Narrative In The Sixth Sense Film Studies Essay

Narrative In The Sixth Sense Film Studies Essay A films narrative is quite a vital element to any film, without a good narrative we are left with a jumbled piece of film that does not adhere to a plausible chain of events, leaving us the viewer with no sense of the writer or directors intention. Our initial narrative expectations before we view this film clip ( 06:35 11:35) would have been limited at the time of the films release. The reason for this is that the film The Sixth Sense (1998) was the Writer/Director M.Night.Shyalamans first real major mainstream film. However being just over ten years since it was released, we are now more familiar with his narrative style, for example we are more aware that there is going to be some kind of plot twist in a thrilling/ supernatural or even mild horror format. Also for this particular film clip the previews give us a clear indication that the film is a supernatural thriller, from the hushed tone of voice to the cold beats between dialogue, that lead us up the path of conclusion. This particular five minute sequence begins with the protagonist (Malcolm) and his wife entering their bedroom, slightly intoxicated having just celebrated together, setting up a feeling of safety and security that most associate with retiring to the bedroom. This feeling is instantly subdued by the directors decision to input the sound of the phone beeping, having been knocked off its receiver it gives us a real sense of emergency that helps the viewer to relate to the situation immediately. Having now set the situation that leads to Malcolm being shot, and unknowingly to the viewer, killed. Shyalaman has created a catalyst for the films progression, although unlike a typical detective films narrative such as Sherlock Holmes, which tend to be more omniscient, we are not aware of the true facts that are occurring, so we are unable to begin piecing the plot together. Thus unusually we do not realise just how pivotal this five minute scene is at the time. With most other films we are i nvited to piece together clues slowly until we discover the truth, normally around the same time as the protagonist, Bordwell and Thompson note: We make sense of narrative, then, by identifying its events and linking them by cause and effect, time, and space. As viewers, we do other things as well. We often infer events that are not explicitly presented, and we recognize the presence of material that is extraneous to the story world. In order to describe how we manage to do these things, we can draw distinction between story and plot. (Bordwell Thompson, Pg 80). This I feel is a well organised, intentional event that the director chose to do, increasing the impact of the affect at the end of the film (even if Shyalaman later admitted that Malcolm actually being dead, was not added until the fifth draft of the films script). The only information we are privy to as a viewer in this clip, is the story duration which takes us back ten years to 1989, it is the events from the protagonists past that have a major connection with what is happening in the present and it is this story progression that we actually see, although the plot point itself is disguised as a fade to black into the next scene, revealing that Malcolm is seemingly alive and well with the written legend Next Fall, South Philadelphia. But Secretly the narrative has changed, the character that has acted as an agent and made this change possible is Vincent Gray, it is his emotional issues related to his childhood that connected him with Malcolm that ultimately leads to the event that takes place, subsequently altering the potential path of the protagonist. The spacing of such events are well defined, as in such a short amount of screen time we are exposed to the the back story dating back ten years, gradually building the story until we reach the plot point at the end of the clip. Finally establishing the mood of the film and creating its supernatural tone, which typically of Shyalamans style, frequently tends to have Philadelphia as its backdrop which creates a cold and creepy diagesis, or it could just be he was raised in Philadelphia, either way it works. We also feel as though we are witnessing the events from Malcolms point of view, even though there are only a couple of shots from his angle. This could be because when we are not seeing what he is seeing, we are viewing his reaction to everything. Something I find very important to the story of any film, forming a certain type of bond with the character. Syd Field shares the importance of this in his book, Screenplay: The foundations of screen writing, When you think about it, underneath this skin of ours were really the same, you and I; certain things unite us. We share the same needs, the same wants, the same fears and insecurities; we want to be loved, have people like us, be successful, happy, and healthy. (Syd Field, pg 63). M.Night.Shyalaman establishes most of these things that unite us, in this five minute clip as such things a fear, stress, anger, disappointment and abandonment enter the script, we instantly gain a rapport with the main character. This is something I find with Shyalaman films, his style is not just the plot twist like he creates in this clip, but he subtly creates this bond between the protagonists of his films and the viewer, although having said that, the genius or salient technique of this film clip would have to be the way Shyalaman uses his narrative writing skills to disguise the twist throughout the film, Jennifer Van Stilj explains the comparison of Shyalamans genius with that of Sigmund Freud, Shyamalans script is a masterful dance between Freuds concepts of the conscious, that information the audience is aware of knowing; and the unconscious, that information it is unaware it knows. It is Shyamalans use of the unconsciousness, specifically that part that Freud termed the preconscious, which produces the psychological roller coaster ride we experience. (Van Stilj, Jennifer. www.writersstore.com). Such acclaim for Shyalamans clever use of narrative is quite widespread with many critics sharing this opinion, so much so, Shyalaman has now made his reputation in his field and created a narrative expectation for his audience that he did not have before. The most important role that narrative plays in this film and especially in this five minute clip is the creation of almost a second story line running along side the one we are viewing, Erlend Lavik puts it, We come to realize the presence of another fabula running parallel to the first one but beneath it, hidden from view. Once we become aware of it, though, everything in the syuzhet takes on new meaning. We are instantly compelled to return to the outset of the story and, based on our remembrance of the account given, try to follow the correct fabula this time, the one that was invisible to us at first, even though it was present all along. (Lavik,Erlend.p55-64). Therefore the importance of the this narrative technique makes the whole film what it is, without it we would have a simple yet entertaining supernatural thriller that would have otherwise caused less of a fanfare with critics. The web is full of reviews, blogs and even forums dedicated to this single, clever piece of nar rative writing that leaves us thinking and even scrutinising any possible flaw or opinion of the film, Shyalaman himself quotes, I think that even with The Sixth Sense from that first weekend, the films are not seen the way they are. They are seen through some aberration, some wavy glass. I can just hope that the glass gets clearer over time. (M.NIght.Shyalaman, TimesOnline). So as important as we may feel the narrative is in this or any film, the definitive thing is how we interpret what the creators have given us, what we feel was important may not of been the intention, instead we each have our own criteria of importance for what makes the film work.

