Management and Hr Essay

The CIPD introduced the HR Professional Map in 2009, which set out the new foundations for professional competency in HR and the criteria for new and revised CIPD qualifications. The map highlights 10 professional areas at four different levels and the eight key behaviours HR professionals need to operate. The HR Profession Map sets out the following eight behaviours: 1. Decisive thinker. Able to analyse information quickly and use it to make robust decisions. 2. Skilled influencer. Able to gain commitment from different quarters in order to benefit the organisation. 3. Personally credible. Expert in both HR and commercial issues, and takes a professional approach. 4. Collaborative. Able to work well with a range of people both within and outside of the organisation. 5. Driven to deliver. Focused on delivering best possible results for the organisation, and shows determination, resourcefulness and a sense of purpose in achieving this. 6. Courage and challenge. Has the courage and confidence to speak up and will challenge others even when met with resistance or unfamiliar circumstances. 7. Role model. Leads by example. 8. Curious. An inquisitive, open-minded type, who seeks out new ways to support the development of the organisation. The HR Profession Map identifies ten professional areas: 1) Insight Strategy & Solutions (the ‘core’ of the Map) : understanding the company ethos & activities, responsible for HR plans of action, is aware of the obstacles that block the path of being able to provide an effective HR function, provides solutions. Designs good rewards and benefits package, making the Company an attractive place to work, helping with retention of staff and attracting quality new staff members, central to the organisation. 2) Leading Human Resources : operational excellence understanding the requirements of the organisation. Will to be able to guide & direct a fit for purpose HR function, responsible for staffing†¦ 3) Service delivery and  information. Managing HR information professionally. 4) Organisation design. Managing structural change and ensuring the organisation is appropriately designed. 5) Organisation development. Ensuring the organisation’s workforce, culture, values and environment will enable it to meet goals and perform well in the future. 6) Resourcing and talent planning. Making sure the organisation attracts people who will give it an edge. Managing a workforce with the balance of skills needed to meet short and long-term ambitions. 7) Learning and talent development. Making sure that people at all levels of the organisation have the skills needed to contribute to the organisation’s success, and that they are motivated to grow and learn. 8) Performance and reward. Making sure that reward systems – principally pay and benefits – are fair and cost-effective. Ensuring critical skills, experience and performances are rewarded. 9) Employee engagement. Supporting employees in maintaining a positive connection with their work, colleagues and the broader organisation, with a particular focus on good relationships between staff and their line managers. 10) Employee relations. Ensure that the relationship between the organisation and staff is managed within a clear and appropriate framework. â€Å"Orme added: â€Å"The map will allow us to maintain rigour while improving flexibility: the flexibility to meet the needs of generalists and specialists and to support professionals at all levels, and the rigour to ensure HR professionals and employees alike can be confident that a CIPD qualification delivers not just the capabilities needed for today, but the capacity to adapt to the growing demands that will be placed on the profession in the future.† (http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news/1017104/hrd-2009-cipd-introduce-hr-professional-map-equip-practitioners-tougher-future-role#sthash.ks3fgXhT.dpuf- 10.03.20 14) Bands of Professional Competence: Band 1 – Entry stage into the HR profession and supports colleagues, manages data and information, broadly considered as being customer orientated. Band 2 – Advises and in some instances manages HR issues. An individual at this level will understand evaluation processes and be able to assist with known solutions. Band 3 – Defined as a leader of a professional HR area. An individual at this level will be have the ability to address major HR issues, generally at an organisational level and will be involved with  medium to long term HR planning. Band 4 – Manages and leads a professional HR area / division. Working at senior organisational level and will have responsibility for the development and implementation of HR strategies. There are standard definitions within each of the four bands which advise of the following 3 areas: 1) What you need to do within each band (activities covering 9 specific points) 2) What you need to know within each band covering 12 specific points 3) How you need to do it i.e. the prevalent behaviours that are essential for each professional area. The behaviour definitions are defined as: Driven to deliver Collaborative Personally credible Decisive thinker Skilled influencer For example an HR professional working competently at band 4 will be expected to be a decisive thinker, will be driven to deliver and will also need to be a skilled influencer. The point of the HR profession Map is that individuals either considering a career in HR, or who are currently working at any given level within HR, will understand the skills, requirements, knowledge and personal attributes required at each level therefor creating a clear progressive guide for their career path. My own experiences as a admin assistant has made me realise I am a generalist at present within HR, my limited experience is gradually developing and I am becoming a more confident person within the HR world, now being able to advise senior management without also reaffirming my thought with our HR director, I aspire to gain further knowledge and become a confident HR professional with this in mind it is not always advisable just to look at my own career and development but to that of others and whils t I don’t have the experience I do have the knowledge and the enthusiasm to help develop individual personal aspirations that need to be closely managed in consideration of an individual’s personal aspirations of how far i can progress my career. For example, a person with strong ability currently working at band 2 may well aspire to eventually be capable of working to the prescribed band 4 level but in reality, and despite whatever development takes place, they may well be unlikely to be able to progress to band 4. This may well be a  personality issue or that some people are just not leaders but not everyone will be able to develop themselves as decisive thinker and a skilled influencer, two of the most difficult requirements of any senior management. Looking at the overall Map and considering my current role within our organisation, I am confident that I am currently working within the band 2/3 area of Human Resources. It is clear that I have extensive work to do within my career path and feel that following onto further studies, whilst gaining the experiential knowledge will give me a sound grounding to a positive and progressive career. After assesing the the map I would consider that I am currently working between band 2 & 3. In my role as Admin Assistant I have responsibiity for ensuring that all HR related activities are managed effectivly and correctly under the supervision of the HR director. My customer base is predoninantly our management team but also our employees, union representatives and our clients senior managment teams. The conflicting needs of each group can be difficult at time to prioritise, not only do I have to answer to three sites managers who all require assistance in there own ways, I have the directors and the employees, as well as the employees of Youngs who are our client and at the end of the day (pay the bills). Within my own organisation we have a service level agreement with Youngs our client,this enable us to provide and maintain the service required, it clearly defines what is expected, when and how, it also states what we expect from the client to enable us to provide an effective service. Providing an effective service,with good communication in a timely manner builds customer confidence, but from a buisness point of view we also need to come in on budget, sometimes the clients expectations can be unreasonable, so as a service provider we have to sometimes negotiate and balance between our customers wants and needs to the needs and demands of the buisness, also balancing the needs of our employees needs to be apart of our management. â€Å"If you not serving the customer, you’d better be serving someone who isâ€Å" – Karl Albrecht – Developing Yourself as an effective learning and development practioner Whilst carry out the assignement and after discussing it with our HR Director  he brought to my attention a perfect example. â€Å"As an example, in a redundancy situation the needs of the union will be to ensure that as few employees as possible are made redundant however quite often in my experience a number of employees will activly want to be made redundantâ€Å" Director of HR Partners In Hygiene Whatever the situation, in my role I have to ensure that the needs of the business come are met first, then to time manage and balance the requirement of In terms of my own developemnt I am comfortably working within Band 2 for area such as insight, strategy, and solutions, leading HR and organisational design as well as performance and reward and feel with only 2 years experience I have progressed positivly, though am very aware I still need assistance coaching/ mentoring to develope my career path to continue and sustain the progression at the same pace. In order to ensure that I deliver to all my customers (internal & external) I must ensure that I have maintain effective communication. The four main communication tools that I employ are: 1) Verbal – Face to face conversations with individuals or groups 2) Written – letters of communication, formal and informal 3) E-mail 4) Telephone conversations Each of the above have both advantages and disadvantages e.g. verbal communication is an effective tool for maintaining close contact and relationships with people but can be time consuming and generall leaves no trail i.e. evidence that a particular conversation has ever occurred. E-mail is an efficient and fast method of written communication but as there is no face to face contact emotions within an e-mail can be misinterpreted leading to misunderstanding. The sheer volume of e-mail can be a problem and in my experience almost everyone is guilty of using e-mail as mean to cover themselves. Written letters are a good record of communication but can be perceived as being too formal and again can be time consuming to compose, print, mail etc. As with any business attempting to be efficient in terms of effective communication, we use all of the above comminication methods at various times. Personally I do prefer oral communication whenever possible wven if this is via telephone rather than face to face.

