Part Seven Chapter 2

‘No problem,' he muttered. He was glad. He could not imagine what they had left to talk about. This way he could sit with Gaia. A little way down Church Row, Samantha Mollison was standing at her sitting-room window, holding a coffee and watching mourners pass her house on their way to St Michael and All Saints. When she saw Tessa Wall, and what she thought was Fats, she let out a little gasp. ‘Oh my God, he's going,' she said out loud, to nobody. Then she recognized Andrew, turned red, and backed hastily away from the glass. Samantha was supposed to be working from home. Her laptop lay open behind her on the sofa, but that morning she had put on an old black dress, half wondering whether she would attend Krystal and Robbie Weedon's funeral. She supposed that she had only a few more minutes in which to make up her mind. She had never spoken a kind word about Krystal Weedon, so surely it would be hypocritical to attend her funeral, purely because she had wept over the account of her death in the Yarvil and District Gazette, and because Krystal's chubby face grinned out of every one of the class photographs that Lexie had brought home from St Thomas's? Samantha set down her coffee, hurried to the telephone and rang Miles at work. ‘Hello, babe,' he said. (She had held him while he sobbed with relief beside the hospital bed, where Howard lay connected to machines, but alive.) ‘Hi,' she said. ‘How are you?' ‘Not bad. Busy morning. Lovely to hear from you,' he said. ‘Are you all right?' (They had made love the previous night, and she had not pretended that he was anybody else.) ‘The funeral's about to start,' said Samantha. ‘People going by †¦' She had suppressed what she wanted to say for nearly three weeks, because of Howard, and the hospital, and not wanting to remind Miles of their awful row, but she could not hold it back any longer. ‘†¦ Miles, I saw that boy. Robbie Weedon. I saw him, Miles.' She was panicky, pleading. ‘He was in the St Thomas's playing field when I walked across it that morning.' ‘In the playing field?' In the last three weeks, a desire to be absorbed in something bigger than herself had grown in Samantha. Day by day she had waited for the strange new need to subside (this is how people go religious, she thought, trying to laugh herself out of it) but it had, if anything, intensified. ‘Miles,' she said, ‘you know the council †¦ with your dad – and Parminder Jawanda resigning too – you'll want to co-opt a couple of people, won't you?' She knew all the terminology; she had listened to it for years. ‘I mean, you won't want another election, after all this?' ‘Bloody hell, no.' ‘So Colin Wall could fill one seat,' she rushed on, ‘and I was thinking, I've got time – now the business is all online – I could do the other one.' ‘You?' said Miles, astonished. ‘I'd like to get involved,' said Samantha. Krystal Weedon, dead at sixteen, barricaded inside the squalid little house on Foley Road †¦ Samantha had not drunk a glass of wine in two weeks. She thought that she might like to hear the arguments for Bellchapel Addiction Clinic. The telephone was ringing in number ten Hope Street. Kay and Gaia were already late leaving for Krystal's funeral. When Gaia asked who was speaking, her lovely face hardened: she seemed much older. ‘It's Gavin,' she told her mother. ‘I didn't call him!' whispered Kay, like a nervous schoolgirl as she took the phone. ‘Hi,' said Gavin. ‘How are you?' ‘On my way out to a funeral,' said Kay, with her eyes locked on her daughter's. ‘The Weedon children's. So, not fabulous.' ‘Oh,' said Gavin. ‘Christ, yeah. Sorry. I didn't realize.' He had spotted the familiar surname in a Yarvil and District Gazette headline, and, vaguely interested at last, bought a copy. It had occurred to him that he might have walked close by the place where the teenagers and the boy had been, but he had no actual memory of seeing Robbie Weedon. Gavin had had an odd couple of weeks. He was missing Barry badly. He did not understand himself: when he should have been mired in misery that Mary had turned him down, all he wanted was a beer with the man whose wife he had hoped to take as his own †¦ (Muttering aloud as he had walked away from her house, he had said to himself, ‘That's what you get for trying to steal your best friend's life,' and failed to notice the slip of the tongue.) ‘Listen,' he said, ‘I was wondering whether you fancied a drink later?' Kay almost laughed. ‘Turn you down, did she?' She handed Gaia the phone to hang up. They hurried out of the house and half jogged to the end of the street and up through the Square. For ten strides, as they passed the Black Canon, Gaia held her mother's hand. They arrived as the hearses appeared at the top of the road, and hurried into the graveyard while the pall-bearers were shuffling out onto the pavement. (‘Get away from the window,' Colin Wall commanded his son. But Fats, who had to live henceforth with the knowledge of his own cowardice, moved forward, trying to prove that he could, at least, take this †¦ The coffins glided past in the big black-windowed cars: the first was bright pink, and the sight robbed him of breath, and the second was tiny and shiny white †¦ Colin placed himself in front of Fats too late to protect him, but he drew the curtains anyway. In the gloomy, familiar sitting room, where Fats had confessed to his parents that he had exposed his father's illness to the world; where he had confessed to as much as he could think of, in the hope that they would conclude him to be mad and ill; where he had tried to heap upon himself so much blame that they would beat him or stab him or do to him all those things that he knew he deserved, Colin put a hand gently on his son's back and steered him away, towards the sunlit kitchen.) Outside St Michael and All Saints, the pall-bearers were readying themselves to take the coffins up the church path. Dane Tully was among them, with his earring and a self-inked tattoo of a spider's web on his neck, in a heavy black overcoat. The Jawandas waited with the Bawdens in the shade of the yew tree. Andrew Price hovered near them, and Tessa Wall stood at some distance, pale and stony-faced. The other mourners formed a separate phalanx around the church doors. Some had a pinched and defiant air; others looked resigned and defeated; a few wore cheap black clothes, but most were in jeans or tracksuits, and one girl was sporting a cut-off T-shirt and a belly-ring that caught the sun when she moved. The coffins moved up the path, gleaming in the bright light. It was Sukhvinder Jawanda who had chosen the bright pink coffin for Krystal, as she was sure she would have wanted. It was Sukhvinder who had done nearly everything; organizing, choosing and persuading. Parminder kept looking sideways at her daughter, and finding excuses to touch her: brushing her hair out of her eyes, smoothing her collar. Just as Robbie had come out of the river purified and regretted by Pagford, so Sukhvinder Jawanda, who had risked her life to try and save the boy, had emerged a heroine. From the article about her in the Yarvil and District Gazette to Maureen Lowe's loud proclamations that she was recommending the girl for a special police award to the speech her headmistress made about her from the lectern in assembly, Sukhvinder knew, for the first time, what it was to eclipse her brother and sister. She had hated every minute of it. At night, she felt again the dead boy's weight in her arms, dragging her towards the deep; she remembered the temptation to let go and save herself, and asked herself how long she would have resisted it. The deep scar on her leg itched and ached, whether moving or stationary. The news of Krystal Weedon's death had had such an alarming effect on her that her parents had arranged a counsellor, but she had not cut herself once since being pulled from the river; her near drowning seemed to have purged her of the need. Then, on her first day back at school, with Fats Wall still absent, and admiring stares following her down the corridors, she had heard the rumour that Terri Weedon had no money to bury her children; that there would be no stone marker, and the cheapest coffins. ‘That's very sad, Jolly,' her mother had said that evening, as the family sat eating dinner together under the wall of family photographs. Her tone was as gentle as the policewoman's had been; there was no snap in Parminder's voice any more when she spoke to her daughter. ‘I want to try and get people to give money,' said Sukhvinder. Parminder and Vikram glanced at each other across the kitchen table. Both were instinctively opposed to the idea of asking people in Pagford to donate to such a cause, but neither of them said so. They were a little afraid, now that they had seen her forearms, of upsetting Sukhvinder, and the shadow of the as-yet-unknown counsellor seemed to be hovering over all their interactions. ‘And,' Sukhvinder went on, with a feverish energy like Parminder's own, ‘I think the funeral service should be here, at St Michael's. Like Mr Fairbrother's. Krys used to go to all the services here when we were at St Thomas's. I bet she was never in another church in her life.' The light of God shines from every soul, thought Parminder, and to Vikram's surprise she said abruptly, ‘Yes, all right. We'll have to see what we can do.' The bulk of the expense had been met by the Jawandas and the Walls, but Kay Bawden, Samantha Mollison and a couple of the mothers of girls on the rowing team had donated money too. Sukhvinder then insisted on going into the Fields in person, to explain to Terri what they had done, and why; all about the rowing team, and why Krystal and Robbie should have a service at St Michael's. Parminder had been exceptionally worried about Sukhvinder going into the Fields, let alone that filthy house, by herself, but Sukhvinder had known that it would be all right. The Weedons and the Tullys knew that she had tried to save Robbie's life. Dane Tully had stopped grunting at her in English, and had stopped his mates from doing it too. Terri agreed to everything that Sukhvinder suggested. She was emaciated, dirty, monosyllabic and entirely passive. Sukhvinder had been frightened of her, with her pockmarked arms and her missing teeth; it was like talking to a corpse. Inside the church, the mourners divided cleanly, with the people from the Fields taking the left-hand pews, and those from Pagford, the right. Shane and Cheryl Tully marched Terri along between them to the front row; Terri, in a coat two sizes too large, seemed scarcely aware of where she was.