Evaluating Value Congruence in the Work Place

Evaluating Value Congruence in the Work Place Abstract This study re-examined the impact of personal and organizational values congruency on positive work outcomes and investigated the extent to which this relationship is affected by demographic variables. Data collection was used to validate those findings, lending additional credibility to the continuing importance of this phenomenon. Both personal values congruence and organizational values clarity were significantly related to commitment, satisfaction, motivation, anxiety, work stress, and ethics using a cross-sectional sample of managers from across the same organization set up. Gender, educational level, and functional area did not impact these relationships, although years of experience did make a difference to the finding on the final research processes being done. The term value congruence is generally intuitive when there is a match between employee and organization value systems, positive outcomes will result if the work ethics is put into order. This article will explain the benefits of value congruence, and show you how you can put value congruence to work in your organization. Introduction Acording to (Schein 2004 pg 535) Values are a critical elements of the organistional culture and leadership impacting both individual and organisational perfomance; it is tenadertively radicle that an organisation succeed in the global competetive arena without coherency of core values. Subatntiating on performance, brought about by advancement and tecchnolically advancement, professional networking and gglobolizatin mosst organisations require to cordinate to acquire relevant amrket share, customer demand for quick and quality services has imlicated how organistions does busness. With these essence each company creates and potrays it image and gudge by the customer on value received. Watson et al (2004) also argues that value congruence model is predominant research approach to the idead of personal and organisational fit. In the merit of values companys essential should absorb the banding concept and analyse judgement of want customers in the target market view them and impacts to the society. Customers rate sevices depending with the moment of truth when they purchase and consume a product or service. At such a juncture, customer-employee relations become a vital element for longterm benfit for both parties. On the othe hand (Barry Z Posner pg 536) relents that values are so deep seated tha nobody actually see values themselve manifest in opinions, desires fears and ttitudes whileenvisaged as pesonal, professional, organisational or societal. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Reseach questions What effect does value congruence has in an organisation? How do values congrunce impact the cutomer-employee relations What are values congruence positive outcomes Both individuals and organizations have value systems that dictate their attitudes, behaviors, and the ways in which they allocate resources. Value congruence occurs when the value system of an employee coincides with the value system of an organization. Job satisfaction is a positive emotional experience associated with ones job. Satisfied employees are more productive and experience less stress than their employers. Organizational identification (branding) derives from an employees sense of belonging to the organization. Employees who feel like they belong are likely to be more committed to the organization, more productive, and more likely to engage in extra role behaviors helping behaviors that go above and beyond the duties of an employees position. Intent to stay is an employees intent to remain with the organization over some period of time. Intent to stay is contingent upon both job satisfaction and organizational identification. Although the link between value congruence and positive organizational outcomes has been firmly established, until recently it was not clear why this process takes place. Rather than directly causing positive outcomes, value congruence primarily leads to positive outcomes through the enhancement of communication and trust between the organization and the employee. (Impact of value congruence on customer employee-relations)Value Congruence affects Positive Outcomes Globaisation has widened up business transactions around the world, transfrer of skills and mixture on human cultural and socail attivities plays a major role at organisation operational leves.Demand for quality skill by employers and higher renumeration by emloyees inpacts to the product and service development to the customer. Motivtion quality trainings and retreats specifically with clear job descriptons negates perfomance in orgnisation. However, organsaitional politics and environmental policies might cause indifference among employess. Relaibility and cosistency on professionalism critically vandalised the basic approach to achieve organisation goals. Most employees perormance can be based on many years of experience and values e.g communication skills, analytical skills and interpersonal skills which constitute ability to achieve organisational targets and improve shareholder value.,At atermost moments training and skill addition by employees canbe consistently high at the ex pense of the employer, However in a similar study by Berlin Erogam Robert Linden (2004) argues that both private and public organisation exeriences financial dificulties thus find it hard pay employees achieve career in terms of increases in terms of pay or upward movement in the hierachy.this is critica as most of organisation companies are facing challenges e.g inflation rates, global warming and economical challenges When the value congruence between an employee and the organization is high, there tends to be high levels of trust and communication between the two parties. In many cases employees will show positive results when they receive managers boost and motivation which is practically how one manager develops a good rapport with the general employees. Ones values is determined by how one approaches his or her work. A good employee always (what determine perfomance is the level of customer satistfaction and motivation) makes sure that his or her performance at work is excellence. But contrary to normal work some employees need to be pushed in order to do the right thing. This entirely depends in ones attitude towards the job or the administration of that organization.(this document relates to organization outcome/Evaluate) It is paramount (this word means otherwise in relation to the pargraph) for any organization to find value addition to their work and also ways to motivate their employees in order to achieve positive results for their company.