The Sucess of Spain in the New World

The Success of Spain in the New World During the sixteenth century after Christopher Columbus discovery of the new world, many European empires were attracted to the new world. Among all the empires that ruled over the new world; Spain was the most successful one. The reason for their success over the other empire was due to their ability to manipulate the economy, establishment of political system and their relation with the aboriginals and the disease they brought in the new world. It wasn’t an easy for them to settle compare to other empires but during the time they were in control of parts of the new world. It brought them an enormous amount of wealth. The main motives of the Conquistadors were to extract resources, increase trade, spread Christianity and build a Spanish empire. After the Spanish had well settled in the New World. They immediately started trading with the mother country. The Spanish exploited lots of the goods that they received from the new world. They were extracting goods from the New World and were sending them to Spain where it was traded to other countries. The commons goods that they were trading were Silver, Spices and gold. During that time these goods were rare in Europe and had great value. Trading these goods brought a huge amount of riches to Spain. Spain was successful to make great use of the New World. They have gained a lot of money from the new world which supported them in battle and increasing its army. This will classify Spain as one of the successful leaders because they used the new world to their advantage to support them financially and the aboriginal people did not rebel against the fact that the Spanish are taking away their goods and they are not getting anything. This is because of the rules and oppression that the Spanish introduced. It was a great success as they were able to control the aboriginal people. During that time Spain revolved around Christianity. They were willing to do anything to save Christianity even go to war. After they established in the new world they knew that it would be an opportunity to convert the indigenous people into Christian which would increase the population of Christian throughout the new world. They wanted to take this action because during that time the protestant was just formed and they were threatened by their presence in Europe. They opposed their religion even more than their language over the indigenous tribes. Missionaries, the army and Spanish citizens used to destroy and stop every religious item or ritual that was not part of Catholicism. Later on to it became more all-pervading as they were burning anyone who did not wanted to convert to Christianity alive. After eliminating all of the subjects that were against conversion they were left will all Catholics. Since they were all sharing the same beliefs more or less it helped in decreasing conflicts between the indigenous and the Spanish. The missionaries were still carrying out their job by preaching to the indigenous folks to make them more knowledgeable about Christianity. By using these following procedures they were able to implement their religion through the New World which was one of the objective to conquer the New World. The Spanish established a great political system to the New World. While they were in the process of taking over the New World they’ve used a smart political strategy to take over the country. Whenever there was a fight between two prodigious tribe the Spanish always use to ally with the stronger side and help them defeat the weaker side. By doing so they had eliminated and weakened many major tribes in the New World. Afterward they usually turn against the tribe they allied with if they do not accept the conditions of the conquistadors, which were commonly conversion to Christianity. This process made domination of the New World easier for the Spanish because at the end they were only left with a limited number of feeble tribes or village to take over. They also used to establish new laws when they were taking over. They had put in effect a new law that the indigenous people cannot have a metal sword in their procession. By doing so they eliminated some of the threat that they might face. Since the indigenous people were not allowed to have an effectual weapon in procession they would not be able to rebel against the Spanish as they were not in procession of any weapons that can harm the Spanish as most of the weapons that could be protential dangers were taken away from them. They brought in diseases with them that soon spread through the Indian community which resulted in death of millions. It was not the intention of the Spanish to harm the Indians instead they wanted to use the Indians as labour. After this event there was a discussion in Spain about the rights of the aboriginal people. This whole issued lead to a debate about the right of the aboriginal people and new laws were in issue for Spanish colonies in the new world. The Spanish introduced law/rules based on a constitution in the New World. Since lots of the aboriginal people died from those diseases their tribe were not strong enough to oppose the Spanish and they also needed the Spanish for their remedies for these diseases that they have never seen before. This also contributed to their success as the tribes were weaken and couldn’t confront them. Also because the aboriginals had to rely on them for medication. This made the Spanish important figures in that society. The aboriginals were dependant on the Spanish due to the disease that they brought along with them. The disease wasn’t not the only reason why the aboriginal people were oppressed by the Spanish and didn’t do anything. The Spanish had an advance military and they’ve use a smart strategy to keep the Indian in control. They’ve allied with bigger tribe. So smaller tribe couldn’t go against their will as they were being oppressed by both the Spanish and the bigger tribes so they had to do whatever the Spanish wanted them to do.

Behavioral Management Theory Essay

As management research continued in the 20th century, questions began to come up regarding the interactions and motivations of the individual within organizations. Management principles developed during the classical period were simply not useful in dealing with many management situations and could not explain the behaviour of individual employees. In short, classical theory ignored employee motivation and behaviour. As a result, the behavioural school was a natural outgrowth of this revolutionary management experiment. Discuss – how behaviour management has changed over the years in the modern classroom we know today ? The behavioural management theory is often called the human relations movement because it addresses the human dimension of work. Behavioural theorists believed that a better understanding of human behaviour at work, such as motivation, conflict, expectations, and group dynamics, improved productivity. Discuss – How does a better understanding of human behaviour enhance our own teching The theorists who contributed to this school viewed employees as individuals, resources, and assets to be developed and worked with — not as machines, as in the past. Several individuals and experiments contributed to this theory. Elton Mayo’s contributions came as part of the Hawthorne studies, a series of experiments that rigorously applied classical management theory only to reveal its shortcomings. The Hawthorne experiments consisted of two studies conducted at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company in Chicago from 1924 to 1932. The first study was conducted by a group of engineers seeking to determine the relationship of lighting levels to worker productivity. Surprisingly enough, they discovered that worker productivity increased as the lighting levels decreased — that is, until the employees were unable to see what they were doing, after which performance naturally declined. Although the above experiments at the Western Electric Company seem pretty basic – it’s interesting to note how productivity increased when workers concerns were addressed and considered – do we think that the increased productivity is linked to employees feelings of value A few years later, a second group of experiments began. Harvard researchers Mayo and F. J. Roethlisberger supervised a group of five women in a bank wiring room. They gave the women special privileges, such as the right to leave their workstations without permission, take rest periods, enjoy free lunches, and have variations in pay levels and workdays. This experiment also resulted in significantly increased rates of productivity. Again the above experiment appears to give employees control over their working conditions and can this flexibility within the workplace contribute to the individuals feelings of self worth within their organisation – or can the lack of routines/boundaries allow a slip shod working pattern In this case, Mayo and Roethlisberger concluded that the increase in productivity resulted from the supervisory arrangement rather than the changes in lighting or other associated worker benefits. Because the experimenters became the primary supervisors of the employees, the intense interest they displayed for the workers was the basis for the increased motivation and resulting productivity. Essentially, the experimenters became a part of the study and influenced its outcome. This is the origin of the term Hawthorne effect, which describes the special attention researchers give to a study’s subjects and the impact that attention has on the study’s findings. The general conclusion from the Hawthorne studies was that human relations and the social needs of workers are crucial aspects of business management. This principle of human motivation helped revolutionize theories and practices of management. Abraham Maslow, a practicing psychologist, developed one of the most widely recognized need theories, a theory of motivation based upon a consideration of human needs. His theory of human needs had three assumptions: †¢Human needs are never completely satisfied. †¢Human behaviour is purposeful and is motivated by the need for satisfaction. †¢Needs can be classified according to a hierarchical structure of importance, from the lowest to highest. My interpretation of the experiments and the correlation to Maslow’s theory below demonstrates to me the importance of setting ground rules in the first instance is paramount to ensuring workers or learners in our case – have some autonomy over their patterns of working increasing motivation and individual feelings of self esteem over their learning journey! Maslow broke down the needs hierarchy into five specific areas: †¢Physiological needs. Maslow grouped all physical needs necessary for maintaining basic human well-being, such as food and drink, into this category. After the need is satisfied, however, it is no longer is a motivator. †¢Safety needs. These needs include the need for basic security, stability, protection, and freedom from fear. A normal state exists for an individual to have all these needs generally satisfied. Otherwise, they become primary motivators. †¢Belonging and love needs. After the physical and safety needs are satisfied and are no longer motivators, the need for belonging and love emerges as a primary motivator. The individual strives to establish meaningful relationships with significant others. †¢Esteem needs. An individual must develop self-confidence and wants to achieve status, reputation, fame, and glory. †¢Self-actualization needs. Assuming that all the previous needs in the hierarchy are satisfied, an individual feels a need to find himself. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory helped managers visualize employee motivation. Douglas McGregor was heavily influenced by both the Hawthorne studies and Maslow. He believed that two basic kinds of managers exist. One type, the Theory X manager, has a negative view of employees and assumes that they are lazy, untrustworthy, and incapable of assuming responsibility. On the other hand, the Theory Y manager assumes that employees are not only trustworthy and capable of assuming responsibility, but also have high levels of motivation.

Christ above Elijah and Moses Essay

The relation between Jesus and Elijah or between the book of Kings and the New Testament is one of the most controversial issues in modern theology. As a matter of fact this is also one of the crucial issues regarding the divinity of Jesus. It is also one of the main issues that divide Christianity and Judaism. The main problem arises from the actual term Messiah which in literal translation means the â€Å"anointed† one. Therefore many that claim that Jesus was only a human Messiah and not the son of god, put Jesus and Elijah on the same level together with Moses. Even though the transfiguration of Christ in the second Epistle of Peter supposedly puts Christ above Elijah and Moses, the text does not give such clear evidence about Jesus actually being above them or being the son of god. Coming back to the term messiah or the anointed we should remember that in Jewish terminology Messiah could be any prophet including Moses, Elijah or even David. As a matter of fact in first century Judaism it was more likely for the Jews to expect two messiahs; a political and a spiritual one. Therefore it was widely speculated that there is a possibility that Barabbas might actually have been the other Messiah and that the account of that was lost during the years while Christianity was an underground religion. The second biggest problem regarding the identity of Jesus and his relations with other prophets is the metamorphosis (or transfiguration) of both testaments by the Nicaene Creed, it is where Jesus was adapted to become the new god of the Roman Empire as it is said: â€Å"the time when Constantine the Great tricked the Messianic Jews into worshiping the Roman Emperor in disguise. † It is actually by comparing Elijah’s and Jesus’ Messianic deeds that we can see the similarity between the two of them. As a matter of fact if one compares 2 Kings 4:1-44 with the Gospels of the New Testament like Mark 6:30-44, Mark 8:1-9, and John 6:1-13 one can notice striking similarities that are too similar to simply be coincidence. (1) In other words they pretty much perform the same miraculous deeds and seem to act and speak in quite a similar way. Is this the way the 1st century Jews expected their Messiah to act and behave. Both Jesus and Elijah raised people from the dead as well as they provided for the needy on several occasions. (2) (2 Kings 4: 1-44) On the other hand Elijah and Jesus are different to Moses for having gone to heaven while being alive while Moses died as a mortal never rising people from the dead , but the fact that Jesus and Elijah are so similar shows us a precedent in the Old Testament, of a prophet that is so similar to Jesus that it is logical to assume that Jesus is finally only one of the prophets that was god-sent to help his flock in turbulent times and leave a legacy of how one should live her or his life. (3) If one assumes the original Jesus was a Jewish prophet that was not the incarnation of god himself but a very mighty mortal that finally resurrected from the dead and went to heaven then there is no difference between him and Elijah except the resurrection part, which could be explained by a different will of god or by historic misinterpretation. Nevertheless the main differences between Jesus and Elijah are actually some additions to the personality and life of Jesus that were included to the scriptures to satisfy the pagan populations of Constantine’s Rome. Like the Virgin birth (proper of Sun Gods like Horus and Mithras) birth on December 24th (4) (proper of Sun Gods like Horus and Mithras), and the resurrection also proper of Sun Gods like Horus and Mithras. Footnotes: 1. 2 Kings 4: 42 A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. â€Å"Give it to the people to eat,† Elisha said. 43 â€Å"How can I set this before a hundred men? † his servant asked. But Elisha answered, â€Å"Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: ‘They will eat and have some left over. ‘ † 44 Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD. John 6: 10Jesus said, â€Å"Have the people sit down. † There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, â€Å"Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted. † 13So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. Mark 6: 38He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. 39And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42And they did all eat, and were filled. 2. 2 Kings 4: 32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy’s body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said â€Å"Call the Shunammite. † And he did. When she came, he said, â€Å"Take your son. † 37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out. 3. One of the main points of those who argue the humanity of Jesus is that he is no god incarnate and a direct path to heaven that came to reaffirm the rule of the church. Quite the contrary, his teachings concentrate more on one’s inner struggles in very logical ways rather then the controversial dogma imposed later by the Roman Church. 4. Constantine had to combine the Jewish faith and rituals with Roman sun god faith and rituals in order to make the new religion more understandable to the pagan population of the empire. Therefore the modern Jesus is a mixture of Roman sun God and historic, Jewish Jesus. The Jewish Jesus can raise people from the dead, just like Elijah and can feed many with little food, just like Elijah and finally ascends to heaven alive just like Elijah. On the other hand Jesus is born of a virgin, unlike Elijah but very much like many Sun Gods, he is born on December 24th like many Sun Gods, he dies and is resurrected like all the Sun Gods, finally, modern Christians do not celebrate the Sabbath like Jesus did but Celebrate the Calends (Sunday) as the Romans did when worshiping their Sun God. Works cited: Bible Gateway, KJV, Books of: 2 Kings, Mark, John. Retrieved on March, 3rd 2009, from: http://www. biblegateway. com/passage/? search Davies, Steven L. New Testament Fundamentals, Santa Rosa, Polebridge Press, 1994.

US Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

US Democracy - Essay Example The question how democratic is democracy in U.S may seem challenging to a lay man but it is clear from the U.S constitution that the states practice democracy in almost all their dealings. However to some extent America system of governance has failed to adopt some of the some of the innovations and modifications in the democratic systems and ideal. The United States constitution allows the common citizens to participate in various democratic processes such as election and taking part in referendum in case there is any. However to some extent the American democracy gets dilute day by day with more of her power Washington. The states are becoming more republic consolidated government. The "politically correct" and "historical revisionists" have soiled United States with restrained but disparaging autocracies that have extremely dented our free democratic people. Politicians use the term democracy when they need something from the publics, and they use the term republic when they do no t need something from the citizens. It is political system and where the legal force is regulated through given and enumerated powers. For instance, the United States Constitution, and predominantly the Bill of Rights, was premeditated to limit governments part to what United States’ founding forefathers saw as governments utmost vital functions. The main functions were to reserve individual liberty and defend private property. Moreover, Persons differ in their perception of a limited government, nonetheless, one common understanding is that a limited government is one that imposes just ample taxes to deliver for state defense and police security and then stays out of publics undertakings. As an example, a limited government is one that does not distress itself with issues such as what sallies should employees get from the jobs they do, retirement investment schemes of

Evaluation Of Personality Type Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Evaluation Of Personality Type - Assignment Example With regards to my Type A/B personality assessment, my score of 132 makes me a type A+ personality type, which makes me highly ambitious, sensitive, status-conscious, organized, impatient, proactive, anxious, and time conscious. This can be deduced from my scores that show that I am never late, very competitive, fast, tend to sit on my feelings, and have few interests away from my task. On my procrastination assessment, my score of 25 shows that I am an occasional procrastinator as some situations at one point or the other trigger procrastination. Some of the reasons for occasional procrastination include occasional emotional preoccupation that may make me lose my drive and not want to take on any more physical or mental load. However, this procrastination does not last long and disappears as soon as the triggering events dissipate. Considering my Enneagram scores, I am a type 7, which makes me spontaneous, scattered, acquisitive, and versatile. This gives me the tendency to occupy m yself with exciting options and possibilities that give me anticipation and distract me from my fears. Finally, I am an afternoon person, which means that I prefer to be out and about when other people are, and I do not function optimally during late nights or early mornings.Working with OthersWhen working in a group, my Type A+ personality type makes me want my teammates to get to the point quickly, while I would also be very concerned with time management and expect my teammates to be as high-achieving as possible.

International entrepreneurship and innovation Essay

International entrepreneurship and innovation - Essay Example It makes life comfortable for a lot of people but the strength of Cochlear Property is that it is a unique technology which cannot be easily replicated due to the fact that the company has a patent right to the technology. The second factor responsible for the success of Cochlear Property is the Australian governments policy of encouraging pharmaceutical and medical research entities. This provided the much needed capital which was used to get the company to move to a high pedestal in its operations and attain a sustained level of productivity. The fourth element of the success of Cochlear Property is the fact that the company has been able to penetrate specific markets. This is because it is a specialised product that is suitable for deaf people in different parts of the world. The ability to get the products to consumers makes the company solvent and keeps it going. Risk-reward trade off refers to balancing entrepreneurial risk for rewards in the form of profits or revenues (Mankiw, 2012). Cochlear has a technology that is unique, distinct and very much in demand amongst a particular niche of the markets around the world. However, the risks relate to the challenge of financing. Hence, financing risk was the main and central risk that faced Cochlear Property. The main risks involve the internationalisation of the company through the acquisition of funds. The low capital and the the need for internationalisation came with the challenge of raising funds and this had the inherent risk of destabilising the company and its capital structures as well as its going concern status. Acquiring funds from sources that proved to be extremely expensive meant the company would pay too much money to finance their debts. This will mean too much interest to be paid at different points in time and this could cut down profitability and lead to the collapse of the company. On the other hand, equity financing meant the risk of opening the door

Health care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Health care - Essay Example The fifth section concentrates on the target market, whereby the paper provides an insight on the strategies that can are used to serve the market, and the sixth section identifies resources needed to move forward in the entrepreneurial process. The seventh section covers a brief summary of the financial projections for the period end 30 June 2012, whereby the summary is benchmarked through data gathered from research of similar types of publicly traded companies. The eighth section elaborates on the forces that determine the profitability of the industry, and the paper concludes with the challenges that are faced by the business as it grows. Â   Funding Pitch portions of the Health Care Entrepreneurial Business Plan: Tele-hospice counseling service 1. The entrepreneurial opportunity Various changes in the society have contributed significantly to a creation of entrepreneurial opportunities by providing a strong concentration to the sector of services concerning new and fast growing business environment for adaptation of the entrepreneurs to dynamism in the society (Lindmark, 2012). The increased understanding of entrepreneurship process due to the research and the set of individuals, who have discovered, evaluated and exploited the opportunities. Therefore, fostering a reliable understanding of the changes in different levels of society has led to creation of opportunities and the way entrepreneurs can adapt and exploit these opportunities after an analysis, which is altered at an aggregate level. 2. The business, product or program planned Hospice refers to a twenty-four hour program, which is planned by hospice interdisciplinary team, in order to allow the terminally ill clients to make a decision related to physical, pastoral or spiritual and psychological comfort, instead of cure. These patients are hospitalized of they are indicating acute symptoms, and hospice care is initiated by the decision of the client, family or physician. However, there is a requ irement of a certification by the client in order to receive the services offered by hospice, which offered from either temporary or permanent place of residence. In this case, the Hospice service program is terminated by the client or family decision, death or discharge by the hospice agency, and bereavement care is offered to the family members (Whitten, Doolittle & Hellmich, 2001). The products of offered by this business are emotional and spiritual comfort that is related to the death of hospice client. The other product offered by hospice program is counseling services and support to the members of the patients’ family. They also focus on non-interventional care of patients succumbing to their terminal illness at their homes. Furthermore, the members of the family are made integral participants of the program, whereby the day care is offered by stepping a caregiver duty, which is considered foreign. 3. The management team The management team comprises of the Mike Friedel , Chief Executive Officer, who is charged with the responsibility of leading the team by making informed decisions on substantial issues in the organization. The other member of the management team is John Budnick, who is CFO with the responsibility of managing the organization’s financial resources and Ray Terrill, who is a sales and marketing manager with a significant role of formulating the strategies of targeting customers and

Explain why successful projects start with accurate project definition Term Paper

Explain why successful projects start with accurate project definition and are delivered through open and adaptive project systems - Term Paper Example This is the reason why experts advise against closed systems, which do not present any level of adaptability. This paper will demonstrate that accurate project definition and the adoption of open and adaptive systems are factors that lead to the success of a project. Project Definition is a complex process that is defined by Kà ¤hkà ¶nen (1998, p. 625) as â€Å"The process prior to final investment decision-making†. This process has crucial element, which is the recognition of the clients or stakeholders’ necessities and â€Å"specification†. Specifically trying to understand the stakeholder’s needs in order to deliver an adequate outcome, with keeping into consideration the three main factors that will measure the performance of this project, which are time, budget, and quality; project manager and his team must be aware of this element and they should understand them clearly (Cano & Lidà ³n 2011, p. 528). This process considered a vital stage since all hazards that might emerge and is associated with the project will be examined (Neal 1995, p. 5). In order to fulfill and cover more aspects of the definition Walker highlighted an important side which most of the definitions lacked it. He mentioned the resources, w hich includes people who are a key factor to deliver the project. Since the projects cannot be achieved without managing people and by their work, it is essentially vital to include them in the definition (Gibson Jr & Cho 2000, p. 115). Kà ¤hkà ¶nen stated that in order to boost the possibility of achieving an effective project, there are two points; initially, there should be â€Å"strategic information† to make sure that the possessor has a clear and adequate knowledge of the chances that will lead to an effective project. Second, the fundamental venture execution plans must be considered as an important part of the definition. From the same point of view, Cano and Lidà ³n addressed it briefly as clarifying and building an accurate

Is global warming caused by humans Research Paper

Is global warming caused by humans - Research Paper Example Today, it is not only the increase of temperature of the atmosphere but also ocean warming, ice caps and ice sheets melting, rise of sea level, and changes of biochemical cycles that take place because of climate change. That is why understanding of the causes of global warming is so important. There are two points of view on the character of global warming causes. Some of researchers claim it is natural causes that lead to climate change. However, the recent studies show that it is human-induced causes that are the main drivers of global warming. In the following research based on recent researches and statistical data, information on three main anthropogenic causes will be summarized, discussed and set against the natural factors with the aim to prove that it is humans who cause global warming of the atmosphere. The following research is important for it presents concise evidence of human involvement in global warming. These days, many scientists, researchers, environmentalists and, in fact, everybody who does care, express their concerns on the issue of the changes of climate on the Earth. More specifically, they argue that today the temperature of the planet tends to increase causing the global warming, which, in its turn, can lead to irreversible negative consequences for all the living beings which settle the planet. While the fact that global warming does take place has been proved in a great number of studies, its causes are still studied. Scientists, who work on the issue of climate change, agree that there are two causes of global warming, such as natural causes and human-induced ones. The latest researches show that the idea that natural causes are among the major ones that lead to climate change is irrelevant and that it is humans who are to blame for the irreversible warming of the Earths surface. Climate change is usually referred to as the change of weather patterns and trends over time. Overall, the atmosphere consists of

