The Mysterious Life of J.D. Salinger

J.D. Salinger is considered by many to be one of the most mysterious writers of the 20th century. Really, what could be more unusual and curious than a writer who publishes a bestselling novel and then leaves all kinds of public life, leaves in seclusion, almost never gives interviews and never publishes anything. For fifty years afterwards Salinger remained a mystery and a living legend for those impressed by his breakthrough novel The Catcher in the Rye. It is only natural – people like inexplicable mysteries, and Salinger’s life was sure one of them. Recently released documentary Salinger, however, tries to cast its own glance on this secret and, probably, reveal some aspects of Salinger’s life that weren’t known before. It is very important to understand that Salinger’s works and his unusual behavior have led to the appearance of cult following. Nevertheless, when we usually use this term we simply mean that a book or a movie is outstandingly popular and has some extremely devoted fans who seem to be much more aware of the fictional world than the real one. In case of Salinger it acquired even more intensive forms: for many people he turned into a kind of deity, and any attempt to make his image look more well-rounded and realistic are met with extreme prejudice. It is probably what awaits Salinger. While paying due respects to the legacy of one of the most famous American writers of the last century, it tries to give answers to the questions that have been harrowing people for decades: Why Salinger left the world to live in seclusion? Why did he stop publishing? What was he writing all these years? What was happening behind the walls of his house in Cornish? And maybe, just maybe, after watching this documentary movie some people will get an opportunity to see Salinger as somebody less of a supernatural being, more human than considered previously. Maybe it will give another explanation than a simply â€Å"He was too good for this world to live in it†. In fact, it is not the first work that debunks the image of Salinger as a saint. Salinger, however, gives this whole story a new angle, it allows people to perceive the twofold aspect of Salinger’s nature: as a writer and as a person with his own flaws and peculiarities that make him all the more unique.

The Advantage And Disadvantages Of Being An Instrument

Being stubborn has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that it leads to being dedicated for everything you start. In middle school, specifically in fifth grade, band class and being able to learn an instrument is first introduced to students. Many people sign up, trying out instruments until they find one they enjoy. I, along with a handful of other people in my grade, joined a year late. Not only was I a year late, but I also missed sign ups again, and joined a few months into my sixth grade year. My first choice was percussion, but because I was so late, I was not able to join the percussion if i wanted to reach up to the level my classmates were at. So I tried out on flute, saxophone, and clarinet, and instantly fell in†¦show more content†¦It wasn’t until about a month in that my band director told my class that there was a solo piece needed on an instrument no one played in our band. She had asked if anyone wanted to learn the instrument and the mu sic. The room was quiet and stayed quiet until another clarinet player asked, â€Å"What instrument is it?† â€Å"An oboe.† Everyone started laughing. We had never even heard of this. While it seemed everyone else just had brushed it off after having their laughs, I was intrigued. It amazed me that there was more than just the basic 7 instruments we had first heard of. So, reluctantly, I raised my hand. I was expecting her to be excited that someone had offered. Instead, she looked at me with worry in her eyes and said, â€Å"Are you sure? You might want to keep working with the clarinet.† I didn’t let that change my mind. I nodded my head and she said, â€Å"Okay, I ll bring it in tomorrow.† That night, I went home and researched everything I needed to know. From how to care for the reed, how to clean it properly, and how to play it. I was ready. I was excited to tell my parents. When I told them, they had almost the same reaction as my band director. They told me I should focus on the instrument I had now. I told them I wanted to learn a different instrument and that I was dedicated on playing it in the concert. That week, I practiced every night. I learned the do’s and dont’s, the ups and downs, everything that I needed to know. Every band class, IShow MoreRelatedSurgical Robots And The Field Of Surgery1632 Words   |  7 Pageshave a promotional role rather than a practical role. However, robots are being used in many small surgeries and the extent of robots in the medical world is still evolving (Lanfranco, Castellanos, Desai, Meyers, 2004). To genuinely understand this futuristic technology, the advantages, the disadvantages, the current and the future roles of surgical robots should be observed. Surgical robots have numerous advantages in the medical field. 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Interviewing Leaders

