Strategic Leadership In A Changing World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic Leadership In A Changing World - Essay Example The paradox that exists between the market environment and the resources that are available to the organization are evaluated by strategic leaders as a basis upon which they select the most appropriate model or strategy for the organization. The most important consideration however is the role of the strategy in allowing the organization to meet its objectives and goals in an effective and efficient manner. It is in line with this that this essay gives a critical analysis and discussion of the Gary Hamel and Michael Porter’s approaches to strategic management with an aim of illustrating how the circumstances within an organization and the market environment influences the choice of strategic managers for either of these approaches in their leadership role within illustrated organizations. The essay focuses on strategic management within the changing world which is characterized by a diverse workforce and application of information and communication technologies for competitive advantage and business success. According to the generic strategies for leadership and management that were proposed by Michael Porter, the attractiveness of a market is the core determinant of the profitability of an organization (Colvin, 2012, p. 70). It is in this regard therefore that strategic managers of companies which require internationalizing their business activities strategize for market entry modes for an attractive market with high demand and more business opportunities. Therefore Porter’s approach to strategic leadership is important in making market choices for expansion. For example the growth of Apple into a multinational company was motivated by strategic leadership which targeted the most attractive markets for their smart phones and Mac computers. Gobble, Petrick & Wright (2012, p. 63) however argue that in the selection of strategic markets, leaders must put into consideration of the resources available to the organizations such as capital for internati onal expansion of the business and the forces within the new market environment such as political, economic and social cultural factors. Porter, in his generic strategy further points out that the position of a company within a specific market or industry is the second most vital element that determines it profitability and performance (Pathak, 2012, p. 154). It is through effective strategic management and allocation of resources that leaders of an organization are able to enable them to become market leaders. For example effective strategic marketing which fits the changing market environment such as online marketing communication are applied by effective leaders to make their organization to climb the competitive ladders within the market or industry (Foss, 2006, p. 10). This can be illustrated by the market leadership of Coca-Cola within its world markets. This company achieved this leadership in the market through proper allocation of resources for marketing, innovation and mot ivational compensation of its workforce by its strategic leaders. Moreover the company invested in market research which allowed it to determine the characteristics of the market and the changing trends of business operations (Saeidinia, 2012, p. 7). It is through this that the company became a leader within the soft drink industry and as a result gaining from huge profits. Gary Hamel views strategy within any organization as a

Fast Food Nation Essay Example for Free

Fast Food Nation Essay The main characters in the novel Fast Food Nation are Richard and Maurice â€Å"Mac† McDonald, Ray Kroc, Walt Disney, Carl N. Karcher, and Dave Thomas. The McDonald’s brothers are from New Hampshire. They opened up the first McDonald’s restaurant in 1937 in southern California. They revolutionized the fast food industry in 1948 by ridding their business of carhops, and using disposable plates and cups to serve finger food. Ray Kroc was a high school drop-out from Illinois. He sold milkshake makers until he met the McDonald brothers in 1954. He sold milkshake makers to them, and bought the right to franchise their company. He is known as a pioneer in the fast-food industry for creating characters that rivaled others such as Mickey Mouse. Walt Disney became Ray Kroc’s biggest rival after refusing to put a McDonald’s in Disneyland, which was model marketing to children. Carl is also one of the American fast-food industry’s pioneers. At twenty-years-old, Carl moved to Anaheim, California where he began his first hotdog stand. Carl eventually turned his hotdog stands into drive-in restaurants. After observing the first McDonald’s restaurants success, Carl started expanding and developed the Carl’s Jr’s restaurants. In 1997, the corporation expanded dramatically with the new possession of the Hardees Restaurant chain. In 2004, CKE Restaurants, Inc. had revenues in excess of 1. 4 billion dollars. Dave Thomas dropped out of school at fifteen-years-old. After working as a bus boy and a cook, he eventually founded Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers restaurant in Columbus, Ohio in 1969. Today, there are thousands of Wendy’s restaurants and they remain popular throughout the world. Dave is probably best known as the guy on the Wendys TV commercials. From 1989 to 2002, Dave appeared in over 800 commercials for the restaurant chain. He died after a long battle with liver cancer in 2002. The setting of this novel is in any fast-food restaurant on an international level. The theme of this novel is that we as Americans can no longer ignore the many health hazards of a fast-food diet. Years of consuming fast food has resulted in diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and obesity. There are several conflicts in this novel. One type is man vs. man. An example of this is when former employees return to the restaurants and kill innocent people. Another example of man vs. man is when companies pay doctors and nurses to minimize reportable injuries. This is not fair towards the injured employee. Plot: * This book opens with discussing Carl Karcher and Ray Kroc’s roles as fast-food pioneers. * Next we examine Kroc’s complicated relationship with Walt Disney, and each man’s rise to fame. * Then, we go to Colorado Springs, CO to observe and investigate the working conditions of a typical fast-food employee. * After that, we discuss the chemical components that make up fast-food. * We then observe the lives of ranchers and meat packing industries that supply for fast-food chains. * The book ends by discussing how America has matured as a cultural export. There has been a mass spread of American goods and services, especially fast-food. As a result, the rest of the world is catching up to America’s rising obesity rates.