Form Follows Profit

001.png"/>Many people don’t gain how difficult it can be to plan something. Particularly constructing, this is why architect’s occupation isn’t easy. The massing and overall design of the edifice is influenced by figure of different factors and how of import they are differs for each design. I would wish to foreground the most of import 1s, and highlight which one of them cross mention rather frequently.As Richard Rogers said â€Å"signifier follows net income, and this is aesthetic rule of our times† , unluckily this is chief factor impacting the design and all the other procedures in architecture. Although it’s non the lone 1. Other illustration is frequently on the really beginning of the undertaking – the site. Size constellation, topography this has immense impact on design. Sometimes we can alter somewhat topography, but site form would be more of an issue. Often in utmost instances this becomes the plus of finalised undertaking, like i t happened in Tokyo undertaking â€Å"A life with big opening† frequently called â€Å"gap house† designed by ONDESIGN.Following factor is frequently one of the most influential in good and besides in the bad manner. These are and include figure of people, get downing from client all the manner to vicinity, which sometimes influences the design. Probably one of most of import stakeholders is user/client, they frequently provide driving force for the design. As they may be personally involved in procedure of design and so building. Possibly the best illustration of this could be STAMP HOUSEdesigned by Charles Wright Architects. This undertaking in was directed and influence by assorted factor of which the most ambitious was client, that desired C impersonal, off-grid architectural statement that would be: â€Å"new face of tropical architecture† . Efficaciously this peculiar undertaking was as extremely influenced by client’s debut of environmental design. Final design was to minimalize impact on environment ( as client requested ) , so that ecosystem around it would non be affected. Therefore architect’s had to work really closely with experts and assorted administrations. Efficaciously this lead to zero C undertaking that is flat 5 cyclone cogent evidence and hence classed as a cyclone shelter, to boot it’s inundation cogent evidence and wouldn’t suffer from any natural catastrophe as it uses on sight solar panels and rain H2O collected in 25000 liters armored combat vehicle that is besides located on the site. Another really influential stakeholders are neighbours and community groups. They frequently consequence non merely design but besides whether edifice will be completed or non. Good illustration could be found in Manchester where populace waspicketing building of new Manchester Metropolitan University campus edifice, the site chosen by MMU has antecedently been picketed by same group of people and that w as likely what caused investing to neglect. This clip it was different partly due to professional mode of architect’s, MMU and local authorities. Although as many people claim the chief function in this instance was played by another influential and sometimes criticalfactor – economic position. As the economic crisis emerged rate of investing started drastically falling down, MMU used this fact to derive planning permission for Birley Fields proposal and convince governments and occupants. This merely reinforces and relates back to celebrated Rogers quotation mark â€Å"Form follows net income, is the aesthetic rule of our times† . This briefly mentioned local authorities as they are stakeholder stand foring local and public involvements. They are frequently chief organic structure that appoints people to guarantee, that edifice at it concluding phase is safe to utilize. Which evidently needs to be considered and included during design phase. Unfortunately non e verything could be predictedlike 9/11 terrorist onslaught. Although authorities and interior decorators with applied scientists do their really best to forestall similar catastrophes from go oning. Thisincludes meeting and exciding edifice ordinances, fireordinances and many more. These besides comparatively strongly influences the design. Number of people work to do certain edifice is safe the most of import and influential of which is applied scientist or squad of applied scientists. They do all the difficult computations, and this is what they have done in instance of WTC. Architects and applied scientists jointly admitted that they designed World Trade Center to defy air plane hit. Although it was impossible foredifice to manage this with so intense fire inside it. This leads me to another factor that strongly influences design that makes it possibleand functional. Even greatest edifice on the Earth without sufficient services and construction to back up it– is a catastro phe. This is why applied scientist and sometimes M & A ; E engineer consequence design. Often particularly in large undertakings architect and structural applied scientist work in coaction to make concluding design. This is development from the sentence said by Louis Sullivan about his new Wainwright Building – â€Å"form follows function† . Even if designer and applied scientist work near together they are frequently limited by building methods and procedures, like it about happened with Beetham Tower in Manchester. The design caused a batch of difference on how and whether it would be possible to safely build four-metre cantilever which is definite land grade in Manchester’s skyline. Frank Lloyd Wright found similar job when he proposed Mile High Illinois which was proposed in 1956 and ne'er been built, merely because building methods wouldn’t allow it so and perchance even now it could be disputing to build this proposed edifice. Although this sho uldn’t be a ground non to plan it there are figure of undertakings that has been designed and either non construct or changed during building because this coordination between designer and applied scientist wasn’t successful. Similar cooperation would be good between M & A ; E applied scientist and designers. Although services that M & A ; E is taking attention of frequently are non of peculiarly of import at the design phase and hence sometimes they tend to be pushed to blank box where they should be placed or they non even included at all. Unfortunately this is frequently non adequate topographic point and extremelyeffects aesthetics of inside. This wasn’t instance in Pompidou Centre in Paris where all the services are on the external facade and therefore services engineer strongly effected or really created the visual aspect of this edifice. This advanced design created really industrial visual aspect, besides its good topographic point to gain how many services and work goes into parts of edifice that are normally hidden. Possibly concealing all this causes people to believe anyone can construct a edifice and name itarchitecture – and this is wrong. Another act uponing factor is decidedly sustainability. This factor is more and more frequently mentioned in client’s demands as its good for PR. Although due to planetary heating and heat island consequence more and more government’s and governments include some signifier of sustainability in their edifice ordinances. And hence it’s decidedly outside of architect’s influence. Although sometimes this every bit good as other limitations allow great designs to be created and to emerge, likewise like it was with Pompidou Centre with services, they allowed it to be great edifice. Often sustainability of the edifice doesn’t cause immense consequence on the design, although it has to be considered from the start. Another strongly influential fac tor that I would wish to advert is clip. As we know ‘time is money’ this is what Benjamin Franklin said, and it’s still valid. Different people need speedy design for figure of different grounds. No affair of ground this influences the design. It may be that because designer demand to complete design really rapidly and he can’t polish all the. It could be that person works truly good under force per unit area and hence concluding design may come out brightly. In most instances where clip is of import factor client decide to utilize unconventional edifice procedure called ‘Design and Build’ this means that building starts every bit shortly as architect creates rough form. That causes that some of the inside informations can’t be changed as they may already been built. This isn’t something new, it’s go oning for long clip, one of best illustrations is Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, this Roman Catholic basilica designed by des igner Antoni Gaudi , building started in 1882, this is 122 old ages ago, and it’s still nonfinished. This wouldn’t be possible without this building method, and hopefully if finished in 2028 as current estimations show it would be decidedly one of the longest building processes in the history. As seeable on exposure above it’s non surprising, because as its being build, the attending to the inside informations and the beauty of building is at the highest possible degree. Other influential factor that in my sentiment is cardinal is the map. The function of designer is to happen the solution for many, sometimes really difficult jobs. This is what in my sentiment defines good designer. It’s non merely how ‘pretty’ the edifice is, or how tall, it’s about how good architect or even designer thought about possible issues and how he solved it. Otherwise edifice is merely – a caducous. Functional but without idea putted into it, althoug ht because â€Å"form follows function† or at least it should, the design supposed to reenforce the map, and decidedly non to travel against it. This is what many people claim that has happened in instance of Vitra Fire Station designed by Zaha Hadid, even though she is great designer, specific to herdesign manner. As many people claim, the sculptural fanciness of interior decorator caused edifice to be non functional as fire station and had to be handed over, and now it’s â€Å"used for exhibitions and events and continues to be one of the high spots on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein.† And I’m non challenging fact that it’s evidently architectural high spot of the country. Although it’s decidedly in its design more suited for exhibition country instead than fire station, because in instance of fire it was difficult for fire engine rapidly go forth, to the extent that some people called it unsafe. And hence I think it’s of import t o make great designs, but non to bury about primary demands of the topographic point, even mill or storage edifices could be architectural statement non merely a edifice.There are many, many more factors that affect architectural designs all over the planet. Some more and other less, it all depends on client, and state of affairs that the edifice is being construct, nevertheless decidedly most of import and most influential is map followed by site, money and the client.Mention:Shoebox home. 23 Oct 2012. House in a Gap. [ Online ] . Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //shoeboxdwelling.com/2012/10/23/house-in-a-gap/ [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Ondesign. Unknown. A life with big gap. [ Online ] . Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ondesign.co.jp/english/works/062/ # workTitle [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Oxford Dictionaries. Unknown. Oxford English Dictionary – stakeholder. [ Online ] . Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/stakeholder [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Charles Wright Architects, Unknown. Stamp house publication. [ Online ] . Available at: ww.wrightarchitects.com.au/projects-2/contact/stamp-house/ [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Manchester Evening News, 26 Feb 2011, Revealed: New programs for Manchester Metropolitan University’s new Hulme campus. [ Online ] . Available at: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Manchester Metropolitan University. Unknown. Birley Fields campus publication. [ Online ] . Available at: www.mmu.ac.uk/birleyfields [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] 9/11 Blogger. 21 Feb 2007. What the World Trade Center Building Designers Said: Before and After 9/11. [ Online ] . Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.prisonplanet.com/articles/february2007/210207designers.htm [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] History, 25 Jan 2001. Unknown. 911 Facts with Hero and Victim – interview with Frank DeMartini. [ Video on-line ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=zl1GfcD3KZ0 [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] World Trade Center. n.d. [ Image online ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.photosup.biz/img/world-trade-center-new-york.html [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Beetham Tower. n.d. [ Image online ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.cityadvisor.info/blogPost.advisor? _escaped_fragment_=blogPost= @ 2482 [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Wainwright Building. n.d. [ Image online ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.essential-architecture.com/STYLE/STY-Sullivanesque.htm [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Frank Lloyd Wright ‘s mile-high edifice. n.d. [ Image online ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.wbez.org/blog/john-r-schmidt/2011-08-25/frank-lloyd-wrights-mile-high-building-90793 [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Gagnon, B. 20 Sep 2009. Sagrada Familia 01. [ Image online ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File: Sagrada_Familia_01.jpg [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] SBA73. 21 Feb 2011. Sagrada Familia nave roof item. [ Image online ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File: Sagrada_Familia_nave_roof_detail.jpg [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Zaha Hadid. Unknown. Vitra Fire Station Publication. [ Online ] . Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/vitra-fire-station [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Anniina Koivu. 11 Jun 2013. Happy Birthday Fire Station. [ Onilne ] . Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.vitra.com/en-gb/magazine/details/184799 [ Accessed: 22 Mar 2014 ] Form follows profit1200921975

