs Look Like? ” is an exceptional example of an article review on information technology. I believe that the machine age is upon us and will further foster inequality. According to Andrew McFee, in his 2013 talk titled, ” what future jobs will look like” , more and more jobs will be automated thus rendering millions of people jobless. He cites examples of cars that are going to very quickly drive themselves, reducing the number of truck drivers. People are going to hook Siri up to Watson thus automating a lot of the work that is currently carried out by troubleshooters and customer service reps as well as taking R2D2, painting him orange making him carry shelves around warehouses, meaning that we will need lesser people to walk up and down the aisles. This, therefore, is not science fiction but is the future trend of the way things are going to be done. Andrew and his co-author Erik, are foreseeing a world in which there is going to be more a nd more technology but fewer and fewer jobs leading to a few individuals (in Silicon Valley) filthy rich and the masses very poor, something that will further foster inequality (Brynjolfsson McFee, 2014). Question 2-The machine age is likely to change the nature of IT jobs in organizations in that, development in the IT discipline will, for instance, lead to microprocessors supporting immediate speech recognition as well as translation. Thus robotics and artificial intelligence are most likely to become further advanced. This, therefore, means that the utilization of extra intelligent robotics in manufacturing will definitely aid the capability to rapidly reconfigure machines in the production of prototypes as well as new production runs, having implications for manufacturing inventories and logistics. More advances in technology are anticipated to raise demand for a workforce that is highly skilled, supports high growth in productivity as well as changes the nature of employment relationships together with the way the business is organized. Thus for one to have IT job, s/he must be highly skilled as well as specialized so as to fit in and blend with the given environment of machine age(Brynjolfsson McFee, 2014).

Financial Analysis of The Hershey Company - 2270 Words

Liquidity ratios measure a company’s ability to meet its maturing short-term obligations. In other words, can a company quickly convert its assets to cash without a loss in value if necessary to meet its short-term obligations? Favorable liquidity ratios are critical to a company and its creditors within a business or industry that does not provide a steady and predictable cash flow. They are also a key predictor of a company’s ability to make timely payments to creditors and to continue to meet obligations to lenders when faced with an unforeseen event. Current Ratio Current Assets/Current Liabilities This ratio reflects the number of times short-term assets cover short-term liabilities and is a fairly accurate indication of a†¦show more content†¦This ratio relates the ability of a company to generate sales using its working capital to determine how efficiently working capital is being used. In general, a lower number is preferred because it indicates a company has a satisfactory level of working capital. However, an exceptionally low number may indicate inadequate sales levels are being generated. The sales to working capital ratio for Hershey Company is 10.34 reveals that the company s level of working capital is strong. The company may want to make an effort to generate additional sales using the available working capital. Activity ratios provide a useful gauge of a company s operations by determining, for example, the average number of days it takes to collect on customer accounts and the average number of days to pay vendors. A key point to keep in mind when evaluating these ratios is that seasonal fluctuations are not necessarily reflected in the numbers that are derived from these calculations based on an account balance on one single day. Accounts Receivable Turnover Sales / Trade Accounts Receivable This ratio measures the number of times receivables turn over in a year and reveals how successful a company is in collecting its outstanding receivables. A higher number is preferred because it indicates a shorter time between sales and cash collection. The accounts receivable turnover for Hershey Company is 14.40 suggests this ratio may be on target with company objectives.Show MoreRelatedIntroduction Of The Hershey Company Essay1099 Words   |  5 Pagesto Business The Hershey Company Introduction The Hershey Company produces the best chocolate according to a survey taken among my coworkers. This company is well known for their Hershey s Kisses, Kit-Kat, Whopper s, Reese s Peanut Butter Cups and much more! Personally Kit-Kat is my favorite. Hershey s is one chocolate that I can eat and it changes my whole mood. Their mission statement is, â€Å"Bringing sweet moments of Hershey happiness to the world every day.†1 Hershey s focuses on loveRead MoreAcct-504 Final Project1245 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Financial Analysis of Hershey and Tootsie Roll Keller University ACCT-504 Instructor: Financial Analysis of Hershey and Tootsie Roll Introduction Tootsie Roll and Hershey are two similar companies with a similar product offering, but they operate on entirely different scales. In an effort to determine the better investment of the two companies we will utilize multiple financial analysis ratios to gauge the health of the respective companies in terms of liquidityRead MoreThe Hershey Company : Final Form 10 K Paper966 Words   |  4 PagesThe Hershey Company: Final Form 10-K Paper The Hershey Company was originally founded in Delaware in 1894 by Milton S. Hershey, and on October 24, 1927, the company was incorporated into the laws of the state of Delaware (1). The Hershey Company is one of the largest chocolate sellers in the world, selling their products to approximately 70 countries worldwide. The company is also a Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) recognized company (1). In other words, the company is required to report multipleRead MoreHershey vs. Tootsie Roll - Ratio Analysis1030 Words   |  5 PagesFinancial Statement Analysis Project--Hershey Corp. Tootsie Roll Industries Liquidity Based on the ratio analysis performed, it appears that the Hershey Company’s liquidity is sufficient to meet cash needs and current obligations. The current ratio and current debt coverage ratios were decreasing from 2002 through 2004, which corresponds to an increase in short-term debt and a decrease in cash on the Company’s balance sheet over the same periods. Hershey attributes the increase in debt toRead MoreEssay about Accounting Project: Current Ratio883 Words   |  4 PagesIn this project, you will assess the financial health of the business in question, using financial analysis tools in your textbook. Please make your work neat and show all computations. For some of your computations, you will be comparing your results with averages of businesses within your business’s industry. For assistance in obtaining industry averages, see the Reference Desk at the library. Attach the sheet(s) obtained which show industry averages to this paper. In some cases, the industryRead MoreEssay on Acc 504965 Words   |  4 PagesExamYour Course Project Financial Statement Analysis Project—A Comparative Analysis of Oracle Corporation and Microsoft Corporation Here is the link for the financial statements for Oracle Corporation for the fiscal year ending 2011. First, select 2011 using the drop-down arrow labeled for Year on the right-hand side of the page, and then select Annual Reports using the drop-down arrow labeled Filing Type on the left-hand side of the page. You should select the 10k dated 6/28/2011 and chooseRead MoreCase Study : Hershey Co.863 Words   |  4 Pages HERSHEY’S Case Analysis â€Æ' Introduction/Current Situation Mission/Vision, Corportate/Business Strategy â€Å"The Hershey Company aims to maintain the number one market share in North America and to become the top three in emerging markets† (The Hershey Co. Shares Growth Strategies, 2013) According to a Hershey’s blog the mission of the Hershey’s company is to â€Å"Bring sweet moments of Hershey happiness into the world every day† (Hershey s Chocolate , 2011). The Hershey’s company vision is to be â€Å"TheRead MoreHershey Marketing1574 Words   |  7 PagesThe Hershey Company 1. History and Overview The first Hershey’s Chocolate Bar was produced in 1900, six years after the firm that would become The Hershey Company (â€Å"Hershey†) was founded by candy-manufacturer Milton S. Hershey. 2. Strategic Planning, Corporate Vision Until late last year when Hershey announced plans to revamp how it organizes its business with two new strategic business units—one for chocolate and the other for sugar confectionery—the company’s marketing organizationRead MoreComparative Analysis of Kohl and J.Cpenny Essay909 Words   |  4 PagesYour Course Project Financial Statement Analysis Project -- A Comparative Analysis of Kohl’s Corporation and J.C. Penney Corporation Below is the link for the financial statements for Kohl’s Corporation for the 2010 fiscal year ending January 29, 2011. Under the term Groupings Filter, change the term All Forms to Annual Filings using the drop-down arrow and press Search. You should then scroll down and select the 10k dated 3/18/2011 and choose to download in Word or PDF format. http://wwwRead MoreHersheys Strategic Paper6745 Words   |  27 PagesThe Hershey Company TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Disclaimer 1 Table of Contents 2 Industry Summary 3 Company Summary 7 Mission Statement Analysis/Revised Mission 13 External Analysis Summary 18 Internal Analysis Summary 21 Financial Analysis Summary 24 Alternative Strategies 29 Strategy Recommendation 36 INDUSTRY SUMMARY History

