Edgar Allen Poe Essay example -- Authors Writers Essays

Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Allen Poe is a writer of the 1800’s. He has written many classics and has a unique style. Edgar fits into a gothic romance style that was prevalent at the time of his writing. Science at the time was making leaps and bounds and often scientists were immoral and hypocritical. This is reflected in Edgar’s sonnet to science were science has been destroying all that Edgar finds wonderful in the world. Edgar has a tough life with many losses which is also reflected in his writing and the sonnet to science. To understand Edgar and his writing you have to know his history and the history of his time, that is the goal of this paper. Death of important women in Edgar Allan Poe’s life dominates much of his writing and his thinking. If you understand that Edgar lost all four of the important women in his life you see why he has an obsession with death in his writings and why he has such a fear of it. Along with the fear of death is the fear that his dreams and imagination may also be killed. Much of his happiness is killed by the deaths of loved ones and with the death of his happiness so do his dreams die. Edgar’s life is full of sadness, which is why his writing is so dark as apparent in this poem. The dying of his dreams and conflict with science as another way in which what he loves is being killed is inline with Poe’s other writings that more directly deal with the sadness and darkness in his life. Edgar Allan Poe was a controversial writer during his time; his writings were counter culture and tried to challenge the morals of the public and defiance against modernity. Poe wrote shocking and satirical tales to challenge the readers. He wanted people to be shocked an... ...dities and stories that must be deciphered by logic. Poe wanted to challenge readers and the world’s ideas. Poe is and was a controversial writer. His writing influences modern writers and his influence can be seen in post modernism and modernism. Both styles tend to be challenges to the world and question the world. Edgar Allan poet is one of the greatest writers in American history and will continue to influence generations of writers with his style and legacy of challenging the status quoi. References http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/poe/works/poetry/science.html http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/hopkins_guide_to_literary_theory/entries/edgar_allan_poe.html http://www.umm.edu/news/releases/news-releases-17.html http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/enl311/poenotes.html http://www.poedecoder.com/Qrisse/biosummary.html

Pizza USA Term Paper Essay

Abstract This case involves Pizza USA, a small independent chain restaurant operation that offers both dine-in and carry-out services for customers that has received feedback for a potential change that will require the implementation of design process to add services. Currently, customers have indicated that they are pleased with the food offered by the restaurant but they would increase pizza purchases if a delivery service was available. This dilemma ties into two separate issues. First, in order to remain competitive within the industry, customer wants and preferences need to be heard. After all, if you cannot please your customer base, you will lose them. Secondly, the changes required must be done in a manner that combines data gathering and analysis and implementation of a plan that best suites this particular type of business in order to maximize success. Customer service has been a recurring theme in many discussions regarding business operations and management in recent weeks. The prevailing thought is that in order for your business to grow and be successful, you must identify what your customers want and find a way to deliver it. This paper will analyze and discuss how process design can be implemented to assist this business to achieve its goals. Within the process design analysis and discussion, several factors will be reviewed to include: identification of what customer satisfaction means to the business and how we can identify the things that are most valuable to customers, the potential net yield of achieving a high level of customer satisfaction and efficiency, and the characteristic of developing an efficient pizza delivery (from stove to door) system. The paper will also assess creation of market â€Å"advantages† to not only maintain but grow the customer base. Pizza USA: An Exercise in Translating Customer Requirements into Process Design In the last five years leading up to 2012, the Pizza Restaurants industry has experienced the results of a downturn in economy. Restaurants have been directly affected by changing market conditions such as changes in intense competition, decreasing consumer spending and an increase in overall health consciousness (Kalnins, A., & Mayer, K. , 2004). However, despite such overwhelming odds and challenges, businesses were able to overcome economic hard times by reinventing themselves through creative marketing and adjusting their menu’s to adapt to customers preferences (Kelso, 2012). This allowed the industry to recover effectively and consumer spending and market growth returned in 2010. As more consumers returned to the restaurants, overall demand increased. The U. S. Pizza industry averages about 410 million pizzas per year (Kelso, 2012). In 2012 alone, pizza sales are expected to reach an incredible $36. 1 billion in revenue which is a 3. 8 percent increase from the previous year (Kelso, 2012). This growth is expected to continue at a rate of 2. 