Paradise Lost :: essays research papers fc

John Milton was born in Bread Street, Cheapside, London, on the 9th of December 1608. The first sixteen years of Milton’s life, coinciding with the last sixteen of the reign of James I. His father, a prosperous business man, was known ass a man of great taste, and was interested in the music of London at the time. Music was thus a part of the poet’s life since birth. His father forced him to get an education in all scholarly areas. He was taught by Puritan clergymen who gave Milton his extreme ideas about God. At the age of eighteen he was excepted as a student of Christ’s College, Cambridge, and in less than two months moved up to University. He attended the prestigious Cambridge University four seven years where he learned Latin and studied many books on religion. After schooling, he traveled all over Italy [this is also the time of the Italian Renaissance] and learned much about theology, philosophy, and literature. He lived in the rich culture of Rome for al most ten years. After returning to England, he began writing and publishing stories in local papers. He wrote many controversial things about the government and God and was put on trial for Heresy upon all counts. His punishment was exile and his eyes were removed so he could Phillips 2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   no longer write. To the surprise of high officials he wrote the epic Paradise Lost: A poem in ten books. It sold millions of copies, and is still considered the greatest piece of English literature ever written.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the 8th of November 1674 Milton died at the age of 66, due to gout-fever. He was buried the next Thursday beside his father.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As stated in the first book of Paradise Lost, Milton’s intentions for writing his religious epic are to â€Å"assert Eternal Providence/And justify the ways of God to men† (Book I, ll. 25-26). Milton’s audience, of course, is a fallen audience like the narrator of the epic, Therefore, because the audience is innately flawed there is a danger that we may not read the text as it is intended to be read. Some may think Satan is the hero of the epic. Others may be inclined to blame God for allowing the fall to occur. However, both of these readings are shortsighted and are not what Milton explicitly intended. Therefore, to prevent these deviant readings Milton has deftly interwoven a theme of personal responsibility for one’s actions throughout the epic.

Mission Statement Internet Research

The mission statement is a brief description of the company and its purpose. The mission statement is basically a brief profile of the company which should essentially show a distinct picture of the organization in limited sentences. The scope of the statement is not limited; instead the statement attempts to cover the vision for the whole organization. The statement should answer the questions as to what the company is about, what it does, who are its customers, how it operates and why does it operate in a particular manner. The length of this statement is usually from one to five sentences and energy words are usually used transmit the message.Companies do use this statement as an advertisement slogan to build relationships with the shareholders and customers; however a more common use of this statement has been to set specific strategic goals for the senior staff and employees of the company. Aside from this the mission statement is also used to resolve any differences between the business stakeholders who are essentially the shareholders, the employees, and the customers.The first mission statement to be chosen for the purpose of this research was for an accountancy firm by the name of Brinks, Hofer, Gilson and Lione. The firm provides various financial services to the customers. The mission statement for the HR department of this company was â€Å"Our mission is to treat each person as a valued customer while contributing positively to the overall objectives of Brinks Hofer Gilson and Lione.We are dedicated to providing the highest level of quality services, and support in employment, training, employee relations, benefits, Compensation and safety beyond the expectations of all employees, enabling them to better serve our external customers. We do this with a commitment of attaining the highest level of personal integrity. We seek to recruit the most qualified people while recognizing and encouraging the value of diversity in the work place. We establish, administer and communicate sound policies, rules and practices that treat employees with dignity and equality while maintaining firm compliance with Local, State and Federal employment and labor laws.† (‘Human Resource Statement’, 2007)The HR mission statement for the company does cover what services the HR department provides to the firm, how it benefits the management and how it their efforts resulting the ultimate contribution towards the company’s overall objective of providing the highest quality of service to its customers. The HR mission statement for the company however does not state how the efforts of the department help or benefit the external stakeholders, i.e., the shareholders and investors of the company. This HR statement is employee and customer oriented and does contribute towards the goals of the company itself but does not specifically depict any benefits for the stakeholders.The second mission statement chosen for this paper is that of Wharton County Junior College. The HR department of the college states that â€Å"The Human Resources Department will serve as a strategic partner along side of WCJC's administration, faculty, and staff in supporting the mission of Wharton County Junior College. The Human Resources Department will take a leadership role in providing services that support the College by promoting the concept that our employees are our most valuable resource and will be treated as such. The Human Resources Department will act as catalysts enabling all employees to contribute at optimum levels towards the success of the college.† (‘Human Resource Department’, Wharton County Junior College)The focus of the department emphasizes the optimal level of activity in the company to enable the productivity to increase to higher levels. The company also seeks to computerize its HR department to enable computerized monitoring and managing capability in the business. Aside from this statement also mentions that the department will follow the four key points of the company which are dignity, justice, service and excellence.The department seeks to provide the external the employees as well as the customers of the company with respect, fair treatment, quality and high standard of performance, however as with the mission statement for the accounting firm discussed earlier this statement also does not identify how the department looks forward to help the stakeholders and provides them with benefits. An indirect link between satisfied customers, and employees and increasing profits is there but no specific point is made in regard to the investors.The third mission statement which has been chosen for this paper is that of the HR department for The Santa Cruz City in the United States. The mission statement of the HR department for the city goes as follows:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The mission of the City of Santa Cruz Human Resources Department is to provide quality human resource services to the public and to all City departments.As we serve, we commit to: maintaining excellence, honesty, integrity and high standards in the quality of service which we provide; giving personalized, trustworthy service, courteous assistance, patience, and compassion for any client needing our assistance or service; taking responsibility as a department and as individuals for the work we do and for the image we present as representatives of the City; working as a team to develop partnerships by continuous open communication with our internal/external clients and our co-workers; promoting personal and professional growth as well as job satisfaction for all City staff, and fostering an environment in which employees' creativity, productivity and risk taking are recognized, valued and encouraged; respecting and celebrating the diverse world in which we live and work and actively promoting diversity in our workforce;Never forgetting to see the human side of our work, maintaining our sense of humor and valuing each other.† (‘Mission Statement’, Santa Cruz Human Resources Department)  The mission statement for the Santa Cruz city covers the aspects of what the HR department for the city does for the City government. The main activities undertaken by the department are highlighted and the value provided to the employees and the customers is specifically stated in the statement.Special attention has been paid top the work environment and how the improvements made and sustained in it help in contributing value and significance for the employees. However like the above depicted mission statements, this statement also does not cover as to how it provides benefits to the stakeholders of the company.Conclusively it can be seen that the mission statement for HR departments is usually much longer and detailed than the mission statement of the company. Similarly, according to all the mission statements that have been explored for the purpose of this project, al most all of the mission statements do not provide information related to any advantages and steps taken for increasing the value for the shareholders.Referencesâ€Å"Human Resource Statement†, Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione, (2007), accessed 25/07/2007,

