Charles Martin in Uganda Essay

Charles Martin, a 29-year-old American who had worked for Hydro Generation (HG) for 2 years before embarking on the Ugandan damn project. Martins’ educational experience, a degree in African Studies from the University of Wisconsin as well as a MBA from the University of Maryland coupled with his experience working through the Peace Corps made Martin uniquely qualified to work for HG in their new venture in Africa, a hydro-electric damn in Uganda. During Martins tenure in Uganda , his assignments were to, gain support from local authorities, set up offices and insure the smooth operation of the office, overseeing operations including hiring, keeping inventory and keeping accounting records as well as logistical aspects such as dealing with customs. Martins’ job also included helping new expatriates settle into living and working in Uganda. Describe Ugandan cultural attributes that might affect operation for foreign company operating there? Uganda, a multilingual cultura lly diverse country of a little more than 25 million people poses many challenges to a foreign company operating there. In addition to what may considered mostly normal challenges Uganda holds challenges that may not be found in other countries. With a long history of political instability and political corruption that continues into the present companies doing business there are faced with the stark reality that their business dealings maybe tainted because with such corruption ones place among the powerful is never assured. Nepotism is the norm in Uganda. Nepotism, the practice of allowing relatives to get jobs or promotions, even when undeserved thrives in Uganda. With jobs being awarded to family members, mostly through word of mouth connections language is very important to a business dealing in Uganda. Although English is the official language, many other languages are spoken throughout Uganda. The use of many languages thorough different cultural venues makes for a difficult a foreign company to carry on business successfully, as one is never assured what language will be preeminent therefore communications are not always the easiest in Uganda. .Uganda many religions also make for challenges in business dealings. Although much of the population is Christian there are many tribal religions that are a strong influence, a foreign company would have to be accepting of their practices in order to successfully deal with the local peoples. In general, business is much slower moving in Uganda and it is not uncommon practice to pay off or â€Å"tip† officials to make things progress more quickly, a practice unheard of in the United States. How would you describe the respective attitudes of Martin and Green: ethnocentric, polycentric or geocentric? What factors do you suspect of having influenced their respective attitudes? Martin’s attitude was one of polycentrism. Polycentric thought is such that Martin would conduct business in such a way that would conform to and accept the customs of the country in which the business was. Martin showed his polycentric attitude by paying tips, living in the middle class neighborhoods rather than with other expatriates, participating in tribal ceremonies and using nepotism in his hiring practices. Greens attitude was of geocentric thought. Geocentric thought accepts that certain differences of thought are tolerable in order to ensure successful business dealings. Depending on the individual circumstances, the company adapts to either the new culture or working to integrate the belief system of the home country. Greens attitude was influenced by his desire to incorporate the belief system of the company into the business in Uganda while Martins main concern was to fulfill the requirements of the project regardless of the fallout from the stepping away from the corporate values. Who was right, Green or Martin, about the controversial actions? Martin took in the Uganda an operation. What might have been the results if he had not taken those actions? Martin was correct in his actions. With Martin’s prior knowledge of what actions would be required in order to succeed in business in Africa and his desire to complete the required tasks in a timely fashion adapting to local customs such as nepotism helped insure the success of his project. Although successful Martin did take risks when utilizing a polycentric approach to his work, at any point his participation in various activities such as tribal rituals could have back fired due to increased pressure from an unstable government and corrupt officials talking advantage of their increased leverage to exact higher and higher prices for continued cooperation. These problems coupled with the possibility of certain actions being illegal in HGs home country directly conflicts with corporate policy. Despite these increased perils, if Martin had not undertaken this approach to business in Uganda increased delays, would certainly have occurred, local collaboration would have been decreased, expensed would have been increased due to either longer wait periods or the eventual abandonment of the project due to lack of progress. In the next phase of the project running the power plant-should HG employ someone whose main function is that of a liaison between its corporate culture and the culture of its host country? If so, is Martin the right person for the job? In the next phase of this project, the running of the power plant HG should employ someone whose main function is to be a liaison between the corporate culture and the host country of Uganda. If there is, no liaison similar problems of cultural misunderstanding will happen over again. Martin would be the most capable of understanding the various nuances of the continuing project, as he already has an extensive knowledge of the inner workings of side project. HG, as the sponsor of the project could further its policy by working with Martin and other from corporate to establish firm guide lines of what is acceptable policy when dealing with projects that are in foreign countries.

The modernization of these economies involved allowing

The term ‘Asian Tigers’ refer to the Asian countries of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. These nations have experienced massive economic growth figures due to their policies on key economic areas. These policies involve allowing for free market trade to allowing for investments by foreign firms.However, the respective Governments have over time interfered with the trade between these nations and other trading partners so as to protect the interests of their nations (Seyoum 2000, p.61). This allows for a favorable balance of trade leading to an increase in the budget amounts that will be used to provide basic necessities to the people.The modernization of these economies involved allowing for free trade to take place, imposing low import barriers and scouting for foreign direct investment so as to increase on their national output and acquire the necessary infrastructure for the production of quality products for importation .From an economic perspective, sup ply creates its own demand thus letting the market forces to determine output and prices. South Korea restricts the importation of products by imposing strict barriers like the issuing of permits to importers which hindered the basic economic principle from determining the nations’ trade.This was seen as a move to protect the local market from foreigners who would exploit the market. To promote the export sector, the government provided goodies to the exporting firms that included establishing export processing zones and reducing taxes paid by this firms ( Amsden 1999, p.49)Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan did not fully restrict imports and foreign investors as the governments saw it as a way of partnering strategically with other nations for economic development. Singapore allowed for imports from few countries like India that provided raw materials that were not available for example cotton. It also allowed for free trade with the United States under a free trade agreement t hat was implemented in 2003 that involved the exportation of textiles (Sharma 2003, p. 123).For foreign investment, Singapore restricted investments for foreigners for the sake of protecting its local skilled labor. By allowing investments from abroad, the government viewed it as a way of increasing unemployment levels in the nation since most foreigners will come along with their skilled labourers and recruit just but a few semi-skilled employees locally.Therefore, Singapore considered having strategic partners for its economic growth.

Dells Marketing Case, Dillema

How would you describe Dell's current distinctive competencies? What other potential sources of distinctive competency might Dell work to develop? Answer: According to the case, Dell's Current distinctive competencies are: ; â€Å"Mass customization†; by focusing on this strategy (which they followed as their core differentiation strategy), Dell has successfully been able to transform the way consumers shop for technology. Customer could place customized orders for their PC's according to their unique needs and wants.Which at that time seemed to be a very attractive, innovative and hence successful strategy. However while concentrating too much on its distinctive strategy of mass customization for too long, Dell gravely failed to adapt to the changing world of technology which opportunity was promptly grabbed by its current and emerging competitors like HP, Sony, Leaner, Apple and others. They quickly managed to reap the benefits of the fast growing market for technological p roducts like PC's and notebooks. Direct Sales Channel- Dell has proved to be extremely successful at coming up with a very efficient and smart supply chain, by making Its customers able to place orders for their PC's online, wrought e commerce. Dell used direct sales via Internet, whereas traditional PC manufacturers previously assembled PC's to make them ready for purchase at retail stores. Thus, Dell enjoyed early-to-market advantage. This eliminated the need for retailers that would add unnecessary time and cost for Dell and Dell has enjoyed this competency for a pro-longed period of time. Dell's cost efficiency: Dell was able to provide PC's at a low cost for quite a period of time, until paying a low price for a standard PC was no more attracting the potential customers who were rather lured y the more technologically advanced products offered by Dell's competitors like Hewlett-Packard. However continuing with its cost cutting strategy cost them their customers in later years w hen HP emerged as the market leader and attracted all the consumers and business clients to themselves.Moreover, Dell's extremely efficient supply chain management aided In keeping Its costs low and hence being cost effective. Dell's strong market position due to its strong brand value as one of the top 100 brands In the world (In the IT systems market), provided It with a competitive advantage. Dell has a strong market presence in IT systems market. Despite losing market share to other players in the recent past, Dell continues to remain a strong player in the IT systems market.In the fast growing market for technological products Dell should have obviously gone for innovating their product lines. Dell should go for product development. It might work to launch faster and more attractive versions of PC's and laptops. Most Importantly Its marketing strategy should be changed, In order to reap benefits from Its distinctive competencies. Being Innovative could have obviously paid off a s a good extinctive competency, because then competitors like HP and Apple would get as much opportunity to grab the market share.Moreover, Dell could go for making ‘OFF silent changes In Its organizational culture Day encouraging Its employees to De more creative and to think out of the box so as to get rid of the monotonous feeling in them which would also enhance the productivity and would obviously spread a good word of mouth regarding Dell as a â€Å"ready to innovate and serve company', which would work as another great distinctive competency. Question 2) Dell is currently engaged in a cost leadership strategy. If Dell decided to move more toward a differentiation strategy, what might be some sources of differentiation Dell could explore?Answer 2: Emphasizing on the cost leadership strategy for too long has caused Dell to lose it market share and not to mention has lead it to earning lower profits. That's because the same strategy would not work forever. Dell has not ex plored in serving their customers with variety in their offerings for PC's and notebooks, neither did it do much to upgrade its features and technology. Dell has not re-invested any of its profits into going for a different racketing strategy other than cost leadership.A differentiation strategy incorporates the development of a product or service so that it can offer a customer perceived uniqueness in the marketplace that seems to be better than or different from the products of the competition. Dell has to focus more on providing additional value for their customers if they want to differentiate their brand form the others in the market, to do so, they have to address their customers not yet raised demand for new technology say for example, delight their customers by offering new software and applications for their PC's.Dell can also go for sales promotion; that is they can provide short term offers where they would be providing free upgrades for software in their current customer s' PC's and offer discounts on certain software Just so as to attract their customers' lost interest. Launching and promoting different complimentary products made by Dell can be a good idea to enhance the sales of Dell PC's.For instance if Dell came up with a product line for gaming computers, to attract a certain segment of its potential clients, and along with that if it issued games made by Dell one of which would be provided for free with the gaming PC's, it loud be a great way of differentiating their brand as â€Å"innovative† in the mind of customer, especially since no other competitor at that time came up with gaming PC'S. Question 3: According to Nations Product-Market expansion grid which strategy is applicable for Dell computer's offerings?Explain the strategy in your own words in the context of the case. Answer 3: Nations model is based upon four types of strategies which are; market penetration strategy, market development strategy, product development strategy and diversification strategy. The diagram below illustrates the Nations Product-Market expansion grid. In my opinion, Dell should primarily go for product development strategy and then market development strategy. By going for product development strategy, Dell would be issuing new, developed and modified versions of its products.By doing so, Dell can show it to the industry that they are all ready to launch innovative products and solutions for their clients both Business and consumer. Moreover given the strong and well established brand name Dell has, it would not be a problem to beat its competitors Like HP, IT Dell can offer new Ana developed products to Its customers. For example by considering software as an product/service to offer, Dell can assemble a services portfolio that would include e-mail disaster recovery, spam/virus filtering and archiving via its Message acquisition.Moreover Dell can come up new models of its PC, and notebook, more lighter ones, faster ones, PC's specially made for gaming, and PC's which are specially made lighter and smaller for office going executives and students. Just like Google developed a new browser Chrome for the existing Internet user. Going for a market penetration strategy would be bad session for Dell since it has proved to be a failure Just because it refused to be innovative about its products and was only focusing on a single strategy of â€Å"mass customization†.However, Dell can also go for a market development strategy if that is feasible giving the transportation and set up costs associated with setting up business and dealerships in developing countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, or it can focus on a different demography, like the elderly people; by creating easy to use and simple light laptops for them, which they can also afford with a little portion of their savings.

