Managing organisational behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managing organisational behaviour - Essay Example The concept of distribution of ‘power and pay’ was first introduced by Frederick Winslow Taylor in the early twentieth century. According to him, the total planning and control of an organisation should be in the hands of the owner and the worker should simply perform as per the commands of the owner (Robbins and Coulter, 2006:58). He further added that this concept would lead to maximum productivity and maximum profits and therefore it was widely accepted all over the world. It still continues to be used today in big organizations and banks where senior level executives hold explicit power and enjoy exorbitant income in comparison to their employees (Kular et al, 2008). However, before the analysis, understanding the concept of Organizational Behaviour, Taylor’s ‘Scientific Management’ theory and the ‘Needs Theory’ in brief is deemed necessary. Organizational behaviour is a subject that is concerned with studying the actions of people at work. It focuses on the fact that managers need to understand the elements which influence how employees work. Also, a manager’s success depends upon how well he can manage employees’ behaviour and gets things done through them (Robbins and Coulter, 2006: 372). ... He incorporated his concepts in his book, The Principles of Scientific Management (1911) which became a guide book for every manager in every company across the world especially UK and US. Soon ‘Taylorism’ spread to every corner from the workplaces to larger and bigger organizations and became one of the most acceptable patterns of working in the twentieth century (‘Frederick Winslow Taylor Criticism’, 2011). While working in a factory as an engineer, Taylor realized that workers lacked efficiency and wasted a lot of time. He started a series of time management studies and brought forward a system of work which would accomplish organizational goals efficiently without wastage of time. His theory consisted of four main principles – to determine the most efficient way to perform each task; assign work to every worker according to his capability; closely scrutinize each worker’s performance and empower the management for planning and control of th e organization (Walonick, 1993). In other words, he suggested that it is the sole responsibility of the manager to make a complete plan of every single task that every single worker needs to accomplish and also plan the procedures and means to fulfil the task. According to him this system would lead to maximum profitability. Every single business house organized themselves according to the principles of ‘Taylorism’ and the top executives and managers were handed full control of the employees and the workplace, thereby curbing the independence of the employees (Pizzigati, 2004:159). The main objective of Taylor was to achieve maximum satisfaction and profit for the owners as well as to provide

The Impacts Of Aids Essay Example for Free

The Impacts Of Aids Essay Although the AIDS epidemic has occurred in a period when social conservatives have been politically dominant in most Western societies increasing the stigma against homosexuals and homosexuality, it has also translated into much greater recognition of the homosexual community and a homosexual movement, in most Western democracies. As the 1980s progressed, the gay and lesbian community increasingly realized the devastating impact of AIDS on gay men. The complex of diseases called AIDS was first discovered among gay men in 1981. From the first moment the gay male community became aware of AIDS (which was first called GRID—gay-related immune deficiency), it responded politically. By the end of the summer in 1981, a group of gay men had already met at author Larry Kramers apartment in New York City and had established the Gay Mens Health Crisis (GMHC)—the largest AIDS organization in the country today. It is not, of course, homosexuals who are at risk for AIDS but rather those who practice certain forms of unsafe sex. This distinction between behavior and identity, which often seems academic, is in fact vital to a rational understanding of AIDS. Because the media and the public generally do not make these distinctions, gay and AIDS have become conflated, so that the public perception of homosexuality becomes largely indistinguishable from its perception of AIDS. This, in turn, has two consequences: (1) It causes unnecessary discrimination against all those who are identified as gay and lesbians, and (2) it also means that people who are not perceived (and do not perceive themselves) as engaging in high-risk behaviors can deny that they are at risk of HIV infection. As the gay movement matured in the 1970s, however, it made more concrete demands of governments, pressing for antidiscrimination ordinances and for financial support for gay organizations and activities. But, in large part, the gay movement retained an adversarial relationship with the government, a relationship made possible because of the movements emphasis on self-assertion (coming out) and challenging social stigma. All this changed with the appearance of AIDS. Demands for government-funded research were first made by New Yorks Gay Mens Health Crisis, the first community-based AIDS organization. And the demands have not stopped there: Governments are asked to support research, patient care, services, and education programs. Inevitably such demands involve gay participation in the processes of government—policy-making, membership on liaison committees, day-to-day contact with bureaucrats, and so forth. But the process has been two-way. Governments have understood that to research the disease, to provide the necessary services, and to bring about the behavioral changes (primary prevention) believed to be the most effective strategies against the spread of the disease, contact with the most affected groups is required. AIDS has thus forced governments to recognize organizations they had previously ignored, and this has resulted in strengthened gay