Code Of Hammurabi Essays -- History Babylon Essays Papers Ethics Soci

Code Of Hammurabi The people of ancient Babylon lived their lives not how they wanted to, but by "The Code of Hammurabi". The code was the major reflector and shaper in the ancient Babylonian society. If there was something they wanted to do, they had to make sure that it wasn't against the code, because if it was, the consequences were serious, and could mean their life. But without the code, their society would be much more uncivilized and inhumane. Without the code, they wouldn't have been as advanced and as knowledgeable as they were.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The code of Hammurabi reflected many things about the Babylonian society. It reflects that stealing was a very bad thing to do, in more than one way. For example, if someone stole an ox, a sheep, an ass, a pig, or a ship, they would have to pay thirty times the value of what they had stolen, and if they could not repay, they would be put to death. If someone attempted to break into another person's house, they would be killed and buried there, and if a man took a slave and made it his, his hands would be cut off. Honesty was another thing that was very important to the Babylonians. If a woman was accused by her husband of sleeping with another man, and she can't prove that she hadn't, she had to throw herself in the river. This also shows that adultery was unacceptable. For example, if a man's wife were caught with another man, the two would be tied together and thrown in the river. Incest was also forbidden in their society. I...

Reflective Report on Group Work

Reflection on group work Project Content |Page | |Content |2 | |Introduction |3 | |The Group |3 | |My role in the Group |4 | |Difficult encountered during the group work |5 | |The Presentation |7 | |Conclusion |8 | |References |9 | Introduction When effective group management and high organisation skills are applied, group work can bring students a wide range of skills and abilities related to people and problem solving. Group work demonstrates student’s capacity to communicate effectively, share and consider opinions, establish trust, analyse the group process, resolve conflicts and also develop their creativity. However, the constructive learning and beneficial results does not always come as a result of group work. For instance, if the students can not perceive the objective of the group work in order to achieve a common goal, or to lay back or believe that the work load can be relied on other members of the group making the individual work less and still get an equal grade, the educational benefits can result in frustration and arguments as well as leading the whole group to a state of stress and anxiety. This essay reflects on my own participation towards ‘Lush Project’ as a project director, also how I contributed in interpreting  and  researching  the  Lush  Brief,  as  well  as my participation with the  final  presentation. It also discusses the difficulties that emerged throughout the group work; things that went well regards to the preparation and the areas that could have been improved upon. The Group A group can be defined in various ways, for instance; Charles Handy (1993, p. 150) identified a group as â€Å"any collection of people who perceive themselves to be a group† in order to interact with one another. The group then is likely to go through a number of structures which cover forming the group, the group passing from an undeveloped concept to a mature conception then going through a â€Å"variety of stages from mutual acceptance and membership to control and organisation† (Culliname, J. , 2007, p. 628)). My group went though the ‘Tuckman’ structure which is defined as ‘forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning’. Forming – initially the group was formed of seven students from the same class. There was no deliberation as to who would be in what group. There were only seven in the class and we were given the assignment to research the company ‘Lush’ and from our findings we were to stage and run a successful and unique event on behalf of the company. In this stage, the individuals start to know the other members of the group and the group is uncertain of the prospective tasks and there are no rules for the group work leading to a lack of focus and interest. At the norming stage a clearer guideline was given, individuals had the chance to choose the roles in the group and procedures were taken from there. The group consisted of a Project Director, two Logistics Managers, an Account Director, a Finance director and two Creative Directors where all had to come across to an agreement of a name for the group ‘Essence Events’ and where each individual group member would pitch an idea to the rest of the group. At this stage emotion was shown and excitement expressed towards the work we had to do. A timetable for regular meetings was given to each individual of the group by the project director and at each meeting’s ‘minutes’ were taken by one member of the group in order to keep track of the work that had been done. Then comes the performing where the team knew each other and structure and guideline were clear and cohesive. The team now focused on a common goal of developing the ideas for the ‘Lush’ event. At the beginning of this stage, all members of the group were getting together regularly and were constructing and expanding ideas for the project as well as for the presentation. However, unfortunately the group did not stay this way for very long. Distraction and lack of interest emerged bringing the whole group down to anxiety and disagreement. I as group leader was rather unsuccessful in putting the team together and in demanding more of a serious commitment from them. At this stage, the group should have been able to have delivered a successful project in the form of a presentation. Instead, all the hard work that had been done was diverted into a lack of interest and commitment resulting in a