The Narrator of One Hundred Years of Solitude Essay -- One Hundred Yea

The Narrator of One Hundred Years of Solitude Who is this narrator of One Hundred Years of Solitude? He or she knows the whole history of the Buendias better than any of them know it. But the narrator is not quite omniscient. For example, the opening sentence (quoted earlier) and Pilar's insight into the "axle" of time are two of the very few places where the narrator claims to be able to read a character's thoughts. Generally, we get to know characters from close observation of what they say and do, and we have to infer what they may be thinking. The narrator's knowledge also fails us in the one great unresolved mystery: Jose Arcadio, elder son of the founder, is murdered in his bed, but no one ever knows by whom. The narrator is also ignorant of who guns down all of the colonel's illegitimate sons and, in fact, seems as surprised as we are when the last survivor from among these sons appears in Macondo and is also shot down. There are two likely candidates for narrator. One is Melquiades, the gypsy magician and wise man...

nathaniel :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nathaniel is a magician’s apprentice. All apprentices live in their masters’ homes and their masters teach them magic, how to summon demons, and provide schooling for their apprentices. The also pick a name for them. The name is so that a magician or demon doesn’t find out what a person’s birth name because knowing someone’s birth name is a source of power to an enemy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now to the story. The story starts when Nathaniel is selected to be an apprentice to Mr. Arthur Underwood. He trains Nathaniel, only he doesn’t realize that Nathaniel is brighter than he looks. When Nathaniel is ten, he finishes all the books that his master said would keep him until he was twelve. At the age of ten, Nathaniel meets the villain of the story, Simon Lovelace. His master takes the liberty of showing him off to the other magicians. Simon questions Nathaniel’s smarts, and proves that Nathaniel is smart. Nathaniel answers all the questions correctly, but that ticks Simon off. Then, Simon puts a spell on Nathaniel, and embarrasses himself and his master. Since then, Nathaniel has been focused on revenge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When he turns twelve, he summons a demon called Bartimaeus. Nathaniel charges him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand. Little does Nathaniel know that Simon was planning to use it to overthrow Mr. Rupert Devereaux, the Prime Minister, and the rest of the government. One day, Nathaniel charged Bartimaeus to spy on his master in the study, but Nathaniel is called down to the study to talk to his master, exactly where Bartimaeus is. Mrs. Underwood uses â€Å"Nathaniel† because that’s his name, but it’s also his birth name. Bartimaeus hears it and thinks it’s his second name, but in the study, Mr. Underwood schedules a day for his official Naming. Bartimaeus is thrilled to hear this because whatever punishment Nathaniel uses, he can just direct it back at Nathaniel. Nathaniel threatens with a spell that confides Bartimaeus in a tin and Bartimaeus eventually backs down.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A couple of days after Nathaniel was Named, Mr. Underwood, family, Named apprentices, and other ministers are invited to Parliament for a gathering. Now Nathaniel is officially name John Mandrake. At the gathering, an attack is carried out by a group of people that call themselves the Resistance. The Head of Internal Affairs, Mr. Underwood, is really upset about this attack because he is supposed to be in charge of the finding and stopping the Resistance.

