Culture & Growth stages of Organizations Research Paper

Culture & Growth stages of Organizations - Research Paper Example The ethical and moral values of the people employed by the organization, their social background and their religious values define the culture of an organization. According to Schein (1992), organizational culture is determined by the shared assumptions and beliefs about the world, human nature and human relationships. Organizational culture includes the procedures, leadership styles, individuality, language and symbols used in the organization. The culture of an organization is shaped by values, beliefs and underlying assumption of the personnel of an organization. Values are the factors that represent the outlook of the culture of an organization. Values and beliefs of the people are prominent factors that are shaped by the underlying assumptions of the people. Underlying assumptions are the response of the environment in which the organization exists and these are unconsciously accepted by the people. The culture of an organization may be an obstacle in the way of achieving the mi ssion of the organization. If the mission of an organization and the culture of the organization are conflicting in nature, it might be difficult for the organization to achieve its objectives successfully. An organization must have complete support of the personnel in the organization in order to ensure successful implementation of the strategies set out by the organization to achieve its objectives. ... Leaders may use the style of communication in order to emphasize the need for change in the culture of an organization. Emotional outbursts also have positive impacts in case of bringing a change in the culture of an organization. In order to send a message to the personnel of an organization regarding a thing that is not important, a leader may choose to give no attention to that particular thing. In this manner, the perception of the organizational personnel regarding that thing would change and it would gradually be eliminated from the organization. A change in the culture of an organization can also be brought by the way the leader responds to the crisis. In the stages of growth of the organization, there are a number of things that require significant changes within an organization. An organization needs to acclimatize with its external environment. If the external environment of an organization changes the organization would also have to change. If the organization remains pers istent and does not bring any change, the organization would become vulnerable to a crisis. In this case, a leader plays an important role. In order to ensure that the change is supported throughout the organization, the leader might need to exaggerate the effect that the crisis might have on the organization. In such scenario, the leader may act as a savior and take some rigorous steps that have the potential to bring a change in the organization that would not have been possible otherwise. In order to tackle the change that must be brought in the culture of an organization at the time of growth in the organization, the leaders can bring the change by acting as a role model for others. Leaders can communicate their expectations through their own

Satisfied and Motivated Employees Create Satisfied and Loyal Customers Essay Example for Free

Satisfied and Motivated Employees Create Satisfied and Loyal Customers Essay Abstract In Corporate America, organizations vie to maintain their competitive advantage within their perspective industries. In the current economic downturn, organizations have come to rely heavily on the competitive advantage they receive from their employees, or human capital. Organizations are investing more of their funds towards satisfying and motivating employees in the hopes that these employees will create satisfied and loyal customers. To ensure employees are satisfied and motivated, organizations may recognize employee contributions with pay and a package of employee benefits. These forms of compensation work to ensure increased employee satisfaction and motivation, decreased voluntary turnover, and, therefore, the overall success of the entire organization. In Corporate America, organizations vie to maintain their competitive advantage within their perspective industries. In the current economic downturn, organizations have come to rely heavily on the competitive advantage they receive from their human capital. Human capital is defined as â€Å"an organization’s employees, described in terms of their training, experience, judgment, intelligence, relationships, and insight† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 3). Highly skilled and developed employees are an organization’s most valuable resource in the fight to maintain their competitive advantage. Therefore, organizations are investing more of their funds towards satisfying and motivating employees in the hopes that these employees will create satisfied and loyal customers. In an effort to satisfy and motivate employees, organizations may recognize employee contributions with various forms of compensation including pay and an employee benefits package, and through recognition pro grams. These forms of compensation and recognition work to ensure increased employee satisfaction and motivation, decreased voluntary turnover, and, therefore, the overall success of the entire organization. â€Å"If we take care of our employees, they will take care of our customers.