Conformity And Nonconformity In SophoclesAntigone

The pressure to conform to society’s expectations has always been prevalent throughout history. Conformity is uncontroversial, while nonconformity is seen as detrimental to the rules that society imposes. In Antigone, the playwright, Sophocles, discusses how the choice to conform or not to conform can have an impact on one’s decisions. He utilizes the controversy surrounding the central conflict of the play, the death of Polyneices, to portray his characters’ attitudes towards conformity and nonconformity. Creon and Ismene are conformists because they believe in the absolute power of the law; whereas, Antigone is a nonconformist because she rebels against society’s rules. Creon’s conformity is apparent through the way in which he†¦show more content†¦For instance, when arguing with Antigone about Polyneices’ burial, Ismene argues that the â€Å"law is strong and they must give in to the law† (Pro. 49-50). She views the law as something that must not be violated, regardless of the circumstances. Ismene’s conformity is evident through her refusal to question the rules set in place by the authority. She is also incapable of making her own decisions. Ismene will plead guilty to Creon only if Antigone will â€Å"let [Ismene] say that she is guilty† (1.147). She is constantly seeking approval from others, and wants nothing more than to fit in with the majority. Even though Ismene was not present during Polyneices’ burial, she still conforms because of her desire to conform to the desires of others. In Noam Shpancer’s essay â€Å"You Are A Conformist, That Is, You Are Human,† Shpancer claims that conformity is inevitable for some people. He explains how â€Å"conformity is a part of our hardware, facilitating our survival and bringing us comfort.† (Shpancer). Ismene’s desire for conformity is directly related her survival. She refuses to defy the law or form her own opinions because she wants acceptance and comfort. While Ismene does not actively try to conform, it comes naturally to her, and she subconsciously adheres to the rules of society. Antigone’s disregard of the law displays her nonconformity. She is stubborn about her decision to bury Polyneices. When Ismene

Research Paper on Negotiation Free Essays

1st Log on negotiation Presented To : Dr. Hassan wageih Presented By : Mahmoud Ahmed EL-Etriby Program : MIBA 38 A Date : 3 December 2011 Mr. Essam Sharaf in Qena ,The full crime of Soft Negotiator Locals in Qena continue protesting against their governor In respect for Easter, protesters demonstrated against the new governor in silence. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Negotiation or any similar topic only for you Order Now Negotiations early today to open the railway failed. Ahram Online, Sunday 24 Apr 2011 Sharaf fails to calm crowds in Qena Egypt’s prime minister visits Qena where protesters had brought the city to a standstill following the appointment last month of a Coptic governor but his words do little to ease sectarian sentiments Ahram Online, Tuesday 3 May 2011 Egypt’s Prime Minister Essam Sharaf on Tuesday visited Qena where demonstrations erupted on 15 April following the appointment of Emad Shehata Mikhail as governor. Protesters objected to a Christian being governor for the second time in succession. Sharaf addressed an audience saying that although he had prepared a written speech he would rather speak to them â€Å"from his heart† and added that his government will pay attention to the development of Upper Egypt and appraised religious unity in Qena. While Sharaf had meant to discuss the crisis in Qena over a Christian governor, he instead stated â€Å"all of your demands will be met. The crowds, in turn, chanted its demand of a Muslim governor to which Sharaf only repeated that demands will be met. Life has returned to normal in Qena after Sharaf announced last week that he will freeze the activity of Mikhail for three months. The protesters had been further angered by Mikhail’s past as a police officer. During the peak of the protests, both the Eastern and Western highways leading into the governorate were blocked as well as train tracks, stopping trains coming from Luxor and A swan as well as Cairo. As we can see in the above headlines from Ahram Online the famous problem of Qena and the protesting of the people against the governor, the saddest part of the story is the complete failure of Mr. Essam Sharaf as a prime minister and a negotiator in handling and solving the problem. Mr. Essam in this negotiation operation was actually a full and complete example of what we called Soft Negotiator, a negotiator that is very weak in response and too much delayed because he gets panic to the threat of the protesters . Imagine that the problem initiated in the 15 th of April and he only went to the spot of the drama 3 weeks later. After he went there he continues all the sins of soft negotiator again by being so fragile and reasonable instead of being resilient and cognitive , telling them† I am speaking to you from my heart † was completely a weak and non suitable phrase to the revolution inside the protesters as he gives them too much trust actually not in its place which made him appears very weak in front of them and give them the upper hand to move the negotiation in one way direction towards their request only without discussing the fact that they have violate the law by blocking the highway to Upper Egypt and the cutting the railways as well which would give him a chance on a win-win situation in this adversative situation. Moreover he completes the sins of the soft negotiator by being so concessionary telling the crowd in public that â€Å"all your demands will be met† so what’s the role of the negotiation skills that you must have Mr. Essam in such problems if any time you face a problem or a protest you will simply choose Satisficing and settle for something much more less than you could otherwise has, which reflects clearly a self-Reinforcing Incompetence that hinders you from leveraging your power and strengths. Finally being so soft and weak in negotiations creates a cycle in which the lack of the principled negotiator skills will deprive you not only the ability to produce correct response but also the expertise necessary to know that you have produced a wrong one. Being fair only is not what we need in our prime minister , its being Fair and Firm is what we need and what make him actually a successful prime minister. It’s the Principled negotiator skills that we wanted from you at that time and every time in this era which Egypt is facing , Principled negotiators are the men of the new era , those who are not hard as nails or soft as pudding, those who have chess player mentality , who are Fair and Firm, who have strong personality and role profiles , who are always improving their power and strengths and face threats firmly with hidden strong threats that suits the adversative era and with an integrative and cognitive way that ensure the fairness rule to everyone. ******************************************************* How to cite Research Paper on Negotiation, Essays

To What extent was Hitler responsible for the outbreak of WW2 Essay Example For Students

To What extent was Hitler responsible for the outbreak of WW2 Essay To what extent was Hitler responsible for the outbreak of World War II? If you asked an average person why World War II happened, they would most likely blame it on Hitler. This accusation would be partly accurate; after all it was the Fuhrer who led the German army into Poland on September 1st 1939, officially beginning the war. But, if you take a closer look, examine the facts; you can see that numerous events lead up to this point (many of which had little to do with Hitler personally). One of the first actions, which in the long run lead to the outbreak of war, was ironically the peace Treaty of Versailles in 1919. The Treaty had many points concerning Germany, which were very harsh (they were forced to pay a huge war fee, demilitarize Rhineland, stop the production of weapons etc. ). The victorious countries thought that this would make Germany weaker, and prevent it from attacking anybody. Unfortunately, quite the opposite happened, the German people were profoundly unpleased with the outcome of World War l. The Treaty caused hatred towards everyone who agreed with it. The Wall Street Crash of 1929, one of the main reasons Hitler gained enough support to become chancellor. Why? Because the crisis spread all the way to Europe, Germany included. Hitler seemed to know a cure for all misfortunes of the Weimar Republic. He offered Jobs for the unemployed. Had the Jews and communists to blame for all the calamities, and offered to basically get rid of them. These ideas along with some amazing propaganda made Hitler chancellor in 1933. Now, that he was one of the most influential people in Germany, he could easily determine its fate. One of the things that pushed the Fuhrer to invade Poland was the fact that the League of Nations was practically powerless. This was insinuated when Italy invaded Abyssinia (both members of the League), and got away with it. Italy was a powerful country, and all the other members could do to try stopping it was threaten sanction (which wasnt even an effective threat, because there was plenty of other places from which Italy could get its resources). When everyone saw how poorly the strong members had handled this situation, they got the basic idea that the League of Nations was not as effective as it was supposed to be, and that a strong country is likely to get away with breaking some of the rules. Not only did the League seem insubstantial, ut so did Great Britain and France. They seemed to have no reaction whatsoever to Hitler repeatedly breaking more and more rules of the Treaty of Versailles. of the above actions, to some extent lead up to the outbreak of World War II. But to what extent was Hitler responsible? His actions are probably most visible at first glance. He was the man who began the war, after all. But would he have done it if Germany had been treated fairly after World War l, and its people were satisfied with the outcome? Would anybody be willing to vote for the Nazi party if there had been no crisis? From what IVe deduced, Germany would most likely not have sought revenge if it had been fairly treated. Hitler wouldnt want to gain more land, or make tne country more powerTul, as It would never nave gotten weak. I nere would never have been any November Criminals to blame. Hitlers actions, which led up to the outbreak of war, started happening after he had been appointed chancellor (became influential). But if the world depression hadnt happened, people wouldnt have had good reasons to vote for his extremist party, as they would most likely have been satisfied with the calmer centralized parties. .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 , .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 .postImageUrl , .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 , .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006:hover , .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006:visited , .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006:active { border:0!important; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006:active , .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006 .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub3c67fad93a4168a6b1f10afc6ac2006:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Martin Luther King And Mass Media EssayIn conclusion, Hitler was responsible for the outbreak of the Second World War to a certain extent. But the most important causes (which ultimately gave him power) had happened prior to when he was appointed chancellor. Germany didnt need Hitler in person to begin the war, as it was tilting it that direction ever since 1919. He was Just the man who pushed it across the borderline. Maybe the war wouldnt have happened if Hitler had never become the Fuhrer, but The Weimar Republic would have stayed unsatisfied, and, sooner or later another person would have come along to change that.