Nursing theory Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Nursing theory - Research Paper Example Nursing research and practice involve providing proper clinical care and also care that is concerned with coordination (Roe & Webb, 1998). It is defined as the study of a problem in the field of nursing. It is essential in terms of development in the sector, and also creates the basis for nursing practice. When it comes to nursing research and practice, those involved in providing the proper medical care have a role of ensuring that the participant of the research is catered for in terms of safety and maintenance (American Nurses Association, 2010).  They also make sure that there is proper consent involved and that the data collected is correct since it will be utilized as a reference at one time or another. They also ensure that data collection, recording and storage is done well, and the process followed up. There are certain factors that are involved and relate to nursing research and practice. They include; client, environment, health and nursing. The client or the person who is involved needs to give consent before the research begins, when it comes to nursing research and practice. Proper consent from an individual is required since it gets the researchers one step closer to figuring out the main cause of the problem in the medical field and also to figuring out the best way to deal with the current problem. It is also essential that consent be given before the collection of data is done. In order for the research to bear fruit, then there is a need to be cooperation, both from the researcher and the individual being researched. A willing client gives much better results than an unwilling one. Another factor that relates to nursing research and practice is the environment (Roe & Webb, 1998). The proper environment should be present for a better chance of collecting the required results. Suppose the problem is within a certain area, then the best approach is to

Police Brutality Essay Example for Free

Police Brutality Essay Police Brutality, is defined as the intentional use of excessive force which is most time physical but can be verbal to get something done. This can be as a result of the order given by a superior officer or by the officer’s idea. Sometimes some people might need iron hands before they take to instructions or comply with the rule and regulations guiding a particular institution, but when it become unnecessary and unjustified to use force on people to achieve the desired goal, then the police have to be checked. When talking about police brutality we often think that racism or color is involved, but we don’t tend to think that women could as well be a target of police brutality. While in custody of a police officer one might think everything is safe. In many instances that would be the assumption, but what people think may not be in every case. Police have dealt brutally and inhumanely with many women in our society for instance in Stark County, an Ohio woman who was being assaulted by her cousin called the stark police for help, but instead of saving her from her cousin, she was cuffed and sent to the Stark prescient (Meyer, Tom). The woman was then thrown to the floor by deputies and strip searched by the men deputies while still in cuff. The victim was stripped completely naked and left for six hours until she was able to put something on. She was not allowed to defend her case and the worst part of it is that these police officers did not deem it fit to interrogate her cousin on the issue. When the Stark county officers were contacted, they denied the allegation saying that the woman denied to voluntarily remove her clothes. But does this allegation leveled against her worth her being stripped naked? In any case the code of conduct rule for Stark County is that if a woman is being strip searched the person doing the search must be of the same sex (Vanella, Susan). Police brutality if not check will continue to escalate and deteriorate. Imaging a police officer beating a woman to death because she does not cooperate or may be she fails to corroborate the officer’s findings. For example, there was an incidence that occurred in Shreveport in which a woman was brutally beaten while in the custody of a police officer (CBS news). The woman was taken to an interrogating room for a sobriety test, but because the woman declined the offence, the police officer cuts the camcorder off, and then minutes later the woman was found lying in a pool of her own blood. The police had been beating her to death. Though the police officer was fired, it does not have much effect on the police officers generally because firing the officer does not carry same weight as charging the officer to court and sentencing him to either life in prison or death by any means In a study by the feminist majority foundation, LAPD male officers are known to be more involved in unnecessary force than female officers. ‘’ Hiring equal numbers of women in the LAPD would go further toward reducing police brutality and misconduct than anything else the Department could do, said Spillar (Feminist Daily News). Now that we know that police brutality to women is one of the rising problems to our society causing many women to be left with life-long injuries, we have to do something before it goes out of hands. These menace can be reduced if not totally stopped, this can be achieved by making the citizens of a community to come together to discuss topics and help educate those who don’t know anything about police brutality. Being open minded to awareness and just being able to speak out loud in one voice can make Police officers, especially those that are men need to have some kind of surveillance playing when dealing with women in their custody or have another police officer of the opposite sex with them. Also, police officers that are caught treating women badly should be reported and brought to book, this will be a lesson to the other officers who are about to do such things.

Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being Essay Example for Free

Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being Essay In Milan Kundera’s novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, the author uses plenty of literary elements to tie together his points in an effort to help readers understand the basic premise behind the work. Though there are plenty of literary themes that can be found throughout the work, the most important ones are the themes that Kundera uses, as well as the characters in the novel. By creatively using these things in his work, Kundera helps explain what might have otherwise been a fairly complex ideal. In addition, the author is able to tie these things together to create a measure of clarity for readers as they progress through the work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Theme is used in the novel to get across the basic ideas that the author is set on impressing into the reader. Since the novel relies mostly on ambiguous ideas to get across hard to find points, the utilization of different themes are critically important to the development of the story. As one might expect from the title of the work, Kundera uses lightness and the idea of weight as one of the primary themes throughout the book. Even in the title, one can see the dichotomy that exists. Lightness in itself is not something that should be too heavy to bear. Yet, the author is able to masterfully intertwine these two ideas to convey the point of his story. Through the entire work, the characters of the book are searching hard within themselves to find a solution to the primary question presented in the title. Their search for the important things in life is done in order to both find meaning and relieve themselves of some of the heaviness that their being light creates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another important theme that the author uses is politics. Though the characters carry on with their lives throughout the work, they are constantly linked to both each other and to their collective pasts by their underlying political beliefs. A good example of this can be found on page 123 of the novel, when Sabina receives word that the political situation in Prague has cost Tomas and Tereza their lives. The book reads, â€Å"She could not get over the news. The link to her past had been broken† (123). English expert Jay Braiman describes a literary theme as, â€Å"The main idea or message conveyed by the piece† (Braiman). It is clear in the story that the author uses both politics and the idea of weight as the main idea in the work. The desire to escape from the weight of life was something that drove each of the characters, while politics served as a main idea in trying all of the characters together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Characters were the second literary element used by the author to create the work. Not only do the characters power the action, but they shed a little bit of light into the what the other characters were thinking. Simply having characters is not enough to establish something as an important literary element. As the author clearly understood, the characters must be used in the most efficient, useless way possible in order to help push the idea of the story forward. The characters in this novel are not just there for an arbitrary reason. Instead, they play an active role in the story in establishing the primary aspects of plot development. A Eugene Knight book review of the work talks to the importance of the characters by saying, â€Å"The very fact that they stay together and seem to find some degree of happiness illustrates that an acceptance of a relationship that falls well short of satisfying and fulfilling hopes, is possible† (Knight). One can easily see that the author used the literary element of characters to tie in the many themes that he utilized and help the reader understand the underlying conflict in Czechoslovakia at the time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Overall, the book is a commentary on the reasons why people need people so much. This is a complex idea to establish, especially when one considers the fact that it is set against such a tough background. Kundera established his excellent work on the basis that his characters would do the talking for him. Instead of having to explain things to readers to get them to buy in to the main point of the book, he had characters live out their real life experiences to get across the points. Even more importantly than that, he was able to bring the characters closer to the themes that were so important to the author in this book. No one literary theme overtook the book or overpowered it. They all worked together in a sanctimonious harmony that not only told a story, but helped the reader interpret the story. The idea that a person who is too light could not bear that weight is a ridiculous one at first, but as the reader further understands the things that the characters are going through, they can begin to see how such a dichotomy can become quite a conundrum. Works Cited Braiman, Jay. Literary Devices. 2007. http://mrbraiman.home.att.net/lit.htm Knight, Eugene. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Review. http://bookreviews.nabou.com/reviews/unbearable_lightness_kundera.html Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being. 4 May 2004. HarperCollins Publishing. Raudino, Guiseppe. Socialism and Arts. August 2007. http://www.arttimesjournal.com/art/Art%20Essays/Ju.Aug%20%2707%20Milan%20Kundera/j.a%2707MilanKundera.htm