Once More to the Lake

During his vacation White notices that although the arrival to the lake was deferent, as well as the boats which were on the lake, the lake Itself had not changed at all. The commute to the lake had changed from what E. B. White had originally experienced as a child. The trip to the lake was now a completely new experience. Originally, getting to the lake was a long, highly anticipated Journey, starting with the train station and loading luggage onto horse buggies which would take them on a ten mile trip leading to the lake. The anticipation would grow as the carriage got closer to the lake.Coming over the last hill to see the lake and other campers cheering for your arrival was full of excitement. Now, there was no train station and there was no carriage ride. The excitement had been diminished by the newer paved road which led to within one half mile of the lake. The road now was the cause of campers to pull right up to their camp and unload in a quick amount of time and without be ing detected by fellow campers. Another change which had transpired was the updates of the camp Itself. The path to the lake was not the only one that had changed through the years.Walking three tracks in the road, but two. There used to be a middle track that was made by the horses pulling the carriages of people to dinner at the restaurant. Now, the path no longer was one for horses. Also, the store's parking lot used to be dirt and gravel, but is now paved for customers driving their cars to buy â€Å"manufactured drinks† rather than the root beer and birch beer White would buy when he was a child. Change was expected by E. B. White, but the one change he did not enjoy was the motor boats cruising across the water of the lake.Their newer designs with the outboard motors were unsettling to White and disturbed the peacefulness of the lake. The older boats had an inboard motor which was a much softer, relaxing sound which aided in the relaxation of a summer vacation. Even the way the boats were operated had changed as well. The older boats were not equipped with reverse, so landing the boat at the dock required a more sense of confidence, so you didn't crash into the dock with a speedy approach. Though there were many changes, one thing had not changed and that is the lake itself.Through all the changes E. B. White still managed to grasp the feeling that time had not really passed by because the lake remained the same to him. It is the one thing that kept people returning. The smells of the lake, the activities done by people on the lake, the fish that swam in its water, the people and the people too all had remained as White once knew it. He is fishing with his son at one point and a dragonfly lands on the end of his fishing pole and he describes that moment as if no mime had passed since he went fishing with his own dad as a boy.Even the paddle boat they were fishing from was the same color and had the same details as he remembered as if it were the e xact boat he paddled in before. One of the afternoons of their week-long stay a thunderstorm came and sent everyone returning to their camp. There White watched the storm come in Just as he had before. It was a fascinating spectacle for him to see the lightning, hear the thunder, and watch the rain fall on the lake as the storm moved on. As the storm left, people would come ace out to the lake in their swimsuits to swim in the rain. Once More to the Lake During his vacation White notices that although the arrival to the lake was deferent, as well as the boats which were on the lake, the lake Itself had not changed at all. The commute to the lake had changed from what E. B. White had originally experienced as a child. The trip to the lake was now a completely new experience. Originally, getting to the lake was a long, highly anticipated Journey, starting with the train station and loading luggage onto horse buggies which would take them on a ten mile trip leading to the lake. The anticipation would grow as the carriage got closer to the lake.Coming over the last hill to see the lake and other campers cheering for your arrival was full of excitement. Now, there was no train station and there was no carriage ride. The excitement had been diminished by the newer paved road which led to within one half mile of the lake. The road now was the cause of campers to pull right up to their camp and unload in a quick amount of time and without be ing detected by fellow campers. Another change which had transpired was the updates of the camp Itself. The path to the lake was not the only one that had changed through the years.Walking three tracks in the road, but two. There used to be a middle track that was made by the horses pulling the carriages of people to dinner at the restaurant. Now, the path no longer was one for horses. Also, the store's parking lot used to be dirt and gravel, but is now paved for customers driving their cars to buy â€Å"manufactured drinks† rather than the root beer and birch beer White would buy when he was a child. Change was expected by E. B. White, but the one change he did not enjoy was the motor boats cruising across the water of the lake.Their newer designs with the outboard motors were unsettling to White and disturbed the peacefulness of the lake. The older boats had an inboard motor which was a much softer, relaxing sound which aided in the relaxation of a summer vacation. Even the way the boats were operated had changed as well. The older boats were not equipped with reverse, so landing the boat at the dock required a more sense of confidence, so you didn't crash into the dock with a speedy approach. Though there were many changes, one thing had not changed and that is the lake itself.Through all the changes E. B. White still managed to grasp the feeling that time had not really passed by because the lake remained the same to him. It is the one thing that kept people returning. The smells of the lake, the activities done by people on the lake, the fish that swam in its water, the people and the people too all had remained as White once knew it. He is fishing with his son at one point and a dragonfly lands on the end of his fishing pole and he describes that moment as if no mime had passed since he went fishing with his own dad as a boy.Even the paddle boat they were fishing from was the same color and had the same details as he remembered as if it were the e xact boat he paddled in before. One of the afternoons of their week-long stay a thunderstorm came and sent everyone returning to their camp. There White watched the storm come in Just as he had before. It was a fascinating spectacle for him to see the lightning, hear the thunder, and watch the rain fall on the lake as the storm moved on. As the storm left, people would come ace out to the lake in their swimsuits to swim in the rain.