Philly Pretzel Factorys C.E.O Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philly Pretzel Factorys C.E.O - Assignment Example The paper tells that delivering and producing pretzels are some of the tasks assigned. In this job position, the owner of the store Mr. Bill together with the wife struggle to meet the bills. Mr. Bill uses his personal car to deliver goods, leaving pretzels at locations using honor systems hoping that they would be bought by people who consume them. In order to make ends meet, Bill came up with a new pretzel sandwich against the franchise policies. This job requires good marketing skills This job requires daily delivery of pretzels to various locations within the city. They do many rounds per day and going up and down the stairs with boxes. This job requires a strong person who is able to lift and carry heavy boxes several times a day. Both jobs are cumbersome and the organize does offer enough compensation. In both cases, the employees are struggling to make ends meet. In the Franchise job, the couple struggles to pay their bills, such that they use their personal vehicle and invent a new product out of the pretzel, in an effort to make as many sales as possible. The Franchiser says that he had asked for corporate help many times to no avail. Mr. Bill the franchiser complains that he was not taught how to make pretzels and the directions he was given were too vague to understand. This called for various experiments before he could get it right. In both jobs, they are not provided with a medical cover, regardless of how dangerous their jobs are.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST TWO POEMS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

COMPARE AND CONTRAST TWO POEMS - Essay Example The poem primarily deals with the immediate concerns of survival and moving through the bare and sometimes dark conditions that were everyday obstacles during this time in African-American communities. She tells her son to keep moving forward: â€Å"So, boy, don’t you turn back/ Don’t you set down on the steps† (14-15). The crystal stair works well as a metaphor for life; her advice in no way addresses the nuances or more positive aspects of life, but simply the need to survive and get through the day. Meinke’s poem, while also expressing his advice to a son, is very different in presentation and specific content. As with Hughes’ poem, the writer is speaking directly with the intended audience and offers advice through imagery and metaphor. According to Meinke, the purpose of life is to live every day fully while also planning for the future. Beauty in the world plays an important role in living a full life. The author states that â€Å"Beauty is nectar/ And nectar, in a desert, saves† (Meinke 13-14). The poem ends on a telling note regarding the enjoyments in life and the need to savor each moment and experiences: â€Å"And always serve bread with your wine/ But son, always serve wine† (21-22). Meinke’s poem expresses sentiments that Hughes’ mother cannot fully understand; for her, because of the hardships she knows and experiences on a daily basis, the luxury of enjoying life’s more positive offerings is a foreign concept. Hughes and Meinke have presented two differing views that juxtapose a world full of beauty with that of a more barren, colorless environment. Both poems successfully convey parental concerns and words of wisdom that are to help their respective sons live and function in the world–the main difference being that Hughes’ mother strives for simple survival, while Meinke’s parent is able to

Memo to CIO on Success Criteria for Enterprise System Implementation Case Study

Memo to CIO on Success Criteria for Enterprise System Implementation - Case Study Example The modern design may be contrived in power ranges up to 800 horsepower. Due to Environmental trends globally, demand for the new generator and motor designs have been on the rise. The company has also opened up other branches which see the need to have all of its system synchronized into one system that can make it easier for the management to consolidate most of its CRM centrally at one point. Teamwork and composition are vital in the entire CRM life cycle. The CRM team should comprise of the best individuals from the company (Brown, and Vessey, 1999). Coming up with a cross-functional team is also necessary. The team should consist of knowledgeable consultants and some internal staff such the internal staff may develop the needed technical skills required for design and implementation. The support of top management is required in the entire implementation process. The project must have a valid approval from the top management and align with critical business goals (Buckhout Frey and Nemec, 1999). This may be achieved through tying the management bonuses to the success of the project. Managers are supposed to legitimize new objectives and goals. A joint vision of the company and the function of the new CRM application and structure should be communicated directly to the employees. New structures, responsibilities, and roles of the company should be adopted. Policies should be put by top management to form modern systems in the company. There should be a clearly outlined business plan and a vision in order to steer the direction of CRM implementation. This business plan should clearly define the intended tangible and strategic merits, costs, Timeline, risk, and resources. This will assist in evaluating the extent to which the implementation process has gone and the benefits of the CRM (Callaway, 2000).

Italian Cinema and culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Italian Cinema and culture - Research Paper Example The movie bicycle thief is about a struggling head of the family who is trying to fight for his family survival. Looks for a job and when a hope finally arrives and he are offered a job to distribute posters (Samuel & Olive 40). His means of moving to work, his bicycle is stolen by an unfamiliar young man. Antonio, the father hopes that the police would help get the thief, only to learn that they are not interested in the case since Antonio does not have any witnesses to help with the investigations. Opting to literary look for the thief in the streets of Rome Antonio faces many challenges and finally doesn’t succeed. The other film life is beautiful is based on the life of a family that struggles to live a happy life as a unit. They live on a ranch oblivious of the occurrences outside. The war continued (Benigin 200). They are seized by soldiers on the day of their son’s birthday and taken to a common prison. The father, Guido wants to protect his son, Giosue, who is o nly four and a half and very innocent. He gives him a fictional, but almost believable story of how the family has won a trip, and they have to perform some tasks to win the reward. Guido is very convincing with his explanation and uses it to protect the son from the terrifying realities of life in prison especially for a child who is that young and separated from his mother. In the end, Guido is executed but does not want Guisue to witness it, so he tells him to hide as part of the ‘game’. Guisue spots his mother Dora in the crowd of other female prisoners, and that’s how he starts to connect the disappearance of his father and the â€Å"game† and recalls of his statements of him sacrificing for his family (Bullaro 200). These two movies express the struggles of the community members in the post war Italy. The families were trying to remain happy and keeping the hope for a better day to come. Since they are based on partially true experiences of the main characters they are realistic to their lives, which area characterized by; poverty, oppression, injustice and desperation. Poverty In both films, the families are facing financial constrains and means for survival. For instance, in the Bicycle thieves, Antonio had even pawned his bicycle before this job offer came up. They have to give up their dowry bed sheets to the pawnbroker in order to recover it. When the bicycle is then stolen, and they report the case to the police no much concern is shown. Father and son having to walk to the city to look for the thief, they could not afford other means to get there (Samuel & Olive 100). These scenes demonstrate the poverty of the urban Italian community at that time with most of them being unemployed and have to rely on odd job. For instance, Lamberto Maggirani, the character who played Antonio in the movie was a construction worker and the film reflected his actual life and the state of financial lack. The film was shot on location theref ore appearance of the characters on it reflects how they live. The small boy was real son. In life is beautiful, the head of the family could not raise enough money to afford his young family a home the end up being hosted at uncle’s ranch. The son believes the story that they had won a trip because to him the family rarely traveled away from home. This was a new experience (Benigin 200). He even believes that

