Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Business - Essay Example One of the primary aspects of how globalisation impacts international business is the inter-dependency of international trade. Whereby historically economies were limited to geographical boundaries, having economic systems wholly contained within a national infrastructure, today with the presence of global product trade, it is altering the global economy. For instance, this can be witnessed in China, a country that maintained a very immature capital market until the 1990s as a result of the historical command economy that was centrally controlled by Chinese government. As China’s economy began to expand as a result of government deregulation, GDP and exportation became a favourable activity to ensure rapid economic growth. As a result, in order to become competitive with the rest of the developed world, it was necessary for businesses (once dominated by government) to adopt capitalistic and neoliberal ideologies which allows for capital assets and production systems to be whol ly owned and managed by private business leaders (Degen 2008). As a result of this change toward capitalism in a previously Communist nation, it became more inviting for foreign businesses to establish joint ventures and strategic alliances with growing Chinese companies to gain a foothold for market entry. Government in China no longer owned majority equity stakes in businesses which ultimately led to opening new competitive opportunities for smaller firms that could not previously compete with government-controlled business group conglomerates. As a result, Western management philosophy (as one relevant example) became entrenched in Chinese businesses with an emphasis on human capital development and organisational culture development rather than operating under tightly-controlled and centralised hierarchies of authority. Adopting a more

Transformational leadership, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Transformational leadership, - Essay Example Organisations operate in a dynamic environment and they ought to keep pace with the changes that may take place hence this style can improve the organisation’s fortunes. The most important traits of transformational leaders is that they are value driven and they belief in people which helps them to share the same vision for the organisation. Introduction Organisations are operating in environments that are characterised by radical change, immense volatility and international dynamics during the contemporary period (Schultz, 2005). Therefore, organisations have to cope with increasing competition and the changing demands of the customers and it can be noted that leadership is the key factor in determining whether the organisations are better positioned to capitalise on the opportunities that evolve from these changes in the environment. Thus, the way in which the organisations respond to new challenges is strongly tied to the values, attitudes, styles and responses of their lea ders hence it is imperative that the leaders should adopt leadership practices that are compatible with the situation obtaining on the ground during the current period. Also of concern is the fact that leadership is not only limited to chief executive officers since anyone can be in a position to lead in one way or the other. As such, this paper seeks to focus on what leadership is, discuss various contemporary leadership perspectives and theories. Special attention will be paid to transformational leadership through a review of literature that explores what various academic authors suggest are the key traits that make such a leader. Examples will be used as to why this is an important leadership style and how it can change the organisation’s fortune. What is leadership? According to Schultz (2005, p. 186), â€Å"leadership is generally defined as the social process of influencing people to work voluntarily, enthusiastically and persistently towards a purposeful group or org anisational goal.† From this definition, it can be noted that leadership is not restricted to a formal position given that anyone can be in a position to exert influence on the other people within the organisation. Robbins (2003) concurs with this suggestion when he said that leadership is the ability to influence a group of people towards the achievement of organisational goals. In order for the organisations to be effective, there is need for the leaders to take a leading role in influencing the members to put optimum performance in their operations for the betterment of the organisation as a whole. The behaviour of the employees has to be channelled and directed towards the achievement of the organisation’s objectives and this calls for leadership. Various perspectives have been developed over the years and a number of theories have developed within these perspectives. Only the most popular and recent theories will be discussed in the following section and these incl ude the following: trait theories, behavioural theories as well as contingency/situational theories of leadership. Focus of the discussion will then switch to transformational leadership which represents a new paradigm in leadership. The trait theories This approach to leadership is the foundation of leadership theory and thinking. The trait approach to leadership focuses on specific individual attributes of leaders such as physical

The Effect of Electronic Communication Essay Example for Free