A Comparative Study of Norman Holland and David Bleich Essay

Reader Response criticism is a general term that refers to different approaches of modern criticism and literary theory that focuses on the responses of readers and their reactions to the literary text. It also, in M.H Abrams’ words, â€Å"does not designate any one critical theory, but a focus on the process of reading a literary text that is shared by many of the critical modes†(268). Reader Response criticism is described as a group of approaches to understanding literature that explicitly emphasize the reader’s role in creating the meaning an experience of a literary work. It refers to a group of critics who study, not a literary work, but readers or audiences responding to that literary work. It has no single starting point. They seriously challenge the dominancy of the text-oriented theories such as New Criticism and Formalism. Reader Response theory holds that the reader is a necessary third part in the author-text-reader relationship that constitutes the literary work. The relationship between readers and text is highly evaluated. The text does not exist without a reader; they are complementary to each other. A text sitting on a shelf does nothing. It does not come alive until the reader conceives it. Reader Response criticism encompasses various approaches or types. Of theses types is the ‘Subjectivist’ Reader Response criticism, which embraces critics such as David Bleich, Norman Holland, who are my focus in this paper, and Robert Crossman. Those critics view the reader’s response not as one guided by text but as one motivated by a deep-seated, personal psychological needs. They also are called ‘Individualists’. As they think that the reader’s response is guided by his psychological needs, therefore some of them, like Norman Holland, have a psychoanalytic view of that response. In the psychoanalytic view the reader responses to the literary work in a highly personal way. The real meaning of the text is the meaning created by the individual’s psyche. Lawrence Shaffer defines Psychoanalytic Criticism as â€Å"an approach to literary criticism, influenced by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, which views a literary work as an expression of the unconscious- of the individual psyche of its author or of the collective unconscious of a society or of the whole human race† (44). Reader Response critics have applied the psychoanalytical view to their analysis of the experience of reading a work. Namely; they focus on the psyche of the reader. Prominent among those who applied the psychoanalytical view is the American critic Norman Holland. Born in Manhattan in1927, Holland is an American literary critic and theorist who has focused on human responses to literature, film, and other arts. He is known for his work in Psychoanalytic criticism and Reader Response criticism. Holland began his Psychoanalytic writings with Psychoanalysis and Shakespeare (1966). In which he made a survey of what psychoanalytic writers has said about Shakespeare. He urged psychoanalytic critics to study real people, the audience and readers of literature, rather than imaginary characters. His contribution to Reader Response criticism was great. He has written about† the way self (reader) interacts with world (text) in four books: The Dynamics of Literary Response (1968), Poems in Persons (1973), 5 Readers Reading (1979), and Laughing: A Psychology of Humor (1982)† (Berg 266). According to Holland there are three explanation-models in Reader Response Theory. First, ‘text-active’ model, in which â€Å"the text defines the response†. The second model he calls â€Å"reader-active†, in which readers create meanings, and undergo the reading experience by exploring the text and all its items. â€Å"Word forms, word meanings, syntax, grammar, on up to complex individual ideas about character, plot, genre, themes, or values†(Holland). Thus the reader explores and interprets the text. Most who pioneered this view like Holland are Americans such as David Bleich, Stanley Fish, and Louise Rosenblatt. The third model is a compromise, and Holland calls it ‘bi-active’, in which the text causes part of the response and the reader the rest. Holland thinks that a ‘reader-active’ model is right. He believes that it explains likeness and difference in reading. â€Å"Similarities come from similar hypotheses formed by gender, class, education, race, age, or ‘interpretive community'† (Holland). While the difference come from differing hypotheses that result from individual beliefs, opinions and values, i.e. one’s ‘identity’. Holland considers a ‘test-active’ model is wrong, and therefore a ‘bi-active’ model is also wrong as it is half wrong and consequently all wrong. Holland suggests that â€Å"when we interpret a text, we unconsciously † react to our identity themes. To defend ourselves against our † fears and wishes, we transform the work in order to relieve psychic pressures† (Shaffer 48). Literature allows us to recreate our identities and to know ourselves as Holland deduced after the ‘Delphi seminar’, in which he worked at the State University of New York at Buffalo with other critics such as Robert Rogers, David Willbern and others. The ‘ Delphi seminar’ was designed to get students know themselves. The reader’s re-creation of his identity could happen when he transact with the text in four ways: â€Å"defense, expectation, fantasy, and transformation, which Holland reduces to the acronym ‘DEFT’ † (Newton, Interpreting Text 144). Defenses are ways of copying with inner and outer reality, particularly conflicts between different psychic agencies and reality. Holland thinks that we defend in many ways; we repress our fears and our painful thoughts or feelings, we deny sensory evidence or we isolate one emotion or idea from another. Expectations are our fears and wishes.Fantacies is what the individual puts out from himself into the outside world. In the ‘Delphi seminar’ Holland and the rest of critics â€Å"help[ed] students discover how they each bring a personal style (identity) to reading, writing, learning, and teaching† (Newton, Twentieth-Century 208). The seminar discussed the texts and also their associations, but focused on the associations. Students mastered the subject matter, and also saw how people re-create or develop a personal ‘identity’. Each student had great insight to himself, and his characteristic ways with text and people. Holland thinks that † just as the existence of a child constitutes the existence of a mother and the existence of a mother constitutes the existence of a child, so, in identity theory, all selves and objects constitute one another† (Newton, Twentieth-Century 208). So, I think the existence of a text constitutes the existence of a reader and vice versa, and the understanding of the text constitutes an understanding of self as well. In The Dynamics of Literary Response (1968), Holland was interested in the fact that texts embody fantasies. Later on, his thinking about texts reversed and he inferred that it is the reader who makes fantasies which [s]he transforms or projects onto the literary text. â€Å"People internalize differently because they internalize †¦ according to a core identity theme† (Berg 267). In Poems in Persons (1973), Holland explains that readers create the text, and he also questions the objectivity of the text. In this book Holland suggests that a poem â€Å"is nothing but specks of carbon black on dried wood pulp†, and suggests that these specks have nothing to do with people, yet â€Å"people who do thing to these specks† (Berg 267). When we â€Å"introject literary work we create in ourselves a psychological transformation†, where we feel as if it were within the text or the work yet it is not. This takes us to Holland’s ‘transactional’ model in which the reader initiates and creates the response. Holland saw that reading is a ‘transactional’ process in which the reader and the text mesh together. And it is a â€Å"personal transaction of the reader with the text in which there is no fundamental division between the text’s role and the reader’s role† (Newton, Interpreting Text 142), so the roles of the text dovetails with that of the reader. Holland has hired a group of students for an experiment. They read short stories and discussed them with him in interviews in which he asked questions and elicited associations. Their responses showed a more variety than he could explain. â€Å"Different readers might interpret a poem or a story differently at the level of meaning, morals, or aesthetic value. The text itself, however, was a fixed entity that elicited fairly fixed responses† (Holland). He regards the text as an objective entity and has no role in the process of interpretation. But in his next book 5 Readers Reading (1979) he gives more evidence of the subjective creation of the reader. He tried his model on actual readers. Five readers read ‘A Rose for Emily’ by Faulkner, and in the process of reading they create very different stories, â€Å"stories which inevitably reflect the identity themes of their creators† (Berg 267). When he listened to their understandings of a given character or event or phrase, he found them invariably different. Their emotional responses were diverse. So, the idea that there is a fixed or appropriate response was an illusion. Holland deduces that fantasies, structures, and forms do not exist in a literary work as he previously conceived, but they exist in the individual reader’s re-creation of the text. Holland thinks that â€Å"each person reads differently, and this difference stems from personality† (Newton, Twentieth-Century 204). Holland found that he could understand the reader’s differing responses by reading their identities. And he could explain their different reactions to the poem or short story by looking to their identity themes, as their patters of defences, expectations, fantasies, and transformations will help. The transformational model of his Dynamics was correct, but it was the reader who does the transformation and not the text. The text was only a raw material. So Holland arrives at the deduction that people who have fantasies after his previous assumption that text embody fantasies. Holland’s thinking about texts reversed after David Bleich’s proddi ng who insisted that texts do not have fantasies, people do. To understand a literary work, Holland claims that you should perceive it through the lens of some human perception, either your own experience, or someone else, or even a critic’s analysis of the work. These perceptions vary from individual to individual, from community to community, and from culture to culture. He thinks that one cannot perceive the raw, naked text, as he can only perceive it through some one else’s process of perception. Thus Holland claims that â€Å"if readers’ free responses to texts are collected they [will] have virtually nothing in common† (Newton, Interpreting Text 143). According to Holland the relation between the ‘subjective’ and ‘objective’ is undifferentiated and can not be separated. For there is a ‘transactional’ process of interpretation where the roles of the reader and the text are intertwined, and the line dividing them blurs and dissolves. He thinks that readers should accept interpretation as a ‘transaction’ between the reader’s unique ‘identity’ and the text. Holland, however, does not want to take the side of the objective or that of the subjective, yet he is looking for a vanishing point between them, and wants to make both text and reader meet at an intersection of interpretation. David Bleich (1936-) is a Jewish critic, a son of a rabbi, a professor of Talmud, and a Subjectivist Reader Response critic. In Subjective Reader Response, the text is subordinated to the individual reader. The subject becomes the individual reader as he reacts to the text and reveals himself in the act of reading. For example, when a reader is addressed with a story of a father who ignores his child, then the intensity of that reader’s reaction may lay it his/her conflicted relation with his own father. Subjective criticism has been attacked as being too relativistic. Defenders of this approach point out that literature must work on a personal, emotional level to move us powerfully. David Bleich takes an approach differs from Holland’s. H is primary concern in his book Readings and Feelings is pedagogy rather than psychology. He thinks that â€Å"reading is a wholly subjective process†(Rabinowitz 86), and that the different or competing interpretation can be negotiated and settled. He examines the ways in which meanings or interpretations are constructed in a class room community, â€Å"with particular emphasis on the ways in which a group can negotiate among competing interpretations†(86). In Readings and Feelings, Bleich presents† a detailed account of his teaching techniques during a typical semester†(Berg 269). That’s why he is concerned with pedagogy and not psychology. He introduces himself to his class and discusses the way he wants his students to look at literature. The first preliminary sessions were designed to help students be acquainted with their subjective feelings, and how to depict them. Even the â€Å"idiosyncratic personal responses† of the students are accepted and discussed sympathetically. With the students Bleich plunges into different literary genres including poetry, short story, and novel. Yet before discussing these genres, â€Å"Bleich wants his students to be as personal as possible when they discuss poetry. He wants their affective responses, their free associations, any anecdotal material that occurs to them† (Berg 269). Bleich focuses on questions such as what is â€Å"the most important word, the most important passage, or the most important aspect of a story† (269). Thus, he believes that his students move from the personal to the interpersonal and then to the social. The cause of these movements is not â€Å"the change in genre†¦; but the tenor of the questions Bleich asks†(269) is what guides the movement. Shaffer says that â€Å"In Subjective Criticism (1978), Bleich assumes that ‘each person’s most urgent motivations are to understand himself’ and that all ‘objective’ interpretations are derived ultimately from subjective responses† (Shaffer 48). Like Norman Holland, Bleich focuses on the subconscious responses of the readers to the text, including his â€Å"emotional responses, our infantile, adolescent, or simply ‘gut’ responses† (Berg 268). According to Bleich the interpretation of texts or the personal responses to texts are in a way or another motivated. Namely; we are motivated by certain things to make a certain interpretation or response to a literary work in particular or a work of art in general. Our interpretations are a motivated activities, and â€Å"any act of interpretation, or meaning-conferring activity is motivated, and†¦it is important for us to understand the motives behind our interpretations†(270). Bleich suggests that only way to figure out and determine these motivations behind our interpretations of texts is to â€Å"took our subjective responses to texts †¦where each reader’s response receives the same respect†(270). A sheer desire to self-understanding and self-knowledge is what motivates us as readers. We interpret in order to gain â€Å"some kind of knowledge which will resolve some difficulty†, or we do it to â€Å"explain something that was puzzling us†(270). Bleich goes further and says that â€Å"if a certain set or school of interpretation prevails; it is not because it is closer to an objective truth about art†(Newton, Twentieth-Century 234). If a community of students agreed upon certain interpretation to a given text, then â€Å"the standard truth†¦can only devolve upon the community of students†(234). So, when students come up with a consensus reading of a certain text, and agree unanimously upon its interpretation, then their subjective feeling and values are the same. Thus the literary text â€Å"must come under the control of subjectivity; either an individual’s subjectivity or the collective subjectivity of a group†(233). The group comes up with a consensus after discussing their personal responses with each other and negotiates ideas and individual responses. This idea of negotiation that Bleich introduces helps the group weighs and discusses each one’s own responses â€Å"in order to come to a group decision†(Berg 271). Then Bleich says that† critics and their audiences assume interpretive knowledge to be†¦as objective as formulaic knowledge†(Newton 232). The assumption of the objectivity of a text is almost â€Å"a game played by critics (232). Critics know the fallacy of the objectivity of a text, and believe in critical pluralism, namely; allowing multiple interpretations of the same work. Bleich does not ignore or deny the objectivity of the text or a work of literature. But text is an object that is different from other objects as it is a ‘symbolic’ object. A text is not just a group o words written in ink on a sheet of paper. It, unlike other objects, has no function in its material existence. For example, an apple is an object that its existence does not depend on whether someone eats it or sees it, however, a text’s or a book’s existence â€Å"does depend on whether someone writes it and reads it† (Newton 233). The work of literature is a response to the author’s life experience, and the interpretation of the reader the response to his reading experience. The reader’s subjective interpretation creates an understanding to the text. Through this transaction between the reader and the text, I think we can come across with an understanding of literature and of people as well. This artistic transaction helps to blur and dissolve the dividing line between the subjective and objective. It is idle as Bleich found â€Å"to imagine that we can avoid the entanglements of subjective reactions and motives†(Newton, Twentieth-Century 235). As our motive in our subjective interpretations is our desire to self-knowledge and self-understanding, then the study of ourselves and the study of the literary work are ultimately a single enterprise. Though Holland and Bleich are Individualist Reader Response critics, they have different views in particular issues. Norman Holland thinks that in order to understand a student’s or a reader’s interpretation of a text he should examine his psyche and uncover his ‘identity theme’. Bleich takes a different position. He is concerned with pedagogy rather that psychology, therefore he examines the ways in which meanings are constructed, and how a group of readers could negotiate interpretations. Holland suggests that the reader’s role is intermingling with that of the text. The reader re-creates the text influenced by his/her subjective responses and introjects his/her fantasies on the literary work. Through this transaction with the text we re-create our identities, and our identity themes provide individual differences in interpretations, and the result is a wide array of interpretations that allow us to explore many responses. Bleich denies Holland’s ‘identity theme’. He thinks that interpretations are not an outcome of our differing identity themes, but they are a result of our motives, feelings, and preoccupations. Holland’s Delphi seminar helped students or readers know their selves and discover that each one of them can bring a personal style (identity) to reading. So, the issue of self-discovery or self-knowledge is agreed upon by Holland and Bleich as well, however their ways of achieving it differ. Holland does not side with either the subjective or the objective split, yet he is looking for a vanishing point between them. In his Dynamics he used to consider the text as an objective reality, or a raw material. Yet the role of the reader combines that of the text in a transactional process of reading and interpretation. Thus there is no fundamental division between the roles of both the reader and the text, they dovetail with each other. For Bleich, the text is a ‘symbolic object’ that has no function in its material existence. The existence of text depends on whether someone writes it or reads it. So, the existence of the text and the existence of the reader is interdependent. Holland holds the same view when he says that the existence of a mother constitutes the existence of a child and vice versa, also the existence of selves constitutes the existence of objects. Thereby, the dividing line between the objective and subjective blurs and dissolves. This constitutes that we cannot ignore the entanglements of subjective reactions and motives to the objective text or to be accurate, the text which is a ‘symbolic’ object. Both critics agree on the idea of the transactional process of reading, whether by Holland’s identity themes which help reader interpret the text and understand himself, or by Bleich’s desire to self-knowledge that motivates reader to interpret the text and understand it. Both apply a transaction that leads to an understanding and interpretation of a text along with the reader’s own self. This aim of gaining knowledge and this study of ourselves and of art are ultimately a single enterprise. I think that Holland does not agree that there could be a consensus interpretation which is agreed upon by a group of readers. He thinks that each reader has his own personality or identity theme, and thereby interpretations will be multiple and diverse. While Bleich’s idea of ‘negotiation’ among readers can lead to a unanimous decision about the meaning of the literary work. The negotiation among readers enable them to express their personal feelings freely and depict their responses without the fear of being rejected. For instance, in David Bleich’s class, there is a democracy. Each reader’s response receives the same respect, and there is no underestimation of their idiosyncrasies. This helped them develop from the personal to the interpersonal and then to the social. While in Holland’s view, there can be no unanimous interpretation of a given work of art. For each reader is influenced by his/her identity theme. Also, â€Å"Holland’s subjects report their responses in terms of ‘the clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s of the various subcultures and cultural discourses work to constitute the consciousness of American college students’†¦. [Holland concludes that not] the individuality of his students but†¦the way their ‘individuality’ is in fact a’ product’ of their cultural situation†(Rabinowitz 86). In conclusion, â€Å"Holland and Bleich did not [in a way or another] negotiate a consensus; rather, by some irritated leap, Holland becomes convinced of what Bleich had to tell him†(Berg 271). Works Cited Abrams, M.H. â€Å"Reader-Response Criticism.† Glossary of Literary Terms. 6th Ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1993. Berg, Temma F. â€Å"Psychologies of Reading.† Tracing Literary Theory. Ed. Joseph Natoli. Urbana and Chicago: Illinois UP, 1987. 248-274. Holland, Norman N. â€Å"Reader-Response already is Cognitive Criticism.† Bridging the Gap. 8 Apr. 1995. Stanford University. 26 Dec. 2007 . —, â€Å"The Story of a Psychoanalytic Critic.† An Intellectual. 26 Dec. 2007 . Laga, Barry. â€Å"Reading with an Eye on Reading: An Introduction to Reader-Response.† Reader Response. 1999. 23 Dec. 2007 . Newton, K. M. â€Å"Reader Response Criticism.† Interpreting the Text: A Critical Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Literary Interpretation. Great Britain: Billing and Sons, 1990. 141-153. —, ed. â€Å"Norman Holland: Reading and Identity: A Psychoanalytic Revolution.† Twentieth-Century Literary Theory. London: Macmillan, 1989. 204-209. —, â€Å"David Bleich: The Subjective Character of The Critical Interpretation.† Twentieth-Century Literary Theory. London: Macmillan, 1989. 231-235. Rabinowitz, Peter J. â€Å"Whirl without End: Audience-Oriented Criticism.† Contemporary Literary Theory. Ed. G. Douglas Atkins and Laura Morrow. USA: Macmillan UP, 1989. 81-85. Shaffer, Lawrence. â€Å"Psychoanalytic Criticism.† Literary Criticism. 1sted. New Delhi: IVY Publishing House, 2001. 44-48.