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Art - Essay Example It is here that the actual relevance of intention of one’s understanding of art lies. Spectators ignore the intentional contribution of the photographer, devalues the art representation and its creator, as a medium of artistic creation (Jonathan Friday, p.67, 2002). One of the most well-known and controversial artists of contemporary world goes by the name of Yoko Ono. Born in Japan, Yoko Ono is known more because of her marriage to John Lennon. However, one cannot take away the brilliance of this artist, who through her art embraced a wide range of media; defying traditional boundaries and creating new forms of artistic expression. Her works include, objects and installations; film and video; music and performance art. YES YOKO ONO was one exhibition where Yoko’s talent was on display. It offered for the first time, a comprehensive reevaluation of Ono’s works, exploring her position in postwar international avant-garde, and her critical and influential role in originating forms of cutting-edge art, music, film, and performance. The exhibition portrayed Yoko’s role in Fluxus, an avant-garde movement in New York in the early 1960s, her contributions to Conceptual art in New York, London, and Tokyo, her concerts, films, vocal recordings, public art, which included her works made with John Lennon, and finally, her interactive installations and site-specific art. The exhibition, YES YOKO ONO, is on an interactive installation known as Ceiling Painting, a work where, the viewer is invited to climb a white ladder, on the top of which is a magnifying glass dangling by a chain from a frame on the ceiling. The viewer has to use the reading glass to read the ‘instruction’ beneath the framed sheet of glass, which says, ‘Y E S.’ It was through this work that Ono met her future husband and longtime collaborator, John Lennon. The Installation for the Ceiling

Organizational behavior Article critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Organizational behavior Article critique - Essay Example on of organizational behavior, â€Å"as the study of human behavior in organizations; a multidisciplinary field devoted to understanding individual and group behavior, interpersonal processes, and organizational dynamics† (Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn 3) Azman et al underscore the value and merit of studying the influence of relationships in organizations. This essay will critique how the writers developed their methodology, approach, and some of the results of the study. The critique will weigh whether the results presented in the article substantiated their claims adding worth to the continuous growing body of work on human relationships and their affect on organizational behavior. In addition to the article’s composition, grammatical and organizational structure, it readability and comprehensibility will be examined as well. Finally by reviewing the article determining if the information documented was presented in such a way as to increase the understa nding of the complexity of human relationships in organizations. Azman et al started by stating their purpose in writing the article, outlining the objectives of the paper, and discussed their method of approach for the study. They identify three main objectives 1) examine the relationship between transformational leadership and empowerment; 2) examine the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment; and 3) examine the mediating effect of empowerment in the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment (92) . The objective of demonstrating the connection between healthy relationships within an organizational culture and performance remained the focal point throughout the article. The article was written in a way that each section of information built upon the previous with each section returning to the initial purpose. The traditional and non-traditional views of leadership provided the foundation for their initial

Case Study 4 (Business Intelligence ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Study 4 (Business Intelligence ) - Essay Example Similarly, trends and subsequent strategies can be developed for customers using multiple contact channels like call centers, website or mobile internet (Freeland 2003, p. 105). One such organization doing exemplary work in this regard is Ebay- world’s largest online marketplace which also uses information systems to attract and retain customers and has developed technology enabled customer relationship management tools. Question 2 Cross selling is a sales technique where suggestions and recommendations to a customer are made based on his previous purchase, recorded preferences and other details. Use of data mining is of paramount importance in cross selling technique undertaken by 1-800-Flowers. Related product or service can only be recommended only when previously recorded customer taste and preference is available and which matches the expectation of the customer. For instance, a customer who purchases a specific kind of flowers regularly from 1-800-Flowers can be reminded of latest offers and related product and services in flowers section.

Reporting Practices and Ethics Paper Essay Example for Free

Reporting Practices and Ethics Paper Essay Financial management is very crucial in today’s health care financial procedures. It is one the most important aspects of the financial health care. There are many assessments made- based the financial records and the business transactions that occur within the health care organization. It is crucial the financial records are kept up- to -date and they follow specific guidelines. The books kept up- to- date and in order, this will show the amount of money being brought into the organization for profit and the amount of money the organization has lost in profit. One thing that may cause the honesty of the organization to be on the brinks is the organization financial management and the correctness of the financial books. This paper is about information that will address financial reporting practices and ethics. It will address four financial management functions, summaries that accept accounting principles by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). It will also give an example from an article that has reflected ethical standards of conduct and financial reporting. The basic four components of financial management are planning, controlling, organizing and directing and decision making. The preparation is responsibility for financial management to recognize the purposes of the health care organization. The planning step is to â€Å"set directions and allocates resources, the organizing step brings people and material resources together in working condition, the leading step inspires people to best utilize these resources, and the controlling step checks that the right things happen, in the right way, and at the right time† (Lombardi, Schermerhorn, amp; Kramer, 2007,). Controlling is the process of the financial management to ensure that each department of the organization are going by the procedures that was decided. The financial manager should have the reports available to study the most recent financial reports. The reports will help to select what department needs the most consideration to keep the organization going. Organizing and directing is the responsibility of the financial manager to decide in what way to make use of the funds of the organizations most efficiently. Resources such as assets will help the manager to ensure the goals of the healthcare organizations are accomplished. Directing is an everyday job provided that control and support. The final step in the element in financial management is decision making. Planning, organizing, and controlling is a correspondence with the decision making process. The choices will be by the financial manager based on evaluation, analysis and information. Generally accepted accounting principles is a set of financial recommendations used for financial accounting. The recommendations are for preparing financial statements and for setting standards for organizations accountants. According to Baker (2011), â€Å" One of the requirements of GAAP is that unrestricted fund balances be separated from restricted fund balances on the statements, so you see two appropriate line items (restricted and unrestricted) in the fund balance section† (p. 108). GAAP are the rules of accounting. Those guidelines are to arrange the reporting of financial statements that will include the cash flow statements, income statements, and the balance sheet. With the reply of these responsibilities, the Organization of Managing Bookkeepers declared principles of moral conduct for employees of managing bookkeeping and financial management. The principles take account for confidentiality, integrity, and competence. A person must maintain knowledge and the necessary skills is what includes competence. They must always maintain their professional responsibilities and duties in accordance with related rules, technical standards, and regulations. Confidentiality when one should not disclose confidential information, such as health records except when given the right authority to do so. Integrity has the responsibility not to engage in activities that would affect prejudgment, favors that will influence their actions and decision making. According to† Ethical Standards† (n. d),â€Å"Specialists of managing bookkeeping and monetarist managing partake an commitment to the community, their line of work, the institute they work for and themselves, to uphold the utmost principles of decent manner. Hewlett-Packard Company CEO, Mark Hurd turn out to be mixed up in the workplace. According to (Healthfield, 2012), â€Å"Mr. Hurd had failed to disclose a close personal relationship he had with a contractor that constituted a conflict of interest† . †Mr. Hurd also â€Å"failed to maintain accurate expense reports, and misused company assets. † This is an example that reflect ethical standards of conduct a nd financial reporting practices. Practicing accuracy end honesty will help continue the capacity to never misuse the financial systems, and abide by the laws laid out by GAAP. Organizations are providing their employees with the necessary training that will equip them as well as sustain the reporting practices operational but at the time use the similar procedures and show them new procedures. Fraud and abuse is something everyone know when being ethical. By using the GAAP guidelines, keeping the organizational ethics and policies would be free from abuse and fraud. By following the guidelines that comes from the GAAP, they can help prevent fraud and abuse from happening in the health care organization itself. These guidelines are there to help the organization benefit so they will always be ready in case there may come a time when they have to show their financial documents to a third party. Therefore in conclusion, it a major responsibility in financial reporting practices and ethics. Financial managers should implement the four elements of financial management in their reports to avoid fraud, abuse and the risk of breaking ethics. Managers should know how to plan, control, organize and directing and decision making. They should always incorporate the GAAP rules and regulations in order to avoid unethical rulings.