Physical Education Essay

Sport is an important part of today’s society and plays a large role in many people’s lives. Now more than ever, sport events dominate headlines and athletes have become national heroes. The question is, does sport merit this kind of interest and attention? From a social standpoint, sport plays a positive role in uniting people from different social backgrounds in support of their favourite team. This can aid people’s understanding and tolerance of each other. However, just as sport unites people so it can divide them, as is often demonstrated by crowd violence at football matches. As far as education is concerned, sport is an important part of every child’s schooling, as it plays a big role in both their physical and mental development. It teaches children how to work as a part of a team and cooperate with others, while at the same time improving physical condition. The only drawback to this is that children who are less able to perform well in sport are likely to feel inadequate in comparison to their more gifted classmates, which may affect their self-confidence. From an economic point of view, sport can be very profitable, as it attracts a lot of sponsorship and advertising. On the one hand this creates revenue for the sporting industry which allows for improvement and expansion. On the other hand large sums of money are often paid to event organisers to promote products such as cigarettes, which are harmful to one’s health. In my opinion, sport should be used as much as possible to encourage people to lead a more healthy and peaceful life instead of being used to promote unhealthy products. We live in jet age. Life has become so easier than ever before. With advancing technologies our lives have become comfortable. But in today’s world under the spell of technology we are ignoring our health. Even kids rather than going out and playing with friends prefer watching television ,playing computer games,or surf the net. Playing Sports keeps us physically fit and mentally alert. It keeps us healthy which is the most important thing of all!! as it is indeed equal to all the wealth in the world,for you may have money but if you have not got health to enjoy it what is its use ? We have variety of sports to choose from like Basketball, Tennis , Football, Cricket, Swimming etc. Besides sports not only helps us to be physically fit but it also teaches us the values of discipline, loyalty , teamwork, hard-work and honesty which helps us to play the bigger game of life! A true sportsman celebrates victory and accepts defeat with a smile. To him winning is not important but giving his 100% is! But in today’s competitive world studies are given more importance. A child doesn’t get enough time to play because of constant pressure of studies and his parents to perform better and better. Hence children ,parents and teachers must understand the importance of sports and give the child enough time to play as we all know very well that â€Å"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! † All work and no play make jack a dull boy. Nowadays many schools have forgotten this precious saying. The school sports should be made compulsory for every child as apart from studying we need recreation time to relax and take a break. many students decide they want to show case their talents at an early age. With the proper guidance and teaching, there are many benefits of sports like education, moral support and responsibility, sense of discipline, cooperation etc. which a student needs to learn to become a perfect man . There has been a latest trend of video games of which children are getting addicted. This is very bad because such activities make the children lazy & inactive as they sit gazing at the computer or television. Physical education and school sport is a crucial Is this essay helpful? Join OPPapers to read more and access more than 470,000 just like it! get better grades part of a well-rounded primary school education. The main goal of physical education for young children is to give them the skills and knowledge necessary to keep their bodies healthy as they age. In order to keep children engaged and motivated, the physical education activities must be fun and highly interactive. However, creating an enriching environment can be challenging for schools and teachers. it is also important to keep the rules of the game in mind to play sincerely. by playing games one also learns to develop his or her behavior towards even unknown people but . there has also been a problem about the availability of grounds so the government must look into this and ensure each school has a ground for its students. Therefore games are utmost necessary in the school curriculum

Author decide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Author decide - Essay Example They include (taken randomly) the agenda setting theory, classic rhetoric, hypodermic needle theory, face negotiation theory, cognitive dissonance theory, and uncertainty reduction theory. This random list was provided to illustrate the seriousness and earnestness by which communication is seen by scholars and scientists. Another line of thought that emerged with regard to communication and culture was the Frankfurt School during the 1930s primarily through scholars associated with the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, Germany. This paper is a study on communication theories with special relevance of the Frankfurt School of thought in modern day capitalistic structure. The one term that comes to mind regarding language is glottogony. Campbell and Mixco, in their book A glossary of historical linguistics define the term as â€Å"the emergence (origin) of human language, the study of the origin and earliest development of human language, the name for a kind of linguistics concerned with the origin and evolution of language† (Campbell & Mixco 72). There is no clear evidence as to when language evolved. It is believed that communication started with guttural sounds and actions or pantomimes which later led to the development of a pidgin language. According to Ellis, â€Å"when a pidgin language becomes more accepted and standardized, when it becomes the native language of a generation of children, then it is called a Creole† (Ellis 149). Language further developed with structure and grammar and came to be referred to as prestigious forms of speaking, for example the English language. As mentioned earlier, both humans and species in the a nimal kingdom communicate. In the latter case, communication is primarily through sounds (including variations in pitch) and actions. The monkey watchman on the tree top will cry in alarm at the approach of the predator.

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Research Paper Example The reconstructive surgeries are usually procedures that usually conducted to correct defects on human body including faces. Some of the known constructive surgeries are conducted on physical birth defects including cleft lips, ear deformities, and traumatic injuries. On the other hand, the cosmetic or the aesthetic procedures are usually conducted to alter different parts of the body are direct and advised by doctors. Some of the surgeries that are conducted of the form include making the breasts larger in what is called augmentation mammoplasty or making smaller in the process called reduction mammoplasty. Nonetheless, perfect surgery usually depends on the qualification of the doctor. The Plastic Surgery Institute of Miami offers diverse plastic surgery services designed as a response to the market demands. The surgeries offered at the institution significantly improve the appearance of people who decide to go through the process. This paper presents a marketing and brand promotio n strategy for the breast surgery procedure at the institute. The procedure enables different women to have their kind of breast appearance that makes them happy. The life of women who undergo through the procedure gets better because of improved appearance and perfect breasts. Message Strategy The plastic strategy procedures provided by the institute targets women aged 18 years and above (Sharma and Raghuvir 174). The institute recognizes that great transformations are ongoing in society that has also altered the perception of people about women’s appearance and the characteristics about perfect breasts. The institute offers tailor made breast surgery procedures that fully transforms the appearance of breasts and meets the needs of women who choose to go for it. Key Consumer Insights The institute offers breast surgery procedures that achieve various goals. The procedure ensures breast augmentation and transforms smaller breasts into significantly sizable ones. The mastopexy   procedure fully lifts sagging breasts and reshapes them to stand still again. This procedure ensures that women can have the perkiness and youthful appearance of breasts. The institute also offers breast reduction procedure that reduces that size and eliminates different marks on the skin around the breast. Message Objective The message seeks to ensure that the institute can escalate the number of women visiting their facility to undergo plastic surgery procedures on their breasts. The message also seeks to position the institute in the marketplace as a leader in breast surgery services with one hundred percent desirable results. Selling Premise The institute provides breast surgery services in ways that meet the client demands and expectations. The client is assured of one hundred percent procedure that transforms their breasts without complications and at significantly reasonable costs. Big Idea The big idea about the plastic surgery procedures at the institution are being off ered by highly skilled professionals. The institute gives potential clients the opportunity to undergo initial medical checkups free of charge. Clients provide a one off payment to the institution without any hidden costs. The significance for the procedures offered at the institute is done in such a way that the feedback from clients to other potential customers escalates the number of clients. The key customer benefits of the breast surgery procedure are in relation to one hundred perce

Rational Choice Theory Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rational Choice Theory - Term Paper Example In criminology, it is employed to explain the criminal behavior. It assumes that the state is responsible for the maintenance of order and for preserving the common good through legislation. The laws control human behavior through swiftness, severity, and certainty of punishments (Phillips, 2011,7). The theory consists of 3 core elements: a reasoning criminal, crime-specific focus and separate analysis of criminal involvement and criminal event (Phillips, 2011, 4). The reasoning criminal element postulates that criminals commit crimes in order to benefit themselves. The element proposes that criminals have specific goals and alternative ways to achieve these goals. In addition, they hold information that assists them in choosing the best alternative to implement their goals. The element on crime specific focus assumes that decision making differs with the nature of a crime, that is, decision making is different for each crime. For instance, the decision making to commit a robbery differs with the decision making to commit burglaries, while the decision making by a burglar to target wealthy neighborhood, differs with the one to target middle class and public housing. The last element addresses three issues: deciding to get involved in a crime, continuing to get involved once one has decided to get involved, and the decision to withdraw from the commission of the crime. On the other hand, criminal event implies the decision to get involved with a specific crime.  

Strategic Plan for James Raynor Ins, Agency of State Farm Assignment

Strategic Plan for James Raynor Ins, Agency of State Farm - Assignment Example The company has several employees and 18000 state farm agents who work together to serve nearly 80 million policy holders (3State Farm, 2013). In this regard, James Raynor is one of the major contributors as the agent of the State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. He provides rapid and risk-free quotes for the various insurances to serve the people by providing financial assistance. He has his own corporate State Farm Agency in Orange City, Florida (4State Farm, 2013). The company profile of State Farm reveals that the mission of the farm is to assist individuals to manage risks of their everyday life, in the occurrence of the unexpected events along with comprehending the dreams of the people. The company offers various services to help the finances of the people by investing in mutual funds and various insurances. The State Farm has been awarded as the top employer of the military veterans and is trusted as a reliable provider of services for the people of the United States and Canada (3State Farm, 2013). The key issue faced by the State Farm and the agents include the fact that there is severe competition that have recently emerged from the local companies in order to satisfy the clients. Countless policies offered by different companies for health and accidental benefits with diverse features available in the market could be a critical issue in both short and long term (3State Farm, 2013). Environment Company Environment The Annual report of the State Farm demonstrates the financial condition of the farm to be strong and profitable as per the data of 2012. The net income of the farm has exhibited an increase in the level of profit as the income in 2011 was US$ 1,088 as compared to US$1525 million Dollars in 2012. Due to the growth of the company, an expectation has materialized regarding the efficient running of the business with the valuable contribution of agents (1State Farm, 2012). Stakeholders Edward B. Rust Jr is the Chairman and the Chief Exe cutive Officer (CEO) of the State Farm and is also the member of boards of directors of McGraw Hill. The farm has several key members in the board of directors such as Gerald M. Czarneck and Dan E. Arvizu. Even though James Raynor is not the member of the board, he is still one of the major contributors in the profit of the farm (2State Farm, 2013). Strength of James Raynor Ins. State Farm Agency Strengths Communication: The key strength of James Raynor as an insurance agent is his communication skills. He possesses the capability of understanding the needs of the clients and subsequently he offers the required policies which would benefit the clients and the agency. He has a great convincing power as he can easily change the prospects into his clients. Work Ethics: James Raynor follows a rigid and methodical work ethic and has maintained integrity in his profession. He is loyal, honest and dedicated to his work and his policyholders. He is self-motivated and has over the years supp orted the people to make wise decisions regarding their investments in insurance or mutual funds. Decision Making: He possesses a strong knowledge in maintaining the finances and helping the clients in taking the correct measures, which leads to the success of the agency. He has displayed dedication, work ethic and moral responsibility