9 percent per year through 2017. Based on gathered data, 97 percent of U. S. consumers have ordered food from a pizza restaurant or establishment within the past 12 months (Kelso, 2012). No matter how you look at it, pizza consumption is on the rise and creates an exceptional opportunity for success in this industry. According to Gregory Badishkanian, a CITI Analyst, the big three of the pizza industry: Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa Johns are currently in position to increase market share. (Bloomberg, 2012). Although the big three comprise of 30% of the total pizza market, the remaining 70% comprise largely of other large chains with less market coverage and of course the smaller independent chains (Kelso, 2012). While the larger chains are improving profits independent chains are struggling to stay afloat amidst the fierce competition among the larger more established companies such as the big three (Kelso, 2012). Understanding this dilemma, it would be most prudent for any independent restaurant operator to maximize operations by insuring that internal process design enables not only efficient productivity but generates a process that is customer friendly and focused on customer’s needs and preferences (Kalnins, A. , & Mayer, K. , 2004). This would be critical in the business’ ability to survive in such a monopolistic type market. Successful operation within a smaller independent chain restaurant faces challenges that may not be as apparent to a larger and more established national chains. Pizza USA is a small chain operation that currently provides two services: dine-in and carry-out options. Customers have commented that if delivery services were added to the restaurant offerings, they would potentially buy more pizzas (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Based on this information, it is apparent that the owner needs to assess his business operations and consider a process design that would include adding this service to current operations. The addition of delivery services would potentially require additional capital to finance changes and may involve the hiring of additional staff. However, revenue increases as a result of the added service would off-set the costs associated with these additions. Near and long-term implications would include survivability within such a competitive market. As a customer, the primary focus of my satisfaction with this type of business relates primarily to efficiency and the level of customer service provided. If delivery service was provided, the two areas that would be most prevalent in my mind would be the delivery time and the state of the pizza once received. Far too often, I’ve received delivered food that was warm and in some cases cold. Needless to say, I never contacted that restaurant again. The thing that would create a unique experience would be the restaurant’s ability to not only deliver within an exceptional time period but also to provide a pizza that is piping hot as it would be while dining in. Another aspect would be an incentive to order delivery by way of discounting or some type of rewards service. These are experiences that have not been typical in my experience with pizza deliveries. Method. The perceived situational analysis are as follows: Strengths-Due to the smaller nature of the business, It could potentially create a more personal experience for the customers thus increasing customer satisfaction; Weaknesses-As a smaller business entity, they have less resources and limited options in implementing changes to meet customer demands. Also, the business would be less tolerant of negative impacts that may result from changes compared to larger established chains with additional resources available; Opportunities-A stronger customer relationship tends to allow more flexibility due to stronger loyalty among satisfied customers. Loyal customers are willing to wait changes out rather than making an initial determination and moving on to another business; Threats-The primary threats are of course the larger and more established chains such as the big three. Again, due to resourcing issues, these smaller and independent operations have less flexibility and opportunity if changes become less than desirable. The primary causes and effects are business survivability and customer satisfaction. Although these two areas are mentioned separately, they are in fact one. If changes are not made to meet customer needs and preferences, the business risks losing clientele and eventual closure. The term customer loyalty has been described as a process of capturing how well an organization is performing in three critical market measures: customer retention, share of wallet, and price sensitivity relative to competitors (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Studies have shown that customer loyalty relates directly to business success and survivability. There exists a major distinction between product design from the user’s standpoint from what may have been intended by the manufacturer (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). The main difference deals primarily with the intended versus perceived usefulness of a given product. In short, if the customer’s input is not considered, product or process design could potentially be a major waste of time on the from end of the planning cycle with even a worse outcome once in the market. Table-1 below indicates quick-serve satisfaction rates among the top companies in the market to include the big three (Verma, R. , & Thompson, G. , 1999). As you can see, each of the larger chains has high overall scores in customer satisfaction. Albeit, this is only one of many areas that could potentially be assessed. The independent chains can learn something from this data. The large chains didn’t survive the market and become who they are today without success in this particular area (Verma, R. , & Thompson, G. , 1999). Table-1 Although the case situation described is consistent with most other business operations, â€Å"what can be done to be more profitable? † it is unique in itself due the detail andlevel of changes discussed. There are probably 100 areas that could be looked at that deals with efficiency and customer satisfaction. However, for the purpose of this paper we will only analyze the above mentioned areas. If assessing profitability and customer satisfaction is an everyday occurrence, which is the case in most businesses, then this case could most certainly be considered as a preexisting situation. However, this paper has little to do with assessing a documented loss in profits or revenue streams so the evolution is unknown at best. There are many course concepts that can be applied to understand this situation. However the two most prevalent areas of operations philosophy that comes to mind are: Chapter 3-Product and Service Design and Chapter 5-Process Analysis. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in chapter 3 discusses the process of getting the customer’s â€Å"voice† involved in design specifications (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). This concept and application relates to any and all industries and organizations. It is directly related a process of studying and listening to customers to improve upon a product or service (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Measuring Process Performance in Chapter 5 primarily deals with how well a particular process is performing. This is accomplished by assessing many different types of metrics such as: productivity, efficiency, flow time, throughput, and value added time to name a few (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). In order to adequately analyze whether your operation is running efficiently, a system of measurement is required to assess the performance. Results/Discussion The problem of addressing the customers’ needs and preferences are easily solved. Immediately implement planning to accommodate your customers’ request for the added feature of delivery service. Consider the most efficient manner of transition to minimize disruption to current business operations while planning the change. Insure that additional feedback is solicited and gathered from customers to re-validate the need to add the additional service and proceed with design process reviews and analysis to achieve goals. This satisfies the earlier discussion regarding identification of what the customer really wants and prefers. The task of developing and implementing the plan is what is the most difficult. Recommend that the owner begins with data gathering methods such as GAP Analysis. This method is used to assess the business’ performance relative to the expectations of its customers (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). An additional form of Gap Analysis includes the benchmarking of certain industry standards and measures the business ‘performance against established standards within the industry (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Questions to be asked would be: What are other smaller independent chains offering? Is delivery service a value added service or just a waste of money? What are the industry standards in regards to delivery times and what is considered acceptable to customers? Do have the resources to provide that type of service or will it require additional equipment, supplies, vehicles and staff? This will allow the owner to see where his restaurant is versus where he wants to be. Moreover, this would be an ideal tool to gather additional information from Customers to obtain additional feedback. It can be accomplished in many ways such as through paper or email mailers and in store surveys. The method selected would primarily depend on the owner’s available resources and preferences and of course size of targeted population. The follow-on recommendation is to conduct a cost impact and payoff analysis using a decision tree or what some would call a consequence diagram. This process allows the planner to map out several alternatives with different end results to assess risk (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). In essence it is a risk matrix. When planning or considering restaurant equipment purchases or even additional staff hires, this process could be beneficial in assessing the risks involved with each decision (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Table-2 is a representation of a typical decision tree used to make informed decisions. As you can see, it is a process of identifying the problem (or situation) and working through several COA’s to determine what works best for you. Table-2 Implementation is the next step. I would recommend the utilization of responsibility charts to organize and manage tasks. Again, this particular tool is a type of matrix that lists all the projects and tasks to be completed while identifying certain responsible parties or stakeholders (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). In such a small business environment, it would probably be most beneficial for the owner to get all staff involved with the design process to obtain full buy-in.this can be accomplished through the use of this tool. Of all the steps involved with planning and execution, this is probably the most labor intensive due to the potential resourcing required. After plans are implemented, the owner needs to assess the customer reactions to the added service. Anticipating a given response and getting the actual response are sometimes two different things. Again, the same process used during the Gap Analysis can be used to capture post-implementation feedback from customers (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). The bottom line is that as a small business, you more reliant on customer loyalty than larger chains and operations. As a result, you must pay attention to any feedback received regarding your products and services, In this case we’re talking about pizzas but it applies in many other situations and industries as well. Once the feedback id obtained develop a smart and affordable plan and implement the plan. Once you have transitioned fully into your new plan, solicit additional feedback from customers to see how things are going. You may find other areas of your business operations that require attention. Customer feedback has to be a part of your daily operations. Without it, your business is at serious risk. References Kalnins, A. , & Mayer, K. , (Dec 2004), Franchising, ownership, and experience: A study of pizza restaurant survival. Management Science Journal, Vol. 50 Issue 12, p1716-1728, 13p, 3 Charts. doi: 10. 1287/mnsc. 1040. 0220 Kohli, A. , & Gupta, M. , (Apr 2010), Improving operations strategy: Application of TOC principles in a small business. Journal of Business & Economics Research, Vol. 8 Issue 4, p37-45, 9p Verma, R. , & Thompson, G. , (1999), Managing service operations based on customer preferences. International Journal of Operations and Production Management. Vol. 19 Issue 9/10, p891-908, 18p, 6 Charts Jacobs, F. R. , & Chase, R. B. (2011), Operations and supply chain management. (13th ed. ), New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Kelso, A. , (Sep 2012), Survey: U. S. pizza market tops $40 billion, pizzamarketplace. com, Retrieved: 1 Mar 2013 http://www. pizzamarketplace. com/article/200667/Survey-U-S-pizza-market-tops-40-billion AP News, (Sep 2012), Analyst: Big pizza chains could take bigger slice, Bloomberg Business Week News, Retrieved: 1 Mar 2013 http://www. businessweek. com/ap/2012-09-18/analyst-big-pizza-chains-could-take-bigger-slice.