College Admissions Essay: Learning from Helen Keller :: College Admissions Essays

Learning from Helen Keller "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -Helen Keller Helen Keller was one of the most successful people in the world. She helped in so many ways to change many people's lives. She was a very humble person despite her successes. I want to tell you about a story I read which touched me and shows what a special person Helen Keller was. In the summer of 1950, a woman in Italy was asked by a neighbor to pick up two women at a nearby hotel. The reason why her friend, Margot Besozzi, couldn't pick them up is because her jeep was getting repaired and that was the only car they could take to get up the very steep hill to her house. The women of course said that she would be delighted to pick them up. She asked Margot, " whom should I ask for at the hotel?" and Margot replied, "Miss Helen Keller." She could not believe that she was going to pick up Helen Keller at the hotel. She was so excited that she started to dream about when she was a little girl and her father had given her the story of Helen Keller written by Annie Sullivan. When she arrived at the hotel, she got out of her car to greet Helen Keller and Polly Thomson. She took Helen's hand and placed her in the car with Mrs. Thomson. Then it came to her mind that they were going to be taking a very dangerous ride when they were to go up to the house. There were no sides to the car, so when she took very sharp turns, she was afraid that Helen might fall out of the car. So she warned them about the sharp and steep turns. When they got to this part of the journey, Helen started to sing, "This is fun!" and then she cried out, "Lovely!" When they reached the house, she helped the two women out of the car to greet Margot. She was invited to have lunch with Margot, Mrs. Thomson and Helen. They drove to the restaurant and went to sit down at their table. When Helen sat down, she felt around her area so she knew where her fork, spoon, knife, and plate were, and sat patiently. After they finished lunch, they were sitting around taking about Italy, and Helen was talking about where she wanted to visit.

Child Abuse

Childhood abuse is a major issue in the world today we all know or have heard of unfortunate events dealing with children. â€Å"Abuse changes your life†¦Fight Back and change the life of your abusers by Breaking Your Silence on Abuse! † (Patty Rase Hopson Adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse). I believe there are long term affects to child abuse and adults or parents should be sent to jail. Childhood abuse is positively related to adult depression, aggression, hostility, anger, fear, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders.At least 3 meta-analyses on the effects of childhood sexual abuse find clear and convincing evidence of a link between such abuse and a host of adult psychological symptoms. Childhood abuse to have consistent significant effects on early onset and recurrent depression and that violence from siblings or multiple family members was most strongly associated with recurrent depression. Other studies also show that childhood abuse has consistent eff ects on first onset of early adult psychopathology.Women with such abuse also had significantly greater lifetime prevalence’s of agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, sexual disorders, and suicide attempts than women without such abuse. Adults who experienced either sexual or physical abuse as children are found to have anxiety disorders and depressive disorders to be significantly higher in both men and women with a history of either physical or sexual abuse. I believe parents should go to jail for abusing their kids; it is a serious issue that many Americans go through.Kids need to grow up in a safe and loving environment so they can be productive adults. If parents are sent to jail that means the child will no longer have a parent, but they are better off without them. If they are getting mistreated at home then they are in a better situation at a foster home than with a crazy parent. In conclusion, I believe there are long term affects to child abuse and adults or parents should be sent to jail. Works citedHelpGuide. com – Macintosh Support Experts. (n. d. ). HelpGuide. com – Macintosh Support Experts. Retrieved October 1, 2012, from http://www. helpguide. com New Dawn Technologies. (n. d. ). New Dawn Technologies. Retrieved October 1, 2012, from http://www. newdawn. com â€Å"Abuse changes your life†¦Fight Back and change the life of your abusers by Breaking Your Silence on Abuse! † (Patty Rase Hopson Adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse).