The Effect of Electronic Communication Essay The Convenience Factor o Issues of convenience drive the popularization of new methods of electronic communication. As telephones and fax machines were supplemented by the Internet and cell phones, communication became faster and more readily available. The Internet is notable for allowing the transmission of visual data, as well as text and voice, nearly instantly. The amount of information available on the Internet continues to grow as users create and maintain content that exists side by side with professionally produced content. Broadband connections are made available in even developing countries and wireless technology makes the Internet available in places never thought possible. All of these technologies are in some way superior to the earlier forms of communication they replace. E-mail is instant, whereas mailing a letter takes days. Television is not interactive but web video content is highly customizable and online gaming is popular. Electronic books take up no space and may be available at little cost, as opposed to traditional print media, which can seem expensive and bulky by comparison. Access o Electronic communication also opens lines of communication to individuals who would otherwise live in relative isolation. This increased access is visible in countries where land-line telephones have been skipped over in the process of technological evolution; many Africans own cell phones that are the first phones they have ever had. Mobile devices serve the needs and lifestyles of people who might otherwise never have been able to communicate with people outside the limits of their region. In academics, students from around the world can maintain contact via e-mail, sharing their work and bringing a degree of equity to universities regardless of their physical size or location. Collaboration in the arts and sciences has also benefited greatly from cheap and easy communication. o Networking and Sociability oThe social elements of electronic communication cannot be overstated and are today a major subject in studies of American lifestyles and popular trends. Social networking has gone through several distinct phases, growing with each new wave of Internet users. Today, worldwide networks bring together people who share interests but may have never met. Likewise, popular youth-oriented social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter allow people to carry on friendships over long distances. The rise of sociable media has radically altered not only the way people communicate, but the way they relate to one another and even how they view themselves. For sociologists, behavioral psychologists and cultural critics this represents an important area of study. Global Culture o Of great significance to popular media and commercial interests is the rapid sharing of trends that occurs via electronic communication. The ease with which content can be shared online means that fads and trends are seldom as localized as they once were. Such movements do not need to wait for the physical movement of people to spread; instead, millions of users all around the world can be made aware of them immediately. This includes news, which has also tended more toward a global bent with less local coverage even from local news agencies. For users, electronic communication allows for the dissemination of content far and wide at little or no cost. This means that local artists, musicians and writers can share their work by marketing themselves in a format that is easily accessible to anyone. While this has resulted in a deluge of user-created content online, it has also necessitated the filters and new processes by which that content is evaluated, rated and bought or sold. Priv acy and Security o For all of its advantages, electronic communication carries with it several dangerous aspects. Privacy and security have been concerns of the users of electronic communication since the days of the telegraph. In the Internet age, all data transmitted electronically must pass through a series of stages at which it could potentially be intercepted by a third party. The convenience of doing business onlinein the form on online banking, stock trading and shoppinghas forced businesses to invent security measures that breed at least some level of confidence in their customers. Still, cases of identity-theft number in the thousands each year, and the risks of breaches of privacy are a major concern to many parents whose children communicate electronically. Cybercrime represents a significant threat to economic interests and Internet-based espionage has been the target of special security programs enacted by most governments and large businesses around the world. Still, electronic communic ation continues to flourish despite these risks, partially because of the huge investments that have been made into minimizing them

Study On Professional Development For Strategic Managers Education Essay

Study On Professional Development For Strategic Managers Education Essay There are some certain management and leadership skills which are necessary for the growth of any business organization. Both personal and professional skills should remain healthy for the healthy organization like problem solving, decision making and planning etc. in today business environment a leader or a manager must be have some certain qualities which are helpful in order to perform his role. As behavioural theories assume that leader can be made rather than born. So there are the certain skills which differentiate a leader from the others. A successful organization is the one which look after their employees and does something for their carrier development because this is the way through an organization achieve its goals. Personal skills evaluation: Everyone has ability to do something all it need to do is to identify what we have and how we can utilize it in positive sense , these are some common personal skills which are going to be discussed. . 