† During the current economic downturn, many organizations have experienced decreased sales and profits. Many of those organizations responded with spending cuts, which included layoffs and decreased investments in employees. The restaurant chain, Texas Roadhouse, was not immune to the economic downturn and also experienced decreased sales. However, the chain did not respond with spending cuts aimed at employees. In fact, the chain continued its existing spending relative to employee satisfaction and motivation. The text indicates, â€Å"Spending to promote job involvement and organizational commitment remained intact† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 319). The decision to maintain spending relative to employee satisfaction and motivation reflects the chain’s commitment to their employees. The chain’s commitment to their employees has been best expressed by Texas Roadhouse Chief Executive Officer (CEO), G. J. Hart. Hart, who realizes the value his employees bring to the organization, has stated, â€Å"If we take care of our employees, they will take care of our customers† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 319). Hart’s phrase may seem like a common clichà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ in Corporate America; however, organizations focused on satisfying and motivating employees are actually gaining the competitive advantage that only their employees can provide. The text indicates, â€Å"Every organization recognizes that it needs satisfied, loyal customers. In addition, success requires satisfied, loyal employees† (Noe et al., p. 293). Texas Roadhouse is not alone in its commitment to its employees. SAS, a privately owned software company, is also highly committed to its employees. Bev Brown, who works in the company’s external communications department, indicates â€Å"People do work hard here, because they’re motivated to take care of a company that takes care of them† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 385). More organizations are beginning to realize the advantages associated with satisfying and motivating their employees. And, as the realization becomes more prevalent in Corporate America, more organizations will begin to demonstrate their commitment to their employees by offering generous rewards and recognition programs. Alternative Motivation Methods Their Effectiveness Texas Roadhouse uses money as a primary motivator for its employees. The chain holds a yearly competition to identify its best meat cutter, who is awarded $20,000. The chain’s managers are allotted $500 to host barbecues or outings for their employees. The chain also holds an annual motivational conference to recognize and reward its top performers. The text indicates, â€Å"The company invites about a thousand employees, managers, and vendors to bring their spouses to a four-day conference as a way to recognize and reward its best people† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 320). The retreat was costly; and, the chain’s CEO, Hart, was publicly criticized for such lavish spending. The text indicates, a reporter â€Å"†¦ criticized Hart for wasting $2 million on luxuries during lean times† (Noe et al., p. 320). However, Hart stood firm in his commitment to his employees as he replied that â€Å"†¦ the effort to inspire employees was precisely the kind of investment that enables his company to succeed† (Noe et al., p. 320). Texas Roadhouse’s strategy is certainly effective in ensuring they retain their top talent. The text indicates, â€Å"†¦ turnover among the company’s on-site recruiters tumbled by two-thirds after the company put in place a program to recognize and reward these employees† (Noe et al., p. 320). Pay is certainly a motivator for employees; however, organizations may also utilize employee benefits as a means of motivating employees. Employee benefits are â€Å"†¦ that part of the total compensation package, other than pay for time worked, provided to employees in whole or in part by employer payments† (Milkovich Newman, 2005). The text indicates that benefits serve functions similar to pay in that benefits â€Å"†¦ contribute to attracting, retaining, and motivating employees† (Noe et al., 2011, p. 384). For instance, SAS offers a generous employee benefit package as a means of ensuring their employees are satisfied and motivated. The company’s benefit package includes access to the on-site recreation and fitness center, a subsidized day care center and summer camp, and a subsidized cafeteria. The company has established an on-site lactation room for nursing mothers, and an on-site health care center for employees and their family members to have medical concerns addressed at no cost. The text indicates that these generous benefits are â€Å"†¦ part of a strategy to hire and keep the best people without paying top dollar in salaries† (Noe et al., p. 385). The SAS strategy is certainly effective in regards to ensuring the company retains its top talent. The text indicates, â€Å"Compared with 22 percent employee turnover in the industry, SAS reports turnover of just 2 percent† (Noe et al., p. 385). The SAS strategy is also effective in ensuring the company remains profitable. The text indicates that every year the company has been in business â€Å"†¦ it has turned a profit† (Noe et al., p. 385). Transferring the Texas Roadhouse Motivational Methods The Texas Roadhouse method of using pay to motivate its employees is certainly transferrable to other organizations in Corporate America. Organizations should demonstrate their commitment to their employees by offering competitive and rewarding pay and recognition programs. Doing so will ensure the organization has the ability to attract and retain top talent, which will provide the organization with a definite competitive advantage in their perspective industry. References Milkovich, G., Newman, J. (2005). Reward systems: Theory and administration. (8th ed., p. 400). Mc-Graw-Hill. Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., Wright, P. M. (2011). Fundamentals of human resource management. (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Demand and Supply in Microeconomics