Policing Essay

Policing CRJ 201, Section 511 Frank Serpico Francesco Vincent Serpico was born on April 14, 1936 in Brooklyn, NY. At the age of 18 Serpico enlisted in the United States army and spent two years in Korea. In 1959 Frank Serpico graduated form the police academy and was sworn into the New York City Police Department. From the =Beginning of Serpico’s career in the NYPD he was forced with having to defend his integrity to the police department. While a rookie taking part in field officer training, there was a rape in progress call sent out over the radio. Serpico, wanting to do nothing but help wanted to take the call though it was out of his sector and against his veteran officers advice. Frank later forced to give up his collar despite the fact he apprehended the remaining rape suspects on his own. Being a rookie officer left him susceptible to officers with seniority easily getting over on him. In 1960 Frank became a patrolman in the 81st precinct. He then worked for the Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) before he was assigned to being a plain-clothes officer. This is when Frank Serpico’s problems began and he was exposed to department wide police corruption. Police subculture is defined as; shared values and norms and the established patterns of behavior that tend to characterize policing. During Frank’s time police corruption was definitely apart of police subculture. However it was not apart of Frank Serpico’s police subculture. While stationed at the 93rd precinct Serpico was given $300 as a part of the station pay off. Not knowing what to do with the money, and it being his first experience with corruption Frank took the money to his Sargent who in turn pocketed the money for himself. Becoming a snitch is something frowned upon then and now among civilians and law enforcement when it comes to one of your own. It is especially difficult to be a snitch in the police department because there is then no one behind you when in need. Blowing the whistle on fellow officers took a lot of guts and courage, especially when knowing that no one is there to stand behind you, and everyone is against you. On April 25, 1970, a New York Times article was published by David Burnham that would shake up the entire New York City Police Department. With the aid of Frank Serpico and Sargent David Durke, Burnham told the world of the millions of dollars paid to policeman in the New York Police Department by drug dealers, gamblers, and crooked businessmen. Frank also pointed out that despite the obvious corruption both Mayor Lindsay’s’ administration, and the police department ignored and failed to look into corruption cases repeatedly brought to their attention. This very article and the now public knowledge and outrage forced Mayor Lindsay to form the KNAPP Commission; a five-member panel whose purpose was to investigate corruption among the police department. Once the New York Times article was published, Frank Serpico was officially deemed a snitch. Subjecting himself to the possibility of extreme danger and violence, either at the hands of his own or by criminals when a lack of police back up and support is available. This possibility of danger became reality on February 3, 1971. While working in the vice division out of Brooklyn North, Serpico and 3 others detectives were working a drug sting. Frank was sent into the building and after witnessing the drug buy informed the two other plains clothes officers of were the suspect apartment was located. Serpico, the only officer that knew how to speak Spanish, was prompted to fake as if he wanted to purchase heroin to gain access into the suspects’ apartment. Once the dealer cracked the door Frank tried to force his way in, only able to wedge some of his body into the suspects’ door. Subsequently Serpico was shot at point blank range in his face with a . 22 caliber handgun. Once collapsed on the floor the remaining two officers stepped over him and proceeded with the drug bust instead of helping, they didn’t even care enough to send out a cop shot call over the radio. It was a neighbor living on the floor of the shooting that called the ambulance and stayed with Serpico until a squad car arrived to escort him to the hospital. Frank Serpico soon after the shooting began to question the circumstances of the shooting, feeling he was set up to be executed. While in recovery at the hospital Serpico was constantly harassed and faced with wishes of death. Frank recovered, losing hearing in his left ear, and in December of 1971 testified in front of the KNAPP Commission. Ultimately Serpico received what he always wanted, a brass shield and a promotion to detective. Of course there was no customary ceremony when Frank was awarded detective status, he was called and told to pick his badge up from the office. This was one of the many things that displayed the distain the department and city officials had for Frank Serpico. In 1972 after receiving a gold metal of honor, Serpico retired from the New York City Police Department and moved to Switzerland, where he stayed for almost a decade. In 1980 Serpico back to New York City and now lives a quiet life upstate. Frank Serpico was the first and probably most famous New York police officer to report and go as far as to testify on the department wide corruption. He never gave up, never gave in, and always stayed true and loyal to the oath he took when graduating from the police academy in 1959. Hearing the story of Frank Serpico makes me grateful because I know there are truly honest and loyal individuals that hold jobs in the public service field. People like him played major roles in molding what the police department is today. However I do not think I would have followed in Frank Serpico’s footsteps to expose the ugly truth of what was going on in the police department at the time. Being apart of the police subculture, all you have is each other. Once you put on the uniform and strap on that gun and badge no one can protect you from danger but yourself and your fellow officers. Once those other officers distrust you there is no one to have your back when faced with a criminal with intent to harm you. I would remember that when my shift is over I have to go back to my family, I have to live a life outside of my career as a New York City Police Officer. If I could have found a way to not take the payoffs, still do my job to the best