American Films and Backhoe Operators

Case Analysis Jim worked as a laborer for a gas utility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When the opportunity came to apply for a backhoe/front-end-loader operator job, he was excited. Three people applied. To select the one who would get the job, the company asked each of them to go out and actually work on the backhoe for a day. Jim felt his chance for the job disappear because he had never even driven a tractor, let alone used a backhoe. When he went out, he did not know how to start the tractor.One of the other backhoe operators had to show him. He managed through the day, and to his surprise, did better than the others. He was given the job. On his first day at the new job, one of the other backhoe operators showed him where to check the hydraulic fluid and said, â€Å"These old Masseys are foolproof. You will be okay. † Jim taught himself how to dig a hole by trial and error. He initially believed that the best way was to fill the bucket as much as possible before lifting it out o f the hole and emptying it.He would wiggle the bucket back and forth until it was submerged and then curl it. When it came out of the hole, the earth would be falling off the sides. This job was not so difficult after all, he thought. He cut through his first water line about two weeks after starting his new job. Going into a deep, muddy hole did not make the crew happy. After Jim cut through his third water line, the crew chief pulled him aside and said, â€Å"You are taking too much earth out with each bucket, so you don’t feel the bucket hitting the water line; ease up a bit. Water lines were usually six to eight feet down, so Jim would dig until about four feet and then try to be more careful. It was then that he pulled up some telephone lines that were only about three feet deep. Realizing that more was involved in operating a backhoe than he first had thought, he sought out Bill Granger, who was known to have broken a water line only twice in his 15 years. It was said that he was so good that he could dig underneath the gas lines—a claim that Jim doubted. Bill said, â€Å"You need to be able to feel any restriction.The way to do that is to have more than one of your levers open at the same time. Operating the bucket lever and the boom lever at the same time reduces the power and causes the machine to stop rather than cut through a line of any type. † Jim began to use this method but still broke water lines. The difference now was that he knew immediately when he broke a line. He could feel the extra pull, whereas in the past, he found out either by seeing water gushing up or by hearing the crew chief swearing at him. He was getting better. Jim never did become as good as Bill Granger.In fact, two years later, he applied for another job as gas repairperson and was promoted, but the training as a gas repairperson was not much better. Case Questions 1. What are the potential costs to this lack of training? Why do you think the company operated in this manner? 2. What type of training would you recommend: OJT, classroom, or a combination? Describe what the training might entail. 3. What type of training environment would you provide? 4. Who would you get to do the training, and why? 5. Would you consider purchasing a training program for backhoe operators? Provide your rationale.