All about russia

Every society in the world with its embolic powers of coexistence with the nature’s upheavals and society’s turbulence is always on the move towards growth and development for assuring the maintenance for the generation next. This typical feature of the Society is its Character by which it is recognized. This Character is further determined by the interaction of traditional culture, its Land and its social and political tendencies, which since centuries are digging deeper roots in the consciousness of the citizens and their intellectual attitude towards life and society.In 989 when St. Vladimir accepted Christianity, Russia took its first step forward to take over the heritage of Constantinopole. Again in 1453, when New Rome of Constantinopole had fallen to Turks, Moscow emerged as a â€Å"Third Rome† and the Soviet Union after taking its own course became a new synthesis of the dialectic of history and its Duke became the â€Å"Tsar of All the Russians†. The history of Russia begins with the East Slavs, an ethnic group, which was eventually split into Russia, Ukrainian and Belarusians.This group emerged from the Vikings who were the barbarian tribes and illiterate pagans indulged in the activity of raping and pillaging, but they were technologically quite advanced and had stable organizational set up. These Vikings entered the Black sea through the Russian river systems known as â€Å"Varangians† (from their name in Slavic, now Varyag in Russian), but when they settled in the area, they came to be known as Rus. Primary Chronicle even says that, â€Å"These particular Varangians were known as Russes. † (Ross, Successors of Rome: Russia, 862-Present, Grand Princes of Kiev, Para.1). Kievan Rus was the first East Salvic state that was converted to Christianity in 988(Online, Russian Church Architecture) and they brought with it the Cyrillic alphabet, which got authenticity by the Soviet Union along with the other unrelated languages like the Turkish of Central Asia. Poland and the Baltic States brought Latin alphabet characteristic of Francia and the Jews of Poland wrote Yiddish in the Hebrew alphabet. And with the passing time, the small nations of the Caucasus like the Armenians and Georgians started using their own alphabets.(Ross, Successors of Rome: Russia, 862-Present, Introduction, Para. 2) After the 13th century, Moscow became the vast cultural centre and by 18th century, the Grand Duchy of Moscow formed the huge Russian Empire, stretching from Poland towards the Pacific Ocean. By 19th century, development in the Western Countries created an incredible influence on the Russia, which led Russian regime to make the way for reforms for the overall growth and development. As a result, Russian serfdom was abolished in 1861 but it proved to be fruitless for the peasants that led to the building of revolutionary pressures.With the abolishment of Serfdom and the beginning of World War I in 1914, Russ ia saw numerous changes in the economy and politics. The most prominent reform was the reform of Stolypin agrarian reforms, which transferred the archaic obshchina form of Russian agriculture towards more progressive and capitalist oriented form of agriculture, giving private ownership rights to the farmers, second was the First constitution of 1906 which was also known as fundamental laws and was enacted on April 23rd, thirdly there was the establishment of State Duma.A State duma constituted one of the several representative assemblies of modern Russia. These reforms brought about numerous changes in economy and even in the politics of Russia, but still the autocratic rule of the Tsars did not vanish completely and the result was the Russian Revolution in 1917. There were two revolutions in Russia: First Revolution was the overthrowing of the Tsar and formation of the Provisional Government and the other was the October revolution in which Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Gove rnment.The life in Russia during Revolution saw the immense change and uncertainty. On one hand cities and industries were mushrooming whereas on the other hand there was great level of uncertainties. Rural population began to migrate more and more towards the Industrially centered areas, middle class of white-collar employees, businessmen, and professionals like doctors, lawyers, teachers, journalists, engineers, etc. were on the rise. Nobles too were undergoing through different stages, finding ways to adjust themselves in this changing economy.Two types of classes emerged- proletarians and capitalists, who were divided along the lines of status, gender, age, ethnicity, and belief. There was emergence of different groups- migrating peasants, worker intellectuals, gentry professionals etc. which changed the whole texture of the life of people inculcating themselves into the world of materialism. This rapid industrialization led to the over crowding of the urban areas and poor condi tions for urban industrial workers.A new proletariat was formed between 1890 and 1910 due to the