Explore the Local Group of Galaxies

Our planet orbits a star inhabiting an immense spiral galaxy called the Milky Way. We can see the Milky Way as part of our night sky. It looks like a faint band of light running through the sky. From our vantage point, its tough to tell that were actually inside a galaxy, and that conundrum had astronomers puzzled until the early years of the 20th Century. In the 1920s, astronomers discussed strange spiral nebulae they were seeing in photographic plates. Theyd been known to exist since at least the mid 1800s, when Lord Rosse (William Parsons) began finding these objects through his telescope. By the early 20th century, some scientists held the view that these spirals are simply part of our own galaxy. Others maintained that they are individual galaxies outside the Milky Way. When Edwin P. Hubble observed a variable star in a distant spiral nebula and measured its distance, he discovered its galaxy was not part of our own. It was a momentous finding and led to the discovery of other galaxies in our nearby neighborhood, including the members of the Local Group. An artists concept of what our galaxy looks like from outside. Note the bar across the center and the two main arms, plus smaller ones. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESO/R. Hurt The Milky Way is one of about fifty galaxies in the group. Its not the largest spiral; that would be the Andromeda Galaxy. There are also many smaller ones, including oddly shaped  Large Magellanic Cloud and its sibling the Small Magellanic Cloud, along with some dwarfs in elliptical shapes. The Local Group members are bound together by their mutual gravitational attraction and they stick together quite well. Most galaxies in the universe are  accelerating away from us, driven by the action of dark energy, but  the Milky Way and the rest of the Local Group family are close enough together that they stick together through the force of gravity. A graphical representation of the Local Group of galaxies, including our own. It contains at least 54 individual members. Antonio Ciccolella, CC BY-SA 4.0 Local Group Stats Each galaxy in the Local Group has its own size, shape, and defining characteristics. The galaxies in the Local group take up a region of space about 10 million light-years across. And, the group is actually part of an even larger group of galaxies known as the Local Supercluster. It contains many other groups of galaxies, including the Virgo Cluster, which lies about 65 million light-years away. The Major Players of the Local Group There are two galaxies that dominate the local group: our host galaxy, the Milky Way, and the Andromeda galaxy. It lies some two and a half million light-years away from us. Both are barred spiral galaxies and almost all of the other galaxies in the local group are bound gravitationally to one or the other, with a few exceptions. Andromeda and the Milky Way are the two largest members of the local group. In the distant future, they will be colliding. This artists concept shows that collision from the point of view of a planet in the Milky Way. Credit: NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger Milky Way Satellites The galaxies that are bound to the Milky Way galaxy include a number of dwarf galaxies, which are smaller stellar cities that have spherical or irregular shapes. They include: Sagittarius Dwarf GalaxyLarge and Small Magellanic CloudsCanis Major DwarfUrsa Minor DwarfDraco DwarfCarina DwarfSextans DwarfSculptor DwarfFornax DwarfLeo ILeo IIUrsa Major I DwarfUrsa Major II Dwarf Andromeda Satellites The galaxies that are bound to the Andromeda galaxy are: M32M110NGC 147NGC 185Andromeda IAndromeda IIAndromeda IIIAndromeda IVAndromeda VAndromeda VIAndromeda VIIAndromeda VIIIAndromeda IXAndromeda XAndromeda XIAndromeda XIIAndromeda XIIIAndromeda XIVAndromeda XVAndromeda XVIAndromeda XVIIAndromeda XVIIIAndromeda XIXAndromeda XXTriangulum Galaxy (third-largest galaxy in the local group)Pisces Dwarf (unclear if it is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy or the Triangulum Galaxy) Other Galaxies in the Local Group There some oddball galaxies in the Local Group that may not be gravitationally bound to either the Andromeda or the Milky Way galaxies. Astronomers generally lump them together as part of the neighborhood, although they are not official members of the Local Group.   The galaxies NGC 3109, Sextans A and the Antlia Dwarf all appear to be gravitationally interacting but are otherwise unbound to any other galaxies. This member of the Local Group is called NGC 3109, as seen by the Galaxy Explorer spacecraft. It may be interacting with another nearby galaxy. NASA/GALEX   There are other nearby galaxies that do not seem to be interacting with any of the above groups of galaxies. They include some nearby dwarfs and irregulars. Others are being cannibalized by the Milky Way in an ongoing cycle of growth that all galaxies experience.   Galactic Mergers Galaxies in close proximity to each other can interact in colossal  mergers if conditions are right. Their gravitational pull on each other leads to a close interaction or an actual merger. Some galaxies mentioned here have and will continue to change over time precisely because they are locked in gravitational dances with each other. As they interact they can rip each other apart. This action — the dance of the galaxies —  significantly alters their shapes. In some cases, the collisions end up with one galaxy absorbing another. In fact, the Milky Way is in the process of cannibalizing a number of dwarf galaxies.   A group of interacting galaxies as seen by Hubble Space Telescope. NASA/ESA/STScI The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies will continue to eat up other galaxies as time goes by. This appears to be what has happened to create most (if not all) of the galaxies we see today. In the distant past, smaller ones merged to become larger ones. Large spirals then merge and create ellipticals. Its a sequence that has been observed throughout the evolution of the universe. Will Mergers in the Local Group Affect Earth? Certainly the ongoing mergers will continue to reshape the Local Group galaxies, changing their shapes and sizes. The ongoing evolution of galaixes will almost certainly affect the Milky Way, even as it goes about gobbling up smaller galaxies. For example, theres some evidence the Magellanic Clouds might merge with the Milky Way. And, in the distant future  Andromeda and the Milky Way will collide to create a large elliptical galaxy that astronomers have nicknamed Milkdromeda. This collision will commence in a few billion years and radically alter the shapes of both galaxies as the gravitational dance commences. Fast Facts: The Local Group The Milky Way is part of the Local Group of galaxies.The Local Group has at least 54 members.The largest member of the Local Group is the Andromeda Galaxy. Sources Frommert, Hartmut, and Christine Kronberg. â€Å"The Local Group of Galaxies.†Ã‚  Messiers Telescopes, www.messier.seds.org/more/local.html.NASA, NASA, imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/features/cosmic/local_group_info.html.â€Å"The Universe within 5 Million Light YearsThe Local Group of Galaxies.†Ã‚  The Hertzsprung Russell Diagram, www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/localgr.html. Edited by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Hector McDonald Zoe Free Essays

Hector Archibald Macdonald was one of the most famous British soldiers of the late 19th century. He had an outstanding reputation for great bravery. Sophie: At the age of 15, hector MacDonald was apprenticed in Dingwall to a draper, and when he was 17 he decided it was time to go into military life so he added a year on to his real age and he moved on to the Royal Clan Tartan and Tweed Warehouse In Inverness . We will write a custom essay sample on Hector McDonald Zoe or any similar topic only for you Order Now He rose rapidly through the ranks and eventually became a major- general. He first saw action and was commissioned as an officer in the Second Afghan War in the late 1870s, then distinguished himself in the battle of Majuba Hill in South Africa 1881. Zoe: After working In Britain and Ireland, he was sent to Egypt in 1884. Here he recruited and trained a load of Sudan soldiers that he led Into several victory battles. including one of the most legendary in British history, Omdurman. In 1902 the army sent MacDonald to India to take up a regional command, but he was there for only a short while before being moved to Ceylon as Commanding Officer of British forces. Sophie: But after only 11 months MacDonald was summoned and told he must return to England to answer very grave charges†. Although details still remain unclear, MacDonald was alleged to have committed sexual acts with four Ceylonese youths or to have exposed himself In a train carriage with 70 schoolboys but there Is still so solid proof that he was even gay. Zoe: The brilliant career of a national hero came to an end on the 25th March 1903. While serving in Ceylon grave charges of homosexuality were made against him. Having been sent to England on leave he was returning to Ceylon via Paris to face a court Marshall. In his hotel he read a New York Times report of the charges against him and in despair over it went to his room and committed suicide. Sophie: After his death It was uncovered that he had a secret wife and son. HIS widow arranged for her husband to be buried in secret at 6am on Monday 30th March in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh. The public was shocked not only at the allegations but also at the arrangements of the funeral. On the first Sunday after his burial 30,000 people visited the grave. People queued for up to three hours to pay their respects and there were so many flowers that the superintendent of the cemetery refused to have any more placed. Zoe His wife Christina died in 1911 and was buried next to her husband. Their son, Hector became an engineer in North Shields. He was thought of as stern, gloomy and unsociable; he never married and became excluded from his surrounding community. He died in 1951 and is buried with his parents. IOFI sofi By sofldontcare Sophie: At the age of 1 5, hector MacDonald was apprenticed in Dingwall to a draper, in Inverness . He rose rapidly through the ranks and eventually became a major- Afghan War in the late 1870s, then distinguished himself in the battle of MaJuba Hill Zoe: After working in Britain and Ireland, he was sent to Egypt in 1884. Here he recruited and trained a load of Sudan soldiers that he led into several victory battles, youths or to have exposed himself in a train carriage with 70 schoolboys but there is Sophie: After his death it was uncovered that he had a secret wife and son. His How to cite Hector McDonald Zoe, Papers