Financial Statements Paper Essay

The statement usually includes beginning balance, net income for the current cycle, dividends disclosed in the current period and ending balance. Balance sheets detail assets and claims to assets at a distinct point in time. Claims of creditors and claims of owners are examples of claims to assets. This particular statement provides a clear outline of the financial standing of the company as a whole. The direct function of a statement of cash flow is to present financial information such as cash receipts and payments during a set point in time. This assists investors and creditors to analyze a company’s financial position.. These statements address a company’s financing, investment and operational activities. Financial statements are useful to managers as these statements are utilized to measure the performance of the organization. Sales and expenses are compared to the income statements from previous periods by management to pinpoint possible problematic areas. Major variations adjure management to thoroughly understand what the causes of those changes are. Variations in liabilities and assets are examined on the balance sheets from one cycle to the next. Any large variations need to be identified, explained and reasons established to whether the variations benefited the company, or caused a loss as consequences of problems. From this point management can make adjustments to correct any problems, or future planning, so these losses or problems do not repeat again. The benefits can be capitalized upon as well. Financial statements are useful to employees for the reason of collective bargaining, discussing compensation, and ranking. Employees also use this information as a means to determine the ability of the company to provide retirement benefits and opportunities for advancement. Financial Statements are useful to investors as they hold an interest in the profits of the company. The investors are looking for a return in the money they have invested, usually in the form of stocks, as they seek increases in stock value and profitability. Lending decisions to be made by creditors are based upon the financial statements. The creditors want to ensure that the companies they are lending the funds to have the ability to manage its finances so they are not at risk of not being able to pay back its debts. References: Kimmel, P. D. (2009). Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making (5th ed. ). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database..

