Mgt 520 Final Exam Study

MGMT520 Final Exam Study Guide Finals open on Saturday April 20  at 12:01 a. m. MT (Saturday morning) Finals close on Thursday April 25 at 11:59 p. m. MT (Thursday night) PLEASE DON’T WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE – THE SYSTEM IS BUSY AND MAY SLOW DOWN AND ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. YOU MAY WANT TO PRINT THIS GUIDE. 1. The final exam is â€Å"open book, open notes. † The maximum time you can spend in the exam is 3 hours, 30 minutes. If you have not clicked the Submit For Grade button by then, you will be automatically exited from the exam.In the final exam environment, the Windows clipboard is disabled, and so you will not be able to copy exam questions or answers to or from other applications. There are three pages to your final, and each page begins with a story. The stories are quite interesting and will make the questions flow easily. The questions that follow are then taken from each story. There is a little overlap. Remember questions are scrambled, so while they v ary, all TCO’s will be tested. 2. You should click the Save Answers button in the exam frequently.This helps prevent connection timeouts that might occur with certain Internet Service Providers, and also minimizes lost answers in the event of connection problems. If your internet connection does break, when you reconnect you will normally be able to get back into your final exam without any trouble. Remember, though, that the exam timer continues to run while students are disconnected, so students should try to re-login as quickly as possible. The Help Desk cannot grant any student additional time on the exam. . See Syllabus â€Å"Due Dates for Assignments & Exams† for due date information. 4. Reminders: * You will only be able to enter your online Final Exam one time * Click the â€Å"Save Answers† button often * If you lose your Internet connection during your Final Exam, logon again and try to access your Final Exam. If you are unable to enter the Final Exam, contact first the help desk and then your instructor. * You will always be able to see the time remaining in the Final Exam at the top right of the page . Assessments with Multiple Pages: * Make sure you click the â€Å"Save Answers† button before advancing to the next page (we also suggest clicking on save answers while you are working) * Complete all of the pages before submitting your Final Exam for instructor review; check your work and be sure to answer all the parts of questions. * Do NOT use your browser's ‘Back' and ‘Forward' buttons during the Final Exam * Please use the provided links for navigation 6. Submitting Your Final Exam: When you are finished with the Final Exam, click on the â€Å"Submit for Grade† button * Please note: Once you click the â€Å"Submit for Grade† button, you will NOT be able to edit or change any of your answers 7. Exam Questions * The final exam covers all course TCOs and Weeks 1-7. * The exam has two short answe r questions worth 15 points each (TCO I and D. ) (Plan about 10 minutes each). * The exam has 7 essay questions worth 30 points each (TCO A, B, C, E, F, G, and H) (Plan about 23-25 minutes each. ) This gives you about a 30 minute buffer. The exam has a total of 240 points. * The final exam contains 3 pages, which can be completed in any order. You may go back and forth between the pages. * On the short answer questions, just answer the question asked, with any brief detail to explain why you answered that way. If a list is requested, provide it. * On the essay questions your answers should be succinct, fully address each part of the question, and demonstrate your knowledge and understanding in a concise but complete answer. You can use bullets where appropriate (i. e. listing elements, defenses, or steps. Ensure you analyze and give reasons for answers as partial credit is given even if the answer is wrong. * Remember always use proper citation when quoting other sources! Place any quoted or borrowed material (even a short phrase) in quotation marks with the source (URL, author/date/page #) immediately following the end of the passage. Even cite paraphrased information. Quoted or paraphrased material should not dominate a student’s work; use it sparingly to support your own thoughts, ideas, and examples. Failure to properly cite material can jeopardize a passing grade on the exam.Your work may be submitted to turnitin. com, an online plagiarism checking service. * If you reference your text, it’s OK to just say Jennings, p__. 8. Some of the key study areas are as follows: (while these are key areas remember that the exam is comprehensive for all the assigned course content and this study guide may not be all inclusive. * TCO A: Given an organizational requirement to conform business practices to both the law and best ethical practices, apply appropriate ethical theories to shape a business decision. Schools of thought * Ethical models – yo u will need to apply them to a factual situation much as you did in your midterm * TCO B: Given instances of federal regulation of business and commercial practices, determine the constitutional and regulatory bases for such regulation, and formulate a strategy by which an  impacted business can influence or contest regulating outcomes. * APA * process of regulation promulgation * Legal challenges to regulations (recall our Week 2 assignment, especially #5) TCO C: Given an example of corporate liability arising from the sale of defective and dangerous products, develop a business strategy that includes ethical considerations to minimize liability for claims of product liability and breach of warranty. * Strict Liability 402A – know the elements, relate them to the facts! * Negligence – don’t forget to cite the elements and relate them to the facts! * Warranties – again, expressed and implied, and relate them to the facts. * Defenses to all of these clai ms – don’t forget to use our terms: contributory negligence, assumption of risk, comparative negligence; relate them to the facts! TCO D: Given a business requirement to form a contract for the sale of goods and services to a customer, define the elements of a contract, and determine whether a duly formed contract is enforceable under the common law or Uniform Commercial Code. * Contract formation – remember the elements! * Contract performance * Defenses to contract performance * TCO E: Given specified circumstances of an employment relationship, determine the circumstances under which an employer is liable to an employee for employment discrimination or wrongful discharge. Creation of the agency relationship, including respondeat superior, negligent hiring, etc. * Responsibilities of the agent and principal * Theories of discrimination under Title VII – disparate treatment, impact; don’t forget sexual harassment, which is also covered, as well as age under the ADEA * Defenses to a Title VII charge * Enforcement of Title VII * TCO F: Given specified circumstances of business ownership of real and intellectual property, evaluate the rights of business to the protection of its property and the obligations arising out of the use of the property. Theories to protect business intellectual property (patents, copyright, etc. ) * Know the difference between appropriation (a privacy tort) and misappropriation (trade secrets). * Enforcement of business property rights (e. g. , product disparagement, trademark infringement, etc. ) * Defenses to these claims * TCO G: Given examples of anticompetitive or unfair trade practices, apply applicable antitrust or other consumer protection laws, and determine appropriate business strategies to prevent trade practices liabilities. Statutory protections for consumers * Bankruptcy * Restraints of trade * TCO H: Given a conflict between corporate stakeholders over a business decision, evaluate the legal and ethical responsibilities of corporate directors, officers, and controlling shareholders. * Duties and obligations of directors of a corporation * Insider Trading – be sure you know the elements * TCO I: Given specified circumstances of a business decision to expand to international markets, determine what international legal requirements or regulatory controls apply. Principles of international law * Resolution of international disputes * Jurisdiction in a private action between citizens or companies of different countries – understand sovereign immunity and how it applies and who may use it as a defense. * Jennings’s Article â€Å"Why an International Code of Ethics Would be Good† 9. Areas that were discussed in the threads will be prime targets. 10. Assignments will also be prime targets for revisiting. Finally, if you have any questions for me, please post them to our Q;A, or email me. Good luck on the exam!