Chipotle free essay sample

Confidential  © 2005 Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. , All Rights Reserved. Information in this presentation contains forward-looking statements, which reflect expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements on the slide titled â€Å"Restaurants† about Chipotle’s expected restaurant openings and the slide titled â€Å"Average Restaurant Sales† regarding expected comparable restaurant sales increases, as well as other statements regarding our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions that are not historical facts. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or underlying, forward-looking statements are detailed in the â€Å"Risk Factors† sections of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and which are available on the Investor Relations page of our web site at chipotle. We will write a custom essay sample on Chipotle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page com, or on the SEC’s web site at sec. gov. We disclaim any obligation to update and revise statements contained in these materials based on new information or otherwise. Confidential  © 2008 Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. , All Rights Reserved. New Food Culture New People Culture Chipotle free essay sample Chipotle is also active in its environmental commitment to working to reduce its carbon footprint by reducing its reliance on fossil fuels through the implementation of various environmental initiatives, including green building and depending on solar power energy. It is also well known for its philanthropic activities, including its support of FarmAid and its local communities. Ells’ philosophy is simple: â€Å"to eat real food – unprocessed, whole food that has been cooked in a classic way and sourced from real farmers, as opposed to large corporate farms† (Going green, 2010). This philosophy apparently appeals to Americans; Chipotle opened its 1,100th store in 2011 (Chipotle cultivates, 2011). Chipotle History Founder Steve Ells first opened the doors to Chipotle Mexican Grill in 1993 in a former Dolly Madison ice cream location, near the University of Denver, in Denver, Colorado. Although he had no experience running a fast food restaurant, he had graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1990 and worked for two years as sous-chef under Jeremiah Tower at Stars, in San Francisco (Sheehan, 2010). We will write a custom essay sample on Chipotle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page While working in San Francisco, he became acquainted with the local burrito vendors, or taquerias, in the Mission District who sold flour tortillas stuffed with an assortment of fillings to create a giant burrito, wrapped in aluminum foil, a local favorite. He thought there was a market for this simple menu item, so he borrowed $85,000 from his father (structured as part loan and part equity investment) to open his first Chipotle, that served a limited menu of tacos and burritos (Ells, 2007). Ells applied the combined training and techniques he learned at the CIA and as sous-chef to perfect the food he served. He determined to have a different type of fast-food restaurant; he was emphatic about his belief that only the highest quality ingredients were included in the burritos and tacos he served. Chipotle’s salsa ingredients are made fresh from scratch, and the avocados used in making the guacamole are hand-mashed (they never serve frozen avocadoes). The philosophy paid off when people kept coming back for his simple yet great-tasting food; the small restaurant was so popular that customers typically encountered waiting lines out the door. As a result, the company quickly grew, adding two additional locations in 1995 and five more in 1996 (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2010). Chipotle is best defined as a trendy and healthier version of fast food (although calories for one of the giant burritos is comparable to those of a typical fast food meal), but it doesn’t fit the standard fast-food label; its style of gourmet fast food has brought about a new label: ‘fast casual,’ which fills a niche market between fast food and sit-down dining. The company serves high-end Mexican food set in an environment that is sleek in design. Although made from the same materials, no two Chipotle restaurants are designed the same; most are made of plywood, corrugated metal, concrete floors, stainless steel counters and tables, wooden chairs, and lighting hanging from exposed ductwork. McDonalds apparently agreed that it was a restaurant worthy of investment; the company bought into the chain in 1998, the first time it had ever backed a business other than its own, after Ells sent them a business plan for his restaurant. There were only 15 locations at that time, but within three years, McDonald’s significant investment (nearly $360 million) helped grow the company to more than 500 restaurants (Ells, 2007). In 2006, Chipotle went public and McDonald’s divested its stake in Chipotle’s by allowing shareholders to exchange 16. 5 million Chipotle Class B shares for 18. 6 million of McDonalds own common shares (Shore, 2006). Chipotle has continued to grow, today has 1,100 locations in 39 states, Toronto and Ontario, Canada, and London, England; its net income in 2010 was $178 million, and it has a staff of 26,500 employees (2010 Form 10-K, Chipotle). II. Identification of the Industry and Competitors Industry Definition and Competitors Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) is a quick-service and casual Mexican-inspired restaurant chain based out of Denver, Colorado. The company takes pride in doing a few things exceptionally well: To serve high quality and delicious food quickly with an experience that not only exceeded, but redefined the fast food experience. Chipotle focuses on sourcing the best possible ingredients, serving the tastiest food, and growing the most capable team possible. Steve Ells started Chipotle in 1993, and expanded the chain to over 400 stores within 12 years. Chipotle is supported by the financial power and sprawling distribution network of owner McDonalds Corp, and is the largest Mexican-style concept among a number of fast-casual competitors that also have been picked up by quick-service companies in recent years (Peters, 2005). Major competitors include other Mexican fast casual locations such as Baja Fresh, Del Taco, Qdoba Grill, and market leader Taco Bell. Additional competitors in the broader market include other fast casual locations such as Panera Bread and local similar cuisine like Freebirds (Hein, 2006). Macro-environmental factors affect all organizations; political-legal, economic, social, and technological forces affect Chipotle, specifically. Chipotle’s Strengths One of Chipotle’s greatest strengths is its commitment to serving fresh, high-quality products. Chipotle aims to find the freshest ingredients available so that it can produce the most delicious and flavorful food as possible (Brandau, 2010). Another strength is Chipotle’s commitment to community involvement.

Hospitality refers to the relationship between a g Essays

Hospitality refers to the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes hospitality in the Encyclopedie as the virtue of a great soul that cares for the whole universe through the ties of humanity. Hospitality ethics is a discipline that studies this usage of hospitality. Etymology Derives from the Latin hospes, meaning "host", "guest", or "stranger". Hospes is formed from hostis, which means "stranger" or "enemy" . By metonymy the Latin word 'Hospital' means a guest-chamber, guest's lodging, an inn. Hospes is thus the root for the English words host, hospitality, hospice, hostel and hotel. Historical practice In ancient cultures hospitality involved welcoming the stranger and offering him food, shelter, and safety. Global concepts Ancient Greece In Ancient Greece, hospitality was a right, with the host being expected to make sure the needs of his guests were met. The ancient Greek term xenia, or theoxenia when a god was involved, expressed this ritualized guest-friendship relation. In Greek society a person's ability to abide by the laws of hospitality determined nobility and social standing. The Stoics regarded hospitality as a duty inspired by Zeus himself. Judaism Judaism praises hospitality to strangers and guests based largely on the examples of Abraham and Lot in the Book of Genesis . In Hebrew, the practice is called hachnasat orchim, or "welcoming guests". Besides other expectations, hosts are expected to provide nourishment, comfort, and entertainment for their guests, and at the end of the visit, hosts customarily escort their guests out of their home, wishing them a safe journey. Christianity In Christianity, hospitality is a virtue which is a reminder of sympathy for strangers and a rule to welcome visitors. This is a virtue found in the Old Testament, with, for example, the custom of the foot washing of visitors or the kiss of peace. It was taught by Jesus in the New Testament. Indeed, Jesus said that those who had welcomed a stranger had welcomed him. Some Western countries have developed a host culture for immigrants, based on the bible. Pashtun One of the main principles of Pashtunwali is Melmastia. This is the display of hospitality and profound respect to all visitors without any hope of remuneration or favour. Pashtuns will go to great lengths to show their hospitality. Celtic cultures Celtic societies also valued the concept of hospitality, especially in terms of protection. A host who granted a person's request for refuge was expected not only to provide food and shelter for his/her guest, but to make sure they did not come to harm while under their care. Current usage In the West today hospitality is rarely a matter of protection and survival and is more associated with etiquette and entertainment. However, it still involves showing respect for one's guests, providing for their needs, and treating them as equals. Cultures and subcultures vary in the extent to which one is expected to show hospitality to strangers, as opposed to personal friends or members of one's ingroup. Anthropology of Hospitality Jacques Derrida offers a model to understand hospitality that divides unconditional hospitality from conditional hospitality. Over the centuries, philosophers have devoted considerable attention to the problem of hospitality. However, hospitality offers a paradoxical situation since inclusion of those who are welcomed in the sacred law of hospitality implies others will be rejected. Julia Kristeva alerts readers to the dangers of "perverse hospitality", which consists of taking advantage of the vulnerability of aliens to dispossess them. Hospitality serves to reduce the tension in the process of host-guest encounters, producing a liminal zone that combines curiosity about others and fear of strangers. In general terms, the meaning of hospitality centres on the belief that strangers should be assisted and protected while traveling. However, not all voices are in agreement with this concept. Professor Anthony Pagden describes how the concept of hospitality was historically manipulated to legitimate the conquest of Americas by imposing the right of free transit, which was conducive to the formation of the modern nation-state. This suggests that hospitality is a political institution which can be ideologically deformed to oppress others. Over recent years and following Padgen, Maximiliano Korstanje argued that hospitality is an

The Geography of Oceania, the Pacific Islands

The Geography of Oceania, the Pacific Islands Oceania is the name of the region consisting of island groups within the Central and South Pacific Ocean. It spans over 3.3 million square miles (8.5 million sq km). Some of the countries included in Oceania are Australia, New Zealand, Tuvalu, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Palau, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati,  and Nauru. Oceania also includes several dependencies and territories such as American Samoa, Johnston Atoll,  and French Polynesia. Physical Geography In terms of its physical geography, the islands of Oceania are often divided into four different sub-regions based on the geologic processes playing a role in their physical development. The first of these is Australia. It is separated because of its location in the middle of the Indo-Australian Plate and the fact that, due to its location, there was no mountain building during its development. Instead, Australias current physical landscape features were formed mainly by erosion. The second landscape category in Oceania is the islands found on the collision boundaries between the Earths crustal plates. These are found specifically in the South Pacific. For example, at the collision boundary between the Indo-Australian and Pacific plates are places like New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,  and the Solomon Islands. The North Pacific portion of Oceania also features these types of landscapes along the Eurasian and Pacific plates. These plate collisions are responsible for the formation of mountains like those in New Zealand, which climb to over 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Volcanic islands such as Fiji are the third category of landscape types found in Oceania. These islands typically rise from the seafloor through hotspots in the Pacific Ocean basin. Most of these areas consist of very small islands with high mountain ranges. Finally, coral reef islands and atolls such as Tuvalu are the last type of landscape found in Oceania. Atolls specifically are responsible for the formation of low-lying land regions, some with enclosed lagoons. Climate Most of Oceania is divided into two climate zones. The first of these is temperate and the second is tropical. Most of Australia and all of New Zealand are within the temperate zone and most of the island areas in the Pacific are considered tropical. Oceanias temperate regions feature high levels of precipitation, cold winters, and warm to hot summers. The tropical regions in Oceania are hot and wet year round. In addition to these climatic zones, most of Oceania is impacted by continuous trade winds and sometimes hurricanes (called tropical cyclones in Oceania) which have historically caused catastrophic damage to countries and islands in the region. Flora and Fauna Because most of Oceania is tropical or temperate, there is an abundant amount of rainfall which produces tropical and temperate rainforests throughout the region. Tropical rainforests are common in some of the island countries located near the tropics, while temperate rainforests are common in New Zealand. In both of these types of forests, there is a plethora of plant and animal species, making Oceania one of the worlds most biodiverse regions. It is important to note, however, that not all of Oceania receives abundant rainfall, and portions of the region are arid or semiarid. Australia, for example, features large areas of arid land which have little vegetation. In addition, El Nià ±o has caused frequent droughts in recent decades in Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. Oceanias fauna, like its flora, is also extremely biodiverse. Because much of the area consists of islands, unique species of birds, animals,  and insects evolved out of isolation from others. The presence of coral reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef and Kingman Reef also represent large areas of biodiversity and some are considered biodiversity hotspots. Population Most recently in 2018, Oceanias population was around 41 million people, with the majority centered in Australia and New Zealand. Those two countries alone accounted for more than 28 million people, while Papua New Guinea had a population of over 8 million. The remaining population of Oceania is scattered around the various islands making up the region. Urbanization Like its population distribution, urbanization and industrialization also vary in Oceania. 89% of Oceanias urban areas are in Australia and New Zealand and these countries also have the most well-established infrastructure. Australia, in particular, has many raw minerals and energy sources, and manufacturing is a large part of its and Oceanias economy. The rest of Oceania and specifically the Pacific islands are not well developed. Some of the islands have rich natural resources, but the majority do not. In addition, some of the island nations do not even have enough clean drinking water or food to supply to their citizens. Agriculture Agriculture is also important in Oceania and there are three types which are common in the region. These include subsistence agriculture, plantation crops ,  and capital-intensive agriculture. Subsistence agriculture occurs on most of the Pacific islands and is done to support local communities. Cassava, taro, yams, and sweet potatoes are the most common products of this type of agriculture. Plantation crops are planted on the medium tropical islands while capital-intensive agriculture is practiced mainly in Australia and New Zealand. Economy Fishing is a significant source of revenue because many islands have maritime exclusive economic zones that extend for 200 nautical miles and many small islands have granted permission to foreign countries to fish the region via fishing licenses.   Tourism is also important to Oceania because many of the tropical islands like Fiji offer aesthetic beauty, while Australia and New Zealand are modern cities with modern amenities. New Zealand has also become an area centered on the growing field of ecotourism.