negative consequence. The final stage is the adjourning, where ‘Essence Events’ group disbanded. The idea should be that the group dispersing should get together again and reflect on the group work and see what went well and what did not go well and what should we have done differently. In this case, each member of the group was asked to reflect on the group work on their own which might bring more benefit as an individual. My Role in the Group According to Culliname, J. (2007, p. 566), a leader â€Å"aim to influence and guide others into pursuing particular objectives or visions of the future and to stimulate them into waiting to follow†. A project director has the same principle of leader in the sense of being able to conduct tasks successfully, maintaining teamwork and have a democratic participation leadership on the project. At the outset, as the project director I felt that I would fit into the role easily and would be able to distribute different roles to each member of the group. However, I was on a steep learning curve where I would find out that as group leader not only are you expected to have your own ideas to pitch to the group, but you are expected to salvage the group when an idea goes horribly wrong and the group then turns to you for guidance and a solution of how to rectify such problems. Not only was the actual academic side of the group a shock, but the outside organisation of the group proved to be tough as well. Trying to pin down each member of the group to turn up at a particular time at a particular place was a whole other project in itself as of course each member had other work pieces to deal with at the same time, which needed the same amount of due care and attention as the ‘Lush’ event presentation required. When separating responsibilities and separate individual projects to each member of the group I was well aware that not only did the writing and research need to be done but we needed to go to ‘Lush’ stores themselves in order to gather further research information to then take back to the group and compile our findings together to make a firm research file from which we could then discuss and sort what was considered to be primary information and what was secondary information. What we did was with each visit to the ‘Lush’ stores we would divide up the responsibilities and each person was responsible for gathering the respective information. The branches of research were mainly creativity, marketing, pricing, PH, promotion and target market. For instance, the marketing section one observation that the group made is that the door to the shop was always open. This was so that the smell of the products would reach the public outside and therefore attract their attention and ultimately attract consumers into the store to purchase the ‘Lush’ products. When we pitched our ideas to the group, one of the group members suggested that we should run the ‘Lush’ event based on the four seasons (winter, summer, autumn and spring). Each section included the right smell of the particular season, the right colour, such as darker heavier colours for the winter seasons and brighter colours for spring and summer. We emphasised the fact that ‘Lush’ does not carry out any tests on animals and that all their products are environmentally friendly and are also all natural products. Difficult encountered during the group work As with any group or team project it is inevitable that at some point throughout the time together there will be a minor or a major hurdle. This being that either one of the group members does not agree with a particular pitch or strongly disagrees with another person’s idea(s). They may even simply not get along with another member of the group. In the ‘Lush’ situation all group members seemed to get along at the beginning, however, soon disagreement and arguments started to emerge on the event’s topic and meetings. As a general rule the ideas for the project were usually chosen by the majority vote of the group. The problems that we as a group faced were ones that we would generally expect to encounter. We as a group suffered from people not attending meetings. This could be down to lack of organisation, however, it is unlikely that this was the case as all members of the group were aware of the time, date and location of the meeting. Some members simply did not turn up and failed to let the rest of the group who had turned up know that they would not be coming. This ultimately could be said down to the group leader, however, the leader can only do so much as the leader cannot be expected to force other members to turn up. As leader I could only send messages, emails and give phone calls and state the importance of the meeting but, could not make the individual turn up. Another problem we faced was as mentioned earlier; there was a lack of interest from certain members, and this pushed its way through the group and affected others as they began to become irritated with the members of the group who, when they would turn up, not doing any work. This issue I addressed as I took the respective group members aside and both explained the situation that they were putting the group in and asked what it was in particular they were not interested in. It became apparent that it was not the idea that they were not interested in, more the fact they simply did not want to share the workload, as they would not turn up to the meetings and hence cause the other members who did turn up to take on their work that they had not done as well as their own part of the project. Being anxious of not being able to complete the project in time for the presentation a few of the group members decided to starting putting the project together even though it seemed to be a lot of work to do for just a few members of the team. Just three days before the presentation all group members seemed to be interested about the work again and a vast improvement was made and the members who previously had failed to turn up, turned up to what was supposed to