(is this a recommendation or suggestion) Values have been associated with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, flexibility to accept changes whenever it is instilled to an organization, job performance which is a replica of the effort being applied. (Crollick, 2004)-refrence and page Vibrantly organisation requires or must comprehensive reseach and embrace organisation culture ie internal gap bridging in basing communication elements, trainings, runmeration and capcity building) It is important to know (who to know) the role of values (what is the role of vlues or wat values) in the growth of the organization so that strategic solution is set to meticate any side factor which arises if such values are not placed in their right place. Values are the core of who really people are, thus if you master their needs at work place and fulfill them without struggle then definitely you will have passed the first hurdle towards work satisfaction. Some of the most critical decisions made by a manager determine the relationship between customers and the employees.(the lelement of roles and responsibilty in decision making, organisation structure) Good manager(is this a one mans task?) impacts positive virtues to the employees which lead to positive outcome at end. Values are moderate tests that show the general flow of growth and development of an organizational set up and a determinant for a company to measure success and profitability level over a given period of time, usually it is an annual forecast for any organization to carry out their internal assess of their performance. (Should be at introduction) paragraphs shoul be short and pricise This depends on the kind of working conditions given the resources are equitable to the kind of work an organization is doing. Managers acts as the planners and value setters thus the employees are just the final implementers of what is supposed to be done to meet their respective targets. (These require proof so quote at list an author and bring in the agument element of study) Practical Implications In various parts, ethnic orientations play a major rloe and afects employee relationsValue congruence (is about competency within the organisation and creates a strong corporate image, win market share through strardized positioning and quality diffrentiation. It also builds stakeholder value-prctical: profitality via archievd targets, trainings, good pay, education sponsorship, employees retreats, engaging in professional bodies) can be utilized to increase positive outcomes such as job satisfaction,(its not about employees rather customer satisfaction: also require a quote) identification with the organization, and intent to stay with the organization. There are several strategies that managers can use to maximize positive outcomes (VERILY REPEATED) that result from value congruence. Value congruence can be addressed during the hiring process (How? Then should have touch on Job discription). Match applicant value profiles with those of the organization in order to select employees with good value fit to the organization. Socialize new employees toward the cultural values of the organization.   Incorporate organizational values into new employee training and reinforce them throughout the on boarding period the extended process of assimilating new members into the organization. For current employees, focus on strategies(which strategies?) that directly impact trust and communication: Increase trust by being honest with employees about organizational and supervisor decision-making processes, ensuring that processes such as performance appraisal and distribution of resources are perceived as fair(reference pg 6-above first paragraph). Increase the benefits that result from good communication by ensuring frequent and open communication between management and employees, and among employees themselves. (Require quote from the scholars/refrence) Value congruence ACT as a concept for organisation growth in a competetive environment calls for exhobiarnt skills that should be adopted at the job interviews, internships etc) Throughout various stages (like? Be specific?) of employment, value congruence is a useful concept that managers can leverage to improve positive outcomes for both the organization and employees alike. When the values represent different organizational units, value level can be determine the extent to which a successful merger (this means different) can take place between the units Similar effects can demonstrated when comparisons are made between the values of an organization and those of its members. In such cases, value level has been found to indicate overall happiness and satisfaction with the organization. It has also been significantly correlated with employee performance, commitment intention to remain with the organization, and actual turnover increases. When the values being considered are those of potential employees or applicants, evidence suggests that congruence with the values of an organization will influence whether individuals choose to join that particular organization for the better output capacity. Therefore, this issue has relevance for research on the broader issue of an individuals fit with an organization. Additional processes can be examined by comparing values or sets of values across different time periods. Because an organizations culture is reflected in the collective values of its employees cultural change can be assessed when unit or organizational values are compared across two or more points in time.(inter departmental competiveness) Furthermore, when values at each of these points are compared with the values of potential agents of such change e.g., having new management, a different generation of employees, etc. the locus of change can also be investigated. Similar issues can be explored at the individual level. That is by comparing the values of employees across different points in time can indicate their degree of socialization. As with organizational values, sources of socialization can be examined by comparing employee values at these points with the values of potential socializing agents. (Cooper, 2007) (change and change reistance) It is also appropriate to compare values or sets of values between individuals. Research has shown that value congruence between employees and their supervisors is significantly related to employee satisfaction and commitment ratings of employees, and supervisors consideration, success, and competence. Interpersonal value congruence is even thought to be an important factor in determining whether peoples lives will be altered by chance encounters with other Despite its wide applicability, there is a surprising absence of research on how value congruence should be conceptualized and measured. The present study examined a number of such issues not previously addressed in this literature. Some have used unsquared indexes, whereas others have used squared indexes. Each of these approaches makes a different assumption about the dynamics of interaction. An unsquared index assumes that a unit difference in values is equally influential regardless of the overall level of value difference. A squared index gives greater proportional weight to large unit value differences and is consistent with a theory that assumes that individuals dislike large discrepancies between expectation and occurrence, but actually react positively to small discrepancies of this type. A final issue that has not been treated in previous value studies is the potential for spurious association inherent in certain indexes of value congruence. Johns