The essay is about the game of baseball

The essay is about the game of baseball. It covers basic rules and terms applied in baseball. Each paragraph of the paper describes a particular issue of a game such a field structure, the process of the game itself, the role of each team-player, and the general goal of the game.The essay is structured in such a way that gives a comprehensive and consequent picture of what is baseball about.This work is a definition essay on a team game baseball. Americans had played bat-and-ball games for decades when, in 1845, Alexander Cartwright of New York devised the rules that created modern baseball. Cartwright’s game quickly became popular with young clerks and urban craftsmen. By 1860, baseball had spread throughout the Northeast, and by 1870 to the rest of the nation. Now, baseball is a game made up of two teams of nine players each on a baseball field.There are four bases – points which must be touched by a runner in order to score a run. Numbered counter-clockwise, first, s econd and third bases are cushions, sometimes informally referred to as bags, shaped as 15  in (38  cm) squares which are raised a short distance above the ground; together with home plate, the fourth â€Å"base†, they form a square with sides of 90  ft (27.4  m) called the diamond. Home base (plate) is a pentagonal rubber slab known as simply home. The playing field is divided into three main sections:(a)  Ã‚  Ã‚   The infield, containing the four bases, is for general defensive purposes bounded by the foul lines and within the grass line.(b)  Ã‚   The outfield is the grassed area beyond the infield grass line between the foul lines, and bounded by a wall or fence.(c)  Ã‚  Ã‚   Foul territory is the entire area outside the foul lines.The game is played in nine innings in which each team gets one turn to bat and try to score runs while the other pitches and defends in the field. An inning is broken up into two halves in which the away team bats in the top (first ) half, and the home team bats in the bottom (second) half.In baseball, the defense always has the ball — a fact that differentiates it from most other team sports. The teams switch every time the defending team gets three players of the batting team out.The winner is the team with the most runs after nine innings. If the home team is ahead after the top of the ninth, play does not continue into the bottom half. In the case of a tie, additional innings are played until one team comes out ahead at the end of an inning. If the home team takes the lead anytime during the bottom of the ninth or of any inning thereafter, play stops and the home team is declared the winner.The basic contest is always between the pitcher for the fielding team, and a batter. The pitcher throws — pitches —the ball towards home plate, where the catcher for the fielding team waits (in a crouched stance) to receive it. Behind the catcher stands the home plate umpire.The batter stands in one of the batter’s boxes and tries to hit the ball with a bat. The pitcher must keep one foot in contact with the top or front of the pitcher’s rubber — a 24†³ x 6†³ (~ 61 cm x 15 cm) plate located atop the pitcher’s mound — during the entire pitch, so he can only take one step backward and one forward in delivering the ball.The catcher’s job is to receive any pitches that the batter does not hit and to ‘call’ the game by a series of hand movements that signal to the pitcher what pitch to throw and where. If the pitcher disagrees with the call, he will ‘shake off’ the catcher by shaking his head; he accepts the sign by nodding. Each team has a different set of signals, though the number 1 is almost universal as a fast ball.The catcher’s role becomes more crucial depending on how the game is going, and how the pitcher responds to a given situation. Each pitch begins a new play, which might consist of n othing more than the pitch itself.Each half-inning, the goal of the defending team is to get three members of the other team out. A player who is out must leave the field and wait for his next turn at bat. There are many ways to get batters and baserunners out; some of the most common are catching a batted ball in the air, tag outs, force outs, and strikeouts.After the fielding team has put out three players from the opposing team, that half of the inning is over and the team in the field and the team at bat switch places; there is no upper limit to the number that may bat in rotation before three outs are recorded. Going through the entire order in an inning is referred to as â€Å"batting around†. It is indicative of a high scoring inning. A complete inning consists of each opposing side having a turn (three outs) on offense.The goal of the team at bat is to score more runs than the opposition; a player may do so only by batting, then becoming a base runner, touching all th e bases in order (via one or more plays), and finally touching home plate. To that end, the goal of each batter is to enable baserunners to score or to become a baserunner himself.The batter attempts to hit the ball into fair territory — between the baselines — in such a way that the defending players cannot get them or the baserunners out. In general, the pitcher attempts to prevent this by pitching the ball in such a way that the batter cannot hit it cleanly or, ideally, at all.A baserunner who successfully touches home plate after touching all previous bases in order scores a run. In an enclosed field, a fair ball hit over the fence on the fly is normally an automatic home run, which entitles the batter and all runners to touch all the bases and score. A home run hit with all bases occupied (‘bases loaded’) is called a grand slam.Referencesâ€Å"Baseball† Available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball Accessed 25 April 2007.â€Å"Baseball rulles† Available from www.ncaa.org/library/rules/2003/baseball_rules.pdf Accessed 25 April 2007.

Career Choices Essay Example for Free

Career Choices Essay Making the perfect career choice is a lifetime decision that will have a lasting impression on your life and the life of your future family. As we all grow up in life we hear from our parents and mentor’s that if you decide to choose a career that you dislike, you can spend a life time living a miserable lifestyle and your career will have a short life span. In vice-versa, if you find something that you love to do in life and you are  able to make that into a long lasting career. It will seem like you have never worked one day in your life. Throughout time, many working class individuals have chosen to pursue educations in careers that will lead to a future living a stable lifestyle but it is not what their true passions are in life. So they are stuck doing something that they hate in life just because they have to work in order to provide a sufficient lifestyle for themselves and family. Another critical aspect that you must take into consideration when making a career choice is to make a valid consideration on whether you can grow inside of the career decision you make or will you remain static performing one position for the rest of your life. The reason why a lot of individuals choose to go to college is because they are stuck in a dead end job that has no momentum to further gain a promotion or advance in pay. In my opinion, entrepreneurship should be every individual’s long term goal in life. The ultimate decision making factor in choosing a career and working for a prominent company is to get the working experience making mistakes under another companies supervision, so when you begin to start your own company you will already have the experience to make smart business decisions and know how to make your company prosperous. Even though there are a lot of great career choices out there in the world, I believe that a career in either health and wellness or software engineering would be the best fit for me because they will give me the opportunity to grow, both fields are very challenging, and they both will give me the opportunity to prosper and own a private company. 1 The Importance of Having A Software Engineering Technical Career Since the late 1940’s the software engineering field has been growing rapidly as a challenging and profound profession for a lot of software students that would like to inquire skills that helps to maximize the quality and create database software. Since this time excellent software programmers have found ways to improve these components by increasing their speed, security, usability, cost, testability, size, readability, and stability. Engineers have developed business software that have changed the world and has adapted this same concept onto many home computers so consumers can have the same usability as larger corporations from the comfort of their own laptop computer. Computer innovation has evolved greatly since the 1940’s with higher advanced platforms that are able to integrate businesses with consumers easier, through the invention of the World Wide Web. Laptop computers along with tablets have created an easier and more efficient way to access the internet with access to public networks that can be routed from any major hotel or fast food restaurant, and mobile phone technology that has been designed by Mac and Android allow consumers to stay connected to the world from the comfort of a palm sized device. It takes a very talented array of programmers to design these devices and with the world of technology at the forefront of driving innovation; this career field is here to stay. With stability also come growth and business opportunities for talented engineers to step up and continue driving this career field to unknown places. Recently CNN money came out with an article titled â€Å"Best Jobs in America† which had a detailed listing of the top 100 careers in America with great pay and growth potential. It was not a surprise to see software architects at the top of the list at number 1 with a 10 year job growth forecast of 34% beating out other leading career opportunities such as physician assistants coming in at number 2, and management consultant coming in at number 3. CNN has stated, 2 â€Å"Like architects who design buildings, they create the blueprints for software engineers to follow and pitch in with programming too. Plus, architects are often called on to work with customers and product managers, and they serve as a link between a company’s tech and business staffs† (CNN Money, 2010). Making this a well-diversified career field where you get the opportunity to work inside a comfortable office setting but also visit customers at their facilities and help out with customer service issues at remote locations. Along with the exceptional growth potential this career path shares, it also can create amazing entry level financial stability as well as stated in figure 1 below: 10th%| 25th%| 75th%| 90th%| As you advance your experience and expertise in the software engineering career field, programmers have the option to choose a specific craft such as a technical support engineer, C++ software engineer, or lead software engineer where your average annual income can range from $63,000 upwards to $120,000 a year easily based on an individual’s knowledge. Even though ultimate career stability along with a great compensation plan and benefits sounds great from the outside looking in we must also understand that with great opportunities also comes a great challenge. Programming in laments terms can be contributed to learning a second language such as 3 Spanish. It takes a lot of dedicated time to perfecting this skill along with training. Depending on your decided expertise there may be a ton of syntax and logical instructions that you have to learn in order to program effectively and unfortunately most of this time is spent outside a classroom or job setting really learning the craft at home on an individual’s personal time. But in a more positive perspective a lot of these languages such as Java, C#, and Visual Basic derive from the parent language of C++ so if you are able to get a great concept for this computing language the others will come fairly efficient for beginning programmers. Another positive aspect to this career field is since there are such high demands for these positions a lot of companies offer entry level programming positions offered to developers that have no experience so this will give individuals the opportunity to work under mid and senior level technicians to learn the ropes. A lot of individuals stray away from challenge, growth, and hard work but this is a career field that awards individuals for hard work, and gives techs the opportunity to learn a new aspect of the business every single day which makes this career field interesting. Below in figure 2 is a progression  chart that shows the career path a software engineer should take in order to become great at their craft and make a nice 6 figure income. A career progression chart generally resembles the one below. It may vary from company to company. | Role| Years of experience| Trainee software engineer| 0-1| Software engineer| 1-2| Senior software engineer| 2-4| System analyst| 3-5| Project leader| 5-8| Figure 2 ExpressComputerOnline.Com career roadmap for software engineers One could only imagine that one day a company that was started in your parents garage would evolve and become a multi-billion dollar company that has millions of dedicated customers, and releases innovative products that changes the world every year. Well this is not a dream anymore; it has actually been a reality for major companies such as Google, Apple, and Macintosh which have all started out of garages. The biggest disadvantage the many software developers face when building their own business is they do not have a lot of business experience, but with help from outsourcing agencies such as fog creek which specializes in the development and startup of technology companies they state that â€Å"if you have an innovative product that can compete for market share versus other companies all you have to do is market, sale, price, and hire exceptionally well† (Fog Creek Software, 2011). Which is not an easy process but if you are able to do it effectively your business will have a fair chance of competing in a vastly competitive marketplace. How A Health And Wellness Career Will Create A Great Business Career Individual health and wellness have been in the forefront of the world for many decades now being led by activist groups and government agencies  initiating â€Å"Go Green† marketing campaigns and household tax credits for individuals and homeowners who convert their lifestyles to a more healthy and energy efficient environment. CNN states that health and wellness physicians â€Å"Perform routine care such as physicals and tests, counseling patients, and even prescribing medication, all under a doctor’s supervision. Today’s doctor shortage will only worsen as boomers age and health care reform brings more patients into the system, creating a huge need for this field† (CNN Money, 2010). 5 So even with an aging population this will continue to be a career path that will always be in high demand. On the CNN money web article that was published earlier in the year physician’s assistants that also are in health and wellness practices partake in the number 2 position with a 39% 10 year annual growth forecast. Even though going green and living health is not new in the minds of many Americans a lot of individuals have not accepted the lifestyle thus living in an unhealthy environment. Statistics have shown that just in woman alone â€Å"Recent national data show that 82.1 percent of Black women and 75.7 percent of Hispanic women are overweight or obese compared to 59.5 percent of White women (Ogden, 2012).† This shows that there is still a lot of room for growth in this industry and still barriers to break down before this money making opportunity really explodes. In college classrooms instructors have put a major emphasis on students teaching their patients how their living environments vastly effect there personal health and living an unhealthy personal lifestyle will have a vastly negative effect on their health. With more educators out there pushing the idea and government agencies pushing the effort there is a ton of room for growth in this industry. Health and wellness physicians make a pretty comfortable lifestyle as represented below in figure 3, and it is also pretty fulfilling knowing that you are changing individual lives by helping them improve their health. With any career field that is rewarding and has a tremendous opportunity for growth there are some challenges and risk that must be taken into consideration. Just like with the software engineering career path there is a journey that needs to be taken before you have the appropriate authority to recommend patients for certain treatments and products. There was an article posted in the New England Journal by Michael Porter which makes an argument that states, â€Å"By shifting our focus on value, simply defined as quality divided by cost, we can lower costs and improve quality (Porter, 2011)†. So in order to make this a rewarding career path, consumers would have to switch their focus as well which makes this a difficult path to choose. Education will not be a hard factor to fulfill because there are tons of institutions that offer individuals certification opportunities and there was an article on livestrong.com that supports health and wellness professionals that states, â€Å"If you have a passion for health and wellness, sharing your interest can enrich the lives of others as well. College majors in kinesiology or exercise science can teach skills for exercise and wellness careers but may not be required to obtain certifications (Case, 2011).† 7 Building a Health and Wellness Company may not be easy but if we are able to get it off the ground and running it does offer a tremendous reward and fulfillment knowing that you are offering individuals great products and services that will change their lives by allowing them to live a healthier fulfilling lifestyle. There are even lots of companies out there in the market today which assist business minded individuals such as Melaleuca in helping individuals start their own health and wellness companies. They provide products along with customer service to those who are small companies and need outsourcing to get started. This helps break down a lot of barriers and makes the transition into entrepreneurship a lot easier. Developing a career in software engineering or health and wellness can be very growth orientated, lucrative, and rewarding careers that both give back to the community. Even though there are a lot of great career choices out there in the world, I believe that a career in either health and wellness or software engineering would be the best fit for me because they will give me the opportunity to grow, both fields are very challenging, and they both will give me the opportunity to prosper and own a private company. I was always told in my life that as you begin to mature in life an individual should always have three forms of income coming in which first is a primary income which results from a regular steady job. The second is an alternate income which may result from a part time job or secondary business. While the last form of revenue may result from investing or savings income. My final career choice decision is to pursue software engineering as my primary income since I have dedicated so much time and effort towards learning the craft, and pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems will help me get a great entry level position with a great starting pay. Plus I have a passion for innovation and enjoy the challenge of learning something new every day. Second, I also have a passion for helping others and with the sales background that I currently have it would be an excellent opportunity for me to build a business starting a secondary health and wellness company selling health certified products to homeowners that wish to live a healthy and clean lifestyle. Case, H. (2011, June 14). Exercise & wellness careers.