Carl Gustav Jung Essay Example for Free

Carl Gustav Jung Essay Carl Gustav Jung, (26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961), was a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist, and the founder of analytical psychology. His work and influence extends way beyond understanding personality, and he is considered to be one of the greatest thinkers to have theorised about life and how people relate to it. However, for the purpose of this assignment I will concentrate on Jung’s theory of Psychological Types. In this essay I aim to demonstrate an understanding of Jung’s personality types by describing and evaluating his theory and to show how they might useful in helping a therapist to determine therapeutic goals. Jung (1990, p.531) states that’ from earliest times, attempts have been made to classify individuals according to types, and so bring order to the chaos. The oldest attempts known to us were made by oriental astrologers who devised the so-called trigons of the four elements air, water, earth, and fire. The air trigon in the horoscope consists of the three aerial signs of the zodiac, Aquarius, Gemini, Libra; the fire trigon is made up of Aries, Leo, Sagittarius. According to this age old view, whoever is born in these trigons shares in their aerial or fiery nature and will have a corresponding temperament and fate.‘ In the same paragraph, Jung states that ‘the astrological type theory, to the astonishment of the enlightened, still remains intact today,’ which is true. Closely connected with the astrological type theory is the division into the four temperaments which corresponds to the four humors (Jung, 1990, p.531). A Greek physician, Claudius Galen (AD130 200), distinguished four basic temperaments: the sanguine, the phlegmatic, the choleric, and the melancholic. Galen’s theory goes back to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates’ (460 370BC), who described physical illness as being caused by the balance of bodily fluids, or humors as he labelled them’ (Maltby, et al, 2007, p.159). These bodily fluids are blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm. Galen expanded on Hippocrates’ theory and applied it to describe human personality, stating that when the humors were in balance, an equitable temperament was the result, however, if the humors were out of balance, then physical illness and mental disturbance occurred (Maltby et al, 2007, p.160). However, ‘by the time of the Middle Ages, scholars dismissed the idea that bodily fluids were directly implicated in personality traits. But the behavioural descriptions associated with the four humours lived on’ (McAdams, 2000, p.256). Galen’s four temperaments provided much inspiration and historical reference for Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types. According to Jung’s theory we are all different in fundamental ways and each psychological type has a different idea of what it means to achieve personal success. However, www.personalitypage.com states that, ‘so many people are hung up on somebody else’s idea of what it means to be successful, that they are unaware of what is truly important to them‘. I agree, because for many years, I wanted to be somebody else as that person’s life seemed so much better than mine, or so I thought at the time. Jung was one of the few psychologists in the twentieth century to maintain that development extends beyond childhood and adolescence through mid-life and into old age (Stevens, 2001, p.38). Jung insisted that ‘we never finish the process of self-examination and growth that charts our journey towards individuation.’ (Snowdon, 2010, p.86). In my case, I believe I am on that journey of accepting myself as I truly am, becoming my true ‘self‘. Stevens (2001, p.38) claims that ‘it could be brought to the highest fruition if one worked with and confronted the unconscious,’ and for me, it is and has been important to face the ‘monsters that lurk’ (Snowdon, 2010, p.86) in my unconscious, even when it has been uncomfortable to do so. According to Jung, like Freud, there are three levels of consciousness in the psyche (mind);- conscious, personal unconscious and collective unconscious. Snowdon (2010, p.56) states that ‘the individual psyche is always changing as it seeks growth and wholeness.’ Jung referred to the ego when describing the more conscious aspect of the personality, the part of the psyche that selects perceptions, thoughts, feelings and memories that may enter our conscious awareness. Stevens (2002, p. 62) states that ‘the ego is then centre of consciousness and is responsible for our continuing sense of identity.’ The personal unconscious comprises of ‘all the acquisitions of personal life, everything forgotten, repressed, subliminally perceived, thought, felt’ (Jung, 1990, p.485). This is an aspect of the unconscious that Freud also emphasized and these forgotten experiences are accessible to consciousness, and for both Freud and Jung, ‘the exploration of the unconscious is the key to personal insight’ (McAdams, 2000, p. 135). Conscious attitudes within the psyche should always be balanced by unconscious attitudes, and Snowdon (2010, p.56) claims that ‘if a conscious attitude grows too strong then the unconscious will always seek to restore equilibrium,’ by means of dreams, fantasies, slips of the tongue and so on. However, if the unconscious message is ignored, then ‘neurosis or even disease may result’ (Stevens, 2010, p.57). Where the personal unconscious is unique for each individual the collective unconscious is not an ‘individual acquisition but rather the functioning of the inherited brain structure, which in its broad outlines is the same in all human beings (Jung, 1954, p.117). Therefore, the collective unconscious represents the shared experiences, emotions and memories we have inherited from previous generations. Jung believed that we were born with a built-in human developmental programme, which is buried deep within the collective unconscious (Snowdon, 2010, p. 80). According to Jung, the personal unconscious contains various complexes, while the collective unconscious contains archetypes (see Fig 1) ‘Complexes are related groups of emotionally charged ideas, thoughts and images’ (Snowdon, 2010, p.61), and can exert a strong influence on the thoughts and behaviour of a person. Some complexes may be beneficial and others may be potentially harmful, and Jung (1990, p.529) states that ‘complexes do not necessarily indicate inferiority. It only means that something discordant, unassimilated, antagonistic exists, perhaps as an obstacle, but also as an incentive to greater effort, and so, perhaps to new possibilities of achievement.’ Therefore, a therapist may use this knowledge to bring to the forefront of the client’s consciousness, a situation which they may be finding difficult to overcome. Complexes can be related to a particular archetype, Stevens (2001, p.48) states that ‘complexes are personifications of archetypes; they are the means through which archetypes manifest themselves in the personal psyche.’ An archetype is a universal thought form or predisposition to respond to the world in certain ways (Jung, 1936), and Jung believed they appeared to us in dreams, myths, religions, art and symptoms. Engler (1991, p.86) claimed that ‘it is helpful for us to get in touch with them because they represent the latent potentially of the psyche.’ The widely recognised archetypes are the persona, the shadow, the anima and the animus, and the self. The persona archetype is the mask that a person wears to hide their true nature from society. The shadow is an unconscious part of the personality that contains weaknesses and other aspects of personality that a person cannot admit to having’ (Snowdon, 2010, p.68). The anima is the unconscious feminine aspect of a man’s personality, and the animus is the masculine aspect of a woman’s personality. The self is the central archetype and true midpoint of the personality (Engler, 1991, p.89). A criticism of Jung’s theory was his lack of empirical research, in which his theory has been attacked as being non-falsifiable and unscientific (Hergenhahn, 1994, p.93). Jung based his psychology on explorations of his own inner world, as well as his work with people ranging from ‘normal’ to those with neurotic problems and even those suffering from psychosis (Snowdon, 2010, p.XXVI). Eysenck (Engler, 2009, p.316) believed that from the point of view of science, Jung’s contribution to the study of personality types was primarily negative as he permitted mystical notions to override empirical data. However, Jung was unconcerned claiming that he ‘cannot experience himself as a scientific problem. Myth is more individual and expresses life more precisely that does science (Stevens, 2001, p.156).’ Jung’s description of personality states that in order to identify a psychological type, it is necessary to determine whether a person’s psychic energy (libido) is turned inwards towards the subject (introversion), or outwards towards the object (extroversion). Introverts are people who prefer their own inner world of thoughts and feelings, whilst extroverts prefer the external world towards external relationships and objects. According to Jung (1990, p.415) ‘the presence of two attitudes is extremely frequent,’ although one is generally dominant and conscious and the other is subordinate and unconscious. However, McAdams (2000, p.310) claims that ‘Eysenck, a British psychologist of German origin, rejected the idea that conscious extroversion is connected to unconscious introversion, and vice versa.’ Unlike Jung, Eysenck linked extroversion and introversion to differences in brain activity, however this theory is speculative and Eysenck acknowledged that his hypotheses ‘must stand and fall by empirical confirmation’ (Eysenck, 1965). Introvert and extrovert dimensions are now found in several theories, one of those being Hans Eysenck’s theory of personality. Although Eysenck expressed considerable disdain for Jung’s approach to psychological types, some of his ideas were rather similar, for example, ’both defined the concepts by making reference to the direction of a person’s approach to life’ (McAdams, 2000, p.309). However, in other ways Eysenck’s concepts were quite difference, for example, whilst Jung believed that a person can be classified as either extroverted or introverted, he believed that most people fall somewhere between the two attitudes, ‘combining qualities of both the extroverted and introverted poles’ (McAdams, p. 310). Like Jung, Eysenck examined historical approaches to personality as well as conducting various methods of research, to uncover the underlying structure of personality. Eysenck suggested that the basic dimensions of personality may be summarised in the diagram below (see Fig 2), which show the two main dimensions of extroversion-introversion and stable-unstable, with the traits associated with each personality type. The diagram also shows how the four temperaments are related to these types.