points out that the type of indexes used to measure value congruence can be highly correlated with their component value measures. Thus, an index of value congruence between a supervisor and a subordinate e.g., subordinates value score minus supervisors value score could be highly correlated with the subordinates value score. Given such a high correlation, if the index was related to subordinate satisfaction, it would not be clear whether this relationship was attributable to the effect of value congruence or the direct effect of the subordinates value level. In such cases, the relationship can be clarified by statistically removing the effect of the subordinates value score from the congruence index. This study examined four major issues in the measurement of work value ethics: The effect of different methods of constructing value congruence indexes, the use of general versus specific value measures, the use of actual versus squared indexes, and the effect of correcting indexes for correlation with their component measures. Significance of Co-Worker Value Congruence The lack of research in many cases undermines the proper investigation on the subject of workers relationship with one another. Thus, increasing popularity of team based organizational structures. That is why work ethics is important for the employees to make them work in any environment which is conducive and receptive for them. These reasons in general derive from literature on group and interpersonal behavior and research on value congruence, as it is being expounded further in the work. (Asumption)The senior executives in many cases pay very little attention to the values and beliefs of lower level employees as the former incorrectly believe that peoples culture, organization culture. The findings are helpful to managers as it illustrates that organization members attach values to the organization as a whole, but also to subunits of the organization. Human resource generalists can also gain from the study findings (which studyor by who and does it apply anaway?) as it builds on the common practice of socializing new employees through planned socialization tactics. (Gray, 2005) However, there has not been any focus in the literature on whether congruence could change during individuals tenure with the organization and if certain events could alter congruence.(a recmendtion/suggestion/you view) The findings from this study suggest that value congruence is not fixed and that events perceived to change an employees sense of congruence can have behavioral implications. For a company in an industry as dynamic as commercial airlines,(is this an examlple?) understanding how events could decrease employees sense of congruence should have paramount importance. There are also implications for human resource generalists predictions for employee attrition. The findings (why arent you quoting authors if this is desk data?) supporting multiple types of value congruence indicate that employees may determine congruence based on very different criteria. In making changes to organizational characteristics, caution must be given to not altering characteristics that may be important to employees values. (Albrecht, 2010) Literature Review The following approach is used to come up with the best information in regard to this shift of events. In this approach, individuals have more positive attitudes simply because they interact with similar others, rather than because the organization or leader provides conditions that allow opportunities for value fulfillment. Although most research to date has examined the sharing of attitudes or personality characteristics, the role of value congruence in interpersonal heterogeneity may in fact be of more importance. Values may be defined as beliefs about the way an individual ought to behave. As such, values represent core beliefs about what should be done, and are related to a broad network of more specific beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes. Because values are linked to modes of behavior, individuals are better able to predict the behavior of others with whom they share values . Likewise, individuals with congruent values should have greater agreement about what behaviors are important in the workplace Ambiguity and tension associated with working together should be reduced, thus increasing satisfaction and potentially enhancing performance on routine tasks of the type under study here. It provides partial support for these proposed relationships with their findings of relationships between co-worker goal congruence and satisfaction and withdrawal behaviors. Individuals with congruent values also have a common system of communication. This tends to facilitate interactions by decreasing communication noise and reducing stimulus overload. Value congruence may also affect how often people choose to communicate with each other. (Malphurs, 2004) found that similarity in age and tenure was positively related to frequency of communication, and this effect may well extend to value congruence. Alternatively, value congruence may reduce the need for communication in the workplace. As noted earlier, it increases the predictability of the behavior of others and fosters agreement about what behaviors are important in the workplace. Increased predictability and agreement may actually decrease the need for communication in the process of task accomplishment. Value congruence may also affect interpersonal relationships through its influence on the perception of environmental cues. In a study of perception, (Williams, 2002), found that individuals work values had a significant impact on their interpretation of environmental stimuli. It is therefore likely that employees with congruent values will place similar interpretations on events in their immediate work environment. Given (relating to) the relevance of environmental cues for understanding individuals attitudes and reactions in the workplace, such shared perceptions could remove important sources of disagreement between employees and further facilitate their interpersonal interactions. Given that research has to date not found entirely consistent effects in the domain of group composition or value congruence, the presence of moderators in the relationships between congruence and work outcomes must be considered. It is essential to note that work outcomes extend beyond quantitative measures of productivity to also include performance dimensions important to the organization, such as supervisor ratings of work habits, job-related attitudes, attendance, and coming to work on time.