Account for Amartya Sen's Approach to Development as Freedom Essay

Account for Amartya Sen's Approach to Development as Freedom - Essay Example This essay stresses that the connection between development and freedom has been subject to many debates. This is because while some people view freedom as a great partner to progress, while others believe that individual freedom leads to adversity and slows down development. Let us begin by looking at the definitions of both terms. Development is defined by Lawn as â€Å"an evolutionary process involving the qualitative improvement in the human condition over time". Freedom on the other hand is â€Å"the possibility for choosing what is good lying immanent within the plurality of alternatives which appear more or less good†. This paper makes a conclusion that Sen has observed that freedom is not mainly the primary end of development, but rather the main means. There are wide varieties of freedoms and all are remarkably linked through various mechanisms. These freedoms range from political freedoms, which help to promote economic security and provide social opportunities to other forms of freedom. Freedom links economic prosperity and development and can be strengthened by other freedoms. When freedom opportunities prevail, individuals can easily shape their destiny and the end result is prevalence in the free and sustainable agency. Individuals can easily shape their destiny in the presence of adequate social opportunities. For this reason, Sen’s work is applied by economists worldwide. It also holds no threat since it is humane in nature.

Yes or no, Medieval Gothic churches were a complete break with Greek Essay

Yes or no, Medieval Gothic churches were a complete break with Greek and Roman design What fundamental ideas in Christianity affected how these buildings were designed - Essay Example Settlers later constructed larger houses with multiple rooms separated by columns. The architectural characteristics that are most directly related with the Greeks, columns and stairs, began developing in this era (Scott 19). Three orders developed distinctive patterns for the columns on their temples, with the Corinthian column style having the most elaborate and decorative columns, hence the rarest. The Doric style used by the Spartans was the simplest. Ionic columns were slender compared to the Doric and twice the height. The Romans, like the Greeks, used Doric, Corinthian and Ionic column styles. However, the Romans discovered the structural and artistic worth of arches and domes. They used arches because they could sustain enormous weights, enabling them to construct larger and more decorative structures (Bony 33). The Gothic cathedrals were representations of the universe in miniature scale. Each architectural concept, including the loftiness and enormous dimensions of the structure, were meant to put across theological significance; the great glory of God just as he was viewed by the Christians. The geometrical and mathematical natures of the buildings were influenced by the Christians’ view of an orderly universe, in which can be perceived an underlying logic and rationality (Scott 39). The murals, statues, stained glass and sculptural decoration integrate the spirit of creation in portrayals of the Zodiac, Labors of the Months, Lives of the Saints and referring to eternity in the Last Judgment and Coronation of the Virgin (Bony 12). Many churches had rich, decorative patterns usually depicting biblical stories, emphasizing visual links between Old Testament prophecies and the New Testament. The front elevation of a large church or cathedral, frequently referred to as the West Front, is designed to impact upon an approaching worshipper a powerful impression of the might of

Team Building 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Team Building 2 - Essay Example m must get into the process of making individual assignments so that everyone knows exactly what they are supposed to do and how it contributes to the team goals (Bennis, 2003). Using an effective decision making process: Making effective decisions that have the commitment of all the team members is another key competency. They must make a wide range of decision related to goals, programs, schedule, assignments and so forth. Establishing open Communication channels: this competency involves some risk if the norm is to keep quiet and say only what the boss wants to hear. So, it would be helpful if the leader initiates a team-oriented exercise which would allow them to open up, make decisions, test trust levels and observe the leader’s behavior (Bennis, 2003). Running effective meetings: the team must have a clear purpose and goal of each meeting, develop and agenda before the meetings, structure the items on the agenda to follow a logical sequence, summarize and record actions, decisions and assignments made at the meeting and make it clear that all team members have the responsibility to call for a meeting, if required. These steps are likely to make the team more productive (W.G. Dyer, W.G. Dyer Jr. & J.H. Dyer, 2007). Establishing Accountability for High performance: High-performance teams ensure high performance standards and team members hold each other accountable for performance. Once individual assignments are done, the team members periodically check the same and hold each other accountable for fulfilling them as the way that is required. Giving credit to all the team members increases the productivity of the team and makes it more effective. Teams which are effective know to give and receive constructive feedback without being defensive or combative. This helps in continuous improvement in the team. Managing conflicts effectively is a critical competency because every team has conflicts, but unresolved conflicts reduce the efficiency of the