Overview Knowledge Based Economy Malaysia Commerce Essay

Overview Knowledge Based Economy Malaysia Commerce Essay Knowledge is defined as information combined with experience, context, interpretation, and reflection (Davenport et al., 1998). Knowledge defined as objects, concepts that are assumed exist around in people in same interest areas. Knowledge is commonly distinguished from data and information (Zack, 1999). Data is a kind of raw data which does not directly meaningful. Raw data refers to a collection of numbers, characters, images or other outputs from devices to convert physical quantities into symbols, which are unprocessed. Such data after further processed by human will become meaningful which is information. In addition, knowledge is result from interpreted information, understandings of combination of data and information, expertise, and skills which acquired by a person through year to year experiences. Further, knowledge can be tacit or explicit (Lave Wenger, 1991). For tacit knowledge, it is personal, context-specific knowledge that is difficult to formalize, record, or articulate, it is stored in the heads of people (Tiwana, 2000). Tacit knowledge is not available as text, it is difficult to express to others. It involves human personal beliefs, experiences, and values. For explicit knowledge is that component of knowledge that can be codified and transmitted in a systematic and formal language, documents, database, webs, e-mail, charts, etc (Tiwana, 2000). In contrast, explicit knowledge is more precisely and formally articulated, it can be transferred to others in a relatively straightforward manner. Explicit knowledge considers is the most important factor of production in knowledge economy. What is the knowledge economy? A knowledge-driven economy is one in which the generation and exploitation of knowledge play the predominant part in the creation of wealth (United Kingdom Department of Trade and Industry, 1998). Knowledge economy also defined as economy of knowledge which focused on the production and management of knowledge. From the past, neo-classical economics has only focused on production of labour and capital as their main factor. Nowadays, neo-classical economy getting transform into knowledge-based economy by start replacing capital and energy into information and knowledge as their primary wealth-creating assets. In the words of Dr. Mahathir: In our pursuit towards developing the K-economy, knowledge has to replace labour and capital as the key factors of production in our economy. The challenge for Malaysia is to develop this knowledge amongst our citizens so that our success will be due to the contributions of Malaysian talents and knowledge workers (Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, Putrajaya 8 March 2001 advertisement in the New Straits Times 13-04-2001). As we enter the 21st century, Malaysias economy is currently changing into knowledge based economy since announcement a long term project called Vision 2020, which was a plan turn Malaysia to a fully developed country and knowledge rich society through the development of ICT sector. According to Mahathir some have wondered why 2020 and not some other year. As a doctor I am attracted to the optometrist measurement of vision; 2020 indicates 100 per cent good vision in both eyes. Our 2020 vision for Malaysia implies this clear vision of where we want to go and what we want to be (Mohamad, 2007). To achieve the objectives of Vision 2020, shift Malaysia economy into knowledge-based economy to increase rapid rate of economy growth and enhance international competitiveness is very important. The knowledge based economy will be the main key point to strengthen Malaysias capability to innovate, create and design own indigenous technology, develop and launch new products in the market. In addition, the knowledge will be key factor contribute to Malaysias economy growth and able to achieve sustainable gross domestic product growth rate as well. Moreover, our previous prime minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said during the Eight Malaysia Plan period, we will be faced with even greater challenges from globalization and liberalization as well as the rapid development of information and technology. We will have to shift the growth strategy from being input-driven towards one that is knowledge-driven (Abdulai, 2004). Therefore, Malaysia has integrated the development of Knowledge-Based Economy concept into its new vision policy in order to achieve our Malaysia Vision 2020. Malaysian were encouraged to improve the quality of education and training to learn highly skilled and knowledgeable manpower in order to support the development of a knowledge-based economy. To develop a Knowledge-Based Economy as a strategic move to raise the value added of all economic sectors and optimizing the brainpower of the nation: and 2). strengthening human resource development to produce a competent, productive, and knowledgeable workforce. (Abdulai, 2004). Besides, Malaysia government has been high involved in this process shift Malaysia towards Knowledge-Based Economy by set up institutions, infrastructures, and infostructures that will help move the country towards a KBE with the launching Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) and National IT Agenda (NITA) organized by Malaysia government. The objectives to launch this project is formulate strategies and promote the utilization and development of IT, the key enabler of a knowledge-based economy by create an ideal IT and multimedia environment as well as enable Malaysia to be in the mainstream of activities necessary to attract knowledge workers, technopreneurs and high-technology industries. Furthermore, there are some academic researchers studying Knowledge Management and Knowledge-Based Economy development in Malaysia. A major effort is the book Malaysia and K-economy (2001) by a number of academics of the Multimedia University of Malaysia. Also, a number of local studies on some ICT developments which related innovative practice are also reported in the Proceedings of the Asia Pacific Economics and Business Conference 2002 (UPM). There is also a paper measures knowledge-based economy achievement through the skilled labor contributions to Malaysian manufacturing sector productivity growth (Elsadig et al, 2003). This studies trying to prove that Knowledge-Based Economy really contributed to a developed country in various sectors development such as manufacturing sector, ICT sector. As we know, the transformation towards Knowledge-Based Economy is started in Malaysia. Many organizations realize the important knowledge that will affect an organization operation future. Knowledge will play important role factor of affect organization production rather than the labour workforces, capital. Nowadays, knowledge management is not just used in ICT government sector, it also widely used in private hospitality industry. In this service industry, knowledge is very important in order to provide latest information which customer require immediately. With knowledge, they able to help customer solve difficult problem in limited time constrain due to every minute of time is equal to money of customer. In addition, we know that some industries have facing high turnover work force. Recruit new staff to take over the job position is not always the effective way. Therefore, they are only depending on past documentation which is explicit knowledge left by previous staff. Yet, it is difficult to transform tacit knowledge into documentation as references for future used. Thats why the important of learning knowledge management there are. There is an example in below: In an industry where there is highly turnover, knowledge management also helps bring our staff up to speed quicky and we achieve the learning processes documented and disseminated quickly. (Cherly, 2008). As the growing demand for knowledge-based products and services is changing the structure of the global economy, the role of knowledge in achieving competitive advantage is becoming an important management issue in all sectors. The gap between a companys market value and its tangible asset value is widening; the key variable explaining this gap is a firms stock of knowledge. Unlike land, labor, and capital the economists traditional, finite factors of production knowledge and ideas are infinite economic goods that can generate increasing returns through their systematic use (Kim Mauborgne, 1999). Though there little consensus as to what knowledge actually is, many do accept that knowledge is a primary competitive factor in business today (Dzinkowski, 2000). A survey conducted by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) shows that the top executives of both the Canadian Financial Post 300 firms and US Fortune 500 firms view knowledge resources as critical for a firms success. Discussion Knowledge is defined as information combined with experience, context, interpretation, and reflection (Davenport et al., 1998). Knowledge is commonly distinguished from data and information (Zack, 1999). Knowledge is believed and valued on the basis of the meaningfully organized accumulation of information through experience, communication, or inference. Knowledge can be viewed both as a thing to be stored and manipulated and as a process of simultaneously knowing and acting that is, applying expertise (Blackler, 1995). Instead, Knowledge is not only embodied in goods and services, particularly in high technology industries, but also it is a commodity itself, manifested in forms such as intellectual property rights or in the tacit knowledge of highly mobile key employees. Knowledge includes information how the way to interact as individuals as community. Knowledge unlike land, labor, and capital the economists traditional, finite factors of production knowledge and ideas are infinite economic goods that can generate increasing returns through their systematic use (Kim Mauborgne, 1999). It is a public good and sharing with others involves zero marginal cost. Though there little consensus as to what knowledge actually is, many do accept that knowledge is a primary competitive factor in business today (Dzinkowski, 2000). In addition, technology breakthrough based on knowledge creates technical platforms that support further innovations and drive economic growth (Bank Negara, 1999). The table below w ill show the framework categories of knowledge: Picture1 As the growing demand for knowledge-based products and services is changing the structure of the global economy, the role of knowledge in achieving competitive advantage is becoming an important management issue in all sectors. Therefore, the rapid creation and dissemination of knowledge and information is very important to the organization. If knowledge is not properly maintained, information could become misconstrued or vanish all together. When information is stored within individual minds, the maintenance of this knowledge becomes more complex. The retrieval and distribution of information are the most important aspects of organizational memory. Individuals must be motivated in order to retrieve and communicate information. A major problem within many organizations is the fact that employees view knowledge as a method of securing their jobs and are reluctant to share their knowledge with others. Nowadays, many organization and enterprise are realizing how important to make maximu m use of knowledge among their staff. These knowledge can be database knowledge, work past experiences, human knowledge based. It is hard to keep track of and make use of all of the parts knowledge. The organization interest to know what are the knowledge assets and how to use and manage this knowledge asset to get high return in the future. Most of the organization in Malaysia only focused on labor, capital and tangible asset as their primary knowledge assets. They are loses sight of knowledge Management as their primary important knowledge assets. Only, few organizations fully realize the benefits from highly valued knowledge. However, organizations getting change, evolution, view knowledge management as part of their business strategy. Due to organization found that, to success in increase competitive marketplace is fully depends on the quality of the knowledge by how to apply it in the business process. Knowledge management has also been described for its possible role in creating sustained competitive advantages for organizations (Grant, 1996; Johannessen Olsen, 2003; Lado Wilson, 1994). Such as apply knowledge on low cost leadership strategy by the way of cut cost, lower the product price, reduce or eliminate steps in the manufacturing process that are unnecessary or duplicated process cycle in order to have a unique characteristic to differentiate form the competitor. This is the way how to apply knowledge in cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy into business field to gain competitive advantages in the competition marketplace. Knowledge management not only the benefits of reduced co sts and cycle time, but also develop valuable knowledge that anticipates of future buyer/seller behavior. Besides, knowledge management apply on innovation-based differentiation strategy to create new innovation product to able differentiate from competitors to gain competitive advantages. However, there is a challenge of deploying the knowledge assets of an organization to create competitive advantage such as the marketplace is increasing competitive and the rate of innovation, knowledge should be evolve and process at even faster rate by an organization in order to catch up with the trend of the market. Moreover, knowledge takes times to experience and acquire. An organization does not have enough time to provide this kind of knowledge management training and increase formal knowledge management to the staff. Leading loss of knowledge due to staff retirement earlier is one of the reasons. The experience from the retire staff may not be transfer the tacit knowledge to the fresh staff. It is difficult to request experience staffs turn their tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge which is documentation form for references use in future. Sometimes, changing in strategy direction may result in the loss of knowledge in a specific area. For instance, a subsequent reversal in policy may then lead to a renewed requirement for this knowledge, but the employees with that knowledge may no longer be there. A variety of factors have been shown to have an important effect on the ability of organizations to acquire sustained competitive advantage, including the relative capability development of a firm (Johannessen Olsen, 2003), and a firms ability to differentiate its products (Johannessen Olsen, 2003; Teece et al., 1997). Research on KM and competitive advantage has emphasized description, rather than empirical study KM can lead to such an advantage (Holsapple Singh, 2001; Ndlela Toit, 2001). The current competitive environment is driven largely by the emergence of the knowledge society, where as Drucker has described (Drucker, 1992), organizations move from productivity based on make and move to one based on knowledge and service. The emergence of this knowledge era is radically changing what creates value in organizations, whereby the long-term viability and prosperity of an organization increasingly depends on its managements ability to leverage the hidden value of its intangible assets. Resource-based has emerged as a key competitive priority in many organization activities including corporate strategy (Clemons, 1991), information technology capability (Mata, Fuerst,Barney, 1995), and KM. Resource-based is defined as the resources and capabilities possessed by competing firms that may differ, and these differences may be long lasting (Barney, 1991; Rumelt, 1984; Wernerfelt, 1984). From the resource-based perspective, knowledge management researchers have identified various KM related resources that serve as potential source of competitive advantage. For example, Gold et al. (2001) notes that technological resource, structural resource, and cultural resource are rate and firm specific and therefore likely to serve as sources of organizational capability. Along with competent KM skills, Lee and Choi (2003) point out that the relationships between knowledge enablers (culture, structure, people, and technology) and organizational performance. Likewise, in fostering research agenda of knowledge management, Grover and Davenport (2001) and Okunoye and Karsten (2002) describe the strategy, structure, culture, and technology as the primary sources of its business growth and improved competitiveness. Furthermore, an organizations with strong social KM resources are able to (1) integrate the KM and business planning processes more effectively, (2) develop reliable and innovation applications that support the business needs of the firm faster than competition, (3) predict future business needs of the firm and innovate valuable new product features before competitors. The social KM resources ability to encourage the multifaceted activities associated with the successful implementation of knowledge management has been found to be a key distinguis hing factor of successful firms (Lee Choi, 2003). In fact the wide difference in competitive organizational and economic benefits that companies acquire from KM has been attributed largely to their social KM resources (Lee Choi, 2003; Miller Shamsie, 1996). KM resources are complex to gain and difficult to imitate when there is individual. To achieve competitive advantage through Knowledge Management, organizations have also learned how to combine effectively their KM resources to create an overall KM capability. Conclusion We were more understanding about what Knowledge is, how knowledge important to contribution economy growth, how knowledge management benefits to the organizations and how knowledge management may be appropriately viewed as an organizational capability. Before we started, we have done many researches about what actually Knowledge-Based Economy is. We also found out how Malaysia started to change towards Knowledge-Based Economy, what is the main factor to have this Knowledge-Based Economy evolution. Since introduction of the Seventh Malaysian Plan (1996-2000), it is the effort towards shifting Malaysia to a knowledge-based economy. Thats why it is important to understand the readiness of Malaysian higher educational institutions to support knowledge-based economy. In addition, the contributions to the development of the Malaysian Knowledge-based economy have come largely from the government policy makers, management consultants and businesspersons. It proved that knowledge play an important role to change our country, society from traditional to knowledge-based. In conclusion, the challenge of globalization and a knowledge-based era has made it vital for Malaysia to move towards a Knowledge Based Economy. Knowledge Based Economy will present the ways to achieve sustainable rapid growth and remain globally competitive in the medium and long term and it will brings up our country towards Vision 2020 and turn Malaysia to a fully developed country and knowledge rich society.