(basing on org perfomnce) With regard to the outcomes of attitudes and withdrawal behaviors, the literature tends to be somewhat more consistent than for performance, however, much of the similarity-attraction research was performed in the short-term environment of the laboratory. In particular, for these types of outcomes, we might expect that value congruence may not have a uniform effect over time. (Dunn, 2005) Value Congruence, Work Attitudes, and Attendance One reason for this wide scope of operation is that values are relatively enduring constructs that describe good virtues of individuals as well as organizations in their own set up. Thus, depending upon the source of various value measures, their comparisons can apply to a wide variety of individual and organizational level phenomena including intra organizational power, cultural change, organizational restructuring, recruiting, socialization satisfaction, interpersonal relationships, work culture and turnover. When the values or sets of values being compared are obtained for different levels of the same organization, value congruence can indicate which organizational units posses greater amounts of power and which are most able to define the critical uncertainties for the organization on a given issue which needs to be tackled before it becomes a great problem in the future prosperity of the organization. Similar effects can demonstrate when the two collateral organizations are made between the values of an organization and those of its members. In such cases, value congruence has been found to indicate overall happiness and satisfaction with the organization. It has also been significantly correlated with employee performance, commitment intention to remain with the organization, and actual turnover. When the values being considered are those of potential employees or applicants, evidence suggests that congruence with the values of an organization will influence whether individuals choose to join that particular organization. Furthermore, it is paramount when values at each of these points are compared with the values of potential agents of such change that can be investigated. Similar issues can be explored at the individual level when the need arises. That is comparing the values of employees across different points in time can indicate their quantity of work depends on the effort and support of than whole organization. (Albrecht, 2001) As with organizational values fluctuates, it is the indicator that one area is not at par with the rest. Thus the need for mutual operation and total revamp of the organization set up so that the sources of socialization can be examined by comparing employee values at these points with the values of potential socializing agents. It requires proper measures to be undertaken in order to cope with the challenges discussed on these research paper. Conclusion The value congruence in these contents is the great determining factor to measure the level of development of an organization. Thus, unless the whole system functions together nothing good can be achieved in any organization. The future of any organization depends on very well set up plan of work which is a blue print to what each one is required to do in a span of time. For any organization that records positive growth their secret lies on the attitude they impart to their employees which includes motivation, good salary pay, conducive work environment, well set goals, achievable targets and honesty employees. Therefore, whenever there is no discrepancy always work is performed to the expectation of the employers. Value, thus value congruence is a germ which species up the positive results of an organization. The study, therefore affirms that there is a crucial need for a value congruence to determine the performance level of an organization. In that a positive results comes with the effort applied on value addition measures being mastered across the organizational set up. The emphasis is in how the value congruence in the work place is achieved using the available resources both human and financial resources which are the driving force towards the achievements of the goals.(introduction) Methodolgy The information given in these research have put it out well how the value congruence plays a major part in the development of any successful company depends entirely on the management team and all the employees working together for the betterment of their organization without any group dragging another well function body. Thus, it has sent ices on the positive virtues that are required in order to achieve the positive desired results on the organization. The exercise requires a dedicate team of employees who have positive attitude towards their work and the good relationship they have cultivated together with the senior management and the entire organization as a working entity. This is aspiring to produce best results by creating a decent work environment among their workmates. The best thing that any individual employee can over to the organization is nothing less than the expansion of the organization to create more employment to many people to improve the living standards of all people.

Essay --

Standards and Procedures It is the policy of Business Ethics Company (further called the â€Å"Company†) that employees shall conduct their business activities with honesty, fairness and integrity by following fundamental ethical standards. This Executive Directive applies to all Company Commission employees. All Managers and Supervisors are responsible for ensuring compliance with this directive. All employees are accountable for compliance with this directive. Types of regulated activities and violations of this directive include conduct of employee activity which is in any way job related and which involves a dishonest, unethical or otherwise unlawful act in violation of Company instructions, directives or policies. Employees should not attempt to deceive, defraud or mislead Company management, other employees, or those whom the Company has business or other relationships; take or misuse Company property, funds or service; misrepresent the Company or its employees, divulge or release any information relating to the Company of a proprietary nature; obtain a personal advantage or benefit because of their association with the Company or by use of the Company name; withhold their best efforts to perform their work to acceptable standards; engage in unethical business practices; violate application laws; or conduct themselves at any time dishonestly or in a manner which will reflect discredit on the Company. The following provides a general outline of the types of activities subject to this directive and examples of misconduct to be considered when administering this Executive Directive. However, no attempt has been made to illustrate every conceivable instance which would be considered misconduct. All funds collected on beha... ...ted as soon as is reasonably practicable to the Human Resources Director for approval. Upon request of an employee, Human Resources may advise employees on whether the Company would consider a proposed action to be a violation of this Executive Directive. No employee will be held to have violated this directive if the alleged violation resulted from his or her good faith reliance on a written opinion from the Human Resources Director and the opinion was made after a full and accurate disclosure of the material facts. Employees violating this Executive Directive will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal and may also be subject to legal action. In addition, supervisors who knowingly allow others to violate this Executive Directive will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal and may also be subject to legal action.