Questions: 1.What you Perceive this persons Leadership Styles, Behaviours, Traits? 2.How he/she uses Power and Influence Tactics to make him/her an Effective Leader? 3.Whether the person changes his/her Leadership in various situations. 4.Ask your Chosen Leader to describe his/her Leadership Style, Behaviours, Traits and his/her use of power and Influence Tactics, whether and how he/she changes his/her leadership in various situations. 5.What have you learnt about the Complexities of Leadership and Comparing what theory says and what you found i.e. do your findings support the Theories covered in the Course? 6.Given what you have found, how might your own Leadership Practice be improved as a result of undertaking this Assessment? Answers: Introduction Leadership is defined as a procedure that helps in influencing others for accomplishing the objective of an organization. It plays a significant role in a competitive business world for achieving the stability as well as success of the organization. It is one of the ability of an individual, which helps in motivating, influencing as well as enabling other towards the effectiveness as well as success of an organization (DuBrin 2015). Absence of proper and effective leadership might have negative impact on the organization, which can further hinder the organizations success. According to Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee (2013), proper leadership within an organization helps in maximizing the productivity, helps in reducing the turnover as well as assists in promoting a positive culture within the company. Therefore, presence of proper leadership is very much important. Background information on Marn Yaw With reference to interview question 1, Marn Yaw have been in a leadership position with GPS for close to ten years. During his service, he have received numerous awards for his contributions towards the company. As a subordinate of Marn Yaw for three years, I have established a close working relationship with him. As such, my observation and findings from the actual interview may correlate. Observation 1.Leadership Styles, Behavior and Traits of the Marn Yaw Marn Yaw is considered as an effective and successful leader due to his leadership styles, behavior and traits. It is observed that Marn Yaw follows participative style of leadership, which helps in valuing the input of various team members as well as peers. This leadership style helps in boosting the morale of the employees in the organization as they were asked to make proper contribution in the decision-making procedure in the organization (DuBrin 2015). He follows this type of leadership for making some specific changes within the organization. For instance, in 2014 our department was required to adopt a new enterprise system. Prior to this, Marn Yaw garnered feedbacks from the team before incorporating the feedbacks into implementing the system. The style is advantageous for the organization, as the staff of the company does not face any problem in accepting different types of policies as well as decisions. Marn Yaw not only focuses on his personal goals but also on the ambition of the organization. It is observed that there are number of characteristics as well as goals that help in categorizing Marn Yaw as an effective as well as successful leader. In my observation, he uses consultative approach while communicating with employees of the organization in order to get their suggestion. Marn Yaw has the capability to analyze various requirement of the organization properly. He not only recognizes the requirements but also develops proper requirement so that the organization can flourish. He helps in providing enthusiastic as well as creative encouragement by arranging various types of programs within the organization. Marn Yaw organizes three to four team building activities per year for our department. These programs not only encourages the employees but also motivate them towards their work (Lussier and Achua 2015). 2.Use of power and Influence Tactics for making an Effective leader Marn Yaw uses power and influence tactics to make him an effective leader. In my observation, he uses different influence as well as power tactics at different time. He uses rational persuasion tactic by providing some facts, data as well as logical arguments to the employees in order to convince them from his point of view. This is one of the most important influence tactic used by him. He mainly focuses on various values, emotions as well as beliefs of the staffs with an inspirational appeal for supporting various course of action (Fairhurst and Connaughton2014). This appeal is very much effective for the employees for making them creative as well as enthusiastic. I observed that Marn Yaw also uses exchange tactics to benefit the employees who in return also benefit the organization. He helps other employees when they asked for help. It is identified that personal appeal are quite effective for the employees. The Regional Manager uses legitimate power (Komives and Wagner 2016). This tactics is dependent on compliance with proper laws, rules and regulations. According to Shapiro and Stefkovich (2016), power is defined as the ability of an individual for influencing the actions of other individuals as well as groups. It is considered as the potential influence of the leader. Marn Yaw holds a high position in the organization and with the help of his position, it is identified that he holds legitimate power. He is the person who takes ultimate decision about various performance appraisals as well as employment. On the other hand, it is stated by Fairhurst and Connaughton (2014), that referent power is considered as one of the ability of a leader for influencing its subordinates due to their loyalty, friendship, desire for gaining acceptance. Marrn Yaws willingness as well as friendliness helps him to listen to the problems of the employees. Due to his approachable characteristics, employees feel free in trusting him. Marn Yaw uses influence tactics for making the employees feel good about him. For instance, he motivates employees, helps them when they need help, communicate with them properly and pays attention towards their problem. This characteristic is very much effective as the regional manager of organization is very much honest, infrequent as well as intended. 3.Changes in leadership Style in various situtations Marn Yaw changes his leadership style in various situations. He uses Pacesetting leadership style when the team members are motivated as well as skilled (Hackman and Johnson 2013). In this type of leadership, his behavior helps in overwhelming the team members of the organization. He changes his leadership style when there is need of mobilizing the team towards a specific objective. In that situation, he uses authoritative style of leadership, which leads the employees of the organization to focus on the goals as well as objectives of GPS. This leadership style is not suitable when the leaders work with team of experts. Being a Regional Manager of Global Procurement Services, he works as a coaching leader within the organization. He also uses affiliative style of leadership when there is need of an emotional bond in the organization. This style of leadership helps in bringing a feeling of both bonds as well as belonging (Hoch and Kozlowski 2014). Marn Yaw also uses this style when stress is generated within the department. At time of crisis, he switches his leadership style to coercive as it helps in demanding immediate compliance. This style of leadership is very much helpful in controlling problems when everything fails. Marn Yaw utilizes democratic style of leadership when he wants to buy ownership of a plan, decision as well as goals of the organization. It can be observed that Marn Yaw uses different type of leadership styles in different situation for achieving best possible outcomes. According to our lectures, it is integral that an individual must have a mix of leadership style for accommodating different scenarios and this mix style of leadership can be applied in reality. 4.Interview The interview process is conducted in order to review a deeper understanding and various characteristics as well as behavior of the Marn Yaw. There are a total of 15 interview questions, however, not all the feedback gathered from the interview were included in this portion. I have selected the questions that are pertinent to the assignment, and the full list of questions and responses are included in the appendix of the report. Leadership Style, Behavior and Traits of Marn Yaw From the interview, Marn Yaw affirmed that he uses participative style of leadership. He mentioned during the interview that this style of leadership helps in offering his employees a chance to provide their opinions during important decision making .The use of participative style of leadership helps in bringing a string feeling of association among the team members creating good relations between employees and me. Allowing employees to contribute their opinions will also create a positive workplace environment. Through his experience, he noticed that participative leadership style also helps in motivating the employees of the organization which in turn assists in reducing HR cost of the organization. He also believes that a leader should never be complacent in their attitude. Marn Yew added that he valued every employee in the organization. Without them, the organization will not be able to operate smoothly. As confirmed in my observation, he is a relationship-oriented behavior lead ership style. Power as well as Influence Tactics of Marn Yaw Marn Yaw uses various power as well as influence tactics that is advantageous for both the organization and for the staffs. Rational persuasion tactic was utilized by me along with the data, facts and information to convince the team members within workplace. For example, in order to improve the performance at workplace, I have created a line graphs to demonstrate the unites of people along with their performance based on target. I have shown the graph for unit/person for last 2 years and also shown the forecast for next 2 years with the same categories based on current headcounts and current volume. I always lead my team in staying at front and consistently reinforces the members with the philosophy of both actions and words. Also, I believe that ultimate goal is the key of developing others. Therefore, I always provide the learning opportunities and share the feedback as per their work performance. Moreover, facilitate solution is always use to insulate the team members at the work place. In order improve the team performance, I constantly integrate several strategies as well as actions to create value for my team members. Leadership Style Change with Situation Lussier and Achua (2015) cited that improvement is anything that takes time to execute. On the other hand, Hackman and Johnson (2013) opined that one leadership style cannot be effective in any given situation. However, I have participative and transformational leadership style that helps me in changing and adjusting situation. When the members of the team are motivated as well as skilled already, I used transformation leadership style to ensure the success for ongoing project. When I see that the organization requires a new vision then I switch my leadership style to authoritative as this type of leadership assists in mobilizing the team towards a particular objective that mainly helps in focusing on various end goals of the organization. Characteristics of a Good and Effective Leader According to him, an effective leader must have certain basic, visionary characteristics for managing various situations within an organization. An effective leader must be a risk taker so that they can handle any difficult situation without recognizing the failure. This characteristic is very much important in an effective leader for bringing various kinds of changes within the organization. It has been analyzed that Marn Yaw has self-control is an essential characteristic of a good and effective leader. The ability to stay calm helps in managing the situations appropriately. The leaders must have a caring nature so that they think about the individuals who are working under him. Motivation is other important characteristics that must be present in an effective leader for motivating staffs of the organization so that they can take risks as well as challenges for the success of the organization. Thinking on a single topic or issue for finding clarity is one of the main characteristic of a successful leader, which is present in him. Marn Yaw also has the ability to concentrate on work for extended period by removing distractions. Skills and Traits that make Marn Yaw an Effective Leader There are number of characteristics as well as behavior that help in categorizing him as an effective leader. Marn Yaw is a good communicator. He is able to provide high level of information to the staffs of the organization so that they can focus on various goals and objectives of the company. Marn Yaw recognizes various developmental requirement of the organization so that the organization can flourish well. He also provide enthusiastic as well as creative encouragement by arranging various types of programs within the organization. The program not only encourages the employees but also motivate them towards their work. Conclusion of the Interview It can be concluded from the overall interview that the characteristics, behavior as well as trait of the regional manager helps in making him an effective as well as successful leader. The theory of trait states that people are either born or made with some of the qualities that make him a good leader. Marn Yaw uses power as well as influence tactics for benefitting both the employees as well as the organization. He manages various situations by changing his leadership style and it has been analyzed that changing his leadership style not only helped him in becoming an effective leader but also benefits the organization. 5.Complexities of Leadership I have found many complexities in the leadership style. It is quite difficult for me to switch my leadership style as per the situations. It is very much complex for an individual to behave differently in different situations by motivating the employees of the organization properly. However, after undertaking this assignment, I learnt that it is essential for one to have various leadership style in various situation as one style does not suit every situation or employee. To be able to be a successful leader, we need to learn how to adapt the given situation at that point of time. The complexity leadership theory helps in offering new perspectives for overcoming various complexity constraints within the organization. The theory helps in illustrating the key limitations of complexity. It is analyzed that the theory of complexity helps in offering a significant way for perceiving as well as engaging the management of complex behavior. The leaders help in addressing the most complex, soc ial, environmental challenges that are faced today. I have also identified that it is very much difficult to manage different traits of power as well as influence effectively. Different types of influence traits are not present within an individual. Maintaining various influence as well as power traits for benefitting both the organization and its employees is quite difficult task. I have found that I must improve my thinking skills for dealing with various complexities of leadership. I need completely new approach for becoming leaders in order to deal with various level of change that is occurring. 6.Methods for Improving the leadership Style I have found that my leadership style needs to be improved quite a lot after undertaking this assessment. It is significant to improve my leadership as it not only makes me an effective as well as successful leader but also helps in minimizing the problems that I am facing in dealing with various situations. In my research on effective and successful leaders, I found that successful leaders share similar characteristics. Some of the common characteristics are excellent communication skills and the ability to resolve conflict. These are the following characteristics that I found it appropriate for me to improve on my leadership styles as well as skills in becoming an efficient and successful leader. The methods include: Improving Communication Skill: I have to improve my communication skill as proper communication skills helps me in specifically communicating with the staff of the organization about the vision, goals, objectives as well as expectations of the organization. It also improves my ability of listening people. To become an effective communicator, I have to strive to improve my verbal, non-verbal listening skills. Listen to employees: I have found that listening properly to the employees with open mind helps me in reacting decisively. I have found that the characteristics must be present in a leader as it helps them in becoming a role model for other employees of the organization. Work on inspiring others: Motivating as well as inspiring others is one of the significant factors of a leadership. Therefore, I have realized that presence of this trait in me is very much important as I can use this trait in staying focused and can make my employees feel valued as well as happy. Maintain positive attitude: I have found that it is very much significant to have a positive attitude within me. People or employees of the organization will get attract towards a positive leader. Positivity makes an individual happier as well as at the same time it helps in providing courage so that one can work well with proper responsibilities. Gain knowledge about various styles of leadership: It is very much important for me to analyze the advantages of various leadership styles for identifying the most appropriate leadership style. Proper information about leadership style is quite important for managing various types of situation that can occur in an organization. Advocate creativity: I have identified that intellectual simulation is the most required authentication for leadership skills. Therefore, I have to increase my creativity, which can be enhanced by managing various challenges or problems of the organization. Well disciplined: Being disciplined, is one of the mandatory quality of a leader .Though I poses good vision as well as ideas I have to became much more disciplined for executing the plan of the organization effectively. Self-discipline also helps in educating other, which in turn helps in enhancing the leadership skills. Handle Conflicts: I have to know how to handle difficult situations for resolving conflicts. I have to work hard for managing various situations with a positive attitude. Handling various types of problems helps organization to flourish. With reference to interview question 15, Marn Yaw mentioned that his mentor has helped him tremendously in shaping who he is today. As such, in the course of improving on my leadership, I hope that I will be able to find a similar mentor that will be able to guide me personally to further my growth. Conclusion: From the above observation and interview with Marn Yaw, it has been understood that in order to be an effective leader combination of exceptional traits, discipline attitude and significant behavior is most important. In addition, from the analysis of literature review and mentioned theories, it is identified that styles of leadership are changed based in the circumstances. Moreover, in order to gain the collaboration and compliance of followers, power processed by the leaders complements is potential aspect. In the work place, better teamwork can be done by creating a strong and committed relationship between the leaders and followers. Apart from that, it is also understood that to improve these skills mentioned above, I am planning to undertake professional leadership training courses and workshops. It will be beneficial for me as I will gain insights and knowledge on how other leaders behavior, traits and leadership styles enable them to be a successful leader. References: Avolio, B.J. and Yammarino, F.J. eds., 2013. Introduction to, and overview of, transformational and charismatic leadership. InTransformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition(pp. xxvii-xxxiii). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Boezeman, E.J. and Ellemers, N., 2014. Volunteer leadership: The role of pride and respect in organizational identification and leadership satisfaction.Leadership,10(2), pp.160-173. Cameron, K.S., Quinn, R.E., DeGraff, J. and Thakor, A.V., 2014.Competing values leadership. Edward Elgar Publishing. Careau, E., Biba, G., Brander, R., Van Dijk, J.P., Verma, S., Paterson, M. and Tassone, M., 2014. Health leadership education programs, best practices, and impact on learners' knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors and system change: a literature review.Journal of Healthcare Leadership,6, pp.39-50. ?erne, M., Jakli?, M. and kerlavaj, M., 2013. Authentic leadership, creativity, and innovation: A multilevel perspective.Leadership,9(1), pp.63-85. Day, D.V., Fleenor, J.W., Atwater, L.E., Sturm, R.E. and McKee, R.A., 2014. Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25years of research and theory.The Leadership Quarterly,25(1), pp.63-82. Dinh, J.E., Lord, R.G., Gardner, W.L., Meuser, J.D., Liden, R.C. and Hu, J., 2014. Leadership theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and changing perspectives.The Leadership Quarterly,25(1), pp.36-62. DuBrin, A.J., 2015.Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. Nelson Education. Fairhurst, G.T. and Connaughton, S.L., 2014. Leadership: A communicative perspective.Leadership,10(1), pp.7-35. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., and McKee, A. 2013.Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Press. Hackman, M.Z. and Johnson, C.E., 2013.Leadership: A communication perspective. Waveland Press. Harris, A., Day, C., Hopkins, D., Hadfield, M., Hargreaves, A. and Chapman, C., 2013.Effective leadership for school improvement. Routledge. Hoch, J.E. and Kozlowski, S.W., 2014. Leading virtual teams: Hierarchical leadership, structural supports, and shared team leadership.Journal of applied psychology,99(3), p.390. Johnson, C.E., 2013.Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow. Sage Publications. Komives, S.R. and Wagner, W. eds., 2016.Leadership for a better world: Understanding the social change model of leadership development. John Wiley Sons. Lussier, R.N. and Achua, C.F., 2015.Leadership: Theory, application, skill development. Nelson Education. Nohria, N. and Khurana, R. eds., 2013.Handbook of leadership theory and practice: An HBS centennial colloquium on advancing leadership. Harvard Business Press. Renz, D.O., 2016.The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. John Wiley Sons. Shapiro, J.P. and Stefkovich, J.A., 2016.Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. Routledge. Verba, S., 2015.Small groups and political behavior: A study of leadership. Princeton University Press.

