Light in August Essay Example for Free

Light in August Essay William Faulkner’s celebrated novel Light in August says the tale of an orphan Joe Christmas, who has an unknown or doubtful ancestry who considers himself to be part-black. The novel includes excellent themes that involve issues of gender, race, community and religion. The capture of the racist identity and the portrayal of Calvinistic religion are the main features of the novel. Light in August is one of the best works of William Faulkner. The story starts with Lena Grove, a helpless pregnant girl (from Alabama) who set out of her house in search of her unborn baby’s father Lucas Burch. Lucas Burch had actually escaped from Lena so that he need not bear the burden of fatherhood. Lena’s hunting for Lucas Burch make her reach another man with the same name Byron Bunch. He was a simple man who makes friendship with Lena and later falls in love with her. Byron was kindhearted and provided Lena with home and security that the actual Byron Bunch (the child’s father) could not provide. After that we can see Byron narrating his feelings for Lena to the former Presbyterian minister Rev. Gail Hightower who was pushed to withdraw from his ministry as his wife committed suicide. In the middle of this strange story between Lena Grove and Lucas Burch, there appears Joe Christmas the roommate of Lucas Burch. He was an orphan working in the planing mill like Byron Bunch. The word ‘Christmas’ was added to his name as it was on the day of Christmas that he reached the orphanage. Christmas was also not sure about his ancestry as he wandered across in search of his lineage; a voyage for self-discovery. Christmas’ journey led him to Jefferson, Mississippi where he falls in a dangerous relation with Joanna Burden spinsterish civil rights activist. This affair led him to grave destruction. The most interesting theme of Light in August is the Southern issue with racial identity. Joe is mistreated and humiliated as people suspect that he has a black ancestry. They never him the way they treat white people (Dondlinger, 98-125). We can find in Light in August that majority of the characters are influenced by the notion of race disparity. For example, Joanna Burden, Joe Christmas, Doc Hines, Nathaniel Burde and lastly Percy Grimm are some or the other way influenced by the concept of race (Towner, 45-65). Some of the characters become victims of the senseless racial classification and suffer. Others who are out of this threat believe that there is nothing wrong in treating blacks inhumanly on the basis of racial difference. Racial discrimination is quite acceptable for them (Dondlinger, 98-125). For example The Jefferson sheriff, Watt Kennedy appears to be a decent man. However we can see him punishing a randomly chosen black person in an unwanted investigation (appeared unwanted at first). Similarly several other characters are found to be under the grip of the notion of race. Gender also plays a crucial role in the novel Light in August. Male-female identity and relations is an important topic. For example, we can find Joe being hostile to women. Lena’s baby’s father Lucas Burch also ran away from his pregnant wife; he was also fleeing away from women. Byron Bunch also did not have any plans to marry and was living a lonely life till Lena comes. He was adjusting his life in such a way that he could continue living alone. Rev. Gail Hightower also do not have a good fellowship with women as he led his wife to suicide. Another character Joanna Burden does not even marry. However we can find that the author never attempts to contrast the lonely life of these unfortunate characters with any happy or satisfied normal family or love relationships until the novel reaches the last chapter. We can see that the marriage of Hines and McEachern was also not a happy one. Moreover the Armstids also do not appear to have any love among them. Finally it appears to come to a happy end when Byron Bunch moves away with Lena Grove. But disappointment suddenly comes in she refuses him to share her bed. That relation also seems to be failure. The only relationship that appears to be happy is the relationship of the furniture dealer and his wife. They only had a relationship that had any trace of happiness or satisfaction.