The Return: Midnight Chapter 37

Then Meredith saw something that was not smoke or fire. Just a glimpse of a door frame – and a tiny breath of cool air. With this hope to sustain her, she scuttled straight for the door to the backyard, dragging Isobel behind her. As she passed the threshold, she felt blessedly cold water somehow showering down onto her body. When she pul ed Isobel into the spray, the younger girl made the first voluntary sound she had during the entire journey: a wordless sob of thanks. Matt's hands were helping her along, were taking away the burden of Isobel. Meredith got up to her feet and staggered in a circle, then dropped to her knees. Her hair was on fire! She was just recal ing her childhood rehearsal of stop, drop, and rol , when she felt the cold water turned on it. The hose water went up and down her body and she turned around, basking in the feeling of coolness, until she heard Matt's voice say, â€Å"The flames are out. You're good now.† â€Å"Thank you, Matt. Thank you.†Her voice was hoarse. â€Å"Hey, you were the one who had to go al the way to the bedrooms and back. Getting Mrs. Saitou out was pretty easy – there was the kitchen sink ful of water, so as soon as I cut her free from the kitchen chair we just got al wet and dashed outside.† Meredith smiled and looked around quickly. Isobel had become her responsibility now. To her relief, she saw that the girl was being hugged by her mother. And al it had taken was the nonsense choice between a thing – however precious it was – and a life. Meredith gazed at the mother and daughter and was glad. She could have another stave made. But nothing could replace Isobel. â€Å"Isobel said to give this to you,†Matt was saying. Meredith turned toward him, the fiery light making the world crazy, and for one moment didn't believe her eyes. Matt was holding the fighting stave out to her. â€Å"She must have dragged it with her free hand – oh, Matt, and she was almost dead before we started†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Matt said, â€Å"She's stubborn. Like someone else I know.† Meredith wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but she knew one thing. â€Å"We'd al better get to the front yard. I doubt the volunteer fire department is going to come. Besides – Theo – â€Å" â€Å"I'l get them moving. You scout the gate side,†Matt said. Meredith plunged into the backyard, which was hideously il uminated by the house, now ful y engulfed in flames. Fortunately, the side yard was not. Meredith flicked the gate open with the stave. Matt was right behind her, helping Mrs. Saitou and Isobel along. Meredith quickly ran by the flaming garage and then stopped. From behind her she heard a cry of horror. There was no time to try to soothe whoever had cried, no time to think. The two fighting women were too busy to notice her – and Theo was in need of help. Inari was truly like a fiery Medusa, with her hair writhing around her in flaming, smoking snakes. Only the crimson part burned, and it was that part that she was using like a whip, using one snake to wrest away the silver bul whip from Theo's hand, and then another to wrap around Theo's throat and choke her. Theo was desperately trying to pul the blazing noose from her neck. Inari was laughing. â€Å"Are you suffering, petty witch? It wil al be over in seconds – for you and for your entire little town! The Last Midnight has final y come!† Meredith glanced back at Matt – and that was al it took. He ran forward, passing her, al the way up to the space below the fighting women. Then he bent slightly, cupping his hands. And then Meredith sprinted, putting everything she had left into the short run, leaving her just enough energy to leap and place one foot into Matt's cupped hands, and then she felt herself soaring aloft, just within distance for the stave to slice cleanly through the snake of hair that was choking Theo. After that Meredith was in free fal , with Matt trying to catch her from below. She landed more or less on top of him and they both saw what happened next. Theo, who was bruised and bleeding, slapped out a part of her gown that was smoldering. She held out a hand for the silver bul whip and it flew to meet her outstretched fingers. But Inari wasn't attacking. She was waving her arms wildly, as if in terror, and then suddenly she shrieked: a sound so anguished that Meredith drew in her breath sharply. It was a death-scream. Before their eyes she was turning back into Obaasan, into the shrunken, helpless, dol -like woman Matt and Meredith knew. But by the time this shriveled body hit the ground it was already stiff and dead, her expression one of such unrepentant malice that it was frightening. It was Isobel and Mrs. Saitou then who came forward to stand over the body, sobbing with relief. Meredith looked at them and then up at Theo, who slowly floated to the ground. â€Å"Thank you,†Theo said with the faintest of smiles. â€Å"You have saved me – yet again.† â€Å"But what do you think happened to her?