Corporate social responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Corporate social responsibility - Essay Example to emerging social priorities such as the need for eradication of pollution and conservation of fuel in order to ensure higher standards of living and sustainable development in the immediate society (Carroll and Shabana, pp 86). The integration of CSR policy and disclosure of CSR activities contribute to brand loyalty and good reputation in the industry (Du, Bhattacharya and Sen. p 240). This paper will analyze the Rolls-Royce Group’s level of disclosure of CSR activities in its financial statements. The paper will also analyze Rolls-Royce Group disclosure of its economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical and philanthropic responsibility of the company in and make a comparison of the CSR approach with that of other companies. Rolls-Royce Group provides its customers with the most technologically advanced power systems in marine, energy, civil and defense aerospace markets. According to management oral comments, the company is constantly looking for new methods of minimising the environmental impact of its business activities and transforming utilization of energy. Rolls-Royce business model aims at attaining long-term growth, profitability and sustainability. The company has diversified in numerous markets such as Asia and has maintained zero debt. From 2007 to 2011, the company has maintained a growth in revenues thus this can be attributed to customer loyalty and aggressive efforts in cutting down operating costs. Rolls-Royce Group plc revenues grew at a higher rate when compared with the GE Aviation which is the leading competitor in the industry. For instance, in 2008, Rolls-Royce revenues increased at the rate of 22.2 percent compared with a rate of 5.8 percent for GE Aviation. Although GE Aviation experienced a decline a 14.1 percent decline in revenues due adverse impact of the financial and economic crisis in 2009, Rolls-Royce managed to increase its revenues by 14.1 percent. Rolls-Royce is committed to ensuring manufacturing efficiency

International management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

International management - Essay Example The organizations worldwide face a number of challenges when they decide to go global. This is a common problem that they face since they do not have any prior knowledge or understanding of the new territory that they will do their business from. However, what best they can do is to find out and research the strengths and weaknesses of this area and hence upon getting the much-needed knowledge, base their theories and strategies in a much more effective and efficient manner. This will help one and all to better understand what the new territory, region or country offers the business and the people associated with it. The best thing is that the benefits and disadvantages are determined even before the organization goes the global way and thus it saves itself from embarrassment which it might face without having the proper knowledge and adequate research within it. The ways and means that are usually taken care of whilst managing a business are aplenty and it is only up to the top mana gement within a company that the same can be handled in several different methods. They are the ones to decide as to what is the real manner in which the firm’s operations would be handled as well as who will head the respective departments, lead the business strategic units and act as legal and media representatives of the said business.

Public Service Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Public Service Management - Essay Example After giving a brief picture f the values I shall go into detail about each element so as to give a broader view f the topic. An important question, which has to be addressed before moving on, is whether there is so much need for a public service. We are in an era where most f the services offered by government through its public service are already being offered too by the private sector. May I say, most f the times the private sector supplies these services in a more efficient way. People who follow the laissez-faire ideology argue that governments have been involved in activities which are inappropriate and that the size and role f government needs to be drastically cut back. The role f the government and the way it intervenes has always been highly debatable by the various ideologies and surely will remain highly debatable also in the future. (Parsons 1995) As we have mentioned before, most f the activities carried out by government can be allowed to occur through the market system without the need f government intervention. There are a series f circumstances where this does not apply. Such situations include government regulations securing free entry to producers in the market, securing that the consumer is given all the product information, controlling competition, and protecting and regulating all the contractual arrangement set up within the market. The market system does not necessarily bring high employment, price stability and the socially desired rate f economic growth. Public policy from the government is needed to deal with these factors. Adjustments in the social values due to redistribution f wealth through the market system have to be catered for too. The same thing applies also when speaking f market failures resulting from public goods, externalities and situations f natural monopolies or where there is imperfect informa tion. Thus we have seen that a certain level f government intervention is always desirable. The degree f this intervention also depends on the political and social ideologies f the environment where this occurs. If for example we take Malta, there has always been a paternalistic approach to government. The way in which government acts, reflects also in the size f the public sector. In order to deal with education, health care, national defense, environment, public transport, law and order, welfare services etc governments need to have an efficient public service which in turn inevitably becomes f large proportions. Even if nowadays with Malta's future entry in the European Union, government is moving towards a direction where it seeks to reduce the size f the public service in order to operate in the most efficient ways by means f privatization. If we start looking at the values f the public service, the first thing that comes to mind is the bureaucratic way in which it operates. Bureaucracy most f the times is mistakenly associated with a bad image. Bureaucracy is a system f administration in which the horizontal divisions between various elements or departments are complemented by vertical divisions f authority, and filled by professional career specialists. The bureaucracy can be considered as being the

Eating disorders -- causes Society's portrayal of woman Research Paper

Eating disorders -- causes Society's portrayal of woman - Research Paper Example Social and genetic factors can produce eating disorder problems. Genetics can be blamed when there are hormonal imbalances and other biological problems. Family factors and culture can shape beliefs and attitudes that make some women and girls prone to eating disorders. Cover Letter Name Address 9 January 2013 Eating disorders are serious problems that have social and cultural implications. Because of the media and other factors, young girls and women are developing body image problems that make them vulnerable to self-esteem and confidence issues, thereby contributing to eating disorder problems. This paper determines the causes of eating disorders, predominantly the role of media and society in shaping body image issues. The main purpose is to educate the public about the causes of eating disorders, so that they can resist the impact of some of these factors on their body image and eating attitudes and practices. To attain this research goal, current studies and reports from valid academic sources are used. This research showed that media is a risk, if not a strong causative, factor that can promote negative body images and body dissatisfaction, thereby promoting disordered eating practices. It uses very thin women who become negative role models to women and can result to women developing body image anxiety and low self-esteem. ... Society, as a whole, must work together in developing the kind of media and civilization that respect and celebrate different body images and promote beauty that is not physical, but inside individuals. Introduction Anorexia and bulimia nervosa are two eating disorders that have serious physical and psychological effects, sometimes even leading to death. These disorders have also increased in prevalence for the past few decades, thereby generating protests from concerned families and organizations about the kind of society that they live in, when very young girls and adult women grow up having negative body images. The media and its portrayal of extremely thin women as the ultimate beauty standard have been blamed as one of the most influential causes of eating disorders (Derenne & Beresin, 2006; Spettigue & Henderson, 2004). By media, this includes fashion and beauty magazines, TV shows, and movies. The toy industry does not help too, when it sells toys with unrealistic body types, such as Barbie and other dolls. Moreover, society promotes definitions of and pressures to beauty that girls grow up to (Makino, Tsuboi, and Dennerstein, 2004). This paper determines the causes of eating disorders, particularly the role of media and society in shaping body image issues. This research showed that media is a risk factor that can promote negative body images and body dissatisfaction, thereby promoting disordered eating practices. Social and genetic factors can produce eating disorder problems. Causes of Eating Disorders The causes of eating disorders are varied and may depend on genetics and family factors. This paper divides the causes into genetic, family, the

Unemployment statistics in US Essay Example for Free

Unemployment statistics in US Essay Unemployment refers to a situation whereby a person who is able and willing to work is currently without a job. The total number of employed people plus the number of unemployed persons who are seeking work is referred to as labor force (US Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2010). The participation rate is the labor force divided by the total number of working age population that is not institutionalized (US Department of Labour, 2010). The unemployment level is the difference between the labor force and the total number of people who are currently employed. The unemployment rate is the level of unemployed divided by the total number of working population. There are different types of unemployment types in the overall macro-economy. They include frictional unemployment, structural unemployment, natural rate of unemployment and demand deficient unemployment. Frictional unemployment reflects the time taken by individuals to find and get settled in their new jobs. Structural unemployment is the difference between the skills and other attributes possessed by the labor force and what the employers actually demand. This type of unemployment considers employees who are undergoing re-training in order to start a new job as being unemployed. It is usually increased by technological changes. Natural rate of unemployment is the sum total of frictional and structural unemployment. It is considered to be the lowest rate of unemployment that is expected to be achieved by a stable economy. Demand deficient unemployment is the level of unemployment which is beyond the natural rate unemployment. Causes of unemployment According to Keynesian economics, unemployment results from deficit in effective demand for both goods and services in an economy (US Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2010). Other schools of thought attribute unemployment to structural problems and inefficiencies which are common in the labor markets. Classical economics attribute unemployment to rigidities in labor markets resulting from external environment such as unionization of workers, taxes, minimum wages and other factors that may limit hiring of new employees (US Department of Labour, 2010). Other economists view unemployment as a voluntary choice of the unemployed and the time it takes them to find a new job also referred to as frictional unemployment. Efficiency wages and sticky wages are seen by behavioral economists to be a cause of unemployment. Unemployment level in US Unemployment in 27 US states was reported to have increased in February 2010 while seven states reported a drop in unemployment. There was an increase in unemployment in the state of Mississippi by 0. 4 percent (highest increase). The unemployment in Detroit fell from 15. 3 to 14. 8. The unemployment nationally by February 2010 was reported by Labor Department to be 9. 7 percent. However, job layoffs were fewer than previously anticipated (Trading Economics, 2010). Since the onset of recession in December 2007, 8. 4 million jobs had been lost by March 2010. The US official unemployment was reported to be 9. 5% in June 2010. This accounted for about 14. 6 million unemployed Americans. The black teens were leading with unemployment of 39. 9% Asians had the lowest unemployment rate of 7. 7%. The total number of officially unemployed and the hidden unemployment (29. 1 million) account for 18. 2% of the labor force. The graph below illustrates the levels of unemployment in US between 1999 and 2009.