Romeo And Juliet Movie Adaptations

Romeo And Juliet Movie Adaptations Visualize guns firing, convertible cars speeding down the freeway and families (that are more like gangs) feuding. These two families loath each others very existence. The very cause of the guns firing is the pure hatred built up inside of the members like a caged tiger eyeing its escape. The scene built in your head is probably that of the Fast and the Furious. In reality what I am describing is a scene from the classic Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeaeres play are represented in many different ways, each producer altering the script to add their own flair. While the play is typically placed in 13th century Italy, Baz Luhrmann took a very unusual, yet correct, approach to his 1996 production of Romeo and Juliet. I say correct because Shakespeares plays never truly have a set script and were written in a way for the reader to interpret them how they feel fit. There never was a final Romeo and Juliet, a single authoritative or authorial version of the play. There were only versions, from the start (Hodgdon 203). Modernizing the classic, Luhrmann set the play in the 1990s. Weaponry such as swords were replaced by guns manufactured by the company Sword as well as transportation changed from horses to convertible cars. While these details of time were altered, the characters lines stayed in their original Elizabethan English form. While this may appear odd for the setting, Shakespeares plays were intended to be performed in typical clothes of the time. Therefore, when his men acted they wore clothes that a typical individual would have worn. Baz Luhrmann used this idea and created his own version that had the character in typical clothes of the 1990s. The vital information was kept intact for the play and even though the props were greatly altered the film is most definitely a correct form of Romeo and Juliet. One may look at the Baz Luhrmann version and think that it is a polar opposite to film that Franco Zeffirelli directed in 1968. Although Zeffirellis film took place in the 1400s there are multiple changes from the play to his production. His changes are far more subtle than Luhrmanns so the typical viewer may not notice them at all. But in reality, there were major cuts made from the play. Actually, Zeffirelli may have altered the script more substantially than Baz Lurhmann. Zeffirellis production has multiple instances where whole scenes are altered with the complete removals of large portions of lines. For example, Lord Paris never dies in his movie. Zeffirelli completely deleted the fight between Romeo and Paris in act 5 scene 3 instead he skipped to Romeo entering the tomb of the Capulets. Also in the play, it is let known that Lady Montague dies of a broken heart which is never acknowledged. In fact, Lady Montague is seen later on in the film during the funerals of Romeo and Jul iet. When looking at the big picture, these scenes do not change the overall outcome of the play which justifies their exclusion. Another scene that was altered resulted in the removal of a character entirely. Apothecary, the infamous character that sells the poison to Romeo against his will because he needs the money is completely cut. Instead Romeo takes off on his horse to Verona with the potion already in his possession. Where he got the potion is not disclosed to the audience. The flow of the film was kept intact by removing this scene. Instead of slowing the rising drama by making Romeo and a new character have a conversation; Zeffirelli opted to rush act 5 scene 2 which kept his audience interested. The editing of this scene did not stop there, and Act 5 scene 2 is actually far different from the original scripts. As seen in the film, Friar John simply takes too long on his journey to Mantua allowing Balthazar to pass him and tell Romeo the false news. There is no mention of a quar antine slowing his progress, which had been the explanation given by Shakespeares play script. Recall Mercutios death. If you simply watched Zeffirellis production you would see nothing peculiar with the scene. Mercutio dies in Romeos arms and questions Romeos intentions when coming between him and Tybalt. This never occurred in the book. Franco Zeffirelli chose to have Mercutio die in the presence of Romeo while the script had Mercutio and Benvolio leaving then Benvolio rushed over to Romeo to inform him of the unfortunate news. Why change the scene? Most likely this adaptation was used to simplify the scene and to add emotion. The presence of Romeo personalizes Mercutios death, adding drama for the audience. The most common change in both films is the deletion or reduction of lines. By reducing the length of the characters lines, viewers sustain their interest and do not have as much trouble deciphering what the characters are actually saying. The point is that the acting text of a play always was different from the written textà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Shakespeare habitually began with more than he needed (Hodgdon 203-4). By cutting down the script, the story becomes more understandable to the audience. This method is quite often in both the Luhrmann and Zeffirelli versions of Romeo and Juliet. In the final scene of the play, Juliet commits suicide to be with Romeo in heaven. Prior to her killing herself, she has a lengthy sequence of lines that Zeffirelli reduced to the simple line, Love give me strength. Juliets Reduction is the most noticeable of the line cuts where others are very minor adjustments for the audiences understanding. One aspect of movies that is very influential in the performance is music and sound effects. The tone of individual scenes is set by the music. Early in Zeffirellis version the music was slow and very calm because the level of action was low. This set a calming atmosphere for Romeo to talk about his problems with love and Rosaline. As fights break out and the drama surrounding Romeo and Juliets forbidden love, the music gradually takes on a frantic pace which emphasizes the growing issues of the story. Gloomy music that could make the whole crowd cry is used as the films credits begin rolling. This allows the viewer to understand the pain that each member of the Capulet and Montague family is feeling as Prince is addressing them. Notice though, that in that final scene while Prince is still talking, there is silence. The sudden absence of music puts a great deal of stress over what Prince is saying which signifies his words importance. Silence was used to grab the attention of the sp ectator because music had been used constantly and the silent background was abnormal. Music was a vital part of the presentation keying important lines and setting the mood. Baz Luhrmann also utilized music in his modern production of Romeo and Juliet in 1996. Used in similar ways,the addition of music illustrated the mood throughout each scene. Music as well as director editing make productions of Romeo and Juliet very diverse. They take on the personality of the director but overall maintain the most important details of the classic. There is no wrong way to interpret Romeo and Juliet because it was written to be interpreted in many different ways.