The Phaedo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Phaedo - Essay Example Those enemies would be a life wasted on the pursuit of pleasure at the expense of pain (pleasure withdrawn). This very duality of life, according to Socrates, is the bane of existence for all of mankind. If one spends much time caught in the illusion of earthly pleasures then faces a fear of death due to inattention to the betterment of the mind and soul, then that life is sorely wasted. Yet to Socrates, lightly embracing pleasure allows one to enhance pleasure and not fear its removal, for such a person knows that pleasure is merely ephemeral and not a constant. In succeeding to do this, one overcomes the fear of death, for the loss of pleasure is a death in itself. Fear of losing pleasure is fear of death. This is not to say that the form death may take is pleasurable, but Socrates explains that the true philosopher from early on chases death in life, seeks endings and depth, the essence of pleasure and pain and finds within this duality a richness that is exhilarating rather than frightening. To live with death every day, or in other words, living each day preparing to die, is the very stuff of the true philosopher. A life well lived should not be grieved; Socrates wonders why people who face death fear liberation from worldly burdens when life could be lived free of worldly burdens by recognizing them as symbols rather than literal things. In d In discussing the pleasure/pain principle, Socrates explains that the fear of loss during life is an endless exchange of one pleasure for another. He demonstrates this by stating that, like coins, people abstain from one pleasure only to replace it with another in order to be "temperate." Like coins, the balance of pleasures is kept in check, yet there is always the fear of them being removed, lost or taken. The philosopher sees the idiocy of such thinking and allows pleasure to come and go as it pleases, seeing it for what it is. Pleasure is not worth sacrificing one's worldly life to obtain and hold onto it, for it is evasive and fickle. The true coin, Socrates says, is Wisdom. Interestingly, Socrates says flat out that we are born from the dead (in other words, we are dead until we are born); therefore, why should we fear death We already have en existence before we enter this world and we will regain that existence upon leaving this world. As we find good people in this world, so we shall find them in the world from whence our souls came. From this conversation springs the key to the duality in the world through the example of forms; in this world, forms are objects that help us remember; for life is simply an attempt to recall what has been forgotten rather than to know anything. True knowledge and the attainment of wisdom is the synthesis of the formed and the unformed, the born and the unborn, the resolution of all dualities. As Socrates explains (and to put it in modern terms), forms are symbols of what we know and are ties to many memories, each evoking a feeling of pleasure or pain. There is no true learning, only remembering (which is another way of saying that the brain is limited to the mind, but the soul is independent of both). My brother's sweater reminds me of

Ludwig van Beethoven Moonlight Sonata Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ludwig van Beethoven Moonlight Sonata - Essay Example There should not be any form of discrepancy in the music in accordance with the counterpoint rules laid out in the classical period. As such, this rule requires that two separate voices not to move in parallel fifths or octaves. This is unless one of the voices acts as a double to the other voice. Therefore, it should be clear that the middle triplet not does not double the bass-line, which is already doubled. This provides that the –c should be played in the place of b. The First Movement In most cases, the first movement adheres to the form required for the sonata. The explosion provides that the second subject is from an inferior key rather than from a key that is dominant. This is usually the case in a classical sonata form. As such, the key instead sounds in a key that is not even a parallel key, the B minor key. The Second Movement Going forwards, the second movement is apparently a lighthearted exercise as expected in classical harmony. This is unfortunate because the main motif hardly comes out as a good melody. In addition, the main motif appears repeatedly in the second movement, more than twenty times in the course of about two minutes. he third movement begins with notes that are the same to those in the first movement. As such, this 3rd movement stands out as a fierce fiery presto in the sonata form. The notes that appear in both the 1st and 3rd movements are the c-sharp, g-sharp, e and c-sharp.