The Advantages of Depression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

The Advantages of Depression - Essay Example When a person is unhappy about something on a subconscious level, they do not realize it consciously. They continue to get unhappier and more discontent, without realizing why. Then, as a defense to letting this condition continue, the mind goes into depression. Only when the patient addresses the problem (cause of depression) consciously, does the depression end (Seligman et al, 1988). Here, one can think of depression as the minds way of bringing attention to ignored problems in the mind. It sheds light on the problems which are keeping the person from becoming happy, and refuses to let the person live normally until the problem stands addressed (Lehrer, 2010). Thus, far from a nuisance, depression is a tool of the mind to bringing a person closer to happiness. Finally, this disease also provides the patient with an advantage as far as abilities is concerned. A rather unexplained fact related to depression is that it leads to an increase in creativity. Several artists and writers from both past and present have been reported to be patients of depression. According to Nancy Andreasen, a neuroscientist who has researched extensively about this characteristic of depression, this correlation is explained by the increased levels of persistence found in patients of depression. They are able to fully concentrate on their work, and persevere with the task. This leads to a boost in their creativity enjoyed by these patients of depression (Lehrer, 2010).

Environmental issues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Environmental issues - Research Paper Example Can only produce energy for a specified time c. Extra electricity produced cannot be stored d. Extraction and storage of certain elements (hydrogen) are difficult. 4) Conclusion Alternative Energy Sources: A Panacea to Oil Dependence The world economy, to meet the energy requirements and needs, has to utilize fuel whether renewable or non-renewable. The future of the economy of this world depends on alternative renewable energy sources. Since, non-renewable resources are depleting quickly, renewable resources could be an answer to ending human dependence on oil but it could have both positive and negative impacts on a sustainable world. Using renewable energy sources will provide an alternative to oil and fossil fuels alike, thus ending the dependency on them. This in turn will lead to a decrease in the ecological problems especially those of global warming that are largely caused by the use of oil and fossil fuels as a source of energy. If the dependency of energy is not shifted fro m oil and other fossil fuels to alternative energy resources, the world may have to face serious disadvantages including economic and environmental (Heinberg, 2003). Another reason how alternative energy sources can help as a more dependable source of energy is that fossil fuel and oil resources are scarce and running out, therefore finding alternative means is important to ensure a constant supply of energy for our future generations as well (Heinberg, 2003). ... Therefore in order to keep this world from facing such devastating crises, there is a vital need that the oil dependency is reduced and alternative means are explored (Rau, 2010). There is a grave need for reducing the levels of pollution in the environment. A shift from reliance and dependence on the non-renewable energy sources will create opportunities such as the utilization of waste and junk, as junk can be used as a source of fuel. Not only will this way the pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels and oil be reduced, but this approach will also lead to the alternative methods of providing sources of energy to meet the global energy requirements, such as the use of energy for internal heating systems for homes, etc. (Rau, 2010). The use of alternative energy sources will also help the growing energy needs of the developing countries. As the developing world advances, there will be an increase in the energy needs. These developing needs can be met by the production and consum ption of energy that is produced domestically. This way the development of the developing countries will be supported, more and more industries and businesses will have their energy needs met and the fulfillment of energy needs will make for availability of greater businesses and job availability needs (McNamee, 2008). The utilization of renewable energy sources will rid nations from dependence on other nations for oil as a source of energy. Renewable energy sources can be produced domestically anywhere. This will make it easier for every nation to be independent and take care of their energy needs without any sort of reliance on other nations. Not only will it make for a  better and

Forces Industry Analysis of the PC Industry Essay - 18

Forces Industry Analysis of the PC Industry - Essay Example As stated by Yoffie & Rossano (2012), in its early years during the 1990s, the industry was dominated by â€Å"Wintel†, which was a merged form of Windows OS brand and the Intel brand. However, with the increasing demands for internet and other technology developments, the PC industry has today become comparatively open and flexible to allow new entrants in terms of â€Å"no-name clone makers†. Nevertheless, the industry is regarded to be one of the most capital-intensive investment sectors encompassing rigid legal and trade norms which restrict the authentication of new players to gain a long-run sustainable foothold. High degree of innovation requirements to mitigate competitive barriers also tends to restrict the new entrants in the market lowering the risk of entry by potential competitors (Yoffie & Rossano, 2012). The consumption pattern and the quantity demanded by the buyers in the PC industry have been changing over the past few years, especially with the rising demand in emerging global markets. The buyers of the PC industry can be categorized into five sections comprising the household, the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), large industry, governmental sectors and education sectors. Even though the numbers of buyers in each segment are increasing rapidly in the industry context, the household consumers of the PC market can be identified as the largest buying group in the industry. Additionally, with the availability of only a few large brands within the industry, the growing numbers of buyers tend to have the greater bargaining power to steer the industry competition (Yoffie & Rossano, 2012).

Competencies for International HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Competencies for International HR - Essay Example Referring to Stroh and Caligiuri (1998), one of the most critical factors for the success of a company is its management of the human assets. The most important issue for HR in global organisations to decide at present is to decide whether they should depend on convergence or divergence. Convergence refers to developing the same basic rules and regulations for all locations, and divergence refers to allowing diversity according to local requirements. As Amstrong (2006) points out, the decision to make a company centralised or decentralised is dependent on a number of factors. These factors are: the extent to which there are well-defined local norms, the degree to which a unit is embedded in the local environment, the flow of resources from parent company to the subsidiary, and the nature of the industry (ibid). Admittedly, one thing becomes evident from this description: HR has an important role to play in this situation. A study in Malcrum(Alexander et al , 2009) with the support of HSBC looked into the role of internal and external communication in the present day international HR. It is found that the purposes in enhancing internal communication for businesses are creating understanding of the company strategy and direction, supporting organisational change, keeping people informed of company news, building company pride, and helping people to live values (ibid). Thus, it becomes evident that the purposes all are linked to HR. The main purpose of internal communication is employee engagement. Then, the study looked into how this internal communication is linked to external communication. In the present day business world, companies undergo rigorous scrutiny from the part of media and governments. That means companies will have to ensure that they practice what they preach. As Alexander et al (2009) states, if a company makes a public statement, it should make sure that the employees are aware of the same, and vice versa. When this point is discussed, it beco mes necessary to point out how a lack of relationships with external media, governments and local communities can be destructive at times. An example is the crisis faced by Shell Oil in Nigeria. To illustrate, it was during 1990s that Shell Petroleum came under heavy fire from the part of international press and local media for alleged environmental pollution of the delta. Noted public figures like Saro-Wiwa raised their concern against the company, and mass agitation began in no time. The company realised that it had little chance for improving its image or to bounce back to its previous glory as it had not cared to keep relationships with international media or the local community. In order to improve its image, the company took the following public relation initiatives. Firstly, it started balancing its business with active citizenship/working in partnership with communities. Secondly, the company decided to position itself as a company that respects human rights and environment. Thirdly, the company started publicising itself as a law-abiding, non-sectarian company. As Turk and Scanlan (1999) reflect, the company decided to propagate what it did for community and environment. Thus, one thing becomes very evident. International HR needs to be able to keep both internal and external

Enterprise Resource Planning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Enterprise Resource Planning - Research Paper Example The software enables the integration of each and every aspect of operation within the organization including manufacturing, storage/inventory control, sales and marketing etc. The Enterprise Resource Planning software consists of several modules available to a given enterprise based on its needs and the level of technical capability within the enterprise. Each of the said modules is designed for a specific area of the enterprise such as marketing, distribution, product development etc (Nathan 60). No matter which module that an organization has decided to purchase, there are several factors that an organization wishing to successfully implement an ERP should consider (Leon 66). In explaining the success and failures of implementing an ERP system, we are going to take a look at two companies, one that has successfully implemented its ERP system and the second one that was not so successful in its implementation of the same. Starting us off, we will look at how Pratt and Whitney, a large Canadian aeronautics company that successfully implemented its ERP system known as SAP R/3. The implementation of this system took two and a half years to complete. Due to the expansive nature of the company (having customers in more than 170 countries and having over a dozen plants across the globe), the company decided to develop a centralized information processing system to improve on its customer satisfaction. This system was to be named SAP/R3 and through it the company intended to fully i ntegrate its information system through the application of the technology that was available at the time. In particular, this system was aimed at improving customer experience, reduce the amount of work in progress, increase turnover in inventory and finally ensure closer monitoring of inventory and the operating costs (Harwood 120). One of the factors that ensured that the development and implementation of SAP R/3 as a success was the inclusive nature of the project team that was behind this development and eventual implementation. This team was divided into groups and it included employees from all the relevant departments including sales and distribution, information technology, production, planning, materials management and finance. This all inclusive approach ensured that the proposed system would cater for everyone’s needs and desired hence its acceptability across the board. The second factor that led to the success of SAP R/3 was the importance that was placed on trai ning of the employees on how the new system works. Training was undertaken across the departments and nearly all the employees whose functions would require knowledge of the system were accorded this training. The training covered general understanding of how the system works and technical aspects of the system such as basic navigation and how to accomplish the desired tasks. The third factor attributed to the success implementation of SAP R/3 was the effective data migration strategy that was used by the company in transferring data from the old system to the new one. The data was first ‘cleansed’ before being transferred to the new system hence ensuring its correctness and reliability. Finally, the company had adequate capacity in terms of operational activities and technical capability (through its experienced staff) and financial ability to undertake this shift (Wallace 58). Having looked at the success story that is Pratt and Whitney in implementation of its ERP sy stem, we will flip the coin and consider a company that was not as fortunate in its implementation of its ERP system. Target Group is a UK based investment firm that tried to implement an ERP system but due to a number of reasons, this implementation was not as effective as was with the