1.1.1 TIME MANAGEMNET: This is the important personal skill through which it is able to do the things efficiently here it need to identify that at what time what we should do or what we should not .for example During the last week my target was to manage my college and my job together which I hardly able to manage it. Yes it is true that I was able to manage my time as for as job is concern and I went to college in time but other target was not achieved which was about the working on assignment thats all about the time management to use the time wisely , managing queries and analyzing the time properly , assessing the day that how much time you giving for your tasks and how can you safe your time by doing the things in time and we can also log the things as well. Find the answers of your questions and try to get the end result by solving these problems. Analyzing time spent to improve productivity This is the skill which we need to be focused to analyze the time where you actually going to spend and how we are dividing the tasks according to the time and to achieve our goal just analyze that are we giving the right time on right thing? and if this is the right thing which we are focusing is it possible that if we spend some more time on right issue, we can increase the productivity for example in Tesco when I work in my section pickles, oil and spices I always start work from oil because more heavy stuff is in that section and comparatively much easier to finish and spices take more time and cower a small section so I quickly do the other job which is more important and much easier to do. 1.1.2 Setting smart objectives: Smart objective are those which are specific, particular on certain task Set the realistic objective which are achievable, on right time make the measureable decision. Objectives are the plan for which you have to fight to achieve a certain goal we might have a many objective like my goal is to get MBA degree its my goal but to achieve a goal I have to set smart objectives which should be realistic, achievable and measureable like what is the thing which I am going to do? Specific: specific means the concern of any selected topic and when we talk about specific always questions coming in our mind that why, how and for who I am going to do this. Realistic: It is not necessary that realistic must be achievable but realistic is something that at least you have the resources to do that task for example its realistic to get the MBA degree foe me but in case I dont have the sources than I am not able to get degree like money is the main source. Measureable: its important for us to measure the task because if we cant measure it we cant do it. Measurement is the tool which we use for comparison. 1.1.3 Prioritising work task: prioritising is the process in which u priorities the tasks according to your mind so simply its a skill which u learn from yourself assess your priorities and then work on them for exp my priority at the time is to get MBA degree not to focus on job because through job I just pay the rent of my flat all I need to do just focus on my study because that is the priority for me right now but with the passage of time priorities change as time to time for exp if I got married at that time or I am having a baby than my priorities will be to feed my family instead of the study. So its so important to analyze and prioritize your work. This is human nature that once you start some new work it looks tough but as long as u keeps going with it you will find it quite easy. So try to find out the priority in the work and keep focus on that to get the desired result. For example I am doing to many tasks in the day I use internet after college, face book, I use to talk to my friends and I play football as well now I have to think that how much time I am going to spend on these tasks and what is my priority and how much time I am giving to my priority work and what changes I need to bring out in order to prioritise my work. 1.1.4 Problem solving and decision making: A problem is an unacceptable condition which is unusual. If you cant find the problem you cant sort the problem. So this is clear that to sort out the problem always we need to know that what the actual problem is and in response to find out the problem we need to develop the skill to make the right decision at right time. We should have the ability to find out the problem and then check what should be the solution and after that take the decision. Decision making is not easy because you always have a fear to make decision you can only make the decision when you know that what the actual problem is. We should able to developed skills of calculated risk in problem solving. 1.2 Professional skills: Personal skills are interrelated to the personal skills because through personal skills a person is able to develop his professional skill for example effective communication and good listening is a personal skill by using these skills in any organization you are able to polish your skills like if you have a good communication skill you are able to let the people understand what you are saying and if you are a good listener than you can easily understand what your bosses are expecting from you. Now we it will be discussed about some professional skills and analyze how these skills are linked to the personal skills. 1.2.1 Coaching skills: This is the skill which a person develops through experience and courses and it is widely used in the organizations to get the required task up to the mark. Coaches are introduced to make the employees skilful for example a area supervisor in the Carlisle security is working as a coach who is always there to train the security staff and guide them what they should do and what they are not suppose to do and in which conditions what steps they need to take and how to tackle with the difficult situations. According to Elizabeth Morgan It is vital for every business and professional organization to increase the knowledge and skills of their employees. They should strive to enhance the quality of performance, to ensure an improvement on the personal and professional front. (Elizabeth Morgan 2008) Now the question is how a person is been able to develop his coaching skills here it need to be understand the need of the personal skills as the good coach has definitely having a good communicational skill and he will be a good time manger and he should must have a stress management skill. It is not necessary that a person who has great coaching skills must be good in practical situation because this is a skill which he has for example in sports an boxing coach might not be a boxing champion but he is able to make the other person a champion. 