Sight in Cathedral Essays -- Literary Review

Vision is something many people take for granted every day. Society only deals with the matter of being blind if they are the less fortunate ones. According to the Braille Institute, "every seven minutes a person in the United States loses their sight, often as part of the aging process" (1). Only two percent of legally blind people use a guide dog and thirty-five percent use a white cane. Blindness can be caused from various different types of things including (in order) age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related cataracts. (Braille 1). However being blind does not mean a person is in total darkness. Some people can see lights and the shapes of objects, but the most import thing is for family and friends to provide hope and encouragement. The last thing a person who has lost their sight wants is to lose their family and support, which will led to loneliness. Likewise, in the short story "Cathedral," by Raymond Carver's, blindness is the key elem ent in the story and shows in detail how the characters manage it. The theme Carver conveys in the short story is being able to see without sight and is revealed through the characters, tone and plot of the story. The theme in the story of being able to see without sight is revealed through the characters in the story "Cathedral." The husband is very judgmental, self-centered and shows a lack of knowledge about blind people. This is obvious when he states, "My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind move slowly and never laugh (1152). The husband is so quick to judge and thinks he already knows everything about blind people and how they are, so he makes it clear he was not looking forward to the blind man being in his house ... ...d the blind experience and it was like Robert was no longer the blind person in the house (Caldwell 3). As a result, this shows him the way to gaining a better understanding of his own self worth and heal from pass hurts by experiencing the transcendent of nature of life. Works Cited Akers, Tim. "Overview: 'Cathedral'." Short Stories for Students 6 (1999): 1-2. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. Braille Institute: Empowering visually impaired people to live fulfilling lives. Braille Institute. 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2010 Caldwell, Tracey. "Raymond Carver's 'Cathedral'." Literary Contents in Short Stories (2006): 1-8. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 Nov. 2010 Carver, Raymond. Cathedral. Exploring Literature: Writing and Arguing About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Frank Madden. 4th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. 1151-61. Print

Troops should NOT be Withdrawn from Iraq :: War Military

Iraq is not stable enough to risk the United States withdrawing their troops, security is too weak and it will show in the near future. It is evident that Iraq cannot hold a steady government that can support the people and maintain a state of armistice throughout these hard times that the country is going through. This statement is clear seeing that there have been about one hundred and sixty three insurgent attacks daily since May of 2007. The United States is currently controlling the country due to Iraq housing terrorist groups that withhold weapons of mass destruction. Like Al Qaeda for example, their leader, Osama Bin Laden has been on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s â€Å"Most Wanted† list since the year of 2003. Ever since March 19th of 2003 many people have died because of this evil, ruthless man. That is why the United States Defense Department has kept our troops stable in Iraq to prevent some outrageous outbreak of violence. David Patraeus is a General in the United States Army and has written several reports on the war in Iraq and the progress the United States has made. He states that are still enormous difficulties that Iraq has to deal with. A lot of that may come from the many terror groups that inhabit the country. General Patraeus also says, â€Å"the addition of troops will enable the growth of Iraqi security†. (Patraeus 12) He, and many of the other brave men serving in the military completely understand that they have made substantial progress but know for a fact that the situation is still fragile and very reversible. Why would we pull our troops out of something that could be reversed? Would that not be a waste of taxpayer time and money? The General was actually asked why the troops are still in the country, he replied that the only way to secure the population of Iraq is by living with them. The last thing he noted is that he noticed that as force levels grew, the security s ituation improved. The better the security, the more likeliness that the soldiers can come home sooner. Troops should NOT be Withdrawn from Iraq :: War Military Iraq is not stable enough to risk the United States withdrawing their troops, security is too weak and it will show in the near future. It is evident that Iraq cannot hold a steady government that can support the people and maintain a state of armistice throughout these hard times that the country is going through. This statement is clear seeing that there have been about one hundred and sixty three insurgent attacks daily since May of 2007. The United States is currently controlling the country due to Iraq housing terrorist groups that withhold weapons of mass destruction. Like Al Qaeda for example, their leader, Osama Bin Laden has been on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s â€Å"Most Wanted† list since the year of 2003. Ever since March 19th of 2003 many people have died because of this evil, ruthless man. That is why the United States Defense Department has kept our troops stable in Iraq to prevent some outrageous outbreak of violence. David Patraeus is a General in the United States Army and has written several reports on the war in Iraq and the progress the United States has made. He states that are still enormous difficulties that Iraq has to deal with. A lot of that may come from the many terror groups that inhabit the country. General Patraeus also says, â€Å"the addition of troops will enable the growth of Iraqi security†. (Patraeus 12) He, and many of the other brave men serving in the military completely understand that they have made substantial progress but know for a fact that the situation is still fragile and very reversible. Why would we pull our troops out of something that could be reversed? Would that not be a waste of taxpayer time and money? The General was actually asked why the troops are still in the country, he replied that the only way to secure the population of Iraq is by living with them. The last thing he noted is that he noticed that as force levels grew, the security s ituation improved. The better the security, the more likeliness that the soldiers can come home sooner.

Cosmic Life and Death of a Star Essay examples -- physics science spac

Conception Nebula as Star Nurseries Stars are born in the interstellar clouds of gas and dust called nebulae that are primarily found in the spiral arms of galaxies. These clouds are composed mainly of hydrogen gas but also contain carbon, oxygen and various other elements, but we will see that the carbon and oxygen play a crucial role in star formation so they get special mention. A nebula by itself is not enough to form a star however, and it requires the assistance of some outside force. A close passing star or a shock wave from a supernova or some other event can have just the needed effect. It is the same idea as having a number of marbles on a trampoline and then rolling a larger ball through the middle of them or around the edges. The marbles will conglomerate around the path of the ball, and as more marbles clump together, still more will be attracted. This is essentially what happens during the formation of a star (Stellar Birth, 2004). If the nebula is dense enough, certain regions of it will begin to gravitationally collapse after being disturbed. As it collapses the particles begin to move more rapidly, which on a molecular level is actually heat, and photons are emitted that drive off the remaining dust and gas. Once the cloud has collapsed enough to cause the core temperature to reach ten-million degrees Celsius, nuclear fusion starts in its core and this ball of gas and dust is now a star. It begins its life as a main sequence star and little does it know its entire life has already been predetermined. Although this may sound like a simple enough process there are actually several variables that must be just right for birth to happen. For one, the mass of the collapsing particles is crucial and ther... ...e times the mass of the sun. In this case gravity is overwhelmingly strong and is able to crush the neutron star towards zero mass. The result is a black hole with a gravitational field strong enough to not even let light escape (Brusca, 2004). Bibliography Brusca, Stone. Cosmos, Physics 304. Arcata, CA: Dr. Stone Brusca, 2004. Miller, Coleman M. Introduction to neutron stars. University of Maryland. 22 Nov. 2004 Star death: post- main sequence evolution of stars. 22 Nov. 2004 Stellar Birth. 11 Jan. 2004. 22 Nov. 2004 Tyler, Pat. Supernova. NASA’s Heasarc: Education and Public Information. 26 Jan. 2003. 22 Nov. 2004 Cosmic Life and Death of a Star Essay examples -- physics science spac Conception Nebula as Star Nurseries Stars are born in the interstellar clouds of gas and dust called nebulae that are primarily found in the spiral arms of galaxies. These clouds are composed mainly of hydrogen gas but also contain carbon, oxygen and various other elements, but we will see that the carbon and oxygen play a crucial role in star formation so they get special mention. A nebula by itself is not enough to form a star however, and it requires the assistance of some outside force. A close passing star or a shock wave from a supernova or some other event can have just the needed effect. It is the same idea as having a number of marbles on a trampoline and then rolling a larger ball through the middle of them or around the edges. The marbles will conglomerate around the path of the ball, and as more marbles clump together, still more will be attracted. This is essentially what happens during the formation of a star (Stellar Birth, 2004). If the nebula is dense enough, certain regions of it will begin to gravitationally collapse after being disturbed. As it collapses the particles begin to move more rapidly, which on a molecular level is actually heat, and photons are emitted that drive off the remaining dust and gas. Once the cloud has collapsed enough to cause the core temperature to reach ten-million degrees Celsius, nuclear fusion starts in its core and this ball of gas and dust is now a star. It begins its life as a main sequence star and little does it know its entire life has already been predetermined. Although this may sound like a simple enough process there are actually several variables that must be just right for birth to happen. For one, the mass of the collapsing particles is crucial and ther... ...e times the mass of the sun. In this case gravity is overwhelmingly strong and is able to crush the neutron star towards zero mass. The result is a black hole with a gravitational field strong enough to not even let light escape (Brusca, 2004). Bibliography Brusca, Stone. Cosmos, Physics 304. Arcata, CA: Dr. Stone Brusca, 2004. Miller, Coleman M. Introduction to neutron stars. University of Maryland. 22 Nov. 2004 Star death: post- main sequence evolution of stars. 22 Nov. 2004 Stellar Birth. 11 Jan. 2004. 22 Nov. 2004 Tyler, Pat. Supernova. NASA’s Heasarc: Education and Public Information. 26 Jan. 2003. 22 Nov. 2004