Resistance to Change in Public Sector Culture

Resistance to Change in Public Sector Culture CHAPTER 1 Background / General Organisation cannot control environmental changes. They can only change their processes to adapt to the environmental changes and take advantage of the new opportunities that are the changes in the environment brings. When a change is resist is could be a very difficult to achieve the desired reason for the wanted change. This is the case of IFAKO /IJAYE local Government Council Area (IJLGCA) where the management are finding it difficult to change the bureaucratic organisational culture among the employees of the local government council .The introduction of the PACE PROJECT that was aimed at changing the organisational culture was meet by resistance from the employees of the councils area .The PACE PROJECT was program is designed to re-engineer the human and material resources of the organisation in other to enhance and improve their performance and productivity. Ifako/ijaye Local Government council area (IJLGCA), the organization has experienced rapid changes in the last six years to improve the efficiency of the operations as well as the capability of the workforce to produce the desired results which would make the sector to be more effective and efficient in operations. Project PACE, was also purpose is to repositioning ifako/ijaye Local Government council area (IJLGCA) in to world-class organization, by clearly defining the vision for the organization and comparing to reach me that the other Council area created at the same time in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world by operating in compliance with the International Labour Standards by entrenching transparency in the organisational processes enhancing efficiency and making improvements in the value of procurement in the local governance Change management can be defined as a decision-making procedure which modifies or transforms organisation to be more effective and efficient in operations. Organisations need to change to adapt to external or internal development, but realizing effective change could be very problematic .change is so difficult and when it occur successfully it is by miracle. Kanter, stein, and jick (1992) One major barrier to change is resistance from employees of organisations .Resistance is commonly considered is a natural reaction to organisational change. IFAKO /IJAYE local Government Council Area (IJLGCA) government is still using a bureaucratic cultural administration style. The top to bottom approach of culture change in selling the preferred culture to staff has used different presentation styles, such as seminars and workshops, which are unable to change the mind-set of workers, but rather creating a form of resistance from employees who are afraid of losing their job a top to bottom approach with limited room for dialogue In this paper I will be studying the two the approach to change which are (1) Determinism Approach (2) voluntarism approach. The different classical models of change that is the Lewins model to change which would include the Lweins force field analysis to determine the driving forces and the resisting force to the desire preferred organisational culture that is the pace project of ifako/ijaye Local Government council area (IJLGCA). Research Problem Management efforts to refocus IJGCA staff to meet with challenges in the public sector through the PACE project, is yet to produce the desired results since its establishment in July 2004. The various launching, enlightenment campaigns and appointment of the local change-makers / teams are yet to provide the required support for the PACE project.   Project PACE, whose purpose is to reposition IJLGCA into a world-class organization by clearly defining the vision for the organization .Also comparing the achievement with other the Council areas of Nigeria and other part of the world, that were created at the same time by making IJGCA a pacesetter for others to follow is still yet to yield to require result. The Code name Project-Pace, said that it would be a comprehensive, multi-functional and coherent strategy in line with the task of setting up a high level of organization, but now the plan change is still remain at the elementary stage. Staff awareness and understanding of the brand-new part of culture, which was launched in 2005 is still very low. The desired commitment on the path of staff is lacking due to poor understanding of the preferred culture elements which is ACT NOW which elements are: Safety, Performance, Empowerment And Entrepreneurship, Respect And Trust, Innovation, Ownership And Consequence Management ,Teamwork Control And Open Communication, Professionalism. The Recently concluded roll out of the performance management system (PMS) under the PACE project had encountered some resistance, which was largely behavioural and attitudinal employee gives the management a major concern. Employee does not want to loss their power and jobs. Their belief is that this new change will take a lot of them. This research project is set out to address the level of awareness and perception of staff and also recommend new ways of implementing the preferred culture successfully. The Major Research Question à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What are the reasons for resistance to change and the lack of adoption of the PACE PROJECT, new culture? Minor Research Questions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What is the level of awareness of the preferred PACE PROJECT CULTURAL and acceptance amongst staff? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To what extent is the organization culture a resisting factor? Objective of the study The research objectives are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢To suggest how to create awareness of the PACE project among staff members. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Suggest ways of carrying staff along in the of culture change process à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Suggest how to encourage the acceptance of the PACE project à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Implement a new culture based on the PACE Methodology The study will focuses on junior, senior management staff of the IJGCA which is one the seven hundred and seventy (770)local government councils areas in Nigeria and will be a Qualitative study of reason for resistance to change. Our exploratory study would be using force field framework. Force field analysis is a model that help us to understand the force and against change in individuals and organisations. Force Field Analysis is a useful technique for investigation, all the forces against the decision. Force filed model used in weighing the pros and cons in an organisation .for the purposes of this study force field analysis would be used to demonstrate the level of resistance of staff to PACE PROJECT. APPROACH Analytical and Descriptive Data gathering methods were adopted: open ended Questionnaire Secondary data review and the writers personal observations and discover reasons for resistance. LIMITATIONS TO THE STUDY The study has several limitations are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The study is limited to IJGCA. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The size of the sample of staff investigated may limit the generality of the results. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Based on one cultural -change initiative à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Time constraints. ASSUMPTIONS That PACE project is capable of implementation That the PACE project is helpful Beneficiaries: This research will benefit the following groups: 1. Employees of ifako/ijaye Local Government council area (IJGCA) 2. ifako/ijaye Local Government council area (IJGCA) 3. Lagos state Government 4. Policy Makers which includes: Head of departments, Council board ORGANISATION The study is presented in five chapters as follows: Chapter one Introduction Chapter Two Literature Review Chapter Three theoretical framework Chapter Four Methodology Chapter Five Conclusions and Recommendations . CHAPTER 2 Literature review Review of existing knowledge on the subject of the research will help in guiding the current research work. To start with, change management (under certain and uncertain environment) review the two the approach to change which are (1) Determinism Approach (2) voluntarism approach. The exiting knowledge on resistances to change would also be reviewed in this section of the study. CHANGE Organisation can be described as a group of people brought together for the purpose achieving certain objectives. As the basic unit of an organisation is the role rather than the person in it the organisation is maintained in existence, sometimes over a long period of time, despite many changes of members. Statt, (1992, p.102).in this defined the important point there is people interacting in order to order to achieve some defined goal. Organisation can also be defined as systems comprising elements of formal organisational management and operations as well as elements of more informal aspects of organisational life. The organisational systems, themselves, are conceptualised as operating in three types of environments. These are the temporal, external and internal environmental whose elements interact with each other to form the triggers of change which are significant in bringing about organisational changes. Stephen P .robbins and Timothy A. judge (2009 ) Change is inevitable in an organisation, that is usually very difficult to implement and it takes a miracles if it occurs successfully because people will always resist it. According to Kotter (1996:3) states that Although some people predict that most of the reengineering, restrategizing, mergers, downsizing and cultural renewal project will soon disappear, due to the fact that many Marco economic forces are at work and this forces may grow stronger in the future .As a result many organisations are pushing to reduce costs, improving their product and service quality, find new prospects for growth and increase growth. This caused many organisations to effect major changes in other adapt to the shifting conditions in their business environment. These changes help the competitive standing of organisations and have position them for a better future. In many situations the improvements have been disappointing, which have resulted to waste of resources and frustrated employees. To some de gree the consequence of change is inevitable. Whenever people are forced to adjust to shifting conditions, it is generally very painful. Organisational change is an ongoing process that is characterised by fine tuning of the fit or match between the organisations strategy, structure, people, and processes. Such efforts are usually manifested at the departmental and divisional levels. Change management is perceived as a set of processes that is used to ensure that considerable changes are executed in an orderly, controlled and systematic approach to achieve organisational change. One of the objectives of change management is the human aspects of overcoming resistance to change in order for organisational employees to buy into change and achieve the organisations goal of an orderly and effective transformation .Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) start that most major organisations need to undertake moderate changes once a year and major changes every four or five years. Inefficient organisational processes, problems with coordination and lack of cooperation are examples of causes for change that happen within an organisation. Changes does not always have an external start point, it can also originate from an internal source. According to Taiwo (2001:24) defines change as the process of analyzing the past to elicit the present actions required for the future. It involves moving from a state, to a future desired state. A change process starts with the awareness of the need for change. One can not understand an organisation without trying to change it. Change helps us to understand an organisation better. Approaches to the Study of Change The study of change has two approaches which are as follow: Determinism approach Voluntarism Approach Determinism approach: This is an approach by Wilson.1992 with the belief that the operations of organisation are influenced by largely by external forces namely economic situation, the environment and the context in which they operate. Change is been caused by external forces which are beyond the control of mangers or change agents. Wilson.1992 view that an organisation as a system operates in an environment and it is operation can be influence by the environment. However Burns (2000) criticise this approach as been over-fatalistic that mangers would only act as a result of external forces after event have taken place. Voluntarism Approach: This approach is based in the assumption that the result of change process is based on the ability of the manager or changer agent to use a choice strategy to determine the outcome of a change process that is the strategic choice implemented can promote or undermine organisational effectiveness. This model will rely on the skill of the manger ability and confidence to achieve the necessary course of change required in the organisation. This process requires that will identify the type of change the organisation needs. By knowing this it would help to determine the method to use in effecting the necessary changes and the areas to change. You can not fully understand a system until you try to change it. This perspective is shown in the figure 1 below. Identify type of change Incremental change Discontinuous change How to Change Set goals to be attained Diagnose what to change igiide Diagnose what to change How to Change Set goals to be attained Diagnose what to change Figure 1: the process of the voluntarism approach as developed by Nadler and tushman Kurt Lwein argued that for organisational change to be successful it most pass through three steps which 1. Unfreezeing or unlocking from the existing level of behaviour: this a also know as status quo changing to overcome the pressure of both individual resistance and group conformity. This knows as the equilibrium state. The unfreezing is necessary because it helps us determine the Driving force, which direct behaviour away from the status quo can be increased and also the Restraining forces, which hinder movement from the existing equilibrium, can be decrease 2. Change or move to a new level : this a change process that transforms the organisation from the status quo to a desired end state, it involves moving from the equilibrium state to overcome the pressure of the both individual resistance and group resistance 3.Refreeze behaviour at the new level: this combine the two approaches . organisations who have succeed in the past are likely to encounter restraining forces if the management want to bring changes in the organisational process similarly ,that organisation with strong culture excel at incremental changes but are overcome by restraining forces against radical changes P.G Audia, E.A Locke and K.G.Smith,( October 2000),p.837-853. This can be illustrated below in figure 2 Force Affecting Changes: From studies there are two types forces that affects change, internal and external (Kreitner, Kinicki p 562) INTERNAL FORCES: This normally occur When people that have been through difficult ,painful and not very successful change efforts often end up been pessimistic and angry conclusions. This usually result to them be suspicious of the motives of those pushing for transformation in the organisation they worry that major change is not possible ,without having a negative impart on them. They usually normally fear that their boss or the management is incompetent. This type of force within an organisation can be described as INTERNAL forces resisting change. Internal forces for change are operative from inside the organization. They are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Human resource factors. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Managerial behavior/decisions (B) EXTERNAL FORCES. With the trend of globalization, organisations are now encountering challenges in different face. A globalized economy is creating both hazards and more opportunities for every body, which is now forcing organisations, to make sudden change in their processes not only to compete and prosper but also to survive in their industry. Globalization itself is driven by a set powerful forces associated with the following (1)Demographic characteristic (2)technological development (3) market changes (4) Social and political pressure Resistance to change Resistance is seen as a defensive mechanism use by employees to resist change in an organisation which they assume the change would move them from their comfort zone. A major barrier to change is resistance of the people of the organisation .Resistance to change happens when people perceives that the change would take something very valuable from them, this type of reaction is usually been considered as a standard or natural reaction to organisational change. It is not only people that resist change , organisations also resist change they perceives change as a threat to their comfort zone for example an organisational plan or a change in a product line in an organisation maybe considered as a threat among employees which will raised debate , downsizing because of the proposed change . Resistance can be overt, implicit, and immediate. It is easiest for management to deal with resistance when it is overt and immediate. For example if a change is proposed and employees quickly response by complaining , treating to go on strike or engaged in work showdown all this can easily managed by the management by engaging the employees in a dialogue to resolve such issues. in the case of an implicit resistance effort are more subtle to result to loss of loyalty to the organisation , loss of motivation to work , increase in error and mistakes , increase in absenteeism due to sickness and this is more difficult to understand or recognise. In some cases resistance do not normally surface, in a change process is may appear to be minimal reaction at the start but after a week, month, or even years later. Reaction to change can build up and then explode out of proportion in responses to any change action that follows thereafter. According to Golstein(1998) and maurer(1996) resistance to change arise just because management fall to implement reward schemes, training and development , industrial relation and other board human resource processes that will reinforce the change process and assist individuals in accepting it as their own. Inline with this perspective, organisational change will not be successful unless it is owned by the senior management of the organisation. In summary a major force for the resistance to change can be classified into human and organisational sources. Individual source in more off characteristics such as perceptions, personalities and needs while that of organisation is more of the structural makeup of the organisation .Change and resistance go hand in hand: change implies resistance and resistance means that change is taking place. One of the assignments of top mangers and change mangers is to overcome resistance to change of both middle level mangers and employees. Therefore I propose a different view on resistance. The Organisational Culture Organisational culture can be refers to as to be the values and pattern of belief and behaviour that are accepted and practiced by the members of a particular organization( C.D Pringle, D.F .Jennings, and J.G. Longenecker) ,p.594 because each organisation have its own unique cultural which they have develop over time .even organisations in the same industry exhibit distinctly different ways of operating this is further explained in the paragraph below Organisational culture can either facilitate or hinder an organisational strategic action. Organisational culture reflects in the values and beliefs of the process and operations of the organisation. The purpose of organisational culture is to help firm to adapt to environmental changes and to coordinate and integrate its internal operations.(E.H Schein)1985 p.9 .For many organisations the first and major influence upon the culture is their founder, his or her foundational assumptions about success form the foundation of the organisational culture. For example the culture of McDonalds fast food was fast service first which was embedded by the founder Ray A. Kroc, who died in 1984.tildate this it still the cultural of McDonalds fast food. Yukl .P.215-216 points out, that the set of belief about a distinctive competence of the organisation is one of the important elements that make the organisational culture, which makes it different from other organisations. This belief will direct and reflect on the organisational goal and operations. For example an organisation that holds is success to innovation will response quickly to a drop in sale of new product that was introduce to the market. This type of an organisation will offer a common product at a lower price but response to any attempts to lower the cost further . This type of culture normal prevents organisations from adapting successfully to environmental change due to the ever changing need of customers. The needs of consumers are increasing as well as the environment is changing. Example people use more healthy product and environmental friendly products this day. This have cause the culture of organisations to change. In general, we can say that the foundation of an organisations culture reflects the values and beliefs of the founder. But with time the culture is modified as the environment changes. Environmental and societies change render some of the elements of the organisational culture obsolete and even dysfunctional. New elements must be included in the organisational culture and old obsolete elements be discarded for organisations to maintain their success. As seen in figure 3. Influence of a transformational leader Beliefs, values, and assumptions of the founder Adaptation to environmental change over time Current Organisational Culture Evolution of organisational culture Figure 3 the evolution of organisational culture by K.Kerwin and N.Fins Definition of culture: Many people think of culture as national culture which incorporates the idiosyncrasies of a certain race or tribe of people, traditions and methods which have been from generation to generation. Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1985) Culture is defined more broadly than just national culture, although national culture can not remove from the definition, a fact that will become evident. Culture consists of a group of group of people and contains the values that are significant to the group, be it consciously or otherwise. One clarification that national culture can develop for certain values the importance to this study, but the fact that it is part of national culture is incidental. However there is a common problem faced by all the theorists researching culture, that it is exceptionally difficult, if not impossible, to precisely define what organizational culture is. Both Schein (1992:12) and Brown (1998:12) define culture thus: [Culture is] A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems. Schein (1992: 12). Organisational culture refers to the pattern of beliefs, values and learned ways of coping with experience that have developed during the course of an organisations history and which, tends to be manifested in its material arrangements and in the behaviour of its members. Brown (1998: 12). Hofstede (1985:347:357) has defined culture as being the collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes the members of one group or category from another. For the purpose of this study, the definition of Schein and Brown will be adopted. Corporate Culture Culture can be defined not only at the national level but also at the organisational level. This concept is known as corporate culture. The culture of an organisation defines appropriate behaviour, bond and motivates individuals and asserts solutions where there is ambiguity. It governs the way a company processes information, its internal relations and its values (Hampden-Turner C., 1990, p11) Models of Corporate Culture There are a whole host of approaches that seek to identify and qualify an organisations culture. In the main, there are two approaches that theorists use to model or explain organisational culture. These are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Qualitative observational analysis, ethnographical study. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Quantitative analysis, phenomenological study. Schein (1992:17) also recognises that there are different layers of an organisations culture, which are illustrated in the Figure 4 below. ARTEFACTS Visible organisational structures and processes (hard to decipher) ESPOUSED VALUES Strategies, goals, philosophies (espoused justification) BASIC UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS Unconscious, taken-for-granted beliefs, perceptions, thoughts and feelings (ultimate source of values and action) Figure 4: Schein (1992: 17) Layers of Culture This type of assessment is a valid approach, but it does not arrive at an overall view of the observed culture and merely provides observations of specific attributes of a culture. Johnson Scholes (1999:73) make use of similar areas for observation and take it a stage further. They place these observations in context with the physical manifestation of the organisational culture to define what they call The Paradigm of an organisation. The tool they use for this is referred to as a Cultural Web. The Cultural Web is a representation of the taken-for-granted assumptions, or paradigm, of an organisation and the physical manifestation of organisational culture. Johnson Scholes (1999: 73). The Cultural Web takes the ideas of Schein (1992:17) and Hofstede (1985:344-357) and merges them into an amorphous collection of cultural indicators that help the organisation understand its complete self. It would therefore be a mistake to conceive of the paradigm as merely a set of beliefs and assumptions removed from organisational action. They lie within a Cultural Web which bonds them to the day-to-day action of organisational life. Johnson Scholes (1993: 61). Symbols Power Structures Organisa-tional structure Routines and rituals Stories The paradigm Control Systems Figure 5: Johnson Scholes (1993: 61) Cultural Web Organizational culture can be defined as the composition consists of opinions, values, attitudes and behaviours models that are useful to describe the character of the organisation members. This system, which can be found in the organization, guides people `s attitudes. Organizational culture can also be is a set of operating principles that determine how people behave in society. This form base of observable behaviour of people beliefs, values and assumptions that govern their activities. Organizational Behaviour (Barhate Mangesh 2009, p 20) Organizational culture is an essential set of beliefs, perceptions, thoughts and emotions that each member of a group takes for granted (Schein, 1992). These assumptions have become so deeply imbedded in the psyche of a culture that incongruent cultural behavior is unthinkable. The premise is difficult to change, because they are not confronted or debated (Schein, 1992). Perceptions Human beings have the ability to construct perceptions. Perceptions can be seen as selective processes, since human beings do not passively record every detail of the world presented to their senses. Selection is accomplished by active engagement with the environment and the perceiver constructs it in the most suitable informative manner. (M.Sullivan 2000.p.45) Furthermore, it steers the perceiver towards what is relevant and important for the present purpose. Reality can be seen as too complex to be known completely and categorisation can help since it assures us that we know what we need to know (Ekenvall et al 2000:13-14). Cultural Change Approaches Ranson (2001:25-26) believes that change can be planned and implemented by focusing on changing individuals and their behaviour. He proposes a three-stage process: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Unfreezing the current paradigm. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Introduce change and move the culture. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Refreeze into the new paradigm Aside from the aforementioned, two major approaches to changing an organisation culture have been identified: the top down and the bottom up (Thornhill, Lewis et al., 2000:98-102).In the top down, which is sometimes referred to as the culture engineering approach (Palmer Handy 2000:37-46), it is assumed that the management and in particular the top management of an organisation has full knowledge of the desired values, norms and the behaviour expected of all organisational members to achieve success. The success stories at British Airways and other organizations are typical examples of the top down approach. Despite the reported achievements, this approach has been questioned and criticized for being strong in rhetoric but weak in practice (Watson 1996:323-342). In contrast, the bottom up approach attempts to bring about culture change in a participative and interactive manner. Under this approach, one or few pilot units or sections become the focal point for culture change. The lessons learned in the pilot units, which eventually become role models, are used to spread the desired changes to other parts of the organization. The bottom top approach provides greater opportunities for employee involvement in culture change. This approach brings about unified teams and commitment because of regular meetings between staff and management, working across teams rather than functional silos and sharing information and knowledge across all groups. According to Peter Drucker,(2008) One of the main tasks of management should be in making people capable of joint performance, to make their weaknesses irrelevant. This will create harmony in working together, equilibrium in thoughts and actions, goals and achievements, plans and performance, products and clients. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK In this chapter I would relate the force field theories in an in depth study to the problem of accepting the PACE project ,which would help in finding the driving forces and the resist forces to change and would help determine how the preferred PACE project . However as mentioned in the various literatures, for the management of an organisation which is reacting to, or planning to change will be faced with forces acting to facilitate the change and forces acting against it. Thus this force are important for any type of changes, they form the frame work for transformational change.