Cosmopolitanism Ethics In A World Of Strangers Philosophy Essay

Cosmopolitanism Ethics In A World Of Strangers Philosophy Essay The book, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, is a clear and well-written book which is enjoyable to read. K. A. Appiah is himself a citizen of the world: a professor of philosophy at Princeton, with a Ghanian father and an English mother, he was raised in Ghana and educated in England, and also lived in Africa, Europe and North America. After reading this book, I have to say that Appiah skillfully blends his philosophical ideas with anecdotes about his own life and background. It brings us too many places and we come to know him a little and also his father, mother, and various other kinsfolk and tribe members. He introduces us to many traditions, practices and ideas of his African ancestry to clarify his ideas on human interactions, conversations, and globalisation. It reassesses the case for reviving an ancient stream of thought in a world full of strangers, and finds that Cosmopolitanism is a universal trait of humankind. The overall scheme of the book concerns the p rinciples of the existence of different people bound by a simple nexus of common values and humanity.   1.1 Introduction: Marking Conversation Appiah starts with the fact that our ancestors lived in small tribes where they interacted with a small set of people who they knew. Others were of rival tribes and to be viewed with suspicion. Information about other ways of life didnt really flow into the village. That was in the old days. Nowadays, our human world is getting smaller now, because people have more access to each other than ever before in history. We are getting to know and access each other through migration, international trade, tourism, and the worldwide web of information, which comes from radio, television, telephones, and especially the internet. This mass media and the amazing cyberspace give us plenty of opportunities not only that we can affect the lives of others everywhere but that we can to learn about life anywhere, too'(p xiii). The world is getting smaller and we are living in a new global tribe in the face of the world globalization. How are we to deal with these new circumstances? What ideas and institutions can help us to live together in this global village? Appiah addresses the notion of cosmopolitanism, that is the challenge to take minds and hearts formed over the long millennia of living in local troops and equip them with ideas and institutions that will allow us to live together as the global tribe we have become'(p xiii). The notion actually combines two inter-related strands: One is the idea that we have obligations to others, obligations that stretch beyond those to whom we are related by the ties of kith and kin, or even the more formal ties of shared citizenship'(p xv). The other is that we take seriously the value not just of human life but of particular human lives, which means taking an interest in the practices and beliefs that lend them significance (p xv). Appiah believes that it is an obligation to understand those with whom we share this planet. People are different, and there is much to learn from our differences. Because there are so many human possibilities worth exploring, we neither expect nor desire that every person or every society should converge on a single mode of life. Appiah also stresses that whatever our obligations are to others (or theirs to us) they often have the right to go their own way (p xv), it is respect for difference. According to Appiah, cosmopolitanism is more accommodating of diversity than the current liberal consensus but does not fall into moral relativism. Cosmopolitanism embodies two core values: universal concern for all humanity above family and nation and a respect for legitimate difference. Appiah recognizes that these two values clash, and as such cosmopolitanism is the name not of the solution but of the challenge (p. xv). Appiah takes a step further to summarise the challenges, which are: (1) to avoid falling into moral relativism while respecting difference; (2) to find a middle way between an unrooted abstract universalism and self-interested nationalism; (3) to recognise that cultural difference has been exaggerated by an order of magnitude (p. xix); and (4) to work for conversation, in the sense both of association and exchange of ideas, while realising that humanity will never arrive at an agreed hierarchy of universal values. Cosmopolitanism is a process involving the human co mmunity in habits of co-existence, of conversation in its older meaning, of living together, association (p. xix). The crux of getting along is to recognise that while one might live with integrity in accordance with ones own beliefs, one does not need to share the same rationale with someone else to develop this habit of conservation. In the interpretation of cosmopolitanism, Appiah is sympathetic to the view that local loyalties and allegiances are important because they determine who we are. So he encourages us to embrace both local and universal loyalties and allegiances and denies that they necessarily come into conflict with each other. He holds that we need to take sides neither with the nationalist who abandons all foreigners nor with the hard-core cosmopolitan who regards friends and fellow citizens with icy impartiality. The position worth defending might be called (in both senses) a partial cosmopolitanism. So he stakes out his middle ground of partial cosmopolitanism more by talking about what its not. On the positive side, we get a lot of generalities: its important to talk with people from other cultures, to maintain mutual respect, to learn about other ways of life. We need the curiosity inherent in a partial cosmopolitan outlook so that we can get used to one another and live peacefully together. We do not, he stresses, need to share underlying values or agree on everything. 1.2 The Shattered Mirror Appiah argues that looking at the world clearly shows that there are a variety of ways of life and thought. Human beings are different and that we can learn from each others differences (p4). When we are exposed to the range of human customs and beliefs, a cosmopolitan openness to the world is perfectly consistent with picking and choosing among the options you find in your search (p5). However, such exposure to different human customs and beliefs hardly leaves the traveler unattached from his own. Thus, not all disagreements can be resolved and it urges us to accept differences. (pp.4-7) Appiah holds that a complex truth is like images of the shattered mirroreach shard of which reflects one part of a complex truth from its own particular angle. He supposed the deepest mistake is to think that your little shard of mirror can reflect the whole. Actually, Appiah points out that there is no singular truth. In that case, theres no one shattered mirror; there are lots of mirrors, lots of moral truths, and we can at best agree to differ (p11), therefore, we need to embrace pluralism, and adopt a live-and let-live attitude. Appiah cites works by ethnographers, and draws a number of persuasive parallels to establish universality and shared values (good and bad). He stresses that people in far-flung places are the same in that [they] have gods, food, language, dance music, carvings, medicines, family lives, rituals, jokes and childrens tales.   They smiled, slept, had sex and children, wept, and in the end, died (p.14). Another commonality according to Appiah, is that a lot of what we take to be right or wrong is simply a matter of customs.   His argument about ideas and concepts which are common to most cultures in the world, draws further on acts like good parenting, as well as taboo, which exists in his native Ghana (akywandee), or in Igbo land (nso), but is Polynesian in origin. 1.3 The Escape from Positivism Appiah writes of relativism, positivism, and particular the fact and value distinction in this chapter. Appiah claims that the influence of positivism has led to value relativism by splitting values (or ends) from facts about the world (or means), in other words, what philosophers have called the naturalistic fallacy, or the inability to derive an ought from an is. Appiah avers that relativism and positivism often get in the way of the cosmopolitan project and undermine conversation across boundaries. Because every people finds its own ways (to be) good (p16), this conversation is important. It helps us to know others who are different and to learn from them. Simply put, if when we disagree we are both right, then there is nothing to talk about. if we cannot learn from one another what it is right to think and feel and do, then conversation between us will be pointless (p31). From a positivist slant, Appiah observes that what is custom is linked to values, which in the end, guide our acts, thoughts and our feelings (p 25). It is in this context that he underscores that being kind is an attribute of experience more than any other variable since people learn to be kind by being treated kindly and noticing it.   Appiah also emphasises the way our values are shaped by conversations with others, in which we try to shape each others views and feelings, but relativism of that sort isnt a way to encourage conversation, its just a reason to fall silent (p 31) because of the relativists toleration. 1.4 Facts on the Ground The chapter is an attack on the positivist notion of fact. Appiah argues that facts are not as solid as we may suppose. He tries to show that facts are on no more solid ground than values. He uses the example of trying to persuade a traditional Asante (his kinfolk) that witchcraft cannot harm people, to show that facts largely depend on what you already believe and what ideas you already have. 1.5 Moral Disagreement In this chapter, Appiah goes on to look at the various ways we can come in conflict over values, which are more likely to arise between people from different societies. They are: (1) no shared vocabulary of evaluation. Value terms are essentially contestable and they will always be argued about both across cultures and within them. (2) Even when we share the same moral vocabulary, conflict over values might come in varying interpretations of the same vocabulary and (3) giving the same values different weight. However none of this is insurmountable: we can agree to do things without agreeing on why (p67), but more important is Appiahs point, pace Samuel Huntingdon, that most conflict is not articulated through warring values in the first place. In fact, intense conflict may arise through dispute over the meaning of the same values (p67), e.g. on abortion, American pro-lifers and pro-abortionists both respect the sanctity of life, but differ on why it is precious and on when life begin s. To better understand this point, Appiah gives us other example that, the US and Iraq being at war is not because the people of the two countries have different values. But this is not a point the politicians in Washington would readily accept, certainly, not the ideologues.  Here, Appiah analyses that the Golden Rule-what you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others- requires that we should take other peoples interests seriously, take them into account. Appiah suggests that encouraging cosmopolitan engagement, presupposes the acceptance of disagreement.   Perhaps, this is why cosmopolitans endorse as a key aim, that we learn about other peoples situations and then use our imagination to walk in their Moccasins (p.68). He also exposes the failings of the Golden Rule as a principle to live by. Its just that we cant claim that the way is easy. 1.6 The Primacy of Practice Appiah argues that even though moral disagreements can happen and are real, crosscultural conversations about values do not have to end in disagreement, because it is often possible to agree about what to do even when we do not agree on the reasons behind it. For example, we can live in peace and harmony without agreeing on the underlying values. (pp.69-81) Appiah discourages us from insisting on reaching agreements on values by means of reasoned arguments and persuasion. These very often fail to move people. Moreover, if we make this insistence, then we will lose what is worthwhile about conversations across boundaries. As Appiah avers, conversation is hardly guaranteed to lead to agreement about what to think and feel. Yet we go wrong if we think the point of conversation is to persuade, and imagine it proceeding as a debate, in which points are scored for the Proposition and the Opposition. Often enough, as Faust said, in the beginning is the deed: practices and not principles are what enable us to live together in peace (pp.84-85).When Appiah proposes conversations between people, what he has in mind by conversation is really an engagement with the experience and the ideas of others (p85). In this sense, conversations do not have to lead to consensus about anything, especially not values; its enough that it helps people get used to one another (p85). 1.7 Imaginary Strangers Appiah argues that the points of entry to crosscultural conversations are things that are shared by those who are in the conversation. They do not need to be universal; all they need to be is what these particular people have in common (p97). And human beings everywhere have so much in common. These include everyday activities, such as buying things, eating, reading the paper, laughing, going to movies, parties and funerals. They also include universal values such as kindness and generosity. He argues that these can be entry points to cross cultural conversations, because once we have found enough (things which) we share, there is the further possibility that we will be able to enjoy discovering things we do not yet share'(p97), and we can open up more to other ways of thinking, feeling and acting. That is one of the payoffs of cosmopolitan curiosity. Appiah also notes that the problem of cross-cultural communication can seem immensely difficult in theory, when we are trying to imagine making sense of a stranger in the abstract. But the great lesson of anthropology is that when the stranger is no longer imaginary, but real and present, sharing a human social life, you may like or dislike him, you may agree or disagree; but, if it is what you both want, you can make sense of each other in the end (pp.98-99). 1.8 Cosmopolitan Contamination In the seventh chapter called Cosmopolitan Contamination, Appiah argues against those who criticize globalization for producing homogeneity and getting rid of cultural differences. He claims that globalization is also a threat to homogeneity because it creates new forms of difference (p101-105). He thinks that instead of the talk of preserving diversity and trapping people in conditions they want to escape from, we have got to let people choose for themselves. He mentions that cosmopolitans think human variety matters because people are entitled to the options they need to shape their lives in partnership with others (p104). Appiah also writes of the trouble with cultural imperialism, he believes that people in each place make their own uses even of the most famous global commodities (p113). Such as the fact that Levis are worn on every continent. In some places they are informal wear; in others they are dressy'(p113).They are not blank tablets on which global capitalism can write wh atever it wants, they are not fools but they can resist. That is why something does not ever change, like the identity of a society can survive when cultures are made of continuities and changes. 