be the last meeting and the work was again shared â€Å"equally† and finished . This although seemingly positive in the short term for the group project, was relatively short lived as it had come too late and there was a lot of ground to cover in order to deliver our presentation. This created the problem that there was not as much time as we had hoped for. The Presentation The last minute work reflected in our final presentation because as a result there was a distinct lack of practice for the final presentation. The problems during the actual presentation were that due to the lack of practice there was no real deliverance of each member’s part as they had not pre-read their material beforehand and in effect, the actual presentation was more of a reading practice than of the finished article. Our first main practice was about a few hours before the final presentation was due and this was where I as group leader had to explain that I had told the members that this was the situation that we would be in if we carried on the way we were going three weeks prior to the presentation date. This led to a select few of us being able to deliver our part in a professional way, however, rendering the remainder of the project unfinished. We started late as one member who was responsible for the budgeting aspect of our project had failed to complete final checks on their display and as a result during the presentation their part failed to initialise causing a major delay whilst they left and went to go and print off their part to present. Upon reflection, the above situations were somewhat out of my control as group leader as I could not force the members of the group to turn up and do their part, also being unable to reach the other members due to them not answering my messages or simply not answering phone calls left the rest of the group in a hard situation as we were unaware as to whether they were doing their part of the project. These issues as aforementioned were out of my control somewhat, however, I feel that my role as project director was not fully satisfied as I did not quite deliberate responsibilities as much as I might possibly have wanted to if given the same opportunity again. There were many ideas from the group at the outset of the project, however, there was no real development of these ideas and this may have been what caused the lack of guidance from the project leader. Also as group leader it is a challenging situation to be in as it is easy to be forceful and blunt at the beginning of the project, however, I chose perhaps too soft an approach for too long a period and this is what perhaps led to some of the group members failing to keep up to date. Upon reflection, we as a group did deliver our presentation; however, it was not as good as what we originally thought when compiling our ideas. There was a lot of potential for the group and the idea of the ‘Four Seasons’ was something that we felt as a group would enable us to succeed in our endeavours as a group. However, if I am to perform my role correctly, must shoulder the responsibility as it was up to me to have directed the ideas much more thoroughly, and if given the opportunity again, I would most definitely do so, as good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment. For the final presentation, I gave the idea and it was accepted by the group that we should use a flip chart as this mirrored the fact that ‘Lush’ also used natural products. We used a lot of visual representation as we felt that this would be a much more observer friendly method of communicating our ideas across. The pictures that we used were all from magazine cut-outs. At the presentation, we did not have just one sole speaker, each member of the group spoke on their respective areas of responsibility. Myself and another member of the group gave the main introduction to the presentation and a small introduction to each speaker. Due to the lack of practice I was very anxious and tense resulting in a bad opening and followed by the other member of the group. The timing was very accurate and the presentation ended with a simple but effective conclusion followed by answering all direct questions made by the panel. In order to have delivered a better presentation the group should have had better commitment to what the original aim of the group was at the outset of the project. Critically, the leader should have relayed a better understanding of what was expected in order to complete our presentation to a high professional standard. Conclusion According to J. F. Benson (1987, p. 1) Group work in practice â€Å" refers to the conscious, disciplined, and systematic use of knowledge about the processes of collective human interaction, in order to intervene in an informed way, or promote some desired objective in a group setting. † In our group’s presentation, the idea of disciplined knowledge was what we as a group failed to achieve as we were unable to have the entire group in one place every time we arranged a time to meet. Although groups generally elect a leader, there are as always exceptions to the general rule. A group is a team, a democracy, not a dictatorship. A group needs to have its own ideas and aims, so that a high level of morale is maintained throughout the group. If there is one person who decides upon everything with no concept of what it is like to function as a team, the team will fail, due to a lack of interest and commitment. A team needs to work together, else it will fall short of what a group is all about, and a team has more than one person within it. References Benson, J. F. (1987), Working more Creatively with Groups, Routledge. Brandler, S. and Roman, P. C. (1999), Group Work: Skills and Strategies for Effective Interventions, 2sd Edition, The Haworth Press Inc. Culliname, J. (2007), Working in Organisations: A Compilation of Resources for the University of Greenwich, 2sd Edition, A Person Custom Publication. Handy, C. (1993), Understanding Organisations, Harmondsworth, Penguin Book.