Gifted students Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Gifted students - Coursework Example A person’s gift can for example be used in intrinsic motivation to create an attitude that the person has potential that can be used to achieve success in other fields. None academic gifts can therefore be intrinsic motivators towards a student’s academic progress (Marquis and Huston, 2008). ‘Self-initiatives’ into undertakings can be explained from the concept of motivation. Individual who are ‘self-motivated’ will for example have the drive to perform activities without being asked to do so (Marquis and Huston, 2008). Motivation and giftedness are mutually related. Motivation for instance facilitates perfection of gifts while gifts act as a factor to motivation. A gifted individual is for instance confidence and ‘self-motivated’ into ventures (Marquis and Huston, 2008). Improving motivation and task completion among students is achievable through focusing â€Å"on the needs and wants† of the students and application of â€Å"appropriate motivational strategies† (Marquis and Huston, 2008, p. 422). While intrinsic reward refers to utility that a person derives, extrinsic reward is outwardly and observable by other people. Intrinsic rewards are therefore better motivators as they are built within a person as opposed extrinsic motivators that are easily influenced by a person’s environment (Waren, 2002; Marquis and Huston,

Argumentative Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Argumentative - Research Paper Example This essay will argue in support of the points and concerns raised by the author by citing evidence from credible scholarly sources. It was anti-Semitism and fervent nationalism that consolidated government control of German, Italian and Chinese populations respectively in the bygone era. In today’s geo-political situation, terrorism is the most discussed issue in public discourse. Ever since the September 11, 2001 attacks on America, it has been a major pre-occupation of American diplomatic and military efforts. Since the United States is the leader of the prevailing uni-polar world, terrorism now has implications for all countries associated with it. In the context of the ongoing War on Terror, the concept of Islamist jihad is seen as the ideological springboard for the numerous suicide attacks witnessed recently. As a measure to retaliate and prevent terror attacks, America and its allies have initiated several counter-terror operations in perceived geo-political hotspots. To complement these efforts, the scale and scope of counter-intelligence operations are also upped. (Mcgrath, 2004, p.147) But the term counter-intelligence darkly reminds the reader of the CoIntelPro regime of the Cold War period, where the state abused its power to keep a check on citizen freedoms. Curbing civil liberties under whatever guise is seldom a progressive move, as examples from past and present clearly show: â€Å"Tyrants place populations under surveillance because that is a prime means of control. The Gestapo, the NKVD, the KGB, the Stasi, and the Chinese Politburo all requisitioned private data such as medical, banking, and library records; now, with the Internet, Chinese authorities track citizens’ computer use. One reason dictators demand access to such private data is that this scrutiny breaks down citizens’ sense of being able to act freely against those in power†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wolf, Chapter 5, p.81) While counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence operations might have legitimate causes in certain exceptional cases, today it has come to represent hegemony and power. The record of the United States, especially under eight year reign of George W. Bush speaks ill of the notion of counter-intelligence. Interrogators working on the War on Terror project have resorted to such dehumanizing tactics such as solitary confinement in nudity in order to elicit intelligence information from suspects. Interrogators were learnt to have imposed nudity as a way of inducing ‘learned helplessness’ – which is akin to the psychological subjugation of American public to the domination and control by the elite business and political class. The Obama administration continued this tactic with Pfc. Bradley Manning. Whistle-blowers are being held naked in solitary confinement, â€Å"while our political establishment, a complicit media, and a professional class of lawyers and behavioral scientists attempt to veil American atrocities . Current targeted assassinations of American citizens, landmines, torture, and military tribunals sadly converge with the Bush-Cheney era policy of war and  counter-terrorism.† (Glazier, 2009, p.957) The dangers of indirect censorship and control articulated by Noami Wolf are easier to understand when we study the implications of recent legislations. For example, under George W. Bush's reign, the Foreign Intelligence

Competitive advantages with the merger of exxon and mobil Case Study

Competitive advantages with the merger of exxon and mobil - Case Study Example Unlike other companies in this industry, such as Shell, Exxon-Mobil now has a new knowledge base of talented professionals that supersedes other industries. The revenues earned by Exxon-Mobil have also provided the firm with new opportunities for further acquisitions, including its 2010 purchase of XTO Energy (Miller, 1). This acquisition has given the business much higher competitive edge due to its capital purchase as XTO is a leader in providing new innovations in unconventional energy resources, including natural gas and fossils fuels that burn cleaner than competitive products. This is a competitive advantage since regulations for clean air emissions are targeting firms and Exxon-Mobil is already geared for compliance and will be able to avoid non-compliance fees and taxation like some of its gas industry competitors. It is clear that the company’s largest competitive advantage comes in the form of high profitability. Miller, Don. â€Å"Exxon Deal for XTO Energy May Set Off Wave of Energy Mergers and Acquisitions†. Money Morning Magazine Online. Accessed October 8, 2011 at

Managing human resources management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing human resources management - Essay Example Through effective human resource management, employees can contribute effectively to the overall company success and attainment of goals. Human resource management is also responsible for maintaining outstanding associations between employees within the organization. Every employee in an organization has his or her personal goals, and it is the responsibility of human resource management to ensure that the goals of the organization integrate with the individual’s goals. Therefore, this paper will focus on offering recommendations to St-Patrick’s Nursing Home human resource manager on how to eliminate the numerous human resource problems and improve on employee retention. Recruitment and selection are a process that engrosses numerous activities that require a great deal of time. The primary aim of recruitment and selection is to guarantee that the most appropriate individuals with the most appropriate skills are employed by an organization. The health sector is a huge service industry that experiences rapid changes. This makes the recruitment process subject to numerous internal and external factors. The selection results should emanate from a systematic and comprehensive process (Fottler et al, 2007: 32). In planning for recruitment, a human resource practitioner is required to be in apprehension of the wider issues that involve the recruitment process. When planning the recruitment of people in the health organization, it is imperative to identify the requirements of a job (Fottler et al, 2010: 45). The staffing needs are articulated in the job analysis. A job analysis is a purposeful and systematic process that offers significant, descriptive information on the job vacancy (Durai, 2010: 77). This analysis offers a broken down evaluation of different components of the job. This analysis also gives the basis of the functions of the personnel (Fottler et al, 2007: 56). Needless to say, this analysis can work best

Research Paper About Education Essay Example for Free

Research Paper About Education Essay Etymologically, the word education is derived from the Latin Ä“ducÄ tiÃ…  (â€Å"A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing) from Ä“dÃ… «cÃ…  (â€Å"I educate, I train†) which is related to the homonym Ä“dÃ… «cÃ…  (â€Å"I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect†) from Ä“- (â€Å"from, out of†) and dÃ… «cÃ…  (â€Å"I lead, I conduct†).[2] The role of government A right to education has been created and recognized by some jurisdictions: Since 1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. It does not however guarantee any particular level of education of any particular quality.[3] At the global level, the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under its Article 13.[4] Throughout history various governments have made it illegal to educate children privately or at home. Various totalitarian regimes, for example, have mandated indoctrination through propaganda in the Hitler Youth and propaganda in education under various communist regimes. Systems School children line, in Kerala, India Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. Schools systems are sometimes also based on religions, giving them different curricula. Curriculum Main articles: Curriculum, Curriculum theory, and List of academic disciplines School children in Durban, South Africa. In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses and their content offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard. An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university–or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.[5] Educational institutions may incorporate fine arts as part of K-12 grade curricula or within majors at coll eges and universities as electives. The various types of fine arts are music, dance, and theater.[6] Preschools Main article: Preschool education The term preschool refers to a school for children who are not old enough to attend kindergarten. It is a nursery school. Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate.[citation needed] While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is â€Å"to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the child’s physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them.†[7] Primary schools Main article: Primary education Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842. Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising.[8] Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Secondary schools Main article: Secondary education Students working with a teacher at Albany Senior High School, New Zealand Students in a classroom at Samdach Euv High School, Cambodia In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, post-secondary, or higher education (e.g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary educa tion together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession. The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history. MLC Kx12 in Portland, Oregon Autodidacticism Main article: Autodidacticism Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is self-directed learning that is related to but different from informal learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is learning on your own or by yourself, and an autodidact is a self-teacher. Autodidacticism is a contemplative, absorbing process. Some autodidacts spend a great deal of time reviewing the resources of libraries and educational websites. One may become an autodidact at nearly any point in ones life. While some may have been informed in a conventional manner in a particular field, they may choose to inform themselves in other, often unrelated areas. Notable autodidacts include Abraham Lincoln (U.S. president), Srinivasa Ramanujan (mathematician), Michael Faraday (chemist and physicist), Charles Darwin (naturalist), Thomas Alva Edison (inventor), Tadao Ando (architect), George Bernard Shaw (playwright), and Leonardo da Vinci (engineer, scientist, mathematician). Vocational Main article: Vocational education Vocational education is a form of education focused on direct and practical training for a specific trade or craft. Vocational education may come in the form of an apprenticeship or internship as well as institutions teaching courses such as carpentry, agriculture, engineering, medicine, architecture and the arts. ]Indigenous Main article: Indigenous education Indigenous education refers to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, models, methods and content within formal and non-formal educational systems. Often in a post-colonial context, the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous knowledge and language through the processes of colonialism. Furthermore, it can enable indigenous communities to â€Å"reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures, and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students.†[9]