How employee wellbeing can become a core value

How employee wellbeing can become a core value Leadership is the ability to effectively use strategic competencies and influence to accomplish organizational goals. It is a partnership between mangers followers and external constituencies and one of the main differences between leaders and managers is power and authority. Leaders yield power which cannot be transferred however managers yield authority due to their position and can be delegated. When organizational requires a fast changing as a result of rapid fluctuation a Transformational leader is called for. Transformational leadership is defined as a relationship between a leader and follower(s) based on a set of leader behaviors perceived by subordinates as exhibiting idealized influence, motivational inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. In todays modern complex organizations, which are going through constant change, it required the roles of management and leadership be intertwined. An organisation that has an environment which promotes a state of contentment allowing employees to flourish and achieve their full potential for the benefit of themselves and the organisation can be considered as employers who puts high emphasis on their employee wellbeing. The concept of wellbeing includes concepts of psychological and physical health. Today increasingly companies are focused more about their employees wellbeing as organisations are seeing its benefits. Organisations such as IBM, established Well-Being Management System (WBMS), the companys holistic approach to managing the health and safety of employees wherever they work. This enables physical and psychological fitness of its employees. When employee wellbeing becomes a shared organisational value deeply rooted in the organisational culture it is evident from the following companies that productivity of the organisations increases as a result of high moral and satisfaction as well as organisations are able to retain their talents. Values influence attitudes and behaviour therefore for transformational leaders to create employee wellbeing as a shared value they need to create trust between leader and employees. This is possible when the leader practice high emotional and social intelligence and honour the psychological contract between the management and employees. Contents Executive Summary 1 Today increasingly companies are focused more about their employees wellbeing as organisations are seeing its benefits. Organisations such as IBM, established Well-Being Management System (WBMS), the companys holistic approach to managing the health and safety of employees wherever they work. This enables physical and psychological fitness of its employees. 2 Contents 3 1.0 INTRODUCTION 4 8.0 CONCLUSION 16 7.0 Appendix 17 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report presents discussions on how employee wellbeing can become a core value shared among the employees of an organization that can be deeply rooted in the organizational culture and the role of transformational leadership in facilitating this change. Transformational leaders are called for when traditional leadership fails to bring about a change aligning the organizational culture to the changes in the environment. As these form of leadership focus on employees in achieving their goal it suits well in an era of fast globalization. In the second part of the report concepts of leadership and their difference from management will be introduced .as well as an explanation of transformational leadership and what it is all about. Third part of the report explains the concept employee wellbeing and its benefits. Companies who are initiating employee wellbeing and the response will be highlighted. The main part of the report will discuss how transformational leadership help facilitate employee wellbeing in the organizational culture that would eventually improve performance. Concepts of how leaders create trusts among employees and towards themselves, how leaders practice emotional and social intelligence and the concepts of psychological contract will be discussed. Finally case evidence will be provided when employees wellbeing is taken care off their performance in terms of absenteeism etc will rise significantly. 1.2 Scope and limitation The scope of the report is limited to the examination of how employee wellbeing can become the cultural norm within the organization and how transformational leadership facilitates in embedding it to the organizational culture as a shared core value. Little robust research exists on the relationship between health and individual job performance. 2.0 leadership Leadership defined by Weiss (2001, p.194) states that it is the ability to effectively use strategic competencies and influence to accomplish organizational goals. It is a partnership between mangers followers and external constituencies and one of the main differences between leaders and managers is power and authority. Leaders yield power which cannot be transferred however managers yield authority due to their position and can be delegated. (Mullins 2002). Whetten et.al (1995, p. 17) states that traditional definition of management is outmoded and irrelevant today. Their argument is based on the similarity between leaders and managers in terms of how they function. And that a good manager functions as an effective leader .a similar view was held by Hodgetts (1990, p.3) and defines management as getting things done through people and leadership influence people towards particular goal. Weiss(2001) referencing Bass (1985,1990 )states that when organizational requires a fast changing as a result of rapid fluctuation a transformational leader is called for. Transformational leadership exhibits behaviors such as idealized influence, motivational inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. And can be defined as a relationship between a leader and a follower based on this behavior (Flood 2008) A number of studies have shown a strong positive relationship between this leadership style and desirable outcomes including organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and decreased employee turnover intentions (Flood 2008) As an example of the magnitude of leadership influence on the attitudes and behaviors of employees, a study of 25,000 workers across a variety of firms by Wilson Learning, a US based management training company; found that 69% of employees job satisfaction related to the leadership skills of their bosses (Davids 1995). A significant productivity lag was associated with a lack of or poor leadership. On the basis of this finding, Davids (1995) asserts that the days of the heroic leader who gets things done by people are numbered, to be replaced by the post-heroic leaders who get things done with people. Hence, mutual understanding, trust and strong communication skills have been growing in importance as factors in the leader follower relationship.(Flood, 2008) 3.0EMPLOYEE WELLBEING An organisation that has an environment which promotes a state of contentment allowing employees to flourish and achieve their full potential for the benefit of themselves and the organisation can be considered as employers who puts high emphasis on their employee wellbeing.(Tehrani et.al 2010) The concept of wellbeing includes concepts of psychological and physical health. According Arnold (2007) they can be distinguished between subjective and psychological wellbeing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Subjective wellbeing focuses on the affective (hedonic balance; balance between pleasant and unpleasant affect) and cognitive (life satisfaction) components of well-being (Arnold et.al 2007). Psychological well-being draws on various conceptualizations of mental health (Arnold et.al 2007).Tehrani et .al (2010) described wellbeing as a subjective experience that may involve practical measures such as introducing healthy food or a gym at work, or perhaps less tangible initiatives such as working to match the values and beliefs held by employees with those of their organization. It could be argued that a change in the way employees are engaged in discussions about how their work is organized could have more of an impact on an individuals well-being than the introduction of a corporate gym. Today increasingly companies are focused about their employees wellbeing as organisations are seeing its benefits .Organisations such as IBM, established Well-Being Management System (WBMS) the companys holistic approach to managing the health and safety of employees wherever they work. This enables physical and psychological fitness of its employees. This integrated approach to employee well being ranges from the more traditional aspects of occupational health and safety ,such as industrial hygiene, safety, medical issues and ergonomics-to innovative and proactive wellness initiatives, including a broad array of health promotion options and disease prevention benefits for employees.(IBM , 2010 ) Marks Spencer is known as an employer who values employees. Historically, well-being was delivered through a traditional benefits package, including flexible working and family-friendly policies. In addition, a good physical working environment was provided, including good catering facilities. Other ancillary benefits for some or all employees included hairdressing, chiropody, dentistry and holistic services. As the business moved through a change management program it was realized that more focus was needed on the health and well-being areas that were directly affected by the workplace. (Tehrani et.al 2010) Scota Chropractc Ltd is another company that focused on employee wellbeing . Established in 1986 and currently employs 17 employees working across two sites the growing public awareness of alternative and complementary therapies has been a major driver of business growth. The company works with the NHS and has recently branched out into sports therapy, rehabilitation and ergonomic-based heath and safety interventions. The organization has increasingly concentrated on employee well-being for its own staff during the past five years. (Tehrani et.al 2010) 3.1 Employee wellbeing and culture. Organisational Culture is defined as a set of shared values beliefs which interact with an organisations people ,structureand system to produce behavioural norms. in a strong organisational culture the organisation core values are both intensly held and widely shared. core values are the primary or dominant values that are accepted thoughout the organisation.the more members who accept the core values andthe greater their commitment to those values is , the stronger the culture gets.A strong organisation culture will have a great influence on the bevaiour of its members((Robbins 1998) when employee wellbeing becomes a shared organisational value deeply rooted in the organisational culture it is evident from the following companies that productivity of the organisations increases as a result of high moral and satisfaction as well as organisations are able to retain their talents. According to Tehrani et.al(2010) Marks Spencers three-month wellbeing trial programme demonstrated an 8% reduction in its employee sickness absence for musculoskeletal health issues. Store management teams reported improved morale of the departmental team and the general store, all of which are difficult to estimate in financial terms, further improvement in customer service and improved efficiencies. Nike company employees share a core value of enhancing peoples lives through sports and fitness.nike has created a strong sports oriented culture and promoted it through company practices such as paying employees extra for biking to work instead of driving .( Robbins 1998) Companies adopting such measures aimed at promoting health and well-being among their employees influence several aspects of their employees physical and psychological well-being in ways which result in improved productivity, commitment and attendance. This includes providing good quality jobs which allow employees more control, autonomy and involvement in the way their work is done (Coats et.al 2008) Recently an OEM manufacturer, FOXCONN of china supplies to companies like DELL, APPLE and Hewlett-Packard came under scrutiny for its below standard employee relations and maltreatment.Some estimates put the companys labour turnover in to 50000 a month and reports claim a drop in recruitment standards to just about anyone with an ID. (Engadget 2010) 4.0 Transformational leadership and culture Organisational Culture is defined as a set of shared values beliefs which interact with an organisations people ,structureand ststem to produce behavioural norms. Values influence attitudes and behaviour (Robbins 1998)therefore For transformational leaders to create employee wellbeing as a shared value they need to create trust between leader and employees. This is possible when the leader practice high emotional and social intelligence and honour the psychological contract between the management and employees. Leaders facilitate in creation of value for employee wellbeing and facilitate in embedding it in to the organisational culture. They achieve this by creating trust among employees towards the leader as well as between each other and develop emotional and social intelligence of employees and honouring the psychological contract. 4.1Trust trust is a characteristics of high performance teams where the relationship between members is based on integrity ,competence, consistency, loyalty and openness (Robbins 1998 ) According to Rosen (1996 ) trust is one of the major principles in leading people.it binds people together creating a strong resilient organisation. It cannot be achieved over night according to Kouzes et.al ( 1987) but takes years to learn however an instance to loose it. Idealised influence dimension of transformational leadership helps create such relationship of trust and confidence through its attribution charisma. They are thought to display certain attributes (eg.percieved power, focus on higher order ideals and values. When this happens the followers develop an emotional tie to their leader which ultimate results in the trust specified above.(Arnold 2007) Transformational leaders gain follower trust by maintaining their integrity and dedication, by being fair in their treatment of followers, and by demonstrating their faith in followers by empowering them. It has been suggested that one way that charismatic and transformational leaders can demonstrate their dedication and build follower trust is through self sacrificial behaviours.Leaders can self sacrifice by taking on a proportionately larger workload, by foregoing the trappings of power (e.g. Gandhis peasant lifestyle), or by postponing rewards, such as Chryslers Leelacocca and Apples Steve Jobs deciding to work for 1$ a yr ..(Bass et.al 2006) Transformational leaders build trust by practicing open communication between employees and leaders. mistrust comes from what people dont know as from what they do know (Robbins 1998 ).They are excellent team players ,and they lead by example, support the teams through words and actions and demonstrating loyalty as well as treating them with respect and considering their perception in terms of objectivity and fairness in decision making. They show consistency in basic values that guide their decision making and they maintain confidences and become someone who teams can rely on. 3.2Emotional intelligence Goleman (1995) describes emotional Intelligence as self-awareness, managing our emotions effectively, motivation, empathy, reading other peoples feelings accurately, social skills like team work, persuasion, leadership and managing relationships. Transformational leaders have high emotional intelligence. They properly manage emotions that drive trust, loyalty, and commitment. The leader enables People to recognize their own emotions as well as others ,differentiates those emotions to make choices for thinking and action.(Cooper et.al 1997).It is an intelligence that may be learned, developed and improved (Perkins 1994). Emotional intelligence is the ability of a person to use his awareness and sensitivity to detect, identify or understand the feelings underlying interpersonal communication and avoiding to respond on impulse and thoughtlessly, Instead to act from receptivity , authenticity ad candor.(Ryback 1998). Emotional intelligence is about influence without manipulation or abuse of authority. It is about perceiving, learning, relating, innovating, prioritizing and acting in ways that take into account and legitimize emotions, rather than relying on logic or intellect or technical analysis alone (Ryback, 1998). Transformational Leaders are highly self aware facilitating them to read ones emotions and recognize their impact while using gut feelings to guide decisions. Their social awareness enables them to sense, understand and react to others emotions while comprehending social networks. As a result of these qualities and the ability of transformational leaders to manage self inspire employees influence them and develop these qualities among them by managing conflict. This successfully results in resolved issues of workplace bullying and increase in employee satisfaction leading to higher performance. Goleman, (2010 )have shown that high levels of emotional intelligence can create climates in which information sharing, trust, healthy risk taking and learning flourish. as well as how workplace competencies based on emotional intelligence can exert greater impact on performance than do intellect or technical skills. 4.3Psychological contract When an employer distributes a performance bonus every year since it inception, employees within that particular company will expect to receive it in the coming years as well, because of the fact that every year the company distributes it. The point here is that Humans beings are very adaptable to situations .the more leaders practice employee wellbeing initiatives within the organisation the likely it will become an expectation in the psychological contract between employers and employees. Psychological contract defined by Robbins (1998) states that it is an unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from the employee and vice versa. It sets out mutual expectations. Everyone performs different roles both at work place and society. And each role demands attitudes and behaviours consistent to that particular role. Therefore both the organisation and the employee have certain expectations of that role which could mean acceptable working conditions, clear communication and a fair days work etc for employees and for organisations demonstration of a good attitude following instructions and showing loyalty to the organisation.(Robbins 1998) However when these expectations are not met trust between the employees and employers is lost, resulting in negative effects on employee performance and satisfaction. Globalisation and work force diversity further complicates the situation. Although Members of different groups share common within their group common values, attitudes and perceptions much diversity exists within each of these categories. (Bateman et.al 2009).similarly in multi racial societies such as the United States for example values shared among Asian Americans differ from values shared among Asians living in Asia. Since values influence the attitudes and behaviours of employees attaining a common shared value among the multi ethnic groups and multinational groups within an organisation is a challenge to the transformational leaders. As each of these groups will have different expectations from employers. 4.4 Social intelligence However the transformational leaders ability to connect with individuals at a personal level enables them to build a relationship of trust and influence their behaviour and attitude to share a common value which is emotional and psychological wellbeing of employees. Many leaders are appointed because of their drive, ambition and business expertise but often they are unable to work with or get along their director colleagues, colleagues and direct reports, or with others on whom their own success depends. Building on his work on emotional intelligence, Daniel Goleman coined the phase Social Intelligence, in which he enlarges his focus to encompass our capacity to connect with one another.We are wired to connect Neuroscience has discovered that our brains very design makes it sociable, inexorably drawn into an intimate brain-to-brain linkup whenever we engage with another person. (Goleman 2010) Therefore in order to identify the attitudes , values and perceptions of people the leader needs to have social intelligence skills to connect to the individuals or initiate emotions in order to gain trust which ultimately leads to acceptance of ideologies and behaviours the leader intends to communicate which in turn becomes the norm of the organisation. 5.0 Employee wellbeing, Culture and performance Harter etal (2002 ) believes that worker quality of life and performance originates with the behavioural, cognitive , and health benefits of positive feelings and positive perceptions.according to him proponents of the well being perspective argue that the presence of positive emotional states and positive appraisals of the worker and his or her relationships within the people seek out interesting , meaningful, and challenging tasks.when demands match or slightly exceed resources, individuals experience positive emotional states (e.g. pleasure ,joy, energy) and they perceive themselves as growing , engaged, and productive .From the wellbeing perspective, a healthy workforce means the presence of positive feelings in the worker that should result in happier and more productive workers. a survey carried out by Aon Consulting on UK workers found out that more than 35 million sick days a year are taken for personal reasons rather than for a genuine illness and one in three UK workers (33 per cent ) say that the last time they took a day off from work as sick leave were addressing personal issues including looking after a family member, letting repairmen into their home, grieving a dead relative or pet, or feeling down after breaking up with a partner and they did not have anything wrong with them . 52 per cent of British say they would not feel forced to take a day as sick leave if they could just be honest and have access to flexible working hours or social days, said Peter Abelskamp, director of health and benefits EMEA, at Aon Consulting. Of course, employers should also not ignore the fact that 16 per cent of people say that more interesting work would keep them in the office (PM Online, 2010) In 2003 the Royal Mail sickness absence levels were 7 per cent (an average of 16 days per employee per year) As a result their Customer service standards were affected and incurred a daily cost of  £1m.the company had been experiencing issues of long-term absence for many years which was commonly due to musculoskeletal health. Therefore Royal Mail introduced a range of integrated measures to counter the problem such as as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Health screening à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Health clinics at 90 sites à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Fast access to occupational health services à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Access to physiotherapy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Employee assistance programme (EAP) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Incentive scheme à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Rehabilitation centres focusing on improving back, neck and shoulder injuries à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Phased and partial return to work (RTW) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Case management four years later, it was reported that sickness absence levels had fallen to 4 per cent (10 days per employee) and saved Royal Mail almost  £230m. Up to 3,600 more staff were available to work each day as a result of these measures (Scribed,2010) 8.0 CONCLUSION In this fast changing global environment organisations are increasing needing leaders who concentrates on building relationships with their employees in order to increase productivity and meet the global demands. Emphasis on employee wellbeing has become a trend in todays companies which is seeing its benefits. However in order to produce a full impact leaders need to create wellbeing as a shared core value deep rooted in the culture of the organisation. This can be achieved only when the leader creates trust among employees as well as between him. This is only possible if the leader has high emotional and social intelligence and promotes it within employees and finally honouring the psychological contract between them. Therefore transformational leadership can bring about a change in organisational culture by creating values which will in turn influence the attitude and behaviour of the employees in this case employee wellbeing as a core value in the organisational culture.