America Online: Is It For Me? :: essays research papers

America Online: Is It For Me? You have probably heard of the Internet, but you weren't really sure if it was for you. You thought about it, but after all it costs so much and things like pornography and improper language are used everywhere, right? Wrong! Perhaps, I can convince you that America Online will be worth your time and money. One of the main reasons that people don't go online is that they think that it costs too much. America Online or AOL doesn't really cost all that much. When you sign on you get from 10 to 50 hours free, depending on the software that you download. Once you run out of free hours you may choose to stay online with a monthly fee. This monthly fee can be either $9.95 or $19.95 depending on how many hours you plan on using. If you are concerned that your children will visit web pages you prefer that they don't, then you can put parental guards on that don't allow them to visit those web pages. If you aren't familiar with web pages, they are basically ads that you look at containing information about the company, person, or product. Also you can sign your child on as a child or teen which keeps them out of restricted areas. Perhaps your main concern is people finding out things that you don't want them to. They only know as much as you tell them. If they ask for your password, credit card number, or any other personal info, you don't have to tell them that information. When you first sign on AOL staff will ask for things like name, age, address, phone number, and your credit card or checking account number. These things remain confidential and are used only for billing purposes. If anyone ask for personal information you can easily report them to AOL. When someone is reported they are either warned or kicked off the Internet. You can also report people that swear or use any kind of offensive words. Many of the chat rooms are guarded by "online hosts" or people that belong to AOL. These "guards" make sure nothing bad happens in chat rooms. You can be sure that there are AOL staff in the romance rooms, especially, because that is where the most foul and vulgar language takes place. If you are too young to be in the room, they will tell you to leave and go to a room where people your age belong. The world "online" also offers thousands of Reference sources like Groliers Multimedia Encyclopedia and over 100 magazines.

Character Development Essay examples -- Personal Narrative Essays

Character Development at Harvard The primary purpose of education is to provide an environment in which students can develop the skills and acquire the knowledge they need to fulfill in our changing society. We strive to provide opportunities for individuals to make decisions and encourage them to satisfy their academic needs responsibly and effectively." - Everett High School philosophy Vague mission statements seem to be the staple of most institutional philosophies. However, the above philosophy of my high school makes it clear that its purpose was to equip students with "skill" and "knowledge" to function in society and in further academic pursuits. On the other hand, Harvard University states that it is the university's responsibility to preach community and social values to students - that it is a vital component of an undergraduate education. Harvard supports moral education for a life of "usefulness and reputation," and the university's mission statement relates the importance of moral education in the full higher-educational experience. College graduates should adopt a higher tone and spread the value of our higher education and of our social class. The Harvard statement makes reference to "reputation," it is clear that universities uphold the idea of moral education and character development in order to bolster their public image. I absolutely agree with the necessity of colleges and universities to promote community activism and to encourage graduates to act out a life that reflects well on their universities, although I do not believe that it is solely the responsibility of the university to instill such values in its graduates. All organized social groups should encourage community ... ...r voices heard in elections and local politics. A society that places trust in its college graduates to be useful and to reflect a good reputation of both society and the graduate‚s institution of higher learning is valuable only if the university makes an attempt in good faith to encourage values of community involvement. Only with active attempts to engage political, social, and moral discussion can graduates actually go out into the world with the experience and skills to impact society. It is not enough for society to expect college graduates to be more than academic giants, but society itself (in the form of other institutions) must encourage citizens to lead useful lives. They must advocate a life that enhances the repute of the individual and the institution. The most feasible institution for such a statement to be made in is the University.