The Performing Arts and Inspiration Persuasive Essay Example For Students

The Performing Arts and Inspiration Persuasive Essay Many times when thinking about dance the first thing comes to mind is a concert or dancing in a bar. Never did think dancing was a work Of art. Dancing can be used for many things, one particular is communication. Vive chosen two styles Of dance thats dear to me Which is ballet and jazz dance. Dance is one Of the most universe activities in the world. Its used on several different occasions. Ballet is an art of dance created by body movement. Ballet began in Italy in the 15th century. According, to the (Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. 2014), In the 16th century, Catherine De Medici, an Italian noblewoman, wife of King Henry II of France and a great patron of the arts, began to fund ballet in the French court. Her elaborate festivals encouraged the growth of ballet De court, a program that included dance, decor, costume, song, music and poetry. A century later, King Louis XIV helped to popularize and standardize the art form. We will write a custom essay on The Performing Arts and Inspiration Persuasive specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now A passionate anger, he danced many roles himself, including that to the Sun King in Ballet De la unit. His love of ballet fostered its elevation from a past time for amateurs to an endeavor requiring professional training. In ballet the use of line is use quite often. The body movements are the main focus in ballet. A ballet dancer is mainly dancing on point or toe work. Rhythm is also important in ballet because as a dancer the routine has to be exact as practiced. Choreographers work really hard to make sure the art is performed correctly. Jazz dance is mainly for entertainment. When hear jag dance I instantly think about guitars and drums beating to reggae beat. Jazz dance is a body movement along with a tap. Jazz dance is fun when a group Of people are involved. Jazz dance is an American form of dance that developed in the early asss as both African and European peoples began to mix their dance traditions. Africans focused on rhythms and torso movement and Europeans on musical harmonies, folk and social dances. (Charade, C. A. 005) When performing jazz dance the body is moving in efferent rhythm, the arms can be in one position while the legs are performing a totally different move. Jazz dancers mainly perform solo or unless at a parade. This particular dance influences each dancer to be better and more involve with new routines. According, to (Charade, C. A. 2005) During the past 15 years, jazz dance has become the basis of music videos, The combination of rap, singing and jazz dance have spawned hip-hop. Ballet a nd Jazz dance both are very in debt when it comes to learning them.

The Second World War

The Second World War-A Complete History was the book chosen for this review. It was published in 1989 by Martin Gilbert. Martin Gilbert was a distinguished Britain historian. He graduated Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1960, he received a first class honor degree in modern history. For two years, he was a research scholar at St. Anthonys College, Oxford. He was elected in 1962 to a fellowship at Merton College, Oxford. He worked with Randolph Churchill on the biography of Sir Winton Churchill. He did 20 years of research on Churchill. He wrote Never Despair. He also wrote The Holocaust and Auschwitz and the Allies. This book was chosen for the review because of the historical and detail facts that were given during World War II. It was also chosen because of the many visual aids in the book to make it easier to comprehend. It presents massive amounts of detailing, map outlines of the war, and pictorials to help fully understand why the war was fought. Martin Gilberts direction in the book, The Second World War, was to inform the reader of the events that took place during WWII as well as inform them on its conclusion. He explained the strategies of the five super powers and the different wars pertaining to different countries. He believed this was the most costly war in human history. Gilbert tried to reflect upon the destructive events of the war by displaying the effects on the human condition. He did this through the emphasis and detail of fact within the book. Gilbert states that; ...it is the unnamed men, women, and children whose tragedy is the bitter By saying this, he focuses on the lives changed by the war due to the actual events taken place. The Second World War is basically a documentation of the factual events and strategies that took place from 1939 until 1945. On September 1, 1939 the war began with the invasion of Poland by Germany. Declarations of war soon followed agai...

A Separate Peace - Thematic Analysis

A Separate Peace Thematic Analysis Essay Peace brings up the theme of mans inhumanity to his fellow man. What makes this novel unique is that in protesting war, Knowles never overtly referred to the blood and gore of war; he showed the consequences of war, some paralleling the nature of war and some simply laying out how World War II affected noncombatants thousand miles away. There have been many books written about war, what happens, why it happens, and why wars should stop. Knowles explains through the life of Finny why war never will cease, with only one death in the entire book; a quiet one at that. When Gene is responsible for Finnys fall off the tree, the reader is in some confusion as to what really happened. All the book reads at this juncture is Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step near him, and then my knees bounced and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud. The reader does not know whether it was accidental or intentional. It is not until later that Finny realizes that Gene is responsible for his crippling, and what a natural thing it was to do. Gene bounced the branch just to see if he could make the invincible Finny fall; at least, this is why Gene claims he did it. This is true, but at some level, Gene was scared of Finny, of his confidence, his abilities, and his potential for breaking records. Consider Genes paranoia over Finnys attempts to make him adventurous. Gene interprets these genuine acts of friendship as attempts to prevent him from reaching the top of the academic ladder. This paranoia parallels war in that after it is declared, no one is safe. Countries, leaders, people suspicious of all who are perceived as a threat, causing them to lash out at anyone even peripherally involved. Adequately proven in A Separate Peace, there are also historical examples: the Nazi death camps, the American Japanese-American relocation camps, and the McCarthyism of the fifties. Apparently, in America, the Constitution rules until war is declared, then paranoia and vindictiveness take charge. When Gene had the opportunity to get back at Finny, he did, which is so human it is disheartening. This tenet of our nature precludes, before it has even begun, the idea of world peace. Some country will always feel that another is stronger, or a threat, and initiate action. Another example of mans capacity for viciousness against his fellow is Lepers insanity. Leper, an outcast at Devon, was one of the first juniors to enlist. An avid naturalist, he was entranced by the ski patrol, zooming about on clean, crisp snow. When he discovered the horrible reality of war, he cracked. The students at Devon, when they heard this, acted like the human creatures they were; they laughed. It  was a survival reflex, laughing at a horror they would soon been forced to endure. Picking on Leper, Brinker and his buddies revealed the human need to blame someone, to distract the eye from their own fear. A final example of mans inhumanity to man as shown in A Separate Peace is the inquiry by Brinker and his panel to find out what happened the day Finny broke his leg. Gene himself says of Brinker and the proceedings: Hes enjoying this, hes imagining himself Justice incarnate, balancing the scales. Hes forgotten that Justice incarnate is not only blindfolding the scales but also blindfolded. With Finny begging for him to stop, he relentlessly probed, determined to find the truth, a truth that helped no one and hurt everyone. Because Brinker insisted on proceeding with his little drama, Finny loses what was possibly one of his most precious possessions: Gene. All this playacting ultimately accomplished was one thing: Finnys death. The marrow of Finnys bones killed him, thus, it seems the symbolism is mans inner core will defeat him. Because we are human, we are imperfect, and the perfect among us symbolized by Finny cannot exist, so that ideal society will never become a reality. READ: Critical Essay On Sir Arthur Conan Doyle MoriartyThis novel illustrates man can be cruel to his fellow man. John Knowles A Separate Peace demonstrates why men go to war, and why they cannot stop. This remarkable feat is accomplished with the telling of a single unique individual and his death.

The Inadequacy of US Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan Literature review

The Inadequacy of US Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan - Literature review Example 1). This research work aims at assessing the effectiveness of the counterinsurgency measures adopted by the U.S. in Afghanistan. Background of the Problem The principal argument of this study is that the US should deploy its resources in a manner that promote capabilities, which improve the competence of the Afghan government and its security forces, in conducting counterinsurgency operations. There have been several instances, wherein the US forces have enraged the Afghan villagers. This has been attributed to the ignorance among these soldiers, regarding the cultural and social traditions of the Afghans. It has been suggested that the US forces should abstain from interacting with the people and permit the Afghan authorities to take the necessary steps (Jones, 2008, p. 93). A major feature of counterinsurgency (COIN) warfare is the battle to win over the hearts and minds of the target population. This has been attempted even with the most seemingly isolated members of the populatio n, in remote villages and rural regions. For this purpose shortwave radio has been employed. This initiative would further alienate the Afghans towards the Karzai government, which is detested in the extreme; local politicians; governors; tribal chiefs; warlords and militia commanders, who are supporters of the highly unpopular Karzai administration (Kilcullen, 2009, pp. 50 – 51). Assistance has been scanty if not totally absent, in the rural areas. These areas had been at the greatest risk from the Taliban, and had been totally dissatisfied with the almost non – existent change. The fate of counterinsurgency in Afghanistan will be determined by what happens in rural Afghanistan. The developments in the urban regions will have little if any bearing on the success of failure of counterinsurgency (Jones, 2008, p. 4). Consequently, counterinsurgency has to reach such people. Rationale How effective was the U.S. Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan? I have examined the relevan t literature pertaining to the present topic, by eminent scholars, like Jones, Kilcullen, Ganesh Sitaraman, Mark, Johnson, Schreer, for answering the question. I have examined strategies, such as the traditional social hierarchies and the different forms of legitimacy, local, specialised knowledge trumps doctrine and theory. I have obtained information regarding the actual state of affairs with regard to fair elections, rule of law, and economic development in Afghanistan. The opinion of the authorities in this area, has contributed to the assessment of the situation. Issues, such as the exercise of power by the government, harmonisation of development, governance and security were provided by Mark. Positive elements in the extant literature, with respect to counterinsurgency are the unbiased opinion of eminent scholars and the provision of the true picture regarding the present situation, regarding the governance of Afghanistan. I will further investigate these issues, after applyi ng the relevant theories and strategies, pertaining to the counterinsurgency measures. As such, I can expand my research on the issues discussed in the literature, and arrive at better conclusions regarding the current problem. Hypothesis The counterinsurgency measures adopted by the US in Afghanistan have proved to be inadequate. This synopsis of insurgency in Afghanistan, brings to the fore the factors that had ensured the success of insurgencies in the past; external support, variations in the quality of the security forces, and challenges to governance. Research Questions What is insurgence?