organizations, often with the help of state resources. As a generalization, the response of gay groups and those working in local AIDS education and advocacy programs has been to stress large-scale education about primary prevention, while conservative medical, political, and religious figures have emphasized widespread testing for the HIV antibody and restrictive legislation. The issue of testing for HIV antibodies among high-risk populations has been a major debate in most Western countries. AIDS organizations have generally argued that large-scale testing is undesirable and that mandatory testing of high-risk groups will compel those infected with the AIDS virus go underground out of the mainstream of health care and education. As the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) argued: The experience of the gay community—the only group where significant prevention and risk-reduction programs have taken place—demonstrates that education and counseling, not testing, are critical to changing behavior. Not everyone needs or desires to know his/her antibody status. No one should be forced into that position, particularly given the potentially severe social, legal and economic ramifications of testing. The NGLTFs anti-testing position is further strengthened by the fact that test results often obtain false positives for the presence of HIV antibodies. It is easy to portray this dispute over testing as one that pits public health advocates against proponents of gay rights. In reality, the dispute centers on different conceptions of public health: Those who oppose mandatory testing are concerned that the fear of discrimination resulting from seropositive results will force those most at risk to avoid needed testing, counseling, and contact with support services. It is vital to understand the extent to which discrimination (real and perceived) against AIDS carriers is a factor, and how it is strengthened every time a politician or religious figure talks of quarantine or isolation. Certain sorts of discrimination are justified in the interests of public health, and reasonable people can disagree about the balance—as was true in the protracted debate in San Francisco concerning the gay bathhouses. But few diseases in recent history have led to as many stringent proposals to restrict the rights of those affected, and even fewer have led to claims for discrimination against all members of high-risk groups, whether or not they were actually ill or contagious. Fear of AIDS has elicited a welter of irrational reactions based on the stereotyping of homosexuals. The U.S. Justice Department has ruled that persons with AIDS may be dismissed from their jobs because of fear of transmission, even where such fears are not medically supported; some state courts and legislatures, however, have taken an opposite position. Fear of AIDS was invoked by the state of Georgia in its successful defense of its antisodomy law before the Supreme Court in 1986. A number of governments (including the United States) have sought to make evidence of HIV-antibody-free (noncarrier) status a requirement for immigration or even entry; in West Germany this provision has led to a bitter dispute between the Interior and Health ministries. Fear of and hostility toward those with AIDS most clearly overlaps with more generalized homophobia in the attempts by some politicians and a number of fundamentalists to use the epidemic to argue against homosexual rights. In the eyes of the religious right, AIDS is literally viewed as a God-given opportunity to reverse social attitudes toward homosexuality, which have grown more tolerant over the past decade; in English-speaking countries particularly, fundamentalists have invoked fire-and-brimstone rhetoric to argue that AIDS is evidence of Gods wrath. Gay groups have quickly learned which aspects of the political system are most amenable to pressure; in the United States, at a national level, this has involved working through the courts (a vast number of AIDS-related cases are already working their way through the judicial system) and, especially, sympathetic members of Congress. Among the groups most affected by AIDS, only the homosexuals have been able to mobilize and articulate political demands. The publics perception of the disease therefore continues to be more closely linked with homosexuals than its epidemiology suggests. In the United States this is further complicated by racial divisions and intravenous drug use, as a far higher proportion of AIDS cases that are not sexually transmitted are found among blacks and Hispanics than among whites. Even now one feature of AIDS organizations is the under representation of people of color, including homosexuals. Even in countries where this is not a problem, the dominance of AIDS as an issue makes the gap between gay women and men increasingly more difficult to bridge; although many lesbians are heavily involved in AIDS work, most gay women cannot identify with AIDS as a central issue in the way true for many gay men. AIDS has mobilized more gay men into political and community organizations, although not into specific demonstrations and marches, than any other event in the short history of the gay movement. In every major city of the United States, Canada, Australasia, and most of northern Europe, the appearance of AIDS has led thousands of gay men (and others) to volunteer in programs of care, support, counseling, and education. But this in turn creates several problems: It reinforces the publics misperception of the causal link between AIDS and homosexuality; it forces other issues off the gay movements agenda and monopolizes its attention; and it creates new tensions as dependence on government and the emergence of a new class of AIDS experts leads to growing strains within the movement. One could in fact posit that AIDS has created a shift in the leadership of the gay movement, accentuating the trend toward leaders who can claim professional expertise instead of activist credentials—a move already under way during the late 1970s. This has been most obvious in the rise to