Seven Major Changes in the Workplace

Running head: SEVEN MAJOR CHANGES IN THE WORKPLACE Seven Major Changes in the Workplace Seven Major Changes in the Workplace With the ever-growing population and technological changes many employers are going to have to adapt. Robert Barner highlights seven major changes that will affect the places where we work, both for the employer and employee (Kreitner, 2004, p. 76). The seven major changes are (1) The virtual organization (2) The just-in-time workforce (3) The ascendancy of knowledge workers (4) Computerized coaching and electronic monitoring (5) The growth of worker diversity (6) The aging workforce and (7) The birth of the dynamic workforce (Kreitner, p. 76). I will discuss how these seven changes major changes will affect the managers at my company, Blake Inc. The Virtual Organization We are living in a time where technology is in the forefront. Things are constantly changing and companies must be able to keep up with it. Right now in my company my managers are scrambling to keep up with the constantly changing technological world. Managers are now being set up with access to their computers from home. So if they are unable to come in to work or need to leave early they can still communicate with us. They can do everything from home that they can do at the office. They are also working on a plan, in case of an emergency or the office building is no longer usable that we can set up shop somewhere else within 48 hours. My manager is also setting up a web site that will be accessible by all employees to get update information concerning the company, such as business decisions, software help and 24 hour technical support. The Just-In-Time Workforce At Blake we are aligned with Temp Agencies that are able to supply us with workers at a moments notice. My managers know that must be able to meet high demands. They also set up incentives for employees wishing to put in extra work. They understand that is better to have people who know the business to do the work rather than a temp who really has no interest or knowledge in the company. The Ascendancy of Knowledge Workers Now more than ever it is important that companies hire very knowledgeable people. My managers are now trying to hire more people with a technical or analytical background to help with reports and other information needed by employees. Employees must know what they want and what they need so that they can effectively communicate this to the technical staff. Also, the managers at Blake must be able to step up and jump in when needed. This means they must know their job and all aspects of the company. The managers must know the responsibilities of each of their employees and make sure that their employees are knowledgeable as well. We have recently been asked to create a manual entailing our job responsibilities so that if something happens someone else will have knowledge of what we do. Computerized Coaching and Electronic Monitoring Being an internet-based company all employees has access to a wealth of information through the intranet. From the intranet you can look up other employees, find customer information such as contracts and orders placed, to information on employee benefits. At Blake employees just found out that their internet access was truly being monitored. Upon finding this out Managers took away internet access from all employees in which it is not a job necessity. This did not go well with employees as they felt as though their privacy was being invaded. As a supervisor I had to make sure that my employees had access to the websites they needed but nothing more. Employees feel that they are not trusted and treated like babies. Managers at Blake must be careful not to alienate employees in order to try and gain more efficiency. The Growth of Worker Diversity Blake employs a very diversified group of people. In fact some employees can barely speak English well. At times it gets kind of hard to understand them. My Managers must work hard not to alienate any one group of people. Every employee must be given the same chance to excel. They also must be proactive in learning about each group’s backgrounds and or culture as to not offend anyone. Managers at Blake are becoming more understanding o different beliefs and cultures and do not punish people for partaking (taking a day off) in these beliefs. The Aging Workforce Managers at Blake encourage continuing education. In fact anyone who wishes to go to school can do so for free, it is mentioned on our website how they will provide up to $50,000 for each employee towards their education. Education is encouraged whether you are young or old. Managers really respect the older employees because the hold so much knowledge and experience, so they must be careful not to quickly replace them with a younger face. It is important to have a good mix, as not all young college grads are a good fit as not all older people are. The Birth of the Dynamic Workforce Blake managers must work to be more encouraging. They will have to be able to motivate employees and encourage cross training. Employees must be able to help out in other departments when needed. Slow times in one department may mean a chaotic time in another. Being able to meet the demands in the high productivity department and use workers from the slow department can decrease cost. Managers must be able to think ahead in order to keep up with competition and stay ahead of the game. Blake is a pretty good company to work for but has been behind the times for a while. My managers are proactively trying to keep up with industry standards. This has caused a lot of revamping and the recruiting of more knowledgeable employees. Blake Managers understand that if they want to stay in business they must come to terms with the changes in the 21st century. Reference Kreitner, R. (2004). Management (9th ed. ). Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