Global Warming Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Global Warming - Assignment Example This research aims to evaluate and present global warming. It can be defined as the heating of the earth or warming of the planet due to the rise in average temperature on the entire surface. Global warming has become the most complicated issue facing the world as a whole. It is destined to have various destructive impacts on the earth’s surface, people’s health, and their entire environment including plants. Global warming is predicted to be caused by various greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. These gases cause extreme heating on the surface thus leading to many problems. This is meant to study the causes of global warming its effects on health, plants and humans. In addition, it is meant to discuss the ways that can help to solve the problems caused by global warming. It also focuses on the ways China contribute in global warming and the ways they can be supported in order to reduce their rate of contribution. In gathering information, various articles are used such as newspapers, journals, other reports carried out by other individuals and comparing the findings. Journals would help by telling what global warming is and its causes. It would also help to know the effects it has on the earth’s surface. Newspapers help in gathering the latest effects of global warming. In addition, other sources that may have good sources of information were also used in order to get appropriate information. Results or findings The information collected from several sources indicates that global warming is mainly caused by the emission of green house gases. Global warming is the overall warming of the planet based on the mean temperature over the whole surface of the earth. The main causer of global warming is carbon dioxide that is emitted through burning of fossil fuels like oil, natural gases, and coal. These fossil fuels emit large quantities of green house gases to the atmosphere. The research also found that the most industrialized nations are t he leading nations in releasing the pollutant gases to the atmosphere than the developing nations. This is because industries release pollutant gases to the atmosphere and the gases cause global warming. Some of the nations that lead in emission of pollutant gasses are China, United States and India. The rapid increase in population and industrialization leads to suffering of unwanted environmental problems. Rapid industrialization mainly increases the rate of pollution that is accompanied by a gradual increase in atmospheric temperature leading to increased heating of the surface. The heating of the earth’s surface due to increased global temperature is known as global warming. Due to rapid industrialization in the current decades, the rate of global warming has raised leading to various effects (Revkin 2011). Most scientists point out dangers that the global warming is likely to cause due to the increasing rate of

The global economy Essay Example for Free

The global economy Essay In a highly interdependent world, the global economy is one of the major concerns of countries since anything that happens to one country’s economy can largely affect other countries, especially if the country where the economic shift happened is as powerful and prominent as the United States of America. More importantly, the flow of goods, labor and resources need an enabler for their ease of movement from one country to another. With the rising doubts in the current system of the global economy, people are now looking for ways to reform it. Capitalism, as the dominant economic model for the world was shaken with the collapse of Wall Street and the recession in America and elsewhere. The conundrum of global reform is that the proposals that go far enough, such as establishing a global financial regulator, are wildly unrealistic, while those that are realistic, such as reform of the IMF, fall far short of what is needed. In the midst of all these problems, however, an economic experiment on a large scale is happening in Europe. The European Union is not only a strong political bloc, but is also a consortium of economies that are working together to improve the economy in their region. Although this is not yet a replacement to the American-style capitalism that dominates the world, this new economic movement could play a large role in the future as a replacement to the current global economy. b. Yes, one can be both a globalist and, at the same time, be culturally parochial. In both the West and the East, this is what is happening, which is why countries fail to reach agreements with the consensus of everyone in the international organizations they are in. In the north and south, conflicts spark in the opposing goals of cooperating with one another to make a better globalized society and forwarding their own national interest. These are evident in China’s continuing efforts to expand its economy through an undervalued Renminbi, and a nationalistic thrust. Sometimes, they even go to the extent of openly opposing Western nations that are not of the same mind as they are such as in the issue of the global climate where they agree that Western nations should do act on it but refuse to act on the issue themselves prioritizing their economy over taking care of the environment. Western nations, on the other hand, are often criticized because of their pushing for a more global movement of goods, labor and resources while protecting their own borders from competition. Another criticism they receive is that they exploit 3rd world nations while harping on the importance of helping these nations out of poverty. Even in smaller scales, that is, concerning the individual, have issues such as migrants who refuse to adopt the cultures and laws of the country they migrated into and hold strongly on their own cultural backgrounds. c. Globalization is indeed inexorable. With the advent of technologies that speed up this process, people need to adapt to the growing interconnectivity of peoples that were once out of reach by thousands of miles. To adapt to the growing trend of globalization, there are many tools in our hands, one of which is the internet. The internet, as one of the causes of the acceleration of the globalization process can be used by people to become a part of the greater global society through knowledge acquisition and even being active in other nations through having a voice online. Other technologies like mobile phones, VOIP, television, etc. can help us become more cosmopolitan. The most important tool in adapting to globalization, however, is our minds and that we must keep them open. With globalization as the marketplace for many ideas internationally, myopic views are causes of conflagrations between people and even nations.

the organisation :: essays research papers

In a time of peace and prosperity one of the most brutal organisations ever known to man was formed. An organisation made up of murders, theives, and rapists. The organization we’ve come to know as the â€Å"Nazis†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On January 2,1919, two men by the names of Karl Harrer and Anton Drexler founded a group called the â€Å"German Workers’ Party†. It started out as nothing more than a few blue collar workers getting together to gripe about the government. Anton Drexler was described by Robert Leckie in his book delivered from evil as a toolmaker in the munich railyard a working man. He was a tall, spare man, as undistinguished as his dab of mustache and rimless glasses.(38)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But this harmless simple group was about to take a turn for the worse. On september 19,leured by the possibility to make hisself known, Adolf Hitler joined the german workers’ party. Moving quick Hitler soon became the public speaker for the party. With obtaining this position Hitler could finaly let the people hear his views. When he outlined the parties platform he put the german workers’ party in a positon to become a political power in germany and capitalizing on this oppertunaty they changed their names from german workers’ party to the National Socalist German workers’ party, which would soon become known as the Nazi party.(lace 9)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nothing more was heard from germanys Nazi party for another three years untill the morning of november 8, 1923, when a column of three thousand Nazis marched toward Munich’s central plaza. Arm-in-arm infront were Ludendorff, Goring, Hitler, and max von scheubner-Richter the four leaders of the Nazi party. At the odenplatz they found their way barred by a hundredd police armed with bayonets fixed to their rifles. As the two forces were about to come together, a shot rang out no one could tell from which side. In an instant there were volleys of gunfire from both directions. Goring fell, shot in the thigh, scheubner-richter was fatally wounded and, in falling, dragged Hitler to the pavement and separated his shoulder. Nineteen Nazis were killed and dozens were wounded. Only lundendorff continued to march forward and was arrested on the spot. The so- called â€Å"Beer Hall Putsch† had failed. Two days later Hitler was arrested. Goring and Hess fled to Austria. Rohm and the other top Nazis were rounded up and arrested. The party was declared banned by the government.