of my ability, and not snitch on my fellow officers, that would definitely be the route in which I would take. Frank Serpico could have easily been killed and I don’t think the police department or anything else is more important then my life and the lives of my family. I do respect everything that Frank Serpico did. His integrity and courageousness was unprecedented. Without him the police department that my friends, loved ones, and I interact with daily could very well be much different and much worst. All Frank Serpico wanted to do was be a good, moral person and an honest police officer. He nicely summed up some of his feelings while in front of the KNAPP Commission by saying, â€Å"Through my appearance here today†¦ I hope that police officers in the future will not experience the same frustration and anxiety that I was subjected to for the past five years at the hands of my superiors because of my attempt to report corruption†¦ We create an atmosphere in which the honest officer fears the dishonest officer, and not the other way around†¦ The problem is that the atmosphere does not yet exist in which honest police officers can act without fear of ridicule or reprisal from fellow officers. †

Secularism And Its Effect On Society Religion Essay Example

Secularism And Its Effect On Society Religion Essay Example Secularism And Its Effect On Society Religion Essay Secularism And Its Effect On Society Religion Essay Secularism is the separation of province and faith. It is the exclusion or rejection of faith from political or civil personal businesss of the province. Bing an ancient belief of some ancient Grecian and Roman philosophers like Marcus Aurelius it has developed and expanded to make different corners of the universe. However, the term secularism is comparatively new as it was foremost mentioned or coined by the British author George Holyoake in 1851. In the 1700 s different authors and philosophers of the Enlightenment Age had proposed its application in society. High Renaissance writers besides gave rise to secularism and idealism in their plants formed from Classicism, but it was largely in historical instead than artistic and architectural plants. Therefore, secularism was officially born or started during the Renaissance but found a certain terms in the eighteenth century during the Age of Reason. The construct and its application grew stronger with the Gallic revolution trans porting until today. The most secular provinces in modern-day times have more than doubled the figure of non-secular provinces. However, some secular provinces do non use it to the full and still detect some spiritual foibles like vacations. Some provinces, nevertheless, do non hold a defined province faith because of different patterns of a big figure of its citizens. For illustration, Nigeria has Islam, Christianity and other Traditional faiths but non every bit much as the first two- as the official faiths of the state. The full state observes both Islamic and Christian vacations and puts aside money in its budget for different intents for this faith. Hence, secularism has had a encouragement in the last two to three centuries. Since its outgrowth, faith holds the function or position as the footing for jurisprudence and all other legalities. It is the exclusive beginning of jurisprudence and everyone is expected to obey its regulations and ordinances and failure to make so consequences in penalty of the guilty individual or individuals by spiritual edict. Therefore, the proper function of faith in every society is to put down the regulations or Torahs to be followed by every member. It besides encompasses the full life of a individual, from his or her birth, day-to-day activities and even to demise and farther. Religion is absolute i.e. it is a godly edict from the Almighty. Europe was widely Roman Catholic Christians due to the Roman vanquishers of the Dark and Middle Ages. Europe was a really spiritual continent. Hence, faith was the jurisprudence seting the church over even the opinion Monarchs and Lords. However, this agreement depended on the state and sometimes changed harmonizing to the swayer. For illustration, King Richard the Lion Heart of England was a strong Catholic and a leader of the campaigns hence, had a good standing with the church while his brother John besides known as John Lackland who became king after him did non. Pope Innocent II excommunicated him due to a difference between them on who was to be the following Archbishop of Canterbury. Because the olden Norman and Angevin male monarchs of England had had considerable influence with the church, he besides assumed he could. However, the church triumphed and he kept on paying the church compensation money for some clip. Therefore, spiritual regulations have been around for a long clip due to faith and its willing followings. It can besides be seen from the clip of its outgrowth and development from animism to polytheism and eventually monotheism, all faiths allow for the belief in a power or divinity that sets regulations. These regulations have been sometimes to the advantage of society and at other times to its hurt. For case, in pre-Christian Rome, human forfeit or bloodshed is said to be the bringer of the God s and goddesses clemency on the people of Rome. Human forfeit brought about rainfall, good crop and abundant wealth. Therefore, it brought about the birth of the gladiators and their legendary battles to delight the divinities. Another illustration would be the Indian forfeit of a widow on her dead hubby s funeral pyre or subsequently times the terminal of her societal life and she is considered a bad fortune appeal for anyone. Therefore, faith compelled society to either kill these wid ows or cut them off from society and coerce them to populate together without support, have oning merely white and selling their organic structures to feed themselves most of the clip. Some faiths even back up and O.K. of incest particularly brother-sister incest which can be seen in Egyptian, Nipponese and Chinese royal households of the olden yearss. Hence, the proper function of faith in society is to set up and convey order non chaos to religion. But for the most portion, Europe engaged in wars between its states due to religion giving 1000s of lives to its cause. For illustration, the Campaigns that were undertaken three times by different states that threw all of their