The Arms Industry and International Security

Around the world, and across all societies, modern armed conflicts include the use of modern weaponry especially the small arms. The small arms are a class of small firearms that are cheap and available to most participants of armed conflict.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Arms Industry and International Security specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The pricing of fire arms particularly from Asian manufacturers makes them available to all people at war. In addition, the presence of unscrupulous arms dealers in who sell firearms in unconventional ways has led to acquisition of guns by groups that have little control over the use of the arms (Cukier et al 22). Arms manufacturers and dealers may promote security of nations by selling firearms to countries with stable governments. The arms ensure stability of the government and prevent minority revolts from perpetrating chaos and anarchy in an otherwise peaceful env ironment. However, a dilemma emerges where the governments of peaceful regions do not record any significant use of the firearms. In this case, the firearms in possession of the government do not wear out or get lost in any military confrontation. The governments then cease to be viable customers of the arms industry (Deng and Zartman 31). Under enormous pressure to flourish, the arms manufacturers and traders turn to conflict zones for promising arms market. It is, however, arguable whether the arms trade fuels the ferocity of a conflict which has already started. The world has known conflict in the whole history of mankind. Wars and barbarian character of the people involved in armed conflicts existed even before the invention of firearms. In this regard, there is a possibility that the modern firearms trade has increased the mortality rate or the economic deterioration that come about with every major armed conflict (Diamond 43). In addition, the modern arms can be considered sim ilar to the firearms of the past in that they cause the same effect in the wars they are used in. The modern firearms are obviously more deadly that the weapons that were used in past warfare and their use inevitably leads to more grave consequences. However, the desire of human beings to wage wars and propagate armed conflicts has been present in the society throughout history, and has only subsided in the modern times due to adoption of new age ideologies of coexistence and the value of peace and human life (Spitzer 30).Advertising Looking for essay on political culture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Apart from repercussions of armed territorial conflict, another problem directly linked to the arms industry is the internal insecurity. The availability of small arms to petty criminals and organized criminal gangs has ensured their survival and ability to endure the adversity of the security forces. The bigger percentage of the local crime in most countries involving fatal assaults includes the use of a firearm from a prominent gun manufacturer (UNIDIR 16). Moreover, the larger percentage of the guns present in the civilian population is channeled to the user through irresponsible arms dealers. Arms dealers and the arms manufacturing industry, thus, play a critical role in propagation of violence and the variety of problems that afflict the world security (Stohl and Grillot 25). The governments’ failure to control the activities of arms dealers continues to fuel conflicts and propagate brutal dictatorial rule in developing countries particularly in Africa. Relatively new arms manufacturers especially in South Africa and Egypt sell arms to undocumented users within the continent affected by a myriad of armed conflicts the arms trade is a necessary component for survival of legal governments, but the designated end user of all guns sold determines the ability of rogue individuals and groups to per petrate unnecessary violence. The moral and political aspect of arms industry can be analyzed from several perspectives. The arms business is a lucrative venture for some of the developed countries in the west. These countries sell arms to the less developed countries with a unstable political environment without considering the serious security problems that these weapons pose. On the contrary, the developed countries concentrate on proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which could pose a danger to their own security. Currently, the weapons of mass destruction pose less significant danger to civilian life since their application and effects are not of any important political significance. The results of application of such weapons are likely to be massive destruction with no political gain. People with greed for power use small arms to facilitate their ends. In accumulation of firearms in a country with questionable, political integrity is likely to cause a grave humanitari an crises in case of the collapse of the prevailing government. Moreover, arms industries are located in developed countries in the west and the Far East and have a capability of controlling the arms trade. A paradox emerges where these countries export weaponry including military aircraft and naval war equipment to war torn regions while the domestic applications of these weapons are nil.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Arms Industry and International Security specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The control of the trade in conventional arms is difficult to establish since the weaponry is usually accepted standard weaponry that is necessary for national security unlike the weapons of mass destruction that can only be used for destruction. The purchase of arms to ensure national security is given priority over the more important domestic security for the civilian population. Increased arms trade has always resul ted into grossly adverse humanitarian conditions (Maze et al. 7). Recently, the arms manufacturing and trade have been shifted from the control of the authorities to private entrepreneurs. The capitalist policies the entrepreneurs thrive on compel them to sell their weaponry to any willing buyer of the product. The arms dealer does not make a consideration of the effects of the weapons in the societies where the weapons are going to be used. To worsen the security situation, some governments have offered credit facilities to arms dealers to expand their trade. In addition, the government controlled the trade, such that the end user of the weapons was determined under the influence of the authorities. In this essence, the government of the purchasing nations and the selling nations was promoting arms proliferation for use in armed conflicts. The armed conflicts obviously degenerated to poor security and grave humanitarian crises. Since arms trade is an important aspect of security si tuations in many countries, the government is usually a major player in the manufacturing and sale of weapons. In Africa, which is the continent that is affected by most of the arms trade, there are few manufacturers of arms who are concentrated in South Africa. Small arms industries in Africa differ with similar setups in the rest of the world. To avoid the risk of small arms getting into the hands of illegal groups and criminals, and people with malicious intent, the governments of the concerned countries closely monitor the arms industry in African countries. The chances that a weapon manufactured in Africa got into the hands of criminals are very slim. Most illegal guns in Africa have been manufactures in other continents, and are channeled to the market through illegal trade. Some of local gunsmiths in areas affected by armed conflicts produce guns without any license. The illegal manufacturers are capable of producing guns of an industrial standard. Armed militia and criminals acquire the guns through illegal trade with the manufacturers. Smuggling of firearms across borders by illegal traders is also common in many parts of Africa (Dizard and Andrews 27).Advertising Looking for essay on political culture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The end of the major world conflicts such as the World War and the Cold War marked the beginning of smaller kind of conflicts that relied on small arms. It is during this period that the developed nations have exported large numbers of weapons to the poorer states without minding the conflict that these weapons fuel. Wars provide a period of intense manufacturing by gun industries but do not necessarily mean more profit for the gun manufacturers. However, most of conflicts around the world have been preceded by accumulation of armaments, which obviously come from the arms manufacturers. Governments constantly support the arms industry in order to develop more sophisticated weaponry, and this indirectly fuels conflicts around the world (Malcom 28). In addition, developed countries have offered arms deals to less equipped countries in orders to obtain political favors such the consent to put up military bases in the said countries. The arms provided to the countries cannot be effectiv ely monitored to ensure that they are not used in any unconventional manner that causes unnecessary breach of security. The sale of arms has gradually shifted to the developing nations due to increasing conflict in those countries. Combined social, economic, and political pressure in these countries has often led to armed conflicts. Moreover, the presence of a large number of weapons and ammunition has also fuelled armed conflicts for a protracted period. Proliferation of arms by the third world countries was encouraged by the Cold War largely. The communist countries supplied a great deal of arms to their spheres of influence while the western capitalist countries supplied weapons to the third world countries that embraced the capitalist ideology. This competition fuelled wars especially in Vietnam, Angola and Korea (â€Å"Small arms survey 2006† 14). The shipment of weapons to the countries was because of the intent of the leaders of the western block and the eastern block to influence the outcome of the war without committing any military personnel to the conflict. In the late twentieth century, the world superpowers manufactured and sold weapons to the countries of the Far East and Asia in a bid to gain control of the oil producing nations of the continent. The two leading antagonists in the Cold War armed the fighting factions in the Arab world in order to gain control the oil producing regions of the continent. A sudden end of the Cold War had also other adverse effects concerning the arms trade. Stockpiles of weapons that the Soviet Union had accumulated in anticipation of a major confrontation with the United States were now useless (Forsberg 20). The Russians sold the arms to any buyer at any price to recover the money spent on arms during the cold war. The influx of weapons into these countries resulted into periods of high insecurity as opposing factions in the recipient states fought one another in a bid to control mainly the oil reserves in their territories. In the twenty first century, the purchase of weapons by the third world powers declined as the ideological influence that had been fuelling conflict subsided (Kafi 17). One can make an analysis of the history of firearm trade and manufacturing and conclude that several factor contributed to the proliferation of weapons in areas of conflict. Most of the reasons for proliferation of the firearms have been economic ends. A symbiotic relationship exists between the manufacturing and sale of weapons, and the state of insecurity and war. Where the weapons have been used in full-blown warfare, the manufacturing and sale of weapons seem to play a minor role in propagation of the war. In other words, the war seems to draw the arms dealers into lucrative a trade that the arms dealers cannot ignore (Malcom 18). One can make a conclusion that the manufacture of weapons does not necessarily mean occurrence of an armed conflict in the areas in which these weapons are used. It has been seen that most of the purchases of the weapons by states with stable governments are intended for maintenance of peace and guarding of the sovereignty of the country. However, the accumulation of weapons leads to a protracted military confrontation in case of a future crisis. Desire by some countries to gain economic advantage pushed them to selling weapons to states that had questionable political integrity without investigating or ensuring that the weapons were to be used for an appropriate cause (Malcom 2002). Another observation is most of the weapon’s manufacture that occurred in the twentieth century was initiated and financed by the antagonistic world powers fighting for superiority of their economic, social and political ideologies. The phenomenon is manifested in the conflicts that occurred in the third world countries in the height of the cold war. The supply of the weapons used in conflicts was not a result of the demand by the conflict, but the protracted conflicts were a result of the supply of free arms supplied by the influential western and eastern superpowers (Brennan 9). Another observation indicates that the manufacture and sale of weapons influence the state of domestic security. Manufacture and sale of more weapons result in heightened domestic insecurity. This is because the proliferation of weapons by civilians leads to higher tendency to commit crime (World Council of Churches 2001). Furthermore, acquisition of the firearms by civilians occurs because of thee irresponsibility of the manufacturing companies when handling sales of the weapons. Privatization of the arms industry has increased competition for market making competitor weapons manufacturers result in rogue means of gaining advantage in the market (Hughes and Lai 10). Due to the sophisticated nature of criminal and villain activity, it is not possible to cease manufacture and sale of firearms or weapons. Accumulation of a reasonable amount of weapons keeps the world powers in balance and, thus, a minimum amount of weaponry has to be maintained for the sake of sovereignty. In this regard, if measures are taken to ensure that the weapons manufacturers sell their weapons through proper secure channels, the case of insecurity due to the activities of the arms industry can be contained (Gerdes 15). Although the arms industry is primarily a business venture, it comes with a responsibility to control the identity of the end user of their products, as they are lethal commodities. In addition, the government should control the industry to rein capitalistic tendencies from overtaking the responsibility of the arms industry to be mindful of the nature of the market for their weapons. The arms industry cannot be categorized as normal business enterprise subject to the market forces alone, since their goods need a high degree of accountability (Laurance 24). It is disputable that firearms are a product in high demand. However, this demand has to be sa tisfied partially for the sake of peace and security. If the weapons manufacturers seek to satisfy every person’s needs, then, anarchy, violence and general insecurity is likely to prevail in the world. In conclusion, arms, in whatever form, generally contribute to insecurity in the world. If arms were not presented at all in the society, then violence would be much less scale and peace would prevail (Madariaga 32). The other conclusion is that arms are not a normal commodity subject to normal mechanisms of the market and, thus, their sale must be governed by special rules. Works Cited Brennan, Sean. Treaty. Annandale. N.S.W.: Federation Press, 2005. Print. Cukier, Wendy, and Victor W. Sidel. The global gun epidemic: from Saturday night specials to AK-47s. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Security International, 2006. Print. Deng, Francis Mading, and I. William Zartman. Conflict resolution in Africa. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1991. Print. Diamond, Jared M.. Guns, germs , and steel: the fates of human societies. NY: W.W. Norton Co., 1999. Print. Dizard, Jan E., Robert M. Muth, and Stephen P. Andrews. Guns in America: a reader. NY: New York University Press, 1999. Print. Forsberg, Randall. The arms production dilemma. Cambridge (Mass.): the MIT press, 1994. Print. Gerdes, Louise I. Gun violence: opposing viewpoints. Framington Hills, Mich.: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Print. Hughes, Christopher W., and Yew Meng Lai. Security studies: a reader. London: Routledge, 2011. Print. Kafi, Sharif A. Illegal small arms and human insecurity in Bangladesh. 2nd ed. Dhaka: Bangladesh Development Partnership Centre, 2005. Print. Laurance, Edward J.. The international arms trade. New York: Lexington Books, 1992. Print. Madariaga, Salvador de. Disarmament. NY: Coward-McCann, inc., 1929. Print. Malcolm, Joyce Lee. Guns and violence: the English experience. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2002. Print. Maze, Kerry, and Sarah Parker. International assistance fo r implementing the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects: findings of a global survey. New York: United Nations, 2006. Print. World Council of Churches. ‘Report of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects’, 2001, p. 3879. Small Arms Survey. Small Arms Survey 2006: Unfinished business. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. Spitzer, Robert J. The politics of gun control. 2nd ed. NY: Chatham House Publishers, 1998. Print. Stohl, Rachel J., and Suzette Grillot. The international arms trade. Cambridge: Polity, 2009. Print. UNIDIR, UN. European action on small arms and light weapons and explosive remnants of war: final report. Geneva: UN, UNIDIR, 2006. Print. This essay on The Arms Industry and International Security was written and submitted by user Shaniya O. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