1.9 Whose Culture Is It, Anyway? Appiah begins by pointing out that some of the museums of the world, particularly in the West, have large collections of objects and artefacts which were looted from poor and developing countries. He then asks: who owns these cultural artefacts and properties? Our first answer may be that since they make up the cultural heritage of a people, they belong to the people and culture from whom they were taken. Appiah disputes this and argues that the right way is to take not a national but a cosmopolitan perspective: to ask what system of international rules about objects of this sort will respect the many legitimate human interests at stake (pp.126-127). If some cultural artefacts are of potential value to all human beings, they should belong to all of humanity. He thinks that when they make a contribution to world culture, they should be protected by being made available to those who would benefit from experiencing them and put into the trusteeship of humanity (pp.130-134). Appiah argue s that rather than focusing on returning stolen art and putting a lot of money and effort into it, it may serve the interest of those whose artefacts were stolen better to be exposed to a decent collection of art from around the world, like people everywhere else. 1.10 The Counter-Cosmopolitanism Appiahs writing on Believers without Borders as in Doctors without Borders is instructive in explaining universalism as well as its driving motives and consequences: They believe in human dignity across nationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ share ideals with people in many countries, speaking many languagesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ they would never go to war for (a) country, but they will enlist (in a) campaign against any nation that gets in the way of universal justice.   They are young, global Muslim fundamentalist; they are the recruiting ground of Al Qaeda (pp. 137-138). Appiah goes on to suggest that such fundamentalism exemplifies the universal ethics, which inverts the picture of Cosmopolitanism and in the absence of toleration, turns easily to murder (p141).  For example, Islamic and Christian fundamentalists who seek a community of those who share their faith and reject all national and local allegiances have no tolerance for religious difference. We should be wary of and reject universal community, because they can lead to bloodbaths, which is one lesson we can learn from the sad history of Christian religious warfare in Europe (p141). Then Appiah turns to argue that their universalism is contrary to cosmopolitanism which embraces pluralism and promotes the view that our knowledge is imperfect and provisional and that we might learn something from those we disagree with. As he writes: to say what, in principle, distinguishes the cosmopolitan from the counter-cosmopolitan, we plainly need to go beyond talk of truth and tolerance. One distinctively cosmopolitan commitment is to pluralism. Cosmopolitans think that there are many values worth living by and that you cannot live by all of them. So we hope and expect that different people and different societies will embody different values. (But they have to be values worth living by.) Another aspect of cosmopolitanism is what philosophers call fallibilism the sense that our knowledge is imperfect, provisional, subject to revision in the face of new evidence (p 144). If cosmopolitanism is, in a slogan, universality plus difference, there are the other enemies of cosmopolitanism. They reject universality altogether, and claim that not everyone matters. One such inescapable obligation is this: when you do something that harms someone else, you must be able to justify it. Those we think of are willing to claim that not everyone matters. They tell us why. Such and such people are destroying our nation; they are inferior; It is not actually that they dont matter; its that they have earned our hatred or contempt. They deserve what we are doing to them (pp.150-152). Appiah avers that the real challenge to cosmopolitanism isnt the belief that other people dont matter at all; its the belief that they dont matter very much. Its easy to get agreement that we have some obligations to strangers. We cant do terrible thing to them. (p153) 1.11 Kindness to Strangers Appiah looks at the question of what do we owe strangers? His answer is mainly negative. Appiah begins by referring the viewpoints of Peter Singer and Peter Unger. The Singer principle (from the works of Peter Singer) states: If you can prevent something bad from happening at the cost of something less bad, you ought to do it (p 160). Unger takes it a step further by stating that it would be immoral not to donate all of ones wealth to organizations, such as UNICEF and Oxfam, which benefit less fortunate people. Based on these beliefs, Singer and Unger would likely agree that it would be wrong to spend money on the opera if that money could otherwise be used to save the life of a child (p159-162). Appiah, however, doesnt agree with that decision. He believes that Singer and Unger are missing a key piece of morality and human nature: It is illogical-and just plain wrong- to assume that a person values all lives equally. In reality, a person is likely to value the people around them, su ch as family and friends, and even themselves, over those whom they have never met. Thats not to say that such a person does not care about other, unknown people; it is only to reaffirm the fact that humans prefer familiarity. Cosmopolitanism cannot and does not demand from us to have more sympathy and concern for strangers than those close to us. In addition, Singer and Ungers principles are vague and without exceptions. They dont seem to consider all possible situations and they fail to account for human nature. As Appiah mentions, if everyone spent all of their money to save starving children and none on activities they enjoy, the world would be a flat and dreary place. (p 166) No one would want to live at all if they werent able to do things other than saving other peoples lives. People need entertainment and joy in their lives in order to be happy and successful. These thinkers are mistaken to burden us with incredible obligations which would dramatically reduce the quality of our lives (pp.156-166). It is much more helpful, as Appiah believes, to contribute, in whatever way possible, to a cause that will focus on improving the general living conditions of a location, which, in turn, will eliminate the hunger of the children living there. Providing clean water or a better education system to Third World children will do more for their future than simply feeding them for a day, which, as Appiah points out, may actually be detrimental to the farmers and the economy of the area. And it wouldnt necessarily require all of ones wealth to be donated to the cause in order to make it happen. As Appiah points out, Singer and Unger seem to imply that all values can be measured in a single thin currency of goodness and badness and those decisions should be made based on a comparison of the amounts of this currency for each possible outcome (p 166). That theory is a misguided and an inaccurate one, as it fails to account for outside forces. All decisions must be made by considering the many variables involved; this morality price, as one might call it, is only one such variable. According to Appiah, whatever our obligations are to strangers, they must not be too burdensome because these are not the only obligations that matter. As such, Appiah is correct in his conclusions that neither the Singer principle nor Ungers beliefs should be the sole guiding force in ones decision-making process. While it may be appropriate to assign the morality price a heavy weight when it comes to making a decision, it is impossible to force the human mind to think only of such a value. As Appia h argues, human values and decision making processes should be based on more than just one specific rule-designed by one specific human. The world is too complex for one sentence to handle. Appiah also makes an argument based on the saying that the end justifies the means. Slavery, in and of itself, is wrong; the existence of the pyramids or of the United States, however, is not. Plus, it is unreasonable to assume that giving away all of ones wealth will cause any permanent change. It is more likely that doing so would simply prolong the possibly-dreadful life of a starving child for a set period of time. After that, the living conditions of the child would simply return to their previous state. 2 Evaluations 2.1 The Notion of Cosmopolitanism Appiahs chosen word to describe this task in this book is cosmopolitanism. This term can be traced back to the founding father of the Cynic movement in Ancient Greece,  Diogenes of Sinope  (c. 412 B.C.). Of Diogenes it is said: Asked where he came from, he answered: I am a citizen of the world (kosmopolità ªs)  [1]  . The word of Cosmopolitan derives from Greek  cosmos  (the  Universe) and  polis (city). Appiah picks this term to suggest the possibility of a cosmopolitan community in which individuals from varying locations (physical, economic, etc.) enter relationships of mutual respect despite their differing beliefs (moral, religious, political, etc.). According to the meaning which is intended , he finds cosmopolitan superior to globalization, which is an overused word that can mean everything from a marketing strategy to an economic thesis, or multiculturalism, which he says is another shape shifter, which so often designates the disease it purports to cure. App iah admits that cosmopolitanism can have elitist connotations. But its actually a term rooted more in the idea of cosmos the universe: talk of cosmopolitanism originally signaled a rejection of the conventional view that every civilized person belonged to a community among communities. In order to better understand the notion of Cosmopolitanism in the book, it is necessary to make a brief survey of the differences in meaning among some conceptions, which are: relativism, universalism, nationalism, patriotism and liberalism. Relativism refers to any of several descriptive, meta-ethical, or normative positions  regarding the differences in moral or ethical judgments between different people and cultures. Universalism is the meta-ethical position that some system of ethics, or a universal ethic, applies universally, that is, for all similarly situated individuals, regardless of culture, race, sex, religion, nationality, sexuality, or other distinguishing feature. Nationalism  involves a strong identification of ones social identity with that of a  nation  or state.  Patriotism  is love and devotion to ones country.  Liberalism is the belief in the importance of  liberty  and  equality. And, Cosmopolitanism is in a slogan, universality plus differen ce (p151). 2.2 Relativism and Cosmopolitanism Relativists claim that not everything is local custom, and they argue that education must be morally neutral, and that all values are situational and negotiable. Appiah thinks it is mercifully fading out. Appiah rejects cultural relativism, he pushes it further toward obsolescence and denies a key tenet of relativism, which he describes as the basic suspicion that moral claims just reflect local preferences rather than universal truths. Before relativisms destruction, its proponents relied on the comfortable certainty that tolerance trumped all other values. For relativists, dealing with multiple cultures was easy: Just tolerate everything. But in the absence of that idea, how do we relate to what Appiah calls a world of strangers? Since there are some values that are, and should be, universal, do we deliberately rinse away all expressions of cultural diversity that dont uphold those universals? If values are universal, how can we maintain them while still respecting cultural distinctness? How can we avoid the pitfall those relativists feared, that of imposing our values on others? Appiah makes it work. He avers that Cosmopolitanism helps us find ways to consider such conceptual complexities. As mentioned before, Appiahs cosmopolitanism intertwines two ideas, obligations to others and value of particular human lives. For the cosmopolitan, then, no local loyalty can ever justify forgetting that each human being has r esponsibilities to every other. Those responsibilities are best played out in conversations across differences where the language of values helps us coordinate our lives with one another. 2.3 Globalization Appiah talks about globalization in chapter 7. He is dismissive of those who are critical of globalization and focuses only on one aspect of their criticisms, namely their worry that globalization wipes out local cultures. So he does not address the worry that the global financial institutions and multinational corporations want to expand the world markets for their own interests and that they undercut and weaken local governments, laws, and decision-making. Western industrial nations promote free trade, but this in fact benefits them and makes them richer and more powerful. The agriculture and export subsidies in the West are one of the main causes of agricultural decline in many developing countries. So globalization per petuates and worsens the unequal balance of power between rich industrial and poor developing countries, rather than addressing it in any way. Appiah casts the critics of globalization as people who are afraid of change, but some of the critics are legitimately con cerned with global justice and local sovereignty. 2.4 Cosmopolitan Justice Cosmopolitan justice is discussed in Chapter10, but it is a little weak. One of the main components of Appiahs cosmopolitanism is ethical commitment to strangers. But his view of what this amounts to is very thin. Instead of speculating about what commitments we incur if we want to make the world a substantially better place, Appiah comes up with a list of constraints. He is very critical of the idea of world government as a vehicle for upholding and guaranteeing peoples basic rights. For Appiah the primary mechanism for ensuring basic rights is the nation-state. Appiah then warns us about those who want to burden us with too much and urge us to overlook our obligations to those close to us and to our own self and projects. It is difficult to see how the concerns which underpin cosmopolitan ethics or justice can be addressed solely in the context of national politics. Those who are passionate about cosmopolitan justice are concerned about extreme poverty, tyranny, oppression, and environmental degradation. Seriously addressing these seems to also require working with international organizations which go beyond national borders and forming connections and associations with others elsewhere who have similar goals. Moreover, despite Appiahs legitimate worries about establishing a world government, it is clear that world governing bodies and institutions, such as United Nations and World Bank, already exist, deal with cosmopolitan justice issues, and have much power. At the least, making the world more just would demand that these institutions become more democratic and fair and do a better job of protecting peoples rights. 2.5 Global Conversation Cosmopolitanism works because values like courtesy, hospitality, generosity and reciprocity are widely shared, alongside other basic concepts and social customs, to enable differences to be explored. Appiah thinks that we share enough to work through human differences. Commonality allows for a global conversation. In the end, attaining a state of peaceful, diverse co-existence is more important to cosmopolitanism than resolving all conflict over human values either philosophically or politically. Appiah calls for a global conversation to make our world suitable for coexistence and living well. But he does not refer to appropriate ways. When we look for some enlightenment in the context of Chinese Confucianism, we can find that Confucian toleration has some characteristics of engagement in such conversations; the characteristics are: openness to t