Julius Ceaser - The Importance Of Brutus :: essays research papers

Julius Caesar Throughout Julius Caesar, Brutus's actions have very extensive ramifications, I wish to review his actions, and the motivating factors behind those actions. I intend to prove that Brutus had a strong and well grounded personae. He had good intentions; however, he made one fatal mistake and that was his downfall. He had many positive qualities. I wish to bring these to the light and delve into how they affected the plot. Brutus is a very sincere man. He truly believes that his role in Cassius's assassination plot is for the good of Rome and her citizens. This becomes very apparent when he says, "But for the general. He would be crown’d: How that might change his nature, there’s the question." (Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 12-14) This truly innocent way of thinking allows him to be persuaded by Cassius to go against Caesar. He is also an honest man. He refuses to take a bribe in lines 75-78 of Act 4, Scene 3. "By any indirection: I did send to you for gold to pay my legions, which you denied me: was that done like Cassius?" This is an honesty that gained him the respect of the people. Brutus was a naive man as well. Sincerity is often misconstrued as being naive; however, I will treat each as a separate characteristic. Brutus's naive spirit is mostly shown not in one single action, but in the overall willingness he has to believe that those around him are essentially good. "Only be patient till we have appeased the multitude, beside themselves with fear, and then we will deliver you the cause why I, that did love Caesar when I struck him, have thus proceeded." (Act 3, Scene 1, Lines 179-183); And also when he said: "So fare you well at once; for Brutus’ tongue hath almost ended his life’s history: night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would rest." (Act 5, Scene 5, Lines 38-42) Brutus was also of noble birth. This isn't really a character trait, but it is one reason why he may have been in such a high ranking political position. "I will with patience hear, and find a time both meet to hear and answer such high things. Till then, my noble friend, chew upon this: Brutus had rather be a villager than to repute himself a son of Rome. (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 169-173) Brutus is also a philosophical thinker.

Justinian I Essay -- essays research papers fc

Justinian I Justinian had a very significant role in world history. There are many things that are overlooked when speaking of Justinian. For instance, Justinian was a great architect. Many times we overlook the little characteristics of Justinian and we focus on the code of Justinian. Justinian was born a barbarian, probably born of Slavic parents in Illyia. We know nothing of his early years except that his uncle adopted him. His uncle was Justin I, the emperor of Constantinople. Then in 527 A.D., Justin made Justinian a co-ruler. Four months later, when Justin died, Justinian became the sole emperor. This was the beginning of Justinian’s famous rule, which lasted from 527 A.D. through 565 A.D. (The Reign of Justinian). The reign of Justinian was significant in many ways. First of all, it marked the final end of the Roman Empire. It was the establishment of the New Byzantine empire. It was also the beginning of Western Europe’s unique position within the civilization of the old world. The religion of Islam spread and the Franks rose to power (The Reign of Justinian). Among other things, Justinian’s rule saw a flourishment in the areas of architecture, the arts, and literature. It was a time of re-building for the empire. Justinian pursued an ambitious dream of restoring the old Roman Empire. In fact, Justinian led the Byzantine army in many wars to regain this land. These wars destroyed much of the great architecture that Justinian himself had created. More than any other series of events before of since that time. Justinian was successful in driving out the Ostrogoths from Italy, and the Vandals from Africa. During the western wars Justinian bought peace with the Persians, weakened the empire, and oppressed his subjects (Justinian). Justinian tried to restore the empire to match the size that it was at the time of the Roman Empire. These immense military efforts did all but exhaust the empire’s treasury. He even had to pay Persia for peace just so that he could have a free hand in the west. However, even after Justinian’s immense efforts, after his death, most of Italy, Southern Spain, and Africa were once again recaptured, leaving only Justinian’s dream of restoring the empire to the glory it once knew. His dream had failed (The Empire at the time of Justinian). The westerners didn’t want to return to some of the old Roman ways such as Roman taxation,... ...e of the capital city, a number of distinguished literary figures of Justinian’s time popped up. Their works were largely influenced by the great Greek philosopher such as Aristotle and Plato. It is said that if Justinian had sided with the Christians when dealing with the Classical Greek teachings, he would be cutting a major part of his heritage. The people, most of which, were not prepared for such an action (The Empire at the time of Justinian). Even though his dream of restoration had failed, he didn’t fail in all areas. many of the areas such as art, literature, architecture, and the famed Code of Justinian, are still around today. Parts of the code are found in laws of different countries. Justinian’s reign would prove to be beneficial not only to his empire, but to the world as we know it today. Justinian was a very important ruler who did much to influence history. Bibliography Empire at the time of Justinian, The- www.greece.org/Romiosini/constple.html Justinian- www.ukans.edu/kansas/medieval/108/lectures/justinian.html Justinian’s Code- www.wwlia.org/history.htm#529 Reign of Justinian, The - www.ukans.org/kansas/medieval/108/justinian.html *All authors are unknown*