prominence of openly gay medical doctors, who have been able to use their professional skills and sexual identity to claim a certain legitimacy in the eyes of government; groups like the American Physicians for Human Rights have become prominent within the gay movement largely because of the epidemic. But the new leadership also includes those skilled in legislative and bureaucratic lobbying, and one consequence of this shift has been to reduce the representativeness of leadership in terms of class, race, and age. Observing the gay movement, AIDS has changed the movement in ways none of us could have anticipated in the much headier days of the 1970s. Obviously the stakes are higher: However important law reform was, it does not compare with the urgent need to respond to an epidemic that in some cities (New York, San Francisco, Houston, Copenhagen, Sydney) was striking nearly every gay man. In response, new people have come into the movement; many gay men who had hitherto regarded gay politics as irrelevant, have become the front-line activists because of AIDS. But many experienced activists have found that AIDS has turned them into professionals; the people who run the large organizations, such as GMHC, the Terence Higgins Trust, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the AIDS Council of New South Wales, and so forth, spend much of their time now dealing with government bureaucrats, health-system managers, and various authorities whom they had once denounced as the enemy. Unconsciously, certain forms of co-optation inevitably take place; governments fund jobs, trips, and conferences, and those who take part begin to see things differently. Thus, a new tension develops within the rank-and-file, many of whom came into AIDS work as volunteers concerned to look directly after the sick and dying, who feel estranged from the new bureaucrats their own movement seems to have spawned. It is difficult to speak of the impact of AIDS without speaking of the changing perceptions of homosexuals, so intertwined are the two in the public imagination. AIDS seems to have heightened both the stigma and the respectability of homosexuals; in unraveling this apparent contradiction, we can come to terms with certain crucial social changes. The common assumption is that AIDS has been responsible for reversing, or at least halting, a gradual social acceptance of homosexuality as an alternate life-style, an acceptance that had grown out of changes in sexual mores and the commercialization of sexuality during the 1970s. It is not hard to point to the hostile rhetoric, increased antigay violence, and the quite considerable discrimination directly linked to AIDS. Evidence of increased violence directed against homosexuals, much of it linked to AIDS, was recognized by a special congressional hearing in late 1986.The reality may well be that the response to AIDS thus far has largely been a reflection of the extent to which preceding gay-rights struggles had achieved a place in the political process for gay organizations; AIDS has thus highlighted a process already under way. The point has often been made that the epidemiology of AIDS would have been very different in most Western countries had it not been for the expansion of gay sexual networks in the 1970s. Equally, the response of governments would have been very different—and almost certainly slower and more repressive—if this expansion had not also been accompanied by the growth of gay political organizations that provided a basis for the development of community-based groups in response to the epidemic. At the level of conventional liberal political analysis, the case of AIDS bears out the adage that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. AIDS has brought issues of central concern to the gay movement onto the mainstream political agenda: at an enormous price the gay movement has become a recognized actor in the politics of health policymaking. Political will and mobilization can have a large effect on the social impact of the disease. The growing impact of AIDS on the American population forced activists to broaden their constituency. Some of the groups were also socially stigmatized and had even fewer resources than the gay community. Occasionally, they had segments who voiced their discomfort with or disapproval of homosexuality. When it came to matters of strategy, AIDS activists even had increasing conflicts with gay and lesbian political elites within the community over political priorities. The politics of AIDS activism forced gay and lesbian activists to have increased interaction with federal, state, and local governments, thereby transforming the lesbian and gay communitys relation with the state. Community-based organizations received government funding and participated in policymaking to a much greater extent than ever before. The AIDS movement has had a significant impact on government research, public health policies, and government funding of treatment, care, and education. This government funding has created large-scale institutions with jobs and career possibilities that did not exist in the lesbian and gay communities before the epidemic. These economic and institutional developments have had two major effects on the gay and lesbian communities. First, they have encouraged lesbian and gay political institutions to engage more with other communities, governmental agencies, and mainstream institutions. Second, they have transformed the class structure of gay and lesbian leadership. The new jobs and career possibilities attracted a generation of leaders who were upwardly mobile and educated at elite universities and colleges. In the past, gay men such as this might have pursued conventional careers. Now, though, many of them were infected with the virus that causes AIDS and took up AIDS activism to fight for their lives. The older generation of leaders had chosen gay political life as an alternative to mainstream careers. Very early on in the epidemic, however, AIDS devastated the founding generation both physically and emotionally. A new generation soon displaced the older one. AIDS had decimated the gay male community, had forced it to reach out to other communities, and had seriously undermined its economic and cultural self-sufficiency. The countervailing pressures of gay and lesbian identity politics and of AIDS activism produced a political situation that required a new perspective—one that conceived of identity as stable, but also recognized the incredible diversity within the community. The perspective needed to account for the kinship of all sexual minorities and the range of possible gender roles, ethnic, and racial identities. Works Cited Adam, B. D. The rise of a gay and lesbian movement. New York: Twayne Publishers.1995. Bell, G. AIDS in Australia, Sydney Bulletin , 17 March 1987 Bullough, Vern L. Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context. Harrington Park Press, 2002. Cante, Richard C. Gay Men and the Forms of Contemporary US Culture. London: Ashgate Publishing. March 2008 ISBN 0 7546 7230 1. Dynes, Wayne R. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Homosexuality. New York and London, Garland Publishing, 1990 Frighten and be Fired, The Economist , 28 June 1986. Epstein, S. Gay and lesbian movements in the United States: Dilemmas of identity, diversity, and political strategy. In B. Adam, J. Duyvendak, A. Krouwel (Eds.), The global emergence of gay and lesbian politics: National imprints of a worldwide movement, pp. 30-90. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.1999. Gawenda, AIDS: Reaping Responsibility, The Age (Melbourne), 2 May 1987. Goldstein, R. The Hidden Epidemic: AIDS and Race, Village Voice , 10 March 1987. Johansson, Warren Percy, William A. Outing: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence. Harrington Park Press, 1994. Katz, Jonathan. Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. (New York: Harper, 1976) ISBN 006091211 Kitsuse, J. Coming out all over: Deviants and the politics of social problems. Social Problems, 28, 1-13.1980. McCombie, S.The Cultural Impact of the AIDS Test, Social Science and Medicine 23 (1986): 455-459. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, news release, Washington, D.C., 5 February 1987.Somerville, M. Rubin, G. Thinking sex: Notes for a radical theory of the politics of sexuality. In R. Parker, P. Aggleton (Eds.), Culture, society sexuality, pp. 143-178. New York: Routledge.1998. Schroedel, J. R., Fiber, P. Lesbian and gay policy priorities: Commonality and difference. In C. A. Rimmerman, K. D. Wald, C. Wilcox (Eds.), The politics of gay rights, pp. 97-120. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (2000). Seidman, S. From identity to queer politics: Shifts in normative heterosexuality and the meaning of citizenship. Citizenship Studies, 5, 321-328. (2001). Structuring the Legal and Ethical Issues Raised by AIDS, in AIDS : Social Policy , Ethics and the Law (Monash: Monash University Centre for Human Bioethics, 1986). Surgeon General s Report on AIDS (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Public Health Service, 1986), 30. Tatchell, P.AIDS : A Guide to Survival (London: Gay Mens Press, 1986), 97-101 Thompson, Mark, editor. Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate History of the Gay and Lesbian Movement. New York: St. Martins Press, 1994. ISBN 0-312-09536-8 Timmons, Stuart. The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1990.

Theme of Fate in Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare Essay -- Shakespeare,

Some people may not believe that destiny is something that truthfully exists in the world. These people doubt that there is anything that is actually meant to be, or supposed to happen, thinking that there is always a way around troubling predicaments, knowing that it is not necessary to turn out just one certain way. They trust that whatever occurs in their lives comes as a result of the decisions that they make with their own free will. Others believe that whatever happens during the course of their lives is inevitable and every event is laid out before them like a road map to life, in other words, fate. William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet has fate as an exceptionally crucial element which makes fate as important as any character in the production. The events leading up to and during the party were definitely caused by fate. The moment that Romeo and Juliet meet is the exact incident that leads to their death, however unaware these "star-crossed lovers" are to that fact. T hus, fate is undoubtedly the most responsible influence for the couple's tragedy. It is not merely a coincidence that Romeo and Juliet meet in the first place. A serving man comes across Romeo and Benvolio in the first act, unaware that they are Montague?s, and informs them about the Capulet party: "My master is the great rich Capulet, and, if you be not / of the house of Montague?s, I pray come and crush a / cup of wine." (Romeo and Juliet I ii, 86-88) It is by fate that Romeo and Benvolio run into the Capulet serving man and discover the party. It is not just a simple accident that the serving man tells the two cousins about the party at which Romeo is destined, yet unaware, that he will meet his love. Furthermore, before Romeo attends the Cap... ...nowingly help Romeo kill himself, and indirectly kill Juliet in the process. Fate is the controlling force of the events that lead up to, and cause, the deaths of Rome and Juliet. It is no coincidence that Romeo meets the Capulet servant and is invited to the party. Fate brought him to the house of the Capel?s where he was destined to meet his future wife, Juliet. At the risk of being killed, the two lovers married their supposed loathà ©d enemy and consummated the marriage without even the slightest hint of detection from anyone who did not know of the wedding. Unfortunately, their sweet success would be short lived and their lives would be a downward spiral staring with Romeo?s banishment and ending with their deaths. Taking into consideration that Romeo and Juliet are predetermined to meet, love and die together, fate is clearly the dominant force of the play.