†Matt asked. â€Å"And why didn't Shinichi or Misao come to help her?† â€Å"I think they al must be dead, don't you?†Theo's voice was soft over the roar of the flames. â€Å"As for Inari – I think that perhaps someone destroyed her star bal . I'm afraid I was not strong enough to defeat her myself.† â€Å"What time is it?†Meredith abruptly cried, remembering. She ran to the old SUV, which was Stillrunning. Its clock showed 12:00 midnight exactly. â€Å"Did we save the people?†Matt asked desperately. Theo turned her face outward toward the center of the town. For nearly a minute she was Still, as if listening for something. At last, when Meredith felt that she might shatter from tension, she turned back and said quietly, â€Å"Dear Ma ma, Grand mama, and I are one, now. I sense children who are finding themselves holding knives – and some with guns. I sense them standing in their sleeping parents'rooms, unable to remember how they got there. And I sense parents, hiding in closets, a moment ago frightened for their very lives, who are seeing weapons dropped and children fal ing onto master bedroom floors, sobbing and bewildered.† â€Å"We did it, then. You did it. You held her off,†Matt panted. Stillgentle and sober, Theo said, â€Å"Someone else – far away – did much more. I know that the town needs healing. But Grand mama and Ma ma agree. Because of them, no child has kil ed a parent this night, and no parent has kil ed a child. The long nightmare of Inari and her Last Midnight is over.† Meredith, grimy and bedraggled as she was, felt something rise and swell inside her, bigger and bigger, until, for al her training, she couldn't contain herself any longer. It exploded out of her in a yel of exultation. She found that Matt was shouting too. He was as grubby and unkempt as she was, but he seized her by the hands and whirled her around in a barbarian victory dance. And it was fun, whirling around and yel ing like a kid. Maybe – maybe in trying to be calm, in always being the most grown-up, she had missed out on the essence of fun, which always felt as if it had some childlike quality to it. Matt had no trouble in expressing his feelings, whatever they were: childlike, mature, stubborn, happy. Meredith found herself admiring this, and also thinking that it had been a long time since she'd real y looked at Matt. But now she felt a sudden wave of feeling for him. And she could see that Matt felt the same way about her. As if he'd never real y looked at her properly before. This was the moment†¦when they were meant to kiss. Meredith had seen it so often in movies, and read about it in books, that it was almost a given. But this was life, it wasn't a story. And when the moment came, Meredith found herself holding Matt's shoulders while he held hers, and she could see that he was thinking exactly the same thing about the kiss. The moment stretched†¦ Then, with a grin, Matt's face showed that he knew what to do. Meredith did too. They both moved in, and hugged each other. When they drew back, they were both grinning. They knew who they were. They were very different, very close friends. Meredith hoped that they always would be. They both turned to look at Theo, and Meredith felt a pang in her heart, the first since she had heard they'd saved the town. Theo was changing. It was the look on her face as she watched them that gave Meredith the pang. After being young, and while watching youth at its peak, she was once again aging, wrinkling, her hair going white instead of moonlit silver. At last, she was an old woman wearing a raincoat covered with bits of paper. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers!† This person, it was perfectly safe and right to kiss. Meredith flung her arms about the frail old woman, lifting her off her feet in excitement. Matt joined them, and they boosted her above their heads. They carried her like this to the Saitous, mother and daughter, who were watching the fire. There, sobered, they put her down. â€Å"Isobel,†Meredith said. â€Å"God! I'm so sorry – your home†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Thank you,†Isobel said in her soft, slurred voice. Then she turned away. Meredith felt chil ed. She was even beginning to regret the celebration, when Mrs. Saitou said, â€Å"Do you know, this is the greatest moment in the history of our family? For hundreds of years, that ancient kitsune – oh, yes, I've always known what she was – has been forcing herself upon innocent humans. And for the last three centuries it has been my family line of samurai mikos that she has terrorized. Now my husband can come home at last.† Meredith looked at her, startled. Mrs. Saitou nodded. â€Å"He tried to defy her and she banished him from the house. Ever since Isobel was born, I have feared for her. And now, please forgive her. She has trouble expressing what she feels.† â€Å"I know about that,†Meredith said quietly. â€Å"I'l go have a little talk with her, if it's All right.† If ever in her life she could explain to a fel ow traveler what fun having fun was, she thought, it was now.