Brand Awareness and Perception towards Branded Jewellery Essay

The gems and jewellery industry occupies an important position in the Indian economy and is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. In the late 1990s, the Indian jewellery market witnessed a shift in consumer perceptions of jewellery. Apart from its historical religious significance, Jewellery is valued as an important savings and investment vehicle in India. Even in present times, Jewellery remains the Indian bride’s `Streedhan’, the wealth she takes with her when she marries and which remains hers. Gold jewellery is the preferred jewellery worn by women in India irrespective of their religious beliefs. In marriages, gold jewellery is the gift preferred by the near relatives of the bride and the groom. Jewellery is very popular among farmers, with an upsurge in gold sales after a good agricultural season. Buying of gold is an important part of every stage of an Indian citizen’s life— at birth, marriage, construction of home, festivals, relig ious ceremonies, setting up of new business, and death. Instead of being regarded as only an investment option, jewellery was being prized for its aesthetic appeal. In other words, the focus seemed to have shifted from content to design. Trendy, affordable and lightweight jewellery soon gained familiarity. Branded jewellery also gained acceptance forcing traditional Jewellers to go in for branding. As India makes rapid progress in the retail arena, the Indian Jewellery market is undergoing a gradual metamorphosis from unorganised to organised formats. Jewellery retailing is moving from a ‘storehouse of value’ to a precious fashion accessory. Plain gold is gradually easing its stranglehold on the Indian consumer psyche to give way to diamonds, platinum and coloured gemstones. The way jewellery was worn before is undergoing a tremendous change. However branded jewellery players will continue to face lot of competition from local jewellers. In order to gain market share, they will have to come up with designs that customers want and win the trust and confidence of consumers by hallmarking and demonstrating the purity of the gold used by them. To compete with traditional players, branded players must also find some way to differentiate themselves. While the success of a particular brand will depend on differentiation, affordability and quality will be a key element  in sustaining a brand. The present study will help us to understand the brand awareness and perception of the customers towards MALABAR GOLD jewellery in Bangalore. 3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM In the emerging knowledge based economy it has become necessary to know how much market power lies with the brand name. Awareness and Perception are the two key metrics that any company would use to measure their brand strength. The study of brand awareness and perception is essential in marketing planning. Customer needs and preferences keep changing where brands ultimately command customer’s loyalty. Without brand awareness occurring, no other communication effects can occur. For a consumer to buy a brand they must first be made aware of it. Brand attitude cannot be formed, and intention to buy cannot occur unless brand awareness has occurred. Brand perception is created by consumer experience with the brand’s product or service. In other words, perception is the values consumers attach to a brand. After the purchase of specialty goods or shopping goods, the customer exhibits post purchase behaviour. It may be either cognitive consonance or cognitive dissonance. The consonance leads to dissatisfaction. But when it comes to customers going in high value premium segment goods such as gold, diamond and platinum ornaments, in a high competitive with too many players in the market, then the customer surely has a wide range of choice to choose from and carefully evaluates the different showrooms before making a purchase decision. In such a situation, any purchase dissonance will lead to very high degree of dissatisfaction, which may also lead to spreading negative opinion to the prospective buyer of jeweller’s outlet. Hence a research is undertaken to understand the brand awareness and perception towards branded jewellery with specific reference to Malabar Gold and Diamonds, Bangalore. 