1.2.2 Leadership skills: Leadership, a critical management skill, is the ability to motivate a group of people toward a common goal. There are some characteristics which make a person a successful leader. A leader is the one who can work in an environment which he can manage himself and others in a stress environment. Now again we see the personal skills stress management and using the time effectively .obviously a leader should have the skill of communication though he can communicate his team in an effective way and should be able to solve the problems when it occurs. There is the example of Tesco where we see what the role of team leader is and why he is the team leader. The reason behind it that he is the team leader because he use to work in every department in Tesco and he is able to motivate the other guys to do the right things at right time and if some time a sales assistant doesnt not know where he had to put the stuff in shelf he will be there and able to guide in seconds that this thing should go to that place so again its been seen that leadership requires a good personal skills. 1.2.3 Multitasking skills: Multitasking means, doing more than one task at the same time. This is the skill which is interrelated to the time management as if someone doing more tasks at same time it means he is going to save his time by that way. Normally the term multitasking is used in computer language because computer is able to process many programs at same time. this is the skill which a person develop with the experience for example if someone doing a office job and he is taking prints from the computer which takes time than in that time he is able to utilize it as he may can check his emails during that time and by checking his mails he is able to use the telephone to make important calls. Here we took a example of the concierge officer in Bryant court which is the reception of the residential flats. The officer is doing the multitasking by keeping eye on CCTV cameras operating phones and communicating with the residents at the same time. 1.2.4 Presentation skills: Presentations skills are achieved through the knowledge, confidence, communication and good learning skills. Presentation means to express your or the company views in front of the people without having any fear. Presentation skill is necessary to present but practise makes it perfect and when you do the practise it mean you are working on your personal skill to achieve professional skill. In Tesco section manger and senior night manager use to give presentation on every Monday to keep the staff up to date and telling them the company target and the role of staff. Now its been analyzed that professional skills are achieved through the practise of good personal skills. Presentation training is useful to develop presentation skills but nothing replaces practice. Effective presentations have targeted, simple, clear and repeated messages. (Roger lever 2009) Conclusion: Through this assignment its been seen that how personal skills are important to develop professional skills so both of these skills are interrelated to each other and a person uses both these skills to get the organization goal. TASK TWO: Personal development To assess my skills, I carried out a survey by giving evaluation forms to my class mates. We made a group of five members and each person rated my skills. With the help of their views I put these ratings in a suitable form. The assessment given by them is presented in the Appendices table and the final rating based on their feedback and my personal assessment is presented below. Rating of Management and Leadership Skills SKILLS RATING Very good 1 Satisfactory 2 Need to improve 3 Bad 4 Learning styles: It is been realised that we learn in different ways and learning styles. Honey and Mumford identified four different characters with quite different learning styles Activist, The Pragmatist, The Reflection the Theorist. Based on a questionnaire survey carried in the classroom, I learned that my predominant learning style is Pragmatist. I realise that pragmatist learning style has better impact in my learning activities. As I carried out a self-confidence survey and the result is presented below Self Confidence Analysis Situations Reasons Ways to Improve Worries of future makes me upset Because I think too much that what will happen to me. To overcome this I should set a proper plan about my future and then have to focus on that plan. I do not learn from my mistakes. Because I always ignore what happened and why was it happened. I should make a note about the failures in a personal diary in order to do avoid in future. I always upset if I cannot get success Because I am getting disheartened from my failures. I should have the courage to face the reality. Some time communication effect my confidence Because my native language is not English. I should develop my language skills I feel myself nerviest when I cannot present what I want. Because when I select a wrong topic of presentation. I should focus on what I want to do Improper dressing makes me feel lack of confidence. Because due to this I cant concentrate on my work. To overcome this always should dress up properly AT the start of presentation I feel lack of confidence Because I always ignore the preparation of introduction. To overcome this makes a proper intro of any presentation in order to reduce the lack of confidence in the start. Assertiveness Analysis This survey is based on questionnaire and I identified that my behavioral style is assertive as I raised my voice if someone do not listen to me but I also listened to them properly and try to make my point clear Weaknesses Ways to Improve If someone does not get my point I might lose my temper. I try to convince other with the solid points In case I am unable to understand a problem. I try my best to think before I speak Sometime when I disagree to someone I do not give them response. I am trying to improve my convincing skills Presentation Analysis Weaknesses Ways to Improve Because of preparation I use to take less sleep before last night of presentation. I should have enough sleep after preparation