South Park as Parody of Society

South Park began airing in 1997. The commercials that preceded it gave the impression of it beinganother stupid cartoon; however, when I began watching, I realized important issues were being covered through the repeated behaviors and actions of its characters, through the influences these actions could have on the viewers, through the reinforcement and rejections of certain stereotypes, through the long-term effects that could result from watching the program, and through its reflection of social reality. Some of the repeated behaviors and actions of the characters include one of the children (Kenny) dying during each episode (followed by Stan yelling, â€Å"Oh, my God! They've killed Kenny† (South Park); the children ragging the overweight kid; the African-American chef obsessing about sex; and the geneticist performing insane experiments in his spooky laboratory. Kenny has been shot, run over by a train, impaled on a flag pole, beheaded, crushed by Mir, and taken by Death himself–to name a few. Cartman, the overweight kid, has been called â€Å"fat ass,† â€Å"lard ass,† and â€Å"the fat kid† (South Park). There are numerous references to his weight throughout each episode; he eats continuously, thanks to his Mother's cooking and offering cookies, chocolate-chicken pot pies, and Cheesy Poofs. Each time Chef (voice of Isaac Hayes) offers to explain important issues to the kids, he breaks into a song about making â€Å"sweet love† to a woman. This leaves the children wondering just what the heck he is trying to say. There are references to his having sex with every available (and even unavailable) female in the town. There is a take-off of The Island of Dr. Moreau with a geneticist–mimicking Marlon Brando–conducting bizarre experiments: creating monkeys with four asses; creating mutant, militant turkeys; and bringing flesh-eating zombies to life. There are both negative and positive influences these repeated behaviors and actions could have on an audience. One negative effect could be the numbing of the viewer to children's deaths: it is such a common occurrence on the show until it is expected. Another effect could be the instilling of negative feelings toward the overweight; the audience could be learning that it is acceptable to verbally attack a person with a weight problem. Also, in a time of AIDS, promotion of sexual promiscuity is a dangerous thing: never have the writers mentioned the use of condoms by Chef during his encounters. Finally, because of the recent advances in genetic research and its awakening of new fears in the public, South Park's parody of the geneticist could further play on people's fears. Despite the potentially negative influences of these behaviors and actions, there could be a positive influence existing in the form of catharsis. American society has suffered from the rules of political correctness, the fear of AIDS, and the fear of knowledge (the fear of going too far into God's domain–thanks to our Puritanical background). Maybe South Park gives us release from repression by allowing us to laugh at the things we fear the most: death, ridicule of our differences by our peers, the contracting of deadly diseases, and advancements in science. (I am sure that most of us need release from the built-up tensions of daily life; South Park has given us this release. Despite South Park's cathartic influence, it reinforces several negative stereotypes: the promiscuous African-American male, the self-serving public official, and the gun-happy redneck. As I wrote above, Chef has little control over his libido; this is an extremely negative stereotype of the African-American male. If Chef were Caucasian (let us say an Irish-English-German-Swedish-Scottish-etc-American), the stereotype could be avoided entirely. The mayor's decisions are based solely on her looking good in the public eye. For example, when a volcano erupts, she uses fake concern for the children on the mountain to look like a caring person on Entertainment Tonight; she calls for continuous re-takes even though ET is broadcasting live. Uncle JimBo and Ned are the gun-toting Bubba types; when they take the kids on a camping trip, they get drunk and shoot at will. JimBo's philosophies are, â€Å"hunting without drinking is like fishing,† and â€Å"thanks to those damned Democrats, we can only shoot certain animals that impose a threat; therefore, when you see an animal, you have to yell, ‘it's comin' right for us'; then you shoot† (South Park). At least one episode attempted to reject a negative stereotype: homosexuality is a bad thing. Stan's dog, Sparky, turns out to be gay. Throughout the episode we hear the evils of homosexuality preached by the town's people; Sparky runs away. Stan realizes that his love for his dog is more important than society's negative views. Stan is counted on to win the big football game. He does not show up because he is searching for his dog (YES! What a message: football does not fit highly in the great scheme of things. He finds Sparky at Big Gay Al's â€Å"Big Gay Animal Sanctuary† and brings him home. Stan shares his newfound understanding with the citizens, and they accept his view. All the gay pets return from Al's to be with their owners. The owners apologize for being so narrow minded. This episode's message