Causes and Effects of Absenteeism in Local Government (UK)

Causes and Effects of Absenteeism in Local Government (UK) 1.0- ABSTRACT Absenteeism can happen through authorised and unauthorised absence and these can be grouped into: situational, personal and attendance factors. Causes: headaches, hang-over cold flu, unchallenging jobs and poor management are common causes of absenteeism and managers generally suspicious of employees reasons for absenteeism. Effects: Unplanned absence is disorganising, frustrating and expensive for organisations. UK absenteeism rate in European is similar to Denmark, (see p11-12). Absenteeism is positively correlated with employee motivation and satisfaction. Combating absenteeism: absence can be minimised by providing challenging jobs, rewarding attendance and maintaining a zero tolerance to absence. Return-to-work interviews are empirically proven method of reducing absenteeism in local government. Adding, studying industries with lower absence rate may prove a useful tool for minimising absenteeism in local government. This report acknowledges that limitations such as privacy and Human Rights laws protects workers privacy from being invaded by organisations, HR managers ought to know there limitations. 2.0- INTRODUCTION Absenteeism is the avoidance of or failure to attend ones place of work hence unable to perform a contractual working obligation owing to absence. In other words, absenteeism is unplanned or planned absence created by an employee intentionally such as deliberately avoiding work through non-attendance for personal reasons or unintentionally like maternity leave, bereavement and ill-health. This research essay shall be confining the report to intentional or self created absenteeism which can be disruptive, expensive and difficult to manage, (Armstrong, 2006). Undoubtedly, this form of absenteeism is the worst nightmare of all managers because of having to deal with the same workload with limited workforces. According to Benington, (2000) site in (McHugh, 2001) the UK local government has become a ‘‘last chance saloon meaning failure to ‘put-up will require government takeover or privatisation. Furthermore, CBI, (2004) cited in Taylor (2005), acknowledged that absenteeism costs the UK government  £12 billion pounds yearly. Presenteeism is the opposite of absenteeism and it means ‘110% attendance with the view to impressing ones boss. The most regular mentioned ‘causes of absenteeism reported by employees especially in local government are: headaches, cold, flu, stress, back pain, food poisoning and family issues. It must be stated that other causes such as repetitive jobs, poor management, leadership, and organisational climate are factors. 3.0- LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1- CAUSES OF ABSENTEEISM Public sector absenteeism has attracted much research especially in the local government probably because of better monitoring systems such as extensive documentation than the private sector. Noteworthy is the fact that there are no universally agreed causes of absenteeism however; there are some regular cited ones are claimed to contribute to absenteeism. According to Taylor, (2005), a research company called My Voice asserted that 56% of employees admitted to taking a ‘sickie. That is calming absence from work under false pretence. Interestingly, the real reasons stipulated by the survey for the absence includes: hung-over, stress and hatred for the job itself. Consequently, managers are generally suspicious of employees claiming absence on sick grounds based on the above survey. It is an undeniable fact that such findings breeds mistrust between managers and their employees. Obviously, one can understand why managers might be frustrated by employees absence because it brings disorder to management plans and the execution of scheduled activities. Gennard, Judge, (2005) are of the view that death, paternity leave, inability to return from planned holidays and ‘ alleged sickness are the main causes of absenteeism. It is abundantly clear that bereavement does cause absenteeism but on limited scale however, this report is less concern with that form of absenteeism because it is natural rather than intentional. Paternity leave being a cause of absence might sound baffling however, this report maintains that paternity leave even though a planned absenteeism, might potential cause some form authorised absence for reasons like a sudden developments- such as mother falling sick, babys health, family and family visits and gatherings. This report maintains that the possibility of this form of absenteeism being abused is not unlikely. Adding, planned holidays might degenerate into unplanned absence due to certain unforeseen circumstances. This is likely to affect those who take holidays abroad. This form of unplanned absence might be caused by flight delays and cancellations due to political issues like wars and protest as happened in Thailand, natural disasters such as disease outbreak, for example the pandemic ‘‘H1N1 Swine Flu which first broke out in Mexico and for that matter the quarantine of infected victims had to be done, earthquakes as happened in Indonesia. According to Armstrong, (2006), the causes of absenteeism could be broadly attributed to three (3) factors namely: ‘Situational factors, Personal factors and Attendance factors: ‘Situational factors include the nature of the job itself; is it repetitive and boring or interesting and challenging enough? Obviously, a repetitive job may generate stress and job resentment. The sort of leadership and organisational climate employees operate under may generate absenteeism. While agreeing to some extend that these situational factors might generate absenteeism, it is worth acknowledging that some people hate change and will always struggle to maintain the status quo. These people may rather prefer doing a repetitive job than a challenging one. ‘Personal factors are: the worth of an employee, his or her personality, age and sex may contribute to an employee absence. This research report concedes to the fact that these stated factors are influencer of absenteeism in local government based on a valid research: Barmby et al, ‘survey (1999) cited in Taylor (2005), p316 recorded that men were unlikely to be absent from work than their female counterparts and even more profound was the fact that England has lower absenteeism than any were else in the UK. Quite obviously, the wage disparity across the UK has a lot to with it hence the lowest rate (absenteeism) in England than anywhere else in the UK. Lastly, attendance factors include; the sort of incentives allocated to rewarding good employee behaviour like regular attendance as well as sickness policies. It is an undeniable fact that most people respond positively to incentives and rewards both in kind and in cash. According to Jacqueline A.