Bread Baking an American Pasttime

Baking bread at home can be both fun and rewarding. There is no better way to create a wholesome and welcoming atmosphere than by baking a fresh loaf of milk bread or having guest walk into a room that smells of cooling banana bread. Although bread making has been a part of American culture for centuries today’s fast paced lifestyles has all but eliminated the art of making breads at home. However, it only takes a little flour and some kitchen know-how to revive this tradition for domestic excellence. There are two main types of breads, yeast breads and quick breads.Yeast breads are the airy, light and fluffy breads that are used for sandwiches and dinner rolls. Quick breads generally have fruit or nuts in them and have a denser composition. One of the easiest and most rewarding types of yeast bread is milk bread. Milk bread is a great place for the novice bread maker to start. It is easy and only requires milk, flour, salt, sugar and yeast, (All Recipes, n. d. ). In addition to the simple ingredients as the baker gains experience variations on this recipe can be made to include various cheeses, herbs or grains.Another type of yeast bread that has become a staple in kitchens across America is a simple country French bread. This bread is often long and crusty and it goes great with soups or dishes with heavy sauces. Country French bread takes more time than milk bread but by using recipes similar to the one listed on www. breadworld. com, bread makers both professionals and beginners can produce the flaky classic. Other types of breads that can be made at home include quick breads.These breads are called quick breads because they do not require the time that yeast breads need to rise. Common quick breads include banana bread, apple date bread or sour dough. Find amateur recipes for these breads at www. thejoykitchen. com. References All Recipes (n. d. ). Milk Bread. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from www. allrecipes. com Fleischman’s Rapid Rise Yeast (n . d. ). Country French Bread. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from www. breadworld. com The Joy of Cooking Cookbook (n. d. ). Quick Breads. Retrieved April 06, 2009, from www. thejoykitchen. com

Ethics and Negotiation Essay

?Negotiation is a pervasive features of business life. Success in business typically requires successful negotiations. In a competitive and morally imperfect world, business people are often faced with serious ethical challenges. Herboting suspicious abut the ethics of others, many feel justified in engaging in less-than-ideal conduct to protect their own interests. The most sophisticated moral arguments are unlikely to counteract this behaviour. We believe that this morally defensive behaviour responsible, in large part, for much undesirable deception in negotiation. Drawing on recent work in the literature of negotiations, we present some practical guidance on how negotiators might build trust, establish common interests, and secure credibility for their statements thereby promoting honesty. â€Å"We must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy† George Bernard SHAW What do we mean by ethics? Ethics are broadly applied social standards for what is right and wrong in a particular situation, or a process for setting those standards. And ethics grow out of a particular philosophies which; define the nature of the world in which we live and prescribe rules for living together. Why do people choose unethical behaviour? The first answer that normally occurs to us is that people are corrupt, degenerate, or immoral. In fact these answers are to simplistics; moreover, they do not help us understand and control our own behaviour, or successfully influence and predict the behaviour of others in a bargaining environment. Here were three primary factors motivational factors which lead negotiators to consider using unethical tactics: the pursuit of profit, the desire to beat an opponent in a competitive environment, and the need to insure or restore some standard of justice that has been violated. Three major categories of ethical conduct were used to describe the broad range of questionable negotiating strategies and tactics: means/ends, truth-telling, and relativism. The more e is committed to abide by certain rules and procedures, the more one believes that following the rules will eventually lead to the desired ends. The second group of tactics, relativistic vs. absolute, forces us to deal with questions of whether there are truly absolute rules and principles of right and wrong, or whether questions of ethics must be answered by each individual in his own personalized, subjective view of the world. Many authors have suggested that bluffing, misrepresentation or factual distortion is sometimes necessary in order to effectively negotiate; such behaviour, however, may well be seen by others as unethical and inappropriate. We believe that the negotiation process raises a host of ethical issues, more so than most other interpersonal transactions. Much of what has been written on negotiating behaviour has been strongly normative abut ethics, and prescribed â€Å"dos and don’ts†. We do not believe that this approach facilitates the understanding of how negotiators actually decide to act unethically. We believe this process can best be understood by a simple decision-making model. We proposed that a negotiator who chooses to use an unethical tactic usually decides to do so in order to increase his negotiating power. Power is gained by manipulating the perceived base of accurate information (lying), getting better information about n opponent’s plan, or undermining an opponent’s ability to achieve his objectives. Using these tactics leads to two kinds of consequences; first, actual attainment or non-attainment of these goals he was seeking; and second, evaluation and criticism of the tactics by the negotiator himself, by his opponent and by observers. Negotiators usually feel compelled to justify their actions –i.e., they know they have done something â€Å"wrong† and need to establish a â€Å"good reason† We suggested that the decision to use ethical or unethical tactics may be influenced in varying degrees by differences in individual backgrounds, personality, rewards or punishments associated with ethical or unethical actions, and the social and cultural norms that dictate what is appropriate or inappropriate in a given environment. We have made a number of assumptions about ways to judge and evaluate human conduct in the realm of ethics. We have intentionally avoided taking a strong normative stance, and have not tried to emphasize our own biases about what kinds of conduct are ethical or unethical. Instead, we have proposed several conclusions that can be drawn from research, experience and common sense: 1 Individuals will often disagree as to what kinds of negotiating tactics are â€Å"ethical† or â€Å"unethical†, and in which situations it is appropriate or inappropriate to use them. 2 The decision to use an unethical tactic can be probably best be understood as a quasirational decision making process in which a variety of personality and situational variables are likely to affect that decision. 