Demand and Supply in Microeconomics Introduction Economics is a study of how to use limited resource to satisfy unlimited people wants. Demand and supply is the two main concept of the modern economic. Demand is what people want and supply is how many goods available for people want. In free market the price of good is determined by the numbers of consumers and how many products available for them. As the result of that, when consumers understand the law of demand and supply they will have ability to decide when they can buy a product with low price and the suppliers can set the right price of this product and decide how many product they will make. In this case study we will evaluate the theory of demand and supply. We also give an example of demand and supply in food market in Hanoi in storm season. Theory Demand and supply might be one of the basic concepts of economics. It is the core of market economy. Demand is the price or quantity of a product or service desired by consumers. The demand relationship refers to the relationship between the price and quantity demanded, which are the price and quantity people willing to pay for. Supply is the amount of products a market produces. The supply relationship represents the relation between the price and quantity supplied, which are the price and quantity suppliers willing to produce. Therefore, price is the main concern for demand and supply to consider increased or deducted, and so demand and supply vary according to the price. According to the law of demand and supply, the higher of a products price the more suppliers will produce and the less people will buy. Because of that, the market price is changes. ( Investopedia news and articles, copyright 2010 ) In such a case, the quantity supplied is greater than the quantity demanded and there is a surplus of the good on the market. From the graph we see that if the unit price is $3 (assuming relative pricing in dollars), the quantities supplied and demanded would be: Quantity Supplied = 42 units Quantity Demanded = 26 units Therefore there would be a surplus of 42 26 = 16 units. The sellers then would lower their price in order to sell the surplus. Suppose the sellers lowered their prices below the equilibrium point. In this case, the quantity demanded would increase beyond what was supplied, and there would be a shortage. If the price is held at $2, the quantity supplied then would be: Quantity Supplied = 28 units Quantity Demanded = 38 units Therefore, there would be a shortage of 38 28 = 10 units. The sellers then would increase their prices to make more profit. The equilibrium point must be the point at which quantity supplied and quantity demanded are in balance, which is where the supply and demand curves cross. From the graph above, one sees that this is at a price of approximately $2.40 and a quantity of 34 units. (NetMBA.com) In general, if the price of a product is at low level, more people want to buy it and the demand will increase. As the result, there will be a shortage. The supplier now will be willing to produce more because people still want to use that product. So the supply increases. It will keep increasing to a point where customers demand and the quantity of that product is equal. Thus, there is a tendency toward an equilibrium point where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied. On the other hand, if the price of a product is at high level, less and less people want to buy it and so the demand decreases. In the end, there will be a surplus. The supplier now will drop down the price in order to attract more customers. This price keeps going down until they sell all out of the surplus. So, the price is moving backward to an equilibrium point where price demanded equals price supplied. So, how a firm know when to produce more or less? As in THE TIMES 100 article states that An important aspect of marketing is knowing what the demand is for your products. All companies engage in marketing activities to find out what the demand for their different products will be. For example, Coca-Cola will want to investigate market trends in the carbonated drinks sector, while a bank will want to find out about the demand for financial services. Armed with this information they are able to make appropriate pricing decisions based on what other suppliers are doing, as well as on the demand from consumers in the market. Some main factors causing the change in demand: Economic factors: When a country economy is good and people have more money in their pockets. They likely want to consume more and thus the demand will increase Social factors: As the social trend changes, people might have less time for taking care of their houses. Therefore, they will need to buy more washing machines and hire employees to do all the cleaning and cooking services. So, there will be more opportunity for firms making washing machine and higher demand for cleaning service. The quantity and the price of competitive goods: the higher the price of a competitive good, the higher will be the demand for this good as customers change from competitive goods. An example for this is that, if the price of i-phone mobile phone goes up, the demand of other smart phones will increase. Some main factors causing the change in supply: Wants: it is simply the demand for a particular product. As the demand rises, the supplies will rise also. The number of suppliers: If new companies join the market, usually the supply increases Natural and unpredictable events: If earthquakes, floods and fire occur, the output likely to drop. Wars, which affect the supply of imported raw materials, the breakdown of machinery, may happen anytime. (John Sloman (1998), and The Times 100, Copyright  © the Times Newspapers) Demand and Supply in Macroeconomics and Microeconomics: Macroeconomics is the study of the whole economic activities which include inflation, recession and unemploymentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Therefore, it concerns with the total demand and total supply. If the total demand is high compared to the total supply, inflation and balance of trade deficits will occur Inflation: is the increase of the price level in the whole economy. If there is a rise in demand, suppliers likely react by setting up high prices. After all, if the demand is still high, they can sell as good as before and make a lot of profits. Inflation will happen when all suppliers just keep their prices at high level. The balance of trade deficits happens when import is greater than export. When the aggregate demand rises, people will have a tendency to buy more foreign goods, more imported cars, wines, electronic equipments will be consumed. If the inflation is also high, the domestic goods are even