Divorce in Todays Society Essay -- Marriage Family History Essays Pape

Divorce in Todays Society The Impact of Non-Traditional Families in the Twenty-First Century The image of the American family looks and functions very differently than families of the past few decades. Men and women raised in the 1950’s and 1960’s when programs such as â€Å"Ozzie and Harriet† and â€Å"Father Knows Best† epitomized the average family, are likely to find themselves in situations that have changed dramatically. Research claims that many family structures are common: single-parent families, remarried couples, unmarried couples, step families, foster families, multi-generational families, extended families, and the doubling up of two families within the same home. Marriage, divorce, and patterns of childbirth are some of the factors that have contributed to these significant changes in families. With these changes comes the possibility of remarriage and the creation of new families which bring together parents and children without blood ties. These are called â€Å"blended families† and are more prevalent today than thirty yea rs ago because divorce rates are rising and remarriages are much more common (Mahoney 40). These issues are the major factors that have had an impact on the structure of the American family. Significant changes are occurring in marriage patterns in the United States. Individuals are postponing marriage until later in life and more people are choosing not to get married. Current statistics indicate that the marriage rate between 1970 and 1990 fell almost thirty percent (Ahlburg and DeVita 24). Compared with the 1960’s marriages have a shorter average duration. A smaller portion of a person’s life is actually spent in marriage, despite gains in life expectancy. In their research, Dennis Ahlburg and Carol DeVita describe an explanation for these facts: While these facts often lead to speculation that the institution of marriage is crumbling, the number of marriages that occurred throughout the 1980’s was at an all time high. Roughly 2.4 million marriages were perfo rmed each year during the past decade. A careful look at marriage trends reveals how marriage patterns are creating new lifestyles and expectations. (21) Another issue which reflects a change of the American family is the trend of divorce. While 2.4 million marriages occurred in 1990, 1.2 million divorces occurred during that same year (Andrew 51). The trend of divorce i... ...aunched a new line of cards devoted entirely to non-traditional families. The cards never use the word â€Å"step† but most of the â€Å"Ties That Bind† cards are clearly aimed at people that have come together by remarriage. All are aimed at the vast and growing group of people who don’t identify with the old definitions of family, and who are finding ways to make their new families work. Bibliography Ahlburg, Dennis and Carol J. DeVita. â€Å"New Realities of the American Family.† Population Bulletin. Aug. 1992: 20-28. SIRS. Family, 4, 96. Andrews, Jan. Divorce and the American Family. New York: Library of Congress Catalog, 1978. Boyd, Monica and Doug Norris. â€Å"Leaving the Nest? The Impact of Family Structure.† Canadian Social Trends. 15 Oct. 1995: 14-17. SIRS. Family, 5, 58. Feifer, George. Divorce: An Oral Portrait. New York: The New Press, 1995. Herbert, Wray. â€Å"When Strangers Become Family.† U.S. News and World Report 29 Nov. 1999: 59-67. Mahoney, Rhona. â€Å"Divorce, Non-traditional Families and Its Consequences For Children.† Leland Stanford. mahoney@leland.stanford.edu. 20 Nov. 1997: 40-42. Stewart, Gail B. Teens and Divorce. San Diego: Lucent Books Inc., 2000.