Plato Defends Rationalism

Plato Defends Rationalism Plato was a highly educated Athenian Philosopher. He lived from 428-348 B. C. Plato spent the early portion of his life as a disciple to Socrates, which undoubtedly helped shape his philosophical theories. One topic that he explored was epistemology. Epistemology is the area of philosophy that deals with questions concerning knowledge, and that considers various theories of knowledge (Lawhead 52). Plato had extremely distinct rationalistic viewpoints. Rationalism is the claim that reason, or intellect, is the primary source of our fundamental knowledge about reality (55).By examining Plato’s philosophical position on the three basic epistemological questions, as well as analyzing his ability to justify the three anchor points of rationalism, it is clear to see that Plato was successful in defending rationalism. There are three basic questions that are the basis for determining the difference between each of the epistemological viewpoints. The first of these is: Is knowledge possible? In order to understand exactly what is being asked here, it is important to consider the agreed definition of knowledge as being a â€Å"true justified belief† (53).Plato believed that yes, it is possible to have knowledge. He claimed that as long as one has the ability to recognize something as false, they are capable of having knowledge. The second question is: Does reason provide us with knowledge of the world independently of experience? Plato would also answer yes to this question as well. Many objected to this, believing that knowledge was a result of sense experience rather than reason. Plato examined this theory (empiricism); he argued that, because the physical world is subject to change, there can be no real truth in knowledge that is based solely on one’s senses.He then used the examples Justice, Goodness, and Equality to justify his argument that there are some things that we cannot come to know through experience alone, th us casting doubt on the empiricist theory. Plato expands on the teachings of Socrates, and acknowledges the concept that we already have ideas or principles that are contained in our mind prior to experience, called innate ideas (73). The third and final question is: Does our knowledge represent reality as it really is? To this question, he would answer yes. Plato’s distinction between innate ideas and sense experience bring us to understand his true sense of reality.Our innate ideas are the foundation from which we are able to possess rational knowledge. Rational knowledge, as Plato explains, gives us the ability to differentiate between invariable â€Å"Forms† (Universals) and the ever changing characteristics that are recognized through sense experiences. Plato believes that knowledge of Universals provide us with knowledge of the fundamental features of reality, which are nonphysical, eternal, and unchanging (81). The three anchor points of Rationalism expand on th e question discussed above, Does reason provide us with knowledge of the world independently of experience?The first anchor point is: Reason is the primary or most superior source of knowledge about reality (72). Plato proves this point to be true by determining that it is through unchanging, Universal knowledge, that we come to find reality. The second anchor point is: Sense experience is an unreliable and inadequate route to knowledge (73). Plato questions the reliability and adequacy of sense experience, due to the fact that there are things that we are simply unable to experience in the physical world. If knowledge comes strictly from experience, and we are unable to experience some things, how is it that we come to find such knowledge?Plato also argues that sense experiences are subject to individual interpretation, and are ever changing. Knowledge cannot be based on inconstant perception. The final anchor point of rationalism is: The fundamental truths about the world can be k nown a priori (independently of, or prior to, experience): They are either innate or self-evident to our minds (73). Plato believed that knowledge was contained in our soul from preexistence, and was independent of human experiences. He came to the conclusion that it is from these innate ideas that we are able to recognize reality.Plato’s view on epistemology is extremely consistent with that of rationalism. He was able to successfully justify his beliefs, not only by proving his theory, but also by disproving alternative theories. Plato recognized the fact that knowledge is possible. He believed that the ability to identify something as false can only come from knowing truth. This was the first step in his philosophical journey. In his quest to determine the source, and explore the characteristics of knowledge, he made several valid arguments.Plato’s strongest argument was that we cannot base our knowledge directly on experience, because there are circumstances in whi ch our senses do not provide us with reliable truths. Not only did this make it apparent that experience is not concrete enough to act as a basis for knowledge, thus disproving the imperialistic theory, but it also helped justify his theory of Universals. Plato was able to prove that reason, by way of innate ideas, leads us to knowledge, as it was defined above, a true justified belief.This rational knowledge, in turn, leads us to the knowledge of reality. Plato spent much of his life studying philosophy, and the concept of knowledge. After finding fault in other epistemological theories, he was led to develop a philosophy of his own. Plato’s approach toward epistemology was considerably different from that of other philosophers in his day. His rationalistic viewpoints were extremely influential. He brought light to the concept of Universals, which had a great impact on the work of philosophers after him.Plato was able to explain knowledge from all aspects, which set him apar t from others. Plato was not only able to conclude that knowledge is possible, he was also able to explain how knowledge is obtained. By examining Plato’s philosophical position on the three basic epistemological questions, as well as analyzing his ability to justify the three anchor points of rationalism, it is clear to see that Plato was successful in defending rationalism.Works Cited Lawhead, William F. The Philosophical Journey: An Interactive Approach. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 52-81. Print

Of Power and Time Essay

Time The article by Mary Oliver is very deep and passionate in a way you can’t help but relate to, in a way you almost understand where the writer is coming from. Through out this article the writer explains through out a poem of how it is to be a writer. The article fails to revolve around any specific thing but does so with descriptive elegance. Oliver is talking through her poetry and saying that she is her own self, and she will write down what she intends to. Through her article she throws around the words â€Å"ordinary† and â€Å"regular†, she doesn’t appear to be referring to herself in anyway, perhaps it is her idea or memory she is indeed referencing. The start of the article begins with the author just walking up on a crisp morning. Someone calls on her and she is forced to abandon the thought she had on her mind. She continues to talk about the things that drive you away from your concentration, like privacy, pencils, paper, and erasers. She describes how you can have an idea or thought on the very edge of your mind and just the slightest thing can drive it away, even if it’s the thought itself. She ponders upon the idea that a thought can drive away the same thought, then simultaneously switches to memories of her as a child ad how she is really still the same. â€Å"most of my education was intended to make me feel comfortable within it† (Mary Oliver). Mary Oliver then suggests that all of her education was not merely for her life use but just for comfort, which her education and views her discomfort as a benefit. She seems to have a backwards view on things most wouldn’t look at. She says that â€Å"The extraordinary is what art is really about†, (Mary Oliver) suggests that she herself does not wish to be ordinary? In her thinking, you have to be a risk-taker type of person to be extraordinary. She is recklessly working away at 6 a. m. in the morning regardless of any social calls. She’s trying to say that no matter what happens, it is up to her to get the poem written like as if she is completely devoted to it. She describes her attachment as loyalty towards the poem. When Oliver says to rejoice if she does not turn up for a meeting or event, she is trying to say; be happy for me, because I will be writing poetry. In Mary’s eyes, the most regretful people are those who felt the call to be great but didn’t act upon it. Mary Oliver is a difficult writer to understand but through it all, one could see what she is truly trying to say. Bibliography Oliver, Mary. â€Å"Of Power and Time. † Blue Pastures (1995).

History of Multilateralism in Foreign Policy

History of Multilateralism in Foreign Policy Multilateralism is diplomatic term that refers to cooperation among several nations. President Barack Obama has made multilateralism a central element of U.S. foreign policy under his administration. Given the global nature of multilateralism, multilateral policies are diplomatically intensive but offer the potential for great payoffs. History of U.S. Multilateralism Multilateralism is largely a post-World War II element of U.S. foreign policy. Such cornerstone U.S. policies as the Monroe Doctrine (1823) and the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1903) were unilateral. That is, the United States issued the policies without the help, consent, or cooperation of other nations. American involvement in World War I, while it would seem to be a multilateral alliance with Great Britain and France, was in fact a unilateral venture. The U.S. declared war against Germany in 1917, almost three years after the war began in Europe; it cooperated with Great Britain and France simply because they had a common enemy; aside from combating the German spring offensive of 1918, it refused to follow the alliances old style of trench fighting; and, when the war ended, the U.S. negotiated a separate peace with Germany. When President Woodrow Wilson proposed a truly multilateral organization - The League of Nations - to prevent another such war, Americans refused to join. It smacked too much of the European alliance systems that had triggered World War I in the first place. The U.S. also stayed out of the World Court, a mediating organization with no real diplomatic weight. Only World War II pulled the U.S. toward multilateralism. It worked with Great Britain, the Free French, the Soviet Union, China and others in a real, cooperative alliance. At the end of the war, the U.S. became involved in a flurry of multilateral diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian activity. The U.S. joined the wars victors in the creation of: The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, 1944The United Nations (UN), 1945The World Health Organization (WHO), 1948 The U.S. and its Western allies also created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. While NATO still exists, it originated as a military alliance to throw back any Soviet incursion into western Europe. The U.S. followed that up with the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and the Organization of American States (OAS). Although the OAS has major economic, humanitarian, and cultural aspects, both it and SEATO began as organizations through which the U.S. could prevent communism from infiltrating those regions. Uneasy Balance with Military Affairs SEATO and the OAS were technically multilateral groups. However, Americas political dominance of them tilted them toward unilateralism. Indeed, much of American Cold War policies - which revolved around containment of communism - tended in that direction. The United States entered the Korean War in the summer of 1950 with a United Nations mandate to push back a communist invasion of South Korea. Even so, the United States dominated the 930,000-man UN force: it supplied 302,000 men outright, and it outfitted, equipped, and trained the 590,000 South Koreans involved. Fifteen other countries provided the rest of the manpower. American involvement in Vietnam, coming without a UN mandate, was entirely unilateral. Both U.S. ventures in Iraq - the Persian Gulf War of 1991 and the Iraqi War that began in 2003 - had the multilateral backing of the UN and the involvement of coalition troops. However, the United States supplied the majority of troops and equipment during both wars. Regardless of label, both ventures have the appearance and feel of unilateralism. Risk Vs. Success Unilateralism, obviously, is easy - a country does what it wants. Bilateralism - policies enacted by two parties - are also relatively easy. Simple negotiations reveal what each party wants and does not want. They can quickly resolve differences and move ahead with policy. Multilateralism, however, is complicated. It must consider the diplomatic needs of many nations. Multilateralism is much like trying to arrive at a decision in a committee at work, or perhaps working on an assignment in a group in a college class. Inevitably arguments, divergent goals, and cliques can derail the process. But when the whole succeeds, the results can be amazing. The Open Government Partnership A proponent of multilateralism, President Obama has initiated two new U.S.-led multilateral initiatives. The first is the Open Government Partnership. The Open Government Partnership (OGP) seeks to secure transparent government functioning around the globe. Its declaration proclaims the OGP is committed to the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention against Corruption, and other applicable international instruments related to human rights and good governance. The OGP wants to: Increase accessibility to governmental information,Support non-discriminatory civic participation in governmentPromote professional integrity within governmentsUse technology to promote openness and accountability of governments. Eight nations now belong to the OGP. They are the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, the Philippines, Norway, Mexico, Indonesia, and Brazil. Global Counterterrorism Forum The second of Obamas recent multilateral initiatives is the Global Counterterrorism Forum. The forum is essentially a place where states practicing counterterrorism can convene to share information and practices. Announcing the forum on September 22, 2011, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, We need a dedicated global venue to regularly convene key counterterrorism policy makers and practitioners from around the world. We need a place where we can identify essential priorities, devise solutions, and chart a path to implementation of best practices. The forum has set four major goals in addition to sharing information. Those are: Discover how to develop justice systems rooted in the rule of law but effective against terrorism.Find cooperative ways to globally understand the radicalization of ideals, terrorist recruitment.Find ways to strengthen weaknesses - such as border security - that terrorists exploit.Ensure dynamic, strategic thinking and action about counterterrorism efforts.