money into them by to a great extent taxing their people to finance wars which were lost in the terminal. Some states, like England and France neer recovered to the full from this economical forfeit which can be said the developments in both these states because of hapless criterion of life. State faith in France after the revolution gave manner to province godlessness which promoted the suppression of faith. It is overriding to understand that secularism promotes spiritual freedom while maintaining it from act uponing its Torahs while godlessness does non back up the pattern of faith at all. In modern or modern-day times, secularism is more popular because it promotes equality of faiths before the jurisprudence and can squelch accusal of favouritism towards one faith. However, in communist provinces province godlessness is promoted. The modern universe should non abandon or pass on faith to the side as it is being done in most modern provinces. It is a given that some provinces have more than one major faiths to see. This might a present a job to most provinces when it comes to jurisprudence devising. However in Nigeria, the jurisprudence shapers have done a good occupation instilling its major faiths i.e. Islam and Christianity with great consequences. The state besides recognizes other patterns of the less populated traditional faiths accepting some things like matrimony, paternity and acceptance without a demand for a legal representative at the clip. It can be said that faith threw Europe in to a province of war, but it can non be refuted that it besides brought about stableness at the clip of its outgrowth in Europe. However, most people particularly the philosopes like Denis Diderot rejected the thought of God doing faith synonymous to socie ties agonies. He wrote an essay about a deceasing blind professor, Lettre Sur lupus erythematosuss aveugles, in which he promoted his political orientation. It is believed Diderot s sister s decease in a convent where she was a nun contributed to his disfavor of faith. Therefore, it can be seen that agonies of people of the hapless at the custodies of the church led to many Europeans credence of godlessness. On the other manus, it most provinces that have a individual faith as its province faith and being non-secular have a comparatively unagitated and orderly society. For illustration, the Middle Eastern states that usage Islam as their functionary faith use the Quran and the instructions of the Prophet Muhammad ( S.A.W ) as their jurisprudence. Although there is crisis in the Middle East states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates enjoy a peaceable societal and economical life which orderly and chaos-free. The separation of faith and province Torahs both has its advantages and disadvantages. It is still an on-going argument on whether its benefits outweigh its defects. If province is separated from faith, Torahs will hold no direct spiritual influence. Man made spiritual regulations stating is non the jurisprudence. Tolerance of other faiths will be developed. Nepotism and segregation or bias due to spiritual difference will greatly cut down. The province will non add spiritual disbursals to its budget go forthing it with more financess to prosecute other province affairs or jobs. Atheist can besides be tolerated and their positions heard. Freedom of look is greatly promoted in these societies. Democracy is besides promoted. On the other manus, if province is non separate from faith it will incur excess disbursals. There is less tolerance of other faiths and their pattern as can be seen in topographic points like Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E, Yemen and Israel to a great extent towards Muslims. Religious expressions are considered as jurisprudence. Atheism every bit good as bad talking the faith will be considered unorthodoxy and might even be punishable by decease as seen during the church s powerful clasp in Europe. However, some of the advantages above can besides turn into these disadvantages while some of the disadvantages turn into advantages. For illustration, tolerance of godlessness can take to its widespread and the diminution in faith as evidenced in Europe with the coming of unbelieving Enlightened philosophers. Although there was no tolerance in most states, the Netherlands allowed these people to print most of their plants and in making so helped the spread of godlessness. Democracy can be said to be extremely overrated because most provinces practising it can besides conflict on the rights of others and non digest their spiritual freedom. For illustration, the jurisprudence that was passed in France by President Nicholas Sarkozy to forestall Muslim adult females from covering their caput infringed on their freedom of faith and look. So besides were the penalties administered by most churches in early Europe which sometimes involved stoning or decapitating depending on the magnitude of the wickedness in the church s eyes. However, these rights subsequently left the custodies of the churches and transferred to the feudal Godheads who still took advices from their assigned priests. This nevertheless, seemed to decrease the penalty taking it off from adult females and kids but largely between work forces and their feudal Godheads. However, a more outstanding illustration of non-separation jobs can be seen with the Catholic Popes of the Renaissance epoch in Italy. Their frivolous and epicurean life style damaged the image of faith and gave it no acceptance in the eyes of the trusters. They did nt care for their people and largely left them to endure. Another illustration is the epoch of the Plantagenet Kings of England. All of these male monarchs made England a really hapless and unhappy state by taxing its people to a great extent and changeless battle in wars that were largely junior-grade and selfish. Further, Philip II launched a naval onslaught on England beca use of faith and without a idea to his people and their support cut down Spain s woods to construct his ships led to the economic diminution of Spain which was one time had a robust economic system. Therefore, by dividing or non dividing faith and province, pandemonium occurs. However, it is wiser to maintain faith as a footing for jurisprudence devising. Divine messages if followed adamantly lead to peace non anarchy as can be seen in Saudi, U.A.E, Qatar, Brunei and