I have less confidence weather I could make it I should not be worried about it and speak without any pressure In some situations I forget some points during the presentations. I should note down on a piece of paper I feel hesitation while walking in front of people during presentation To overcome this one thing I have to make sure in my mind that I am perfectly all right from all aspects. In some cases I do not have enough material To overcome this always selects a right topic of presentation. At the start of presentation I feel lack of confidence. To overcome this makes a proper intro of any presentation in order to reduce the lack of confidence in the start. I believe under these circumstances, I can learn best in the following ways: I learn better from proven good practice, using the examples and the expertise of others. I like to face the problem with different approaches. I dislike situations where there is nothing to learn Pragmatist situation quite helpful for me. I always work when I have been forced to do job in time The short discussions or less detailed tasks make me unhappy. So I cant get benefit easily. I am expecting to make practical decisions. By presenting myself as practical person because I like to solve problems. I enjoy experimenting to improve techniques. I like frequently come up with the answer to a problem. I have only interest in theories is to see if the work in practice. Swot analysis helps us to analyze our strength and weakness and how we can create the opportunities for us and realizing the threat which are we facing at that time. In reference to the strengths the skills that I am good at are the following. This style shows that how a person utilize his personal skills and get benefit from these skills. Time management skill Supervision Customer service Adaptable skill Decision making ability Conflict Management skill. Coaching skill Weaknesses For an Effective leader I need to polish my skills. I feel some weaknesses to achieve my set targets of the business as a leader of the team. In following areas I think, I must have to improve in order to become an effective manager. Presentation Communication Self confidence Group discussion Planning Motivating Stress management Opportunities: By working on the skills which I already have it is possible that opportunities can be created and after solving out my problem making issue I will be able to make effective decision for myself and my team, it will decrease the failure rate and increase the confidence. After engaging in these activities a person is able to develop his future and carrier. Threats: There is always a aspect of threat which can never be denied ,being a leader a person should have the ability to realize that which threats are there which make a person worry and uncomfortable. The common threats which a leader faces are there. De motivation by top management policy Recession period Lack of knowledge Lack of qualification Self respect Misuse of power Personal Development Plan: Through the skill audit its been realised that which are the skills I need to improve and through which skills I am able to achieve my goal. In the following table I have developed a plan for myself and analyse that what should I do to improve my skills and how can I achieve my targets. Learning and Development needs Aims to learn and achieving goal Which actions need to be taken including resources need to achieve goals Date for achievement/review Presentation skill By developing these skills, I can present myself effectively in front of my senior management and other members of team which can increase the companys efficiency and productivity. It will help me in almost every field of life to achieve what I want to tell others. I should attend seminars, workshops and events Participating team meetings and group discussions. Concentrate on learning resources like tapes, videos and others. Whenever there is opportunity to speak I should go for that. Practising . 25-03-2011 Communicatin skill (English) English is an international language which is recognized all over the world and a person feel more confident and comfortable when he uses to speak foreigners and communicate in an effective way. This can support the personal objective and help to get company objective as well By convincing the people And introducing the business strategy. More Conversation and discussions in English By joining language classes and speaking freely to my mates can develop my skill I should go to the seminars I should watch English movies and other programs on TV. I should read English novels, poetry and other books to increase my vocabulary. I should prepare presentations in English to build my confidence to learn English quickly. 30-03-2011 Coaching Counselling Coaching and counselling is a leadership style which is used to make the employee productive for the organization and polish the skills. By counselling my subordinates I will be much closer to them and can sort the issues related to work which are really affecting their performance. Practical work Career and development training Learning from the teachers and senior management on work More discussion with colleagues and managers. Analyzing what to do and when it need to do Minimizing the work load and need to develop more human interaction. 15-04-2011 Planning Planning is the major key of the success weather a person or for the organization. Through proper planning person can achieve his targets which can help a lot in his progress. I need to identify the major objectives of my life and need to focus on these targets. Finding solution to achieve the targets I should analyze that my objective should be time based and realistic Proper planning to achieve my targets and should start work from today rather than tomorrow. As for as business point of view I should make a proper plan by arranging meetings with the seniors and stakeholders. I should attend conferences and read the survey reports. 