3 In deciding to use an unethical tactic, a negotiator is likely to be most heavily influenced by what he believes the consequences will be for his choice: will it help him accomplish his objectives, and what kind of feed back is he likely to receive from others? 4 Negotiators who have used unethical tactics in the past, or might be considering their use in the future, should strongly consider three possible consequences of using unethical tactics: a Will they really help achieve objectives? b How will they affect the quality of the relationship with this opponent in the future? c How will they affect their reputation? Negotiators frequently overlook the fact that while unethical or expedient tactics may get them what they want in the short run, these same tactics typically lead to long-term problems and to diminished effectiveness. Rules of the game An assumption: every negotiation situation involves questions of ethics. What are the understood â€Å"rules of the game?† What is fair? What is just? What is legal? What is appropriate and acceptable? What is expected? Is ethical behaviour †¦. What is practical? What is expedient? What is efficient? What serves one’s interests or a client’s interests? What is necessary to win? Like the poker player, a negotiator hopes that his opponent will overestimate the value of his hand. Like the poker player, in a variety of ways he must facilitate his opponent’s inaccurate assessment. The critical difference between those who are successful negotiators and those who are not lies in this capacity both to mislead and not to be misled. Four major approaches to ethical reasoning 1 End-result ethics (results lens) The rightness of an action is determined by evaluating its consequences. Here the question is: â€Å"what will be the result?† 2 Duty ethics ( reputation lens) The rightness of an action is determined by one’s obligation to adhere to consistent principles, laws and social standards that define what is right  and wrong. Here the question is: â€Å"what will others think?† 3 Social contract ethics ( relationship lens) The rightness of an action is based o the customs and norms of a particular society or community. The question here is: â€Å"how will this impact others?† 4 Personalistic ethics (rights lens) The rightness of the action is based on one’s own conscience and moral standards the question here is: â€Å"what should I do?† So when in an ethical quandary we answer the following questions; What will be the result? What will others think? How will this impact others? What should I do? THE IMPORTANCE OF NEGOTIATION ETHICHS Commonly held assumptions reflect negatively on the ethics of the negotiation tactics of car salespeople, lawyers, horse traders, and other people who have a reputation of trying to influence folks into reaching agreements by misrepresenting facts. This kind of stereotyping has attached itself to people from different countries, ethic groups, or even as reflected in the expression from the 60s ‘Don’t trust anyone over 30’. Negotiation is about many things; one of its central elements is convincing others to accept the accuracy or reality of information that will influence their decision. Most negotiators know that it is, indeed, possible to influence people by lying to them. But good negotiators also realize that when other parties find out they have been on the receiving end of lies, the lying negotiator’s credibility goes down to tubes. There is an old expression ‘If you cheat me once, shame on you. ‘If you cheat me twice, shame on me.’ People who have been taken in by dishonestly resent  it; if they are able, they try to get out of deals where there’s been misrepresentation. In general, a general negotiator must make positive misstatement to be held liable fraud. First, when the negotiator makes a partial disclosure that is; or becomes, misleading. Second, where the negotiator acts as a fiduciary. Third, when the negotiator has important information about the transaction not accessible to the other side. Fourth, where required by statue. On the other side we can say that negotiation is not a competitive sport. In competitive sports, the object is to end up winning the game, the race, or the event. Negotiators who focus on treating other parties as opponents run the risk of ending up with reluctant counterparties to whatever agreements may be reached. Unless all the parties are fully committed to their agreement, it may well fall apart; in those circumstances the negotiation has failed. The ethics of negotiation should be based on several understandings; Reluctant partners make undependable partners so treating negotiation partners with respect and honesty simply makes common sense. Negotiators need to recognize up front that the only reason to use negotiation to resolve a conflict, agree on a project, or conclude a sale because other parties may be able to add value an individual or a single company cannot do acting alone. Transparency in the negotiation process is more likely to bring about buy-in than hidden agendas or tricky maneuvers. Other parties have feelings. Last understanding is the Golden Rule of treating others as you would wish to be treated has the bottom line value of increasing other parties’ enthusiasm about negotiating with you as well as their enthusiasm about the ultimate  agreement. Good negotiation ethics: honesty, transparency, respect for others are all genuinely pragmatic approaches to use. A negotiator’s reputation is not unlike that of a restaurant; if you have bad meal, you are not likely to return. And a negotiator with whom others don’t want to deal is effectively out of business. Negotiator also should understand four major approaches to ethical reasoning: end-result ethics, or the principals of act utilitarianism; rule ethics, or the principle of rule utilitarianism; social contract ethics, or the principles of community-based socially acceptable behaviour; and personalistic ethics, or the principles of determining what is right buy turning to one’s conscience. Each of these approaches may be used by negotiators to evaluate appropriate strategies and tactics. Consequently we can say that negotiation ethics is more important for negotiator that’s why negotiator should recognize ethics carefully. Also unethical behaviours are most important to the negotiator. Because when he or she faced with unethical behaviour he or she should find the reasons for unethical behaviour.