others. Secularism in modern-day universe has led to worsen in earlier extremely valued ethical motives. Nowadays, sexual relationships are openly carried out i.e. a twosome can travel in together with the cognition with both their parents and other people in society. On the other manus, non-secular and Old Europe frowned upon something like this. Fornication and criminal conversation are seen as a wickedness from a spiritual point of position everyplace in the universe. Although, the sovereign and blue bloods still indulged in the pleasances of the flesh and the priests and society look the other manner every bit long as they are discreet for case Henry VII with his six married womans and countless kept womans. However, this illustration is alone to those societies that at the clip were non really spiritual, frivolous and at times helter-skelter. For illustration, Italian Renaissance that was characterized with frivolousness and worldly chases because of they were non practising spiritual expressions. This epoch can be identified with one of Europe s most disgraceful and licentious relationships and tonss of single female parents who suffered greatly. Synonymously, in the modern universe, the Western universe is extremely secular and as such it besides faces the job of teenage gestation, single individual female parents populating in poorness, high divorce rates, and legion instances of unfaithfulness and so on. However, after the moving ridge of frivolousness during the Renaissance had been cleared by Paul III and hid replacements, the enlightenment age brought with it a new moving ridge of low moral criterions. It can be seen from the 18th to the nineteenth century how extra-marital personal businesss became about legalized. A married woman was chiefly the agencies to an inheritor. She was required to be faithful to her hub by until she has given him an inheritor so that there will be no competition as to who the kid s male parent was. She can so hold her personal businesss every bit long as she was discreet while the hubby besides has his ain kept womans and personal businesss. Therefore, bogus kids belonging to the Lords and blue bloods were really high in figure with a great many of the boies given rubrics while the girls are at most times educated. All these epochs though accepting of these low lesson values make societal outcast out of its practicians. Therefore, secularism might advance or develop persons to be independent but it does non protect them from the rough worlds of life. A spiritual and orderly society do non hold such jobs, although they do occur but non in such high Numberss as in secular provinces. For illustration, the Puritans live their lives merely though of modern times, they do non believe in worldly pleasances. Furthermore, the rate of self-destruction is seen to be much higher in secular provinces. There may be spiritual forfeits as in the widow combustion in Hinduism or lapidating in Islam, it nevertheless, does non claim as many lives as self-destruction in the Western secular provinces. Furthermore, both of the aforesaid patterns have falling into neglect while self-destruction is the most approaching and pressing job of deceases in secular societies. Having lived in a non-secular society where faith governs our twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours lives. I have witnessed how spiritual expressions from God can be turned and manipulated to accommodate the demands of work forces. In my sentiment, secularism is a good thought but it besides does nt acquire to be practiced the manner it is supposed to be. For illustration, late the Gallic authorities although naming itself secular passed a measure to halt adult females or specifically Muslim adult females from covering their faces. It is absolutely allowed to approve those that refuse to demo their faces for security grounds, but why persecute all on the footing of a impression or what a minority does? It goes to demo that both secular and non-secular provinces need to work on where they stand in the modern universe. Timess have changed since people will take in pace what the province dictates. As it can be informants in France, although adult females are being sanctioned and charge d, they still rebelliously wear their caput covering. To them, their head covering is and individuality of who they are and what they represent as Muslim adult females. The Gallic authorities will make good to larn from past errors of enforcing countenances on their people and its terminal consequences i.e. the revolution. I believe that faith plays a function in society that can be at most positive and sometimes negative. However, both sides can be argued harmonizing to one s ain point of position. For an academic ( western instruction ) , socialist or scientific point of position faith has more negative than positive sides. For illustration, gender inequality, female instruction and sacrificial functions to do person give up his/her life. On the other manus, theologists or spiritual bookmans will give recognition to the positive side of faith for conveying approximately peace, repose and equity. For case, Islam in Arabia pulled the people out of ignorance or Jahiliyyah as the period is known to a blissful clip of peace and love for all. Further, in the Christian and Islamic books i.e. the Bible and Quran severally, narratives showcased the manner faith brought the people peace and flight from harsh and ruthless swayers as in the narratives of Moses, Abraham and Jesus. Hence, the merger of these two p ositions still proves to be ineffectual. To my apprehension, until these two opposing point of positions are united, secularism can non and will non be practiced to everyone s satisfaction. Democracy can non be practiced to the full without any partizan influence from spiritual groups either. The 9/11 onslaughts claimed by the Taliban are now being seen as onslaughts orchestrated by Jews and some say by the American authorities itself. President George Bush, the former president was said to be a member of a spiritual groups that rule America between themselves therefore, extinguishing any hint that all past democratic opinions were just. Current president Barack Obama besides hit a brick wall during his run for the station. Because of his Muslim-like name and his roots, he was considered a Muslim sitting as a Christian to acquire Islam to govern America. This