The Essay The Consequential Concerto - 1206 Words

The Consequential Concerto â€Å"Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech†¦ And this is the only Check it ought to suffer, and the only Bounds it ought to know,† Benjamin Franklin (Benjamin Franklin, Silence Dogwood, No. 8). Throughout the course of human history, clans of people have turned against another from a mere bigoted belief. This usually constitutes physical abuse, humiliation, death, and perhaps most importantly, denying self expression. Two instances of these groups being denied self expression would be the Jews of the Holocaust and the LGBTQ+ community. Although though LGBTQ+ members today do not suffer even a fraction of what Holocaust victims†¦show more content†¦This was a direct contradiction to article 19 as the Nazi’s forced the Jews into a tranced state of internal affliction . In the same light, Elie yet again questioned his own mental and emotional foundation when he stated , â€Å"Blessed be God s name? Why†¦ would I bless Him? Every fiber in me rebelled†¦ Because in His great might, He had created†¦ factories of death? How could I say to Him: Blessed be Thou†¦ who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to end up in the furnaces?†(Wiesel 33). This excerpt illustrates how the Nazi’s use of death camps indirectly smothered Elie’s humanity and moral psyche. By eradicating so many people of his affiliation and restricting his religious practice, the Nazi’s destroyed all humanity left in Elie Wiesel. Equally important would not only be Elie’s experiences during Night, but also a minor character’s experiences, Juliek. Juliek was a magnificent violin player as well as Elie’s friend during his incarceration in the music block of Buna. Juliek was fond of playing an unnamed concerto by Beethoven however, during his imprisonment in Buna, he was punished for performing this because the Nazi’s proclaimed Jews were below people of German descent (Wiesel 49). Beethoven was German. Juliek’s emotional outlet and form of expression was music, so by restricting what he could play, the Nazi’s took his morale while simultaneously breaking article 19. This was depicted in Night: The darkness

Othello and the Virtue of Love Essay - 2758 Words

Othello and the Virtue of Love The love of the protagonist and his wife in William Shakespeare’s trgedy Othello can not stand up against the repeated assaults of the sinister Iago. Let us in this essay search for and comment on the examples of love found in the play. Helen Gardner in â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune† highlights the love between the hero and his beloved: The love between Othello and Desdemona is a great venture of faith. He is free; she achieves her freedom, and at a great cost. Shakespeare, in creating the figure of her wronged father, who dies of grief at her revolt, sharpened and heightened, as everywhere, the story in the source. Her disobedience and deception of him perhaps†¦show more content†¦Act 1 Scene 1 shows Roderigo, generous in his gifts to the ancient, questioning Iago’s love for the former, whose concern has been the wooing of Desdemona. Roderigo construes Iago’s love for him as based on the ancient’s hatred for the Moor. Thus the wealthy suitor says accusingly, â€Å"Thou toldst me thou didst hold him in thy hate.† And Iago responds, â€Å"Despise me, if I do not.† Partly out of hatred for the general and partly out of proving his faithfulness to Roderigo’s cause, Iago asserts in detail the reasons for his hatred of Othello, who has given the lieutenancy to Michael Ca ssio, a Florentine. Secondly, Iago suggests that Roderigo and he awake and disturb Brabantio, the father of Desdemona: Call up her father, Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight, Proclaim him in the streets; incense her kinsmen, And, though he in a fertile climate dwell, Plague him with flies: though that his joy be joy, Yet throw such changes of vexation ont, As it may lose some colour. (1.1) Thus a hue and cry is raised in front of the senator’s residence – partly for the sake of Iago proving his love for Roderigo so that the financial rewards will continue coming to the soldier. Once the senator has been awakened, Iago makes a series of loud, crude, bawdy allegations against both the general and Desdemona. Strangely, the senator is not incensed by these, but rather by the fact that his daughter hasShow MoreRelated Redemption in Death in Othello Essay1562 Words   |  7 PagesRedemption in Death in Othello      Ã‚   The brilliance of a tragedy lies in its ability to maintain its moral and the values it explores even in the tragic ending or in the downfall of its heroes. William Shakespeare does just this Othello, so quintessentially that the deaths in the end do not only refrain from undermining or canceling out the virtues of the play, but they actually restore them to the deceased, who have died because they have lost them.   In this play, love, loyalty, and honestyRead Moreâ€Å"Othello’s Virtue and Valour Ultimately Make Him Admirable.† to What Extent Do You Agree with This View?1031 Words   |  5 Pagesone often associated with virtue, courage and valour. Within Othello, Shakespeare questions the meaning behind heroism and admirability in the context of a Venetian society, in which the play is set. Through the tragic descent of Othello’s composure and his actions, the audience is left to wonder whether or not his virtue and presentation as an admirable gene ral and hero, actually exists. Act 1 of the play presents Othellos decisions and behaviour as the epitome of virtue and valour, showing him asRead MoreEssay on Othellos Tragic Flaw852 Words   |  4 PagesOf Shakespeare’s five greatest tragedies, Othello is by far the most passionate and gripping. It is a tale of love, deception, evil, honesty, and virtue. Othello himself is set apart from other Shakespearean tragic heroes by the absolute feeling of affection the audience feels for him even unto the very end of the play. Any discerning reader painfully recognizes the virtue and goodness of Othello throughout the entire play, in contrast to the general degeneration of character so typical of a tragicRead MoreAnalyzing Humanity in Othello: The Reason Why it is Still Worth Studying1675 Words   |  7 PagesHumanity in Othello: The Reason It is Still Worth Studying Dr. David Allen White of the US Naval Academy asserts that we are all Iago now (White 2000). The claim may seem outlandish at first. Modern man representative of Shakespeares greatest arch-villain? How could one even suggest such a thing? Whites argument is followed by a series of points, each of which is aimed to help his audience realize that the character they most readily identify with is not Othello (the tragic hero of the drama)Read MoreThemes in Othello Essays994 Words   |  4 PagesThemes in Shakespeares Othello Throughout Shakespeares play, Othello, there are many themes interwoven to describe the authors perspective of the true nature of a mans soul. Three themes critical to the play are doubt versus trust, monstrous imagery and the fallible love of man. One central theme of the play is the major contrast of doubt versus trust. For whatever reason, Othellos trust of Desdemona is too weak to resist Iagos accusations. As happens in many of Shakespeares works, miscommunicationRead MoreOthello : Racism And The Moor1013 Words   |  5 Pages Othello: Racism and the Moor William Shakespeare’s Othello uses the racial tensions of the period to enhance the execution of the play subtly. At the time of his writing, ethnic minorities were so disregarded, almost to the point of being ignored, yet Shakespeare chooses to make the protagonist a black male who rises to power. Repeatedly throughout the play, the contrast of black and white as opposites permeates almost every plotline. When referring to Othello, the otherRead MoreOthello : Vulnerability Destroys Virtues Of A Great Leader1601 Words   |  7 PagesOthello: Vulnerability Destroys Virtues Of A Great Leader Thesis: Even though Othello considers to be vulnerable is a weakness, his temperance and prudence should never come in conflict with his leadership principles because Iago despises Othello and manipulates him therefore, Othello becomes vulnerable resulting in his death. 1. Othello believes that being vulnerable is a sign of weakness. A. Othello will not expunge himself from his race and ethnicity, for he knows glorifying his heritageRead MoreMusic in Othello1633 Words   |  7 PagesMusic in Othello In Cyprus, observing the joyous reunion of Othello and Desdemona, Iago says to himself that he will wreck the lovers harmony: O, you are well tuned now! / But Ill set down the pegs that make this music, / As honest as I am (2.1.199-201). The pegs to which he refers are the tuning pegs on a stringed instrument. Their love is the instrument on which Iago is planning to loosen (set down) the pegs until the harmony is turned into discord. [Scene Summary] Because no one likeRead MoreEssay on Othello Chose His Fate794 Words   |  4 PagesThe play Othello the Moor of Venice, is one of Shakespeares great tragedies. That being so, for every tragedy, there is the tragic hero- a man that is, at bottom, truly honorable and good, but plagued by a flaw that causes his fateful undoing. The question then arises whether there is sufficient evidence to all-together condemn Othello as a malevolent and innately evil man, or such evidence that he was simply deceived by Iagos treachery and should be excused for his actions. Yet, as the playRead MoreThe Human Mind Is A Death Trap862 Words   |  4 Pagesmoney or love, influence and harm the choices they make. In Othello’s case the self-destruction that harmed him was letting the people around him manipulate his decisions. He also let love that became jealousy consumed him. Othello made bad decisions that affected and destroyed not only the people who matters in his life but most importantly t his led to his own self-destruction. Othello let his demons get through him and thinks about false accusations about his wife. In act 3 scene 3, Othello furiously