AfricanAmericansIn the Early U essays

AfricanAmericansIn the Early U essays African American in the early Republic Wright R, Donald.  gAfrican Americans in the early Republic, 1789-1831. h Harlan Davidson Inc. Wheeling, Illinois. 1993 Thesis- African Americans were intricate parts of early American society. With their help a nation was born founded on the princplies of Liberty, Freedom and Justice. Though these unalienable rights were not to be extended to African Americans. Authors Purpose-  gThe purpose behind  gAfrican Americans in the early Republic h is to show how African Americans lived their lives in a nation divided. Divided along lines of White and Non-White, North and South, Pro-Slavery and Anti-Slavery. Wright shows the forced exodus from the northern end of the southern states to the cotton plantations in the Deep South. Wright describes a nation trying to find itself, a nation based on freedom that would enslave over two million people. Slave Migration- Life was rather stable for African Americans before the American Revolution. Yes, they were slaves but there were strong family ties to their kin along with their owners. Slaves usually lived their whole life in the same town. After the war things started to change and cotton was one of the main reasons. New strains of cotton which were easier to pick the seeds from and the invention of the cotton gin increased the demand for labor, revitalized the slave trade. In 1808 the importation of slaves was banned in the United States. With an increasing number of slaves needed to work the Sugar and Cotton Plantations in the south. Those begin a great exodus of African Americans slaves to the Lower South from the Upper South. In the 1820s 15,000 a year were bought and moved to work in southern plantations and by 1830s this number jump to 25,000. This led to the distribution of life for African Americans along with the forcible break up of many families. Slave Unrest-The United States was spared the slave revolts that the Caribbean isla ...