American Literature Essay

When the English preacher and writer Sidney Smith asked in 1820, â€Å"In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book? † little did he suspect that less than two hundred years later the answer in literate quarters would be â€Å"just about everyone. † Indeed, just a few years after Smith posed his inflammatory question, the American writer Samuel Knapp would begin to assemble one of the first histories of American literature as part of a lecture series that he was giving. The course materials offered by American Passages continue in the tradition begun by Knapp in 1829. One goal of this Study Guide is to help you learn to be a literary historian: that is, to introduce you to American literature as it has evolved over time and to stimulate you to make connections between and among texts. Like a literary historian, when you make these connections you are telling a story: the story of how American literature came into being. This Overview outlines four paths (there are many others) by which you can narrate the story of American literature: one based on literary movements and historical change, one based on the American Passages Overview Questions, one based on Contexts, and one based on multiculturalism. TELLING THE STORY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE Literary Movements and Historical Change American Passages is organized around sixteen literary movements or â€Å"units. † A literary movement centers around a group of authors that share certain stylistic and thematic concerns. Each unit includes ten authors that are represented either in The Norton Anthology of American Literature or in the Online Archive. Two to four of these authors are discussed in the video, which calls attention to important historical and cultural influences on these authors, defines a genre that they share, and proposes some key thematic parallels. Tracking literary movements can help you see how American literature has changed and evolved over time. In general, people think about literary movements as reacting against earlier modes of writing and earlier movements. For T E L L I N G T H E S T O R Y O F A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E 3 example, just as modernism (Units 10–13) is often seen as a response to realism and the Gilded Age (Unit 9), so Romanticism is seen as a response to the Enlightenment (Unit 4). Most of the units focus on one era (see the chart below), but they will often include relevant authors from other eras to help draw out the connections and differences. (Note: The movements in parentheses are not limited to authors/works from the era in question, but they do cover some material from it. ) Century Fifteenth– Seventeenth Eighteenth Era Renaissance American Passages Literary Movements. (1: Native Voices) 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise (3: Utopian Promise) 4: Spirit of Nationalism (7: Slavery and Freedom) 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 6: Gothic Undercurrents 7: Slavery and Freedom (1: Native Voices) 6: Gothic Undercurrents 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism (1: Native Voices) 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 12: Migrant Struggle 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Enlightenment Nineteenth Romanticist Nineteenth Realist Twentieth Modernist Twentieth Postmodernist Each unit contains a timeline of historical events along with the dates of key literary texts by the movement’s authors. These timelines are designed to help you make connections between and among the movements, eras, and authors covered in each unit. 4 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Overview Questions The Overview Questions at the start of each unit are tailored from the five American Passages Overview Questions that follow. They are meant to help you focus your viewing and reading and participate in discussion afterward. 1. What is an American? How does literature create conceptions of the American experience and American identity? This two-part question should trigger discussion about issues such as, Who belongs to America? When and how does one become an American? How has the search for identity among American writers changed over time? It can also encourage discussion about the ways in which immigration, colonization, conquest, youth, race, class, and gender affect national identity. 2. What is American literature? What are the distinctive voices and styles in American literature? How do social and political issues influence the American canon? This multi-part question should instigate discussion about the aesthetics and reception of American literature. What is a masterpiece? When is something considered literature, and how is this category culturally and historically dependent? How has the canon of American literature changed and why? How have American writers used language to create art and meaning? What does literature do? This question can also raise the issue of American exceptionalism: Is American literature different from the literature of other nations? 3. How do place and time shape the authors’ works and our understanding of them? This question addresses America as a location and the many ways in which place impacts American literature’s form and content. It can provoke discussion about how regionalism, geography, immigration, the frontier, and borders impact American literature, as well as the role of the vernacular in indicating place. 4. What characteristics of a literary work have made it influential over time? This question can be used to spark discussion about the evolving impact of various pieces of American literature and about how American writers used language both to create art and respond to and call for change. What is the individual’s responsibility to uphold the community’s traditions, and when are individuals compelled to resist them? What is the relationship between the individual and the community? 5. How are American myths created, challenged, and re-imagined through this literature? This question returns to â€Å"What is an American? † But it poses the question at a cultural rather than individual level. What are the myths that make up American culture? What is the American Dream? What are American myths, dreams, and nightmares? How have these changed over time? T E L L I N G T H E S T O R Y O F A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E 5 Contexts Another way that connections can be made across and between authors is through the five Contexts in each unit: three longer Core Contexts and two shorter Extended Contexts. The goal of the Contexts is both to help you read American literature in its cultural background and to teach you close-reading skills. Each Context consists of a brief narrative about an event, trend, or idea that had particular resonance for the writers in the unit as well as Americans of their era; questions that connect the Context to the authors in the unit; and a list of related texts and images in the Online Archive. Examples of Contexts include discussions of the concept of the Apocalypse (3: â€Å"Utopian Visions†), the sublime (4: â€Å"Spirit of Nationalism†), and baseball (14: â€Å"Becoming Visible†). The Contexts can be used in conjunction with an author or as stand-alone activities. The Slide Show Tool on the Web site is ideal for doing assignments that draw connections between archive items from a Context and a text you have read. And you can create your own contexts and activities using the Slide Show Tool: these materials can then be e-mailed, viewed online, projected, or printed out on overhead transparencies. Multiculturalism In the past twenty years, the field of American literature has undergone a radical transformation. Just as the mainstream public has begun to understand America as more diverse, so, too, have scholars moved to integrate more texts by women and ethnic minorities into the standard canon of literature taught and studied. These changes can be both exhilarating and disconcerting, as the breadth of American literature appears to be almost limitless. Each of the videos and units has been carefully balanced to pair canonical and noncanonical voices. You may find it helpful, however, to trace the development of American literature according to the rise of different ethnic and minority literatures. The following chart is designed to highlight which literatures are represented in the videos and the units. As the chart indicates, we have set different multicultural literatures in dialogue with one another. Literature African American literature Video Representation 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation Study Guide Representation 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 6 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Native American literature 1: Native Voices 5: Masculine Heroes 14: Becoming Visible 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 2: Exploring Borderlands 5: Masculine Heroes 10: Rhythms in Poetry 12: Migrant Struggle 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 9: Social Realism 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity 9: Social Realism 11: Modernist Portraits 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 6: Gothic Undercurrents 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 2: Exploring Borderlands 5: Masculine Heroes 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Latino literature 2: Exploring Borderlands 10: Rhythms in Poetry 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity Asian American literature 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity Jewish American 9: Social Realism literature 11: Modernist Portraits 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Women’s literature 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise 6: Gothic Undercurrents 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Gay and lesbian literature 2: Exploring Borderlands 5: Masculine Heroes 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity T E L L I N G T H E S T O R Y O F A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E 7 Literature cont’d Working-class literature Video Representation 2: Exploring Borderlands 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 9: Social Realism 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity Study Guide Representation 2: Exploring Borderlands 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 9: Social Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 12: Migrant Struggle 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity LITERATURE IN ITS CULTURAL CONTEXT When you study American literature in its cultural context, you enter a multidisciplined and multi-voiced conversation where scholars and critics in different fields examine the same topic but ask very different questions about it. For example, how might a literary critic’s understanding of nineteenthcentury American culture compare to that of a historian of the same era? How can an art historian’s understanding of popular visual metaphors enrich our readings of literature? The materials presented in this section of the Study Guide aim to help you enter that conversation. Below are some suggestions on how to begin. Deep in the heart of the Vatican Museum is an exquisite marble statue from first- or second-century Rome. Over seven feet high, the statue depicts a scene from Virgil’s Aeneid in which Laocoon and his sons are punished for warning the Trojans about the Trojan horse. Their bodies are entwined with large, devouring serpents, and Laocoon’s face is turned upward in a dizzying portrait of anguish, his muscles rippling and bending beneath the snake’s strong coils. The emotion in the statue captured the heart and eye of critic Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, who used the work as the starting point for his seminal essay on the relationship between literature and art, â€Å"Laocoon: An Essay on the Limits of Painting and Poetry. † For Lessing, one of the most common errors that students of culture can make is to assume that all aspects of culture develop in tandem with one another. As Lessing points out, each art has its own strengths. For example, literature works well with notions of time and story, and thus is more flexible than visual art in terms of imaginative freedom, whereas painting is a visual medium that can reach greater beauty, although it is static. For Lessing, the mixing of these two modes (temporal and spatial) carries great risk along with rewards. As you study literature in conjunction with any of the fine arts, you may find it helpful to ask whether you agree with Lessing that literature is primarily a temporal art. Consider too the particular 8 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? strengths of the media discussed below. What do they offer that may not be available to writers? What modes do they use that complement our understanding of the literary arts? Fine Arts Albrecht Durer created some of the most disturbing drawings known to humans: they are rife with images of death, the end of the world, and dark creatures that inhabit hell. Images such as The Last Judgement (below) can be found in the Online Archive. In Knight, Death, and the Devil (1513), a devout Christian knight is taunted by the Devil and Death, who gleefully shakes a quickly depleting hourglass, mocking the soldier with the passing of time. Perhaps the tension and anxiety in Durer’s print resonated with the American poet Randall Jarrell in his struggle with mental illness. In â€Å"The Knight, Death, and the Devil,† Jarrell opens with a description of the scene: Cowhorn-crowned, shockheaded, cornshucked-bearded, Death is a scarecrow—his death’s-head a teetotum . . . Jarrell’s description is filled with adjectives in much the same way that the print is crowded with detail. The poem is an instance of what critics call ekphrasis: the verbal description of a work of visual art, usually of a painting, photograph, or sculpture but sometimes of an urn, tapestry, or quilt. Ekphrasis attempts to bridge the gap between the verbal and the visual arts. Artists and writers have always influenced one another: sometimes directly as in the case of Durer’s drawing and Jarrell’s poem, and other times indirectly. The Study Guide will help you navigate through these webs of influence. For example, Unit 5 will introduce you to the Hudson River [7995] Albrecht Durer, The Last School, the great American landscape painters Judgement (1510), courtesy of the of the nineteenth century. In the Context focusprint collection of Connecticut ing on these artists, you will learn of the interCollege, New London. connectedness of their visual motifs. In Unit 11, William Carlos Williams, whose poems â€Å"The Dance† and â€Å"Landscape with the Fall of Icarus† were inspired by two paintings by Breughel, will draw your attention to the use of ekphrasis. Williams’s work is a significant example of how multiple traditions in art can influence a writer: in addition to his interest in European art, Williams imitated Chinese landscapes and poetic forms. When you encounter works of fine art, such as paintings, photographs, or sculpture, in the Online Archive or the Study Guide, you may find two tools used by art historians helpful: formal analysis and iconography. Formal L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 9 [3694] Thomas Cole, The Falls of Kaaterskill (1826), courtesy of the Warner Collection of the Gulf States Paper Corporation, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. analysis, like close readings of poems, seeks to describe the nature of the object without reference to the context in which it was created. A formal analysis addresses such questions