Project Cost Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project Cost Control - Essay Example Costs are defined as anything that does not add value to the system rather consumes resources, capital, time or other related functions and components of the project. Steve Odland, in his assessment of the methods by which the costs may be controlled defines the interaction with the customers as one of the reasons based on which the costs can be controlled. According to his views, the customers provide sufficient information and guidelines regarding the utility based projects and items and those that do not add value or are little needed and desired by the customers. The response of the customers enable knowing what to produce and what to avoid in the future trends and projects (Odland, 2012). Another area that is often termed as a serious point with regard to the handling of the costs is the inventory. Inventory often takes up large amount of resources and material. Many companies and projects fail only because of the bulk of the inventory in stock. The stocks lead to consuming space, budget and other associated items which result in the non production of the productive items and products that would otherwise be kept and reserved in limited quantity (KACHWALA, 2009, p. 92). Identifying the defective products, processes and all those activities and components that lead to the consumption of resources, energy and material are amounted to as costs. The time and resources spent would otherwise be spent in the production of the new items and material. Adhering to the terms and conditions that are set forth in the early phases of the project and overall organizational tasks are also important. Often the lag incurs on the account of the deviation from the initially set forth conditions based on which the project had been started. The failure to do so results in delay. It also results in the extra resources usage and many more associated functions and discrepancies within the system and project at hand. Transportation means and communication sources are

Servant Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Servant Leadership - Essay Example Researcher: David, your expertise in disaster management has received international recognition. Many thanks indeed for finding time from your busy schedule to speak to me. David: In the first place let me thank you for giving the honor of being interviewed by you. It is an opportunity for me put across the concept of Servant-Leadership because I feel that it is the one approach that works hassle free in our world of relentless change. Researcher: David, did you always have this Servant-Leader approach? David: It is an interesting question. I studied in a top-notch business school and invariably all the students were placed in the most reputed companies in the country or elsewhere in Europe or Japan even before our results were known. I found my way into a cosmetics marketing company in the country. Apparently, every thing was fine with me. Incentives, promotions, rewards, excellence citations and the whole paraphernalia of business related encouragements came in my way. In spite of all these, I was somewhat unhappy and unfulfilled and to my surprise, I was unknowingly overworking and ruining my health. Deep down within me, I did not find any satisfying answer to the question, why am I here? Researcher: I see. I suppose it was a trying time in your life. David: Indeed, it was tough. Nevertheless, I did not budge from my chosen career of management, though initially I was tempted to do so. I embarked upon a search. I started to read voraciously all kinds of books, especially history.

Quality Metal Service Essay Example for Free

Quality Metal Service Essay An overview of cost, profit, revenue, and investment centers Cost classification in accounting also involves the allocation of costs, revenues and responsibilities to various centres or departments. These centres include: == Cost centres == Revenue centres == Profit centres == Investment centres Cost Centres A cost centre (CC) is a unit, location or department where cost data is collected. The purpose of the cost centre is to collect, analyze and ascertain costs in its immediate context. Cost centres usually have cost units—units or equipment for which costs are determinable or attributable. Overheads and direct costs constitute the cost structure of a CC. Since many activities in an organisation involve costs, a cost centre is a fundamental aspect, especially as profit and investment centres can be cost centres. According to the ACCA Study Text (Management accounting, c 1999), cost centres can manifest themselves as a project, a machine, department or overhead costs. One should note that a specific cost centre might not necessarily have other functions. CCs are not limited to production and manufacturing, since they can also be attributed to service centres, like commercial bank branches for example. Revenue Centres These centres deal exclusively with revenue. Even though costs may arise from these areas, the revenue centre is not accountable for costs. Its purpose is primarily to maximise sales and revenue. Profit centre The profit centre addresses both costs and revenue. Therefore, the manager responsible for a profit centre is accountable for the purchases and sales for that unit, department or branch. Since both revenue and costs fall under the purview of the profit centre, it is both a cost and revenue centre, although a revenue centre is not a profit centre and a cost centre might not necessarily be a profit centre. Investment centres Investment centres are profit centres that are accountable for cost, revenues and net assets for capital investment. This unit is assessed by return on investment and is a cost centre. Managers in an investment centre are responsible for purchasing capital or non-current assets and making investment decisions with capital. Investment centres Investment centres are profit centres that are accountable for cost, revenues and net assets for capital investment. This unit is assessed by return on investment and is a cost centre. Managers in an investment centre are responsible for purchasing capital or non-current assets and making investment decisions with capital. Responsibility centres are the umbrella term for cost, profit, revenue and investment centres, since their performance is under the direct control of a manager. The cost centre concept is present in profit and investment centres. The profit centre can be stand alone or, with additional responsibilities, an investment centre. Revenue centres operate in a similar manner to cost and profit centres, but their managers are primarily responsible for maximizing revenues and sales. An accountant needs to know the different types of centres to understand the information needs and requirements of the managers of the various units. Responsibility Centres A responsibility centre is an organizational subsystem charged with a well-defined mission and headed by a manager accountable for the performance of the centre. Responsibility centres constitute the primary building blocks for management control. It is also the fundamental unit of analysis of a budget control system. Aresponsibility centre is an organization unit headed by a responsible manager. There are four major types of responsibility centres: cost centres,revenues centres, profit centres and investment centres. Cost Centre A cost centre is a responsibility centre in which manager is held responsible for controlling cost inputs. There are two general types of cost centres: engineered expense centres and discretionary expense centres. Engineered costs are usually expressed as standard costs. A discretionary expense centre is a responsibility centre whose budgetary performance is based on achieving its goals by operating within predetermined expense constraints set through managerial judgement or discretion. Revenue Centre A revenue centre is a responsibility centre whose budgetary performance is measured primarily by its ability to generate a specified level of revenue. Profit Centre In a profit centre, the budget measures the difference between revenues and costs. Investment Centre An investment centre is a responsibility centre whose budgetary performance is based on return on investment. The uses of responsibility centres depend to a great extent on the type of organization structure involved. Engineered cost centres, discretionary expense centre, and revenue centres are more often used with functional organization designs and with the function units in a matrix design. In contrast, with a divisional organization designs, it is possible use profit centres because the large divisions in such a structure usually have control over both the expenses and the revenues associated with profits.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Example for Free

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Posttraumatic Stress Disorder side effects may take years to show up, they are debilitating to the victims everyday life. A soldier with PTSD may experience emotional outburst, find it hard to communicate with others. Panic attacks, sleeping disorder, and flashbacks are a few of the major side effects. The soldier often will feel guilty which makes it difficult for them to adjust back into civilian life. Not knowing how to reunite with friends and family often lead to sever depression and suicide. An incident that may remind the soldier or their trauma can send them into a sever panic attack which may take days or weeks to recover from. It is said a soldier with PTSD is never truly home, there are always demons around every corner. The military teaches our soldiers how to fight, how to kill and how to survive. But who teaches them how to live with themselves? Soldiers are returning in large volumes with PTSD but are not being treated for their disorder. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a traumatic event. A traumatic event is a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood. The fight or flight response is what we know happens when one is afraid. Your body is releasing adrenaline, raising you heart rate and releasing glucose to muscles allowing you to respond quickly. Once you are out of the fearful situation you release a hormone known as cortical allowing your body to calm down. In a sever trauma you may not release enough cortical so your body stays under a great deal of stress. Then the victim may produce a high level of catecholamine which is a stimulating hormone. When reminded of the trauma this hormone kicks in. Mason JW, Giller EL, Kosten TR) One out of ten Americans involved in a sever trauma event causes a cascade of psychological and biological changes known as post-traumatic stress disorder. Soldiers returning from wars throughout the years were not able to adapt back in to civilian life. Doctors now understand the severity of this disorder and our addressing to the best of their abilities. To receive the diagnosis the victim must have been in a situation in which they were afraid for their safety, feel horror, or feel helpless. The more terrifying the trauma is, increases the chances of the victim developing PTSD. Victims diagnosed with PTSD can prevent them from working; affect their relationships, and causes great difficulty being a good parent. (Allen IR PTSD) Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. It helps one deal with a tense situation in the office, study harder for an exam, and keep focused on an important speech. In general, it helps one cope. But when anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it can become a disabling disorder. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is not a black and white diagnosis, some the symptoms may be present right away however in others it can manifest years later. For some, the symptoms can be managed with therapy and others the symptoms are disabling. Many traumatic life experiences cause many emotions, such as guilt, anger, and fear. However it normally starts to improve in a short period of time, when these feelings or symptoms do not improve or get worse you may have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Reliving the trauma can cause flashbacks and nightmares. Flashbacks are the Soldier or Victim actually mentally transporting back in time to the actual event. They can see, hear, smell, taste, and feel every sensation they experienced during the actual trauma. In their mind they are reliving the event in every shape and form. Nightmares is when the victim is sleeping as their brain slows down and enters into a dream state the trauma comes back to them in a nightmare. Just as in the flashbacks in their mind they are right back in that horrific trauma. Many times they will wake up yelling, swinging their arms, threatening or injuring anyone nearby. PTSD victims also may experience hyper arousal which is a state where a minor act will bring them back to the trauma. It can be as little as a child crying, thunderstorm, or a smell, this can cause a massive reaction from the victim. Men have been known to hi the ground, roll under cars, or even become very violent with a near by person. Another symptom of PTSD is always being on guard, getting startled easily, irritable, and anxious. Victims find it hard to concentrate on their current life they are always ready for that bomb to go off. This will cause lack of sleep which in return causes physical pain, muscle tension, and even heart problems. Many will never talk about their issues; it is too painful to speak out loud what is causing them so much pain on the inside. This causes many family problems and the issues just keep spiraling out of control. For some it may even lead into the thoughts or act of suicide. Many may think that since the increased amount of PTSD victims are returning from war the VA administration would step in and support them. Knowing all of this the support is not there. The VA’s track record nearly to void benefits for the victims, they are not or willing to deal with the large influx of affected Iraq veterans, who are left to deal with their illnesses alone. Judging by its recent actions, VA does not seem interested in changing to fit the needs of the new veterans. The benefits have increased in the recent years from one point seven billion to four point three billion, however the victims that are mostly benefiting from the increase is Vietnam veterans, not Iraqi veterans. (Uhl). Iraq veterans remain widely overlooked, and are coming back in record numbers with severe mental illness. This is a serious problem, since it’s expected that the number of PTSD sufferers from Iraq will exceed the number from Vietnam. Treatment and support are critical to your recovery. Although your memories won’t go away, you can learn how to manage your response to these memories and the feelings they bring up. You can also reduce the frequency and intensity of your reactions. Although it may seem painful to face the trauma you went through, doing so with the help of a mental health professional can help you get better. There are different types of therapy which are necessary to get back on the right track. There is cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps you change the thought patterns that keep you from overcoming your anxiety. Exposure therapy, where one work with a professional, to help confront memories and situations that cause the distress. Cognitive Processing Therapy, which is where you process your emotions about the traumatic event and learn how to challenge your thinking patterns. Another type of therapy is psychodynamic psychotherapy, where you focus on identifying current life situations that set off traumatic memories and worsen PTSD symptoms. (National Center for PTSD).