Moral absolutism Essay

The choices we make in our everyday life all have to do with our ethics. In this paper the topic will discuss the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. In order to understand the similarities, and differences of virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics we must first define them. Virtue theory is defined as a moral excellence. It is a positive trait quality demand to be morally good and is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. It takes the viewpoint that in living your life you should try to cultivate excellence in all that you do and all that others do. Utilitarianism is a theory that suggests that an action is morally right when that action produces more utility for the group than any other alternative. We need to understand what our consequence would be based on our choice. When we make the right choice we will get a positive consequence and are acting morally; if we make the wrong choice the consequences will be acting immorally. Deontological moral is focused on loyalty to independent moral rules or duties. To make the right choices we need to comprehend what our duties are and the rules of our moral perspective. This is a matter of what we view to be moral or immorally based on our beliefs. The similarities between the three theories represent the good in people and how they strive for excellence. The differences are with virtue theory describes a person’s character, cultivating excellence in all we do. Utilitarianism addresses ethical and morality issues by addressing the balance of good over bad consequences. The morality associated with this theory suggests actions that produce a total utility for the group. Deontological ethics have a definition of a definition of a person’s dedication to recognize moral duties. In my current position as an assistant manager I am often put in a situation that includes some type of confidentiality with an associate that falls under me. If I am told about a certain situation that an associate is having in their personal life I have been told in trust and this be unethical for me to tell everyone else what is going on. Also when I have to write up any associate for work performance, that should be kept between me and that associate. For me to be able to keep my word about a particular situation involving any of my associates consist of moral concepts. Values, virtues, and ethics distinguish those actions as being morally right or morally wrong.

Management and Leadership Paper

Management and Leadership Paper Leadership and management are the two most confused terms in the corporate world. These are the two expressions used interchangeably in the corporate parlance. One is thought to be the replacement of the other. However, managers and leaders are two different spheres of organizational culture with one sphere, at some places, overlapping the other. These two together make the organizational culture and are responsible for its health. We will look at the various aspects of leadership and management with respect to the company GE (General Electric) and see how the two integrate while maintaining the disparity to make this organization number one enterprise and the best training school for future leaders and managers. Management Vs Leadership â€Å"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things† The above quote by Peter F. Drucker sums up beautifully the essence of leadership and management. Management involves the tactical aspect of day to day running of a function. A manager gets the power to direct the subordinates by the virtue of the position being held. He/she typically carries out the responsibilities laid out by the organization for him/her. A manager is more of a problem solver and takes care of work areas relating to people management, time management, decision making etc. A leader on the other hand is more of a visionary. He has the ability to energize others and is self motivated and self driven. He sets the vision for his organization and has the power to influence the people to walk the path he has envisaged. However, there are places where a person needs to have both management and leadership skills. A manager in a team role would need leadership skills to influence his team members and get work done from them. Similarly, a leader needs to have management skills to be able to execute his vision. Hence, success of an organization would require people with a blend of both virtues. What role they play would depend on the percentage of each character in the individual. Leadership and management roles case study – GE GE has acquired its leadership legacy from Jack Welch, one of the greatest leaders of all times to come. He propagated a leadership style alien to the organizations of the time he took over GE’s reigns and changed the organization culture completely. Jack’s major success as a leader was due to his concept of â€Å"boundary less thinking†. This is how he grew an American manufacturing company into a services giant spread across 100 countries all across the globe (beginnersinvest. about. com ). One of the evidences of this â€Å"boundaryless† culture can be seen in Jack’s initiation of e-business. He connected the company directly to the suppliers as well as the customers electronically. This helped in quick information flow and instant resolution to the customer’s woes (answers. com). The managers here also followed this behavior as propagated by the leadership. This can be seen by the enthusiasm they took in taking up 6-sigma quality projects and delivered immense profits when Welch initiated the six sigma drive to reap benefits of the quality initiative. The managers enthusiastically followed their leader and undertook rigorous quality trainings, learned from each other’s experiences and further fired the six sigma drive. In fact, the benefits derived from this vision of Welch and the immense participation by the managers all across the businesses lead to a productivity gains of $320 million in 1997 and even more at around $750 million in 1998 (beginnersinvest. about. com ). Developing leaders was an important strategy of Welch as this always ensured a lineage of good leadership for the company. To fulfill this vision he had setup a leadership development school at Crotonville. He used this school as a means of encouraging â€Å"boudaryless† culture as well as a forum for â€Å"best practice sharing† as managers from various businesses would share their experiences both theoretical and practical and use the learning from these class room sessions to improve their respective businesses. However, some of the managers from â€Å"previous era† were not very enthusiastic about participation in these sessions. So, Welch started what he called â€Å"work-out† sessions. The managers would not be included in these discussions which were facilitated by academic people hired from outside the organization. After discussing the problems and solutions within the work-out group, the points were then discussed with the concerned managers there and then and they had to decide about whether to accept the solutions or give their view points against them and provide better options or to setup a plan to execute in phases (answers. com). Finally, these sessions became a way of resolving problems and involving employee participation and are still being used by managers to solve issues. Managers were the key messengers of the leadership to propagate and implement their messages. Managers were encouraged to come up with new ideas and were invited to Crotonville to proudly share ideas in front of Welch and the proficient executive team of GE (answers. com). Jack spread the concept of informality in the organization. He would send personal notes to people wherever possible. On of his managers once turned down a promotion because of his inability to shift from the location where he was presently working. Jack wrote him a personal note which went as follows: †We like you for a lot of reasons–one of them is that you are a very special person. You proved it again this morning. Good for you and your lucky family. Make Diamonds a great business and keep your priorities straight. † (beginnersinvest. about. com). Woodburn was immensely moved by this as he said †It showed me he cared about me not as a manager but as a person . That means a lot. ‘ (beginnersinvest. about. com). From the discussion above, we can understand how leadership differs from the management at GE. The leaders here are visionaries and the managers support their vision by following and propagating their ideas. Managers here are experts in their areas of operation while the leaders groom them to be future leaders. There were times, though, when the managers were not ready for the change their leader was propagating. The leaders have the capability of finding ways of getting their vision implemented which is evident from the work-out sessions idea of Welch. Recommendations for achieving a healthy work culture in an organization The growth curve and sustainability of an organization is highly influenced by its work culture. The key to everlasting success is to nurture the spirit of high business ethics in the organization. Where leaders and managers succumb to unethical dealings to spur growth, the organization is bound reach a fatal end soon. Thus, with undeterred focus on values, the leaders can create a transparent and healthy work environment. Another important strategy to achieve positive organizational culture is not to put pounding pressure on the people to perform. The undue pressure caused by Jack’s aggressive vision, lead people to resort to unethical means to deliver results. GE was at one time weighed down by scandals like the Kidder, Peabody & Co. bond-trading scam of the 90’s which resulted in bogus profits (beginnersinvest. about. com). Works Cited Kotelnikov, Vadim. 25 Lessons from Jack Welch. February 16, 2010. http://www. 1000ventures. com/business_guide/mgmt_new-model_25lessons-welch. html coach4growth. com. Leadership vs. Management: What are the Characteristics of a Leader and a Manager. 2007. February 16, 2010. http://www. coach4growth. com/good-leadership-skills/leadershipvmanagement. html beginnersinvest. about. com. How Jack Welch runs GE. May 28, 1998. February 16, 2010. http://beginnersinvest. about. com/gi/o. htm? zi=1/XJ/Ya=1=beginnersinvest=money=22=160_651_610_315=10=14=1=1=http%3A//www. businessweek. com/1998/23/b3581001. htm answers. com. Business Biographies: Jack Welch. 2010. February 16, 2010. http://www. answers. com/topic/jack-welch

Jay Gatsby- The Legend Essay

‘It is not enough to make progress; we must make it in the right direction. ’ How important is it to apply this saying our lives? Well, is very important. What is that makes us human beings and not animals? Is it where we come from and what we have or self-control of our wants and needs? To what extent are we ready to go to gain power that we no longer remember who we are! Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby will be able to answer these questions to us. Jay Gatsby, a year or two over thirty, was a mysterious persona. He lived in West Egg, Long Island and was greatly known in the locality for his lavish parties that housed both the invited as well as the uninvited. With extravagant cuisine, rich fresh fruits from New York, Vladimir Tostoff’s Jazz and his Rolls Royce moving to and fro picking up guests, Jay Gatsby threw big parties. He used the phrase ‘old sport’ very often while addressing everybody. His picking of words with care only showed some fishiness regarding his identity. By calling himself an Oxford Educated and wealthy person without any family, he camouflaged his true identity and was a liar. Jay Gatsby, was truly James Gatz a nobody from North Dakota whose parents were unsuccessful farm people. Gatsby’s humiliation of being poor and a man without any class increased his hunger for power and he didn’t care how he got it. â€Å"Contemporary legends such as the â€Å"underground pipe-line to Canada. attached themselves to him, and there was one persistent story that he didn’t live in a house at all, but in a boat that looked