increase in the population of the St Petersburg and Moscow from 1,033,600 to 1,905,600. Thus there was unrest everywhere which was the ground enough for the Russian revolution to fuel. The Russian revolution brought the coalition of liberals and moderate socialists to power on the one hand and then Communist Bolsheviks on the other. Between 1922 and 1991, there was the beginning of the new era in the history of Russia when Soviet Union came into existence, a union that held the roots of ideological thoughts and perceptions.The beginning of the post-Stalinist in 1919’s saw the growth of media and intervention of TV and radio programs in its vicinity, which led to the real awakening among the Russians in all the social, political and economic spheres. Stalinism with this Marxism and Leninism approach replaced the New Economic Policy (NEP) in the year 1920 with Five Year Plans of 192 8 and collective farming, which by the end of 1930 led the Soviet Union to be emerged as the major Industrial power in the world, but this had adverse effect on the peasants due to the collective policy and the repressive measures of the Government.The repressions and political, social and economical upheavels led to the â€Å"era of stagnation† in the 1980s. But by the late 1980s, the weaknesses in the economic and political structures led the Communist leaders to embark upon the major reforms, resulting in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Russian Federation. By the mid of 1990 when Yeltsin came to power he adopted most unpopular Yegor Gaidar’s shock therapy for putting an end to the price controls, cutting in state spending, and starting of the open foreign trade regime in early 1992.These reforms were the blow to the living standards of most of its citizens, especially for the groups who were enjoying the benefits of Soviet-era state-control led wages and prices, state subsidies, and welfare entitlement programs and consequently Russia suffered an economic downturn much more severe than the United States or Germany had undergone six decades earlier during the Great Depression. On the other hand these economic reforms opened the doors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for the largest and fastest privatization in the world.The big enterprises were acquired by the old managers, leading to criminal mafias and Western investors, and at the bottom level there was inflation, unemployment, prostitution, and crime. Tax revenues had collapsed and Russia's economy was further plunged into the Financial crises in 1998. Russian Economy again recovered in 1999, due to the increase in the world price of oil and gas. (Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Russian Federation, para. 5) By 2000, Yeltsin gave his resignation, and gave the reigns of the government to the Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin.The whole of the character of th e Russian Industry was dependent on the combined efforts from the various spheres of economy. Russia did not rely on the European powers but leaped towards the development on its own efforts, the separate branches made tremendous progress, which rose with extraordinary speed especially between the first revolution and the war and made the Russian historians say, â€Å"We must abandon the legend of backwardness and slow growth. † When the war was at its peak the tzarist Russia had prospered to considerable degree; as for every one hundred square kilometres of land, Russia had, at the time of war, 0.4 kilometers of railroads, Germany 11. 7, Austria-Hungary 7. (Trotsky, Peculiarities of Russia’s Development, Para. 17). The Financial Institutions had also developed in Russia to implement the growth of Industrial Revolution but the heavy industries such as metal, coal and oil were all under the control of foreign finance capital, which had created auxiliary and intermediate system of banks in Russia, and it was true for light industries also. The other nations were holding 40 per cent of the stock capital of Russia, but in the leading branches of industry this percentage was much higher.The Russian industry even influenced the social character of the Russian bourgeoisie and its political physiognomy and the concentration of the industries meant that there was no hierarchy of transitional layers between the capitalist leaders and the popular masses, but the ownership of the foreign hands led to un-stability. All these factors along with the concentrated oppressions of tzarism led the Russian workers towards the revolutionary thoughts. Russia at the onslaught of the twentieth century had a population of about 150 million, out of whom more than 3 million were in Petrograd and Moscow, from which emerged social differences.From the artisans and independent peasants of the army of Cromwell and through the sansculottes of Paris – to the industrial pro letarians of St. Petersburg, the revolution deeply changed its social mechanism methods, and its aims. (Trotsky, Peculiarities of Russia’s Development, Para. 24). Thus this Russian