Bases Of Power Essay

Bases Of Power Essay Bases Of Power Essay By: Raven, Bertram H. Analyses of Social Issues & Public Policy. Dec2008, Vol. 8 Issue 1, p1-22. 22p. DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-2415.2008.00159.x. Database: Academic Search Complete Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2008, pp. 122 The Bases of Power and the Power/Interaction Model of Interpersonal Influence Bertram H. Ravenâˆâ€" University of California, Los Angeles This article provides a summary of work done by Raven and his colleagues on bases of power. It ranges from the initial work in 1959 of French and Raven through decades of follow-up work, and ties the work to that of others doing work on power bases. After the summary, the author responds to a series of questions that probe the work in greater depth, allowing explication of much of the thinking underlying and leading to publications of Raven and colleagues that are well known to social psychologists. While ours has been described as one of the most widely cited analyses of social power, many Analysis of Social Issues and Public Policy readers may not be familiar with its development since our original statement was published in 1959. It therefore seems useful to summarize our original statement, plus the later developments, which include the Power/Interaction Model of Interpersonal Influence. In our initial papers (French Raven, 1965), we first defined social influence as a change in the belief, attitude, or behavior of a person (the target of influence), which results from the action of another person (an influencing agent). Social power was defined as the potential for such influence, the ability of the agent or power figure to bring about such change, using resources available to him or her. These resources are represented in six bases of power: Informational, Reward, Coercion, Legitimate, Expertise, and Referent. âˆâ€"Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Professor Bertram H. Raven, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563. (e-mail: raven@ucla.edu) Editor’s Note: This article continues a series of occasional invited papers from distinguished scholars. Bert Raven was invited to reflect on his work on power and impacts that he has seen. After his paper, Jamie Peterson, the editorial assistant for ASAP, and I asked him a series of questions about his work; the questions and responses are appended to the paper. We hope that readers enjoy his paper and responses as we did. 1 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-2415.2008.00159.x 2008 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues The bases of power differ in the manner that the social change is implemented, the permanence of such change, and the ways in which each basis of power is established and maintained. Let us as an illustration examine the resources of different power bases in terms of a supervisor/subordinate relationship. Power That Leads to Socially Independent Change One basis of power, which the supervisor might use, then, is Informational Power. The supervisor carefully explains to the subordinate how the job should be donedifferently,withpersuasivereasonswhythatwouldbeabetterandmoreeffective procedure. The subordinate understands and accepts the reasons and changes behavior. Informational influence then results in cognitive change and acceptance by the target. It is thus called â€Å"socially independent change† in that altered behavior, though initiated by the influencing agent (supervisor) now continues without the target necessarily referring to, or even remembering, the supervisor as being the agent of change. Power That Results in Socially Dependent Change, with Surveillance Necessary Reward Power stems from the ability of the agent to offer a positive incentive, if the target complies (a raise in pay, a promotion, special work privileges...). In Coercive Power, the agent brings about change by threatening the target with negative, undesirable consequences (demotion, termination, undesirable work