-M et al, (2003), the ‘psychological contract plays a significant role in contributing negatively or positively to employee performance and attitudes in the local government. Absenteeism is gradually gaining the publicity it deserves in the local government according to CBI, (1999); Local Government Auditor, 1999) cited in (McHugh, 2001). This report is of the view that organisations either private or the local government can no longer afford to remain in a vacuum but rather to face up to the challenges like the unpredictability of the marketing environment. This means all local governments and organisations are compelled to make the necessary savings they can get from all areas in order to survive in this aggressive but compelling marketing environment called ‘the survival of the fittest. In fact, there has never been a century that has imposed and forced change on all manner of organisations like the 21st century. The present business environment is one that constantly says keep changing or you will be made obsolete. Furthermore, Johansson, Palme, (2002) proposed that a positive attitude to ‘a short- term sickness and taxes encourages absenteeism. In other words, encouraging ‘nanny culture such as paying for sick leave encourages local government workers to take off sick for private reasons other than genuine sickness. In short, such policies however well intentioned may rather be taken for granted and instead abused. IDS, (2001b, pp2-3) cited in (Taylor 2005), p329 proposed that the public sector workers records higher absenteeism than the private sector because, there are less punitive measures taken against public servants than their private sector counterparts. This research lends support to some extend to the argument however, contrary to the point; local government organisations do take longer time to act due to bureaucracies but does not necessarily mean that punitive measures are not exercised in the public sector as claimed. Adding, this report supports the view that absenteeism is more prevalent in the private than the public sector. This is due to the fact that public employees receive better treatment and are valued fairly than their private sector counterparts (the psychological contract), (Jacqueline A.-M et al, 2003). This report observes that certain councils are renowned for recording high rate of absenteeism for instance, Northern Ireland councils than those in England, (McHugh, 2002). In summary, there are disparities between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as regards to absenteeism. And in Europe as a whole, the UK is not doing badly according UK government statistics. Also, it is an undeniable fact that poor record keeping encourages absenteeism. If organisations and for that matter local government organisations like the NHS, keeps up-to-date records of all employee absence, it would discourage absenteeism because most people hate being monitored. Proper documentation and monitoring of employee absence is likely to generate the needed attention absenteeism deserves leading to a collective action against the perpetrators of absenteeism. Conversely, it is not an exaggeration that the costs of keeping up-to-date information on employee attendance are expensive and complicated because of the technology involved such as biometric data collecting systems like the ‘Swipe in Swipe out, ‘phone book-ins and finger and hand scanning are expensive systems which are not without disadvantages. For instance, an employee may give his or her card to a colleague to wipe them in discretely and on the other hand, an employee may genuinely forget to swipe in and out. 3.2- EFFECTS OF ABSENTEEISM The effects of absenteeism are difficult to quantify though various researches have attempted valuing it. Absenteeism costs the UK government  £12 billion pounds yearly, (Taylor 2005). That figure can be a full year budget for most developing countries especially in Africa and Asia. Adding to the above, Davis, Geddes, (2000); Blair, (1998) cited in (McHugh, 2001), p43 was reported to have issued a warning to local councils to stop wasting local government funds by providing ‘value for money services by combating preventable issues like absenteeism. Quite earnestly, absenteeism is an avoidable cost which if managed properly has benefits for all organisations both public and private firms. The US economic is on record for losing $40 billion dollars a year on absenteeism, (Dalton, Mesch, 1991; Unckless et al 1998) mentioned in (Gaudine, Saks, 2001).That money is enough to provide employment for hundreds of people especially under this current economic turbulence. Another disadvantage of employee absence, despite it being costly for the local government is that it also disrupts management plans and decisions according to Armstrong, (2006). Managers are usually provided with a specification tasks with limited time-frame within which to report back to their superiors for assessment. Consequently, an unplanned absence may significantly affect managers flexibility, time and the speed at which the work and for that reason, may cause irritation for management as a whole. Lastly, an employees sudden absence may stir up negative feelings among his fellow work- colleagues. It is a convincing fact that more often, managers are unable to fill in or organise a quick replacement for an absent employee but rather, overburden their subordinates with the same magnitude of workload. Nevertheless, they (managers) still expect their workforce to deliver the same level of performance without considering the manpower shortage. Consequently, this leads to the development of hatred and resentment among work colleagues which is not healthy for the organisation and for that matter the local government because, synergy may be lost in the process (working against one another rather than as a team or 2+2=5). Is absenteeism a function of employee motivation or dissatisfaction breeds absenteeism? This research report argues that a good psychological employment contracts is a recipe for a better employee attitude as in the case of local government employment than the private sector (Jacqueline A.