harder to compare with foreign goods. As the result, our goods cannot be consumed not only by our country but also foreign countries. If the total demand is low compared to the total supply, unemployment and recession will occur Recession: is the economic situation when business activities are declined. As the result, fewer and fewer people are willing to spend money. Thus, firms will have a lot of surplus goods. They likely to buy less from the manufacturers, which will decrease the production in return. Unemployment will happen if manufacturers do not need to produce anymore. Microeconomics is the study about the individual parts of economy, individual firms. It studies about the demand and supply of specific products and services such as cars, clothes, food, electricians. We cannot make as many goods as want because the lack of resources. There are some choices must be made in our society: What should be produced? We dont have enough resources to produce as many goods as we want. Therefore, we have to decide how many cars, how many buildings, how many hospitalsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ should be produced? How should things be produced? If there is more than one way to produce thing, we have to decide which is the best. Who will use our products? This is the problem of income. We have to decide what the wage of particular job such as: doctor, engineer, farmerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Because if they have more money, they likely to consume more (John Sloman, 1998) Case study In October of 2008, Ha Noi was flooded by heavy rains. Because the drains did not work effectively as it was supposed to be. People in Ha Noi had a terrible experience because of the scarcity of the food. Learning from that experience, people in Ha Noi today usually store food when a storm is announced coming. As the matter of fact, in the evening of July 17th in 2010, the news forecasted that a storm might be coming. However, in the next day, the weather turned normally again. Because of the worry about the scarcity of food, people in Ha Noi already rushed to the super market and bought as many foods as they can. The change of demand and supply made a lot of supermarket out of stock, also the price of the food was doubled the supposed price. At some supermarket, people had to struggle, pushed each other just to fill up their fridge. As a result, they had to eat frozen food for months while low price fresh food is selling everywhere. At this point, the market had to suffer the decrease of food demand because people already had food in their fridge. In this case, when a demand surprisingly increase the quantity supply cannot afford to satisfy all the needs instead of that is the increasing of the price. When the demand drops down, the quantity supply stays the same but the price has to fall to attract more customers. Conclusion Nowadays, the real world economy is too complex that even in some cases the law of demand and supply cannot be applied. The market today is changing ceaselessly; many individual speculations are getting even more and more uncertainly. Therefore, people shouldnt rush in deciding to buy anything. In my opinion, stock and real estate markets are really risky for those who only follow the market tendency meaning to say the majority of people and dont have enough knowledge of how the economy works. Furthermore, the government should be flexible with the policy to keep the market price at a suitable level so that both customers and suppliers can adapt with, and also avoid inflation and unemployment.

Analyzing the Characters of Waterland :: Waterland Essays

Analyzing the Characters of Waterland  Ã‚   In "Waterland" Swift weaves a magical yet haunting tale of ordinary characters who live through they’re own struggles and problems unadorned by the complexity of world history yet forever revolving around the isolated and mysterious Fenns. His characters are a formidable mix of the stereotyped and the unordinary as he shows us how even the most common person can lead the strangest and most complex life and display a vast range of opposed emotions and thoughts.   "Waterland" is a profound study of human nature that not only displays the intricacies of people but also analyses the men and woman that live among us and for which each of us can find a name. Thus we all know an Ernest Atkinson, a bourgeois born into wealth who finds a meaning in life in the texts of Marx which push him to oppose the life that has been imposed on him thus angering his town and family. Ernest is the most interesting character in that he shows how geniuses and men with unorthodox ideas are often called rebels and segregated from the rest of society in their uniqueness and intensity. Mary in "Waterland" leads a disturbingly bizarre life that ends with her kidnapping a baby; the transformation of her personality following the abortion and her increasing mental instability shows the fragility of the human mind. Her character as that of Ernest is astoundingly realistic and thus one of the most effective characters in the novel. One of the most compelling characteristics of Swift's writing is his mysterious characters, he only describes people at the most important and relevant part of their lives and the rest is left to the readers imagination. He also surprises the reader by withholding vital information about a character for a couple chapters than suddenly revealing it thus changing the reader's perspective completely. This permits him to build up formidably complex minds in very short periods of time as he only describes what is striking and always brings new dimensions to old characters thus he shows what Mary was like when she was a "little Madonna" and abruptly changes our whole perspective of her when we learn of her adventures thus shedding the first layer of mystery and giving the reader something new to reflect on. Swift also for some of the characters gives us information at the very the beginning of "Waterland" and it takes the whole novel for us to learn how that person died (in the case of Dic k) or became insane (in the case of Mary).