Natural Tendency To Do Good Essays

Natural Tendency To Do Good Essays Natural Tendency To Do Good Paper Natural Tendency To Do Good Paper Being around different people can make a human behave or act in ways that they normally would not. This is true in many possible ways and experiences that people go through. Mencius said, â€Å"Persons may be brought to do evil, and that is because the same is done to their nature. † This shows that being in a circumstance of force can make the natural tendency to do good be flawed through whatever it is that is shadowing the mind to make clear judgment. The tendency of human nature to do good is like that of water to flow downward. † I believe human nature is to do good based upon the right surroundings because things that go on in an exosphere can make one think that certain choices are acceptable in society. What shows how human nature is to do good is how a human has a want to help out another human when they are in a time of need or desperation. Such as to donate food to a homeless shelter, or to give someone who is down and out a cup of coffee or a dollar. Human nature is to do good based upon the right surroundings in the exosphere and is supported where Mencius said, â€Å"Now you may strike water and make it splash over your forehead, or you may even force it up the hills. But is this the nature of water? † This is what shows that natural tendency to do good is what humans were created to do. I have been in times in life where I made poor decisions based on the forceful circumstances that I chose to be around. There were people around that had addictive criminal thinking where it clouded my mind and was ultimately making me not choose the most logical choice to progress in life positively, rather negatively. These people that were indirectly giving influences toward my life, that fostered an environment that made it seem acceptable to break the law, and gave me an evil action. What I realized is that the choice in having the wrong set of people around me was affectively making me have a circumstance that was progressing into evil actions. Where Mencius said, â€Å"People tend by their nature toward goodness, and it is only the adverse circumstances of their nurture that erode goodness and engender evil. † This fully supports natural tendency is to do good. People must think in a manner that will allow them to be of the right path and do what is righteous. Human nature has a distinctive tendency towards goodness, but ethical rightness cannot be initiated down to the last element. This is why simply external governors always breakdown in enlightening society. True progress results from learning education in constructive atmospheres. Human nature is to do good based upon the right surroundings in the exosphere. Having bad circumstances tend to degrade the human will. However, this is not confirmation of natural evil because a pure thinking person would escape causing harm to other people. So without having a negative external exosphere the simplicity of natural tendency to do goodness will come easily than thinking about it. I have since after putting myself in a negative environment that caused my mind to think that doing evil was something that was tolerated in society, it has now given me options to progress in life. Being around more positive people makes the natural come forth in choices, decisions, and actions. With the rightness inside of someone it makes evil be present, but it does not let the evil pass through and have its way with the individuals mind and action. I think it is significant that Mencius credits that human beings have certain natural abilities for goodness. If we did not have these abilities, I do not think any quantity of education could enforce these onto us. In this regard, I do think that education is a kind of attentive attending goodness. Mencius establishes that all people have hearts by engaging to the example of a child about to fall into a well. Mencius says that as soon as people see the child about to fall they will feel a sense of unease and compassion. It is critical to notice that Mencius is not speaking about any kind of action here but about the instant response. These feelings of distress and empathy are not due to pursuing approval or wanting to reduce frustration. This response justifies Mencius claim that People all have hearts that do not tolerate the suffering of others. I feel that this falls in with what I have been addressing because in both ways it is what you are taught and what is naturally inside of a humans’ mind. It helps to prove that human nature is to do good based upon the right surroundings in the exosphere. The human only wants a good way of life and not an evil way that only brings despair and anguish through wrong actions. A human’s natural and taught ways of goodness to live and learn through lessons, whether it is through teachings or of actions. I have lived through life having those negative attributes that made me realize it is not an aspect of life I would like to have of being an evil person while going through the journey. That is how I see that the unease and compassion come into play with the natural tendency to do good. â€Å"When left to follow its natural feelings human nature will do good. Mencius said that which helps support this argument of human nature is to do good based upon the right surroundings in the exosphere. If not putting yourself into a position to make you strive forward in the direction of virtuous instead of the wicked. With a clear peace of mind it helps to enfold life as it should be and have that natural tendency to do good. Where Mencius says, â€Å"If it becomes evil, it is not the fault of our original capability. † This shows that another man or woman influences a humans thoughts. This proves that the exosphere can have a projection of a negative force behind it creating a circumstance that is not of the capability that the human should have. Mencius noted through these examples of senses: Sense of mercy, sense of shame, sense of respect, sense of right and wrong. He said, â€Å"seek and you will find them, neglect and you will lose them. † I feel that this is another reason proving the argument that has been stated throughout this paper to prove that human nature is to do good based upon the right surroundings because things that go on in an exosphere. A humans’ natural tendency is to do good based upon the right surroundings because of things that go on in an exosphere. This has been proved through the evidence that has been shown though experiences that I have gone through and not only me, but many other people as well. With having the righteous path you can have the fullest extent of your original capability and that is to have the natural human nature to do good based upon the right surroundings because of the things that go on in an exosphere which can make one choose choices that are acceptable in society.