as Where does the central interest in the work lie? How is the work composed and with what materials? How is lighting or shading used? What does the scene depict? What allusions (mythological, religious, artistic) are found in the work? Once you have described the work of art using formal analysis, you may want to extend your reading by calling attention to the cultural climate in which the work was produced. This is called an iconographic reading. Here the Context sections of the Study Guide will be useful. You may notice, for example, a number of nineteenth-century paintings of ships in the Online Archive. One of the Contexts for Unit 6 argues that these ships can be read as symbols for nineteenth-century America, where it was common to refer to the nation as a â€Å"ship of state. † The glowing light or wrecked hulls in the paintings reflect the artists’ alternating optimism and pessimism about where the young country was headed. Below are two possible readings of Thomas Cole’s painting The Falls of Kaaterskill that employ the tools of formal analysis and iconography. W R I T E R A : F O R M A L A N A L Y S I S In this painting by Hudson River School artist Thomas Cole, the falls that give the painting its name grab our attention. The shock of the white falls against the concentrated brightness of the rocks ensures that the waterfall will be the focus of the work. Even amidst this brightness, however, there is darkness and mystery in the painting, where the falls emerge out of a dark quarry and crash down onto broken tree limbs and staggered rocks. The descent is neither peaceful nor pastoral, unlike the presentation of nature in Cole’s other works, such as the Oxbow. The enormity of the falls compared to the lone human figure that perches above them also adds to the sense of power the falls embody. Barely recognizable as human because it is so minute, the figure still pushes forward as if to embrace the cascade of the water in a painting that explores the tension between the individual and the power of nature. W R I T E R B : I C O N O G R A P H Y I agree with Writer A that this painting is all about the power of nature, but I would argue that it is about a particular kind of power: one that nineteenthcentury thinkers called the â€Å"sublime. † Cole’s portrait of the falls is particularly indebted to the aesthetic ideas formulated by Edmund Burke in the eighteenth century. Burke was interested in categorizing aesthetic responses, and he distinguished the â€Å"sublime† from the â€Å"beautiful. † While the beautiful is calm and harmonious, the sublime is majestic, wild, and even savage. While viewers are soothed by the beautiful, they are overwhelmed, awestruck, and sometimes terrified by the sublime. Often associated with huge, overpowering natural 10 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? phenomena like mountains, waterfalls, or thunderstorms, the â€Å"delightful terror† inspired by sublime visions was supposed to both remind viewers of their own insignificance in the face of nature and divinity and inspire them with a sense of transcendence. Here the miniature figure is the object of our gaze even as he is obliterated by the grandeur of the water. During the nineteenth century, tourists often visited locales such as the Kaaterskill Falls in order to experience the â€Å"delightful terror† that they brought. This experience is also echoed in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay â€Å"Nature,† in which he writes of his desire to become a â€Å"transparent eyeball† that will be able to absorb the oversoul that surrounds him. The power that nature holds here is that of the divine: nature is one way we can experience higher realms. How do these readings differ? Which do you find more compelling and why? What uses can you see for formal analysis or iconographic readings? When might you choose one of these strategies over the other? History  As historian Ray Kierstead has pointed out, history is not just â€Å"one damn thing after another†: rather, history is a way of telling stories about time or, some might say, making an argument about time. The Greek historian Herodotus is often called the father of history in the western world, as he was one of the first historians to notice patterns in world events. Herodotus saw that the course of empires followed a cyclical pattern of rise and fall: as one empire reaches its peak and self-destructs out of hubris (excessive pride), a new empire or new nations will be born to take its place. Thomas Cole’s five-part series The Course of Empire (1833) mirrors this Herodotean notion of time as his scene moves from savage, to pastoral, to consummation, to devastation, to desolation. This vision of time has been tremendously influential in literature: whenever you read a work written in the pastoral mode (literature that looks back with nostalgia to an era of rural life, lost simplicity, and a time when nature and culture were one), ask yourself whether there is an implicit optimism or pessimism about what follows this lost rural ideal. For example, in Herman Melville’s South Sea novel Typee, we find the narrator in a Tahitian village. He seeks to determine if he has entered a pastoral or savage setting: is he surrounded by savages, or is he plunged in a pastoral bliss? Implicit in both is a suggestion that there are earlier forms of civilization than the United States that the narrator has left behind. Any structural analysis of a work of literature (an analysis that pays attention to how a work is ordered) would do well to consider what notions of history are embedded within. In addition to the structural significance of history, a dialogue between history and literature is crucial because much of the early literature of the United States can also be categorized as historical documents. It is helpful, therefore, to understand the genres of history. Like literature, history is comprised of different genres, or modes. Historian Elizabeth Boone defines the main traditional genres of history as res gestae, geographical, and annals. Res gestae, or â€Å"deeds done,† organizes history through a list of accomplishments. This was a popu- L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 11 lar form of history for the ancient Greeks and Romans; for example, the autobiography of Julius Caesar chronicles his deeds, narrated in the third person. When Hernan Cortes and other explorers wrote accounts of their travels (often in the form of letters to the emperor), Caesar’s autobiography served as their model. Geographical histories use travel through space to shape the narrative: Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative is an example of a geographical history in that it follows her through a sequence of twenty geographic â€Å"removes† into Indian country and back. Annals, by contrast, use time as the organizing principle. Information is catalogued by year or month. Diaries and journals are a good example of this genre. These three genres can also be found in the histories of the Aztecs and Mayans of Mesoamerica and in those of the native communities of the United States and Canada. For example, the migration legend, a popular indigenous form of history, is a geographical history, whereas trickster tales often tell the early history of the world through a series of deeds. Memoirists also mix genres; for example, the first section of William Bradford’s Of Plimouth Plantation is a geographical history, whereas the second half is annals. Today the most common historical genres are intellectual history (the history of ideas), political history (the story of leaders), and diplomatic history (the history of foreign relations). To these categories we might add the newer categories of â€Å"social history† (a history of everyday life) and â€Å"gender history† (which focuses on the construction of gender roles). Finally, history is a crucial tool for understanding literature because literature is written in—and arguably often reflects—a specific historical context. Readers of literary works can deepen their understanding by drawing on the tools of history, that is, the records people leave behind: political (or literary) documents, town records, census data, newspaper stories, captivity narratives, letters, journals, diaries, and the like. Even such objects as tools, graveyards, or trading goods can tell us important information about the nature of everyday life for a community, how it worshipped or what it thought of the relationship between life and death. 12 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Material Culture [6332] Archibald Gunn and Richard Felton Outcault, New York Journal’s Colored Comic Supplement (1896), courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [LC-USZC4-25531]. When you look at an object, it may call up associations from the past. For example, for the first-time viewer the clown figure in the image above may seem innocuous, yet at the end of the nineteenth century his popularity was so intense that it started a newspaper war fierce enough to spawn a whole new term for sensationalist, irresponsible journalism—â€Å"yellow journalism. † Objects such as this comic supplement constitute â€Å"material culture,† the objects of everyday life. In Material Culture Studies in America, Thomas Schlereth provides the following useful definition of material culture: Material culture can be considered to be the totality of artifacts in a culture, the vast universe of objects used by humankind to cope with the physical world, to facilitate social intercourse, to delight our fancy, and to create symbols of meaning. . . . Leland Ferguson argues that material culture includes all â€Å"the things that people leave behind . . . all of the things people make from the physical world—farm tools, ceramics, houses, furniture, toys, buttons, roads, cities. † (2) When we study material culture in conjunction with literature, we wed two notions of â€Å"culture† and explore how they relate. As critic John Storey notes, the first notion of culture is what is often called â€Å"high culture†Ã¢â‚¬â€the â€Å"general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic factors†; and the second is â€Å"lived culture†Ã¢â‚¬â€the â€Å"particular way of life, whether of a people, a period or a group† (2). In a sense, material culture (as the objects of a lived culture) allows us to see how the prevailing intellectual ideas were played out in the daily lives of people in a particular era. Thus, as Schlereth explains, through studying material culture we can learn about the â€Å"belief systems—the values, ideas, attitudes, and assumptions—of a particular community or society, usually across time† (3). In reading objects as embedded with meaning, we follow Schlereth’s premise that â€Å"objects made or L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 13 modified by humans, consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, reflect the belief patterns of individuals who made, commissioned, purchased, or used them, and, by extension, the belief patterns of the larger society of which they are a part† (3). The study of material culture, then, can help us better understand the cultures that produced and consumed the literature we read today. Thomas Schlereth suggests a number of useful models for studying material culture; his â€Å"Art History Paradigm† is particularly noteworthy in that it will help you approach works of â€Å"high art,† such as paintings and sculptures, as well. The â€Å"Art History Paradigm† argues that the interpretive objective of examining the artifact is to â€Å"depict the historical development and intrinsic merit† of it. If you are interested in writing an â€Å"Art History Paradigm† reading of material culture, you might look at an object and ask yourself the following questions, taken from Sylvan Barnet’s Short Guide to Writing about Art. These questions apply to any art object: First, we need to know information about the artifact so we can place it in a historical context. You might ask yourself: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What is my first response to the work? When and where was the work made? Where would the work originally have been seen? What purpose did the work serve? In what condition has the work survived? (Barnet 21–22) In addition, if the artifact is a drawing, painting, or advertisement, you might want to ask yourself questions such as these: 1. What is the subject matter? What (if anything) is happening? 2. If the picture is a portrait, how do the furnishings and the background and the angle of the head or the posture of the head and body (as well as the facial expression) contribute to our sense of the subject’s character? 3. If the picture is a still life, does it suggest opulence or want? 4. In a landscape, what is the relation between human beings and nature? Are the figures at ease in nature, or are they dwarfed by it? Are they one with the horizon, or (because the viewpoint is low) do they stand out against the horizon and perhaps seem in touch with the heavens, or at least with open air? If there are woods, are these woods threatening, or are they an inviting place of refuge? If there is a clearing, is the clearing a vulnerable place or is it a place of refuge from ominous woods? Do the natural objects in the landscape somehow reflect the emotions of the figures? (Barnet 22–23; for more questions, see pp. 23–24) Material culture is a rich and varied resource that ranges from kitchen utensils, to advertisements, to farming tools, to clothing. Unpacking the significance of objects that appear in the stories and poems you read may help you better understand characters and their motives. 14 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Architecture. Most of the time we read the hidden meanings of buildings without even thinking twice. Consider the buildings below: Above: [9089] Anonymous, Capitol Building at Washington, D. C. (1906), courtesy of Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress [LC-USZ62-121528]. Right: [6889] Anonymous, Facade of the Sam Wah’s Chinese Laundry (c. 1890 –1900), courtesy of the Denver Public Library. Even if we had never seen either of these buildings before, it would not take us long to determine which was a government building and which was a smalltown retail establishment. Our having seen thousands of buildings enables us to understand the purpose of a building from architectural clues. When first seeing a work of architecture, it is helpful to unpack cultural assumptions. You might ask: 1. What is the purpose of this building? Is it public or private? What activities take place within it? 2. What features of the building reflect this purpose? Which of these features are necessary and which are merely conventional? 3. What buildings or building styles does this building allude to? What values are inherent in that allusion? 4. What parts of this building are principally decorative rather than functional? What does the ornament or lack of it say about the status of the owners or the people who work there? 5. What buildings surround this building? How do they affect the way the building is entered? 6. What types of people live or work in this building? How do they interact within the space? What do these findings say about the relative social status of the occupants? How does the building design restrict or encourage that status? 7. How are people supposed to enter and move through the building? What clues does the building give as to how this movement should take place? L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 15 These questions imply two basic assumptions about architecture: (1) architecture reflects and helps establish social status and social relations; and (2) architecture