-M et al, 2003). Obviously most government jobs are fairly stable and permanent hence the issue of job security is guaranteed as opposed to the private sector. Moreover, Martocchio, (1994); Johns, Nicholson, (1992) cited in McHugh (2001, p44), claimed that an employees commitment and dedication are a function of his or her motivation in the organisation. This report shall concede to this fact because people generally response positively or otherwise to incentives and rewards depending on their situation (perception). Ehrenberg et al, (1991) claims that students absenteeism impact on their academic performance especially during examinations. Now, if this assertion is true then, one can justifiably maintain that employee absence affects their work in terms of quality, speed and concentration. CIPD, (2006), cited in (Torrington et al, 2008), p339 found that absenteeism was high in food and drink sector, and in local government; however, NGOs, Media and the leisure sector had lower absence rate. Arguably, it is not surprising that voluntary and leisure organisations had better attendance because they are satisfying jobs with high commitment and goal congruence. According to the CBI, (AXA, 2005) and (CIPD, 2005) mentioned in (Torrington et al, 2008), UK absence is similar to Denmarks but lower than Norway, Sweden and Finland. This statistics were rather surprising to because, these three countries above beaten by the UK are usually among the top 10 countries for quality living hence they should have beaten the UK. 3.3- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ABSENTEEISM AND MOTIVATION? Kass, et al, (2001) empirically concluded that unchallenging and uninteresting jobs profoundly determine the performance (poor) of an employee, their longevity in the organisation and even more importantly the frequency of absenteeism he or she exhibits. This reported utterly concedes to the above fact that boredom breeds laziness and the attitude of it because people who are boredom prone such as activists and kinaesthetic learners (hyperactive) performance may be hampered by unchallenging tasks and subsequently but inevitably lead to worker absenteeism. Interestingly, Wyatt, (1929) cited in (Kass, et al 2001, p318), concurred that performance, motivation and employee attitude to work are correlated (positively). This means that an employees performance is a function of the level of motivation he or she enjoys from the job. In other words, an unmotivated employee will obviously demonstrated a lackadaisical attitude to his or her job and for that matter the company. Furthermore, in Maslows theory, ‘man is an insatiably need driven animal who is always seeking for the fulfilment his or her present need but in a successive order of prominence, (Croft, Norton, 2005). Ultimately, Maslows needs theory shares light on employees behaviour in the sense that, it categorically emphasises studying and listening to the workforces in order to avoid being ‘out of touch and concluding that what motivates Mr. A will motivate Mr. B, as it were and even more importantly the theory advises a full analogy of an employee before concluding on sort of incentives that will induce a desired behaviour. The Hawthorne study supports that recognition of a workgroup motivates performance and arguably the Hawthorn enquiries are in line with Abraham Maslows needs theory. Another useful theory for analysing the relationship between motivation and performance is Herzberg et al (1957) two factor theory: Motivators- responsibility, recognition and achievement and Hygiene factors-wages or salaries, job security and supervision, cite in (Armstrong, 2006). The absence of hygiene factors results in worker dissatisfaction claims Herzberg. In other words, hygiene factors do not creates satisfaction by themselves but rather, their absences leaves employees dissatisfied according to Herzbergs theory. Now if Herzbergs theory is anything good to go by, an employees absence (regular) should trigger an investigation and a subsequent identification of the causes. For instance, employee absenteeism can be due to lack of job satisfaction because of repetitive and boring jobs, due to lack of recognition for the employees achievement also, poor leadership in the form of supervision may equally cause dissatisfaction. Herzbergs two factor theory failed to anticipated the change in the psychological employment contract which has shifted power away from the employer to employees consequently, Herzbergs assertion that money is not a motivator is debatable (untrue) today and for that matter, it leaves the famous two factor theory for criticism. Adding, it is an undeniable fact that money is a real motivator taking into account the actual causes of this current financial turmoil or the current recession across the world. It is emphatically clear that this recession was engineered by greedy people whose sole motivation was nothing rather than big bonuses, pay packages or simply put, money to be precise. If these outrageous financial institutions heads, bankers and money lenders were not motivated by money then what else brought this financial ‘meltdown to this world? Furthermore, Vroom et al (1960s) cited in (Croft, Norton, (2005), p16, states that persons motivations defines the measure of input he or she will expands. This means that the package (employment contract), the job itself and the organisational climate all have a definite role in contributing to the performance of an employee in a company. This report utterly agrees with this view because workers generally expect interesting and challenging jobs, good leadership, a fair pay for their work done and of course recognitions for their efforts. Consequently, the infulfilment of these expectations inevitably results in all sorts of attitudes and behaviours such as absenteeism. Porter and lawler, model (1968) mention in (Armstrong, 2006) is arguably complementary to Vrooms thought because it advocates that two instruments were central to the contribution of workers in an organisation: value of reward and the relationship between their efforts and the outcome taking into account the individual capability and expectations, (Armstrong 2006). In other words, when rewards are carefully crafted strategically taking into consideration the abilities and expertise of the individual then good performance is an inevitable outcome because there will be goal congruence between organisation and the individual which leads to superior organisational performance known as competitive advantage. Sometimes this sort of strategic fit between organisations and employees does make a company an ‘employer of a choice- a