Public administration Essay Example for Free

Public administration Essay ‘Ethics’ is a difficult term to define. The meaning, nature and scope of ethics have expanded in the course of time. ‘Ethics’ is integral to public administration. In public administration, ethics focuses on how the public administrator should question and reflect in order to be able to act responsibly. We cannot simply bifurcate the two by saying that ethics deals with morals and values, while public administration is about actions and decisions. Administering accountability and ethics is a difficult task. The 1 levels of ethics in governance are dependent on the social, economic, political, cultural, legal-judicial and historical contexts of the country. These specific factors influence ethics in public administrative systems. This Unit will discuss the meaning, evolution, foci and concerns of ethics. It will bring out the different dimensions of ethics and their relevance for public administration. The significance of an ethical code for administrators will be analysed and the nature of work ethics will be discussed. This Unit will also examine the obstacles to ethical accountability. 21. 2 ETHICS: MEANING AND RELEVANCE ‘Ethics’ is a system of accepted beliefs, mores and values, which influence human behaviour. More specifically, it is a system based on morals. Thus, ethics is the study of what is morally right, and what is not. The Latin origin of the word ‘ethics’ is ethicus that means character. Since the early 17th century, ‘ethics’ has been accepted as the â€Å"Science of morals; the rules of conduct, the science of human duty. † Hence, in common parlance, ethics is treated as moral principles that govern a person’s or a group’s behaviour. It includes both the science of the good and the nature of the right. The ethical concerns of governance have been underscored widely in Indian scriptures and other treatises such as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagvad Gita, Buddha Charita, Arthashastra, Panchatantra, Manusmriti, Kural, Shukra Niti, Kadambari, Raja Tarangani, and Hitopadesh. At the same time, one cannot ignore the maxims on ethical governance provided by the Chinese philosophers such as Lao Tse, Confucius and Mencius. In the Western philosophy, there are three eminent schools of ethics. The first, inspired by Aristotle, holds that virtues (such as justice, charity and generosity) are dispositions to act in ways that benefit the possessor of these virtues and the society of which he is a part. The second, subscribed to mainly by Immanual Kant, makes the concept of duty central to morality: human beings are bound, from a knowledge of their duty as rational beings, to obey the categorical imperative to respect other rational beings with whom they interact. The third is the Utilitarian viewpoint that asserts that the guiding principle of conduct should be the greatest happiness (or benefit) of the greatest number (Hobson, 2002). The Western thought is full of ethical guidelines to rulers, whether in a monarchy or a democracy. These concerns are found in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Penn, John Stuart Mill, Edmund Burke, and others. Rawl’s theory of justice revolves around the adaptation of two fundamental principles of justice, which would, in turn, guarantee a just and morally acceptable society. The first principle guarantees the right of each person to have the most extensive basic liberty compatible with liberty of others. The second principle states that social and economic positions are to be: (a) To everyone’s advantage, and (b) Open to all. A key issue for Rawls is to show how such principles would be universally adopted, and over here his work borders on general ethical issues. He introduces a theoretical ‘veil of ignorance’ in which all ‘players’ in the social game would be placed in a situation, which is called the ‘original position’. Having only a general knowledge about the facts of ‘life and society’ each player is to make a ‘rationally’ prudential choice concerning the kind of social institution they would enter into contract with. By denying the players any specific information about themselves it forces them to adopt a generalised point of view that bears a strong resemblance to the moral point of view. This view point revolves around moral conclusions can be reached without abandoning the prudential standpoint and posting a moral outlook merely by pursuing one’s own prudential reasoning under certain procedural bargaining. 2 The gist of wisdom on administrative ethics is that the public administrators are the â€Å"guardians† of the Administrative State. Hence, they are expected to honour public trust and not violate it. Two crucial questions raised in this context are â€Å"why should guardians be guarded? And â€Å"Who guards the guardian? † (Rosenbloom and Kravchuk, 2005). The administrators need to be guarded against their tendency to misconceive public interest, promote self-interest, indulge in corruption and cause subversion of national interest. And they need to be guarded by the external institutions such as the judiciary, legislature, political executive, media and civil society organisations. These various modes of control become instruments of accountability. 21. 3 EVOLUTION OF ETHICAL CONCERNS IN ADMINISTRATION It is essential to recognise that the discipline of Public Administration has been broadly influenced in the initial stages of its growth, by Political Science and the science of Management. While the philosophical premises of Public Administration were influenced primarily by Political Science, its technological facet was designed by Management Sciences. The early Political Science was taught as Moral Philosophy and Political Economy, while its current curriculum is the product of secular, practical, empirical and scientific tendencies of the past century. The American students of Political Science, in the early years of the last century, were dismayed at the inadequacies of the ethical approach in the Gilded Age. As a result of their interaction with the German universities and the influence on their thinking by scholars such as J. N Burgess, E. J. James, A. B Hart, A. L Lovell, and F. J Goodnow, they sought to recreate Political Science as a true science. They became increasingly interested in observing and analysing ‘actual governments’. Natural and Social Sciences substantially influenced their ideas and approaches. Later, Logical Positivism of the Austrian School influenced scholars such as Herbert Simon and thus there emerged a booming faith in developing a Science of Politics and a Science of Administration that would be able to `predict and control’ political and administrative life. As Dwight Waldo comments, the old belief that good government was the government of moral men was thus replaced by a morality that was irrelevant and that proper institutions and expert personnel were the determining factors in shaping good government. `The new amorality became almost a request for professional respect’. The eminence of Behaviouralism until the mid-1960s further marginalised the ethical issues in the study of Political Science and Public Administration. It was only after the advent of Post-behaviouralism in Political Science and of the accent on New Public Administration in Public Administration that the scientific methods of Behaviouralim and humanistic (read `ethical’) values struck a homogenous chord with administration and the dispute between facts and values was resolved substantially. The current discipline of public administration accords primacy to the `values’ of equity, justice, humanism, human rights, gender equality and compassion. The movement of Good Governance, initiated by the World Bank in 1992, lays stress, inter alia, on the ethical and moral conduct of administrators. While the New Public Management movement is more concerned with administrative effectiveness, the New Public Administration focuses on administrative ethics in its broader manifestation. Both the movements are complementary to each other. This complementarity of foci 3 is as truer today as it was a hundred years ago when the industrial world was experiencing the rise of Scientific Management amidst a strong acceptance of the notion of administrative responsibility. John Kennedy, during his Presidency (19611963) had averred: â€Å"No responsibility of government is more fundamental than the responsibility of maintaining the higher standards of ethical behaviour. The ideal-type construction of bureaucracy, propounded by Max Weber also highlighted an ethical imperative of bureaucratic behaviour. Weber (1947) observed: In the rational type, it is a matter of principle that the members of the administrative staff should be completely separated from ownership of the means of production and administration. Officials, employees and workers attached to the administrative staff do not themselves own the non-human means of production and administration†¦. These exists, furthermore, in principle complete separation of property belonging to the organisation, which is controlled within the sphere of office, and the personal property of the official, which is available for his own private uses†. Weber’s analysis underscores the need to prevent the misuse of an official position for personal gains. Although his ideal-type construct on bureaucracy is not empirical, yet it has an empirical flavour, for it appears to have taken into account the existential reality of bureaucratic behaviour. From a normative angle – knowing that Weber was not normative in his ideal type constructs – also, the message is clear: Don’t misuse official property for personal benefit. Most critics of real-world bureaucracies, including Harold Laski, Carl Friedrich, Victor Thompson and Warren Bennis, have criticised bureaucrats for violating the prescribed norms of moral conduct. Even Fred Riggs, while discussing the traits of a prismatic society like `formalism’ and ‘nepotism’ points out the yawning gap between the `ideal’ and the `real’ in administrative behaviour. The deviations from the norms and mores have been too glaring to be ignored. Immoral behaviour thus has become an integral component of `bureaupathology’ 21. 