Critical thinking exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical thinking exercise - Essay Example In a sense Carey uses some of the ideas of the Enlightenment in reverse: thus the argument that systematic, scientific thinking could provide truths and laws about even the most complex of human relationships is reversed by Carey. He suggests that tracing the influence of the invention of a communication device must rely upon more than a seeking for the objective truth. But the method that Carey uses for convincing his readers actually borrows a lot from the scientific method. He argues that the telegraph shifted the nature of human culture because it freed communication from transportation. Until this point, messages between individuals (or between countries) needed to be transported physically from place to place, either by foot, horse or latterly, the railroad. The telegraph allowed messages to move independently of other forms of transportation. Thus Carey looks at something which was fairly obvious in a new manner: - just as a scientist will explore phenomena that are seen by human beings every day in a new manner in order to explain them. The scientific method continues as the telegraphy is seen as a driver for a number of actions and reactions within society. It led to the eventual disappearance of certain kinds of writing, and even changed the manner in which human beings saw time. ... Now people could communicate instantly with others who were living in a different time zone. His discussion of language turns more to the precepts of Modernism - as he both uses some of its ideas and also explains some of the changes that occurred through the invention of the telegraph. The telegraph enabled news to travel 'instantly' from one side of the country to another, but due to the cost involved, the words used to describe events was constantly cut. Carey terms this as "the lowest common denominator" and thus language was reduced to its basic components. Colloquial English that could only be understood within a particular locality could not be used in nationwide news reporting. Short, simple descriptive sentences took over from the more long-winded, flowery language of before. It is this new type of language that comes to dominate, and even spreads into the work of "great writers" such as Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway was known for using short, simple sentences that could be understood by anyone with even a basic education. While the ideas behind the words might be only accessible to the few, a whole mass of the population could now read, understand and even enjoy elite literature. The telegraph thus led to a democratization of both language and literature within Modernism. Modernism itself was characterized by the tendency to reject the old dichotomies between "high" and "low" art; it also rejected the idea of dividing knowledge into that which was 'objective' and that which was 'subjective'. All human behavior and knowledge was questioned and problematized within the Modernist perspective, as shown by Carey's own argument. Along with a

Salam International Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Salam International - Essay Example From the excel output, the correlation matrix provides that while the correlation coefficient (R2) is 0.109, the adjusted correlation coefficient is -0.010 and that of the independent P/E and P/B ratios is -0.0102. The result of the correlation coefficient implies that 10.9% of the total variation is explained by the independent variables P/E and P/B while the remaining 89.1% represents the unexplained variation by the regression model. Consequently, the result of the adjusted R2 implies that the model implies that the model presents the best estimate of the degree of the relationship for our variables in the population under study. Consequently, the output presents the standard error as 0.0255 which implies that approximately 95% of the observations should fall within plus/minus 5% of the of the line fitted by the model which presents a close match for the prediction interval. Lastly, the intercept of 0.067 implies that given a P/B ratio of 0, then we can predict ROE as 0.067. The correlation matrix from the correlation analysis postulate that the correlation of P/B ratio and ROE is -0.324 which indicates that the correlation is weak and negative hence a change in one variable results to a change in the opposite direction of the other variables. Consequently, the correlation between P/E ratio and ROE is -0.226 which implies a weak negative correlation which indicates that a change in one variable to a large extent does not determine the direction of change of the other variable. The correlation of the P/E and P/B ratios is 0.528 which implies a strong positive correlation the change in one variable, either P/E or P/B ratio results to an equal change of the other variable to the same direction hence an increase in P/E results to an increase in P/B and a decrease in P/E results to a decrease in P/B and the inverse is also true. T-statistics seeks to

Regionalism in Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Regionalism in Latin America - Essay Example The main question surrounding the issue of regionalism is whether it is a mere station towards neoliberal or more of pluralistic word that organizes coexistence for the popular support (Thomas 2008:56). What forms of dialect does the regionalism take? In addition, what is the linkage between the multifaceted processes due to the regionalism? To answer these questions regionalist may bring its true picture of contestation among rivals from all sides of intensity. In my essay, I will analyze regionalism in Latin America from the international economic policy with a specific focus to the Andean community, which is a sub region in the Latin America. From a theoretical standpoint, regionalism explains the integration process in the development of a balanced and harmonious society. Reconfiguration of the Latin America’s regional governance is one major feature for the global political economy in the last one decade. Regional governance is currently transforming and bringing in different forms of regional policies, identities, and cooperation that transform the cartography of the Latin America. Latin America currently has assumed a different regional form of governance that builds the different rationale, which is not restricted to the US hegemony (Scott 2009:57). Regionalism driven by economic calculations represents a conglomerate project on the issue of commerce and political integration. In this conflicting scenario, the regional integration has redefinition from the regional projects that are substantially divergent in visions. The paper is concerned with the question of how transformation of the new regionalist can shape the thinking of the individuals on the political and social cooperation. Concepts used To help understand the issue of regionalism and the current issue in the Latin America one must consider these terms. A region implies the whole of Latin America whereas sub regions as a section of Latin America like the Andean or South America. Regional integration on the other hand is an agreement based on the intergovernmental or supranational model. It may involve economic, political, and social integration objectives (Lauren 2010:124). Lastly, regional trade preferences are agreements based on trade integration and cooperation on areas that promote democracy. Under this paradigm, the agreements result from conglomerate intentions of economic boost. Structural economic reforms of the Latin America The economy of the Latin America has shifted in its economic policy from its low achieving strategy to serious macroeconomic disequilibria (Lauren, 2010:32). Factors like high inflation, fiscal deficits, current account deficits, and financial sectors in critical trouble formed part of the foreign debt crisis in the early 1980s . After the poor economic management of the Latin America, it undertook structural reforms that placed the country on the path toward superior economic performance. Major structural reforms in the country occurred in the

Personal development business studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal development business studies - Essay Example According to the job importance review, the most important areas identified are self confidence and assertiveness, the ability to listen to others and to motivate them by understanding and empathizing with their needs. The least important areas are logical, statistical and critical thinking skills, effective time management and achieving performance standards. This analysis indicates that this is not a technical job that involves statistical or critical thinking skills, neither is it a job where set standards are to be achieved. Rather the focus is on the candidate’s self confidence and ability to empathize with others. The significant difference in terms of job skills vs. my skills is that my ability to listen to others is not good while this is a high priority in the job. My excellent ability to control and manage myself is not likely to be important in this job. For this job, I need to develop my listening skills, to be patient and devote time to letting people share their views. For the future, I may need to develop my abilities to work effectively in a team and also improve my communication skills. The steep analysis conducted for this organization shows that it is predominantly concerned with the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle and is a youth oriented career. It involves people of different socio economic groups. Electronic and Internet facilities are available at the job site for use where necessary and there is a focus on the conservation of energy. Economically, the job is one that is not stable, rather it goes through a boom-bust cycle. There are political efforts on to introduce the European working model into this arena, with specified minimum wage levels. This analysis indicates that I am in a job where it is necessary for me to be healthy and physically active, since I need to retire early, therefore it is probably sports related. This is also a job where I have to work with people from different racial groups, so it is