Revolution made the tzarism to fall and the bourgeoisie became economically more powerful. In the beginning, the Russian revolution was called as the democratic revolution but caused the problem of political democracy.Once Vladimir Lenin says, â€Å"If you have no opportunity to implement the proclaimed slogans, revoke them! And in fact the Bolsheviks lacked the skill to do that† (Birshtein, Russian Character In The Aspect Of Reflexive Comprehension, Para. 27) Russia’s character now lies in its perusal of regional policies for nationalistic, strategic and for the development of economic resources, but there never emerged the need for reducing regional and income disparities in the standard of living of the people.Even Lenin said once, â€Å"Russian Empire was a â€Å"prison-house of nations† but so was the Soviet Union and so is the Russian Federation of today†. (Watkins, Economy of Russia, para. 1) Russia by now is not just a geographical space but its citizens by inheriting their ancient traditions have cultivated new behavioral and spiritual moulds. The number of Billionaires has grown up-to 53, which makes Russia in the third place of Forbis list with billionaires of the world. Russia is also the second biggest Oil manufacturer after Saudi Arabia. The estimated growth rate of Russia is 6.6% in 2006 and now above 6%. Its foreign debt is totaled 8% of the GNP but it is also true that majority of the Russian population is crushing under the poverty line, there is hindrance in the expression of civil liberties, centralization of power and decline of all societal values. (Stanfel, Social Unrest In The Land Of Billionaires, Para. 6) On one hand there is an upsurge of Billionaires whereas on the other hand for common citizens, life in Russia is a stru ggle. Even though there is a considerable reduction of the inflation rate it is still on the higher rate, which goes up-to nine percent a year.The average salary of the citizen amounts to half the average salary in Croatia. Russian peasants are below the poverty line whereas Billionaires are using expensive yachts to cross the rivers because of the slow traffic on the roads. (Stanfel, Social Unrest In The Land Of Billionaires, Para. 8. ) Looking at the social life in the 20th century, and with the advent of the new technology in Media and cultural affairs it was analyzed by the Intellectuals that the role of Media could exert a negative impact on the social ideologies and evolution of human beings in capitalist and socialist countries.The advocates of the socialist ideologies consider that the penetration of western social ideas and artistic values into the minds of Soviet people can lead the Soviet youth towards the violence and pornography of bourgeois pop-art which has started sp reading like wild fire and is taking the rich culture of Russia in its vicinity. As expressed by Ashin: â€Å"one who approaches the analysis of `mass culture' predominantly from the assumption about its content and social functions is compelled to deny it in the conditions of socialism†.(Yerofeyev, Youth and The System of Cultural Reproduction: Rethinking the Critique of Mass Culture in the Soviet Union†, Para. 6) Thus, in the past ten years, the life of Russia has considerably changed in all the economic, political and cultural spheres. The contemporary younger generation Russians are growing up in a pluralistic, westernized society and does not recognize themselves with the totalitarian government and are following the free market rules in all their business activities.The biggest group of Russians participated in the democratization and glasnost movement. The oldest group are finding themselves outplace and with communism enshrined in their blood, they are more cons ervatives and are finding very difficult to adjust to the fast pace Russia. The changes in the business arena also are going on at a rapid pace but there is no clear-cut rule. Younger generation is not allowing the rule of central planning and bureaucratic structure to enter in economic field and on the other hand the older generations are against capitalist way of thinking.Though it is a Patriarchy society, women are making their mark felt in the economic development in the large numbers though they have to involve themselves in the domestic chores. They can work, own property and sign contracts. The soul of Russia is hospitality of its people. Their openness and friendliness with which they welcome the strangers cannot be forgotten in the generations ahead. (Olga Ivanova-Nuss and Katrin Franz, People and Life in Contemporary Russia, Para. 8-10).Thus the character of Russia as said by classical philosophical thinker Nikolai Berdyaev (1874-1948), who was persecuted in Soviet Russia and was emigrated in 1922 to Berlin and then to Paris said that the spiritual structure of the Russian people is their attribute towards the Westernization, basically Russia is the Christian East. â€Å"This contradiction-filled nature of the Russian soul was determined by the complexity of the Russian historical destiny, collision and antagonism of the Eastern and Western elements in it†¦.Among the Russian â€Å"the nature† is a spontaneous force stronger than among the Western people†. (Birshtein, Russian Character In the Aspect of Reflexive comprehension, Para. 20) WORKS CITED 1. Birshtein I. B â€Å"Russian Character In The Aspect Of Reflexive Comprehension† Internet (2003) Available: http://72. 