4 CONTEXT OF ETHICS AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Ethics, whether in an entire society, or in a social sub-system, evolves over a long period of time and is influenced, during its nurturance and growth, by a variety of environmental factors. Administrative ethics is no different. It is the product of several contextual structures and it never ceases to grow and change. Let us now look at some of these contextual factors that influence ethics in the public administrative systems: The Historical Context The history of a country marks a great influence on the ethical character of the governance system. The Spoils System in the USA during the initial phase of the American nation vitiated the ethical milieu of the American Public Administration. â€Å"To victor belong the spoils† asserted American President Jackson. Things would have continued the same way had not a disgruntled job seeker assassinated President Garfield in 1881. Garfield’s assassination spurred the process of civil service reforms in the USA, and the setting up of the US. Civil Service Commission in 1883 was the first major step in this direction. India has witnessed a long history of unethical practices in the governance system. Kautilya’s Arthashastra mentions a variety of corrupt practices in which the administrators of those times indulged themselves. The Mughal Empire and the Indian princely rule were also afflicted with the corrupt practices of the courtiers and 4 administrative functionaries, with ‘bakashish’ being one of the accepted means of selling and buying favours. The East India Company too had its share of employees who were criticised even by the British parliamentarians for being corrupt. The forces of probity and immorality co-exist in all phases of human history. Which forces are stronger depends upon the support these get from the prime actors of politico-administrative system. What is disturbing is that a long legacy of unethical practices in governance is likely to enhance the tolerance level for administrative immorality. In most developing nations having a colonial history, the chasm between the people and the government continues to be wide. In the colonial era, the legitimacy of the governance was not accepted willingly by a majority of population and therefore, true loyalty to the rulers was a rare phenomenon. Although the distance between the governing elite and the citizens has been reduced substantially in the transformed democratic regimes, yet the affinity and trust between the two has not been total even in the new dispensation. Unfortunately, even the ruling elite does not seem to have imbibed the spirit of emotional unity with the citizens. The legacy of competitive collaboration between the people and the administrators continues to exist. The nature of this relationship has an adverse impact on ‘administrative ethics’. The Socio-cultural Context Values that permeate the social order in a society determine the nature of governance system. The Indian society today seems to prefer wealth to any other value. And in the process of generating wealth, the means-ends debate has been sidelined. Unfortunately, ends have gained supremacy and the means do not command an equal respect. A quest for wealth in itself is not bad. In fact, it is a mark of civilisational progress. What is important is the means employed while being engaged in this quest. We seem to be living in an economic or commercial society, where uni-dimensional growth of individuals seem to be accepted and even valued, where ends have been subdued by means, and ideals have been submerged under the weight of more practical concerns of economic progress. Can we change this social order? Mahatma Gandhi very much wanted to transform the priority-order of the Indian society, but there were hardly any takers or backers of his radical thinking that was steeped in a strong moral order. To put it bluntly, ever since Gandhi passed away, there has been not a single strong voice in independent India challenging the supremacy of ‘teleology and unidimensionalism’. Neither have our family values questioned this unilinear growth of society nor has our educational system made serious efforts to inject morality into the impressionable minds of our youth. We have starkly failed on these fronts. The need is to evolve fresh perspectives on what kind of the Indians we wish to evolve and how? Till then, efforts will have to be focused on the non-social fronts. The issues of morality may or may not be rooted in the religious ethos of a society. Indian religious scriptures do not favour pursuit of wealth through foul means. Interestingly, Thiru Valluvar’s Kural, written two thousand years ago in Tamil Nadu, emphasises that earning wealth brings fame, respect and an opportunity to help and serve others, but it should be earned through right means only. Can this dictum form the basis of our socio-moral orientation? The level of integrity among Protestants and Parsees is believed by some to be relatively higher when compared to other religions and one can find the roots of such integrity in the well-ingrained mores of these religions. Nevertheless, it is only one point of view, as there are several other religious and secular groups, which are known for their high moral conduct. The cultural system of a country, including its religious orientation, appears to have played a significant role in influencing the work ethics of its people. For instance, the stress on hard work, so characteristic of the Protestant ethics, has helped several Christian societies to enhance their per capita 5 productivity. While Judaism has valued performance of physical labour by its followers, the Hindu and Islamic societies, on the other hand, have generally considered physical labour to be of lower rank than the mental work. Work ethics may or may not be linked with religious moorings. These are subjective issues but make for an interesting study. The family system and the educational system are influential instruments of socialisation and training of the mind in its impressionable years. If the values inculcated through the family and the school have underscored honesty and ethics, the impact on the mind-set of citizens is likely to be highly positive and powerful. Legal-judicial Context The legal system of a country determines considerably the efficacy of the ethical concerns in governance system. A neatly formulated law, with a clear stress on the norms of fair conduct and honesty, is likely to distinguish chaff from grain in the ethical universe. Conversely, nebulous laws, with confusing definition of corruption and its explanations, will only promote corruption for it would not be able to instill the fear of God or fear of law among those violating the laws of the land and mores of the society. Besides, an efficient and effective judiciary with fast-track justice system will prove a roadblock to immorality in public affairs. Conversely, a slow-moving judiciary, with a concern for letter rather than the spirit of the law, will dither and delay and even help the perpetrators of crimes by giving them leeway through prolonged trials and benefits of doubt. Likewise, the anti-corruption machinery of the government, with its tangled web of complex procedures, unintendedly grants relief to the accused who are indirectly assisted by dilatory and knotty procedures. In India, there is hardly any effective anticorruption institution. As we have read in Unit 7 earlier on in this Course, the Lok Pal is yet to be established, Lok Ayuktas are feeble and toothless agencies, while the state vigilance bodies are low-key actors. The consequences are too obvious to warrant any explanation. The Political Context The political leadership, whether in power or outside the power-domain, is perhaps the single most potent influence on the mores and values of citizens. The rulers do rule the minds, but in a democracy particularly, all political parties, pressure groups and the media also influence the orientation and attitudes on moral questions. If politicians act as authentic examples of integrity, as happens in the Scandinavian countries, or as examples of gross self-interest, as found in most South Asian countries, the administrative system cannot remain immune to the levels of political morality. The election system in India is considered to be the biggest propeller to political corruption. Spending millions on the elections `compels’ a candidate to reimburse his expenses through fair or foul means – more foul than fair. While fair has limits, foul has none. It is generally argued that the administrative class – comprising civil servants at higher, middle as well as lower levels – emerges from the society itself. Naturally, therefore, the mores, values and behavioural patterns prevalent in the society are likely to be reflected in the conduct of administrators. To expect that the administrators will be insulated from the orientations and norms evidenced the in society would be grossly unrealistic. The argument, propounded here, has a convincing logic, yet there can be a counterpoint that the rulers are expected to possess stronger moral fibre than the subjects. Since there are hardly any instrumentalities to protect and nurture administrative 6 morality vis-a-vis the general social morality, such an expectation remains at the most an elusive ideal. Hence, there is an obvious need to go deeper into the problem. The behaviour of politicians has a demonstration effect on civil servants. Besides, the capacity of the less honest political masters to control civil servants is immense. It is ironical that the moral environment in a country like India is designed more by its politicians than by any other social group. The primacy of the political over the rest of systems is too obvious to be ignored. If the media is objective and fearless, its role in preventing corruption can be effective. It can even act as a catalyst to the promotion of ethical behaviour among administrators. Hence, those who own and manage the media should understand their wider social and moral responsibilities. The trend in this direction is visible now with many television channels regularly airing their ‘expose’ on malpractices in the system. This role of the media is important if performed with intent of social responsibility rather than sensationalism. The Economic Context The level of economic development of a country is likely to have a positive correlation with the level of ethics in the governance system. Even when a causal relation between the two is not envisaged, a correlation cannot be ruled out. A lower level of economic development, when accompanied with inequalities in the economic order, is likely to create a chasm among social classes and groups. The less privileged or more deprived sections of society may get tempted to forsake principles of honest conduct while fulfilling their basic needs of existence and security. Not that the rich will necessarily be more honest (though they can afford to be so), yet what is apprehended is that the poor, while making a living, may find it a compelling necessity to compromise with the principles of integrity. It is interesting to note that with the advent of liberalising economic regime in developing nations, there is a growing concern about following the norms of integrity in industry, trade, management and the governance system on account of the international pressures for higher level of integrity in the WTO regime. This is what Fred Riggs would call `exogenous’ inducements to administrative change. 