Internet: The New Drug of Choice

Internet! The New Drug of Choice It is difficult in these modern times to find anyone who doesn’t use the Internet. I am not speaking of North Americans (but mainly N. Americans), but the rest of the world is quickly catching up. China already has more users than Canada and the US put together. According to Internet World Stats (2012), China has 538 million online frequenters and 82. 5% of the Korean population use the Internet. Korea’s penetration rate is third with England leading the way at 84% and Germany at 83%.Canada doesn’t have a big enough population to make a dent in the number of people using the Internet, but 81% of Canadians do use it, which was a higher penetration percentage than the US at 78. 3%. Currently only 41% of China is using the Internet, once their economy improves and more people get connected, China is likely to take over the Internet. North Americans might need to start learning Chinese to get their daily news. With so many people onli ne I started to wonder; is it safe for us to be using the Internet?Before I delve deeper I wanted to point out that because I am also a frequent Internet user, this question also pertains to me, so I decided that it only made sense to write this report in the first person. When I decided to start researching about if the Internet is safe for us, it seemed to me that the best place to research about the Internet would be online. I typed in web browser â€Å"Is the Internet bad for us? † and â€Å"Does the Internet make us crazy? † I was shocked at the number of results that popped up. It took some sifting through to find what I needed. It seems that the biggest concern about the Internet is â€Å"online addiction†.Some people might think it is the pornography or some of the other content or even the technology itself, but these only factor into the big picture of addiction. After a little research I realized that my true question wasn’t â€Å"is the Inter net bad for us†, but the real questions are â€Å"why is Internet addiction bad? † The Internet is not bad, it has some many advantages over other media and it so very useful in our lives. The Internet and video games help increase choice reaction time, spatial skills, scientific problem solving skills, multitasking abilities and intelligence (Greenfield, Brannon, and Lohr, 1996).The elderly use the Internet to keep their brains stimulated by using it to gain information and keep in contact with family. Actually everyone is doing that, not just the elderly. The Internet is like drinking wine, if not in moderation, it can be harmful for us, but in moderation the Internet can produce a wonderful experience. However, also like wine or any alcohol, the Internet can become an addiction. In fact addiction has become so bad that in China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea (Cafferty, 2012) treatment centers have been established to help people with online addiction.Near may home in the city of Nagoya, the Futoko Shien Center received 327 individual requests for consultation for online game addiction from the beginning of this year. (Doi, 2012) That is only in one city in one country. China seems to be one of the worst places I have found in my research. It has become so bad that boot camps have developed to help young help rid their problem. Wired. com featured a story in 2010 about a boot camp in China, â€Å"The Qihang camp promised to cure children of so-called Internet addiction, an ailment that has grown into one of China’s most feared public health hazards. (Stewart, 2010) And according to Scientific American online, â€Å"as much as 14 percent of urban youth there—some 24 million kids—fit the bill as Internet addicts, according to the China Youth Internet Association. † (Mosher, 2011) I myself have noticed that I am slowly using the Internet more since I bought a smartphone last year. I would say I am an addict and I defini tely don’t want to counseling, but I am starting to worry. So why do some people think the Internet addiction is a bad thing if it stimulates the brain and creates intelligence and multitasking abilities, Dr.Grohol director on the Mental Health Net, makes a good point â€Å"I don’t see how they can see the Internet as a disorder, but not look at a bookworm who reads 10 hours a day and not say he’s a book addict. † (Brown, 1997) The criticism the Internet receives in not a new phenomenon, Psychologists have been studying the effects of the Internet for almost 20 years. And in the last 20 years Internet use has sky rocketed, meaning effects and studies have increased as well. Psychiatrist Kimberly Young of Saint Bonaventure University in New York State, even designed a self- assessment test in 1998 because of Internet addiction concerns.Numerous studies have linked excessive online use to depression, poor school performance, increased irritability and more impulsiveness to go online. † (Mosher, 2011) One problem is that people are losing sleep because they get lost in the Internet for hours upon hours and turn into zombies as they deprive their brains and bodies of fuel and rest. Recently in the Japanese newspaper, The Daily Yomiuri a report about online addiction stated â€Å"A 19-year-old vocational school student recalled how one morning, he woke up at 6 a. . on a sofa, still clutching his mobile phone. â€Å"Damn it! I was probably asleep for two hours,† he said. Then he leaped up from the sofa and began fiddling with the phone again. Sometimes he was so preoccupied with the games that he forgot to sleep, he said. † (Doi, 2012) One such documented case in Taiwan, a boy ended up in the Asylum after his iPhone usage reached 24 hours a day. (Dokoupil, 2012) At first I thought that that must be a rare case. But more and more cases like this are being uncovered all over the world.Just recently in American news Jason Russell became famous twice; the first time was for his amazing documentary he aired on YouTube called â€Å"Kony 2012† which was one of the most viral movies to hit the web â€Å"clocking more than 70 million views in less than a week. † (Dokoupil, 2012) He then became famous again after having a nervous breakdown and marching through the streets naked and talking to himself rampantly. Before putting the document online Jason was not an excessive user of the Internet, but after his video went viral, he couldn’t get enough of his new found addiction.In the first four days after his successful video premiere he only slept 2 hours, which is a probable cause to his breakdown. I personally have never stayed up that long, but I do feel quite bizarre after being online for 10 hours. I have been warned since I was a child that lack of sleep will deter my performance at school, work and even sports. But of course most of humans don’t spend days at a time online without sleeping. Most normal humans have jobs, although many of our jobs involve the Internet these days, and still manage our daily lives of chores and eating and sleeping.But I wasn’t surprised to find out that most people including myself, I think especially those with smartphones, check their email and social sites more often than we realize. Dr. Larry Rosen, professor and past Chair of Psychology at California State University, surveyed 750 people, a spread of teens and adults and detailed their tech habits, their feelings about those habits, and â€Å"their scores on a series of standard tests of psychiatric disorders. He found that most respondents, with the exception of those over the age of 50, check text messages, email or their social network â€Å"all the time† or â€Å"every 15 minutes. More worryingly, he also found that those who spent more time online had more â€Å"compulsive personality traits. † (Dokoupil, 2012) Without being aware of it, w e above the â€Å"digital divide† are becoming compulsive, needy little onliners. People constantly feel the need to check their Internet for updates on our social sites, email, tweeters and blogs. I myself don’t blog or tweet, which I can say cuts some of my time on the net down to a little more of a sane time. It is amazing how quickly my friends reply to any and all emails and social site updates.It is almost as if the message jumped out of their phone and into their eye while they were driving to work. People have become so connected that the Internet has become a distraction and to some, the most important thing in their lives. The author of â€Å"Is the Internet driving us mad? † in Newsweek magazine claims that regardless of age, most people send or receive about 400 texts a month. The average teenager processes about 3700 texts a month. Also many of these same people, two thirds, sense their phone vibrating in their pockets when in fact it is not.Researc hers call it â€Å"phantom-vibration syndrome. † It is evident that we have become dependent on the Internet that we drool in anticipation waiting for a message or call or any kind of update to fulfill our hourly or for some minutely dose of feeling wanted and or accepted. I myself have felt the â€Å"phantom-vibration† a few times, but I don’t think enough to warrant it as a syndrome. I have been witnessing the dependency for the Internet on an everyday basis as everyone around me; mostly younger people seem to always have a reason to have their smartphone out.At school, older kids are sending messages to each during class time and even when sitting together on their free time. It seems that the Internet provides better conversation than their friends sitting across from them. I cannot say that I am not innocent from this same intervention and have been known to hope online at while waiting for friends to buy their ice cream or something of that nature. We are so dependent on the Internet, not only individually, but also a group. Hurricane Sandy, a terrifying hurricane, hit New York causing more than 150 fatalities.In the November 3rd issue of Newsweek’s online magazine released a feature about the Heroes of the Hurricane. One of the reports was of the â€Å"Heroes† who guarded and protected an Internet hub, considered to be very important to the world, because it is â€Å"one of the fastest connections between world financial centers; it maintains Internet connectivity for en ­tire regions of the country. † (Keller, 2012) I remember about years ago reading reports that the Internet caused depression and loneliness. I think that depression can be triggered by so many things, especially in those who more prone to depressive feelings.As for the loneliness factor, I always believed that the Internet was addictive because it replaced feelings of loneliness because people are more connected to more people. It is true tha t it reduces face-to-face interaction, but it increases interaction with people. Researchers have found that â€Å"internet use was associated with increased well-being and social involvement. † (Kraut, 2002) Because of the Internet I socialize more with people who are not within close distance which makes me feel happier that I can keep in touch with them. I probably have a better relationship with my mother than I did when I lived at home and before smartphones.During the Tohoku earthquakes and Fukushima crisis in 2011 the internet help people all over Japan talk to each other and others from abroad; the whole country might have felt lonely or separated from the rest of the world if it weren’t for the Internet. So what cause these emotional and mental changes in people who absorb themselves with the Internet too much. Besides Internet is just like reading books, watching television and listening to the radio in one package. In recent reports, it has been revealed tha t â€Å"brain scans hint excessive time online is tied to stark physical changes in the brain† (Mosher, 2011).These physical changes caused by the over stimulation of the parts of the brain that deal with attention, multitasking, spatial awareness etc. are extracting from the parts of other parts of the brain. Dave Mosher describes the latest findings in his online report with Scientific America’s online magazine. One set of images focused on gray matter at the brain's wrinkled surface, or cortex, where processing of speech, memory, motor control, emotion, sensory and other information occurs. The researchers discovered several small regions in online addicts' brains shrunk, in some cases as much as a 10 to 20 percent.The affected regions included the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, rostral anterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area and parts of the cerebellum. What's more, the longer the addiction's duration, the more pronounced the tissue reduction. The stud y's authors suggest this shrinkage could lead to negative effects, such as reduced inhibition of inappropriate behavior and diminished goal orientation. But imaging neuroscientist Karl Friston of University College London, who helped pioneer the VBM technique, says gray matter shrinkage is not necessarily a bad thing. The effect is quite extreme, but it's not surprising when you think of the brain as a muscle,† says Friston, who was not involved in the study. â€Å"Our brains grow wildly until our early teens, then we start pruning and toning areas to work more efficiently. So these areas may just be relevant to being a good online gamer, and were optimized for that. † Although we can alter our brains through practice like the rest of our body, we still need to have the will power to make these changes. Maybe for many online addicts, the morphing of their intelligence to certain cortex might be rewarding for them.But it is evident that for many of us who need to work an d have face-to-face conversations and have proper behaviour, need to reduce our Internet time. I personally want to keep the â€Å"grey matter† of my brain from shrinking because it is accountable for dealing with speech, memory, motor control, emotion, sensory, and other information. (Dokoupil, 2012) We know that exercise is good for our bodies’; it has been pounded into us since we were little children. Eat healthy food, exercise 3 times a week, stay away from sugars etc. , has been taught to us by media, teachers and parents.Now we need to exercise our brains as well. The Internet is one form of exercising certain parts, but we need to exercise all parts of our body. Think about how ridiculous someone would look if they only spent their time pumping iron to make their only their shoulders really big and barely did any movement to strengthen their legs. That person would look like a balloon with the string tied to the bottom being their legs. Not only would that pers on look silly, but probably would fall over when then tried to walk. That is similar with what is slowly happening to our brains with the more time we spend on the Internet.Internet addiction is causing too much exercise on only one part of our brain and not enough on the other. With more and more reports stressing the problems of Internet addiction, depression, compulsive behaviour, sleep deprivation and lack of memory; it is difficult to ignore the issue. Obviously scorning the Internet is not the solution, since it isn’t the Internet’s fault; it is the lack of control that we humans possess to control our desire for social acceptance, informational and visual stimuli, and the speed of which we can retrieve these desires.I am sure if the Internet was as slow as it was in 1995, this topic would be moot. But now the evidence is clear and people need help, just like there is help for alcoholics and drugoholics. All users of the Internet, there are few that aren’t users; need to use the Internet sparingly or at least with some control. Limit the amount of time spent on the Internet, especially consistent hours, the brain needs a rest. To help the grey matter in our brains it is important to involve ourselves in face-to-face conversation for speech. Exercise is also important as it always has to maintain motor control.Memory is one of the most important issues dealing with grey matter; playing trivia games or not being dependant on the auto phonebook in our phone is a great way to improve memory. Once I am finished this report will go outside and try to not use the Internet for at least the weekend, not even on my smartphone. Internet addiction is a serious issue that hopefully in the future psychologists and the public will get a better at dealing with. References Bercovici. J. , (July 10. 2012) We're All Internet Addicts, And We're All Screwed, Says Newsweek. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2012 from website: http://www. orbes. com/ sites/jeffbercovici/2012/07/10/were-all-internet-addicts-and-were-all-screwed-says-newsweek/ Brown, J. (1997). BS detector: â€Å"Internet addiction† meme gets media high. Communications Study 421: Being Online. Gackenbach, J. (Phd. ). Athabasca University, 2006 (pp. 101). Carlson, B. , (June 5, 2010). Nicholas Carr on the ‘Superficial' Webby Mind. The Atlantic. Retrieved November 10, 2012 from website: http://www. theatlantic. com/entertainment/archive/2010/06/nicholas-carr-on-the-superficial-webby-mind/57610/ Cohill, A. , (December 31, 2004). Is the Internet good or bad for us?Design Nine. Retrieved November 10, 2012 from website: http://www. designnine. com/news/content/internet-good-or-bad-us Doi, H. , (Oct. 17, 2012) Online gaming addictions growing more serious. Daily Yomuiri Online. Retrieved November 10, 2012 from website: http://www. yomiuri. co. jp/dy/national/T121016001977. htm Dokoupil, T. , (July 9, 2012). Is the Web Driving Us Mad? Newsweek Magazine. Retri eved November 10, 2012 from website: http://www. thedailybeast. com/newsweek/2012/07/08/is-the-internet-making-us-crazy-what-the-new-research-says. html Greenfield, P. , Brannon, C. and Lohr, D.