20-04-2011 Outcomes of Personal Development Plan against personal objective: Through the skill audit it is been identified that which are things which I need to work on and improve and which are the strength that I am having. Secondly a plan is developed to overcome the efficiencies and to improve my skills. This is my personal objective to improve my capability in language skills but it cannot be achieved until it is not been planned to learn it. It needs to develop a plan that how this objective can be achieved and which are the resources I have, what are my strength and using my strength how I can overcome my efficiency. It can be put the time limits which indicates that within the specific period this goal must be achieved for example my target is to learn the communication skill before I leave this country. Personal objectives are so important in life because there is the purpose to spend the life. Without any purpose of life it becomes useless to live. Every one plans according to its ability to think and work on it but it really does matter how do you think and what you are going to do. Personal development plan is a suitable written form of the person thinking that what does a person want in life and how does he plan to achieve the target. It gives you the time to think and analyze the multiple solutions of the problem and work on them according to the plan like my objective in next three month is to learn presentation skills and it is analyzed that which are the ways through it can be achieved and how to deal with the time wasting and more focus to get the objective. Impact of own learning against the achievement of strategic goals: This is the more effective way to achieve the goal to write down the plan and then focus on your target. All we need to do to identify the objective and realize which is important for us and which is not. It helps us in learning by focus on the working document. Thing which it need to keep in mind is that the objective should be realistic and achievable and it should be clear that what are the strength of a person to achieve his goal and which are the area he need to work on . It does work in a great way as I set a goal for myself that till next three months I will improve my communication skills and I start work on this target by reading newspaper and books, communicating with my friends and colleagues. I have started to watch English movies on TV which did not do before. After a week it is realized that it does work as I feel much comfortable than before. Till the review date I feel most of the job will be done and there will be the difference. I personally learn that there are many things in life which we do not give the importance but a little thing can make the difference as I plan to achieve my goal I realize that it does not take too much time and efforts to achieve the targets. I will definitely implement it in my life by setting objectives in my life and there I will set the time limit to achieve it in time. Once I will get the objective of learning skills I will set more objectives. Appendix No. Skill Person A Person B Person C Person D Result Mode 1 Communication 2 3 2 2 2,3 2 planning 3 2 2 3 2,3 3 coaching 2 4 3 4 2,3,4 4 Presentation 3 2 2 3 2,3,2 5 Motivation 2 2 1 3 1,2,3 6 Time Management 1 2 2 2 1,2 7 Group discussion 2 2 3 3 2,3 8 Decision Making 4 3 4 3 3,4 9 Self Confidence 3 2 2 3 2,3 10 Technical Ability 2 3 3 2 2,3 11 Stress Management 2 4 3 4 2,3,4 12 Conflict Management 3 3 2 3 2,3

Love in the Time of the Victorian Era Essay -- Literary Analysis, Jane

True love is not found within the goals of economic survival or societal gains, rather it is found when two individuals unite in marriage because they have a genuine affection for each other. In her novel, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen depicts what love in a traditional Victorian era would be defined as. Austen displays love as the center of attention for all of society, along with the influences society has on it. Through various characters, such as Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennet, Austen demonstrates how money and status can largely shape love and the idea of who to love. Yet, with the characters of Jane and Bingley, Austen conveys, in the end, that true love results not from economic necessity or societal gains, but from a sincere affection. Society, as Austen describes it, is similar to the survival of the fittest. In order to get to the top, one must do everything he or she can to get there, including manipulating marriage. In the novel’s society â€Å"family and marriage occupied a far more public and central position in the social government and economic arrangements† (Brown 302). The members of the society in Austen’s novel, specifically Mrs. Bennet, will do anything, including marrying their daughters off to wealthy men, in order to gain a respectable status amongst there peers. Marriage, therefore, becomes a way of getting to the top of the social ladder. This focus on the importance of the social order significantly influences the idea of love and whom to love because it changes the people into thinking that marriage is not about love, but about status. It shapes the individuals into thinking that societal gains are what truly matter in a relationship. In Vyas 2 this situation, Austen illustrates how the society i... ...not money or status. By satirizing love, Austen displays real love in all its purity. Jane and Bingley have a pure, honest love, and this is the kind of love Austen presents in her novel, which is what should be established in a real relationship. Money and society mold love, and place certain implications on it that do not hold true. These implications shape the idea of love and who to love. Within Pride and Prejudice, love is defined as materialistic, yet true love can defy all, and does when Jane and Bingley wed in the end. Through money and status, Austen constructs a premise of flawed love, which she uses to mock society. Nevertheless, this satire is exactly what communicates the true meaning of love proposed by the novel. Affection shapes love, not wealth or status. Love is not about what one has or gains; love is about whom one spends it with.