company which most people would love to work for due to several factors like good employee treatment, fairness and the organisational climate (good) for instance, British Airways, Microsoft Corporation, NASA (space centre) and the BBC. 4.0- COMBATING ABSENTEEISM. According to Taylor (2005), punitive solutions, using rewards and tackling the root causes of absenteeism is the answer to minimising absenteeism. Obviously, the use of the ‘carrot and stick method is being advocated and finding out the real triggers of absenteeism as well. However, this requires proper documentation and monitoring of employees attendance which can be expensive. Most research supports the view that using punitive styles like basing promotion and rewards decisions on employee attitudes (attendance) reduces absenteeism. This strategy creates and communicates a clear message to employees that their future especially in that organisation is a function of their contribution and commitment which convincing. Gennard, Judge (2005) also agreed that ‘return-to-work interviews are the most effective means of reducing absenteeism because it assertively notifies the worker that such attitudes would be punished if necessary. This strategy integrates investigation of the case with documentation as well as communicating to the perpetrators that they are being monitored which I think, must be applauded. According to Armstrong, (2006), absenteeism can be eradicated through management commitment, trust, and return to work interviews. Management commitment is about harnessing management support and commitment to abrogating absenteeism while nurturing and development trust through transparent policies, regular dialogue and communication between management and their subordinates. In resounding, local government absenteeism can be reduced by tackling stress by way providing training and development to management and leadership with the aim of inculcating and developing good leadership and people skills into leaders. Furthermore, boredom can be prevented from inducing absenteeism by making jobs interesting and challenging like providing job enrichment, job enlargement and the empowerment of workers. Rewarding attendance (100%) has been empirically proven to reduce absenteeism from 10-8 days, (Silcox, 2005d) cited in (Torrington et al, 2008). Finally, even though this report labours to avoid the ‘stick method of reducing absenteeism, it is conceding to note that return-to-word interviews are empirical proven beyond reasonable doubt that they are profoundly effective in reducing employee absence in both the public and private section organisations. 5.0- CONCLUSIONS Absenteeism is problem faced by all organisations and the causes include: hang-over, headaches, boring jobs and poor management however, management believes that most ‘alleged causes are non-genuine which costs organisations money. Some writers claimed that absenteeism is more prevalent in the public sector than the private sector. This report disagrees with that argument because, undeniably, absenteeism is positively related to motivation consequently, since the public sector gets be employment contract than their private sector counterparts, absence must be less prevalent than private organisations. Punitive measures such as return-to-work interviews are particularly effective in reducing worker absenteeism. Conclusively, this report maintains that absenteeism cannot be eradicated but rather minimised because providing a challenging jobs, rewarding attendance and good leadership cannot change personal habits cultivated over decades. Adding though return-to-work-interviews is an effective means of reducing absenteeism; the process cannot intrusively used due to privacy concerns. For instance, (IRS, 2002a) cited in (Torrington et al, 2008), p 349 emphasised that the Human Right Act, 1998 awareness is important. The report recommends a specific study into low absenteeism sectors: non-profit organisations, voluntary sectors, Media and recreational sector to ascertain the real causes of employee absenteeism. REFERENCES 1. Michael Armstrong, A Hand Book of Human Resource Management Practice, 2006, 10th Edition Kogan Page, London, UK. 2. Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Randy A. Ehrenberg, Daniel I. Rees and Eric L. Ehrenberg; School Leave Policies, Teacher Absenteeism and Students Achievement, 1991, journal of Human Resources, vol. 26. no. 1 pp 72-105 University of Wisconsin ,Press, URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/145717 3. Alice P.Gaudine1 and Alan M. Saks2, Effects of Absenteeism Feedback Intervention on Employee Absence Behaviour 2001; 1.School of Nursing, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Newfoundland, Canada, 2. School of Administrative Studies, York University, Ontario, Canada, journal of organisation Behaviour, vol.22. No.1 Pp15-29. Feb., URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3649604 4. John Gennard and Graham Judge, Employee Relations, 2005, 4th edition CIPD, London. UK. 5. Jacqueline A.-M, Coyle-Shapiro and Ian Kessler, the Employment Relations in the UK Public Sector: A Psychological Contract Perspective, a journal of Public Administration Research and Theory; j-part, Vol. 13, no. 2. April 2003, pp213-230, Oxford University Press on behalf of the Public Management Research Association. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3525711. 6. Per Johansson, Martin Palme, Assessing the Effect of Public Policy on Worker Absenteeism, 2002, The Journal of Human Resource, vol. 37, no. 2, pp 381-409, University of Wisconsin Press, URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/ 3069652. 7. Marie McHugh: Employee absence: an impediment to organisation health in local government,2002 School of Management, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, International journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 14, no. 1, pp 43-58, MCB University Press, 0951-3558, URL:www.emerald-library.com/ft 8. Marie McHugh: Employee absence: an impediment to organisation health in local government,2001, School of Management, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, International journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 14, no. 1, pp 43-58, MCB University Press, 0951-3558, URL:www.emerald-library.com/ft 9. Stephen Taylor, People Resourcing, 2005, 3rd edition, CIPD, London, UK. 10. Derek Torrington, Laura Hall and Stephen Taylor: Human Resource Management, 7th Edition, 2008, Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, FT, England and Spain.