Beowulf as a hero in modern society Essay

In the historic epic Beowulf, its title character, Beowulf, is perceived as an unconventional as well as a traditional hero in current society. Beowulf, the son of Ecgtheow and Hygelac’s thane, is presented as a fearless warrior to the audience. This acknowledgment of Beowulf causes the readers to instantly recognize that Beowulf is a well-respected man. Beowulf’s magnitude is seen at the very beginning of the poem as the narrator states, â€Å"The man whose name was known for courage, the Geat Leader† (Heaney 25). Beowulf is announced to the Danish people with magnificence. Before proving Beowulf’s heroic qualities, the viewers are conscious of the fact that Beowulf is a great warrior and the son of a well admired man. It can be distinguished that from Beowulf’s opening statements he will become a hero. Bravery is a key characteristic that identifies a hero. Throughout the entire poem Beowulf appeared to possess infinite valor. He displayed courage in his swimming competition with Breca, and in his fights with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon that fatally wounded him. In all of Beowulf’s struggles, he revels wisdom, strength, and motivation. In his clash against Grendel, Beowulf utilizes his sheer strength to kill Grendel. He used his mighty strength to rip off the monster’s arm from the shoulder. As stated by the narrator, â€Å"The monster’s whole body was in pain; a tremendous wound appeared on his shoulder†¦ Beowulf was granted the glory of winning†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Heaney 55). The defeat of Grendel fulfills Beowulf’s heroic duty. This is also seen with Grendel’s mother. After Grendel’s death, Grendel’s mother desires to avenge her child. Beowulf fights her in water and still prevails. By keeping true to his word Beowulf is able to prove his worth. Near the end of poem, Beowulf faces his last episode. He takes on a dragon that is creating havoc upon the city. Before facing the dragon he knows that he might die and yet still fights with glory and all of his might. On page 171 Beowulf states, â€Å"This fight is not yours, nor is it up to any man except me†¦ I shall win the gold by my courage, or else mortal combat, doom of battle, will bear your lord away† (Heaney 171). Beowulf yet again completes his task as he kills the dragon, however, he immediately dies from his wounds. Beowulf, a true hero, confronts his death with bravery. It is Beowulf’s strength, determination, and courage that enable him to become a distinguishable hero in modern society. Although Beowulf is portrayed as a true Anglo-Saxon hero, he has qualities that would depict him not as one in current society. From Beowulf’s initial introduction he is seen as being conceited and aggressive. During the first feast, Beowulf tells of the story of his swimming race. Beowulf states, â€Å"I was the strongest swimmer of all†¦Time and again, foul things attacked me†¦but I lashed out, gave as good as I got with my sword†¦My sword had killed nine sea-monsters. Such night-dangers and hard ordeals I have never heard of nor of a man more desolate in surging waves.† (Heaney 37). This quote reveals the cockiness of Beowulf. He is very arrogant as he believes that he is the best and the bravest. Arrogance is not a characteristic of a hero. Another flaw is shown in Beowulf’s character as he fights Grendel and Grendel’s mother. Beowulf’s quarrel with Grendel exposes his true expression of violence. While Grendel and Beowulf are wrestling, Beowulf manages to get Grendel in such as position where he ripped off Grendel’s arm from the socket. This violent act can be seen as very brutal. The killing of Grendel in such a way would deny the right to name Beowulf as a hero in present society. In addition, the killing of Grendel’s mother has the same effect. While battling Grendel’s mother, Beowulf seeks assistance from an ancient blade. With this sword, he delivers a final blow to the neck of the monster. After determining that she is death, he still proceeds and decapitates her. He then returns with the head and displays it in Heorot. The decapitation of Grendel’s mother illustrates Beowulf as disrespectful and in violation of the heroic code, which doesn’t identify him as a hero. In the eyes of contemporary society Beowulf can be recognize as a paradoxical character as he is embodied by both heroic and callous qualities.