Human resources practices influence customer satisfaction

Human resources practices influence customer satisfaction The focus of this research is on examining the process through which human resource practices influences customer satisfaction in banking sector of Pakistan. Drawing on literature from strategic human resource management, organizational behavior, and marketing, a model of HRP-CS is proposed with employee commitment as its central plank. It is argued that such commitment is influenced by organizational human resource practices and in turn it influences employee behavior towards organizational customers which is then translated into customer satisfaction. Despite heavily documented performance link between human resource practices and organizational, the term HR practices has rarely been adequately defined in the literature. In fact researchers have tested for link between HR practices and firm performance with different HR practices as input and different performance outcomes as output. Boselie and his colleagues have very rightly noted that, Still no consensus has emerged on what employee management activities should be in a comprehensive HRM checklist, since no widely accepted theoretical rationale exists for selecting practices as definitively essential to HRM. Selection of HR practices for this dissertation is based on the review of relevant studies. Liao and Chuang noted that involvement, training and performance incentives are among the most relevant for employee performance in service settings. Similarly, Boselie and his colleagues have identified training, performance based rewards and performance appraisal as the top three researched human resource practices. They argue that this might be because these practices reflect the main objectives of most conceptualisations of a strategic HRM programme. Result oriented appraisals, employment security, and profit sharing have also been reported to be strongly related to organizational performance . In the light of the above discussion, I selected human resource practices that adequately cover the areas identified by the strategic HR researchers as being important in improving organizational performance. The practices include internal career opportunities, training, result oriented appraisals, employment security, participation, and compensation. All these practices are supposed to enhance organizational human capital which will then serve as a competitive advantage for the firm. Nevertheless, a group of researchers including Jackson and Schuler , Ferris and his colleagues and Uhl- Bien et al called for more focus on social context of the relationships within the organization. These researchers argue that employee interaction within organization comprises social capital, and no firm can effectively achieve its goals until it actively utilizes its social capital along with its human capital. The central proposition of social capital theory is that network of relationships constitute valuable resource for the conduct of social affairs. As supervisor-employee interaction is among the most frequent experiences in organizational life, the importance of this relationship in social capital formation is very much understandable. Additionally, as supervisors are viewed as agents of organization, who are responsible for directing and facilitating employees job responsibilities, their attitude and behavior is viewed as indicative of organizational orientation towards their employees . Although, supervisor support or supervisor behavior may not qualify itself as firms HR practice, I have added it to the list of HR practices in my dissertation due to its importance in eliciting employee responses towards organization and its customers. Thus the list of HR practices which will be the subject of study in this dissertation are as following: Supervisor support (SS) Internal career opportunities (ICO) Training (Trg) Result-oriented appraisal (ROA) Employment security (ES) Participation in Decision Making (Part) Compensation (Comp) 3.2 Human Resource Management Practices and Customer Satisfaction: In one of the early studies on relationship between employees perception of organizational practices and customers perception of service quality, Schneider, Parkington, and Buxton noted that both are significantly correlated. They conducted a study of twenty three bank branches of a full service bank and observed a strong correlation (r = 0.67) between employees perception of branch service and customers perception of quality of service at the branch. Although, this study did not measure the role of organizational human resource practices on customers perception of service quality or customer satisfaction, it laid down the foundation for studying the role of employee attitudes and behavior in connection with customer satisfaction. In order to yield better perceptions of service quality from customers, the study emphasized to focus attention on the role of boundary personnel in retail service organizations like the branch banks . Rogg, Schmidt, Shull, and Schmitt conducted a study of 351 franchise dealerships of an automobile company to examine the impact of human resource practices on customer satisfaction. They found that HR practices effects customer satisfaction through its influence on organizational climate. This is to say that they tested for a mediating role of climate in HR-CS relationship. Their data analysis supported the hypothesis that human resource practices are significantly related to customer satisfaction, though most of the correlations were less than 0.20. While this study adds to our belief that firms human resource practices are related to its customers satisfaction, it is not without its problems. First, the data on HR practices and climate variables were collected using single instrument, thus increasing the chance of same source bias. Secondly, the data on, human resource practices and climate, variables were collected from single respondent in the organization. While the data of huma n resource practices were factual, the data on climate were attitudinal and is highly prone to single rater error. Both these problems (same source bias and single rater error) have been taken care of in this study. In another study of 137 BDG (Branch Director Group) of a full service bank, Gelade and Ivery documented that BDGs HRM practices are positively associated with customer satisfaction. They analyzed the relationship between HRM indicators (staffing level, overtime, and professional development) and organizational performance indicators (sales against targets, customer satisfaction, staff retention, and clerical accuracy) and found that almost all the three HRM indicators are positively associated with organizational performance indicators including customer satisfaction and that such association is moderated by organizational climate. Whereas most of the studies which examined the relationship between human resource practices and customer satisfaction were conducted on organizational or DMU level of analysis , Liao and Chaung investigated the factors influencing customer satisfaction using a multi-level conceptual framework. There data comprised responses of 257 employees, 44 managers, and 1993 customers from 25 franchised restaurants. The human resource practices data were collected from restaurant manager while employee performance and customer satisfaction data were based on self-reports of employees and customers respectively. The data gathered thus gathered from employees and customers were aggregated to restaurant level to analyze the HR practices customer outcome relationship at unit level. The results of the study showed that of the human resource practices only employee involvement was significantly related to the service performance, while other two HR practices (service training, and performance incent ives) did not have any significant relationship with employee performance. The study did not examine the direct effect of human resource practices on customer satisfaction; however the relationship between restaurant-level service performance and customer satisfaction was found significant. Although, this study provided a better understanding of how employees actions and perceptions influences organizational context, still it did not explicitly examines the role of employees perception of human resource practices in eliciting customer perception of service quality and customer satisfaction. While most of studies conducted on human resource management customer satisfaction relationship have focused on organizational climate as mediating variable between the two, Nishii, et al is the first one to examines the role of employees perceptions, attitudes and behaviors as the central plank of such relationship. There sample included 95 stores each with approximately 18 departments. Data was collected from 4208 employees from 362 departments across these 95 stores. Nishii and her colleagues in a multilevel analysis investigated the role of employee perceptions of why organization adopted certain human resource policies (HR attribution) in shaping their work attitudes and behaviors and the relationship between such attitudes/behaviors and customer satisfaction. The data regarding employee HR attributions, commitment and satisfaction were collected from employees at individual level, while data regarding employee behavior and customer satisfaction were collected from store manage rs and customers respectively at store-level. The individual level data were than aggregated to store level in order to analyze the relationship at store level unit of analysis. The results of this study revealed that employees attributions of human resource practices (HR attributions) are positively related to employee attitudes. They further found that unit-level attitudes were positively related to two aspects of employee behavior, measured in terms of OCB (organizational citizenship behavior). One dimension of OCB (OCB-helping) was found significantly associated with customer satisfaction. The most important finding of the study was, that the same set of HR practices may not even exhibit similar effects within a single organization. The implication is that it is not just the HR practices themselves but rather also employees perceptions of those HR practices that are important for achieving desired organizational outcomes. [italics added] . In fact focus on employee (or member) perception is not a new phenomenon in organizational studies. Almost thirty years ago Schneider, et al based on Heider , Miller, Galanter, and Pribram and Bowers noted that, Member perceptions of organizational practices and procedures are the critical data in understanding organizational behavior. No behavior in, or of, organizations occurs in the absence of perceptions. To conceptualize an organization requires a consideration of human behavior, and human behavior does not exist without perception. Similarly, drawing on Endler and Magnusson and Drazin, Glynn, and Kazanjian Bowen and Ostroff argued that individual behavior potential are not based on . . . actual situation per se, rather, the situation individuals see based on their perceptions, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Finally, Nishii and her colleagues emphasized the need for focusing more future SHRM research on the way that HR practices are enacted in organizations, as revealed in human perception à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Though the study undertaken by Nishi and her colleagues is among the first to empirically test the role of employees perception of HR practices in influencing customer satisfaction, it did not actually measured the employees perception of HR practices per se, rather, it took a different approach and examined the employees perception of why particular HR practices exists and the effect of this why on customer satisfaction. Thus, the important and frequently sought after question regarding the role of employees perception of human resource practices in influencing their attitude, behavior and customer satisfaction is still unanswered in the existing literature. Based on past literature, which demonstrates a positive link between organizational HR practices and customer satisfaction, and to answer a very important, but still unanswered, question in strategic human resource management literature, I hypothesized the relationship between employees perception of HR practices and customer satisfaction as follows: H1: There will be a positive relationship between perceptions of Supervisor Support (SS) Internal Career Opportunities (ICO) Organizational Training (Trg) Human Result Oriented Appraisal (ROA) Resource Employment Security (ES) Practices (HRP) Participation in Decision Making (Part), and Compensation and customer satisfaction such that the customers interacting with employees who more positively perceive HR practices will be more satisfied and vice-versa. 3.3 Research Model: The Process through which HR Practices Influences Customer Satisfaction: As earlier noted in the introduction, the primary aim of this research is to investigate the process/path through which human resource practices influence customer satisfaction, as this is the dynamics of such process which is of immense importance to the owners and managers of the organizations. It is only through the clear and proper understanding of mediating mechanisms between HR practices and customer satisfaction that managers can avoid engaging in conflicting, and at time counter-productive, HR policies. The proposed model indicating the mediating process between perceptions of human resource practices and customer satisfaction is shown in figure 3-1. HR Practices Employee Perceptions Employee Outcome Organizational Outcome Internal Career Opportunities Result Oriented Appraisal Participation in Decision Making Employment Security Supervisor Support Training Compensation Perceived Organizational Support Customer Satisfaction Affective Commitment Customer Oriented Behavior Theoretical Framework Research Model Figure 3-1: Research Model The Influence of HR Practices on Employee Commitment and Customer Satisfaction An examination of the figure 3-1 depicts the relationship of various variables in the model. It is proposed that for human resource practices to influence customer satisfaction they are to be first perceived by the organizational employees in favorable or unfavorable manner. The cumulative employee perception about HR practices is then translated into perceived organizational support (POS), a concept which indicates the organizational commitment towards employee wellbeing. It is further proposed that this POS is reciprocated by the employees in the form of their commitment to organization, which then forms the basis for customer-oriented behavior on their part. The final part of the model deals with the boundary spanning role of the employees and hypothesizes that employee behavior influences the customers perception of service quality in organizations which ultimately leads to customer satisfaction with the organization. In what follows each of the relationships proposed in the model is examined in greater detail in the light of relevant literature. Research hypotheses based on such relationships are formulated within each section. 