Failure and the Degeneration of America in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsb

   The Great Gatsby is a bold and damning social commentary of America which critiques its degeneration from a nation of infinite hope and opportunity to a place of moral destitution. The novel is set during the Roaring Twenties, an era of outrageous excesses, wild lavish parties and sadly, an era of regret and lost potential. As the audience, they take us on a journey guided and influenced by the moral voice of Nick Carraway, a character who is "simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life." Nevertheless, when Carraway rejects the East, returning to the comparatively secure morality of his ancestral West, we realize that gaiety was merely a thin facade, and that behind it lurked a hideous ugliness that penetrated to the essence of the human spirit.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was during the Jazz generation that the common man, a man no different to James Gatz, pursued the glowing icons of his age. As religion gradually faded away, it was money that had become an object of veneration. The desire to become wealthy was parceled in the form of the American Dream, a savage ideal that was fundamentally flawed from the outset. The fallacy of the American Dream cursed all who aspired to its promises while the upper class enjoyed the luxuries that accompanied their status, exploiting those below them as a means to reaffirm their superiority.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consequently, James Gatz, under the influence of characters like Dan Cody and Meyer Wolfshiem, underwent a self-transformation to become Gatsby, a new man who was founded on his "Plutonic conception of himself." As the embodiment of idealism and innocence, Gatsby strives to cre... ...ut also the destiny of human kind. It is a novel with a haunting tone that questions the very essence of our pursuits in life and ultimately, the meaning of life itself. It can only be hoped that we will heed this powerful message.       Works Cited and Consulted: Berman, Ronald. "The Great Gatsby" and Fitzgerald's World of Ideas. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 1997. Chambers, John B. The Novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald. London: Macmillan/New York: St Martin's P, 1989.   deKoster, Katie, ed. Readings on "The Great Gatsby." San Diego: Greenhaven, 1998.   Fitzgerald, F. Scott.   The Great Gatsby.   Simon and Schuster Inc., New York: 1991. Higgins, John A. F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Study of the Stories. New York: St. John's UP, 1971. Whitley, John S.   F. Scott Fitzgerald: "The Great Gatsby." London: Edward Arnold, 1976.   

Nursing Errors and The Stakes Essays -- Nursing, Medical Errors

Every day there is a constant trust adhered to many different people in the profession of Nursing—the decision of what will help patients in terms of medicine, and the confidence to make these decisions. One false act or one slight misdiagnoses of medication to a patient could be the prime factor in whether the patient lives or dies. Nurses in hospitals across the country are spread thin, and thus makes the probability of mistakes higher. If a medicinal dose is off by even one decimal a patient could die, so the only real answer is for nurses to not be afraid to ask for assistance, always follow procedure and voice opinion is they feel something is wrong. Firstly, every year there are many deaths associated with medical errors. Sarah Loughran writes, â€Å"An average of 195,000 people in the USA died due to potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors in each of the years 2000, 2001 and 2002†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (medicalnewstoday.com) and this was just in 2000, 2001, and 2002 with the numbers bouncing higher or lower each year; nevertheless, there seems to be no end in sight for errors in the medical field. There is a way to lower these numbers drastically. The way to do this is by leveling the doctor to nurse ratio in hospitals thereby eliminating the stress factors on most nurses whom often have several patients to attend by themselves but no help in doing so. While demand for nurses may be high, there also comes a breaking point for any human being, â€Å"†¦factors including the high acuity of patients, inadequate nurse to patient ratios, increased work demand, and decreased resources.† (American Journal of Critical Care, 503.) The leading causes of most errors among stress and interruption are other factors such as: wrong dosage, dose omissi... ...rking in the hospitals all across the nation, and employing confident employees to those positions will make a large impact on how well people are treated in medical facilities. Every nurse should follow procedure and focus on the job at hand—healing people. Works Cited JB McKenzie, et al. "STRATEGIES USED BY CRITICAL CARE NURSES TO IDENTIFY, INTERRUPT, AND CORRECT MEDICAL ERRORS." American Journal of Critical Care 19.6 (2010): 500-509. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. Loughran, Sarah. "In Hospital Deaths from Medical Errors at 195,000 per Year USA." medicalnewstoday.com. Medical News Today, 09 Aug. 2004. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. Agyemang, REO, and A While. "Medication errors: types, causes and impact on nursing practice." British Journal of Nursing (BJN) 19.6 (2010): 380-385. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 7 Mar. 2011.