Early Twentieth Century American Literature Essay

It is fascinating the sheer number of themes that a relatively short period of literature can bring up and deal with. This is most certainly the case with American literature as it turned the corner from the nineteenth to twentieth centuries. Diverse genres as poetry, such as Edwin Arlington Robinson’s Miniver Cheevy and My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke, and short stories from authors like Charlotte Perkins Gilman (The Yellow Wallpaper) and Flannery O’Connor (Good Country People) covered the range of topics from relationships between men and women and fathers and sons, to innocence lost and reality avoided. These works tested the social fabrics and existences of these topics, often finding new forms of expression for them. In many ways, then, it is difficult to ascertain or name this period for a specific movement. What is true is that it would appear from this gamut that the early nineteen hundreds in the United States had become absolutely pregnant with literary possibilities. Short stories would seem the easiest way for an author to get the point across regarding theme and context. The genre is long enough for simple analysis, yet short enough to avoid meandering far from intent. Gilman created a masterpiece of the just long enough variety. Within The Yellow Wallpaper the author takes on a primary theme from the early part of the twentieth century: the expected submissive status of women. Apart from the popularly identified issues of psychology found in the story, the chief concern of the author is in fact the treatment of women by their ‘superior’ gender. This theme is found over and again through examples like the freedom of the woman’s husband John to make every single one of the decisions regarding his wife, her care and her liberty. Incidentally, his wife is apparently suffering from post-partum depression (the textual evidence indicating the presence of their baby son) but yet again, in keeping with the theme, there is no willingness to offer quality compassion or care on the part of the man. Unwittingly, (hopefully, that is) he even worsens her conditions by removing the baby altogether from her life. He simply locks her up and patronizes her, assuring her that she will feel better any day – and especially if she doesn’t get involved in things that might grant her some level of independence, like writing. The theme, though treated throughout the narrative, is never quite resolved by story’s end. The wife is psychologically mad, and the husband does not realize that he is the cause. Even when faced with the plain existence of insanity upon his wife’s visage, he faints from the horror of it all, rather than from the revolting knowledge that he somehow may have been complicit. The Yellow Wallpaper is an allegory. This is plain and simple. The primary literary device continually reminds the reader that this story, though fictional, is still reality. Through the ongoing saga of the wife’s illness and treatment, it is seen the connection to daily life for all women of the time. The symbolism at points is quite clear. John locks his wife up and it takes some time for the reader to figure out quite why. It is precisely due to the fact that this is not the point. It is not important to find out the ‘why’ behind locking her up. It is allegorical. John is representative of males, and his wife’s incarceration is representative of the state they are kept by all the Johns of the world. The wife of the time was to have no say so in family finances, direction and management, and are to remain in the home, locked up and ready to serve. â€Å"I sometimes fancy that in my condition,† the wife muses, â€Å"if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus – but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad† (1684). The Yellow Wallpaper describes this feeling of both hopelessness and submissiveness well through its use of allegorical story. Similarly, the work exhibits one of the main beliefs, then, of its time. When this short story was printed, and received by the reading public, it represented the status quo of the Victorian era. Women were the homemakers. They had their place, and it sure wasn’t anywhere that would find them thinking independently. Most likely men did not see The Yellow Wallpaper for the allegory it was at all. This story would have been more of a realist bent than a social statement, to them. The belief in a woman’s submissive role was so prevalent that this story was interpreted more for its talk of mental disorders than for its social discourse. This, unfortunately, is what happens when a cultural belief is so pervasive. It is a safe bet that women did not see it in the same light. Writing by Gilman became a predecessor to the modern feminist movement, and provided a safe voice through literature for what would become an undercurrent yet to sweep the nation. Women, understood what the book was saying through its nuances about the current cultural belief, and cheered on the wife as she ‘creeped’ right on over John at story’s end (1694). The poem Miniver Cheevy is much different altogether. Rather than focusing on a specific social reality as did Gilman’s work, Robinson instead pointed out an escape from it. The idea of escape is the theme of this piece. As society began to drift away from the romantic notions of the past with its views of new adventures and discoveries, and toward a new, industrialized modern world, a more mundane existence crept over the country. Though there was more work, it was less creative. The new reality meant longer work hours in dreary conditions. There was less time and freedom for adventures and experiences during the busy and demanding work week. Even the colors and surroundings faded as factories and pollution began to grow. For free thinkers and romantics, this was not their time. More than a few would find themselves pining away for the more innocent and carefree past. Cheevy went even farther than this, choosing to attempt escape altogether, with perhaps the help of a drink or two. Although one could make the case for alliteration being the chief literary device the author uses, this finding is far too simplistic. Alliteration does make the poem structurally interesting and even more attractive when orally presented. But it does nothing regarding the meaning of the poem