Is the Merchant of Venice anti-Christian or anti-Semitic Essays

Is the Merchant of Venice anti-Christian or anti-Semitic Essays Is the Merchant of Venice anti-Christian or anti-Semitic Paper Is the Merchant of Venice anti-Christian or anti-Semitic Paper Essay Topic: Merchant Of Venice Play The Merchant of Venice written by Shakespeare is a powerfully expressed play of love and hate, loyalty and prejudice, justice and mercy interwoven intricately, but delicately, while reflecting the most complex human beings and their affairs surrounding them. However, before consulting the play, we should consider the time and background in which it was written and performed, for the viewpoints of the characters in The Merchant of Venice are highly influenced by the aspect of the time it had been written, the Elizabethan era. After the Diaspora (the dispersion of the Jews), the Jews in foreign lands resolutely kept up their customs and religion. They formed right-knit communities and became known for their intelligence, hard work and capability for business. Unfortunately, these gifted qualities sometimes led to their being mistrusted and resented. This was especially the case in Christian countries, where anti-Semitism feeling was very strong. During the Elizabethan era, for instance, condemning the Jews without any justifiable reason was acceptable and no questions were asked against that fact. The only reason for the mere action of cruelty was that the Jews were not Christians. However, what right did the Christians have in reproaching the Jews? Were the Jews as bad and damned as the Christians thought them to be? As a matter of course, some of the Jews were at least in some aspects. Shylock, the most important of the three Jews in The Merchant of Venice, definitely has some villainous nature in him even though his character seems rather ambiguous. First of all, Shylock is a mean miser who knows nothing but money. In fact, Shylock seems to care more for his money than for his runaway daughter, I would my daughter were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear: would she were hearsed at my foot, and the ducats in her coffin. The way Shylock makes his precious money is by lending money to people by taking the interest, or well won thrift as he calls it. This might mean nothing to us nowadays, but for the gentlemen in Venice it was somewhat an insult, for taking interest meant that Shylock did not trust the word of a gentleman and therefore their integrity and honour. However, Shylocks obsession towards his money and profit is nevertheless understandable. Shylock is a foreigner in his own city. He may have lived all his life in Venice, yet he is treated as an alien just because he has different religious beliefs. Like his fellow Jews, therefore, he tries to rise above such prejudice and seeks security and success in money-lending business. Consequently, money means more than anything does to Shylock, it means his social statues and life for him. All Shylock wants is to be equal, and to be understood as an equal human being. I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affection, passions? Fed with the same food, huirt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? In addition, Shylock is not entirely apathetic in the matter of love. When his friend Tubal informs him with the news of his lost ring he cries, Thou torturest me, Tubal: it was my turquoise, I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor. This shows that Shylock at least loved him wife, if nobody else. Antonio and the Christians will not allow themselves to lend money for profit, but to support their extravagant lifestyle they still need money loan from the Jews they persecute. Shylock has been waiting to strike back at Antonio, one of Venices principal anti-Semites, and sees his chance when the merchant is compelled to come to him for credit. Shylock fools Antonio into making a contract with a terrifying forfeiture, a pound of mans flesh, taken from a man. It becomes clear from the beginning what Shylocks intention is when he says, Ill plague him, Ill torture him. I am glad of it. When Antonio fails to pay the bond, Shylock refers obsessively and repeatedly to his bond and demands a pound of Antonios flesh, taken from the closest place to his heart. Ill have my bond; I will not hear thee speak; Ill have my bond, and therefore speak no more. Shylock is a fiend armed with scales and knife and his bloodthirsty campaign against Antonio is morally indefensible. Then again, we should also consider the situation Shylock is living in. He is not treated fairly and equally as a person but a dog, You have rated me about my monies and my usances you call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spit upon my Jewish gaberdine, and all for use of that which is mine own. Throughout the whole play, Shylock suffers constant verbal abuse such as evil soul, devil, dog Jew, inhuman wretch, damned, inexecrable dog etc. When seen from another perspective, Shylock can be viewed as a godly, clean-living family man who merely wished to do his business unimpeded. He is only a man driven into revenge by mindless, unreasonable persecution and theft of his only child. He is a misguided soul who tried to get even within the law of those who hate him, only to be cruelly tricked a humiliated yet again. Jessica, Shylocks daughter is another main Jew in The Merchant of Venice. She is not a filial daughter, for she elopes with a Christian, Lorenzo, betraying her father, his faith and his religion. To make the matter worse for Shylock, Jessica also takes a considerable amount of his dear fortune and jewels. In any historical and moral case, a daughter betraying her father is unacceptable. However, was the elopement entirely Jessicas fault? It is true that Jessica took some part in the elopement and stealing her fathers money. However, she was persuaded by Lorenzo and his love for her. In a way, Jessica is a victim of Lorenzos deception. It could be seen that Lorenzo eloped with Jessica, knowing well that she would bring considerable sum of her fathers money. Not very surprisingly, when the money is used up, Lorenzos love for Jessica seems to be drying up at the same time. Yet, Lorenzos behaviour towards Jessica changes once more when he hears the news of Shylock agreeing give his money to daughter. How do the Christians differ from the Jews they persecute? Are they so much superior that they have the right to condemn another human being? The fact that the Christians think they differ greatly from the Jews is evident from the phrase, thou shalt see the difference of your spirit. Externally, Christians are gentle, amiable and honourable people who know the difference between right and wrong. They value each others honour immensely that they can even afford to lend money without any interest. They believe in nothing but rightful justice, all the while being merciful at the same time. However, could it be true that the gentlemen exterior is just a mask with its title of honour? It is definitely possible; at least in the way Shakespeare saw it. Bassanio, a Christian, uses his close friend, Antonio, for money. What is worse, Bassanio takes advantage of Antonios love, which is evident from his words, And if it stand as you yourself still do within the eye of honour, be assured my purse, my person, my extremest means lie all unlocked to your occasions, and does not pay the money back after squandering more and more of it. Ultimately, Bassanio gets Antonio into trouble with his enemy Shylock, yet again because of the money. Another good thing about Christians are that they are lovers when the Jews are said to be as unfeeling as stones. However, instead of marrying for their love, the Christian men seem to be marrying for the money and the position. For instance, when Bassanio describes Portia to Antonio the first thing he says about her is the amount of her money, in Belmont is a lady richly left, and she is fair This simple order of sentence implies that the prior reason Bassanio is going to marry Portia is not love, but her money and that the first thing he sees in love is also money. In fact, he commoditised her as a thing rather than a person by saying, and many Jasons come in quest of her. By modern social context, marrying someone for his or her money is not only deceiving, but unacceptable. On top of all deceiving, the Christians are deceitful and hypocritical. Portia, who is supposed to be fair and perfect, is about the most deceitful and hypocritical person throughout the whole play. She shows her true personality when she talks with Nerissa, it is a good divine that follows his own instructions; I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching. Her hypocrisy is shown once again in the court when she repeatedly gives Shylock so many chances to back down, so adding to the humiliation she clearly wishes to inflict on him in her hour of victory, The quality of mercy is not strained it blesseth him that gives, and him that takes it is an attribute to God himself, and earthly power doth then show likes Gods when mercy seasons justice. However, when Shylock is defeated, he is shown little of the mercy, which before was so earnestly recommended to him by Portia. Half his wealth is confiscated and -far worse- he must lose his faith and convert to Christianity. In any case, the most appalling and nasty aspect of the Christians is that they are extremely prejudiced. They have such high opinion of themselves and such low opinion of Jews that they think they are the only chosen ones for heaven after death, the sins of the father are to be laid upon the children therefore be ogood cheer, for truly I think you are damned. They condemn the Jews for what they are and no matter what the Jews do, nothing will change the Christians perceptions. Jessica, who is married to Lorenzo, and therefore a Christian is still referred to as yond stranger and infidel. The Merchant of Venice seems to contain both good and bad aspects of both the Christians and the Jews. Whether it is anti-Christian or anti-Semitic, one cannot decide, but it is true that Shakespeare had a deep understanding about the suffering and the behaviours, which resulted from racial prejudice. Shakespeare tried to write the story of mere human beings of different races, showing their lives and the way they dealt with them. He may have also wanted to say, What is real justice? How can you draw a line between the justice and injustice and classify them? How can you even divide people into being justifiable or not? He may have also wanted to tell people that appearance is not what you can be dependant on. That it may be something that you did not even dream of and maybe that it may have so much more to it than what you judged it to contain. Just like the Jews who were obsessed with money externally, but who started collecting money because they wanted to be accepted. Just like the Christians who looked like gentlemen externally, but who were nothing better than another race they despised.

Sociology of Health and Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sociology of Health and Healthcare - Essay Example Sociology maintains a belief that the way individuals act, the challenges they face, the opportunities open to them, and the path they choose to tread are not just dependent on their personal or individual efforts, but are likewise greatly determined by society. Aside from being distinct individuals, each person is a social being and an integral part of the society. Each person is influenced by culture and the norms of the members of the society. The immediate family has the greatest influence because of proximity and exposure. Other significant influences include the peer group, ethnic group, the social or economic class grouping, and gender affiliation. This is not however to discount the fact that individuals have the ultimate control of their lives, but this control is a reflection of who and how the person is within a societal context. Society generally shapes human behavior like the way people react and respond to events and circumstances, the way people deal with crisis, the way people perceive and understand the attitudes and actions of other people within and outside of their community. The doors of opportunity are opened or closed depending on the dictates of society based on age, gender, race or economic status. Sociology explores how individuals and groups build, sustain and change social organization in a variety of ways. It studies the sources and outcomes of change in social processes and institutions, and it examines the fulfillment and difficulties of planning, achieving and adapting to the change. Sociology looks at how people interact with each other in relation to the different aspects of society and the different societal institutions. It aims to analyze the degree to which individuals attain optimum growth and development through the policies and programs of the different institutions and the constraints in the attainment of this development like social inequality, which are present in society. It also aims to determine how the aspects of society like gender, age, economic capability, health condition, race, and religion bring forth advantages or disadvantages to certain individuals or groups. The study of social dynamics include topics in values, culture, socialization, cooperation, conflict, exchange, power, inequality, social control, order, deviance, social change, and violence (Whati is Sociology, 2003). Sociology encompasses the study of all human relationships, groups, societies and institutions. The scope covered by the field of sociology include class, gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality, social inequality, the family, work, the mass media, religion, the environment, organizations, the body, health and illness, and the national and global economy (What aspects of society and social life do sociologists study). II. A Focus on the Health and Ageing Area of Study in Sociology Sociology has several areas of study all dealing with social interactions in different areas of society and everyday living, and the basis and consequences of these interactions. One area of study is Health and Ageing. The Health and Agei

Week 2 discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Week 2 discussion - Assignment Example 239), as well as balancing its flexibility. One of the methods of creating a balance between the need of flexibility with the need for stringent order for purposes of creating a culture of innovation is for an organization to reconsider its main aim of operation, and define its corporate objectives (Shehabuddeen, 2007). As the company experiences growth in its operations, it tends to employ new people, who come with a different mindset. This people have a higher tolerance of risk, as opposed to the old employees, who are stable and familiar with the business operations. To reconcile this people, the company must define its objectives, and create mechanisms that will ensure employees adhere to the rules and objectives of the organizations. The organization must restructure its goals, and its culture, and redefine the responsibility of older members of the organization, for purposes of encouraging innovation and flexibility in the business set up (Frankline et al, 2009). To create a balance between the need for flexibility and the need for stringent measures of a business organization, the organization needs to initiate a change in its recruitment process (Patel and Patel, 2008). It must create new methods of assigning duties, and change the manner of interaction within the organization. It must create a new reward policy that encourages innovation, as well as the need of stringency in the business set up. The traits to look for in recruitment are people with a right mind set, people willing to challenge the status quo, and individuals willing to learn and adapt a challenging environment. Finally, the organization needs review its internal and external operations. This is by creating a managerial group whose role and purpose is to communicate the expectations of the company to its employees (Shehabuddeen, 2007). This group will encourage innovation, and develop ways and methods of balancing the need of