14. 235. 104/search? q=cache:P-QWqYb3dXMJ:www. reflexion. ru/Library/EBirshtein2003. doc+development+of+Russian+character+through+ages&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=in&ie=UTF-8, April 26, 2007 2. Ivanova-Nuss Olga & Franz katrin, â€Å"People and Life in Contemporary R ussia,† Internet Available:http://216. 239. 59. 104/search? q=cache:lTkoqb_4BF8J:www. culturalawareness. com/Newsletter-2002-04. pdf+Social+life+of+Russia&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=in, April 26, 2007 3. Kaboub Fadhel â€Å"A Rising Tide Cannot Lift All Boats† Internet (February 2001) Available: http://f. students. umkc. edu/fkfc8/RisingTide. html, April 26, 2007 4. Reuters, Javno. com â€Å"Russia-Berezovsky: Tycoon Stands by Threat to Topple Putin† Internet Available: http://www. javno. com/en/world/clanak. php? id=35911, April 26, 2007 5. Ross L. Kelley, â€Å"Successors of Rome: Russia, 862-Present† Internet (1999) Available:http://www. friesian. com/russia. htm, April 26, 2007 6. Stanfel Nikolina, â€Å"A New Revolution? † Internet (March 11, 2007) Available: http://www. javno. com/en/world/clanak. php? id=25573, April 26, 2007 7. Trotsky Leon, â€Å"Peculiarities of Russia’s Development† Volume One: The Overthrow of Tzarism, The Histo ry of the Russian Revolution ONLINE VERSION: Translated by Max Eastman, 1932, Transcribed for the W. W. W by John Gowland (Australia), Alphanos Pangas (Greece) and David Walters (United States) 1997 through 2000 Internet (Updated:15. 4. 2007) Available: http://www. marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1930/hrr/ch01. htm, April 26, 2007 8. Watkins Thayer, â€Å"The Economic History and Economy of Russia† Internet. Available: http://www. sjsu. edu/faculty/watkins/russia. htm, April 26, 2007 9. Wikipedia Encyclopedia, â€Å"History of Russia† Internet (Last Updated: 24 April 2007) Available: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/History_of_Russia, April 26, 2007 10. Yerofeyev Sergey, â€Å"Youth and The System of Cultural Reproduction: Rethinking the Critique of Mass Culture in the Soviet Union† Internet Available: http://lucy. ukc. ac. uk/csacpub/russian/yerofeyev. html

Studies on Employee Satisfaction

With the increased competition, fast-paced environment and globalization efforts, companies are finding that they need the support of their employees more than ever. However, the new breed of personnel wants more than pay as a benefit. They are increasingly being motivated by other factors such as greater involvement with business decisions. Recent studies are researching ways that successful organizations are encouraging positive employee morale despite ongoing business changes. Full employee participation is required for any organizational change to succeed. Joint development of programs gives people ownership and the motivation to ensure the support of the change process. At SmithKline Beecham and Levi Strauss, for example, the strategy is view employees as business partners (Reid, 2004, p. 40). Some of the ways that Beecham and Strauss are instituting change include: 1) An emphasis on values as well as goals, since employees want to know how the organization expects to meet the desired results; 2) Along with #1, encourage joint goal setting that leads to greater involvement and dialogue. Joint goal setting can be a powerful motivator (Reid, 2004, p. 40). 3) Support anonymous real-time feedback through the Internet or the traditional suggestion boxes. 4) In tandem with #3, respond to feedback to let employees know their ideas have been heard. 5) Test and reward new ideas and response to challenges; 6) See employee involvement as an ongoing process that builds over time, rather than a one-shot deal; and 7) Continually review the goals established to see what headway is being made and changes needed. Survey employees regularly to measure whether needs are being met and the degree of interest in the company's success. Employee specialist Joel Schettler also notes the importance of updating training that in many cases still treats personnel as â€Å"grist for the mill† (2003, p. 56). Training programs should be cast as enhancing a right rather than negating a wrong. Employee motivation and incentives and training programs must go hand-in-hand to become an effective tool in today's environment. Training should also develop teamwork and foster pride in one's work. Pay-for-performance approaches bring only short-term, skin-deep results. When an employees' emotional involved, unexpected positive results occur. Arnett (2002, p. 87) stresses that companies are always putting an emphasis on external marketing programs when they should be marketing