Incidents And Leaders Interaction Within The Movie History Essay

Incidents And Leaders Interaction Within The Movie History Essay This paper analyses the theories and concepts of leadership of key characters in the movie, Invictus. The key characters analysed are President Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar, captain of the South African rugby team. Based on a book written by John Carlin, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation, the movie is directed by award-winning director Clint Eastwood. Starring Morgan Freeman as President Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon plays Francois Pienaar, who is the current captain of the Springboks, the South African rugby team, it was released in the United States in mid-December 2009. 2.0 SYNOPSIS OF MOVIE Storyline The story centres around events before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted in South Africa shortly after the fall of apartheid with the release of political prisoner Nelson Mandela. Mandela was held in a prison on Robben Island for close to 27 years. As the new elected President, Mandela vowed to unite the South Africa population which is currently divided into two groups: the white people who originated from Europe and came to South African in the seventeeth century known as Afrikaners and the native black population of the country. The movie basically shows President Mandelas attempt to unite both groups in supporting the countrys rugby team, the Springboks (rugby was traditionally a white sport) and steering the team as it made a historic drive towards winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship. Despite all odds and initial resistance, the black natives of South Africa soon began to show interest in the Springboks. As the team wins more and more games, they continue to receive rising support from both the Afrikaners and the black natives. The team achieved unexpected success in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, defeating the strongest opponent in the tournament, New Zealand, which brought cheer not only to the Afrikaners but also to the black natives all over the country as they celebrated the teams victory. This inevitably began to bridge the divide between the two groups that had been there for centuries due to apartheid. The title Invictus is translated from the Latin as undefeated or unconquered, and is the title of a poem by English poet William Ernest Henley (1849-1903). The ending saw the recitation of verses from the poem: Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. Leaders in the movie There are clearly two distinguished leaders in the movie: President Nelson Mandela despite having to face other pressing issues to build the country in his first term as president, Mandela is committed to his pledge to reunite the people of South Africa. He tries to achieve this through sports, namely rugby in which the country is hosting in the following year. Francois Pienaar, captain of the Springboks (South African Rugby team). Pienaar faces a tough challenge from President Mandela to drive his team to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship, something he never thought possible before. Role of leaders Newly-elected President Nelson Mandela plays a leading role as the person who tries to unite the divided groups of white Afrikaners and the black South African natives with the end of apartheid. He believes that it can be achieved through rugby, which is the number one sport for the white Afrikaners. With his strong belief in the power of the game, Mandela went against the wishes of his own staff and follows his instincts to pursue his target. Mandela calmly leads by example, displaying great leadership skills through his quiet reflective confidence in contemplating decisions, his commitment to achieve whatever he sets out to do and the way he touches other peoples lives and emotions with his personal communication style. Meanwhile, Francois Pienaar admires President Mandelas aspirations to unite the people of South Africa and was inspired by his dedication and perseverance to achieve his goal. Through his leadership and commitment, Pienaar steadily builds his teams confidence and began to win more and more matches, and eventually brought his team to victory against the strongest opponent, New Zealand, in the final match of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. 3.0 LEADERSHIP ASPECTS Incidents within the movie involving the leaders One incident shows a sporting organization where all committee members are black natives, and they agree to pass a motion to change the name, colour and logo of the rugby team to suit a different and blacker South Africa. Currently, the rugby team represents the pride of the Afrikaners and is despised by the black natives as they see it as a symbol of apartheid. However, President Mandela who arrives at the meeting just after the voting process asks the committee members to rethink their decisions in the context of unity for the country and the good of the population. In the end, he manages to gather 13 votes on his side which is enough for him to keep the Springboks. Mandelas style of participative leadership is very admirable. He always encourages those working under him to think differently about surrounding issues.   A good example would be the one concerning his personal security group. Instead of being suspicious about the loyalty and commitment of his white security staff, he directed the security head, a black Soth African native, to work together with their highly experienced counterparts and learn from them. He also treats the white security staff well even though some of them were against him when he was in prison. Days before the final match, Pienaar as captain of the rugby squad claims that the team needs a break. They head to Robben Island with their girlfriends to take their minds off the game. There, Pienaar visited the jail where Mandela was held. Standing inside Mandelas actual jail cell, Pienaar is dismayed to discover how small the cell is and with nothing to sleep on except a thin sheet on the bare ground. Yet the man who was held in this cell for nearly 26 years can easily forgive those who put him in prison, and has great plans to unite the people of the country. Incidents and leaders interaction within the context of the movie President Mandela invites Pienaar to tea for their first meeting. Mandela believes that he can achieve the unity that he planned for through rugby and needed Pienaars assistance to get the support of the Afrikaners. Pienaar was charmed by Mandelas personal style and warmth upon his arrival at the Government House. He also observed that Mandela treated everyone around him with great respect, even the lady who served them tea. During the brief meeting, Mandela skillfully challenges Pienaar to think positively about winning the upcoming Rugby World Cup Championship. He shared his vision on the importance of winning the championship to South Africa to unite the people via a World Cup victory. Pienaar who was impressed with the presidents quiet leadership, personal commitment and motivation to achieve the vision soon began to see the odds of winning the cup as a possibility, thus inspires him to lead this team to train harder that before. Leaders behaviour and characteristics In this movie, Mandela skillfully demonstrates his people-oriented leadership style. For instance, even on his first day in office as the newly-elected President of South Africa, he showed great courtesy to all his staff, blacks and whites, by greeting and smiling at everybody whom he passed by on his way to his suite. This earned him great respect from all staff, especially the white Afrikaners who thought they would be sacked once a black leader assumed office. Mandela also decided to maintain the former white staff and builds an administrative team of both groups. The same also applies to his security staff. In order to lead by example and to achieve the unity he had long planned for, he believes that his team must reflect his vision. 4.0 DESCRIPTION AND DISCUSSION OF LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR Leadership behaviour Leadership styles are important to successfully lead teams in organisations. There are various styles of leadership that can be observed and are practised by leaders in todays organisations, but theories mostly centre these two: The first group displays task-oriented behaviours, whereby the leader only manages the daily activities of his subordinates towards accomplishing a task which was predetermined. The second set involves people-oriented behaviour, also known as participative leadership. Leaders in this group normally provide a supportive role by encouraging his subordinates to get involved in decision making on the project that they are working on. This results in a positive work environment which increases productivity of the team as they feel that they are part of the decision making process and thus own the project.   Evidently, both sets of behaviours are important to create a balance in successful leadership. President Mandela excellently displayed both task-oriented and participative leadership styles in his quest to build the nation. He sought the help and participation of Pienaar to transform the image of the Springboks in the eyes of the black natives. Through Pienaars leadership, the team members successfully won the hearts of the black natives and garner their support which steered the team to victory. Change agent capabilities Basically, a change agent is someone who can motivate others around him to produce higher degree of output, to do more and to achieve better things in their lives. Change agents require emotional intelligence to ensure people are totally engaged in a project. People who are highly supportive of the purpose and are highly committed to achieve the objectives of the project will contribute to better productivity and chances of meeting the goals and objectives are maximised. A change agent needs to have high competencies in soft skills, namely excellent people and communication skills, to encourage peoples involvement and minimise resistance. He or she must be able to reach out to the inner values and beliefs of the people involved in the project in order to implement change with the people. Clearly, President Mandela has demonstrated his capabilities in becoming the change agent for South Africas unity and progress. President Mandela demonstrates these managerial traits effectively through leading by example and motivating people through his great respect for others and personal humility. His quietly confident manner and strong commitment in conveying his visions and aspirations also encourage others around him to do amazing things that they never thought they are capable of doing before. Able to support, able to develop new ideas and recognize achievement Despite the hostility shown towards his support for the Springboks, President Mandela stood his ground and diligently and courageously attended the rugby matches. He even made an effort to memorise the names of all the players and greeted them personally by their name before the matches and during practices. In order to promote foreign investment in building South Africas economy with is also laden with issues, Mandela administrative team tries to ensure that President Mandela receives wide press coverage whenever he meets with other world leaders to discuss bilateral relationships. 