like a house and was moved secretly up and down the Long Island shore† (Fitzgerald) only establishes the fact that his business was unethical and notorious. He was a bootlegger and had various links to people like Wolfsheim. His current attitude and outlook that showed off his wealth and dignity was certainly not inherit ed as he worked as a janitor and was a drop out from St. Olaf’s college in Minnesota. Unhappy about his poverty and class, â€Å"he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end. † (Fitzgerald) His belief that money and power could accomplish anything and change the past, only portrays his blatant attitude that led to conceal his true identity and he thus showed off his wealth through his parties despite that fact that it mostly invited fake people. Madly in love with Daisy, a beautiful woman who was married to the Tom Buchanan, Gatsby hoped to win her back and thus kept throwing those wonderfully big parties. His world and life revolved around the dream of winning back his love Daisy. â€Å"Gatsby buys his West Egg mansion with the sole intention of being across the bay from Daisy Buchanan’s green light at the end of her dock, a fantasy which becomes Gatsby’s personal version of the American Dream† (Novel Analysis). Having his emotions bottled up for Daisy for so many years, it became a burning passion in his heart, made him very obsessive. He used richness and wealth to lure her back to him. His love for Daisy had blinded him to the fact that she had left him for a man with solid position, wealth and prosperity which was another reason in his life to become rich. He idolized her and he felt married to her and wanted her back at any cost even though she killed Myrtle-Tom’s lover while driving Gatsby’s car. Having lived the life the way he want and working towards achieving his goal and dream, Jay Gatsby is that legend with whom we can relate ourselves. We all have wants and desires. But his desire for Daisy only led to his downfall. Misguided by his belief and seeking vengeance for Myrtle’s murder, Myrtle’s husband George killed Gatsby in his own pool thinking that it was Gatsby who murdered his Myrtle which in reality was Daisy! A funeral with only few friends and his father Henry Gatz and none of the fake people who attended his parties, nor Daisy for whom he was killed, Jay Gatsby’s life only portrays that it is not money that maketh man, it is his values and ideals. It is not what we want, but why we want something and a constant check on the direction we are going makes us who we are!

Major Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Major - Term Paper Example These punctilious checks and measures that are applied in the appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada are underpinned by the roles that the holder of this office discharges. These roles are in turn highly sacrosanct to the dispensation of justice throughout Canada, as shall be seen in the discussion that ensues forthwith. First, it is important to note that the Chief Justice of the SCC sits as the chairperson of the Canadian Judicial Council. The Canadian Judicial Council in turn comprises all of Canada’s chief justices, and their associate chief justices who serve in the superior courts. The Canadian Judicial Council which was established by the Judges Act of Canada coordinates all the issues of discussions that concern the judiciary, organizes and facilitates all the seminars that involve federally appointed judges, sets up and carries out inquiries on public complaints or on requests that have been made by the provincial attorney general, or the fede ral Minister of Justice. Normally, these complaints and requests concern the conduct of a federally appointed judge. By extension, the foregoing means that the Chief Justice of the SCC initiates the roles of the Canadian Judicial Council and delegates those roles to those functioning below his office. This means that the Chief Justice is the officer who oversees all the functions immediately above (organizing the seminars for the federally judges, coordinating all issues of discussions that concern the judiciary and making inquiries on complaints lodged by the public, the provincial attorney general or the federal Minister of Justice). In almost the same wavelength, the Chief Justice presides over and guides all the sittings of the Supreme Court. The only exception to this provision is the Chief Justice’s absence. In the event of this absence, the Deputy Chief Justice will chair the sitting of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice is the same office that has to choose the pane ls of Justices who preside over all the Supreme Court of Canada cases. According to Dodek (2011), the Chief Justice also directs and manages the staff serving in the Supreme Court. This role is of immense magnitude, given that the Supreme Court of Canada has more than 150 employees who are also members of the federal government civil service. At the same time, the import of this development is that matters touching on the welfare of the employees of Canada’s Supreme Courts such as the extension and harmonization of remunerations, workplace safety and standards, efficiency and legal competence among Supreme Court employees and the observation of work and legal ethics are all matters that fall under the Chief Justice’s jurisdiction and responsibility. The case above has a great bearing on the dispensation of justice in Canada. Particularly, matters touching on the harmonization of remunerations, workplace safety and professional standards directly bear on the motivation of the Supreme Court employees, like other members of the federal government civil service. This means that the Chief Justice directly bears on the services and duties which are: giving its views on how a specific law ought to be interpreted and applied by Canada’s entire court system; giving guidance to the lower courts; providing uniformity in the court systems throughout Canada; directing change in interpreting and applying laws; and recommending or even rejecting explicitly the traditional