influenced so many people non to vote him reasonably based on a judgement of his character. By dividing faith and province, the title has merely fueled the widening spread between the two most dominant faiths in the universe ergo in America excessively. Schools do non learn their students much about faith ; hence, they come out with a icteric position created by the media. Most politicians besides do non conceal their antipathy for other faiths as can be seen by Sarah Palin and her anti-Islamic sentiments. European history in its class from the ancient Greeks to the Romans to the Celts and the Vikings to Feudal systems and absolutist Monarchies and eventually to the reaching of constitutional monarchy and democracy has shaped the universe to what it is today. The West is the manner it is thanks to these people who lived 100s of old ages ago. But unhappily, the universe is yet to open their eyes and learn from past errors. European history in its class has shown us how tyranny or absolutisms can crumple in mere yearss when the people revolt. But the enticement of power is excessively much for most leaders that they forget the yesteryear and merely indulge in the present and pigment and program a happy hereafter. This can be witnessed in the recent moving ridge of unrest passing through some of the North African and In-between Eastern states. The leaders of these states had been at that place since land come but are non ready to lose that power they hold so in their clasp. It took a revo lution for most of these swayers to give up and step aside ; nevertheless, some refuse like Libyan and Yemenis presidents. In my sentiment, it all comes down to greed and the lecherousness for power. The features of these people can be witnessed from other historical figures like Napoleon I of France, John I of England, Charles V Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, Philip II of Spain and others. Most of these leaders thirst and lust for power led to their ultimate ruin most particularly Napoleon and his quest to make an imperium for himself all over Europe. In decision, I believe secularism is merely applicable to some provinces while in others it can neer be good implemented. To my apprehension, African states like Nigeria can non work good under secular regulation because of the assorted spiritual groups in the state. Other topographic points that witness Islam as the dominant faith can neer utilize secularism to regulate a province. Islam itself brings an full system of the manner a province under Islamic regulation is supposed to map. It can be seen that most of these Middle Eastern provinces have flourished under this system. For Christianity, I believe the Vatican is a typical illustration of a spiritual province being ruled by a spiritual system that works reasonably darned good. The Pope as its caput and the people under him are go forthing in a peaceable and non-hectic environment. However, the Christian universe ( West ) has learned another lesson from European history of Christian wars and its regulations. Therefore, it is wa ry of traveling back for seconds after interrupting off and organizing other positions that do non conform to the Catholic Church. As the expression goes one time bitten twice diffident so besides do most Christians feel they can non travel back under influence and regulation by the Church. But most of all European history, particularly the Enlightenment age has left its grade on history by recommending godlessness. As some figures and statistics show, the universe faiths are worsening in figure as more and more people stop believing in God. Atheism has spread its wings to touch every corner of the universe non merely the West but Asia and Africa, two of the most spiritual continents in the universe. Hence, most people believe the turning rate of godlessness should be synonymous with secularism so as to make a balance between the trusters and the non-believers. However, I believe lone clip will state what is the right way for us to follow and convey peace and harmoniousness to our otherwise helter-skelter universe.

Shylock a villain or a victim of the society he lives in Essay Example

Shylock a villain or a victim of the society he lives in Essay Example Shylock a villain or a victim of the society he lives in Essay Shylock a villain or a victim of the society he lives in Essay Essay Topic: Play In my opinion Shylock was a victim of the society he lived in. He was a victim because he was a minority in a Christian city where anti-Semitism played an important role in society. In the society in which Shylock lived, there was plenty of racism, so it was easy to paint a picture of Shylock as a villain on evil, based on stereotypical opinions for the society in which he lived. The target audience for which the play was written was largely a racist and a prejudiced audience, so they readily accepted Shylock in the role of Villain, without questioning whether this was an accurate assessment of his personality. Due to the target audience being racist, there is a bias in the way in which Shylock is portrayed, and does not always effectively portray what Shylock was feeling or thinking. Although in some cases Shakespeare did show that he did not have the stereotypical view of Shylock, which most certainly his audience did have. In this essay, I will be expressing my opinion on whether Shylock is a victim or a villain in the society that he lives in. I feel that, Shylock is a victim of the Elizabethan society in which he lived. He seems to be treated badly by everyone who he comes into contact with, including his own servant. It is really only his own kind who seems to respect and treat him properly. In Act 1 scene 3 Shylock is asked to loan 3000 ducats to Antonio by Bassanio. It looks or has been made to look as though Shylock is a villain, this is shown by using repetition, the repetition used in by Shylock is that he seems to mention well a lot, this makes Shylock look like he is planning something, for example how to get revenge on Antonio, also in the beginning of the act Shylock seems to come across as an evil character, this is when he is first introduced into the play. Shylock looks like a villain when he is asked by Bassanio to dine with Antonio, but Shylock replies I will not eat with you, drink with you nor pray with you this sentence made Shylock look like a villain, but if you had to look at it