Action Learning In Leadership Development Education Essay

Action Learning In Leadership Development Education Essay From recent study leadership is personal trait (Stogdill, 1948; Goleman, 1998) to a focus on the process and relationship between leaders and followers (Bass, 1985; Burns, 1978) leadership is a function of the entire collective process of all the personality traits. Leadership is developed by continuous steps of learning that is it cannot be developed at a time. It is developed through processes of learning. (Barker, 2001; Drath, 2001) Leonard, S. and Lang, F (2010) says that action learning for leadership development. He describes action learning is being used increasingly now days as a main method to build leadership skills and improving leadership behavior. He also describes different skills of leadership like cognitive skills, relationship skills, and self management skills are developed through action learning As described by the Reeve, S. (1999) described the importance of working in group in action learning. He describes that successful action learning creates good adult/adul t relationship, respect, control of the learning experience, encouragement of cooperative and cohesive attitudes within the set, trust, confidence over ones own self and the cycle of learning towards its reflection. In groups people begin to value others opinions, suggestions are made about processes, methodologies and sources. Serrat, O.   [ 1 ]   (2008) explains the process of action learning generates discipline to work within action learning steps which helps the individual to develop its personality traits. In action learning process he describes individual’s personal development, challenges, self confidence, help people to communicate more effectively, build leadership competences and organizations really feel the benefits of the outcomes of action learning. Henderson, I. (1993) describes action learning as a link in management development He describes action learning as a main link in management, that without it effective development of the management cannot be pos sible. He described the phenomena that every job required specific demand, and these demands are fulfilled only when the person know the essential features of management work. This can be done through parasitizing in action learning. Esons, S. and Kramer, R. (2007) describes the process that how the knowledge gained by action learning is used to develop leaders.He describes the processes through which action learners learn the abilities of a leadership behavior. He further describes the problems of transferring the knowledge in action learning which a major hindrance in leadership development. That includes the process of unlearning person’s previous norms and believes etc Roberts, C. (2009) defines the leadership levels as an action learning approach. Author explained that leadership is developed through mutual respect, trust, social awareness, and personal skills that are well gained by action learning. Like these all are traits of personality which a person learns through the process of action learning which makes him a leader. Rapid I   [ 2 ]   (2010) describe the importance of action learning in leadership development. He emphasizes that for leadership development it is important for the individual to have the capability to put learning into action. Jay a conger and Ginka Toegel (2001) also describe action learning as a pathway to leadership development. According to the authors action learning develops those skills in a person which develops a pathway to the leadership behavior.

Financial strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial strategy - Essay Example In the recent past, companies are adopting the value based management approach which is a formal systematic approach used in managing companies with an aim of achieving the objective of maximizing value creation and shareholder value (Chapman, Hopwood, & Shields, 2009, p. 1248). Value based management focuses on the key drivers of value thus helping companies achieve their objectives (Starovic, Cooper, & Davis, 2004, 2004, p.15-17). Increasing focus on core competencies has forced companies to outsource some services to ensure that they remain relevant in terms of their revenues and expenditure in comparison with their competitors. Knowing a company’s position is important because it is useful in defining and redefining strategies to improve profit margins and to capitalize on company’s strengths to enhance shareholder value creation (Starovic, Cooper, & Davis, 2004, 2004, p.10-17). Various methods have been used to measure the shareholder’s value but the most co mmonly used are the profitability analysis, Strategic Profit Mode (SPM), and the Economic Value Added (EVA) method. One of the common methods used to measure profitability is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) which is the operating profit after tax divide by the net capital employed. However, a major criticism on this method is that it does not measure operating profits and capital employed the way investors do. Investors are concerned about economic profits and the amount of debt and equity invested in the business but these amounts may disagree with those used in company’s financial statements because of the accounting practices in use. For instance, accounting reserves which have to be accounted for in financial statements tend to understate economic profits and the amount of equity capital actually invested in the business. ROCE provides little guidance on the profitability level because of its shortcomings. Given the shortcomings of ROCE, SPM and EVA models are preferred because they enable the company to focus on shareholder value and provide a long-term orientation in their analysis. SPM and EVA are reliable, consistent, and therefore preferred over ROCE method. The Strategic Profit Model (SPM) measures the Return On Net Worth (RONW) of a company which is a tool used to measure the changes in the shareholder value in an organization. RONW is made of three components, which include net profit, asset turnover, and financial leverage. These components are used in the calculation of RONW and they can be controlled by the managers of a company (Viswanadham and Luthra, 2005, p.478). Net profit is the difference between sales and expenses and from it net profit margin is calculated which measures how efficiently a company manufactures and sells its products. Net profit margin is the net profit as a percentage of sales. Asset turnover is the sales divided by the total assets of a company and it shows how efficiently a company employs its assets to achiev e a given level of sales. The Return On Assets (ROA) is arrived at by multiplying the net profit margin with the asset turnover and it relates the profitability of a company to the value of assets employed. The financial leverage of a company provides the relationship between the total