Business Intelligence with Data Mining Free Essays

Business Intelligence with Data Mining Abstract Banking and finance institutions are growing very fast in this globalization era. Mergers, acquisitions, globalization have made these institutions bigger. No doubt, the data also grow real huge and more varied. We will write a custom essay sample on Business Intelligence with Data Mining or any similar topic only for you Order Now Big data storage such as data warehouse and data marts are provided to give a solution on big data storage. On the other sides, those data are needed to be analyzed. Business intelligence finally comes in as a solution in analyzing those huge data. Business intelligence especially with data mining can create a solution in further decision making. With various tools and techniques, data mining has been proven in many aspects of business. Hidden informations that stored inside either data warehouse or data marts can be gained easily. In example, those hidden informations are market and economy trens, competitor trends, competitive price, good products and services and also can provide better customer relationship management. There is still one benefit in business intelligence with data mining that this paper will focus on, i. e. risk management and frauds and losses prevention. One of product from banking and finance institutions is credit loans. It is really a high risk business, but with business intelligence with data mining especially classification and clustering techniques, it can be maintained and implemented safely and of course with low risks, minimized frauds and losses and increased profits and revenues. Keywords : Banking and Finance, Business Intelligence, Data Mining, Risk Management, Credit Loans Introduction Banking and Finance institutions are growing rapidly nowadays. For one institution, there are more than one offices or branches in one country or even in different country. Globalization, mergers, acquisitions, competitions, market changes are some of the reasons behind why are they growing fast. As those banking and finance institutions grow, so do the data. In this case, banking and finance institutions probably have much more data than other institutions. Every single customer or people has one or more accounts in one institution or more. The challenge is how to maintain those data easily, how to make good decision among those data, how to create good product for customers and how to retain good customers that can bring much more profits and increase revenues. For those that can not maintain data and make a decision for further movement without analyze the data before will find it hard to be success or even lose in competition with other banking and finance institutions. Some of key success factors in banking and finance institutions, such as : 1. Customer satisfaction Good customer management and good product are the key to satisfy customer. If the institution could manage the customer well and offer good product that can produce benefit to both sides then it will guarantee customer will be very satisfied. 2. Customer loyalty There is no guarantee that satisfied customers will be loyal. Strategies and tactics are needed to retain those customers. 3. Increased profit revenue Similar with business institutions, gaining profit and increase revenue are the most important thing. 4. Minimal risk With many customers, banking and finance institutions need to analyze the risks that probably could happen. Not all of customers are good customer. Fraud or loss might happen. 5. Readiness for new markets to increase customer Markets are changing rapidly. Winning the competition means winning the customer. Offered products are the key here such as higher interest, free admin cost etc. 6. Efficiency of operations Since banking and finance institutions have several branches and many customers, the challenge is to make operations in daily transactions become efficient. Problems in Banking and Finance Institutions Similar with other institutions in business, banking and finance institutions also have some of problems in their business. Below are some of those problems : 1. Separated data instance Data are separated through branches all over the place. The banking and finance institution will find it hard to collect and analyze the data. This will also impact in decision making because decision should be made after analyzing all of the data. . High risk Banking and finance institutions have many customers and not all of those customers are good customer. Need to find out whether the customer is realible or not. 3. How to detect fraud and prevent loss Frauds and losses might happen in banking and finance institutions. Fraud in credit loans will cause loss to the institution. 4. How to create good customer relationship To compete in the market and winning customer, banking and finance institutions need to create good customer relationship to satisfy customers and make them loyal. 5. How to create good product Product is one the aspect that customers consider. Create a good product and can compete with others product will impact in customer winning. 6. How to find the hidden information inside those data to ease the decision making Huge data are needed to be analyzed and there are some hidden informations in those data that could affect the decision maker in making the decision. If the decision made is crucial one, it could lead to future success. Business Intelligence Business Intelligence can be defined as an ability of an enterprise to comprehend and use information in order to increase the performance. Business intelligence has several activities, procedures and applications. Some of those that mostly used are : Data Warehousing, Data Marts, OLAP Tools, tools for Extract Transform and Load (ETL), Information Portals, Data Mining, Business Modelling, etc (Katarina Curko, 2007). Business Intelligence can also defined as the process of gathering high-quality and meaningful information about the subject matter being researched that will help the individual(s) analyzing the information, draw conclusions or make assumptions (Muhammad Nadeem, 2004). In this paper, we shall focus more in data mining. Data mining works with data warehouse and data marts for data storage and extract transform and load (ETL) tools. Some of advantages by using business intelligence with data mining: 1. Gain profit and revenue for enterprise With business intelligence, the enterprise can gain the data access easily and integrated inside data warehouse data marts. So the enterprise can service customers better and quicker which will impact in profit and revenue increment. 2. Decision making With data mining in business intelligence, the enterprise can gain the hidden informations in those huge data and can make quick and easy decisions. . Expand the market segment With the ease of decision making, the enterprise can make decision in markets such as price, discount, etc which will impact in winning the market competition. Data Mining Data mining refers to computer-aided pattern discovery of previously unknown interrelationships and recurrences across seemingly unrelated attributes in order to predict a ctions, behaviours and outcomes. Data mining, in fact, helps to identify patterns and relationships in the data (Bhasin, 2006). Some of goal examples in using Data mining: 1. Forecasting market price With data mining, enterprise can predict the market price and decide on the best price to compete the price in market. 2. Cross-selling and up-selling analysis Data mining can be used to analyze market based on products. It means enterprise can make cross-selling or up-selling to their products to optimize or increase the sales. 3. Profiling customers Data mining can be used to segment customers depends on the category. For example we categorize customers by their profit or revenue. 4. Manage customer retention Not only enterprises data, data mining can be used to manage customer data which will impact in better customer relationship management. [pic] Figure 1. Overview of Business Intelligence with Data Mining Source of data that we shall process come from various sources such as customer data, market data, transaction data, product data, service data etc. As mentioned above, those huge and heterogeneous data will be stored in data warehouse and data marts. Before entering either data warehouse and data marts, those data will be extracted, cleaned up and sometimes transformed into different types of data. Then it will load the results into data warehouse and data marts. In this data warehouse and data marts, the data will be stored. Once the user want to analyze the data using data mining, the system will gather the data stored in data warehouse and data marts. With some of slicing and dicing techniques, data mining process the required data and resulting in enterprise reports. With these reports, management of enterprise then decides what to do next. Data Mining Techniques According to (Larissa T. Moss, 2003), data mining itself has many models and various methods in analyzing data. When to use one of these models or methods depend on the requirements. Below are some of those models or methods : †¢ Associations Discovery Is used to identify the behaviour of specific events or processes. Associations discovery links occurrences within a single event. Example of use in discovering when a person buys a toothbrush then may also buy a toothpaste or a person buys a cigarette may also buy the lighter. †¢ Sequential Pattern Discovery Is similar to associations discovery except that a sequential pattern discovery links events over time and determines how items relate to each ther over time. Example of use in predicting a person who buys a couple sets of computer may also buy a switch or router within three months. †¢ Classification Is the most common data mining technique. Classification looks at the behaviour and attributes of predetermined groups. Data mining tool can classify to new data by examining the existing data that has been classified before. Ex ample of use in classifying characteristics of customers. †¢ Clustering Is used to find different groupings within the data. Clustering is similar to classification except that no groups have yet been defined at the outset of running the data mining tool. Clustering divides items into groups based on the similarities the data mining tool finds. Clustering is used for problems such as detecting manufacturing defects or finding affinity groups for credit cards. †¢ Forecasting Is used to forecasting market or forecasting products in manufacturing enterprise. Comes in two types: regression analysis (predict future based on whole past trends) and time sequence discovery (predict future based on time-dependent data values). Business Intelligence in Banking and Finance Banking and finance in this paper, is the institution that require to adapt in globalization, flexible in market, keep growing, create innovations to gain more customers that will increase profit and revenue. The challenging questions is how to achieve those requirements. Those institutions also do risk management to handle frauds and losses. With high profit and revenue, it will be useless if the institution can not handle possible risks, in this case frauds and losses are the most possible risks. They need customers but after customers increased so do the risks. So the possible way is to manage those risks. The same question as above, how to make the risk management easily and cover up all the risks. With business intelligence, all of those things can be achieved. Banking and finance institutions can depend on business intelligence in many aspects. Efficiency of analyzing the data, detection of frauds and losses, risk management, customer management and product management are some of these aspects. Striving for success, banking and finance institutions always trying to create new innovation either in products or services. Mergers and acquisitions have inevitable made those institutions have really huge and heterogeneous data. Impossible to maintain those data without new technologies (Katarina Curko, 2007). Using Data Mining as Solution in Credit Loans for Banking and Finance As mentioned above, this paper will focus more on data mining in business intelligence. After discussing the benefit of business intelligence in banking and finance institutions, at last we go to the last important question, how to extract the hidden informations from those huge and heterogeneous data. In this section, we shall focus more on how to predict frauds, losses and risks that might happen in credit loans. Being able to predict risks, frauds and losses are the main concern these days in banking and finance institutions. Credit loans nowadays have been growing rapidly. Almost every single shop or business center allows payment with credit card, but we shall focus more on credit loans such as loan for business, vehicle etc. Credit loans have been the most interesting product for banking and finance institutions. Many customers are looking for credit availability to help them financially. With the credit interests, the banking and finance institutions gain profits. Quite interesting business when they can offer credit and gain the profit from the credit interests, but the most important question is how to guarantee that the customer is a good one or at least make sure the customer will pay back including the credit interests so those institutions will not get frauds and losses. We can say to prevent frauds and losses is a kind of risk management. Risk management really is a crucial step to do especially in banking and finance institutions. Risk management in banking and finance institutions itself covers many aspects such as liquidity risk, operational risk and concentration risk. Today, integrated measurement of different kinds of risk (market and credit risk) is moving into focus. These all are based on models representing single financial instruments or risk factors, their behaviour, and their interaction with overall market (Dass, 2006). We shall focus more on credit risk. Credit risk assessment is key component in the process of commercial lending (Dass, 2006). The institution has money to lend but to decide which customer or borrower is not an easy matter. We shall learn more about the customer or borrower, find their background, their market transaction, their current income, and in more extreme way is learning their current life. To make those tasks possible, we can use classification or clustering in data mining technique. These data mining tools can provide a grouping of customer or borrower. Let’s say there are three groups of customer or borrower that we want to manage. First, high valued customers, middle valued customers and low valued customers. Before put customers into those groupings, there are many things to consider and analyze. Different institutions use different kinds of classification and analysis. But in general, things to consider and analyze are customer background, customer history transaction, customer credit history, customer account at another banking or finance institution, customer income. Those are from credit customer or borrower perspective. They also consider and analyze market and economy trends to calculate and manage the possible profit gained before make a decision to lend or give the credit. [pic] Figure 2. Overview of Data Mining Process (Classification Clustering) in Credit Loans With these data mining tools, the analyst from those institutions can easily decide to approve the credit or not. Logically, analyst or management inside institutions will decide to lend or approve the credit requested by customers in high valued customer then it goes down until low valued customer. But not all decisions are correct, many aspects can cause wrong decision such as incomplete data or unconsistent data of customers, market economy trends changing, or other aspects. But these tools surely help a lot to do risk management in credit loans which will impact in minimized rauds and losses and increased profits and revenues. Conclusion Banking and finance institutions have so many products and services offered to customers. One of those are credit loans. Credits that offered to customers or borrowers are not directly approved if one of the customer or borrower makes a request of credit. Many aspects to consider and analyze. With business intelligence especially with data minin g including data warehouse and data marts, those important aspects are collected, stored and analyzed. Specifically we use a couple of data mining technique i. e. classification and clustering. The purpose is to group the customer or borrower into groups that are easily to read and analyzed by institution analyst or management to ultimately decide to approve the requested credit or not. In this paper we suggest three groupings of customers or borrowers such as high valued customer, middle valued customer and low valued customer. Analyst or management also analyze the market and economy trends beside customer aspects. In the end, these business intelligence and data mining tools are used to ease in decision making to make the best decision for whole enterprise. References Journals: [1] Dass, R. (2006). Data Mining In Banking And Finance: A Note For Bankers. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad . [2] Katarina Curko, M. P. (2007). Business Intelligence and Business Process Management in Banking Operations. Information Technology Interfaces . [3] Muhammad Nadeem, S. A. (2004). Application of Business Intelligence In Banks (Pakistan). CoRR . Textbooks: [1] Bhasin, M. L. (2006). The Chartered Accountant, Banking and Finance, Data Mining: A Competitive Tool in the Banking. Oman. [2] Larissa T. Moss, S. A. (2003). Business Intelligence Roadmap: The Complete Project Lifecycle for Decision-Support Applications. Addison Wesley. How to cite Business Intelligence with Data Mining, Papers