5.0 IDENTIFICATION AND EXPLANATION OF INCIDENTS Executive summary of the two incidents selected. President Mandela read the new concerning the upheaval in management of the Springboks team after he assumes the new position. He started to devise how to unite the people of South Africa and saw rugby as the vehicle that might work to bridge the divide. He understands that most Afrikaners are afraid of losing their identity when a black leader becomes president of the country and that the Springboks rugby team is traditionally very important to the white population. He then decides to use the Springboks as a means to unite the population and the upcoming Rugby World Cup Championship as the event that will bring them together. Later when Mandela came to know that a sports committee which comprise all black members voted to change the identity of the rugby team by changing the name, logo and colour of the Springboks to reflect a new and blacker South Africa, he personally hurried to attend the meeting and asked the committee members to rethink their decisions and explain the implicati ons that their decisions might bring onto the unity of the South African population. He managed to get a small following of 13 votes on his side; however, the small majority was enough to keep the Springboks intact. He then forges ahead with his plan to unite the black and white population through rugby. Pienaar also does his part to support President Mandelas commitment to unite the people of South Africa and instill pride in his teammates towards aunited country. In his first attempt to get the message across, Pienaar tries to make his team actually sing the South African national anthem by giving them copies of the anthems lyrics. However, his teammates show clear disinterest and merely scrunch up their copies. Later, they are forced by the President to take occasional breaks from rugby and go out into the poorer areas of South Africa and teach rugby to the natives as a way to inculcate interest of the game to the black natives. At first, only Chester who is the teams sole black player is welcomed by the black children but eventually, after many attempts, the whole team is accepted by the rural population. The team then willingly help introduce the sport to a new generation of children and instil national pride, regardless of race. Involvement of the selected leaders within the incident In the first incident, President Mandela takes it upon himself to make sure that the Springboks are able to maintain their name, logo and colours despite disagreement from the black sports committee members. He stood his ground and clearly conveyed the message across that what he did was for the good of the countrys unity. In the second incident, Pienaar tried to change the attitude of the team players towards embracing their national anthem. Even though he was not successful on his first attempt, the fact that he went on to sing the anthem displayed his willingness to lead by example, hoping that the others will follow suit. Making decision within team, group and individual setting A strategic leader has a team of decision makers to help him reach a consensus when making important decisions. This process of decision-making improves the quality of the decisions, especially when developing crucial planning and policies affecting the country. A strategic leader needs a competent team to support his role. Coupled with his knowledge and skills, a strategic leader can lead a team of high performing individuals to create and develop strategic vision and plans utilising available resources and implementing national policies. Due to the complexity of todays world economy and global issues, a strategic leader of a nation requires the assistance of a forward-looking team of executives to forge ahead with his plans to achieve his vision. Charismatic and transformational roles There are very few leaders who are capable of transformational leadership. However, this is not considered unfortunate as a leaders ultimate job is to keep the organization productive and the people engaged. In certain instances, too much transformation can be chaotic and lead nowhere. In this movie, Mandela was one of the few who can be categorized as a successful transformational leader. He was able to encourage people to believe in themselves so that the organisation can achieve greater heights. For instance, in his first meeting with Pienaar, Mandela explains that a leaders job is to get followers to believe that they are capable of doing more than they think possible. This thinking then leads to the rugby teams victory in winning the World Cup Championship. Leaders with these types of behaviours and attitudes tend to draw followers as people are naturally attracted to those who display strength and inspire belief in others. These charismatic qualities enable effective leadership. 6.0 Critically analyze each of the two and more incidents and consider other options the leaders could have considered and made. Participative leadership, delegation and empowerment Participative leadership style, which is known to be the best type of corporate leadership style in organisations today, allows employees to get involved in decision-making process to a certain extent. This democratic style of employee management creates healthy relationship between management and employees as both sides feel that their involvement is sought in the process of achieving the organizations goals and objectives. This leadership technique also promotes the development of future leaders via their participation in determining a common goal for the organization. As involvement of team members are required in decision making, hidden talents can be unearthed and their leadership qualities polished further. In the first incident, President Mandela asserts his decision to let the Springboks keep their identity but at the same time asks the committee members to reconsider their decision. Although he managed to persuade a small minority (13 votes) to agree with him, the number is sufficient and he looks upon it as a small win, not a total defeat. This displays his participative leadership style whereby instead of using his power and influence to change the committees decision, he asked them to rethink their decision and get them to vote again. For the second incident involving Pienaar, as captain of the team he tried to persuade the other members to sing along the national anthem. However, when the team crushed the paper given to them, he did not reprimand them but went on to sing the anthem. He tried to lead by example, hoping that the team would follow suit once they see him doing so. In encouraging the team to work harder towards achieving their goal of winning the World Cup Championship, Pienaar was seen motivating his team members so that they can all work towards one purpose and perform their best in every match. Pienaar also uses participative leadership to inculcate team spirit and camaraderie. Power and influence Power refers to the capacity a person has to influence the decision of another person so that the person acts according to his wishes. The more power a person has, the higher his influence on the whole system is. Meanwhile, influence causes a change in the attitude or behaviour of others and is more of a process which guides the peoples activities towards appropriate directions in meeting management objectives that have been set. As the President of the country, Mandela has both power and influence. However, he skillfully uses his power and influence to generate respect and support from the people. Pienaar also steadily works his way up to gain trust and respect from his fellow teammates. By commanding their trust and respect, he was capable of transforming the perception of the rugby team and instill pride and higher commitment from them. Managerial traits and skills President Mandela and Pienaar both demonstrate high level of management skills and leadership traits which help them gain support from a population which are initially plagued by centuries of racial divide. Mandela inspirational leadership motivates Pienaar to perform better than he ever thought he could. Through Mandelas quiet self-confidence and charisma, Pienaar was overwhelmed and personally look upon him as a great leader. Based on this motivation, Pienaar encouraged his rugby team to work harder and strive for victory. Leading change Mandelas first meeting with Francois Pienaar displays some important leadership lessons. When Piennar was asked by Mandela on his leadership philosophy, he answers that he believes in leading by example. Mandela concurs with him that leading by example is crucial. In response to another question on how Pienaar inspires people, he affirms that people are inspired through the heart and by what they see. Strategic leadership Strategic leadership refers to leaders who successfully influence large groups of people in organisations to act as required based on established organisational structure, allocated resources and communicated objectives and vision. They are generally functional in a highly complex environment which is influenced by external factors beyond their control. Strategic leaders have to digest information quickly and make correct decisions based on whatever is available to them at the point in time. As such, consequences of their decision affect more people in the organisation and tend to commit more resources. Sometimes, the decisions and initiatives can only implicate long-term plans and may take years to prepare and execute. Ethical issues In this movie, President Mandela transforms the perception of the black natives on rugby which has always been a white sport. Traditionally, the black natives despise the Springboks which they perceive as representing apartheid. By changing the values through this game, Mandela fruitfully changed the tradition of the population as all of them showed great unison in supporting the rugby team as they made their way to victory. Another example of good value that is displayed in this movie is when President Mandela took over the office of President. Although the white Afrikaner staff thought that they will be asked to leave their jobs when a black leader becomes president of the country, they are surprised when President Mandela asked them to continue working as usual and keep them as part of his administrative team. Although Mandela was subjected to a lot of grievances during the apartheid era, he shows strength of character when he does not display vindictiveness towards the white population. Yet he is able to forgive them and concentrate on uniting the racial divide. 7.0 CONCLUSION In summary, the movie Invictus is full of great examples of leadership skills and values. President Mandela exhibited excellent leadership and management skills in bringing unity to the country through sports and Pienaar successfully executed his part to garner the nations support to an overwhelming victory. Clearly, participative leadership and empowerment through consensus and general consultation brings better results compared to exertion of power and influence to move a population. The excellent examples depicted throughout the movie indicate the strength of characters of both President Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar. Their strengths shone through when presented by challenges upon challenges as they work their way to realising a united South African population. Charismatic leaders with strong commitment and high confidence can transform the impossible into a possibility and create huge success for the organisation. President Mandela displays his charisma as he successfully attracts followers, who initially disagree with his principles, into participating in activities towards achieving his vision. He effectively nurtures their emotions and encourages their hearts to work towards building the unity and accept differences among them as strengths and think positively for a better South Africa.