Coyote Blue Chapter 34~36

CHAPTER 34 Let Slip the Dogs of Irony The owl was still perched on the power pole. Adeline Eats sat in her easy chair reading the Book of Job, trying to keep her dinner down. On the way back from the clinic the kids had elected to have pancakes for dinner and Adeline had eaten a mountainous stack and all the mistakes. Now the matriarchs of breakfast, Aunt Jemima and Mrs. Butterworth, were waging a bubbling battle in her stomach while her kids burned with fever and Job suffered boils. Adeline admired Job for keeping his faith. All she had was a house full of sick kids, a husband with a peyote hangover, an owl out front, and a little difficulty reading small print through her sunglasses, and she was ready to pack it in to her reserved spot in Hell. Old Job was quite a guy, especially with God acting like such a prick. What was that about? When her sisters talked about the Bible it was all the Sermon on the Mount and the Song of Solomon, Proverbs and Psalms; never smitings and plagues. And her sisters had never mentioned that God was a racist. He sure hated those old Philistines. Adeline had a cousin in Philadelphia; she wore a little too much eye shadow, but that didn't seem a sin you should get smote and circumcised for†¦. Adeline's religious reverie was interrupted by a tidal surge of acid in her stomach. She put the Bible down and went to the kitchen for some Pepto-Bismol. She found the bottle and wrestled with the child-guard cap for five minutes before deciding to smite its head off with the cleaver Milo used for hacking deer joints. She was raising the cleaver when the doorbell rang like a call from the governor. She waddled to the door and threw it open. An enormously fat white man in a powder-blue suit was standing on the steps, hat in hand, sample case at his side, grinning like a possum eating shit. He looked vaguely familiar. â€Å"Pardon me, ma'am,† he said. â€Å"I was looking for a Mrs. Adeline Eats, but I have obviously stumbled onto the home of a movie star.† Adeline remembered that she was still wearing sunglasses and her hair was piled up on her head. She lifted her glasses. â€Å"I'm Adeline Eats,† she said. She peeked over his shoulder and shuddered. The owl was still on the pole. â€Å"Of course you are. And I'm Lloyd Commerce, purveyor of the worlds finest vitamin supplement and herbal remedy: Miracle Medicine. May I come in?† Adeline eyed him suspiciously. â€Å"Didn't you sell me a vacuum cleaner a long time ago?† â€Å"You've got a heck of a memory, Mrs. Eats. I did have the privilege of bringing to people's lives that beam of brightness known as the Miracle. How's it working?† â€Å"I don't know. I don't have any rugs.† â€Å"Very shrewd, Mrs. Eats. What better way to avoid dirty carpets than to avoid carpets altogether? The very reason that I have turned my efforts to a product that addresses the number one problem facing families today.† â€Å"What's that?† Lloyd put his hat over his heart. â€Å"If you could just afford me a minute of your time, you will reap the benefit of years of research.† â€Å"Okay, come on in. But you got to be quiet. My kids are sick and my husband is resting.† Adeline stepped out of the doorway and the salesman floated by her to the couch. Adeline sat in her chair across from him. Her stomach gurgled and rolled. She stifled a belch. â€Å"Excuse me.† â€Å"Indigestion!† Lloyd exclaimed as if he had discovered the cure for cancer. â€Å"Fortune has smiled on you, Mrs. Eats. I have in my case the bee's knees of indigestion remedies.† He pulled a brown bottle from his case and held it out reverentially. â€Å"Mrs. Eats, may I present Miracle Medicine.† Adeline fidgeted. â€Å"I don't know if I can afford it. I've been off work for a couple of days taking care of my kids.† â€Å"In that case, you can't afford to be without it. And with a house full of illness you can't afford to wait.† â€Å"Will this stuff cure the flu?† â€Å"The flu? The flu?† Lloyd shook the bottle at Adeline. â€Å"The flu doesn't exist when you have Miracle Medicine. It makes them that's sick well, and them that's well better. This is no backward primitive remedy, ma'am, but the finest product that nature and modern science could come up with. Miracle Medicine cures croup, cramps, cankers, and the creeping crud.† â€Å"I don't know†¦,† Adeline said. â€Å"And how could you know until you try it? Why, Miracle Medicine will even raise your self-confidence, as well as doing away with excess mucus, the embarrassment of bad breath, intestinal gas, dandruff, the heartbreak of psoriasis, most mental illness, and the post-peyote dry heaves.† â€Å"I don't think so,† Adeline said. â€Å"You don't think so? Mrs. Eats, may I see your medicine cabinet?† Lloyd pulled a plastic garbage bag out of his sample case. â€Å"I suppose so,† Adeline said. â€Å"The bathrom is in there.† â€Å"Come with me,† Lloyd said. He got up and led Adeline into the bathroom, where he threw open the medicine cabinet. He took a bottle of aspirin from the shelf and held it up. â€Å"What is this for, Mrs. Eats?† â€Å"Headaches.† â€Å"Don't need it.† Lloyd threw the aspirin in the garbage bag. â€Å"Hey,† Adeline said. â€Å"Miracle Medicine makes headaches a thing of the past.† He grabbed the tube of Preparation H and tossed it in the garbage bag. â€Å"Hemorrhoids are behind you, Mrs. Eats.† Next went the cough medicine, the Band-Aids, some Neosporin ointment, and an old prescription for bladder infections. â€Å"Hey, I need that stuff.† â€Å"Not anymore,† Lloyd said. â€Å"Not with Miracle Medicine.† Adeline was starting to get angry. â€Å"Put that stuff back.† Lloyd lifted Adeline's sunglasses and looked her in the eye. â€Å"Mrs. Eats, you say you have a house full of sick kids. What exactly have you done to make them better?† â€Å"I took them to the clinic but we couldn't get in. I've been praying.† Lloyd nodded knowingly. â€Å"Well you can say good-bye to prayer.† He stormed back into the living room, picked up the Bible, and threw it in the garbage bag. â€Å"You don't need prayer when you have a medicine that reduces swelling, increases sex drive, and directly addresses the national debt.† â€Å"No,† Adeline said, following him. â€Å"I don't want any.† He went to the crucifix on the wall, tore it off, and threw it in the bag. â€Å"Quiets coughs, promotes regularity, increases energy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No!† Adeline said. Lloyd took the 3-D picture of Jesus off the television and threw it in the bag. â€Å"Calms nerves.† â€Å"No!† â€Å"Cures acne.† â€Å"No!† â€Å"Cures crabs, spiritual indecision, poison sumac, rabies, and-â€Å" â€Å"No!† â€Å"Gets rid of unwanted owls.† â€Å"How much is it?† Adeline said. â€Å"Cash or check?† Lloyd said. He sat back down on the couch. Adeline heard the bedroom door open. She turned and saw Milo coming into the living room, wearing sunglasses. He couldn't tolerate bright light for a day or two after a peyote ceremony. â€Å"What in the hell is going on out here?† â€Å"I was just talking to this salesman,† Adeline said. â€Å"What salesman?† Adeline turned around. The salesman, his sample case, and the garbage bag full of over-the-counter icons were gone. The brown bottle of Miracle Medicine sat on the table. â€Å"Here honey, take some of this,† she said. â€Å"You'll feel better.† She felt better already. Sam felt as if he were passing out, then the vertigo of falling. The sounds around him faded; Pokey's voice became distant, then silent. He felt his stomach lurch, as if he had just gone into the big drop of a roller coaster, then an impact that flattened him on the ground. He looked up, expecting to see the others around him in the sweat lodge. The lodge, and everyone in it, was gone. There was nothing but blackness and the sound of his own breathing. A thousand questions raced through his brain, but he realized that each one led to another and the best strategy was to maintain a state of automatic action and remember why he was here. He stood and squinted into the darkness. Two golden eyes were floating in front of him. He heard the sound of an animal breathing. Suddenly a stone platform started to glow. On it stood a figure: a man's body with a dog's head, wearing an Egyptian kilt. Except for the golden eyes, he was black, so black he appeared to absorb light. He carried a golden staff tipped with the effigy of a falcon. Beside him on the platform was the source of the breathing sounds: a beast the size of a hippo, with the jaws of a crocodile on the body of a lion. It snorted and snapped at the air, flicking foam from its jaws. Behind them both stood a giant balance scale. Despite all he had been through, Sam felt a wave of mind-blanking terror pass through him. He wanted to run, but couldn't move. With the light coming off the pedestal he could see human bones scattered around him. He realized that he was standing on his toes, every muscle in his body rigid. The black dog man snapped his staff on the platform. â€Å"Okay, up on the scale,† he said. Then he narrowed his gaze and stepped down from the platform. â€Å"Wait a minute, you're alive. Go away. We only do the dead. Out, out, out.† Of all the strange things Sam had seen in the last week, watching the dog mouth forming human speech was the strangest. It looked like the creature was trying to yak up a chicken bone. Suddenly the fear was gone. This was too goofy, like an Alpo commercial filmed in Hell. â€Å"Are you the one I'm supposed to talk to about – about getting some help?† â€Å"Look, I tried to warn you that my brother was going to cause you problems. I sent my agent to help you.† â€Å"Your brother?† â€Å"Coyote is my brother. He didn't tell you?† â€Å"No, he never mentioned a brother. He said I had to find the one that weighs the souls.† The dog man scoffed. â€Å"Well there's the scale. And here I am. Take a wild guess. Go ahead, Einstein, figure it out. I can't believe he didn't mention me.† He sat down, hung his head and began scratching himself behind the ears. â€Å"He's an ingrate.† The monster growled and Sam jumped back. â€Å"That's Ammut,† the dog man said. â€Å"He wants to eat you.† Sam shuddered. â€Å"Maybe later. I'm here to ask a favor.† â€Å"You don't even know who I am, do you? That hurts. You think I don't have feelings?† â€Å"I'm sorry,† Sam said. â€Å"I'm a little preoccupied. I didn't mean to be rude.† Preoccupied? Naked, in a supernatural world, talking to the dog-food god, trying to get back the woman he loved. Excuse my manners, he thought. â€Å"I'm Sam Hunter, and you are?† â€Å"Anubis, son of Osiris. God of the Underworld.† He scratched behind his ears harder and his leg began to bounce with pleasure. â€Å"Osiris? You're Egyptian?† â€Å"My people lived in the Nile Valley, yes.† â€Å"But you said that you were Coyote's brother.† â€Å"He didn't tell you that story either?† Anubis was irritated. â€Å"No, sorry,† Sam said. How could Calliope's life be in the hands of this neurotic canine? He decided to try to placate the god. â€Å"But I'd love to hear it.† Anubis pricked up his long ears. â€Å"It was long ago,† he began. â€Å"And the god Osiris brought to the people of the Nile Valley the knowledge to plant grain, and he brought great floods to nourish the grains. With his queen, Isis, he ruled all of civilization, until his brother Set, the dark one, became jealous and killed Osiris, tearing his body into fourteen pieces and scattering them over the valley. â€Å"But Osiris had consorted with Set's wife, Nephthys, and she gave birth to two dog-headed sons, Anubis and Aputet. When Set found the boys he put them into baskets and set them afloat in the Nile. Later, Isis found Anubis and adopted him. But Aputet floated out to sea and across the ocean to another land in the West.† Here the dog-headed god puffed himself up with pride. â€Å"Anubis was always the one bound to duty, the faithful. He found the pieces of our father and bound them together so that Osiris lived again. For that he was given the job of weighing human souls against truth, and taking people to the Underworld. â€Å"And my brother,† Anubis said, â€Å"grew up in a wild land, with the powers of a god and no sense of duty or justice. All he cares about is the stories people tell about him. And he never remembers his brother, who has saved him so many times. He never visits. You're sure Coyote never told you this?† Sam didn't know what to say. He thought of the Coyote tales he had heard as a child, and how this seemed to fit. â€Å"No, I was told he brought my people the buffalo and taught us how to live off the land.† â€Å"He did those things to serve himself. Without a way to live, how could they tell stories about him? He has used me for years to make his stories. Now he has returned to Earth and used you.† It all fit. â€Å"He fucked up my life and got Calliope killed for the stories.† Sam was trying to control his anger. â€Å"I'm here because he wants people to tell stories about him?† â€Å"He had to or he would end up like me.† Anubis lowered his voice. â€Å"Your people don't have a word in their language for ;computer; or ;VCR; or â€Å"television.† The children are losing the old stories, the stories of hunting buffalo and counting coup. That's not their world. Coyote was afraid he would be forgotten, like me. With the new stories he's real again. You lived the stories that will bring him back. He doesn't care about the people, only that they are talking about him. I tried. I sent my agent to help you.† Sam looked at Anubis. â€Å"The big black guy, Minty? You sent him?† â€Å"He's mine, a dutiful son, but he doesn't know it,† Anubis said. â€Å"I can no longer walk in your world because I am a dead god. I died of change. So I sent the black one to help you. He is mine like you are Aputet's.† â€Å"I'm his? What does that mean?† â€Å"You were born for his stories. To live them, to carry them on.† â€Å"He wants little kids to hear stories about killing innocent women? That's supposed to be good for a people?† â€Å"He doesn't care. As long as the stories are told they will hold his people together. He says people need a good bad example. It gives them pride in doing the right thing. I have always done the right thing and my people are gone because of it, swallowed up by the Christian god.† â€Å"So how does the story end?† Sam asked. â€Å"Can I bring back Calliope? She didn't do anything wrong.† â€Å"I weigh the souls of the dead against truth. If there is balance, then the soul passes on. If not, I feed it to Ammut.† The monster snarled at the mention of his name. â€Å"I'm stuck here doing this tedious work while my brother roams the world having fun. It's not fair.† Sam kept pressing. â€Å"Let me take the girl back. It's not her fault that Coyote is a jerk.† â€Å"No,† Anubis said. â€Å"My brother needs to learn a lesson. He has never had to sacrifice anything.† â€Å"Let her live and I'll tell your story. You'll be remembered again. People will believe.† Sam had to keep pressing. â€Å"Like the other stories?† The god affected a whiny, mocking tone. â€Å"‘Then along came Coyote's brother, who jumped over him four times, and he came back to life. I never even get my name mentioned.† â€Å"Please,† Sam pleaded. Anubis shook his head slowly. â€Å"No. Tell my brother he needs to learn to sacrifice for his people. I have done what I can do.† The jackal-headed god stood and walked off the pedestal into the darkness, the monster at his heels. â€Å"Wait!† Sam started to run after him. The pedestal went dark and he felt the loss of his love even as the ground dropped out from under him. Just before dawn Coyote climbed into the sweat lodge and sat beside Pokey. Sam's body was shaking, his eyes still rolled back in his head. â€Å"Wait!† he screamed. He jerked, as if someone had applied a current to his body, and his eyes rolled down. The door flap of the sweat lodge was thrown open and the first light of dawn was spilling through. â€Å"How's my brother?† Coyote asked. Sam lunged for Coyote's throat. â€Å"You killed her for stories!† Pokey caught him from behind in a bear hug. â€Å"No, Samson.† Pokey struggled to hold Sam. â€Å"You were gone all night. Harlan and his boys left. Someone named Minty Fresh called the house for you. He said to tell you that some bikers are coming here to take the child. He said they would be here about dawn.† CHAPTER 35 Crazy Dogs Wishing to Die The Underworld made Calliope's death real, stripping Sam of the last of his hope, leaving him like a raw, screaming nerve. He ran naked out of the sweat lodge and dove into the cooling fire pit. â€Å"Samson, stop it!