Gay Marriage Essay Research Paper THE OPPRESSED free essay sample

Gay Marriage Essay, Research Paper THE OPPRESSED GENDER It has been said that adult females are a universally oppressed gender. Unfortunately, I feel that this statement is wholly true. The position that adult females are oppressed merely because work forces and most adult females excessively, have the incorrect thoughts about adult females can be excessively optimistic. Emancipating adult females is seen as merely a affair of persuasion and instruction, of explicating to work forces that they have got it incorrect and that they truly should portion the housekeeping and the top occupations because it would be more just. History shows that all thoughts can alter. For illustration, the thought that black people are inferior belongs to societies that exploit black people. They see black people as no more than slaves or as inexpensive labour. To acquire rid of this thought, we have to acquire rid of the system that started this sad thought. We will write a custom essay sample on Gay Marriage Essay Research Paper THE OPPRESSED or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Anarchists believe that the nucleus job confronting adult females is category society. Overliing that nucleus job is a job of male chauvinist thoughts. The thought that adult females are inferior comes from societies that are divided into categories. When misss answered out of bend, they were more likely to be told off, while male childs were likely to be praised for demoing intelligence or enterprise. Given this it was non surprising that in ulterior categories misss seldom spoke unless specifically asked a inquiry while male childs frequently spoke out or chatted with the instructor. Women experience diffident as to what their rights are. Besides diffident as to how many fusss they are expected by society to set up with. Womans are invariably given cues that they are in some manner inferior. This conditioning is a symptom of the place of adult females in society, non the cause but a symptom with far making effects. Womans are invariably conditioned to believe that we do non hold a right to an sentiment, to be politically active, or to talk out. That is why the first measure against this conditioning is to form individually from work forces. Some adult females felt that work forces being more confident and more self-confident tend to rule treatments. Even some adult females feel that when work forces are present they are more likely to take a soundless function and leave the reasoning up to them. Women? ? s forming together is an exercising in authorization. It is a positive response to the conditioning of society. Its function should be to do it possible for adult females to take part as peers with work forces. However, jobs rise when this exercising is taken into drama along with run. This identifies work forces as the root job, when they are non the job. It besides isolates work forces from the battle, when it is obvious that in order to alter society we must work aboard them. Within many Unions and the British Labor Party there exist adult females merely conferences, A job with this is that adult females? ? s issues are frequently referred to these conferences as a manner of avoiding the issues and burying about them. Rape is an illustration of adult females? ? s issue and its is referred to as a adult females? ? s conference. In decision, I feel that adult females are get downing to come on. For illustration, our New York Senator Hilary Clinton is a adult female. This is merely the start ; shortly possibly we will hold a adult females president.