their internal customers, â€Å"the employees,† as well. He argues that a successful internal-marketing strategy can enhance both job satisfaction, organizational pride and positive employee behavior that is characterized by a commitment to customer service, cooperation with other employees, and to the company. Looking at the research that has thus far been conducted on employee motivation, Arnett (2002, p. 88) says that the effects of employee satisfaction have been researched extensively, but not the effect of pride. In a study, he hypothesized that both job satisfaction and pride are important variables that managers can use to encourage employees to engage in desired behavior. Further, developing a good relationship with employees is a precursor to building a good relationship with customers. Specifically, the study looked at job satisfaction, or an employee's general affective evaluation of his or her job; pride, an emotion that is crucial to understanding human behavior that is derived from both self-appraisals and others' opinions and represents a belief that one is competent and viewed positively by others; role clarity, where employees are clear about the scope and responsibilities of their job; a reward system where employees know they will be measure on how well they perform their duties and that positive performance brings rewards; work environment that is pleasing and offers rewarding experiences; managers that provide the proper training, listen to employees and are fair; an organization that promotes its performance to employees so they know they are a part of that performance; and activities that foster positive employee behavior and the well-being of the organization. Arnett (2004) developed a questionnaire that was responded to by 860. The majority of the respondents had been with the organization for between 1 and 5 years, 26 percent had been with the corporation less than one year, and the remaining 3 percent had been with the company for over five years. Most respondents were hourly employees, 9 percent were supervisors, 4 percent were salaried non-management employees, and 4 percent were managers. The results showed that job satisfaction and pride have the desired goal of promoting positive employee behavior. Three factors seem especially critical to building job satisfaction among employees–role clarity, the work environment, and employees' evaluations of managers' performance. Employees who believed they had a clear understanding of what it took to do their job were more likely to be satisfied. Therefore, employers should try to ensure that employees have a clear understanding of their responsibilities and expectations. Interestingly, the employees' evaluation of the reward system did not influence their job satisfaction. However, the researchers feel this is not an indication that employees do not care about the reward systems in their organizations. Instead, it may be an indication that other factors are more important for changing employee behavior. The results do support the proposition that the work environment affects job satisfaction. Therefore, organizations should not focus solely on the guests' environment, but should also examine that used by their employees as well. Employee evaluations of managers is related positively to job satisfaction, so managers should monitor the perceptions that employees have of the management team and make changes as necessary. In fact, the workers' evaluation of managers is most important to job satisfaction; role clarity is the next most important, followed by work environment. The study also showed that job satisfaction effected pride positively. Employees who were the most satisfied with their jobs exhibited the most pride in their organizations. Therefore, we suggest that job satisfaction influences employee behavior. Second, it affects positive employee behavior indirectly by encouraging, pride in the organization, which then leads to positive employee behavior. The results support the fact that employees' evaluation of managers has a positive effect on pride in the organization, as well. The Arnett research concluded that both job satisfaction and pride in the organization are important factors that influence employee behavior. Therefore, organizations that wish to promote positive behavior in their employees should focus on both of these factors. Although many organizations have specific programs and procedures designed to improve employee satisfaction, fewer organizations make a concerted effort to increase employee pride. Our results suggest that more organizations should focus on improving employee pride. What these above studies demonstrate is that if a company wants to encourage positive change and employee behavior, they need to look at other factors than pay and other material incentives. Although these will always continue to part of an employee incentive package, it is also necessary to reward personnel with the knowledge that their feedback and involvement are important to the company's success.