3.4 Human Resource Practices and Perceived Organizational Support: Perceived organizational support is defined as employees perceptions about the degree to which the organization cares about their well-being and values their contribution . Studies have shown that human resource practices signaling investments in employees are positively related to perceived organizational support . Organization support theory argues that employees assign humanlike characteristics to organizations. This tendency to personify organizations is encouraged by the organizational norms, practices and policies that prescribe employee role behaviors . This personification leads employees to believe that treatment met to them by their organizations is its indication of favor or disfavor to them . The treatment met to employees signal organizations readiness to reward increased work performance and to meet its employees needs for approval and recognition. As the organization treat its employees through the implementation of various human resource practices, I argue that the de velopment of employees global belief regarding the extent to which organizations value its members contribution and care about their wellbeing (perceived organizational support) is the reciprocation of such HR practices. Further, Eisenberger and his colleagues noted that perceived organizational support depends on attribution processes and is based on employees judgments, among other things, of organizational sincerity. Similarly, Whitener , while identifying the possible causes of different employee outcomes towards same HR practice, stressed upon the future researchers to . . . measure employees perceptions of the characteristics of human resource practices as an intervening variable between managers descriptions of human resource practices and employees perceptions of support. . In fact more and more researchers today are realizing the important role of employees perceptions in HR practices employee outcomes relationship. In a very recent publication Nishii et al have argued tha t, . . . in order for HR practices to exert their desired effect on employee attitudes and behaviors, they first have to be perceived and interpreted subjectively by employees . . . . Thus I refine my earlier argument regarding the relationship between HR practices and POS by accommodating the role of employees perception in HR-POS relationship; I hypothesize that it is employees perceptions of organizational human resource practices, instead of practices themselves, which leads to development of employees POS. The following sub-sections will review the literature about the relationship between the hypothesized HR practices and POS in detail. 3.4.1 Supervisor Support: Levinson observed that supervisory actions are often viewed as more indicative of organizations intent than solely based on supervisors personal motive. This is in part due to the fact that employees consider organizations to be responsible for legal, moral, and financial actions of its agents actions. Because supervisors act as organizational agents, the employees receipt of favorable treatment from a supervisor should contribute to POS. Additionally employees believe that managers forward their evaluation of subordinates to upper management which considerably influences managements treatment of their employees, thus perceptions of supervisor support should contribute to development of POS . Reciprocity norm dictates that perceived supervisor support should increase employees felt obligation towards supervisor and organization . H2a: There will be a positive relationship between employees perception of supervisor support (SS) and his/her perceived organizational support (POS). 3.4.2 Internal Career Opportunities: The opportunities to grow internally within the organization signals a strong positive message to employees that they are being cared and their work being valued . Such a policy also inculcates a sense of justice and fairness in the employees who feel that their stay and attachment with the organization for longer tenures is valued and rewarded . Thus the perception of availability of internal career opportunities will be linked to employees perception of organizational support. H2b: There will be positive relationship between employees perception of internal career opportunities (ICO) and his/her level of POS. 3.4.3 Training Training may be viewed as a form of capital investment in humans whether such an investment is made by firm or individual . A number of authors including Huselid and MacDuffie have counted organizational training as one of the important high-performance human resource (HR) practices. Employees, just like other human beings, have a desire to enhance their capabilities and learn new skills to improve their survivability in the environment. Training provides opportunities for both, enhancement of existing capabilities and learning of new skills. Thus provision of adequate training facilities by the organization to its employees signals its commitment to them. By providing career development opportunities, the organization conveys its willingness and dedication to the personal growth of its employees. The provision of training opportunities is indicative of the importance which the organization attaches to the contributions of its employees and is a token of its recognition for such contributions . In Pakistan most of the times such trainings and other career development opportunities go beyond any formal union contract and is thus viewed by the employees as out-of-will treatment by the organization. Such discretionary treatment on part of the organization is viewed by its employees as indicative of organizational support for them . Previous studies have found evidence that career development opportunities are positively related to perceptions of organizational support and that training predicts POS . Similarly, a significant relationship between career development opportunities and POS is also been reported by Meyer and Smith . Based on the review of past research, I hypothesize that an employees level of POS will be positively related to his/her belief of the training and career development opportunities provided by the organization. H2c: Employees perceptions about training opportunities (Trg) will be positively related to the level of his/her POS. 3.4.4 Result-Oriented Appraisal: Previous researches has documented a positive relationship between result-oriented appraisal and firm performance . These authors reported a correlation of r = .13 at p H2d: Employees perception of result oriented appraisal (ROA) will be positively related to their perceptions of organizational support (POS). 3.4.5 Employment Security: Delery and Doty in their research on banking sector of US have found a positive relationship between employment security and firm performance. The positive relationship was attributed to increased employee commitment and motivation due to secure jobs in banks. Similarly Fey, Bjorkman, and Pavlovskaya argued that provision of long term job security to employees signal organizational commitment to them. Pfeffer asserts that norm of reciprocity bounds employees to reciprocate such commitment in the form to their support to the organization and its goals. On the other hand organizational commitment of employees working for an employer who treats its employees as unimportant or dispensable tends to be low. Further, in times of economic turbulence when people are finding it increasingly difficult to find jobs, long term job security by the organization to the employees enhance their perceptions of organizational support. In light of the existing theoretical and empirical rationale I predic t about the relationship between employment security and perceived organizational support (POS) as following: H2e: There will be a positive relationship between employees perception of employment security (ES) and his/her perceived organizational support (POS). 3.4.6 Participation in Decision Making: Studies have concluded that organizations will yield better results if they gave their employees participation or voice in decision making activities . Providing opportunities to the employees to participate in decision making should indicate that their contribution is being valued by the organization . Researchers, have previously suggested that having say in decision making and voice in formulating organizational policy should be tested as a precursor of perceived organizational support . Whitener argued the fact that it is not only the existence of participation practice which is enough to elicit positive response from the the employees rather it is the perception regarding the existence and usefulness of such participatory mechanism which enhances employees perception of organizational support. Thus, the following relationship between participation and perceived organizational support is predicted: H2f: Employees perception of participation in organizational decision making (Part) will be positively related to his/her perceptions of organizational support (POS). 3.4.7 Compensation Organizational Support Theory argues that organizational rewards signals the nature of employee concern by the organization. Thus, favorable rewards signal that employee contributions are being valued by organization . More specifically this theory holds that favorable organizational rewards are conceived as organizations recognition and appreciation of employees work, and therefore, a major source of POS development . Organizational rewards may take the form of different variables when it comes to measuring its relationship with POS. In literature variables such as pay itself , distributive justice , procedural justice and general organizational rewards are researched for their relationship with POS. A common theme which emerges out of these studies is that POS is positively influenced by organizational rewards. Perceived organizational support is found to be positively related to employee pay satisfaction in a study conducted by Shore and Tetrick . Another study, which tested the relationship between employees perception about procedural justice and their perception of organizational support, found that both are positively related . Similarly, Wayne et al. noted a positive association between perceptions of procedural justice and POS. One can easily note from the above studies that though different indicators have been used to capture the concept of organizational rewards and then test their relationship with perceived organizational support, these researches converge in their conclusion about positive link between reward and development of POS. As the focus of this dissertation on measuring the influence of organizational human resource practices on employee commitment and customer satisfaction, the issues of relationship between rewards like distributive and procedural justice is somewhat out of scope for this study. Of particular importance to this study is the role of compensation as organizational reward, and the role it plays in development of POS. Willis noted that compensation is the most critical issue when it comes to attracting and keeping talent. Compensation is the cornerstone of the majority employment contracts. As Parker and Wright noted that basic reason for such centrality to the issue of compensation is the assumption that money influences behavior. In 1999 a study conducted by Bassi and Van Buren revealed that firms using high-performance work practices provide compensation based on group-performance and company profit sharing to enhance the employees feeling of organizational support. Especially, profit-sharing mechanism is a clear sign that organization does not only recognize and value its employees efforts in its profit but is ready to share it with them. This line of thinking clearly indicates a positive possibility of relationship between employees compensation and their perceptions of organizational support. Thus based on review of existing literature and logic which dictates a relationship between compensation and POS, I hypothesize as under: H2g: Employees perceptions of compensation (Comp) will be positively related to the level of his/her POS. 3.5 Perceived Organizational Support (POS) and Organizational Commitment (OC) During the last two decades the concept of organizational commitment (OC) remained a major focus of research in organizational studies. One of the reasons for such focus is the assumed relationship between organizational commitment and performance . In the following lines I will first explain the concept of commitment and will then explain the logic of proposing relationship between POS and OC. The term commitment has been widely used in research and is being variedly used to explain the antecedents, consequences and process of being committed to organization . This variety of definitions of commitment led Meyer and Allen to note that OC may be a multidimensional concept that has the potential to be interpreted in variety of ways. Nevertheless, the major definitions of OC appear to be affective or attitudinal , normative , behavioral and calculative . However, as Allen and Grisaffe noted, most researchers would agree that organizational commitment refers to a psychological state that characterizes an employees relationship with the organization for which he or she works and that has implications for whether or not the employee will choose to remain with the organization. Researchers differ in their opinion about why or how commitment occurs. Meyer and Allen conceptualizes that commitment develops as a result of experiences of satisfying employees needs motivational and/or compatible with their values . They further argued that desired commitment profile of employees may be developed by managing the employee work experience. Some researchers have described commitment as a strong belief in and acceptance of the organizations goals and values, a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization, and a definite desire to maintain organizational membership . This definition highlights the role which commitment plays in enhancing individual performance such that more committed employees are supposed to be exerting more effort in achievement of organizational goals. Another important way of conceptualizing commitment is through individuals attitude towards employer organization. Researchers have noted that virtually all the research conducted on organizational commitment, per se, has used the attitudinal conceptualization. The following description of attitudinal commitment is forwarded by Mowday et al. : Attitudinal commitment focuses on the process by which people come to think about their relationship with the organization. In many ways it can be thought of as a mind set in which individuals consider the extent to which their own values and goals are congruent with those of the organization. Such a description suggests that strongly committed individuals will put in more work required for attainment of desired organizational outcomes as such outcomes are consistent with their personal values and goals. Meyer and Allen noted that organizational commitment is a mind set or psychological state (i.e., feelings and/or beliefs concerning the employees relationship with an organization) They conceptualized commitment through a three component framework. The three components are affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment and has been described by Allen and Meyer as under: . . . employees with strong affective commitment remain with the organization because they