The Business and Cultural Practices of Japan

Introduction The rising rate of globalization has led to business activities to be a global affair. It is because of this globalization that any entrepreneur who wants to beat the global competition should familiarize themselves with the customs, norms and practices of the different countries they do business with. It is also important that the business protocol, communication and etiquette are put into consideration.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Business and Cultural Practices of Japan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This becomes of essence due to the increased travelling in terms of doing business (Lipartito 32). Japan is no exception since it is one of the industrial countries in the world. Most countries of the world import most products from Japan because of her good reputation and the high quality products she produces. Japan’s economy is also at the top competing with countries like the United States of America which are known to be doing well economically worldwide. Geographic Description of Japan Population Japan has a population of 126,804,433 and is ranked 10th among all other countries in the world. Japans life expectancy is 82 years, but its population’s growth rate is declining at 0.242%. 66% of the total population lives in an urban area, and 99% both male and female are literate. GDP Japan is the third largest economy in the world after the United States and China. Its GDP (purchasing power parity) is $4.137 trillion and ranked 4th in the world. Japan entered into recession in 2008, its GDP – real growth rate is currently declining at rate of 5.3% and its GDP per capita is at $32,600. Its labor force is composed of 65.93 million and its unemployment rate is 5.1%. Political Orientation Japan government is parliamentary with a constitutional monarchy. It legal system is modeled after the European civil law systems with English-Americ an influence. Japans chief of state is Emperor Akihito, he has been in this position since January 1989. In June 4th of this year the National Diet of Japan also known as the bicameral legislature appointed Naoto Kan as prime minister, he is considered to be the head of government. Following legislative elections the leader of the majority party usually becomes prime minister; the monarchy is hereditary. Major Products Produced Japan is famous in the world for producing vehicles, electronics textiles and machinery. Others include fully processed food commodities, big vessels like ships just to mention but a few. It is known to be the largest exporter of the same products. Other significant facts Japan is located in eastern Asia, in a chain of islands between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan. Its area can be compared as slightly smaller than the state of California. In 1941 Japan attacked the United States, this initiated Americas entry into World War II. When Japan los t in the Second World War it regained its strength and has become one of the most important economic powers in the world.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For more than a decade Japan has been one of the most important markets overseas for the United States. Japan supplies many important products to firms such as Apple, IBM and Hewlett-Packard. Japan also plays a major role in UN peacekeeping operations, humanitarian relief and also in international election monitoring (Griffin 56). Japan’s Business Practices Japan is currently going through major human resources management changes. Traditional culturally influenced Japanese business practices are slowly shifting to more westernized business practices. To globally compete, many Japanese companies feel that they must not let cultural barriers continue to hinder Japan’s economical performance. However, re gardless of where Japanese business practices are headed in the future, cultural values and norms still highly influence Japan’s common business practices. Building business relationships in Japan is a business practice highly influenced by societal values and norms. Writing a letter of introduction, calling, or showing up uninvited to a firm is considered impolite and disrespectful. â€Å"One of the best ways of initiating a viable business relationship in Japan is to obtain a letter of introduction (shokaijo) from an introducer. A good introducer is a person respected and trusted by both parties involved. While these types of culturally influenced business practices are slowly fading from Japanese business philosophies, they are still recognized as polite ways of doing business. Japan’s highly relationship-oriented business practices go beyond initiating business, it is also noticeable in the way Japanese negotiate contractual terms and handle conflicts. Typical Jap anese negotiators are more concerned with reaching a general agreement and building a trusting relationship than specific contractual terms. Furthermore, Japanese business practices for conflict resolution are similar to the way they do other business practices. The Japanese prefer to settle business issues out of court through mutual consultation and mediation because most of the time, they have built a trusting relationship with the businessperson and would not want to be rude. Another business practice in Japan is the use of a lifetime employment system. The vast majority of companies in Japan still have this type of employment system where employees implicitly agree to work with the company for the duration of their career (MOFA 10). The Japanese lifetime employment system pays and promotes individuals based on a seniority system. Employees not performing to standard are moved to â€Å"easier† positions rather than being fired.Advertising We will write a custom resea rch paper sample on The Business and Cultural Practices of Japan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Outright firing of an employee would not traditionally be considered an option within Japanese organizations. However, with increasing globalization demands and the downturn of the economy, the lifetime employment and seniority systems are beginning to fade as more Japanese companies switch to performance-based payment and promotion options. While there are some advantages to the lifetime employment and seniority system, many Japanese companies are finding that they cannot compete without performance incentives. A lifetime employment system is advantageous because it promotes employee loyalty by providing job security. Furthermore, this system allows employees to build lasting relationships with supervisors and colleagues. However, Japanese companies have begun to switch from this philosophy to a more performance based, westernized employ ment system. Promotions and salaries are increasingly becoming performance-based rather than based on seniority. Japanese business practices are highly related to their cultural beliefs and societal norms. However, globalization and the demand from other countries wanting to enter Japan’s markets, cultural influences are slowly fading away. Westernized business philosophies are creeping their way into Japan’s common business practices and will more than likely continue to shape the future of Japanese business practices. Hofstede’s dimensions in evaluating Japan’s cultural values Japan has somewhat a unique culture. Their culture is dramatically different from other Asian cultures, such as ones of China, Hong Kong, and Korea (Gross 1). For an organization to succeed in Japan one should be loyal and have a good relationship with the people around. Based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Japan’s lowest ranking factor is Individualism. They are more of a collectivist culture, which means that they value working in groups, as opposed to individually. The group, rather than the individual, is the fundamental unit of concern in businesses in Japan. People of Japan are very sociable, and place a great deal of importance upon the opinions of others. They work for intrinsic rewards, and harmony is considered more important than honesty Japan is pretty much right in the middle of the power distance index which is used to indicate the extent to which differences between people is perceived (Nishiyama 4). Therefore, some inequality and some equality exist between people in Japan. There are moderate gaps in authority, respect, and compensation.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The highest characteristic of Japan is that they strongly value. Masculinity versus femininity indicates how the roles of male and females are perceived. Since Japan has a very high Masculinity score, women’s values differ less among societies than men’s values. Also, people in Japan value assertiveness and competitiveness, as opposed to more modest and caring values that are more common among countries that are feminine (Smith 1). Japan also has a very high Uncertainty Avoidance Index. The UAI deals with how much a culture tolerates risk. Since Japan’s UAI is very high, this means that they try to avoid risky situations as much as possible. The members of Japan’s society feel uncomfortable when placed in novel, unknown, surprising, or just different from usual situations (Gorill 1). The corporate culture of Japan is very formal. They try to reduce the chances of amorphous situations by implementation of very laws and rules that are strict. The Japanese p eople tend to be very emotional and can be easily motivated unlike in other countries. Therefore any entrepreneur who would prefer to start a business in Japan needs to be very prepared and able to predict the outcome of the enterprise. Lastly, Japan’s culture has a high long-term orientation in terms of delivering its services to the population of Japan and the entire world. Their education systems favor this orientation together with the ethics they have in doing work. Comparison of Japan’s Practices to those of United States Business practices US managers often express leadership abilities and competence by dominating group discussions, whereas Japanese managers demonstrate leadership by silence. Japanese managers often encourage subordinates to participate and come up with acceptable solutions. In a business meeting, being silent has different meaning between United States and Japan. In United States, if a person does not talk during a meeting or conversation, that person expresses inability to communicate. Whereas in Japan, being silence indicates the person is thinking or increased conversation would oppose to harmonious (William 2). When American businesspeople arrive for a meeting, they first exchange some pleasantries, then get down to business, and follow by a well planned agenda that has been sent out to each party prior to the meeting (Dietterich 1). For Japan, the first meeting focuses on whether each party can trust each other rather than working on planned agenda. When Japanese say yes during a contract negotiation, it means â€Å"yes, I understand what is being said†. American often interprets them as â€Å"Yes, I agree with you†, so there are two different interpretations of the word yes. Hospitality is quite important in Japanese business culture. In order to build personal bonds and group harmony among participants, fancy meals and after hours entertainment are required. In United States, when executives are havin g a meal with the clients in fancy restaurants, this means they are showing their status and clout. In Japan, when organizations encounter bad news, it will informally communicate through one team member to another team member, whereas in the states, bad new will be delivered as soon as possible to the person in charge (Angelucci 2). In a union negotiation, US labor agreement is actually negotiated between a firm and a union through enforcement by the court of law. In addition, negotiations are relatively formal. On the other hand, collective bargaining is very rare in Japan, Unions and management always work together to come up with a mutual benefit. The Japanese hostile confrontation, disputes are settled through mutual agreement. Culture Practices Education in the States is quite different than Japan. In the States, primary and secondary schools guide the individuals to build up self reliance, creativity, and self esteem. In Japan, primary and secondary schools focus on preparing students to take a college entrance exam. Low context cultures include United States, â€Å"the speaker explicitly conveys the speaker’s message to the listener.† A high context cultures such as Japan, the words spoken require â€Å"cultural clues in order to understand what is being said. Western country manages stress differently. In United States, Executives would encounter moderate stress and are able to manage stress effectively, whereas the Japanese would encounter very high levels of stress and encounter difficulties in managing stress. Five basic needs of physiological, security, social, self esteem, and self actualization from Abraham Maslow are all important for Japan and United States’ culture (The World Factbook 32). Conclusion From the above discussion it can therefore be concluded that the Japan’s business and cultural practices are worth being familiarized because of the economical benefit it has to the entire world. However, Japan as a c ountry is trying to eliminate any barriers that may arise to cause hindrance to the global market. Even though the United States is the world’s super power, it can be deduced that the two countries work hand in hand because of the similar business practices and the fact that Japan is one of the most industrious country in the world. Works Cited Angelucci, Marc. â€Å"Hofstede’s Dimensions on Cultural Practices†. 2010- August 4, 2010. http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_japan.shtml Dietterich, Tea. â€Å"China-Cultural Awareness and Etiquette Training.† 2002-August 4, 2010. http://www.2m.com.au/country.php East Southeast Asia. â€Å"Japan CIA – The World Fact book.† 2009-August 4, 2010. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html. Gorill, Jodie. â€Å"Japanese Social and Business Culture.† 2007- August 4, 2010. http://www.communicaid.com/%5Ccross-cultural-training%5Cculture-for-business-and-management% 5Cdoing-business-in%5CJapanese-business-and-social-culture.php Griffin, Ricky. International business. Pearson Prentice Hall 6th edition, 2010.Print Gross, Anchw. â€Å"Trends in Human Resource Practices in Japan†. 1998- August 4, 2010. http://www2.pittstate.edu/mgmkt/culture.html Japan’s Contribution to UN Peacekeeping Operations. â€Å"Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA)†. 2005-August 4, 2010 http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/un/pko/pamph2005.html Lipartito, Kaiya. â€Å"Culture and the Practice of Business History.† 1995- August 4, 2010.  http://www2.hnet.msu.edu/~business/bhcweb/publications/†¦/p0001-p0042.pdf Nishiyama, Kaiya. â€Å"Doing Business With Japan: Successful Strategies for Intercultural Communication†.2000- August4, 2010. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm Smith, Ethel. â€Å"The importance of understanding cultural Differences in business.† 2002- August 4, 2010. http://www.helium.com/knowledge/70 551-the-importance-of-understanding-cultural-differences-in-business Tulshyan, Ruchika. â€Å"The world’s qurky cultural practices.† 2010- August 4, 2010. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35986024/ Wells, Christopher. â€Å"Exercise In Cross-Cultural Negotiations in Japan.† 1996- August 4, 2010. http://www2.gol.com/users/cpwells/Negot.html William, Melinda. â€Å"Cultural Awareness and Business Etiquette in the Global Marketplace.† 2007- August 4, 2010. http://www.aiaa.org/documents/myaiaa/workshop/Cultural_Awareness.ppt This research paper on The Business and Cultural Practices of Japan was written and submitted by user Elloe Kaifi to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