Effects of Reality Tv on Society Essay Example for Free

Effects of Reality Tv on Society Essay There are many discussions about the effects of reality TV on society. Positive and negative effects of reality TV are two parts of a coin. Unfortunately the coin mostly falls on the negative side. Many reality TV shows are created purely for profit without thinking about its consequences on the mindsets of viewers, especially young viewers . Media companies accept that they make these shows for profit and they do not care about the effects on people. They say that they just show us what we want. Is it right not to care about the viewers mental health just to make more money? Most of these shows do not portray reality and this weakens the ability of critical thinking, causes to depict a false image of life, develops wrong notions, erodes some ethical and moral practices. Reality TV shows give a false image of reality, since the people watching them are under the impression that everything happening in the show is real. According to a Time magazine article, some reality TV shows are edited to be dramatic and some quotes may actually be manufactured. Clashes and ugly feuds between the reality stars may be constructed and some parts of the shows may also be completely edited and cut out so they dont make the final show that people see on TV. Some critics actually charge that reality TV is not so real and that these shows may be far more manipulative than we think. When all is said and done, some people on the reality shows say that they were unfairly represented and the reality taken out of the show therefore making the show pure entertainment. In some ways, this gives the audience that the characters in these shows are real and acting normal. Some viewers empathize with the show’s stars. Viewers tend to behave, feel, think like the stars and during this process they lose their critical thinking skills. A great example can be seen in John Cheveer’s article ‘’The Enormous Radio’’. In the article a woman has a radio that is capable of playing the neighbor’s conversations. The woman has created an apished public self, and when she hears the neighbor’s private conversations she is witnessed to the nakedness of their misery. She asks her husband ‘’We’re happy, aren’t we, darling? We are happy, aren’t we? ’’ (Cheever, pg. 83) . So she lost her ability to judge her own happiness by being witnessing other people’s life’s, just like some reality TV shows . Certain shows are filled with glamour, filtrations, indecent acts, promiscuity, greed, jealousy, conflict and other sensitive issues. These create a controversy in the society where this society begins to support unethical and immoral practices. Humans take the negative parts of these shows causing increased rates in murder, corruption in society and antisocial behaviors. As Salman Rushdie claims, ‘’ The television set once so idealistically thought of as our window on the world , has become a dime-store mirror instead. ’ (2001, pg. 63) . Values such as being successful, smart, educated, acting polite has less value nowadays. A glaring example on mental effects ‘’ When the sister of a woman who appeared on ABC’s Extreme Makeover committed suicide in 2004, the contestant sued the network for wrongful death and other charges . The contestant, who was competing to win free plastic surgery but lost, claimed that her sister had felt so guilty about mocking her appearance on the program that she killed herself. ABC settled the case for an undisclosed amount last year. ‘’ (W. Peters, 2010, pg. 74) . This example also shows producers of reality shows do not care about the consequences on society as long as they are making money. As Jeremy W. Peters claims ‘’In recent years producers and networks have increasingly pushed the boundaries of television voyeurism in search of another ratings hit’’ (2007, pg. 73) . Since there is not a law against producers to harming people, they do not be careful on what they show on programmes. Therefore there are social organizations which want to make a law against reality TV or completely ban reality shows. Many programmes insult and degrade moral values. ‘‘It ? s hard to defend the deception of Joe Millionaire which set up twenty women to court construction worker Evan Marriott by telling them he was a multimillionaire’’(Poniewozik, 2003, pg. 69) . This example shows us how the show degrades women . Also on some shows great portion of the African American contestants are shown as bad. For example the show ‘’Love Cruise’’ is where singles pair up on cruise ships and get married. The women were told to hook up with whomever they want, but every woman chose a white man. The one guy left standing was the black man. Of course we cannot claim that reality shows effect every human in a negative way . In fact there are people who claim reality TV has positive effects on the society . Such as James Poniewozik ‘’It has given the networks water-cooler buzz again; it has reminded viewers jaded by sitcoms and dramas why TV can be exciting; and at its best, its teaching TV a new way to tell involving human stories. ’’ ( 2003, pg. 67) . Also these shows are a place where people could show their talents and get rewarded for it. On the show American Idol, a woman had two children but she did not have enough money to raise them. She had a great voice, so she won the money prize and now the family has a great life. Unfortunately these kinds of positive effects are only a small part of the pie . By considering all of the points made above the effects of reality shows on people may not be crucial, but it is definitely taken in great importance. The ignorance of producers and effects on mental health and social talents are unjust and corruptive. Maybe strict laws could put a stop to all of it but until that time comes the community will still get effected by reality TV.

Cigarettes Should Be Made Illegal Essay -- Argumentative, Persuasive,

The sale of cigarettes and tobacco is a multi-billion dollar industry, but is it truly worth all the problems that stem from their use. Health care costs are extremely high due to all the health problems associated with cigarettes and tobacco. Even though research has proven time and time again the harmful effects of cigarettes, and the rising cost of health care caused by cigarettes our government will not take a stand and stop all manufacturing of the horrible toxins. Every year new medical reports are issued regarding the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world die every year from diseases caused by smoking. Approximately one in two lifetime smokers will die from their habit. Half of these deaths will occur in middle age. The most common of the diseases caused by smoking is cancer, of course. Not only is it a cause of lung cancer, but cancer of the larynx, and the esophagus, and it contributes to the development of cancers of the bladder, pancreas, and kidney. Lung cancer comes from the tar in the cigarettes. The tar coats your lungs like soot in a chimney. It does not make a difference if a smoker changes to low-tar cigarettes because smokers will take a deeper puff to get the same affect as a regular cigarette. This causes them to draw the tar deeper into their lungs causing even more damage. The Surgeon General requires that every package of cigarettes has one of the following statemen ts: SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy. SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide. Despite these warnings most of the population is not aware of the other illnesses that can develop... ...is vicious cycle? They have taken a stand to control the nicotine in the cigarettes; why not take that stand even further? Do they not realize by making these wicked things illegal and shutting down manufacturers, not only will they save on health care, they will save lives? Works Cited http://www.quit-smoking-stop.com/smoking-diseases.html, http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/culture-society/articles/cigarette-manufacturers-developed-candy-flavored-brands-target-youth, Carrie Carpenter, Harvard School of Public Health, November, 2005 http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1889469,00.html, Fixing Health Care Cheaply, Haig, Scott, April, 2009 "FDA bans flavored cigarettes as part of new tobacco control act." Hem/Onc Today 25 Oct. 2009: 2. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. Wilkes, Gwen, Personal Interview, 27 November 2009.