The History of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt Essay -- Egyptian Kingdom

The History of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt are both cradles of civilization. Both contributed greatly to human development through their achievements, failures, peoples, scientific accomplishments, philosophies, religions, and contributions. Mesopotamia is a rich flat plain created by deposits from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. At the southern end of this plain developed the first recognizable civilization, in the area known as Sumer. In 3000 B.C. Sumer contained a dozen or more city-states, each ruled by its own king and worshiped its own patron deity. The citizens of these city-states were classified into three classes: nobles and priests, commoners, and slaves. In the center of a Sumerian city usually stood a tower culminating in a temple for the patron god of the city. The Sumerians believed that this patron god owned the whole city. The Geography of this city helped a lot with the trade, and led to mathematics as well. The Sumerians developed a precise system of mathematical notation called the sexagesimal, in which the number sixty is the main element. We even use this system in our world today! The Sumerian’ chief contribution to later civilizations was writing, even though their script was pictogra phic. Through these pictographic scripts historians found a long narrative known as the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is a great hero and ruler who sets out to recover cedar from northern lands. He travels with his companion Enkidu, who is killed by the storm god, Enlil. Mourning the loss of his companion and confronted by death himself, Gilgamesh travels the world in search of eternal life. He ends up finding the plant of eternal youth, but a serpent swallows it while he is bathing. The epic ends with his death and funeral. The Sumerians believed that the gods created people to be their slaves. The first Great Warlord came from the region of Akkad, an area north of Babylon. His name was Sargon, and he conquered all of Mesopotamia. Sargon was from a group of people called the Semites. The only difference between the Semites and the Sumerians were linguistics. Semites spoke many different languages like Akkadian, Hebrew, and Canaanite. The Sumerian people adapted the Akkadian language. Sargon and his successors ruled from Akkad until 2230 B.C, when internal disagreement ended the Akkadian... ... King Tutankhamen moved the capital back to Thebes and favored the older god Amen-Re. In the 19th Dynasty arose the greatest pharaoh, Ramses II. Ramses achieved a period of temporary peace. In this period he spent time and money on luxurious building projects. A major achievement in Egyptian society was the role of women. Women were allowed to own land and pass it down to their daughters. Women also helped with agriculture and went shopping. Women were legally equal to men but in their own class. They even started having occupations. Some were singers, dancers, priests, and professional mourners. Women were even buried next to their husbands in an elegant tomb. As you can see there are many differences and similarities between the Sumerians and Ancient Egyptians. Both were one of the first civilizations and contributed into the development of how our world works today. From politics to family life our culture today has come from a very long line of ancient civilizations and reforms. Work Cited Chambers, Mortimer, The Western Experience. McGraw-Hill College, 1999 pg. 6-20 David, A. Rosalie, The Egyptian Kingdoms. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1975.