buy custom Anatomy of Evil essay

buy custom Anatomy of Evil essay In Anatomy of Evil, the author has clearly used his understanding of psychology and the human behavior to try to understand and explain in a well and clear manner the reasons why people commit acts that are considered to be evil by the society in general. He looks at such acts as murder, rape and violence and he explains why he thinks they happen and the factors that lead to their occurrence. He gives his findings from a scientific point of view as his analysis of the whole aspect of evil is based not on a particular case but several cases from which he makes his findings and this in scientific analysis gives a conclusive finding. In his book Dr. Stone uses detailed biographies from more than 600 perpetrators of crimes that are considered to be evil and he also conducts interviews with people who have been imprisoned due to crimes to try to understand, give more insight and explain the logic behind their actions. Some of the people he looks at in his book as he gives a history of violent acts include Charles Mason, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer who are considered as high profile killers. The inclusion of the fore mentioned in his study reinforces his aim of wanting to find out the reasons behind their actions. With such information it is seen that Stones research is wide and broad. From his studies and interviews Stone manages to determine that those involved in atrocious crimes can be categorized into levels which reflect on their behaviors. He managed to create a 22- level hierarchy of evil behavior that could be used to rank the level of evil that has been committed by an individual. Though he creates a hierarchy of evil behavior, it is not clearly understood why he ranks evil because evil is evil. The hierarchy consists of such evil behaviors such as crimes of passion, sadistic torture, violent rape and murder. It also adds to it behaviors such as aggression, narcissistic tendencies and also psychopathic tendencies. In his hierarchy, Stone considers the taking of life through misperception or psychosis to be the lowest levels in the hierarchy and the highest levels he relates to serial homicides, murder and violent rape which he observed that the assailants tend to be sadistic and show no remorse. Using the created hierarchy by Stone, it is possible for one to have a clear understanding on the kind of evil behavior being exhibited by an assailant. This has been used by law enforcement agencies t understand the actions of the assailants and their behaviors and from such understanding it has made it possible to deal with people involved in heinous crimes. The act of Dr. Stone personally interviewing the deranged personalities, going through the whole process of interviewing emotionally disturbed people and even dangerous situations so that he would obtain the most informed logical views to the dysfunctional behavior of these people. This shows that in his research on the anatomy of evil, Dr. Stone went out of his way so as to be able to give findings which are well informed rather than based on hypothetical and theoretical views which for a long time have been used to explain and understand the evil behavior of these perpetrators of such heinous acts. Other than only focusing on the reasons for explaining such evil behavior, he also looks at the human experience of behaviors such as anger, resentment, confusion, pain and violent lashing. He is able to show that such evil behaviors are in a way connected to human experience as he explains that some people commit dreadful acts due to anger as it tends to cloud a persons judgment. In the book, Stone discusses some of his findings which would in a way help to explain the causes of evil. Some of the facts he puts forth that might lead people to commit despicable crimes include heredity, adverse environments, violence prone cultures, mental illness and abuse of mind altering drugs such as anti-depressants. In his study, most of his respondents, those who committed the crimes were found to be of a sound mind and therefore the mentioning of mental illness cannot be exactly expected to be the cause of evil as it is medically proven that mental illness can cloud a persons judgment and also affect his logic ability. In addition, severe head injury reduces ones inhibitions. This case is noted in the book when he mentioned the story on Charles Whitman. It was determined later that Whitman had a brain tumor in the region of the brain that controls emotion. Such an example is not appropriately used because his case was a profound medical condition. We observe in the book according to Stone, characteristics of violent criminals can be traced back to their childhood and also in their youths. He explained such behaviors to be observed in the way they commit violence against their animals, petty crimes and even arson attacks. He further observes that when in theiir adulthood, these people turn violent against their human counterparts. Such was due to those children growing up unloved, unwanted or even abused. Though he supports his claims on causes of evil, he still believes that it is possible to have a society that can be free of evil behavior by predicting that signs of evil behavior can be corrected while still in childhood before potentially dangerous patterns become entrenched. From Stones findings, some of these people with evil behavior do not exhibit psychotic behavior but have a charm that they use to manipulate others into doing what they want thus leading people to become their victims by luring them. Stones book can be read by any person who has an interest in reading and psychology studies but it is a good book for those who are doing or studying forensic psychology as it gives an understanding of people said to commit heinous crimes such as murder, violent rape and suicide. In the book, Stone also talks about the latest scientific research into pathology and the minds of those people involved in such despicable acts. He does explore the fact on the causes of evil by giving short details on known killers but does not focus on them in totality as killers are just a small part of the whole anatomy of evil. Even though he gives small accounts of these perpetrators, the book to some extent appears to be a horrendous book due to the imagery he uses to give an account of the crimes committed by these people with evil behavior. Though the idea of the whole book is well brought out, the arranging of ideas in the book was somehow confusing as there was no structure in writing the arguments in the book and the book contained errors such as typing ones which seem to have been ignored by the editor. Another issue with the book is that the definition of evil and the causes of evil are not clearly defined because even with the use of illustrations by the author from past crimes, evil is not clearly defined. Furthermore, it raises the question if stating that mental illness is a factor to evil behavior is correct. In conclusion, the book carries with it a great explanation to something that people dont usually ask or get involved in but it has not sufficiently dealt with the issues as suggested by the title as the author is seen to mainly give brief stories on evil crimes perpetrated by individuals making the book look like a compilation of stories. Buy custom Anatomy of Evil essay

Natural Health Through Natural Medicine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Natural Health Through Natural Medicine - Essay Example Within minutes her ankle swelled up to the size of a basketball and she was in great pain. There was no hospital within miles , but their local guide brought a healer from the village nearby. The healer messaged Jessica's foot with some juniper oil for ten minutes, all the while mumbling a chant. At the end of ten minutes, when the healer asked her to get up and walk, Jessica was more astonished than everybody else to find that she could walk comfortably without pain. Within a day her foot was perfectly normal, and she could continue her trek to the Kedar ranges. The same injury would have cost Jessica much more time and money, besides causing her possible reaction to drugs if she had had recourse to Modern medicine. Natural medicine or Alternate medicine is the need of the hour rather than the impersonal, expensive, technology- dependant Modern medicine with its side effects.. Natural medicine is general term used for a range of unconventional medicines using natural substances and energy fields such as Reiki, Yoga, Homeopathy , Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and many others which assist the body to heal itself. Throughout history the art of healing has been practiced by all cultures. Plants and plant products have been used by the native American healers with great success. The Indian medicine system of Ayurveda, the traditional Chinese system of medicine, the Druids of Europe, all used plants and plant products effectively. Unlike the modern Western medicine or Allopathy which only treats the body, natural medicine systems treat the whole body, mind and the spirit .Natural medicine tries to restore the harmony in body, mind and spirit. The proponents of modern Western medicine say that modern medicine uses the latest in technology for the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder. They say that X-rays, MRI, CT scan and other procedures are followed by the practitioners of modern medicine makes it more scientific. But it is a well known fact that even a simple headache is diagnosed only after a number of tests have been done. Even after that, the patient only experiences temporary relief as lot of pain killers and anti- inflammatory drugs are pumped into her. While it is a good thing for the hospitals and the pharmaceutical companies, the patient will be losing valuable time and money. The conventional doctor treats the condition, not the patient. All patients with headache are the same to him. Since he does not have enough time, he follows a set pattern and suggests the same set of tests whether they are required or not. He uses drugs which suppress the body's natural immune responses .Painkillers can be addictive a nd all modern medicines have side effects. The same condition is treated quite differently by a healer or a shaman. An acupuncturist would be using the body itself to heal itself, which would take a fraction of the time and money conventional medicine does. Modern medicine is all about evidence- based medicine. It does not accept anything without so called scientific evidence. But there is no real evidence to show that eye drops prevent loss of vision in patients of glaucoma, nor is there any evidence that cholesterol can be controlled by certain drugs. On the other hand, the Silva Mind Control method has shown that vision can be improved

Finance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Finance - Case Study Example Relatively tough economic environment. Economic conditions do not seem to be favorable as the overall industry dynamics may not allow the firm to expand at a rapid pace. With overall low prices, it may seem difficult for the firms to actually maintain their margins and effectively generate sufficient cash flows to service their debts. 2. Higher volume of business with limited capacity to meet the demand. It is also critical to note that though business is expanding, the overall capacity to meet this demand is limited. In order to expand meeting the demand, firm, however, has to borrow indicating that its own equity may be low; therefore, the firm’s own internal stake will be limited. It is critical that the capacity should be expanded with higher contribution from the owners with less reliance on debt. 3. Not professionally managed as firm is still a family business. Business does not seem to be run professionally as despite growing, firm has not been able to expand profession ally. The legal character of the firm is still same to be managed by the two individuals with little hiring except drivers. In order to manage the business, marketing side of the business must be delegated to professionals who can better run the firm and let the owners focus on the expansion of business. Analysis Ratio Analysis A closer look at the return on equity would indicate that for year 2002, ROE is higher than the industry average. However, it was lot lesser than the industry average in 2000 and 2001 suggesting that the firm has been able to increase its ROE. However, owners’ capital has remained constant during the period with increasing long term liabilities. ROE can increase due to higher level of debts and it seems that this large increase in ROE during 2002 is also the result of higher level of debt. Overall debt to equity is higher than the industry; however, interest coverage has increased too during last few years. Firm seems to be liquid as its current and ac id test ratios are higher than the industry average, however, higher liquidity position can be due to higher accumulation of accounts receivables on the balance sheet of the firm. Firm needs to improve its collection policy because higher investment into working capital is also a cost and it is a non-productive asset. Efficiency seems to have improved over the period of time as firm’s receivables in days have consistently been reduced. It is, however, important to note that account receivables are on rise which has basically inflated the liquidity position of the firm. Sales and assets growth has been high too, however, asset growth seems to be due to higher cost of the capital expenditure done. Sales have increased too but this increase has been mainly due to business given by one customer. Sales growth in 2001-2002 has been 29.5% down from 219%, however profit has shown an explosive growth. Statement of Changes Sources of Cash Short term Long Term Other Receivables 51.00 Pr epaid Expenses 935.00 Accounts Payable 17,322.57 Loan 30,000.00 Loan 270,000.00 Retained Earnings 58,750.96 Tota Sources 18,308.57 358,750.96 377,059.53 Uses of Cash Accounts Receivables 17,719.31 Net Fixed Assets 270,000.00 Total Uses 17,719.31 270,000.00 287,719.31 89,340.22 Cash Dec 2002 4,230.00 Cash Dec 2003 93,570.22 4Cs of Credit The loan will be collateralized