itself, and thus must be discarded as a mere tool. Because of its support in creating and maintaining the theme of the poem, the proper choice of important literary device is that of allusion. Much of the poem concerns itself with just exactly what it is that Cheevy sees in his head as he is escaping the doldrums of the modernized world. One entire stanza is, in fact, devoted to this usage. Miniver sighed for what was not, And dreamed, and rested from his labors; He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot, And Priam’s neighbors. (1898) Thebes, Camelot and the neighbors of Priam become the vision that Miniver is trying to get to, while escaping his work. Without alliteration, the poem succeeds in expressing its theme, but without allusion to these quasi-historical places and peoples, the theme of escape from reality fades. Fighting back against the growing industrialization of the time, with its blind machines and lack of personal ambition was a main concern of the times in which Robinson wrote. This particular poem exhibited its concern with the issue. The old era had passed, and Miniver Cheevy, like many real people, looked back with regret at what was no more. The newly arriving era must have looked bleak indeed. A sense of adventure was being lost; in its place came a safe predictability with its set routines and agendas. The more romantic of individuals were inclined to not take this sitting down. Cheevy became their role model. He performed his perfunctory, obligatory labor – and then he dreamed for better. He sought refuge from the present in the past. He dreamed of no longer being a cog in a machine, but a knight on a steed. It is the ultimate picture of this issue of 1900s America: escape from reality. Roethke’s poem My Papa’s Waltz takes issue with society, too. This work, however, takes as a theme the topic of father – child relationships. As The Yellow Wallpaper appears to demonize men in terms of how they treat women, My Papa’s Waltz appears to indict fathers in terms of how they treat children. It is important to note that neither work is stating that the abuses or neglects are the social norms, but they certainly make a sweeping statement that if they are not actually the norm, then they are certainly within the acceptable. To be more specific about the theme Roethke is exploring, it can be said that the poem is about the dynamics of the father – child relationship; not merely an accepted standard of near abuse, but of the love of the child for his father regardless. It is almost the love-hate relationship Robinson talks of in Miniver Cheevy. The metaphor of the waltz is how Roethke reaches the reader so easily. With very little time and few lines with which to elucidate a theme, the metaphor becomes one of the best options among literary devices. The waltz, an elegant, formalized, and patterned dance, is an unexpected symbol for what appears tantamount to acceptance of child abuse. Without the expression of the dance, then only abuse would be left. The interpretation of the poem would really suffer. When the reader experiences the fact that the son is describing a waltz, then suddenly things are different. The power of this literary device changes everything. One word expresses the love of the child that surpasses the fear. It describes a careful orchestration of the relationship that the child understands. Two lines of the poem are the most telling about this understanding, this participation in the horror/love relationship. â€Å"But I hung on like death: such waltzing was not easy† and â€Å"Then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt† (2321). So the boy talks of hanging on and clinging on. He desperately wants to be loved by, or at least near to, his familiar father. This despite the fact that he may or may not be being abused. What he does know is that if he just waltzes along, then in his mind and heart, at least, his father still loves him despite the neglect. The specific steps of the dance, its peculiar rhythm and rhyme ensures that all remains status quo in the household relationships. Above all else, this is what the child wants – a predictable father – son relationship. The 1940s belief described by the Roethke poem is that of what modern day readers would consider child abuse. There is clearly an awareness of society, as seen in the poem, that what goes on in the household between fathers and their children (and especially their sons) may not be right, proper or healthy. And yet, as the poem’s ambivalence shows, it was still an acceptable norm. Even the child appears to agree. His description of the surroundings makes it seem that he acknowledges that things aren’t what they should be. But he found an outlet for his expression, and a safe way to love his father. It became important for him to dance along to the proscribed steps to make sure that all was still right with the world. He knew that his father loved him, and he just wanted to stay close, even if close meant a beating just as soon as it might mean a kind word. The 1940s culture did experience this, but never specifically took it to task or clearly identified it as wrongdoing. The poem accurately conveys this by showing the waltz ending up with the child off to bed. In other words, this was an accepted part of the father – son relationship, and an accepted part of the family and social dynamic. A digression from these cultural concerns and themes in the turn of the century American literature comes from the rather lengthy short story Good Country People. This completely topical focused work by O’Connor is a complex treatment of a complicated theme. It wraps ambitious writing arms around the theme of innocence versus experience; a twist on the more commonly expressed good versus evil. This central motif is one of the possibilities that arise when two completely different sort of people come into relationship and interaction with each other. It asks whether this is a compatible notion, or a recipe for utter failure, disappointment or potential disaster. The theme also includes the abstract question of whether innocence is good, or experience bad. The central idea here spreads from one theme to be exposed as a hydra with its many faces, most of them unexpectedly frightening. Irony is the device that makes Good Country People work so magnificently. The title alone mocks its very characters that play such