is quite profound. The gay episode is one episode which may be obvious in its message and is quite easy to grasp; however, the long-term effects from watching this program c ould go in two directions. First, there is the possibility that children (and adults) watching this show would imitate the bad language and sometimes antisocial behaviors of the characters without realizing the important subtexts of the episodes. For example, Kyle is labeled a â€Å"fecal-phile† in the Christmas episode. He has a friend he calls Mr. Hankey. Mr. Hankey comes out of the toilet to bring Christmas cheer to all the little Jewish boys. Unfortunately, Mr. Hankey is a piece of feces, and as he dances around, he leaves marks on the walls, floor, and sink; he, also, writes â€Å"NOEL† on the bathroom mirror. Of course, Kyle's parents blame Kyle–they do not believe in Mr. Hankey. Kyle is institutionalized for â€Å"fecal-philia. † Here, the problem could be kids thinking that it is cool to be in love with your own feces and cool to share it with others. They could miss the message found in the subtext: the fact that political correctness has gotten out of hand. This episode allows the inhabitants of South Park to express their dislikes over every aspect of Christmas–mainly, that each person's rights are being infringed upon by someone else's beliefs. The political correctness is what drives Kyle to his belief in Mr. Hankey, not the fun of playing in his own filth. Second, the audience could grasp the subtexts in these episodes and come to terms with their own morals and belief systems. There is a line spoken by Lex Luthor in Superman that makes good sense: â€Å"A man can read War and Peace and come away believing it is a simple adventure story; another man can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe† (Superman). The fact is that South Park is out there; it is ultimately our responsibility to make of it what we will. It may be our responsibility to do with South Park what we will; however, this program reflects what already exists: â€Å"a society full of prejudices and fears which are embedded within its communities and how these human short-comings are passed on to children†( Hatley). Fortunately, in most of the episodes these negative actions and beliefs are dealt with in a manner that seeks to alleviate them. Unfortunately, this manner of lleviation is found in the subtext, and most people are not willing to look that far; it requires too much effort. Frighteningly, the show is a parody of society itself. In film, parody is usually the death-knell of a particular genre. Years ago, I read that Ren and Stimpy (another cartoon) was proof of the decline of our civilization because of its attacks on societal norms. â€Å"Could South Park be further proof of this decline, or is it just a funny cartoon that allows us to laugh at ourselves while dealing with our fears? †( Pineda)

Characteristics of pastors Essay

Crucial role is played by the minister in youth programming, which is quite similar with the other church-sponsored programs. Awareness of the crucial role was received by the senior author of this paper, when a black clergyman from fifty miles away approached this graduate student in the year 1968. The college students were suggested by the minister to provide youth programs in the rural town. Reading tutorials, sewing classes, sex education, health tips, and current events were included in this project. A major study of black youth development was also led during the project. A small Northeastern town of Rubin was selected for the conduction of the abovementioned study. In the present study, the characteristics of ministers have been highlighted with the help of several findings. The sponsorship of the youth programs has also been associated with these characteristics. In general, youth was most favored by the younger clergy during the study. Some of the most prominent issues are being confronted by the African-American youth, which have been indicated by the Black Church Family Project. It has also been observed the black churches are not addressing these issues adequately. Health-related services and AIDS support programs are some of these problems of the African-American youth. Only twenty-seven churches reported the existence of substance abuse programs. Twenty-seven churches also reported the parenting and sexuality programs in their communities. College students’ financial support was awarded by twenty-nine churches. Twenty-five churches reported youth at-risk programs, in which, delinquency was focused during the programs. Role modeling was provided by fifteen churches. Foster grandparents are some of the examples of role modeling in these churches. Employment and job readiness issues were offered by thirteen churches. Discussions which were the greatest efforts of about fifty-five churches across the country are helpful. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This survey of Black n White churches resulted in gaps between Clergy and formal providers and the gaps grew wider with time. If we compare the Black churches with White churches, we will come to a conclusion that Black Churches proved to be more supportive because it came up with new programs than White churches, it proved to be supportive not only in terms of quantity but it also created some awareness amongst people. They also had a tight budget but always managed to offer strong programs. They managed to control large congregations and large differences in budgets between urban and rural churches. There was some lacking in the linkage between specialty mental health provider and churches. There was a very little interaction with Clergy and the formal mental health service delivery system. Mental health care system was never interested in holding meetings with Clergy or any professional groups. History says that mental health care system has already experienced some mistrust or betrayal from Clergy. Future actions should include building strong associations between providers of health and mental health service and faith communities. They should also pay prior attention to best communication channels and should not ignore apparent absence of communication. Furthermore, they should also work to fill the gaps between cultures and promote free exchange between groups. It is not possible to draw up a clear path but from the study above we can say that urban pastors have more knowledge of mental health detection and are educationally stronger than rural counterparts. Including the fact that Blacks provide more prams than White does not mean that the programs are only for Blacks or it may be not accessible to Black congregations at large. There is a possibility that Blacks may think they are service providers. Or communities that are served are not accepted by the Blacks. This clearly shows that both Blacks and White perceive their missions in a dissimilar manner. Pastors and formal delivery system can benefit from the gaps between mental health service providers and Clergy. Rural individuals are ready to seek general health care help from primary care providers. But they are not ready to seek specialized mental health care. By creating a link between pastors and other church leaders to primary care providers can improve the mental health services for Blacks; by this Blacks can get an effective and strengthened capacity of network. Effective measures should be taken into account to create a strong link between informal and formal networks. This is important to assure the effectiveness of accessible, appropriate mental health care. Joining up the knowledge and matching the capacities and capabilities of churches can prove to be beneficial for the communities and can be healthy in crucial times. â€Å"Most significant for us today, these African American church leaders recognized the importance of what they were doing for future generations of Americans. They wrote histories, biographies, memoirs, and other accounts of religious life in the South during this era. It is through these written texts that we still have access to the many voices that comprise the first century of the black church in the United States. † (2001, np) Churches in other parts of the region like South are well organized; they are very strong to community and cultures resulting in congregational commitment. They respect each others attitudes and behaviors. Mental health care problems in rural areas are due to the lack of stigma and available services associated with mental health. To come up to a healthy solution, creative partnerships between social organizations are essential. For instance, combines churches and informal care will result in providing informal care.

Financial Ratios and Monsanto 4.to Rationalize Essay Example

Financial Ratios and Monsanto 4.to Rationalize Essay Example Financial Ratios and Monsanto 4.to Rationalize Essay Financial Ratios and Monsanto 4.to Rationalize Essay EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Purpose statements: 1. To assess the strengths and weaknesses of Monsanto 2. To determine the courses of action to be taken 3. To find out the competitive advantage of Monsanto 4. To rationalize and analyze case of an existing company Objective of the case/ problem: To transform the company into a life sciences behemoth. Alternative courses of action: 1. To merge with companies having strong financial resources 2. To have interrelationships 3. Acquisitions Analytical tools employed: 1. SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis 2. Porters Five Force Analysis Recommendation: Monsantos swelling new product pipelines is an expensive endeavor and so it has to merge with companies that can provide them the resources and at the same time maximize its potential pharmaceutical and agricultural biotechnology pipelines. Implementation: Implementing the said alternative courses of action needs careful analysis as this involves large amount of money. Monsanto must create linkage to companies that would complement its strengths and overcome its weaknesses. In acquiring, the company must make sure that it would add to the value of the organization. Conclusion: Monsanto has lots of potentials. Tying up with firms can push them more beyond their limits and eliminate unnecessary duplications and high activity costs. Establishing interrelationships is a capability driver and if it would be matched with opportunities, it would eventually lead to the achievement of their goal- worlds leading life sciences company. METHODS OF ANALYSIS 1. SWOT Analysis Strength The strength of Monsanto is its pharmaceutical and agricultural