The Many Ways To Be Polite

The Many Ways To Be Polite Politeness is the actions taken by a competent speaker in a community in order to attend to possible social or interpersonal disturbance. Politeness is something strange which can be seen in different forms and levels. What is polite and what not depends on where you grew up and what norms of politeness you acquired there ( Meyerhoff 2006: 81). In a conversation a speaker might say something that would be considered very rude by the listener, but that speaker might actually just trying to be polite. He was being polite according to the standards of where he grew up. So, politeness is expressed in different ways, in different places. In this essay, we will see the different forms and levels of politeness and how these forms attend to different social needs. Also we will look at examples of the different forms that requests and apologies can take. We will explore how useful is distinguishing between the politeness which is used between friends and with people that we are not very familiar with. Then we will briefly discuss about the frameworks of politeness that are used in a workplace interaction and intercultural communication. All these phenomenon of politeness will be discussed in this paper with consideration of Brown and Levinsons theory (1978) in order to illustrate how there is more than one way of being polite. According to Meyerhoff (2006) there are a number of different ways in which linguists can analyse politeness. The various approaches differ primarily in the emphasis placed on the speaker, the addressee or both, and the emphasis given to accounting for behavior that would be considered polite or behavior that would be considered impolite (p. 83). The most widely known and extensively used approach to the study of politeness is Brown and Levinsons theory which has the most dominant position in the field.People associate politeness just with ways of speaking that avoid causing offence by showing deference to another person. (Meyerhoff 2006: 84). Brown and Levinson (1978) state that deference would be inappropriate in any speech community, in some contexts. Comments that orient to in-group membership may be what starts an interaction and avoid causing offence. For example you do not always reply thank you so much when someone helps you, cheers or thanks works better. Extreme deference c ould be taken as ironic or snobbish. Now, before continuing in more depth with Brown and Levinsons theory, it is useful to refer to Grices Maxims (1975), a set of rules that people follow in communication to maintain participant harmony. Brown and Levinsons theory suggests that these four Grices principles for speaking in a cooperative way, were correct. These rules can be summed up as the Maxim of quality where a person should be truthful and sincere, the Maxim of quantity: a person must say no more or less than required, the Maxim of relevance: being relevant to that topic and the Maxim of manner: being perspicuous. All of which underpins and is underpinned by the idea that the people involved in a conversation will cooperate with each other (the cooperative principle). These four principles are not considered to be a theory of face but constitute a foundation for a theory of face, later developed by Brown and Levinson. (Adapted for Brown and Levinson 1978:95 ) The theory of Brown and Levinson suggests that there are two types of politeness. The negative politeness strategies which are the strategies that avoid offence by showing deference (e.g. Do you mind if I borrow it for a second?) and the positive politeness strategies are those that avoid offence by highlighting friendliness (e.g. You look fit and healthy-any chance you could help me push the car?). Also, considering a strategy to be polite or impolite depends on the attention that a speaker pays to his own face wants and the addressees face wants. The term face derives from the work of Goffman (1967). In Goffmans work, face was a personal attribute or quality that each of us works to protect or enhance. In Brown and Levinson the definition of face emphasises less that interpersonal and communal nature of the face wants. Face is the public self-image that every model person (MP) claims for him or herself. Brown and Levinson propose that we want to guard our face against possible dama ge when we interact with others. (Meyerhoff 2006: 84) Now, it is important to refer to the factors involved in choosing politeness strategies. Choosing what kinds of strategies would be polite or impolite in a situation depends on evaluating three main factors. Power, distance and weight (cost) of imposition were identified by Brown and Levinson. Power refers to the difference in status between participants in discourse, distance relates to the level of familiarity that exists between the speaker and the addressee, and weight of imposition relates to the extent to which one wishes to impose on another person. People often put more effort to be polite to people that their position have greater social power than we have. For example I will use more negative politeness strategies (more polite) to a government official processing a passport application than I will use (less polite) to a telemarketer who rings during dinner. This has to do with power because I want the government official to do me a favor and speed up my application as for the telemarketer, he needs something from me so I am the one with power. Also, the social distance between speakers has a huge effect on the way that they speak to each other. Generally, we give more attention to the negative face wants (more polite) of people we do not know very well and we are more abrupt to close friends. For example when you are cooking with a close friend you might say Youve got the butter instead of I think the butter is closer to you that it is to me so could you pass it to me. But, when working with someone that you are not very close you might ask in less direct way, showing more attention to their negative face wants, you might say something like Excuse me, are those the telephone accounts? Could I have them for a second? . The cost of imposition, according to Brown and Levinson meant how big the social infraction is. An example is when you ask someone for the time, which is considered as a situation with a minor imposition, you can a stranger in the road for the time and the politeness strategies pay little attention to face wants (Sorry do you have the time?). But, asking for money is greater imposition. You usually ask for money someone you are close to and if the amount is big you will probably ask someone who is even closer to you, like a very close friend. Under this framework there are three social variables which shape the way that people choose the politeness strategies they will use.Their attention to others positive and negative face wants will be determined by the relative power and social of the interactants and by the social lost of the imposition (Meyerhoff 2006: 88). These three factors are by no means independent. Earlier, I referred to the two types of politeness and the term face. Actually, there are two types of politeness because we are concerned with maintaining two distinct kinds of face, the negative and the positive face. The negative face is the want of every competent adult member of a community that their actions be unimpeded by others. The positive face is the want of every member that their wants be desirable to at least some others. (Brown and Levinson 1987:62 in Meyerhoff 2006: 85). Some societies orientate more towards deference and being attentive to negative face wants. In such societies it seems very rude to ignore the distance that might be between you and your addressee and talk as if you know her or him better than you do. A Language example is Forgive me, Ms Smith, I do apologise, but could I possibly intrude for a second. In this sentence the title Ms shows deference politeness and distance attending to negative face. Forgive me and I do apologise try to reduce the imposition of the request and attends to negative face. A further attempt to reduce the cost of imposition is could I, possibly and a second. In contrast, there are societies which orientate towards positive face. The interaction between strangers is expected to be more personable and friendly. In these societies it is rude to interact by emphasizing or drawing attention to the social distance between the interlocutors. Such a society is the Australians, where the use of first names is the norm even in professional contexts. A language example of such a society is a greeting to an old friend that you have not seen for some time e.g. Tapper! Its been ages. Youre looking good. Whatve you been doing nowadays?. In this greeting the use of ingroup code (the nickname Tapper), showing attention to the addressees interests (Whatve you been doing nowadays?) and exaggerating the speakers interest or approval (Youre looking good) are strategies that attend to the addressees positive face wants. Brown and Levinson suggest that some conversational events which represent a threat to another individuals self-image are described as inherently facethreating acts (FTAs). When such an event occurs it is sure that somebodys positive or negative face wants will be threatened, and the participants have to decide what politeness strategies they will use. Examples of FTAs are expressing thanks and making an apology, these are threats to the speakers face wants. Saying thanks establishes indebtedness to the other person. Making an apology is having to state publicly that you have done something stupid or unkind, this threatens your positive face wants as other people may not identify you and will be unwilling to suggest that they share your wants and desires. So depending on how serious an FTA is it will require more or less action to mitigate (or reduce) the potential damage to the addressees or the speakers face. (Meyerhoff 2006: 90). As I said in the introduction I will also briefly discuss about the frameworks of politeness which are used in intercultural communication. Peoples use of politeness varies in intercultural communication depending on where they come from and how their societies orientate towards politeness. An example of such differences is when making a request for a drink in a bar in English and doing the same in German. In English you usually use strategies to attend the addressees negative face wants. (Could I have a glass of red wine, please?). But, in German there is not such an attention to the servers negative face wants and it is appropriate to say I will get red wine. Sometimes a could or please may be added but using both will sound absurd and snooty. (Meyerhoff 2006: 97). Another example is how people refuse an invitation to a meal from a social superior. In some cultures a general answer like Im busy that night Im afraid will be perfectly acceptable but in western communities people want to give a reason for your refusal. (Holmes 2001: 275). This has to do with peoples negative and positive face wants. People from western communities are more concerned about their positive face, they want their wants to be desirable to at least some others and they do not like drawing attention to the social distance. In conclusion, indeed there is more than one way of being polite. As it is presented above, politeness has many forms and levels and can be used in different ways. Politeness is perceived differently depending on where you grew up and your social status so it can be also expressed differently. People use different strategies to express politeness in a conversation depending on who is the addressee, what is his social status and how close they are to him. According to Brown and Levinsons theory there are two basic strategies, the positive and the negative strategy. These two strategies exist because we are concerned to maintain two kinds of face, the negative and positive face. People have to evaluate three factors in order to decide what strategies they will use, power, distance and cost of the imposition.