Organizational Behavior: Personality and Values Essay

In today’s modern society, personality and values play a critical role in the stability of an organization. Today, diversity is the key to the success of most organizations. However, diversity goes beyond merely race, religion, color, national origin, gender, age, and disability. The diversity of personality and the appreciation of the variety of talents and skills of our co-workers will go far in helping us make our lives less stressful. The human resource department and hiring managers need to consider personality and values when they hire new employees. It is also important that they understand and appreciate the different personality and values of their current employees. Personality and Values In today’s competitive market it has become extremely important to hire the right people to help execute the mission and vision of a company. The employee helps bring the slogan on the wall into existence; therefore, it is important that employees display the right personality and values the company would like to show the world. Gordon Allport produced the definition of personality we most frequently use nearly 70 years ago. Allport said personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment (Robbins & Judge, 2013, p. 133). However, the definition has been tweaked over the years. For the purpose of this paper, personality is defined as the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others. The most important reason managers need to know how to measure personality is that research has shown personality tests are useful in hiring decisions and help managers for ecast who is best for a job (Robbins & Judge, 2013, p. 133). Values are another area where companies need to ensure the employees and managers are on the same page. When values are divided, problems with the organization closely follow. Values represent basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state existence. They contain a judgmental element in that they carry an individual’s ideas as to what is right, good, or desirable. Values have both content and intensity attributes. The content attribute says a mode of conduct or end-state of existence is important. The intensity attribute specifies how important it is. When we ran an individual’s values in terms of their intensity, we obtain that person’s value system (Robbins & Judge, 2013, p. 144). When a company considers the personality of their employees and the value system of the owners and shareholders the company had now developed a company personality. Personality Traits Corporations often use personality assessments to understand how the people that belong in their organization interact. Two popular frame works for indentifying and classifying traits are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Big Five Model. According to Robins and Judge, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is the most widely used personality assessment instrument in the world. It is a 100-question personality test that asks people how they usually feel or act in particular situations. Respondents are classified as extraverted or introverted (E or I), sensing or intuitive (S or N), thinking or feeling (T or F), and judging or perceiving (J or P). These terms are defined as follows: * Extraverted (E) versus Introverted (I). Extraverted individuals are outgoing, sociable, and assertive. Introverts are quiet and shy. * Sensing (S) versus Intuitive (N). Sensing types are practical and prefer routine and order. They focus on details. Intuitive rely on unconscious processes and look at the à ¢â‚¬Å"big picture.† * Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F). Thinking types use reason and logic to handle problems. Feeling types rely on their personal values and emotions. * Judging (J) versus perceiving (P). Judging types want control and prefer their world to be ordered and structured. Perceiving types are flexible and spontaneous (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 56) These classifications together describe 16 personality types, indentifying every person by one trait from each of the four parts. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator has been widely used by organizations including Apple Computer, AT&T, Citigroup, GE, 3M Co., many hospitals and educational institutions, and even the U.S. Armed Forces (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 135). The Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator may lack strong supporting evidence, but an impressive body of research supports the thesis of the Big Five Model – that five basic dimensions underlie all others and encompass most of the significant variation in human personality. Moreover, test scores of these traits do a very good job of predicting how people behave in a variety of real-life situations (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 136). The following are the Big Five factors: * Extraversion. The extraversion dimension captures our comfort level with relationships. Extraverts tend to be gregarious, assertive, and sociable. Introverts tend to be reserved, timed and quiet. * Agreeableness. The agreeableness dimension refers to an individual’s propensity to defer to others. Highly agreeable people are cooperative, warm, and trusting. People who score low on agreeableness are cold, disagreeable, and antagonistic. * Conscientiousness. The conscientiousness dimension is a measure of reliability. A highly conscientious person is responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent. Those who score low on this dimension are easily distracted, disorganized, and unreliable. * Emotional stability. The emotional stability dimension – often labeled by its converse, neuroticism – taps a person’s ability to withstand stress. People with positive emotional stability tend to be calm, self-confident, and secure. Those with high negative scores tend to be nervous, anxious, depressed, and insecure. * Openness to experience. The openness to experience dimension addresses range of interests and fascination with novelty. Extremely open people are creative, curious, and artistically sensitive. Those at the other end of the category are conventional and find comfort in the familiar (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 136). Generational Values Values within a person are oftentimes shaped by what generation and life events they may have experienced during their formative years. Researchers have integrated several recent analyses of work values into four groups that attempt to capture the unique vales of different cohorts or generations in the United States workforce (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 145). There are some limitations to this theory because a person born in one generation can have the characteristic of another generation. Just because you are born on a certain date, does not automatically make you have the same values as everyone in your own generation. Despite these limitations, values do change over generations, and we can gain some useful insights from analyzing values this way. Boomers (Baby Boomers) are a large cohort born after World War II when United States veterans returned to their families and times were good. Boomers entered the workforce from the mid-1960’s through the mid-1980’s. They brought with them a large measure of the â€Å"hippy ethic† and distrust of authority. But they placed a great deal of emphasis on achievement and material success. Pragmatists who believe ends justify means; they work hard and want to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Boomers see the organizations that employ them merely as vehicles for their careers. In terms of seniority, baby boomers make up the bulk of the employees in most large corporations, so it is imperative that co-workers understand the values of the person sitting or standing next to them. Terminal values such as a sense of accomplishments and social recognition rank high with them (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 146). The lives of Xers (Generation Xers) have been shaped by globalization, two-career parents, MTV, AIDS, and computers. Xers value flexibility, life options, and the achievement of job satisfaction. Family and relationships are very important. Xers are skeptical, particularly of authority. They also enjoy team-oriented work. In search of balance in their lives, Xers are less willing to make personal sacrifices for the sake of their employer than previous generations were. Generation Xers rate high on true friendship, happiness, and pleasure. The most recent entrants to the workforce, the millennials (also called Netters, Nexters, Generation Yers, and Generation Nexters) grew up during prosperous times. They have high expectations and seek meaning in their work. Millennial have life goals more oriented toward becoming rich (81 percent) and famous (51 percent) than do Generation Xers (62 percent) and 29 percent, respectively, but they also see themselves as socially responsible (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 146). They are more ethnically and racially diverse than older adults. They’re less religious, less likely to have served in the military, and are on track to become the most educated generation in American history. They embrace multiple modes of self-expression. Three-quarters have created a profile on a social networking site. One-in-five have posted a video of themselves online. Nearly four-in-ten have a tattoo (and for most who do, one is not enough: about half of those with tattoos have two to five and 18% have six or more). Nearly one-in-four have a piercing in some place other than an earlobe- about six times the share of older adults who’ve done this. But their look-at-me tendencies are not without limits. Most Millennials have placed privacy boundaries on their social media profiles and 70% say their tattoos are hidden beneath clothing (Millennial, 2010). Policy on Ethics Often times the value system of a company can clearly be seen with the company’s ethical code. Chrysler actually posts a code of ethics brochure on their website to ensure all employees and customers know their value system. According to the website, Chrysler expects all of its employees to contribute to a cooperative working environment in which the dignity of each individual is respected. The conduct of management personnel should set an example to promote positive employee morale and the open exchange of ideas. Chrysler is committed to high ethical standards in business transactions. Chrysler does not tolerate unethical or corrupt practices by its employees or its business partners. Chrysler strictly forbids engaging in or tolerating bribery or any other form of corruption. High standards require hard work, courage and often present difficult choices. At times, choosing the proper course of action means foregoing business or personal opportunities. The â€Å"integrity code,† while not all-inclusive, reflects the basic standards of ethical behavior expected of Chrysler employees and should be read in conjunction with the company policies, guidelines, and standards of conduct that also apply to Chrysler employees (â€Å"Integrity Code,† 2009). Ineffective company ethics policies can also be a detriment to the company’s public image, stature in the business community, and ultimately to their profitability. Many people assume that running a successful business often entails a systematic approach, however the personality and values of employees of a company plays a crucial role in its success as well. It is can be detrimental when executive decisions are not made and could result in them being extremely costly. For example, according to Academy of Management executives â€Å"clean up costs are sometimes difficult to attribute to any particular ethics failure. Consisting of such things as attorney and audit fees , investigative costs†¦medical actions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Enron scandal being the root example of a company destroyed due to simply unethical individuals. Not implementing ethics in any company will always fail in some way whether a small loss to an incomprehensible one (Schermerhorn & Dienhart, 2004). That is why it is imperative to ensure a code of ethics as part of the system. The dynamics of decision making for any individual who is often faced with issues regarding â€Å"ethics† becomes far more complex than it sounds. Every company, in one way or another, are faced with difficulties of employees making decisions that sometime seem ethical or not. Not everyone can make such decisions. The downfall of those who lack the ability to make ethical decisions can be costly. A company’s inability to reinforce â€Å"ethics† in their business can quickly become detrimental. One only has to look at Enron, Arthur Anderson, and Worldcom to understand the catastrophic effects of having ineffective ethical policies and values (Thomas, Schermerhorn & Dienhart, 2004). Company Values In regards to company values and ethics, Chick-fil-A has been in the news because of the words of their owner in regards to â€Å"Christian values.† His comments have caused the business world to examine the role of a business owner’s personal values and company values. At issue was the CEO’s opinion of same sex marriage. The controversy came to a boil after an interview with the fast food restaurant chain’s president and COO Dan Cathy appeared in The Baptist Press on July 16 and he weighed in with his views on family. â€Å"We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit,† Cathy said. â€Å"We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.† Proponents of same-sex marriage spread Cathy’s comments, eventually creating a firestorm of criticism on social media, including assertions that his comments and position were bigo ted and hateful (Brumfield, 2012). Internships Corporations often demonstrate their values to customers by the way they treat their employees and the opportunities that are available for citizens to become a part of the company. One way to quickly rise in a company is to connect to their intern program. Chick-fil-A boasts about their internship program on their website. According to their corporate website, the purpose of the Chick-fil-A Internship Program is to provide a high-caliber group of students an opportunity to enhance their educational experience and improve their career preparation. A key objective of the intern experience is to help students and recent graduates understand and appreciate the importance of building and maintaining strong work relationships in accomplishing results. We have designed the program to involve students in real work projects while also allowing them time to experience many aspects of the Chick-fil-A corporate culture. The cultural experience includes significant executive exposure and numerou s development opportunities (â€Å"Internship,† n.d.). The Chrysler Corporation also has an intern program that is called the Chrysler Leadership Development program. The Chrysler Leadership Development (CLD) Program is a highly selective two-year program that develops leaders by incorporating intensive on-the-job learning opportunities with supplemental development and interaction with our global business leaders. You’ll have the guidance and support of Chrysler leadership throughout your experience and opportunities to build on your talents through high-impact assignments. The program will provide you an accelerated opportunity to learn our business, executive mentor support, and an investment to grow your leadership abilities (â€Å"Leadership Development Program,† n.d.). As with most intern programs, the potential employee must meet minimum requirements. To be considered for the Program, you must meet the following requirements: * MBA/Master’s degree with a minimum 3.2 GPA * 2-6 years of professional business experience * Demonstrated leadership experience (â€Å"Leadership Development Program,† n.d.). According to Chic-fil-A’s website, the organization values diversity. What is diversity? According to the Civil Rights office of the Department of Interior, the term â€Å"diversity† is used broadly to refer to many demographic variables, including, but not limited to, race, religion, color, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, education, geographic origin, and skill characteristics. America’s diversity has given this country its unique strength, resilience and richness (â€Å"Diversity,† 2012). Diversity management makes everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others. Diversity is much more likely to be successful when we see it as everyone’s business than if we believe it helps only certain groups of employees. One method of enhancing workforce diversity is to target recruiting messages to specific demographic groups underrepresented in the work force. This means placing advertisement in publications geared toward specific demographic groups; recruiting at colleges, universities, and other institutions with significant numbers of underrepresented minorities; and forming partnerships with association like