Waste Land Essay: Ceremonies and Rituals :: T.S. Eliot Waste Land Essays

The Waste Land:   Ceremonies and Rituals  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ceremonies are prevalent throughout T.S. Eliot’s poem The Waste Land. Eliot relies on literary contrasts to illustrate the specific values of meaningful, effectual rituals of primitive society in contrast to the meaningless, broken, sham rituals of the modern day.   These contrasts serve to show how ceremonies can become broken when they are missing vital components, or they are overloaded with too many.   Even the way language is used in the poem furthers the point of ceremonies, both broken and not. In section V of The Waste Land, Eliot writes,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "After the torchlight red on sweaty faces   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After the frosty silence in the gardens   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After the agony in stony places   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The shouting and the crying   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Prison and palace and reverberation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Of thunder of spring over distant mountains   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He who was living is now dead" (ll. 322-328). The imagery of a primal ceremony is evident in this passage.   The last line of "He who was living is now dead" shows the passing of the primal ceremony; the connection to it that was once viable is now dead.   The language used to describe the event is very rich and vivid: red, sweaty, stony.   These words evoke an event that is without the cares of modern life- it is primal and hot.   A couple of lines later Eliot talks of "red sullen faces sneer and snarl/ From doors of mudcracked houses" (ll. 344-345). These lines too seem to contain language that has a primal quality to it.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the primal roots of ceremony Eliot shows us the contrast of broken ceremonies.   Some of these ceremonies are broken because they are lacking vital components.   A major ceremony in The Waste Land is that of sex.   The ceremony of sex is broken, however, because it is missing components of love and consent.   An example of this appears in section II, lines 99-100, "The change of Philomel, by the barbarous king/ So rudely forced"; this is referring to the rape of Philomel by King Tereus of Thrace.   The forcing of sex on an unwilling partner breaks the entire ceremony of sex.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rape is not the only way a broken sex ceremony can take place.  Ã‚  The broken ceremony can also occur when there is a lack of love, as shown in lines 222-256.   This passage describes a scene between "the typist" and "the young man carbuncular".

Too Many Majors

The Enrollment Management Committee and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee were asked to investigate the over enrollment issue and to consider avenues for handling the preponderance of communication majors by the chairperson of the communication department, Chelsea McGuire. Each committee dedicated time, effort and energy in their small groups to come up with solutions for this problem. I would characterize the decision-making style of the Enrollment Management Committee (EMC) as a rational decision-making style when considering the enrollment management problem.They began their research with formulation (researched enrollment management systems around campus),then moved to concept development (set a goal to determine the optimal system for stemming the flow of majors into the communication department), and then detailing (conducted a systematic survey of all other campus departments to determine if they had also experienced problems with over enrollment in recent years), followe d by evaluation(inquired about plans and effectiveness, compared characteristics of other campus departments with relevant attributes in considering any other options) and finally, implementation (coming up with three optimal solutions for Communications department to consider).The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) used an intuitive decision- making style when considering the enrollment management problem. They based their solution on past experiences in similar contexts- what has worked in the past. This type of decision-making style is very analogical. Before reading this scenario, I thought for sure that intuitive decision making style was something that would be more effective in a real-life situation. After further reading and thinking, I find that the Enrollment Management Committee has come up with some great â€Å"solutions† and I do not think they should be dismissed. Sometimes, it’s difficult to look inward and realize the problem might be that your pr ogram is too easy and that’s why students are choosing it.I would choose any of the solutions given by the EMC. I think that if Chelsea McGuire retains her typical participative decision-making style during the upcoming faculty meeting, she will not walk out with a definitive solution. This type of problem, as we see from the response letters, can have many solutions that are subjective. Although I do not believe the UCC to be incorrect in their findings, I do think that some people and groups are not as comfortable with change. A well respected member of the UCC that has held her position for thirty years might not see an issue, but that does not mean there is not an issue. The staff should not feel overwhelmed.If the staff is overwhelmed, how can they perform their best and give each student the focus and attention they deserve? If there are no budget constraints, another option might be to hire additional faculty. The advantage to using participative decision-making is tha t everyone feels included and motivated. There is a possibility that people will come together and agree on a solution for the greater good. The disadvantage to this kind of style is that you may risk the lack of motivation when one group did not â€Å"win† the solution. It would be difficult to feel that the energy, time and effort going into finding the best solution did not â€Å"pay off. † I think it would be helpful for Chelsea to use the Cognitive Model of PDM.Using this model would allow the faculty to see the possible decisions provided by the EMC and UCC (allowing all faculty to feel the participation and also giving acknowledgement and credit to each team for their efforts), and allowing an open discussion forum for faculty to speak about what they think would be the best solution, and then voting. This allows for all voices to feel heard and will hopefully involve less disappointment when a solution has been decided. The communication behaviors I would watch for in the upcoming meeting to assess whether an effective decision-making process is being used would be the level of participation and dialogue.If the majority of the faculty seems engaged in the decision making, I would consider the choice of decision-making style a success. Although I might feel that the most effective solution involves change, if the faculty and staff participating in the faculty meeting come together and support the â€Å"no change† solution, I would determine a solution based on the group. A â€Å"bona fide group† perspective on the way the group is embedded in organizational structures (e. g. , the department, the university, professional (institutions) might influence my assessment of the situation in a positive way. It is important for a group to feel unity because a unified group builds an internal strength and motivation.