Legalization of Medical Marijuana in United States Essay

Legalization of Medical Marijuana in United States - Essay Example The medical use of marijuana can be dated long back in the world history of medicine. It has been found to be used in several countries and cultures to relieve chronic pain and in the treatment of various ailments like asthma, nausea, migraine, hypertension, anxiety, insomnia, epilepsy and even cancer. But the wide use of marijuana as the recreational drug was also common historically. The active ingredient in marijuana, the delta-tetrahydrocannabinol, was found to boost mood, perception, and consciousness. This property of marijuana resulted in controversy related to the legalization of its use. The critics argue that legalization of marijuana may provoke its use for recreational purpose rather than medical purpose. Some critics also disagree with the medical benefits of marijuana. The current paper concentrates on the issue of legalization of the medical use marijuana focusing on the pros and cons of its use and on the medical, government and legal approaches regarding the controve rsy.The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes was common historically. Its earliest written evidence was found in Chinese literature from fifteenth century B.C. Several articles were published in medical journals regarding the therapeutic use of marijuana. The modern phase of therapeutic use of cannabis began about 140 years ago when reports on its effectiveness as an analgesic and anticonvulsant were found. At about the same time its use in melancholia and other psychiatric illnesses was also demonstrated.

Korean War (Truce Talks and POWs) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Korean War (Truce Talks and POWs) - Essay Example Both sides waged a protracted conflict for over 4 years during which the frontlines kept shifting to and fro. The advance of the US to the Chinese border alarmed the latter to such an extent that it forced Chinese forces to intervene directly into the conflict. Sensing an opportunity, the Soviet Union agreed to the request of Zhou Enlai and provided support in the form of military hardware and logistics. Despite numerous difficulties and overstretched supply lines, the Chinese fought a prolonged campaign. For its part, the US was successful in inflicting numerous casualties on the Chinese and North Korean side, but was unable to force them to the negotiating table. Both sides gradually realized that it was impossible to dislodge the other and began contemplating negotiations. Initial negotiations began in 1951 and continued up to the day of the armistice agreement in 1953. Both sides engaged in combat alongside as a way to force the other to agree to their terms or soften their stand . Despite being technologically advanced, the allied could not consolidate their initial gains and were pushed back time and again past the infamous 38th parallel line. There were also major issues with repatriation of PoWs (Prisoners of War). While the Communist North wanted total repatriation of their soldiers, the allies insisted on leaving the ultimate decision to the PoWs themselves. Forceful tactics including bombing of Pyongyang could not force the North Koreans to scale down on this issue. For its part, the North Koreans also engaged in frequent smear campaigns against the US and accused it of trespassing the De-militarized zone (DMZ) by complaining to the United Nations. North Korea held over 15,000 PoWs while the Allies held over 15,000 PoWs consisting of North Korean and Chinese soldiers. While there is clear evidence that the allies treated their PoWs in a fair manner, the North Koreans on the other hand perpetrated massive war crimes on their prisoners. Apart from confi ning them in overcrowded camps under inhospitable conditions, the Communists also tortured and executed many of their prisoners. Allied PoWs were also starved besides being brain washed with Communist ideologies. While almost all of North Korean PoWs were repatriated after the armistice agreement, less then 10,000 allied prisoners ever made out of North Korea. The agreement has only resulted in a ceasefire, which has remained in existence ever since. Both nations continue to exist in a state of war with the border (DMZ) evolving into one of the most heavily militarized zones in the world. While South Korea has developed rapidly into a capitalist economy, North Korea has relegated into a secluded nation that depends extensively on material aid from China to feed its population. Both continue to engage in smaller skirmishes with frequent exchange of fire on a daily basis, thus keeping the situation