biotechnology pipelines Weaknesses Lack of financial resources, sales and marketing muscles and distribution network Opportunities : Interrelationships and acquisitions of companies will be the vehicles by which they can go forward and commercialize new product worldwide. Threats Expiration of the patents, growing oppositions to genetically engineered foodstuffs, failed merging with the American Home Products (AHP) 2. Porters Five Force Analysis New entrants Monsanto is new to pharmaceutical industry. Mercks competing COX-2 inhibitor is said to join the market. Zenecas new own brand of glyphosate-based herbicide, Touchdown is ready to penetrate the United States. Bargaining power of customers They charged their genetically- altered seed at market rate plus a technology fee but they dont control the retail price. On their pharmaceutical products, they tested 700 different pricing models before settling on a cost to customers which is significantly more than the generic drugs but less than most analysts had initially expected. Bargaining power of suppliers The Washington University in which Monsanto is affiliated to arranged terms and agreements apart from the payment tendered. With the use of technology o mass-produce animal growth hormones, Monsanto paid thousands of dollars and agreed to make several subsequent milestone payments and promised royalties on future sales. Nature of rivalry in the market When Monsanto started to search for COX-2 inhibitor,Merck was also racing to develop the same. There were several smaller agricultural biotechnology companies had also been developing genetically altered crops. Zeneca tests its own brand, Touchd own to match with Monsantos Roundup. Threat of substitutions Zeneca already sold Touchdown outside the United States and was preparing to market also in the said country. APPENDICES: Financial Ratios: (dollars in millions) Liquidity Ratios 1998 1997 Current Ratio 1. 53 1. 21 Quick Ratio 1. 40 1. 60 Working Capital Ratio 2. 07 2. 35 Leverage Ratios 1998 1997 Total Debt to Equity Ratio 1. 53 0. 7629 Long-Term Debt to Equity Ratio 1. 25 0. 4822 Total Debt to Asset Ratio 0. 701 0. 619 Activity Ratios 1998 1997 Inventory Turnover 4. 315 5. 469 Fixed Assets Turnover 2. 658 3. 130 Total Assets Turnover 0. 517 0. 697 Profitability Ratios 1998 1997 Gross Profit Margin 0. 585 0. 589 Operating Profit Margin 0. 013 0. 066 Net Profit Margin -0. 029 0. 062 Return on Assets (ROA) 0. 007 0. 062 Return on Equity (ROE) -0. 050 0. 044

Temporal Lobes in the Cerebral Cortex

Temporal Lobes in the Cerebral Cortex Temporal Lobes The temporal lobes are one of the four main lobes or regions of the cerebral cortex. They are located in the largest division of the brain known as the forebrain (prosencephalon). As with the three other brain lobes (frontal,  occipital, and parietal), there is one temporal lobe located in each brain hemisphere. The temporal lobes play an important role in organizing sensory input, auditory perception, language and speech production, as well as memory association and formation. Structures of the limbic system, including the olfactory cortex, amygdala, and the hippocampus are located within the temporal lobes. Damage to this area of the brain can result in problems with memory, understanding language, and maintaining emotional control. Function The temporal lobes are involved in several functions of the body including: Auditory PerceptionMemorySpeechLanguage ComprehensionEmotional ResponsesVisual PerceptionFacial Recognition Limbic system structures of the temporal lobe are responsible for regulating many of our emotions, as well as forming and processing memories. The amygdala controls many of the autonomic responses associated with fear. It regulates our fight or flight response, as well as helps us develop a healthy sense of fear through fear conditioning. The amygdala receives sensory information from the thalamus and other areas of the cerebral cortex.  In addition, the olfactory cortex is located in the temporal lobe. As such, the temporal lobes are involved in organizing and processing sensory information. Another limbic system structure, the hippocampus, aids in memory formation and connecting our emotions and senses, such as smell and sound, to memories. The temporal lobe aids in auditory processing and the perception of sound. They are also vital to language comprehension and speech. An area of the brain called Wernickes Area is found in the temporal lobes. This area helps us to process words and understand spoken language. Location Directionally, the temporal lobes are anterior to the occipital lobes and inferior to the frontal lobes and parietal lobes. A  large deep groove known as the Fissure of Sylvius separates the parietal and temporal lobes. Temporal Lobes: Damage Damage to the temporal lobes can present a number of issues. Damage resulting from a stroke or seizure can produce an inability to understand language or to speak properly. An individual may have difficulty hearing or perceiving sound. Temporal lobe damage may also result in the development of anxiety disorders, impaired memory formation, aggressive behavior, and hallucinations. In some cases, patients may even develop a condition called Capgras Delusion,  which is the belief that people, often loved ones, are not who they appear to be.