Ethics in International Business Research Paper

Ethics in International Business - Research Paper Example Ethical development is more of an intrinsic process and it cannot be captured through the printed literature. Knowledge of ethical theories and practical experience enable an individual to face the critical situations, in personal life or in business situations and enable one to determine which ethical characteristics need to be adopted. Ethics in international business will not accrue through learning theory alone. A number of practicalities are involved as the international business platform is most volatile on many counts. But one thing is certain. It is in the interest of all concerned, international businessmen, policymakers and politicians involved in business decision making, to learn and execute ethical practices. Accountability and ethical principles need to go in tandem which will contribute to the overall welfare of the global business community in particular and global family of humankind in general. International business has the potential to enhance the country’s capacity to produce goods as well as to export or import them. The Friedman Doctrine is aptly described by Campbell Jones (2005). He dissects the doctrine into three parts and writes, â€Å" First, Friedman explicitly recognizes that capitalism is marked by conflict of interest†¦this conflict of interest is clearly expressed between business and labor†¦.increasing profit is the responsibility of business, and protecting the interests of labor is the responsibility of labor leaders. Between these two groups, there is an unassailable conflict of interest which is a matter of politics and this cannot be wished away by economists or business ethicists.†(p.98) Describing the position of the state and about the social responsibility of the organizations, he elucidates, â€Å" Second, Friedman does not think that the state is a bad thing that should be done away with as if capitalism could continue without the state†¦.Indeed, one of the reasons that Friedman is conc erned about business people exercising functions of ‘social responsibility’ is that these business people have not been democratically elected for the purposes of representing the community at large, are, therefore, unlikely to represent the broader interest.†(p.98) And on the ethical issues relating to business, he does the tightrope walking and states, â€Å"Third, Friedman expands on the earlier noting that business can engage in competition, ‘so long as it stays within the rules of the fame†¦the desire of business will be to make as much money as possible, ‘while conforming to the basic rules of society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom.†(p.99) This coverage is comprehensive. Milton Friedman (1970) offers detailed comments and expands his arguments, â€Å"Presumably, the individuals who are to be responsible are businessmen, which mean individual proprietors or corporate executives. Most of the discussion of social responsibility is directed at corporations, so in what follows I shall mostly neglect the individual proprietors and speak of corporate executives.† (The New York Times)This needs further clarifications. A corporate executive is an employee of the owners of the business and his primary and direct responsibility is to them.  Ã‚  