Magical Realism and Fantastic Sublime in Laura Esquivels Like Water fo

Magical Realism and Fantastic Sublime in Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate The different elements of the story Like Water for Chocolate are amazing. The feelings that go through a person upon listening, watching, and tasting events that happen during this story of the Spanish family's lives. The customs of this family were so unorthodox. This story is fantastic sublime and magical realism combined. Laura Esquivel wrote this novel in 1992. The nationality of the people in the novel was Mexican. A person can tell by the way expressions were made and the things that were done in the story. The novel has many fantastic sublime elements as well as magical realism. The elements of the story that stick out in a person's mind are the birth of Tita, the feelings of the love that Tita has in her heart for her sister's husband, Tita's cooking, the shower catching on fire, and Tita's sister riding off on a horse. Upon the birth of Tita, her mother flooded the kitchen table and floor when her water broke. The fluid had turned to salt and had to be swept up off the floor. This type of thing happening in the real world is not going to happen. The fluid turning into the salt was definitely a magical realism element. The fluid from the birth drying up like salt is similar to the sublime. The mysteries of cooking are treated in Like Water for Chocolate. The sublime seems to have a definition of being inhuman, an image that cannot be named. The magical realism has the definition of being magical and unreal. Tita's love she had for her sister's husband upon their marriage and through out the time of their marriage and lives. Tita's love never changed. It was the magical way Tita felt in her heart about the man she loved and the ... ...is really hard to distinguish the difference between the two. The hidden mysteries in the story of Like Water for Chocolate seem to never show the real meanings. The novel is interesting and keeps a person on his or her toes. The main point in the story is the boiling point that a person has inside will eventually boil over, given enough time. Emotions run high through out the story as well as the way each and everyone deal with the way the emotions come out. Works Cited Arensberg, Mary. The American Sublime. Albany: State University of New York Press, Albany 1986. Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate. N.Y. Doubleday, 1992. Faris, Wendy. "Scheherazade's Children: Magical Realism and Postmodern Fiction" Magical Realism Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durkham, N.C.: Durham: Duke up, 1995: 163-190.

Consequentialism, Deontology, and Inevitable Trade-offs :: Philosophy Essays

Consequentialism, Deontology, and Inevitable Trade-offs ABSTRACT: Recently, unrestrained consequentialism has been defended against the charge that it leads to unacceptable trade-offs by showing a trade-off accepted by many of us is not justified by any of the usual nonconsequenlist arguments. The particular trade-off involves raising the speed limit on the Interstate Highway System. As a society, we seemingly accept a trade-off of lives for convenience. This defense of consequentialism may be a tu quoque, but it does challenge nonconsequentialists to adequately justify a multitude of social decisions. Work by the deontologist Frances Kamm, conjoined with a perspective deployed by several economists on the relation between social costs and lives lost, is relevant. It provides a starting point by justifying decisions which involve trading lives only for other lives. But the perspective also recognizes that using resources in excess of some figure (perhaps as low as $7.5 million) to save a life causes us to forego other live-saving activiti es, thus causing a net loss of life. Setting a speed limit as low as 35 miles per hour might indeed save some lives, but the loss of productivity due to the increased time spent in travel would cost an even greater number of lives. Therefore, many trade-offs do not simply involve trading lives for some lesser value (e.g., convenience), but are justified as allowing some to die in order to save a greater number. It has long been one of the standard criticisms of consequentialist approaches to ethics that they too easily justify "trade-offs" that are morally unacceptable. The criticism which holds "the end justifies the means" philosophy inherent in consequentialism to be a source of great immorality is expressed, for example, in the famous scene from Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Remember how Alyosha reacts to the prospect offered by Ivan of a harmonious world order, a system that would bring about peace and rest and happiness for all men. A lovely idea, but the structure comes at the price of torturing one tiny child to death. And Alyosha will not consent to that "exchange." A consequentialist response to Alyosha's refusal to consent to trade the suffering and death of one innocent in exchange for universal harmony is that, in the present inharmonious order, many innocent children will die horribly, not just one. Alyosha's tender conscience will cost thousands of innocent children their lives. And so the debate continues. Recently, however, a proponent of consequentialism, Alastair Norcross, has sharpened the debate.

Miles Davis and the Evolution of Jazz Essay -- The Jazz Revolution

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Who was Miles Davis and why was he such an important element in the music of Jazz? Miles Davis, as we would know him, was born Miles Dewey Davis in Alton, Illinois on the 25th of May 1926 to a middle-class black family.. A couple of years later, Miles went on to St. Louis where he grew up. Since he was a youngster, Miles' hobby was to collect records and play them over without getting tired of them. Since his family knew Miles was so interested in the music of his time, primarily Jazz, for his thirteenth birthday Miles received his first trumpet, although he had been playing since the age of nine. With this Miles began to practice and play his trumpet along with his records. Who would have known that just three years later, at the age of 16, Miles was offered his first job with Billy Eckstine's band to replace their ill horn player. In this band that Miles was recruited into were two of Jazz's most famous players: Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie "Bird" Parker. Nobody would have guessed that this would be the start of it all. This small inexperienced child, who was picked up by chance, would re-invent Jazz like no one could imagine!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After successfully completing high school and playing for his high school band, Miles went on to New York to Julliard to study music. Although Miles was very involved and interested in his schoolwork, it turns out that he spent more time on 52nd street than in college. 52nd street was the Jazz filled street in New York that included all the hip night clubs of the time. Meant for both white and black people, 52nd street was all about Jazz and alcohol and it was the happenin' place to be, especially if you wanted to be discovered as a Jazz musician. This all led to Miles' dropping out of school and playing with the big guys on 52nd street to be discovered. In no time Davis was playing regularly with Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker. At this time Miles, 19, moved up in the history of Jazz by recording his first album in New York along side of Hawkins, "Rubberlegs" Williams, and of course Parker.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A few months after Parker and Gillespie went to California, Miles got together with Benny Carter's Orchestra and traveled all the way to California as well. Again, while in California, Parker asked Miles to record another album and as a result 'Bird' decided to form a quintet with Miles as a key member. All of this without d... ...ongside Miles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This last tune Called Oleo, had a quick beat and the trumpet sounds were amazing, but towards the middle-end of the song I began to wander off. This was probably because I still stick to the first two song which I enjoyed greatly. One thing about this particular song though, was the end. What an end!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion to this whole research paper, I can say that I have learned a lot and heard a lot, most of which I have enjoyed. Miles was definitely a milestone in the evolution of Jazz and although he is no longer with us, he left an untouchable mark in music and music lovers of all sorts of music, this mainly due to the taste of all the sounds he invented, reinvented, and mixed throughout his days in the business. Miles Davis will truly be remembered and missed. Works Cited http://www.nettally.com/dbird/MDBio.htm http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=1525020349/pagename=/R.../select=biograph http://downbeatjazz.tunes.com/sections/artists/text/bio.asp?from=fans&id1=2357 http://www.aramagic.com/lounge/music/miles_davis/mdbio.html Grolier Encyclopedia (CD ROM), 1993 Miles Davis The 70"s Jazz Revival The Jazz Revolution: Cool

How to Change Bad to Good

In a society where children can no longer be spanked because it's considered child abuse, gun violence is at an all time high, and parents fear what ay happen as they are sending their children off to school, it's difficult to watch the evening news anymore. There was a time where people would leave the house to go to the grocery store for a loaf of bread and leave their doors unlocked. Today, if you leave your doors unlocked, there is a high probability you will be burglarized.What is the world coming to and is the Justice system really serving its purpose if there are so many repeated offenses, and in some cases, repeat offenders? For Assignment One for this week, I shared information about Singapore Criminal Justice System. The information I learned through my research was astounding. Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and while many feel Singapore punishments are inhumane and extreme, some feel Corporal punishment would allow individuals contemplating crimin al activity to think twice before they act out on impulsion.In 1994, American teenager Michael Fay was caned four strokes and sentenced to four months in Jail for vandalizing cars and public property, despite the United States appeals for a different sentence (The Wall Street Journal, 2010). After the caning and turning to the United States, Michael Fay was involved in a butane accident, burning his face and hands, and was subsequently admitted to the Hazarded rehabilitation program, located in Minnesota, for butane abuse (People Magazine, 1994, pig 60). According to People Magazine (1994), Fay blamed his butane abuse on his experience in Singapore.Following the butane incident, Michael Fay continued his troubles with the law. In Florida in 1996, he was cited for several traffic violations (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, pig 82) and in 1998, Fay was charged with drug rappelling and possession of marijuana (Askew, 1998, pig 1). Did Fay continue to break the law in the United State s because he knew Corporal Punishment was not an option and his punishment would be much lighter than caning, or can his misdoings' really be a direct correlation to his caning experience?Why do people commit crime? Is there a difference between a man stealing a turkey at Thanksgiving because he is homeless and a man stealing clothing so he can then turn around and sell it to support his bad drug habit? It seems as though there should be a difference, et both men could face the same sentence. There are underlying psychological reasons why people commit crimes, however, some may be more reasonable than others. But then again, who defines reasonable? I believe in order to allow Justice to prevail; you must understand the criminal at hand.Why did the person commit the crime? Is the person a threat to society? Can the person be rehabilitated if given the correct direction and opportunities? Sentences should be appropriate to the crime committed. If a man steals a turkey because he is ho meless and is trying to eat, what DOD is it going to do sending him to Jail when he knows he will be giving a warm place to sleep and food to eat? Wouldn't that antagonize him to continue to steal? Instead of sending him to Jail, send him to work.Order him to pay for what he stole and continue to hold a steady Job so he is able to pay for food, contribute to society and show remorse for the crime committed out of disparity. If a man is stealing clothing to sell it for a drug habit, again, the situation should be assessed. Is he a threat to society and would he continue to steal if his substance abuse problem was obliterated? Instead of sending him to Jail, send him to a rehabilitation center. However, do not send the defendant to rehab for ninety days.If someone has a substance abuse problem severe enough to steal, ninety days is not going to rehabilitate the individual. An extensive rehabilitation program is called for. Repeated offenders are a concern. If the individual did not le arn from their prior punishment, it is obvious there must be some sort of attempt to mislead and commit crimes without being caught. For those individuals, they should be sentenced accordingly, and then sent to the military. The enlisting time should depend on the offense committed and their prior criminal history.As a victim of crime, I understand that Justice is not always served in the way some feel it should be served. For example, there are plenty of homicide cases reported in the news where the accused has been convicted before on murder charges. Why is this person out on the streets? If a person murders someone intentionally, there is absolutely no excuse for why they should be given another chance. I am a big proponent for Capital Punishment. If money takes a life, why should they be allowed to continue their life?There is a local municipal Judge in my area that I have much respect for, as do others in the community. His name is Judge Continent. Judge Continent believes in c reative sentencing. He has sentenced a woman who abandoned kittens in a box in the woods during the winter season to a night spent in the woods. He has sentenced a man who called a police officer a â€Å"pig† to stand on a busy city street corner with an actual pig and a sign that read â€Å"Police Officers are NOT pigs. † It is hard not to laugh at some of Hess sentences, but it does seem very close to the â€Å"eye for an eye† mentality, which I thoroughly support.I believe that if this type of mentality was used when handing down all sentences, the element of suspense and criminals thinking they will get a slap on the wrist will soon disappear. If the sentence is known before the crime is committed, and the sentences are uniform, people may think twice before committing a crime, especially if they know they will be subjected to the same treatment they caused someone else to endure. Is there really a quick fix for the United States Criminal Justice System?