from his point of view, it would be that he has been hated and treated badly all his life by Christians. Then, when Antonio enters the scene you can see how Shylock is treated badly and is a victim in the society he lives in, this point is proven when Shylock says to Antonio You call me a misbeliever and Spit on my Jewish gabardine In the next few scenes in the play we find out that Jessica is ashamed of being Jewish, and consequently is ashamed of her father. She is not happy with her life, and she blames everything that goes wrong on the fact that she is Jewish. As she resents her difficulties and blames them on her religion she also resents her father, and blames him for being Jewish resulting in her also being Jewish, we find this out when Jessica says to Launcelot But though I am a daughter to his blood, I am not to his manners For example in Act 2 scene 3 we find out that Jessica thinks that where she lives is hell. She expresses her feeling to Lorenzo, saying to be ashamed to be my fathers child. This is another point which could make Shylock look like a villain because even his own daughter is ashamed to have him (Shylock) as a father, or this also could look as though Shylock is a victim because he has been victimized and arguments have been caused in his family due to his religion. Christians such as Lorenzo have changed his daughter they have made her ashamed of her own religion and her father. I also think that this does show that Shylock and Jessica do not have a very good relationship if their relationship was stronger she would be prouder of her heritage and less likely to blame everything that goes wrong on her father and their religion. She would accept the familys religion as an important part of her heritage and background, and not something to be ashamed of. In Act 2 scene 5 Shylock looks like a kill joy he seems to give Jessica no freedom and is always controlling her, and not leaving her on her own. This could be because he is in fear of what might happen to her, and thus his controlling her is just Shylocks way of making sure that nothing happens to her, as he wants her to be protected. However because Shylock is portrayed in such a negative way, his control over Jessica could be incorrectly seen as unreasonable and evil so one again he looks like a villain. In this scene there are very good examples which shows how much hatred Shylock has towards Christians for example But yet Ill go in hate, to feed upon the prodigal Christian. In this scene there is dramatic irony, this is when the audience know what is happening and some of the characters do not know what is happening. The use of dramatic irony is used when, Shylock explains his dreams, and he says that he is going to lose something. This is ironic because his daughter Jessica was planning to run away and take all of Shylocks money with her. In Act 3 Shylock seems to be loosing everything he has. His own daughter Jessica had run away and had also stolen all of his precious jewels, and he had done nothing to deserve this. To an audience in Shakespeares time this would look completely normally, they would not understand how upset Shylock probably was, but to a modern audience we can see that he is a victim of society, and there was nothing he could have done to prevent it from happening. The only thing he could do was take revenge from his bond, in my opinion this does not make him a villain because personally I think most people would want revenge on something or anything if that much had happened to them, as it is human nature. To bait fish withal. If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. This shows how he wants to take his revenge on Antonio because now he finally has the chance to do what ever he can do. In act 3 scene 3 Antonios attitude changes towards Shylock for example he says hear me yet good Shylock this shows that he is a coward and is willing to beg for his life, and he is begging to the person he once spat on, and swore at, so at this point Shylock deserves to be a villain and stand up against his sworn enemy. In Act 4 scene 1 at the beginning Shylock has been made to look like a villain, at this point it looks at though Shylock is going to get his revenge, the one thing he has been waiting for, for his whole life: making him look like a villain and yes I do think he is a villain at this point in time, but only because he has been pushed and pushed by the Christians. He also looks like a really bad villain towards a Shakespearean audience as he has been asked to show mercy but he doesnt. This is shown that Shylock wont give mercy as he uses repetition and repeats many times in six thousand ducats I would not draw them I would have my bond But then in the end or near to the end it seems as though Shylocks luck has changed, and there is dramatic irony used, as the audience know that Shylock is being tricked by Portia, whereas Shylock things that the young lawyer is from a distant city. In the end of the scene Shylock is a victim of society as he has been told that if a drop of a Christians blood is spilt then all his good will be taken away from him. So where he was the villain, then the tables had turned against him, and they not only took his bond away from him, but they also took all his possessions from him, leaving him with nothing and also making him a victim of society. This is also ironic, as when Shylock had the upper hand against his enemies they all begged him for mercy, and told him that what he is doing is wrong, but when the tables had turned against Shylock and he was now the victim, and the Christian society had the upper hand, they did not show that they were better than him and give him mercy, as they had begged him for. This all shows that in the end Shylock was the Victim, and that the society he lived in was the villain towards him, and other Jews. So to summarize in my opinion I believe that shylock was a victim and a villain of the society he lived in, he was a victim due to the fact that he was a minority amongst Christians, and during his time there was a lot of racism against him and his religion, I also believe that Shylock was a villain in some ways because the society had driven him to be villainess meaning that because he was treated so badly, that every time he could get his own revenge back against the Christians he did try to do that, making it look like he is the villain to a Shakespearean audience.