the Society for Women Engineers or the Graduate Minority Business Association (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 56). Values and Ethics Organizational Development is an emerging profession, and its practitioners tend to describe themselves as professionals. However, individuals working in the field may vary greatly in respect to their degree of professionalism. By professionalism, we refer to the internalization of a value system that is a part of the concept of the profession. Whether a person can be deemed a professional is determined by the degree to which he or she has internalized certain values pertinent to the profession. Although there is some disagreement, four areas appear to be important. * Expertise. The professional requires some expertise. This includes specialized knowledge and skills that can be obtained only through training (usually through academic study and experience). * Autonomy. The professional claims autonomy. Professionals reserve the right to decide how their function is to be performed and to be free from restrictions. * Commitment. Professionals feel a commitment to the discipline. They a re more likely to identify with members of their profession in other organizations that with their own organization. * Code of ethics. Finally there is a responsibility to society for the maintenance of professional standards of work. They adhere to professional self-discipline and a code of ethics (Brown, 2011, p. 71). The values and ethics of prospective employees and the alignment of the values and ethics advocated by the company are important consideration when it comes to hiring practice considerations. If a company’s hiring practices are ineffective, it can have detrimental effects to its bottom-line. According to a survey conducted by online payroll company SurePayroll, it found three out of four surveyed business owners admitted to hiring at least one employee they later wished they never had, and many indicated that the mistake resulted in a significant financial loss of more than $10,000 per bad hire, according to 12 percent of respondents (Eddy, 2009). Most companies react to hiring situations as emergencies; that might explain why so many do it so poorly. One Survey of fifty CEOs of global companies along with a pool of executive search consultants who rated about 500 firms found the hiring practices for many of those companies are disturbingly vague. Part of the findings, according to the respondents, indicated to a heavily reliance on subjective personal preferences or on largely unquestioned organizational traditions, often based on false assumptions (Fernà ¡ndez-Arà ¡oz, Groysberg & Nohria, 2009) It is therefore imperative to avoid making bad hiring decisions. As such, your hiring practices should have procedures that need to be followed to ensure the candidates being considered for employment are good matches. Procedures should contain effective methods for screening candidates during the pre-employment phase. Some of these methods should include background checks or skills testing (Eddy, 2009). In order to avoid ineffective hiring practices companies should consider seven steps within their hiring practices to cover the full recruitment spectrum to include: anticipating the need for new hires, specifying the job, developing a pool of candidates, assessing the candidates, closing the deal, integrating the newcomer, and revi ewing the effectiveness of the hiring process (â€Å"Harvard Business, 2009). Continuous training and educational should be a part of everyone’s personal value system as well as remaining as ethical as possible. The best way to stay smart when facing ethical dilemmas is to remain current in your ethical training. In regards to ethics training a team of management researchers recommended the following actions for improving on-the-job ethics. * Behave ethically yourself. Managers are potential role models whose habits and actual behavior send clear signals about the importance of ethical conduct. Ethical behavior is a top-to-bottom proposition. * Screen potential employees. Surprisingly, employers are generally lax when it comes to checking references, credentials, transcripts, and other information on applicant resumes. More diligent action in this area can screen out those given to fraud and misrepresentation. Integrity testing is fairly valid but is no panacea. * Develop a meaningful code of ethics. * Provide ethics training. Employees can be trained to identify and deal with ethical issues during orientation and through seminar, video, and internet training sessions. * Reinforce ethical behavior. Behavior that is reinforced tends to be repeated, whereas behavior that is not reinforced tends to disappear. Ethical conduct too often is ignored or even punished while unethical behavior is rewarded. * Create positions, units, and other structural mechanisms to deal with ethics. Ethics needs to be an everyday affair, not a one-time announcement of a new ethical code that gets filed away and forgotten. â€Å"A growing number of large companies in the United States have chief ethics officers who report directly to the CEO, thus making ethical conduct and accountability priority issues. * Create a climate in which whistle-blowing becomes unnecessary. Whistle-blowing occurs when an employee reports a perceive unethical and/or illegal activity to a third party such as government agencies, news media, or public interest groups (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2008). On May 15, 2002, President Bush signed into law the Notification and Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation (No FEAR) Act to increase federal agency accountability for acts of discrimination or reprisal against employees. The No FEAR Act became effective on October 1, 2003. This act requires that federal agencies post on their public web sites certain summary statistical data relating to equal employment opportunity complaints filed against the respective agencies (State, n.d.). Project Team Project teams have two universal measures; to satisfy the customer, and to deliver on time, on budget and within specification. The rationale for using teams is simple: high performing teams save money and satisfy customers. Unfortunately, there is the other side of the coin: poor performing teams cost money and disappoint customers. In many cases, individuals are assigned to a cross functional team and attempt to jump right into work without first attempting to address the relationship of team members and the behavioral disposition of the individuals. If the behavioral aspects of the team are not understood, then the team can become mired in conflict and lose momentum which results in lost time and effectiveness. Behaviors that can affect productivity include: the inability to work together towards a common goal, fear of sharing ideas, fear of negative feedback, self interest driving actions, expectation that the team leader will solve all of the problems and assume all of the respo nsibility, confusion between individual tasks and relationships with other people, and lack of appropriate acknowledgement for accomplishments (Henkin, 2012). The other consideration in deciding to form teams is what size team should be put together. When it comes to the workplace, teamwork is increasingly widespread. Research indicates there is not a fixed or optimal number to have on a team. Professor Wittenberg, Director of the Wharton Graduate Leadership Program, notes that team size is â€Å"not necessarily an issue people think about immediately, but it is important.† According to Wittenberg, research on the optimal team numbers is not conclusive. In the work world, Professor Wittenberg suggests that it has been â€Å"reinforced that five or six is the right number (on a team) but it really depends on the task† (Knowledge@Wharton, 2006). The other dynamic that needs to be addressed relates to teams is how they resolve conflicts. Conflict management is a very important part of team dynamics. Choosing the right members for a group can help prevent some of these issues. One strategy involves designating a project manager, a strong individual that can competently take charge. The project manager must be experienced and understand how to deal with both the interpersonal as well as behavioural aspects of the teams. They must also understand the normative stages of development most all teams go though as they come together. The project manager must allow the team to communicate effectively, create rapport, resolve conflict, lead team members, and motivate the whole team (Gountanis, n.d.). Team Development Team development is an iterative process. This is readily understood when looking at the ‘forming-storming-norming-performing’ model for team development that has become a standard team development model introduced by Bruce Tuckman. The theory is based on the premise that each team goes through a distinct iterative process. The first phase is described as the forming phase where the team first comes together with energy, expectation, and limited knowledge of assigned task. The next phase is the storming phase where individuals start jockeying for position and recognition. The team internally struggles with why and how decisions made will affect the individual members. The next phase is the norming phase where stability starts to emerge and goals are established with plans and associated defined roles/responsibilities. The last phase is the performing phase where the plans are implemented, outputs are generated, and work gets done. Every team goes through these phases. (Tuckman, 1965). Therefore, it is natural to expect conflicts to arise between team members; however, management as well as the project manager must be cognizant there can be both constructive conflict and destructive conflict. Constructive conflicts exists when people change and grow personally from the conflict, the conflict results in a solution to a problem, it increases involvement of everyone affected by the conflict, and it builds cohesiveness among the members of the team. Destructive conflicts exist when no decision is reached and problem still exists, it diverts energy away from more value-add activities, it destroys the morale of the team members and it polarizes or divides the team (Cappozzoli, 1995). Diversity within the team is another consideration with respect to group dynamics. Professor Klein from the Wharton School of Management and Professor Lim from Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore as part of their research looked at the value of diversity and found that there was conflicting theory. Some research suggests diversity represented by gender, race, and age leads to conflict and affects behavioral integration among team members. The general assumption is that people tend to associate better with people who are similar to themselves which suggest too much diversity is bad for cohesion. Other research suggests diversity helps creates more ideas, more perspectives and more creativity for better solutions. In their research, Klein and Lim found a distinct value in having some similarity between team members which enhances coordination and effectiveness in performing tasks that are complex, unpredictable, urgent, and/or novel (Klein & Lim, 2006). It is possible that a balancing of both theories within a team construct might be beneficial in forming a high performance team. Conclusion Employees’ performance and satisfaction are likely to be higher if their values fit well with the organization. The person who places great importance on imagination, independence, and freedom is likely to be poorly matched with an organization that seeks conformity from its employees (Robbins & Judge, 2013, p. 154). Chick-fil-A’s senior leaders are very vocal about the fact their company is owned and operated on Christian values. In fact, their policy and procedure of closing on Sunday so their employees can enjoy time off with their family and perhaps even attend church is rare in the quick service restaurant business. Chrysler is also very serious about their company values and has placed a code of ethics manual on their website to remind internal employees and external customers about their value systems. One of the roles of managers is to both exhibit and vocalize company values. This works well when your personal values are similar to the company and other senior leaders. The higher an individual rises within an organization, the more important it is that your personality and value system aligned with your company. Both the hiring process of the employees and the ethical standards of behavior for those employees are a critical dynamic supporting the mission objectives of the company. When a company fails to implement effective hiring and ethical policies, the implications can be costly in a variety of quantifiable ways. Finding the right mix of individual employees is a difficult task in terms of attracting and retaining people who are the best fit to the company. The success of the company relies on both the individual as well as those members who become part of teams. The composition of those members to a particular team must be carefully considered by management. The size, makeup, diversity, selection of the team lead, and objective of the team are all important considerations to ensure success. Management must recognize there is some inherent inefficiency in putting teams together as they go through an iterative process of maturity but they must be convinced the benefits of the outcomes out weigh the delays by putting together that particular team. Recommendations The profitability and long term survivability of companies are keys to their success. One of the most important assets to any business entity is human capital resources or personnel. As with any asset, management and leadership hire personnel with the belief they will contribute to the company in a positive manner and demonstrate a return of investment from the standpoint that the hiring and training process requires an investment of both time and money. Therefore, it is imperative that companies seek out, attract, and retain individuals whose personality and values match that of the company. In addition, they must be able to work well within teams to further the objectives of the company. It is also important that the company’s continue to communicate and reinforce their values to the workforce. That message must come from the top down. Senior leadership must convey that message at stockholder meetings, all hands meetings, town hall meetings, and via electronic means. While i t is imperative that message be communicated, it must be supported and reinforced at all levels of management. In addition, the compensation and reward system must recognize behavior and performance consistent with that message. The other important consideration is that leadership and management must be conveying the right message, with the right behaviors, and enveloped by a sense of ethical behavior. One only has to look at Enron, Worldcom, and Arthur Anderson to recognize the catastrophic and costly effects of engaging in behavior as individuals, groups, or management that is conflict with stated values. The recent Chick-Fil-a statements made by Mr. S.T. Cathy where personal views were replaced by those of the corporation started a media firestorm and backlash from many interest groups. The result was negative press for the company and eventually the announcement by the corporation of a customer appreciation day that cost the company tens of millions of dollars in an attempt to counteract the negative events. References Academy of Management Executive, Volume 18, No. 2, (2004), Strategic leadership of ethical behavior in business, Schermerhorn, Thomas, and Dienhart, John, retrieved from http://home.sandiego.edu/~pavett/docs/msgl_503/leader_ethic_behave.pdf Brockmann, Erich. (1996, May). Removing the paradox of conflict from group decisions. Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Brumfield, B. (2012). Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2012-08-01/us/us_us-chick-fil-a-controversy_1_civil-unions-marriage-glaad Cappozzoli, Thomas K. (1995, Dec). Resolving conflict within teams. Journal for Quality and Participation. v18n7, p. 28-30 Eddy, Nathan (June 25, 2009). Businesses Losing Money on Bad Hiring Practices Retrieved from http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Midmarket/Businesses-Losing-Money-on-Bad-Hiring-Practices-Survey-Finds-482198/ Gountanis, Chris (n.d.). Team Dynamics – Conflict Resolution Strategies. [ONLINE (htt p:// www.chrisgountanis.com/written-works/50-team-dynamics-conflict-resolution-strategies.html) [Last Accessed 24 September 2012]. Harvard Business Review (May 2009), The Definitive Guide to Recruiting in Good Times and Bad, Fernà ¡ndez-Arà ¡oz, Claudio; Groysberg, Boris; and Nohria, Notin, retrieved from http://hbr.org/2009/05/the-definitive-guide-to-recruiting-in-good-times-and-bad Henkin, Sid (2012). The Behavioral Side of Project Team Effectiveness, [ONLINE (http:// www.prismls.com/PDF_docs/Behavior.side.of.team.effectiveness.pdf)) [Last