Milton Friedman’s Influence on Macroeconomics

INTRODUCTION:Milton Friedman was an American economist as well as being a public intellectual. He was born in 1912 and died at the age of 94 in 2006. He was an ardent advocate of economic freedom as well as personal liberty. Before his death Friedman was one of the most influential scholars and figures of authority in the fields of microeconomics, statistics, and economic history as well as the field of macroeconomics, which happens to be the field of study.THESIS STATEMENT:Milton Friedman, although unfortunately bereaved, was one of the most influential economics of all time. Many economists as well as economies big and small have adapted to the teachings of Friedman. Why has this been so? In trying to analyze this paper, I will look at some of the major contributions of Friedman to the field of macroeconomics.ANALYSIS:Macroeconomics is a sub-discipline in the field of economics. It concerns it self with the structure, performance and the behaviors of national economies. It seeks to find out the determinants of the aggregate movements within the economy.Macroeconomics gives specific attention to inflation, unemployment, international trade, investments and the national income.On the other hand, Microeconomics is the branch of economics that concerns itself with the processes that firm's, households and individuals concerns themselves in allocating limited resources. In this sense microeconomics scrutinizes how these decisions affect the demand and supply schedules and helps determine not only the prices but also how these prices influence the supply and demand of goods and services in any given market segment.Macroeconomics is generally divided in to two major areas of study; the business cycle   which concerns itself mainly with the consequences and causes of the of short term fluctuations in national income and the determinants of the long run economic growth (increases in the national income).As thus, the field of macroeconomics is of paramount importance in designing, developing and evaluating strategies and policies not only for governments but also for large corporations like Sony and Toyota.Macroeconomics concerns itself with economic aggregates of the nation’s economic activities. On this field, macroeconomics concerns itself with issues of government actions (spending and taxation), issues of unemployment, inflation as well as general economic policies.CONCERNING FRIEDMAN:Friedman for a long time worked in isolation. Until the late 70s, many scholars especially in the field of economics met Friedman’s work with a lot of hostility.Milton Friedman was an ardent opponent to the Keynesian economics; Milton led the â€Å"Monetarist school† commonly referred to the Chicago School against the Keynesian school of economics.Friedman's contributions include the â€Å"Permanent Income Hypothesis† on consumption (1957), in addition to this there was the formulation of risk-aversion and risk-proclivity (1948); h e was also influential through his evolutionary theory on the theory of the firm,  Ã‚   including his own propositions for a â€Å"positivist† methodology in economics (1953).Friedman was key influential in macroeconomics especially in attacking the Keynesians on their view of the IS-LM analysis. In this attack, Friedman wanted the Keynesians not to ignore money matters in their analysis.  He was critical in pinpointing the importance of a laissez-faire economy, but he still held the proposition that concrete policies need to be operational within the economy for there to be harmony in the economy.In essence, the works and teachings of Friedman came to be an influential part of modern economics especially after the Keynesian analysis failed to offer a solution to the 1970s crisis because of the prevalent cost-push inflation and the inability of Keynesians to offer a solution to the increasing wages and prices.  Friedman scathingly attacked the Keynesians for failing to debate or offer directions on the need for competitive markets, this Friedman said was the reason why there had emerged larger monopolies within the 50s and the 60s which led to the ensuing stagflation.In addition to this, Friedman together with other scholars from the Chicago school provided evidence to prove that within competitive markets the price system could effectively and efficiently to allocate scarce resources. In his own words, Friedman claimed that the price system plays the following roles: firstly, the price system provides incentives for the adoption of the least costly methods of production. The price system also helps in   using available resources for the best use available, in addition the price system is used to transmit information on production, available resources and tastes, on top of this the prices can be used to determine the distribution system â€Å"who gets what when and how†.Friedman was also influential in designing test theories. On this iss ue, Friedman held the opinion that economists should only invoke the predictive ability of the theory and not the descriptive realism of the theory. Friedman was also influential in proposing that governments use countercyclical budget policies.CASE ANALYSIS: JAPANS MACROECONOMIC POLICIES:Japan is the world’s second largest economy from the United States. It is a market economy just like the United States although geographically it is very small. Japan is an industrial state although it relies mainly on imported raw materials for its industries. As thus, Japan is highly dependent on the nature of international trade and this means that Freidman’s analysis of price theories, inflation and free trade has a huge impact within the Japanese macroeconomic policies.Within Japan, the economy has followed the teachings of Friedman in the following ways. Firstly, the country has realized the importance of laissez faire economics. For this reason, given that the country relies mo stly on imported raw materials for its industries have, been one of the major advocate’s free trade. This has been commissioned in many ways including being one of the influential members of the world trade organization.  Secondly, the country has adopted Friedman’s teachings in the way the country designs its fiscal policy; this has been done mainly by changing the composition of public spending instead of expanding it.Thirdly, the countries central bank, the bank of Japan has also followed Friedman’s rules in inflation targeting and interest rate benchmarking.  In addition to these, the Japanese cabinet especially in recent years has been very vocal in trying to push for structural reforms as well as the adoption of stringent business policies especially in the financial sector that has been affected by banking crisis for a very long time.Concerning the activities of the bank of Japan, it is important to note that for a long time now the bank has been stea dily increasing the money supply. This is intended to contain inflation as well as being a way of supporting the fiscal policy. In addition to this, the Japanese economy has been under a condition of a liquidity trap.  Ã‚  According to the monetarist theory, mainly influenced by Milton Friedman, a country would most likely move out of a liquidity trap by turning to the printing press or increasing the money supply. In order for Japan to move out of the liquidity trap, the bank of Japan has resulted to the printing press as well as the purchase of Japanese government’s treasury bonds. These are all monetarist activities and they go on to show us how the Japanese economy has gone in line with the teachings of Milton Friedman.CRITICISMS:Although Friedman was very influential on the field of macroeconomics, very many different schools of thought have criticized, or have held different views from those of Friedman. These include the Marxists, the Keynesians and neo-Keynesians.Th e Keynesians and neo-Keynesians advocate for a mixed economy. In this view, they consider an equally important role to be played by both the private sector and the government. . Thus Keynes believed that the government was responsible for not only helping the economy rise out of a depression by increasing aggregate spending but also it could increase general levels of investments by pumping more money into the economy, then the citizens are encouraged to spend more because more money is in circulation.   Once this is done then People will start to invest more, and the economy will react by increasing productive ventures.Thus, Keynes argued that government investment in public goods that will not be provided for by the market would encourage the private sector's growth. This would include government spending on such things as basic research, public health, education, and infrastructure.  On the other side, the Marxists beliefs in a social state where neither the government nor th e market takes control. Karl Marx believed that the state was a manifestation of the ruling class, in many instances he claimed, that the ruling class was the bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production). Whose aim was self-enrichment under such a state developments of either the infrastructure or education would be done if it were to their benefit and not to the benefit of the workers (Proletariat).CONCLUSION:The works of Milton Friedman will continue to hold the field of economics for a long time to come, especially in these days of globalization and increasing interdependence of states.REFERENCES:Hadjimichalakis M. (1982) Modern Economics, Prentice Hall Publishers, New JerseyH. Stratton (1999) Economics: A New Introduction, Pluto Press, USAMartin U. (1976) Agricultural Production Economics and Resources Used, Oxford University Press, OxfordPaul Anthony Samuelson (1964) Economics, McGraw-Hill publishers, USAThomas A. and Paschal Francis (1995) Beyond Rhetoric and Realism in Eco nomics: Towards a reformulation of economic methodology, Rout ledge, UK  Ian Livingstone (1970) Economics and Development: an introduction, Oxford University Press, OxfordJay M. Shafritz, Philip H. Whitbeck (1978), Classics of Organization Theory, Moore Pub Co, (Original from the University of Michigan).