Of mice and men help Essay

   Men’s view of women The working men’s view of women is like to buy women like they buy a drink so even women did not have proper rights just like Crooks, men would not think of having a proper relationship with women although Curley did have a wife he also used to go out with the other men into town and so there is a possibility that he may have spent a night in a whore house with other women. In the novel Steinbeck did not give Curley’s wife a real name as all the workers referred to her as a ‘whore’, ‘slut’ or simply ‘Curley’s wife’. This shows and adds to how women were treated and seen as in society by men for the reason that they are more dominant. How they spend their time The men have their free time on a Saturday night into the town, the men can go to ‘whore houses’, have a horseshoe tournament and gamble money. They would spend some money on drinks and play card games, solitaire and read magazines. They would allow Crooks to play with them and join in so that he was not completely considered an outcast but they still made fun of him so Crooks spends most of his free time reading ‘books’ as this is the only way he is not discriminated and so he dreams of a being seen as an equal to everyone else, he knows his civil rights and he also remembers childhood when he played with the white children who came up to his family’s chicken ranch plus longs for a similar relationship with white people again. Most of the other workers dream about a life that they don’t have for example George and Lennie, they dream of owning a ‘little patch of land’. Prejudice In the novel ‘of mice and men’ prejudice plays a big part and it is shared among some of the characters like Candy, Crooks and Lennie and they were also considered as outcasts these all have some kind of disability also their positions were low in the ranch. Candy was considered an outcast in position to his job because of his hand cut of by a machine so he can not work therefore he is considered an outcast, in addition he is old so he different from other hands. Crooks is disabled because he was ‘kicked’ in the back by a horse and as a result became a cripple on top this he was black so he was racially abused as well, he was mostly abused by the boss because he seems to take it out on him. This was because the boss knew that he could not do anything for example he ‘gave the stable buck hell’ because George and Lennie were late arriving to the ranch so he took his anger out on Crooks and so Crooks could not fight for his rights. Lennie is retarded and his mind is the age of a young child, as children like to stoke soft things Lennie likes to ‘stroke’ mice because they are soft and he likes to pet them. Lennie has no physical disability so he can go out and work with the rest of the workers and to the advantage of his strong body he can ‘buck barley’ very fast in addition he can follow instructions very well. Loneliness Loneliness affects many of the characters, and Steinbeck seems to show that it is a natural and inevitable result of the life they are forced to follow. Steinbeck shows that the workers are caught in a trap of loneliness and they never seem to say in one place to form a permanent relationship or even think of one. Even if they did have one then it would be likely that the relationship would not stay together or even have problems by the demands of the workers life. Candy is lonely because of his old age and the only company he has is his old dog and this reminds him of the days when he was young and whole. Candy has no relatives and once his dog is shot he is totally alone and he tries to get into George and Lennie’s dream of having a piece land. George is also caught in the trap of loneliness when he is forced to shoot his companion in the back of the head, like Candy and his dog George had Lennie (who is described as an animal) he is left lonely as well at the end of the novel. Another lonely character is Curleys Wife, she is newly married and in a new strange place. Curley forbade her to talk to anyone through his jealousy and so she countered it by approaching workers to ask were Curley is in door ways therefore the men regarded her as a ‘slut’ and that became her name other than Curley’s wife. Steinbeck never gave Curleys Wife a name. Finally loneliness leads to her death as she tries to overcome Curley’s instructions by letting Lennie feel her hair; consequently Curley is now left alone because he chose a wife which was totally inappropriate for his life that he leads in an attempt to overcome his loneliness. This is because all the workers despise him for his cowardice. Crooks is another who is isolated because he is different, he tries to cope with this by keeping a distance from the other workers and reading books as these are his only companions. Dreams In the novel Dreams is something that some characters use to combat with loneliness of their existence. The most obvious dream in the novel is George and Lennie’s dream farm, this dream is only shared by the two at first but then later spreads to Candy and Crooks. The American dream is what people used to think that in America there is a piece of land for everyone because of its vast lands, this gave people a sense of Independence and this is what made them go on and continue to tackle the harsh realities of life most people were likely to never achieve their dreams. This is revealed in the poem by Crooks ‘seems live ever guy got land in is head’. The reason why Lennie asks George to recite the descriptions of the farm is because it is an antidote to overcome his disappointment and loneliness. Curley’s wife is another who has dreams and they were to become a movie star and the life of luxury and fame, this comes to nothing when Lennie kills her. Conclusion In conclusion the title to this book tells you the about the novel in a few words. The title of this book is taken from an Irish poem by Alfred Burns; â€Å"The best laid plans of mice and men always go wrong†. Steinbeck has portrayed this in a correct way as the story deals with so many dreams from the characters point of view and so none of these were destined to come true anyway. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.