Emotional Intelligence And Team Performance Psychology Essay

Emotional Intelligence And Team Performance Psychology Essay Claims about the positive influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on work team performance are very numerous, both in commercial and scientific literature. In this study, EI was assessed using the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS). Paper examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and performance of 15 teams selected from telecom organizations of Islamabad/ Rawalpindi. A single questionnaire was used to gather data from the teams, each consisting of 5-15 members. Simple and multiple regression was applied to investigate the relationships between emotional intelligence as a whole and team performance and then between EIs dimensions which includes Self Emotion Appraisal, Other Emotion Appraisal, Use of Emotion and Regulation of Emotion and teams performance. Results show a positive relationship among emotional intelligence and its dimensions and performance of teams. The limitations which holds for the study includes issue of one-shot study, limited sample size and non generalisability. The study will be beneficial for future researchers and organizations. Keywords: Emotional Intelligence; appraisal and expression of emotion; team performance INTRODUCTION In recent years, emotions in the workplace, and especially emotional intelligence, have become an amazingly hot topic in management. The topic of research is Impact of Emotional Intelligence on teams performance. Employees go through different emotions which are most likely to affect the way they behave at their workplaces. It is important for the team leaders as well as members to understand, act on and manage the emotions of other members to have a healthy environment at workplace and to increase the performance of the team as a whole. Background of the Study The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) was first proposed by Mayer and Salovey (1990) which was then popularized by Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Since then, this area has got much attention in the field of leadership, Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior. Researchers have defined EI as a distinct psychological skill that can be consistently gauged. Mayer and Saloveys ideas on EI came up from the work of Social Intelligence by Thorndike (1920) and Gardners (1983) concept of intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence. In 1927, Thorndike classified Intelligence into three types: Abstract Intelligence which is related to verbal concepts, Concrete Intelligence which is related to shapes and matter and thirdly Social Intelligence now termed as Emotional Intelligence. It shows that it is not a new concept. Salovey and Mayer (1990) defined emotional intelligence as the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor ones own and others feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide ones thinking and actions (p. 189). Their model includes features of intelligence, adjustability and encouragement. Mayer and Salovey (1997) stated four skills of EI which includes emotional awareness of own and others, emotional management of own and others, emotional understanding i.e. recognizes the emotional series and cycle, and emotional facilitation i.e. creating emotions. To measure EI, MSCEIT (Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, 2002) was developed on the basis of these four elements. Goleman (1998) stated that EI play a major role in improving performance at work as well as achievements in personal life. He claimed that approximately 90 % of the performance between high and average individuals at senior leader positions was due to EI features rather than cognitive ones (Cichy, Kim and Cha, 2009). Researchers define teams miscellaneously. Ayoko and Callan (2009) defined teams as groups composed of autonomous individuals who are wholly identified as team, having a shared liability and are together accountable for the accomplishment of tasks identified by the organization. Ayoko and Callan argue that the leaders who adopt emotional and transformational leadership behavior probably generate positive team results. As now, there are many instruments or ways to measure EI, it is time to move forward and increase our knowledge regarding the relationship between EI and performance (Jordan, Ashkanasy, Hartel, Hooper, 2002). The focus of this research is to investigate the relationship among the emotional intelligence of team members on their overall performance as a team. Significance of the Study This study will prove to be a source of understanding the benefits of using emotional intelligence in context of realizing team performance. This research will prove to be an important tool for managers and employees which will as a result awaken the need for emotional training of employees. Problem Statement What is the impact of emotional intelligence on team performance? Research Objectives To investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence that is the dependent variable and team performance, the independent variable. To identify the dimensions of emotional intelligence and their magnitude on the performance of teams. To measure the emotional intelligence level of the team members and its overall impact on their team performance. LITERATURE REVIEW Importance of teams With the passage of time focus of organizations is shifting from individual job to team based work units. Teams are said to be necessary for organizational effectiveness. To extract maximum performance from team it requires the selection of people with suitable and adequate skills and knowledge who can understand and cater to team needs These required skills must include the EI skill set because EI accounts for eighty percent of success of an individual (Goleman, 1995). For a large part of work done in the organizations, teams are responsible for carrying it out. Nowadays every employee or employer is a part of a team. Apart from teams being dominant in different kind of settings, they are of hypothetical importance to the scholars. Teams have been analyzed from many viewpoints i.e. analyzing the team members working in a team from a psychological view, the processes within the team, and the background in which the team is formed. With Anconas idea of boundary management activities, relations of teams with the outside parties have also been studied in which activities across the team boundary which include representing the team to outside parties, defending the team from outside pressures, and obtaining information and providing it to the team (Ancona, 1990). Importance of EI in workplaces Before the importance of EI was realized in organizations IQ was supposed to be sufficient for good human performance. Workers were indeed advised to put away their emotions at their homes before coming to work. But it is unrealistic to suppose that emotions can be left home or set aside when you arrive at work. Some people may assume, for a variety of reasons, that emotional neutrality is an ideal, but it is usually not good for an organization for it can hinder people to move into management roles. As, emotional intelligence is critical to high performance, a person who knows how to stay motivated under stress, motivate others, manage complex interpersonal relationships, inspire others and build teams who are recognized specialists on a product or service are likely to get will get better results (Goleman, 2005) The significance of emotions in work settings has been well-known. Emotional intelligence is a multi-dimensional concept that links emotion and cognition to improve human interactions. It has been linked to improved workplace behaviour and specifically team behaviour and team performance. (Jordan, Peter, Lawrence, Sandra, 2009). Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence comprises four abilities, Appraisal and Expression of Emotion (own and others), Use of Emotions and Emotional Management (own and others) (Wong and Law, 2002). Appraisal and expression of emotion The first factor of EI is the ability to properly determine and express ones own emotions as well as to be sympathetic, appraise and express emotions of others. Every individuals ability varies in precisely identifying, appraising and expressing his own emotions as well as the emotions experienced by others. Some people are attentive of their feelings they experience and can express their emotions whereas, some people cannot express their feelings and emotions or they are unaware of their emotions (Zhou, George, 2003). There is a positive relationship between job performance and team members having high EI because they are highly proficient at appraising and regulating their own emotions which results in a higher level of faith in themselves and have power over them which lead them to make realistic actions resulting in high performance and less supervisory interference. But where team members have low EI, they are less proficient at appraising and regulating their emotions, so they have to get assistance from their managers in helping them to better manage and control their emotions which lead to teamwork, coordination, creativity and adaptability (Sy, Tram, OHara, 2006). Use of emotions The second factor includes the ability of the individual to use emotions to aid the cognitive processes. Emotions and cognitions are highly interconnected and EI allows people with the ability to use emotions to aid the effective cognitive processing of information. Emotions can be used to emphasize on important matters like selecting among competing and similar options, increase the flexibility of information processing, and engage in certain kinds of information processing (Mayer, 1986; Salovey Mayer, 1989-1990). Therefore, individuals vary not only in awareness, appraisal and expression of emotions but also in their ability to use emotions in collaboration with their cognitive processes to enhance effective functioning. For adjusting in changing situations, emotions play an important role in the effective development of information for the individuals who are high on EI. On the contrary, individuals with low EI cannot effectively use their emotions to aid cognitive processes and may find it difficult to coordinate among how they feel and what are they doing (Zhou, George, 2003). Regulation of emotions The fourth element of EI is about the regulation of emotions of the people. People not only understand the emotions of others but also make an effort to manage these emotions. Some individuals are much competent in managing emotional management process for themselves as well as for other, as compared to other people. For example, if there occurs any breach in quality, it may raise up a negative emotional reaction when the manager tries to determine the reason of the problem i.e. anger. Though the manager, instead of being obsessed with blaming others and seeking revenge, he should manage his anger to effectively solve the problem. It is significantly important for leaders to manage the emotions of others. Emotional reactions provide a useful insight of where interest should be focused, whereas unmanaged emotions can hinder the effective information processing. So to avoid this unduly hindrance, EI allows managers to not only use emotions but also to manage them effectively (Zhou, Geo rge, 2003). The management of emotion enables an individual to join or unjoin himself from an emotion in a given situation depending on its utility at that given time. This is apparent in the individuals ability to have control on his immediate reactions and postpone his judgment and then to communicate them in a measured and careful manner. The suggestion to think and then act, caution to count to 10 before replying and listening practice like pause, breathe and relax then respond are all efforts for managing emotions by conveying your feelings and emotions in a proper way when communicating. Even small children are often taught to count to 10 before getting mad or to smile for Grandpa. Delaying instantaneous responses clearly indicates it is as emotional management ability. Link of EI with team performance Various models of team development note that to resolve differences between team members, it is important for teams to develop and progress. Emotional intelligence, when linked with group performance, helps in constructing useful group interactions and aids individuals to deal with and resolve emotional issues to facilitate high performance. In recent research, it was found that team performance is positively and significantly influenced if team is able to recognize emotions of teammates. (Stough, Saklofske, Parker, 2009) Until now, research has paid attention to emotional intelligence as an individual difference, something similar to intellectual intelligence and associated with personal ability. The notion of emotional intelligence, however, is wider in scope and application than its intellectual intelligence. Studies show that trained teams consisting of members with high emotional intelligence perform as well on measures of team performance as the trained teams consisting of members with low levels of emotional intelligence. Many researchers have anticipated that proper training could be provided to develop the emotionally intelligent team to craft it beyond just a collection of emotionally intelligent individuals but which jointly demonstrate the positive characteristics of emotional intelligence (Daus and Ashkanasy, 1993). Though there are many claims regarding the positive impact of EI on job performance, but the studies examining the relationship between EI and individual level performance show that the perceived potential benefits of using EI in the workplace may be absent. A small number of studies have examined the relationships between EI and performance at group level. (Quoidbach, Hansenne, 2009). Jordan and Troth (2004) have found a link between EI and performance on a purely cognitive task at group level, although this relationship did not appear at individual level. A number of researchers have hypothesized that job performance is influence by employees ability to use emotions to facilitate performance, one of the four defining dimensions of EI. Employees could employ both positive as well as negative emotions to their benefit to improve performance. For example, positive emotions, such as excitement or enthusiasm, could motivate employees to provide better customer service, complete their work assignments, or contribute to the organization. Conversely, negative emotions, such as anxiety, could aid employees ability to focus on their work tasks. (Sy, Tram, OHara, 2006) Relationship of high EI individuals with better performance The employees having high emotional intelligence are more skilled to regulate their own as well as manage others emotions to promote positive interactions which would lead to higher performance through organizational citizenship behavior. Latest research has revealed that managers having high EI exhibit produce optimistic work attitudes and unselfish behaviors which resultantly lead to employees higher satisfaction and performance at job (Sy, Tram, OHara, 2006) The high El individual, most centrally, can better perceive emotions, use them in thought, understand their meanings, and manage emotions better than others. Solving emotional problems likely requires less cognitive effort for this individual. The person also tends to be somewhat higher in verbal, social, and their intelligence particularly if the individual scored higher in the understanding emotions portion of El. The individual tends to be more open and agreeable than others. The high El person is drawn to occupations involving social interactions such as teaching and counseling more so than to occupations involving clerical or administrative tasks. The high El individual, relative to others, is less apt to engage in problem behaviors and avoids self-destructive, negative behaviors such as smoking, excessive drinking, drug abuse, or violent episodes with others. The high El person is more likely to have possessions of sentimental attachment around the home and to have more positiv e social interactions, particularly if the individual scored highly on emotional management. Such individuals may also be more adept at describing motivational goals, aims, and missions (Mayer, Salovey, Caruso, 2004). Weiss and Cropanzano (1996) claim that emotional elements have a lasting impact on team performance though are not instantly evident. Pate, Watson and Johnson (1998) have revealed that decisions made by the whole group are a better predictor of performance than the decisions made by the best decision-maker in the group. In majority of teams, the role of leadership is revolved so it is predicted that teams with EI will perform well. (Jordan, Ashkanasy, Hartel, Hooper, 2002) Due to an increased use of teams in organizations since past several years, it has resulted in a productive research literature on what makes teams effective. This question has recognized various important aspects. It has been found through studies that team performance is affected by several factors like communication, team climate, shared mental models, leadership and size. Yet other studies showed a relationship between team performance and individual factors which includes skills, knowledge and abilities of team members, age and tenure of team member, his openness to variety and equilibrium of his role preferences (Pirola-Merlo, Hartel, Mann, Hirst, 2002). Components of Team Performance Dependability among team members have an influence on how well teams can rely on one another as well as on the organization. It is determined greatly by the extent of how much information is being shared and level of openness among teams, and among organization and team. It also includes consistency of teams in terms of them doing what they say they will do, they remain stick to their commitments to each other and to the organization. Information Sharing The basis of trust among team members lies in effective sharing of important information. Teams cannot perform effectively unless they dont have proper information. When the organization keeps the information secret from the team members that may be useful for them, the members may lose confidence in the organization. Nor organizations can trust on teams that are secretive and are not open. Clear Direction A clear direction is needed to point teams to go in the direction in which the organization wants to go. It is important to become clear about the vision and then communicate the vision to the teams. The organization, by setting a clear direction, set the boundaries within which the teams work. Aimlessness Without having clear goals and an apparent direction, teams are likely to become unstable. Their actions are inefficient because they are not aimed. They keep on shifting to other thing after starting on one thing. Although they move in a same general direction but without any accuracy due to absence of clear goals. Alienation The teams which are not involved in decision making of the organization are more likely to deny it, they may consider the path on which they are moving as not of their own, and they may hold themselves less accountable for the results. Teams may engage in disruption to declare their opposition from the direction inn which they are moving. Operational Planning The organization has to create processes to accomplish work once their goals are set, and overall plan has to be set up to fit plans of individual units. In the planning process, they need to plan for teams giving them the clarity and structure and flexibility to gain benefit from unexpected opportunities and deal with unpredicted events. Communications Teams have to communicate with each other as well as to the organization to stay aligned. So, a medium and practices through which communications can flow freely must be built up. Team based organizations need to create effective modes of communication, to identify the information requirements of all parts of organization, and examine levels of communication and noise level. Innovation The benchmark of high performing organizations is that they outperform what is already known and down earlier. They are innovative, work with their own fashion, and generate new products and services. Innovative organizations believe in challenging the status quo and they have the structure that supports new projects. Teams in these organizations are less liable to remain on past success. Connecting Values Where teams have the freedom to act and the resources to be productive, they will tend to buy into the organizations enterprise when one other condition applies: that the organizations work taps a deeply held value or set of values. This connection to what is most important or meaningful to teams and their members creates a sense of mission and an esprit de corps that bonds teams together and to the organization as a whole. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This research study has following variables: Emotional Intelligence: Independent variable Team Performance: Dependent variable Other Emotional Appraisal Use of Emotion Regulation of Emotion EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TEAM PERFORMANCE Self-Emotional Appraisal Independent Variable Dependent Variable The study shows a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and team performance. Based on the researches of many researchers like (e.g. Qquoidbach Hansenne, 2009; Jordan, Ashkanasy, HÃ ¤rtel Hooper 2002), the research shows that team performance is dependent upon emotional intelligence. The employees having high levels of emotional intelligence will perform better in teams which will increase the overall performance of the teams. Hypotheses The aim of this study is to prove the relation between emotional intelligence and team performance. Therefore, hypothesis related with four dimensions of emotional intelligence are developed as follows: Hypothesis1: Emotional Intelligence has a significantly positive relationship with team performance. Hypothesis 2: Self emotion Appraisal (SOE) has a significant positive relationship with team performance. Hypothesis 3: Other Emotion Appraisal (OEA) has a significant positive relationship with team performance. Hypothesis 4: Using of Emotion (UE) has a significant positive relationship with team performance. Hypothesis 5: Regulation of Emotion (RE) has a significant positive relationship with team performance. CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study was relational for exploring relationship among Emotional Intelligence (EI), Self Emotion Appraisal (SEA), Other Emotion Appraisal (OEA), Using Emotions (UE) and Regulation of Emotions (RE). These variables are tested. Purpose of the Study Hypothesis testing was done in order to test the relationship between variables which were emotional intelligence, SEA, OEA, UE, RE and team performance. Type of Investigation A causal study was conducted to explore the association among EI, its dimensions and team performance. Extent of Researcher Interference The data was collected with minimum interference by the researcher from different organizations. Study Settings Data was collected in noncontrived settings. Unit of Analysis The unit of analysis for this study is teams as the research questions are focused on impact of emotional intelligence of teams on their performance. Time Horizon The data was gathered just once from different telecom companies therefore the study was one-shot study. Sampling Design The sample was chosen by using convenience sampling where the data was collected from the employees of telecom companies who were easily available to provide it. Sample The targeted population for this research is the telecom sector of Pakistan. The sample conducting this research was selected from the organizations located in Islamabad/Rawalpindi. Total number of teams among which questionnaires were distributed was 35 teams out of only 29 teams returned back the filled questionnaires. Those 15 work teams comprised of 5-15 members. The respondents working in a team currently were included. 72% of the participants in teams were male and 28% were female. Instrument Primary data was gathered through questionnaires. The questionnaire consisted of 32 items (see Appendix). All the items related to emotional intelligence as well as team performance were measured on a 7-point likert scale (7 = Strongly Agree to 1 = Strongly Disagree). The reliability test was applied to the questionnaire which showed 0.934 cron bach alpha. It consisted of two parts. First part consists of 16 items used to measure the emotional intelligence of the members of the team. Second part also consists of 16 items which were used to measure the performance of team. Measures Emotional Intelligence Emotional Intelligence was assessed using Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) (2002). This scale consists of 16 items. The WLEIS was designed as a short measure of EI for use in organizational research. It comprises of 16 items, responded to on a 7-point Likert scale and measuring four dimensions: Self-Emotion Appraisal, Emotion Appraisal of Others, Use of Emotion, and Regulation of Emotion. Wong and Law (2002) report good internal consistency reliabilities for their measure. In terms of validity, they present data showing that scores on the WLEIS are related to job performance and job satisfaction. Team Performance The performance of team was measured by 16 items, adopted from Senior, B. (1996). This was measured on a 7-point likert scale. RESULTS AND FINDINGS Data was collected from 15 different teams of telecom organizations from Islamabad/Rawalpindi. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS Version 18. The linear regression was run on the data. By running reliability analysis to the data, Cronbachs Alpha value was found to be 0.934 which shows that our instrument is 93 % reliable. The reliability test was applied on this questionnaire and the results are as follows: Table 1: Data were collected from fifteen teams from telecom companies of Islamabad/Rawalpindi. First, the reliability of the questionnaire was checked through Cronbachs Alpha reliability test. Cronbachs Alpha measures how well a set of items measures a single undimensional latent construct. The calculated Cronbachs Alpha was 0.934 for 32 items which is presented in Table 1. This value shows that there was consistency among the items and the questionnaire was reliable. Table 2: Table 2 indicates that the mean score of emotional intelligence of the employees was 5.43 which mean that the teams had somewhat high level of correlation. A maximum of 7 shows that some of the respondents had very high levels of emotional intelligence and a minimum of 3 shows that some of the teams members did not possess high level of emotional intelligence. Table 3: Table 3 indicates that the overall teams were performing well. A maximum of 7 shows that some teams performance was very good and a minimum of 2 shows that some teams were performing not very well. Table 4: Correlation finds the connection between two variables and determines the extent to which values of two variables are proportional to each other. (Carver Nash, 2006). The above table shows that the self emotion appraisal and use of emotion are highly correlated with team performance, whereas other emotion appraisal and regulation of emotion were although positively correlated but having weak relationship with team performance. Table 5: As in the above table sig. value is less than .05 so we have a significant linear regression. (F (1) = 71.715, p Table 6: Regression equation can be formed as follows: TP=1.915+0.671EI With 1% change in independent variable, it will cause dependent variable to change by 67 %. From the above table and the formed equation we can conclude that Emotional Intelligence is the significantly influencing variable. It means that Emotional Intelligence plays a significant role in the performance of the team. Table 7: Model Summary reports a statistics that measures goodness of fit. R is measuring the simple relation between independent variables and dependent variable. R2 measures the variation of dependent variable by independent variables. It can range from 0 to 1 and indicates the extent to which the line fits the points. The R Square value shows that 65% of the variation in the team performance can be explained by the difference in the value of emotional intelligence. Regression Analysis of Relation between Sub-Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence Team Performance (Dependent Variable: Team Performance) Table 8: The model summary table 11 measures goodness of fit. This table includes the multiple correlation coefficients R, its square R2, and an adjusted version of this coefficient. The multiple correlation coefficient, R = .719, indicates that there was a moderate correlation between dimensions of emotional intelligence and team performance. In terms of variability, observed team performance accounted for the fitted model, this amounts to a proportion of R2 =0.518, or 51.8 %. It means that there was 51.8 % of the variation in team performance (dependent variable) was explained by the dimensions of EI (independent variable). This shows a strong relationship between the two variables (emotional intelligence and team performance). The value of durbin Watson value should range from 1.5-2.5. Our value of Durbin Watson is 1.684 which means there is no issue of multicollinearity. Table 9: From ANOVA table, it is evident that Sig (p value) = 0.000 which is less than 0.05 so the model fits the data properly. The F-test for the null hypothesis, that the four dimensions of Emotional Intelligence (EI) does not have positive relation with teams performance, or in other words, that R2 is zero. Here the null hypothesis is rejected (F (4) = 25.478, p Table 10: The above given coefficients table provides regression coefficients, standard errors of the estimates, t-tests and tolerance and VIF values. The estimated regression coefficients are given under the heading Standardized Coefficients B, these give, for each of the independent variables, the predicted change in the dependent variable when the independent variable is increased by one unit based on a condition that all the other variables in the model will remain constant. For example, here we estimate that teams performance increases by 17 % with a one unit change in team members self emotion appraisal assuming that there is no change in the rest of variables. One unit increase in others emotion appraisal brings a 3.8% change in the performance of teams. Similarly, one unit increase in the use of emotion of an employee brings a 41% variation in teams performance. At the end, a unit change in the team me

William Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra Essay -- Shakespeare Antony

William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra â€Å"Heaven help the American-born boy with a talent for ballet† – Camille Paglia The prim and proper women and the strong and strapping men are no match for Shakespeare’s haze of character’s muddled together in Antony and Cleopatra. As always Shakespeare delivers a luminary cast of individuals that deviate from the socially accepted gender roles. As the audience works its way through the fierce genesis to the catastrophic resolution, it is made more than apparent that lines are being crossed all over society’s conformist board of gender specific expectations. The character that was most amplified in this context was the stunning Cleopatra. Less like a lady and more like a warrior, the audience was witness to this Egyptian queen beginning her cameo with a barrage of games she endlessly threw Antony’s way in a sly attempt to win his affections. â€Å"Nay, pray you seek no color for your going, but bid farewell and go† (1.3.33-34). Cleopatra occasionally showed signs of her female side through bouts of the play; however the majority of her presence was swarming with an aura of resiliency and strength. Other characters even mentioned her with such traits in mind; for example, Caesar proclaimed â€Å"[Lepidus] is not more manlike than Cleopatra† (1.3.5-6). Her strength was defined most in her beauty; â€Å"she makes hungry where most she satisfies; for vildest things become themselves in her† (2.2.236-237). However, it was also present in her behavior. Cleopatra was a meek woman by no means. She stood up for the things she believed in. When upset, she presented her shrewish side. â€Å"Hence, Horrible Villian, or I’ll spurn thine eyes like balls before me; I’ll unhair thy head,... ...e 6, Enobarbus and Menas vocally agreed upon the lying and seduction methods of the female population. In Act 3, Scene 12, Caesar prattled on about the inherently weaker side of women. In some cases it was even considered an insult that the men might be compared to women. â€Å"For shame, transform us not to women† (4.2.35). In Antony and Cleopatra, the important point one must recognize is not the battles present both in love and war, but the toe that is continuously slide across the line which Shakespeare always felt inclined to cross. There were no prototypical male or female protagonists in Shakespeare’s world. It is a factor that should always be acknowledged when stewing over this brilliant playwright’s work. Boundaries were meant to be crossed, and Shakespeare made his belief just as apparent in the sloshing of gender roles in Antony and Cleopatra.