an important part in Joy’s life. That being said, the irony is absolutely all inclusive, to the point that the reader actively looks for it as the story goes along. It is a thoroughly instructive literary device that guides the reading of the story and allows clear understanding of both the theme and the plot. Even the names of the characters are ironical. Joy is not a joyful person. Manley is truly a physical man, but hidden behind a facade. The skillful use of irony doesn’t stop there. Consider the attitudes of the characters. The squabbling, gossiping and snippy women presented early in the narrative are perfect forms of this. Mrs. Hopewell doesn’t hope well for most anyone. Mrs. Freeman is not free at all from her self-righteousness. Together, they call themselves Good Country Women, something that is so farfetched that it is only hopeful that one finds it to be irony as opposed to outright falsehood. Beyond all this is, of course, the interaction between the two primary characters, Joy, who calls herself Hulga (going so far as to actually legally change her name) and Manley Pointer, the Bible salesman. The irony is that Joy is so self-satisfied, and so above all of the alleged good people that she removes herself from their realm. She is better than them and can see them for who they are. She deems herself a quality judge of that sort of people – namely, people who aren’t what they purport themselves to be. She should be ready then, to clearly and easily discern the false pretenses of Manley Pointer when he arrives. He is so simply not the Christian that he sells himself to be. It is fairly easy to see his plots, his salesmanship and his manipulations. Especially so when it comes to young Hulga. Yet she takes him for what he appears to be. Despite being an atheist and mocking the so called faith of the women, which she sees as hypocrisy, she is somehow blinded to the fact that the Bible salesman is selling snake oil. The scene between Manley and Hulga toward the end of the story tells it best: The boy was unscrewing the top of the flask. He stopped and pointed with a smile, to the deck of cards. It was not an ordinary deck but one with an obscene picture on the back of each card. â€Å"Take a swig,† he said, offering her the bottle first. He held it in front of her, but like one mesmerized, she did not move. Her voice when she spoke had an almost pleading sound. â€Å"Aren’t you,† she murmured, â€Å"aren’t you just good country people? † (2582) So Hulga, the former Joy, seems utterly surprised when she eventually comes to realize that he is not one of the good country people after all. He is not after men’s souls, but women’s bodies. After priding herself on her ability to recognize the hidden evils that hide behind smiles and Christian belief, she has let herself down by letting her guard down. Her naivete finally comes out and is exploited by worldliness. This repeated irony skillfully plays out the overall theme of innocence versus knowledge. The literary technique that had begun to come into vogue when Good Country People was being written was the school of ‘show, don’t tell. ’ This was O’Connor’s first stab into that realm. She used irony and situation to do all of the talking. Rather than laboriously describe persons’ attitudes and beliefs, she allows readers to eavesdrop on the action. This turns out to be much more realistic than earlier forms of realism and naturalism. Those genres depended upon minute details and descriptions of motivations and intents and did not lead readers astray, which would have been labeled patently unfair at the time. This new convention allows for more reader interaction, more familiarity with context as the reader is not being told exactly what to think. Showing theme and not telling theme lets the reader begin to interact more fully with the text and the story itself, leaving him to find more personal connections to the action, and filling in the thoughts and emotions between the lines. Ultimately it provides a much more complex and satisfactory experience for the reader’s interaction with the story. Since the publishing of O’Connor’s story, this technique has not only continued, but has become one of the hallmarks of ‘quality writing. ’ As such, it is taught exhaustively at the collegiate writing level, and no creative writing is well accepted if it violates this standard. O’Connor would be proud. The turning of the nineteenth to twentieth centuries unleashed a great freedom in American literature, both in subjects explored, and in devices and manners utilized. A multitude of themes were raised and dealt with, often with unexpected and clever methods, with their unexpected and clever results. Poetry from authors like Theodore Roethke and Edwin Arlington Robinson, and short stories from the likes of Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Flannery O’Connor began exploring the new topics of the culture as America began to turn toward modernization of both labor and of relationships. As new understandings evolved in these arenas, the remnants, too, received treatment in the literature. Some fashionable ideas were finally on their way out, seemingly, as The Yellow Wallpaper showed. And yet some would hold on, like the view of father – son relationships in My Papa’s Waltz. Old faiths and new hypocrisies were examined by O’Connor and others. And sometimes reality itself was discarded, as Roethke showed. The era of these authors was a time of moving on, looking forward and reminiscing back, all at once, and with many devices. ? Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte P. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper. † The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Shorter Seventh Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008. 1684-95. O’Connor, Flannery. â€Å"Good Country People. † The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Shorter Seventh Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008. 2569-83. Robinson, Edwin A. â€Å"Miniver Cheevy. † The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Shorter Seventh Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008. 1898. Roethke, Theodore. â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz. † The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Shorter Seventh Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008. 2321.

Ways to Help the Poor.