21. 5 ISSUE OF ETHICS: FOCI AND CONCERNS An important question arises in connection with the moral obligation of an administrative system. Is the administrative system confined to acting morally in its conduct or does it also share the responsibility of protecting and promoting an ethical order in the larger society? While most of the focus on administrative morality is on the aspect of probity within the administrative system, there is a need to consider the issue of the responsibility of the governance system (of which the administrative system is an integral part) to create and sustain an ethical ambience in the socioeconomic system that would nurture and protect the basic moral values. Moral political philosophy assumes that the rulers will not only be moral themselves, but would also be the guardians of morality in a society. Truly, being moral is a prerequisite to being a guardian of wider morality. Both the obligations are intertwined. It is a truism that the crux of administrative morality is ethical decision-making. The questions of facts and values cannot be separated from ethical decision-making. Thus, the science of administration gets integrated with the ethics of administration. And in this integrated regime, only that empirical concern is valued, which respects the normative concerns in the delivery of administrative services. 7 Which are the essential concerns in regard to administrative ethics? There can be a long list of values that are considered desirable in an administrative action. However, in being selective, one has to focus on the most crucial values. Let us now concentrate on the values of justice, fairness and objectivity. Woodrow Wilson, â€Å"The Study of Administration† (1887), in his inaugural address averred that justice was more important than sympathy. Thus, he placed justice at the top of value-hierarchy in a governance system. Paradoxically, there has been a lot of discussion on the formallegal aspects of administrative law since then, but very little analysis has been made of the philosophical dimension of administrative justice. The other two issues of ethical decision-making, viz. fairness and objectivity are, in fact, integral components of administrative justice. When administrators are true to their profession, they are expected to be impartial and fair and not get influenced by nepotism, favoritism and greed while making decisions of governance. Objectivity should not be misconstrued as a mechanical and rigid adherence to laws and rules. From the decision-making angle, it has undoubtedly wider ramifications encompassing a set of positive orientations. Currently, the notion of ethics has expanded itself to involve all major realms of human existence. Let us attempt to outline certain salient aspects of ethics in public administration. Broadly, they could be summarised as following maxims: †¢ Maxim of Legality and Rationality: An administrator will follow the law and rules that are framed to govern and guide various categories of policies and decisions. Maxim of Responsibility and Accountability: An administrator would not hesitate to accept responsibility for his decision and actions. He would hold himself morally responsible for his actions and for the use of his discretion while making decisions. Moreover, he would be willing to be held accountable to higher authorities of governance and even to the people who are the ultimate beneficiaries of his decisions and actions. Maxim of Work Commitment: An administrator would be committed to his duties and perform his work with involvement, intelligence and dexterity. As Swami Vivekananda observed: â€Å"Every duty is holy and devotion to duty is the highest form of worship. † This would also entail a respect for time, punctuality and fulfillment of promises made. Work is considered not as a burden but as an opportunity to serve and constructively contribute to society. Maxim of Excellence: An administrator would ensure the highest standards of quality in administrative decisions and action and would not compromise with standards because of convenience or complacency. In a competitive international environment, an administrative system should faithfully adhere to the requisites of Total Quality Management. Maxim of Fusion: An administrator would rationally bring about a fusion of individual, organisational and social goals to help evolve unison of ideals and imbibe in his behaviour a commitment to such a fusion. In situation of conflicting goals, a concern for ethics should govern the choices made. Maxim of Responsiveness and Resilience: An administrator would respond effectively to the demands and challenges from the external as well as internal environment. He would adapt to environmental transformation and yet sustain the ethical norms of conduct. In situations of deviation from the prescribed ethical norms, the administrative system would show resilience and bounce back into the accepted ethical mould at the earliest opportunity. 8 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Maxim of Utilitarianism: While making and implementing policies and decisions, an administrator will ensure that these lead to the greatest good (happiness, benefits) of the greatest number. Maxim of Compassion: An administrator, without violating the prescribed laws and rules, would demonstrate compassion for the poor, the disabled and the weak while using his discretion in making decisions. At least, he would not grant any benefits to the stronger section of society only because they are strong and would not deny the due consideration to the weak, despite their weakness. Maxim of National Interest: Though universalistic in orientation and liberal in outlook, a civil servant, while performing his duties, would keep in view the impact of his action on his nation’s strength and prestige. The Japanese, the Koreans, the Germans and the Chinese citizens (including civil servants), while performing their official roles, have at the back of their mind a concern and respect for their nation. This automatically raises the level of service rendered and the products delivered. Maxim of Justice: Those responsible for formulation and execution of policies and decisions of governance would ensure that respect is shown to the principles of equality, equity, fairness, impartiality and objectivity and no special favours are doled out on the criteria of status, position, power, gender, class, caste or wealth. Maxim of Transparency: An administrator will make decisions and implement them in a transparent manner so that those affected by the decisions and those who wish to evaluate their rationale, will be able to understand the reasons behind such decisions and the sources of information on which these decisions were made. Maxim of Integrity: An administrator would undertake an administrative action on the basis of honesty and not use his power, position and discretion to serve his personal interest and the illegitimate interests of other individuals or groups. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ There could be many more tenets added to the above catalogue of maxims of morality in administration. However, the overall objective is to ensure ‘Good Governance’ with a prime concern for ethical principles, practices, orientations and behaviour. There are no dogmas involved in defining administrative ethics. The chief concern while doing so is the positive consequence of administrative action and not just ostensibly rational modes of administrative processes. In the following Section, a few of the salient concerns and foci of ethics are being dealt with briefly. 21. 6 PERTINENCE OF CODE OF ADMINISTRATIVE ETHICS. The concept of ethics has been a latecomer in the realm of public administration. For too long, doing one’s duty well was considered to be an equivalent of bureaucratic ethics. Interestingly, in the United States, the original city managers’ and federal code of ethics placed notable stress on efficiency as ethical concept. In the early 20th century, the perspective began to change. In 1924, the International City/Country Management Association adopted the public sector’s first code of ethics that reflected anti-corruption and anti-politics facets of the municipal reforms movement. 9. In 1958, the US Congress imposed a code of ethics on the Federal Government and in 1978, founded the Office of Government Ethics as an upshot of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. In 1992, the Office of Government Ethics released the Federal Government’s first comprehensive set of standards of ethical conduct, comprising standards pertaining to gifts, conflicts of financial interest, impartiality, misuse of office, seeking outside employment, and outside activities. Almost all the American states have also promulgated their respective codes of ethics, though compared to the federal initiative, they are less comprehensive. Today, codes of ethics, ethics boards, and ethics training have been accepted as integral aspects of public administration in the U. S. Moreover, ethics education has also permeated the discipline of public administration. The National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Public Administration has made ethics education a required component of a Public Administration Programme for its accreditation and has prescribed that all introductory text-books in public administration should include a discussion on ethics (Browman, Berman and West, 2001). Eminent professional associations of public administration also offer training programmes on ethical conduct for public managers. In India, there are a few training programmes on administrative ethics offered by the Indian Institute of Public Administration and other institutions for civil servants, but there is hardly any similar initiative taken up in the realm of education in Public Administration. The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) had adopted in 1984 a Code of Ethics for its members (comprising intellectuals as well as practicing administrators). It was revised in 1994. Certain salient points of the ASPA’s Code of Ethics are as follows: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Exercise of discretionary authority to promote public interest Recognition and support to the public’s right to know the public business Exercise of compassion, benevolence, fairness and optimism Prevention of all forms of mismanagement of public funds by establishing and maintaining strong fiscal and management controls, by supporting audits and investigative activities Protection of Constitutional principles of equality, fairness, representativeness, responsiveness and due process in protecting citizens’ rights Maintenance of truthfulness and honesty and not to compromise them for advancement, honour, or personal gain Guarding zealously against conflict of interest or its appearance: e. g. nepotism, improper ou.