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

Throughout history, racism has played a major role in social relations. In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, this theme is presented to the reader and displays the shallowness of white people in the south during the depression. The assumption that Blacks were inferior is proved during the trial of Tom Robinson. Such characteristics served to justify the verdict of the trial. In this trial, Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell and is found guilty. Many examples from this novel support the fact that Tom Robinson was in fact innocent. Atticus Finch represented Tom Robinson in the trial. He showed that Tom's left arm was crippled due to a former injury using a cotton gin. Atticus expanded on this point by unexpectedly throwing a ball at Tom Robinson. Tom's only reaction was to catch the ball with his right arm. This point is connected to Heck Tate's testimony in telling the court that the right side of Mayella's face had been severely bruised. A left-handed person would logically have inflicted this injury. Tom's left hand is shriveled and totally useless. On the other side of the coin, Atticus shows the court that Mr. Ewell is not ambidextrous but is only right-handed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A second testimony that supports the opposite of the verdict, was the fact that Mr. Ewell never called a doctor after learning of Mayella's injuries. Following the incident, there had not been any physical examination performed by a certified physician. If indeed Mr. Robinson had committed the crime, Mr. Ewell's first instinct would have been to get his daughter checked out. Upon finding his daughter 'assaulted';, he would have wanted to have her injuries treated including the injury that might been caused by rape.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The third example of the trial that strongly contrasts with the outcome of the verdict was Mayella's testimony. If Mayella was so sure that Tom Robinson was the one that assaulted her, her testimony would have been clearly stated. Instead, during the trial, Mayella seemed to be unsure of herself at times and hesitated when thinking about certain answers. When Atticus asked Mayella if she remembered the person beating her face, she first answers that she does not recollect if the person hit her. Under her next breath, she says the man did in fact hit her. Once Atticus challenges this statement she gets flustered and continues to use the excuse that she does not remember.

Arthur Miller uses to create dramatic tension in Acts Essay

During â€Å"all my sons†, Miller creates a sense of normality with a undercurrent of unease using several different techniques including: the use of setting, stage directions and dramatic tension between characters. All of course being subsequently keeping the audience enthralled in the play. The plot its self breeds tension, revolving around the two major areas of the family conflict: the disagreement within the family over the pending marriage and at the core of the play, the conflict between father and son. But by definition Drama Plays are by nature about conflict, in the play ‘All My Sons’ (ASM) has two levels a surface gloss of normality and a submerged latent The opening of act 1 paints a scene of leisurely, relaxed life, untouched by the horrors/ deprivation of the recent war (world War II). The whole setting itself has sense of normality and unease which is created by Miller for effect for Act 1 is in an American regular back yard, (this is done so the audience can relate and empathise with the characters and there are a lot more things in the play a lot of the audience can also relate to) its the family back garden which is an open space is half private yet shared with their neighbours â€Å"the back yard of the Keller house in the outskirts of an American town† This creates a very ordinary sense of a families back garden, however there is an undercurrent of unease as â€Å"the stage is hedged from right to left by tall, closely planted poplars which lend the yard a secluded atmosphere†(P. 3) making it seem private and narrow minded almost closed off to rest of world almost as if there hiding from the rest of the world while at same time remaining open to neighbours peering eyes and approach by the open driveway which leads into the backyard. As an example of one of Millers use of techniques to his disposal was the use of stage directions. Throughout the act 1, tension/ unease is created from conflicts between characters, especially between the Keller families. The conflicts between the characters occasionally climax to expose a dramatic secret or revelation, however Tension is often broken with the arrival of a new character. For example after the arrival of Ann during act 1 the argument between mother and Keller is soon interrupted. Using this method, Miller often has short breaks of tension that quickly cease to keep the audience hungry for more, thus maintaining a ‘drip feed’ style of revealing information. 1. Jo Keller relaxes in the sunshine of a quiet Sunday Morning reading his newspaper; it’s a picture of normality. Miller use of conversation style creates a sense of normality by using simple plain words. The conversation is short and uneventful about routine things like the weather. The dialogue is ordinary everyday and slow paced, the conversation casually flits almost aimlessly from the weather to newspaper ads to mentioning arrival of a visitor to a toaster that’s not working and a doctor answers a patients call. The style of conversation is colloquial , recorded as its spoken , without correct grammar . The subject content not great deep meaningful speeches. It’s an average day, all the talk is not about any specific subject, but it gives a general sense that there are no particular problems as neighbours walk into the Keller’s garden on a relaxed August Sunday morning. The stage direction Settings convey immediate familiarity, the opening of Act I paints a scene of a leisurely relaxed cosy family garden, in contrast to the recent horrors of WWII, â€Å"the backyard of the Keller household in the outskirts an American town â€Å", the description of the stage set is realistic homely and safe lifelike and not at all theatrical, but a highly familiar setting for the audience. The family backyard setting is an open space set in ‘ordinaryville’ where neighbours feel comfortable just walking into to start conversations. the ordinariness stage setting is emphasised â€Å"it would have cost fifteen thousand† 2. Joe Keller is sitting in a peaceful sunny suburban garden reading a newspaper as ordinary as regular routine relaxed weekend,(p. 4) as his neighbour Frank casually walks into his garden he asks â€Å"what’s today’s calamity? â€Å". It is telling that Keller replies â€Å"I don’t read the news part any more. its more interesting in the want adds†. I believe that Keller only chose to read the want adverts’ and not any news items because he doesn’t like facing reality or the fact that someone is reporting calamities or about crimes that someone’s done wrong . Keller is hiding a deep guilt 3. the stage direction Settings convey immediate familiarity, the opening of Act I paints a scene of a leisurely relaxed cosy family garden, in contrast to the recent horrors of WWII, â€Å"the backyard of the Keller household in the outskirts an American town â€Å", the description of the stage set is realistic homely and safe lifelike and not at all theatrical, but a highly familiar setting for the audience. The family backyard setting is an open space set in ‘ordinaryville’ where neighbours feel comfortable just walking into to start conversations. the ordinariness stage setting is emphasised â€Å"it would have cost fifteen thousand† .