There are different ways to address poverty and one of them is charity which means simple response to immediate need and specific situations. No one can actually eliminate poverty, but we each can do our part to reduce it around us just by starting in our community, or by starting in a local food bank that provides a necessary service for persons, who for whatever reason cannot afford a meal for themselves and their loved ones. Home for the Homeless were we can provide meals, clothing, laundry service and a resource center all free of charge.Most important is help them with learning because more than one in ten children living in the increasing world never gets the chance to go to school, in that case what we can do is found scholar ships programs, and also once in school, children need to be guaranteed of a safe environment enable them to understand their potential and why it is import to learn, like classroom construction, growth and supply of equipment because basic education, giv es people greater money-making opportunities and empowers them to lead healthier and more useful lives.The other way to address poverty is social justice which means ensuring those in society that they can fulfill their basic needs. The first thing we can do and a solution for all is to ask the government to lower the taxes. If taxes are lower then there would be more help for the poor because there would be more business and employment opportunities available for them to get a descent paycheck every week to feed, and cloth their family. You might be asking, why do I have to help the poor?Well children as they grow up in poverty, it seems more likely to have poor health care later in life when compared to those children who are not poor. When compared to non-poor children, children in poverty are somewhat more likely to have lower income and are a bit more likely to engage in crime. Another reason is because you’re helping them achieve their potential, so that they can contri bute to the economy by improving their own situation and also when you help one you help God as well as if one body suffers we all suffer with it.

Krogstad And Lheureux Essays - Films, British Films, A Dolls House

Krogstad And Lheureux Essays - Films, British Films, A Dolls House Krogstad and Lheureux Krogstad and Lheureux are two literary villains created by Henrik Ibsen and Gustave Flaubert respectively. Between them, they share many similarities. They both are exploiting the main character of the novels they are in. They both want something, which was at least at one point money. They both seem cold and heartless, remorseless, though nice at one point in time. When are also alike in that when they want something, they will resort to vicious means of acquiring it. They know the secrets in which both novel's plots are based. The list of similarities is significant as any one can see, but can they really be named "similar"? Perhaps they have some in common, but are the characters truly alike? It would seem to me that they are actually very different. It can be argues either way, but the correct answer to this question can only come though examination. Weighing both the likenesses and similarities will rule out either extreme in likeness, but perhaps they fall into a category close to one side. In this essay I intend to cut through the protective fibers set by Flaubert and Ibsen, and to examine the contents of two important characters, to compare them, and to contrast. Both Lheureux and Krogstad want something. At first they both want money, which is a large similarity. Soon Krogstad changes his demand to keeping his job, and Lheureux just lets the debts owed to him by Emma Bovary build up. They both seem nice at one point in each work. Lheureux begins on a good note, being very kind to Emma and her husband. He extends a lot of credit to Emma, which she abuses, and unwittingly plans her own demise. Krogstad on the other hand begins with a money grubbing attitude, though not quite as ruthless as that of Lheureux. Krogstad's ultimately progresses through the play, when at the end he is actually a decent individual. It would seem that as far as character progression goes, the two are inverse of each other. They both use threats to gain what they want. In Lheureux's case, he threatens to tell her husband, and later foreclosure if she doesn't pay. She managed to put Lheureux off for a while. Finally he lost patience...He'd be forced to take back the things he had brought her. "Then take them back!" Emma said. "Oh, I was only joking," he answered. "Im only sorry about the hunting crop. I think I'll ask Monsieur if I may have it back." "No!" she cried. "Aha! I've got you!" thought Lheureux. And sure that he had discovered her secret, he left, saying to himself under his breath, with the usual slight wheeze: "All right. We'll see. We'll see." Krogstad threatens Nora to tell her husband of the crime she's committed if she doesn't find some way for him to not be severed from the business that his employer, Nora's husband, runs. KROGSTAD. Besides, it would have been a great piece of folly. Once the storm at home is over?. I have a letter for you husband in my pocket. NORA. Telling him everything? KROGSTAD. In as lenient a manner as I possibly could. NORA (quickly). He mustn't get the letter. Tear it up. I will find some means of getting money. KROGSTAD. Excuse me Mrs. Helmer, but I think I told you just now? NORA. I am not speaking of what I owe you. Tell me the sum you are asking my husband for, and I will get the money. KROGSTAD. I am not asking your husband for a penny. NORA. What do you want, then? KROGSTAD. I will tell you. I want to rehabilitate myself, Mrs. Helmer; I want to get on; and in that your husband must help me. For the last year and a half I have not had my hand in anything dishonorable, and all that time I have been struggling in most restricted circumstances. I was content to work my way up step by step. Now I am turned out, and I am not going to be satisfied with merely being taken into favor again. I want to get on, I tell you. I want to get into the bank again, in a higher position. Your husband must make a place for me? NORA.