† Pokey shouted. Sam grabbed handfuls of ashes and rubbed them on his face and chest, then ran through the yard and into the house, Coyote and Pokey close behind him. They found him in the living room, pulling the buffalo lance off the wall. The women had taken the children and retreated to the bedrooms. Pokey could hear them crying. Coyote grabbed Sam by the shoulder. â€Å"Stop this.† Sam shrieked and swung around with the lance, slashing Coyote across the chest with the long obsidian point. The trickster fell back bleeding. Sam ran out of the house. â€Å"Go get him,† Pokey said to Coyote. Coyote got up and ran out the front door in time to see Sam vaulting the fence into the side field. Sam jumped on the back of a buckskin horse and wrapped a hand in its long mane, then dug his heels in and smacked the lance across its hindquarters. The horse shot forward and over the fence into the road, taking a line of barbed wire out with its front legs. â€Å"Sam, wait!† Coyote shouted. Sam pulled the horse up and looked back at the trickster. Pokey joined Coyote on the porch. â€Å"Samson, don't do this,† Pokey said. â€Å"I'm tired of being afraid, Pokey. This is a good day to die.† Sam slapped the horse's flank with the lance and galloped down the road. â€Å"Get the gate,† Coyote shouted to Pokey. He ran to the field, scooping up a handful of mud from some tire tracks as he ran and rubbing it on his face and chest. He vaulted the fence and the paint horse, spooked by the commotion, ran to the other side of the pasture. â€Å"Come,† Coyote commanded. The paint horse stopped as if it had been jerked back by an invisible rope, then turned and galloped back to the trickster. Coyote calmed it, then climbed the fence and jumped on its back. Pokey swung the gate open and Coyote rode the horse through, up the driveway, and down the road after Sam. Rarely does one encounter a combination of human traits quite so frightening as a psychopath with a purpose. Yet, as dawn broke in Crow Agency, forty examples of that particular perversion cruised, in a double column of Harley-Davidsons, off the ramp from Highway 90, under the overpass by Wiley's Food and Gas, and down the main street of town. Lonnie Ray Inman rode at the head of the column, followed closely by Bonner Newton on one side and Tinker on the other. Behind them were the other members of the Guild's Santa Barbara chapter, and behind them joiners from other Guild chapters who, pumped with the mere idea of self-righteous vengeance, had volunteered to come along. Pulling into town, they were losing some of their resolve, and confused glances passed from one biker to another. They knew they were coming to the Crow reservation to get a kid who had been stolen, but now that they were here, what were they supposed to do? No one was out on the street at this hour to observe their fierce show of unity and force. It was rapidly turing into an unsatisfying experience, especially for those who were not used to wearing shoulder holsters and were a little chafed under the arms. Lonnie slowed the column to a creep as he looked down the side streets of Crow Agency for signs of the orange Z. At the edge of town, near the tobacco shop, he signaled the column to stop. It was obvious they were about to head into open ranchland. The big bikes thundered out iron flatulence as they idled, putting up a din that rattled the windows of Crow Agency. A few lights went on in town; a few faces appeared in windows. Lonnie Ray signaled Bonner to join him for a conference. Bonner Newton was moving to his side when they heard the war cry. Lonnie and Bonner looked down the road to see two men on horses charging them, one waving a spear over his head and screaming. Bonner was the first to recover from the shock and started to draw his pistol when a shot went off to his left and the speedometer on his bike exploded, peppering him with splinters of glass and metal. â€Å"I wouldn't draw that.† The voice came from the rooftops. â€Å"I wouldn't fucking move.† Bonner looked up to see someone holding a scoped hunting rifle on them. The horsemen were still bearing down on them. One of the bikers in the column started to draw and a shot came from the other direction, taking the light off his bike. There was another one on the roof across the street. The bikers looked around. There were four men with scoped high-powered rifles pointing down on them from different rooftops. â€Å"I can take a flea off a gnat's ass at two hundred yards with this,† Harlan shouted over his rifle. â€Å"You let them popguns stay where they are.† Sam screamed again, a long rasping wail. â€Å"He's not fucking stopping,† Tinker said. He drew his Magnum and fired before Harlan put a bullet in his shoulder, spinning him off his bike to the pavement. Coyote grabbed his chest and rolled off his horse, bouncing into the ditch. Seeing that Sam wasn't going to stop, Bonner Newton dropped his bike and dove into the gutter, covering his head. Lonnie watched the crazed horseman, streaked with ashes and sweat, bearing down on him. Sam was only a few yards away, raising his lance for the kill, when Lonnie went for his gun. Sam yanked on the horse's mane, jumping it over the front of the bike. One hoof hit Lonnie in the chest; another took off a piece of his right ear before the horse stumbled into the bikers behind him. Sam rolled free and up to his feet. He ran back to where Lonnie lay and raised the lance above his head as Lonnie's eyes went wide and he screamed. â€Å"Samson!† Harlan shouted. Sam put all his weight behind the lance and came down with it, screaming at the top of his lungs. At the last second he spun the lance and touched Lonnie on the chest with the butt end. â€Å"Go away,† he said. Sam stumbled away and dropped the lance. â€Å"That's it,† Harlan shouted. â€Å"Everybody just turn your bikes around and go back the way you came. We'll drop the first one that looks like he's doing the wrong thing.† The bikers looked around in confusion. Festus, Harry, and Billy Two Irons kept their rifles shouldered and trained on the column. Bonner Newton climbed to his feet. â€Å"Turn around,† he said, waving his hand in the air. He looked at Lonnie. â€Å"See if Tink can ride. Let's get the fuck out of here.† Sam walked back down the road to where Coyote had fallen. The trickster was lying naked in the ditch, covered with mud, his leg bent under him. Blood was coursing from a hole in his chest and he was breathing in short, rattling pants. Sam bent over him and held his head. Coyote's eyes slowly opened. â€Å"That's the last coup,† Coyote said. â€Å"You counted the last coup. It's a new world now.† The trickster coughed; foamy blood covered his lips. Sam had no anger left, no thoughts, no words. A minute passed. He heard someone blowing a car horn somewhere, and Harlan saying, â€Å"Let him through.† Finally Sam said, â€Å"What can I do?† â€Å"Tell the stories,† Coyote said. He closed his eyes and stopped breathing. Sam gently lowered the trickster's head and lay down in the ditch beside him. He heard a car pull up on the road above, but did not look up. A car door, footsteps, and hands under his body, lifting him. He opened his eyes to see a battered black face with golden eyes. â€Å"Are you okay?† Minty Fresh said. Sam didn't answer. He felt himself being put in a car. â€Å"I'll take you home,† Minty said. Sam sat in the limo, the car door open, staring at the dashboard. Someone walked up beside him and said, â€Å"Nice outfit, Hunts Alone.† Sam looked up to see Billy Two Irons standing over him: older, and just as thin, but unmistakably Billy Two Irons. Sam managed a weak smile. â€Å"Your face cleared up.† â€Å"Yeah,† Billy said. â€Å"I got laid, too. Only last week, but who's counting after thirty-five years?† Sam looked forward trying to squint back tears. Billy shuffled a bit with discomfort. â€Å"This guy's going to take you home. I'll stop by when things settle down a little.† Sam nodded. â€Å"It was a good day to die.† â€Å"You're always trying to cheer me up,† Billy said. â€Å"Don't take off again, okay?† He patted Sam's shoulder and opened the back door of the limo for Minty Fresh, who laid Coyote's body on the backseat, then closed the door. Minty closed Sam's door, then went around and got in on the driver's side. He put the key in the ignition and paused. Without looking at Sam he said, â€Å"I'm sorry. Your uncle told me about the girl. They beat on me pretty bad and I told them where you were going. I screwed up. I'm sorry. If I could make it up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Sam didn't look up. â€Å"How did you get away?† â€Å"They found my casino ID. I think the rumors about the Mafia running the casinos is what stopped them. They were afraid of retribution. I called the casino and got your office number. Your secretary gave me the number here. I called as soon as I got away.† Sam didn't say anything. Minty started the limo and pulled slowly onto the road, headed out of town to the Hunts Alone place. Sam said, â€Å"What are you going to do with his body?† â€Å"I don't know. I guess it will come to me, like everything else I've done in the last two days.† Sam looked at Minty, and for the first time saw the golden eyes, surrounded with bruises. â€Å"Do you know what's happened here? Do you know what we are?† Minty shook his head, â€Å"What we are? No. I was a trouble-shooter in a casino until yesterday. Now I guess I'm a car thief.† â€Å"You didn't really have any choice. But I think it's over now. You're free now.† â€Å"Sure, throw that responsibility on me,† Minty said. He grinned. Sam reached deep down and found he had a smile left, like the last worm in the bait can. They were approaching the Hunts Alone place. Minty turned into the driveway and stopped. â€Å"Do you need any help?† â€Å"No, I'll be okay,† Sam said automatically, not knowing what he needed. He opened the car door. â€Å"Where will you go?† â€Å"Like I said, I guess it will come to me. Maybe San Diego.† â€Å"You can stay here if you want.† â€Å"No, I don't think so. But thanks. I'm feeling like there's still something I have to do.† â€Å"When it comes to you, remember, the sacred number is four. You jump over the body four times.† â€Å"Am I supposed to know what that means?† â€Å"You will,† Sam said. â€Å"Good luck.† He got out of the car and stood at the end of the driveway watching Minty drive away. What now? He hadn't died, and he didn't have a life to return to. Nothing. Empty. Dead inside. He turned and started toward the house. Cindy and another woman appeared at the door, and waited. From the shocked look on their faces Sam realized how crazed he must look: naked, covered with soot, streaked with sweat and tears. He waved to them and headed around the house to wash himself in the barrel back by the sweat lodge. As he walked by the Airstream he heard the door unlatch and looked up. Calliope stepped out of the trailer. â€Å"Sam?† she said. â€Å"I had the strangest dream.† She looked around the yard, then at the trailer. â€Å"I didn't just land on the Wicked Witch of the East, did I?† Sam closed his eyes and took her in his arms. He held her there for a long time, laughing, then sobbing, then laughing again, feeling as if he had, at last, come home. Crazy Dogs Wishing to Die One day, a long time ago, Coyote was coming along when he saw a cowboy sitting on his horse, rolling a cigarette. Coyote watched the cowboy take a little pouch of tobacco out of his shirt pocket, and then some rolling papers. He poured some tobacco into a paper, then pulled the strings of the pouch tight with his teeth and put it back in his pocket. Then he rolled up the paper, licked it, and stuck the cigarette in his mouth. He lit it with a match. Coyote had smoked a pipe many times, but he had never seen anything quite so wonderful as rolling a cigarette. â€Å"I want to do that,† Coyote said. â€Å"Let me do that.† â€Å"You can't,† the cowboy said. â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"You ain't got a shirt, so you ain't got a shirt pocket for your tobacco pouch.† Coyote didn't wear a shirt in those days. He looked at his bare chest, then at the cowboy's shirt. â€Å"I can make a pocket in my chest.† â€Å"Well, why don't you do that.† The cowboy unfolded his pocketknife and handed it to Coyote. Coyote looked one more time at the cowboy's pocket, to get the size right, then he made a deep cut in his chest. He looked a little surprised, then he fell over dead. The cowboy got back his pocketknife and rode off. A little while later, Coyote's brother came along and saw the trickster lying dead on the ground. He jumped over Coyote's body four times and Coyote sprang up, good as new. â€Å"You did it again,† Coyote's brother said. â€Å"I really wanted to roll a cigarette like the cowboy.† Coyote's brother shook his head. He said, â€Å"If you're going to live around these white folks, Coyote, you got to learn. Just because you want something, it don't mean that it's good for you.† â€Å"I knew that,† Coyote said. CHAPTER 36 There Ain't No Cure for Coyote Blue There is a saying that goes back to the buffalo days: there are no orphans among the Crow. Even today, if someone stays for a time on the reservation, he will be adopted by a Crow family, regardless of his race. The idea of a person without family makes the Crow uncomfortable. So when Samuel Hunter became, once again, Samson Hunts Alone, he found that there was family waiting for him, as well as his new white wife and her son. Pokey said, â€Å"There ain't near enough blond Indians, if you ask me.† And even as he left his old name behind with his old life, Sam maintained his shape-shifter ways, putting on each face as it was needed. Sometimes he was quick and clever, and other times he was simple, when simple served his purpose. When he spoke for the Crow to the government he wore traditional tribal dress and an eagle feather in his hair. But when he reported to his own people he dug out one of his Armani suits and the Rolex (that had long since stopped running), because that is what they needed to see. He was given the honor of pouring for the sweat, and the responsibility to carry on the old ways, and he programmed a computer to speak Crow, and using it, at the age of eighty, Pokey Medicine Wing learned to speak his own language. And Sam put on many faces when he told the stories. When he told the old stories, of how Old Man Coyote made the world, of how he got his power to change shapes, of Cottontail and Raven and the other animal people, Sam was like the trickster himself, grinning and laughing, making rude noises, his golden eyes shining like fire. When he told the new stories – of the Crow man who had forgotten who he was, of a Japanese businessman who saved the life of an old shaman, of a black man who helped rescue a white child from the enemy, of all the tricks and machines that Coyote used to bring the Crow man home, and of the last coup – his voice took on a melancholy sweetness and his eyes went wide and bright, as if life itself was a delightful surprise. And when he told the story of the journey into the Underworld, of how Coyote's brother let Calliope live again because the trickster gave his own life, Sam became grave and dark, and those who doubted were quickly convinced when they saw the scar on Calliope's back from the bullet that had killed her. But even as Sam put on these faces and wore these personalities, he knew exactly who he was. He was happy. After a while Calliope became pregnant and Sam's peace was again thrown out of balance. He was jumpy and nervous until the day the little girl was born and he saw that she had Calliope's deep brown eyes, not the golden eyes of a trickster. And meanwhile, as Grubb grew, he found that he could frighten his adopted father by hiding and making the sound of a coyote howling, and for this he suffered long lectures from his old Uncle Pokey about respecting his elders. When Grubb was nine, in the time of the new grass, Sam took him to the great medicine wheel for his first fast. During the ride, in Pokey's ancient pickup truck, Sam instructed Grubb on how to enter the Spirit World and prepared him for what to expect there. â€Å"And one last thing,† Sam said as he left the boy on the mountain. â€Å"If a fat guy in a big blue car comes along and offers you a ride, don't get in.† What Grubb saw on his vision, and what happened when he grew up, is a story for another time. But it should be noted here that over the years, as he grew into manhood, his eyes faded gradually from dark brown to a bright, shining gold. â€Å"Coyote medicine will do them white folks some good,† Pokey said with a grin. END