Perception of Leadership and Followership

Perception of Leadership and Followership Leadership and followership have the same coin but different face that we live by from the moment were born. Being on one of them does not mean youre just on that side, you can be a follower with your employer and a leader in your personal life. Both concepts have a broad meaning and cannot be adjusted into a short range or to a specific situation. Nevertheless, the relationship between them are endless and neither one of them can survive without the other. Moreover, whenever the leadership is setting an exemplary role, the follower will follow up exactly at the same level or at least the majority will do. Although, there is a correlation relationship between them, but it is always the leadership that has responsibilities to create reforms, expansions, and prosperity in the society. Furthermore, there is a very thin line between them and that line must be recognized by both side to ensure that commonsense balance is always present. For example, leaders sometimes forget to impose equ ality for all the followers under their responsibility due to the general system that has a limitation for them to spot that equality gap. Additionally, in this case, its better that a follower steps up to leadership and point out that gap and act accurately to close it by the right means. I feel that there is always a significant amount of useless area between leadership and followership that can be filled with enthusiasm, passion, and productivity. My family heritage and background have greatly influenced my perception of leadership in several ways. The experiences that you get in your early childhood days from the interactions that you have had with your family often re-emerges in your adult life interactions that you have with others including the interactions that you have in the business world. In that sense family becomes your first organization, and your family members become your first management team. It is your family life and upbringing that affects the ways in which the leaders respond to the pressures and the way they behave with their team members (Barry, 2015). My family upbringing was such that where I had many siblings and had many relatives with whom I used to interact quite often, which I believe has helped me develop my communication skills which I use as a leader also. The first time I realized my leadership potential was when I managed to finish my first big project in work much before the deadline and that project was a big deal to company performance and efficiency. Furthermore, the project was to transform hundreds of thousand paper data to electronic data which I was able to do with four members team and the timeline was two years and we finished it in just one year. As a result of my initiative, everything got sorted. There I was able to realize my leadership/influential skills. Values play a very crucial role in our lives. Besides taking decisions as per your values and philosophies, recognizing and understanding a given situation at your work place with respect to the values and philosophies of other team members is also very important. When an individual is able to establish a link between his or her own personal values with those of his or her employer, then a powerful connection is created (Anonson, 2014). Teaching can also be a way to shape the beliefs of a person regarding leadership. For example, The teacher who I can say had changed my life, and my views of leadership were my English teacher. When I was in 6th grade, there was a student in my class who was quite shy to speak up in the class, but Mr. Sultan (English teacher) showed faith in him and always encouraged him to speak even if he was wrong. And later on, that student became a very good spokesperson even at college level. At present concerning my professional work, I look up to my manager who is one of the executive, Mr. Abdullah as my role model for the most respective leader. The qualities that I admire about him are that he focusses on strength. He not just focusses on his own strengths or the strengths of the company, but also makes efforts to improve the strength of others in the organization as well. Besides this, he has got the qualities of trust. As an HR professional or line manager, HR Competencies will help me to become a better leader or follower and enhanced my team effectiveness. Earlier, before the development of leadership competencies, leadership was thought to be a task to be done only at the top level in the organization. Only the senior level people in the organization were able to take decisions and influence all in the organization (Shanafelt, 2015). Although, by the advancement of leadership competencies, it is now becoming an essential part in every level of the organization and not just by the upper-management. Leadership function that I was able to demonstrate while working with my team was being polite and friendly with my team members, and that gave me the advantage to have a better communication with them and to be opened to sort any misunderstanding that might happen. The Challenges and problems that I faced in my leadership were that though I was liked among my team members but due to this informal bonding, I lacked that respect that as a leader I should be getting and also people used to take my orders for granted. But as soon as I face this problem, I started working on the ways to overcome it. And for that purpose, I rather than encouraging informal communications, started taking up weekly formal meetings with all members. Race and gender also sometimes have an impact on leadership. When a female is given the position of a leader, many male team members refuse to follow her ideas. Also sometimes people do not cooperate with their leader on the basis of his nationality or caste. Ethics play a very important role in leadership. Sometimes leadership places employees in compromising positions which can result in dissatisfaction and thus can completely tarnish an organizations image and mission. Thus, leaders must take ethically correct decisions in the organization. On taking my self-assessment test, I got 37 points as a leader, which shows that I am a team player who enjoys working in the team. After my own experiences of working as a leader and a follower, I have noticed two dimensions of followership which are competency and relationship. Competency requires working well with others by analyzing them as a source of work. Whereas relationship requires building trust and improving communications. Whereas as a good leader, your strengths are being patient, confident, a role model and being polite to all. Using these strengths when your performing the leadership or followership role will enhance the reliability of your role and your part of any team. After assessing my own experiences, I can say that followers can either make or break the leaders by influencing the way the goals are achieved. Being a good follower means you take responsibility to back your leadership with any assistance they need to be on the right path and most importantly remained them if they lose their tracks. By being a good follower, you dont really have to be a sheep and follow blindly to the leader, but rather you must develop those skills of a good follower which will help you become a better leader (Derler, 2014). Thus, my future goals would include becoming a good follower to become a role model when following ethical leadership when it comes to being a leader. Thus, it can finally be concluded that followership is nothing but the mirror image of leadership and becoming a good follower will not let you down rather will help you in becoming a great leader. Also, leadership is inefficient without good followers. References Barry, T. R. (2015). Top 10 qualities of a project manager Anonson, J., Walker, M. E., Arries, E., Maposa, S., Telford, P., Berry, L. (2014). Qualities of exemplary nurse leaders: perspectives of frontline nurses. Journal of nursing management, 22(1), 127-136. Shanafelt, T. D., Gorringe, G., Menaker, R., Storz, K. A., Reeves, D., Buskirk, S. J., Swensen, S. J. (2015, April). Impact of organizational leadership on physician burnout and satisfaction. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 90, No. 4, pp. 432-440). Elsevier. D. (2015). Leaders in the Shadows: The Leadership Qualities of Municipal Chief Administrative Siegel, Officers. University of Toronto Press. Black, S. A. (2015). Qualities of effective leadership in higher education. Open Journal of Leadership, 4(02), 54. Derler, A., Weibler, J. (2014). The ideal employee: context and leaders implicit follower theories. Leadership Organization Development Journal, 35(5), 386-409. Bligh, M. C., Kohles, J. C. (2015). Approaching leadership with a follower focus.

OCCUPATIONAL BACK INJURIES DURING MANUAL HANDLING OF MATERIAL Essay

INDEX PAGE INTRODUCTION  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 ERGONOMICS  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4 OBJECTIVES OF ERGONOMICS  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4 RESULTS OF ERGONOMIC APPLICATIONS  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5 THE BACK STRUTURE  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6 BACK AND BACK PROBLEMS  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6 Back injuries  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6 Causes of back injuries  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  7 The following are common causes of back injuries:–  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  7 Back injury prevention  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8 Back injury-preventative techniques  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8 Techniques  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  9 Strategies  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  9 ORIGINAL LIFTING MODEL  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  10 Strain index (SI) =  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  10 Action limit  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  11 Maximum permissible limit  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  11 Administrative controls  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 Engineering controls  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 Limitations of the NIOSH lifting model  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13 LEGISLATIVE TRENDS: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMMES  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13 CONCLUSION  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14 APENDIX 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15 REFERENCES  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  16 OCCUPATIONAL BACK INJURIES DURING MANUAL HANDLING OF MATERIAL INTRODUCTION Almost one third of all disabling injuries at work, temporary or permanent are related to manual handling of objects. Many of these incidents are avoidable and are the consequence of inadequate or simplistic bio-mechanical task analysis. Injuries associated with manual materials handling have grown substantially and are currently estimated to exceed several billion dollars annually in the USA. In addition to the compensation costs are the tremendous costs associated with the suffering of the impaired workers. Manual material handling injuries can result from lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying objects while performing activities . Some of the most traumatic and costly manual material handling injuries impact on the back, more specifically the lower back has been the area of concern in most studies examining the low back pain associated with manual material handling. Lifting, handling and dragging loads involve a good deal of static effort, enough to classify as h... ... are not included.5 LEGISLATIVE TRENDS: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMMES Ever since the 19th century, government bodies in the developed nations have attempted, for social as well as economic reasons, to influence the way industry runs itself. Industries now have to comply with regulations, which limit worker exposure to the health - threatening aspects of their job. The requirement for good working conditions is not a new one. The Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 requires all employees to â€Å"provide their employees with a workplace free from recognised serious hazards† irrespective of whether these hazards are covered by specific standards. If poor ergonomics constitutes a hazard, then employers are required to act. Ergonomic Safety and Health Management Rules specify what constitutes an â€Å"ergonomic hazard† and what actions to take to remove the hazard. The rules assist employers in complying with already existing legislation.4 CONCLUSION Through compliance with legislative trends, understanding of the back structure, and Health and Safety training programmes, the universal prevalence of occupational back injuries can be reduced and even prevented.

Use of Character Flaws and Literary Devices to Teach Morals in Oedipus

Use of Character Flaws and Literary Devices to Teach Morals in Oedipus Rex      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex is an excellent example of how an author can use literary techniques and personality traits to teach a certain moral or theme.   In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles communicates his themes and morals to the reader through the character flaws of Oedipus, a tragic hero.   The most prominent character flaw that Oedipus possesses is his excessive arrogance. One way this flaw is displayed is Oedipus' repeated use of the pronoun "I". In lines sixty seven through eighty alone, Oedipus uses the word "I" eight times, projecting his haughty personality. "I have found one helpful course, and that I have taken: I have sent Creon†¦to Delphi†¦" states Oedipus as he describes what action he has taken to help the people of Thebes recover from there ill state (70-73). This quote is just one of the many that exhibit Oedipus' pride through the over use of the pro-noun "I".   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another example of Oedipus' hubris is the way he speaks in a condescending tone to who ever he may be speaking to. "I have sent Creon†¦to Delphi, Apollo's place of revelation to learn there, if he can, what act or pledge of mine may save the city" (74-77). In these lines Oedipus suggest that Creon is inferior to him by stating, "if he can"(77). Oedipus often indicates, as he does here, that people other than himself are insolent and incapable of completing tasks correctly. He also indicates in the above quote that he, the all mighty Oedipus, is the only person who could possible save the city of Thebes by saying, "what act or pledge of mine may save the city" (75). This extreme arrogance, demonstrated through patronizing speech, is apparent throughout the en... ...tions of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Jevons, Frank B.   â€Å"In Sophoclean Tragedy, Humans Create Their Own Fate.† In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.    Murray, Robert D. Jr. â€Å"Sophocles’ Moral Themes.† In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.    â€Å"Sophocles† In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.    Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. no pag. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi    Van Nortwick, Thomas.   Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.