4. OBJECTIVES OF STUDY Primary objective The main objective of the study is to determine the level of brand awareness  and brand perception of Malabar Gold Jewellery, and the use of it as a measure to increase the marketing effectiveness of Malabar Brand Jewellery. Secondary objectives i. To compare the customer preference between the branded and non branded jewellery ii. To understand the parameters the customers consider while buying jewellery iii. To know how brand preference is formed in purchasing Malabar Gold jewellery among customers iv. To measure the level of satisfaction of customers of Malabar Gold v. To analyze the marketing strategies of Malabar Gold with regard to brand awareness and perception 5. RESEARCH DESIGN TYPE OF RESEARCH The study will be descriptive in nature POPULATION Customers buying gold in Bangalore City SAMPLE SIZE The sample for the study would be limited to 105 respondents. SAMPLING UNIT For this study the respondents will be the customers buying gold and diamond jewellery TYPE OF SAMPLING Simple random sampling method will be used for the study. TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION Primary data: Primary data will be collected using a structured questionnaire as well as personal interview method. Secondary data: The secondary data for this work will be obtained from company magazines and brochures, website, newspapers, internet, text books, reports and other promotional materials. HYPOTHESES STATED FOR THE STUDY: Hypothesis 1 Null Hypothesis (H0): Gender of customers and preference for branded and non-branded jewellery is independent. Alternative Hypothesis (H1): Gender of customers and preference for branded and non-branded jewellery is independent. Hypothesis 2 Null Hypothesis (H0): Marital Status of customers and purchase of jewellery is independent. Alternative Hypothesis (H1): Marital Status of customers and purchase of jewellery is dependent. PLAN OF ANALYSIS The data collected from various sources will be tabulated and represented using the percentage and ranking method. Graphical tools like bar diagrams, pie charts etc., will be used to illustrate the tabulated data pictorially. Inferences and interpretation of the data will be done on the basis of tabulated data. In both Hypotheses 1 and 2, the null hypotheses will be tested using Chi-Square test for independence of attributes at 5% level of significance. 6. PROPOSED CHAPTER SCHEME: a. Introduction b. Review of Literature & Research Design c. Profile of Industry/Business/Selected Organisations d. Results, Analyses and Discussions e. Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations.

Differentiate Mencius and Confucius Class in Human Nature Essay

Confucius’ view on human nature was not clearly and distinctly supplied in the Analects. It is no surprise that one of his disciples complained that â€Å"one cannot get to hear his view on human nature† (A, 5:13).1 In two passages of the Analects, Confucius classified men as belonging to three groups: â€Å"upper, middle and lower,† but as this classification was made according to man’s â€Å"learning ability† it had nothing to do with the common nature of man.2 Another two passages expressed more directly Confucius’ opinion in this respect. THE THEORY OF CONFUCIUS ON HUMAN NATURE Confucius’ view on human nature was not clearly and distinctly supplied in the Analects. It is no surprise that one of his disciples complained that â€Å"one cannot get to hear his view on human nature† (A, 5:13).1 In two passages of the Analects, Confucius classified men as belonging to three groups: â€Å"upper, middle and lower,† but as this classification was made according to man’s â€Å"learning ability† it had nothing to do with the common nature of man.2 Another two passages expressed more directly Confucius’ opinion in this respect. On the basis of Confucius’ teachings, Mencius and Hsà ¼n-tzu developed philosophies which sometimes were considered mutually complementary. As regards the theory of human nature, however, Mencius and Hsà ¼n-tzu obviously held incompatible views. The following discussion will try to show that Mencius’ theory of â€Å"human nature as good† is in fact a theory of â€Å"human heart as good,† and Hsà ¼n-tzu’s theory of â€Å"human nature as evil† is actually a theory of â€Å"human desire as evil.† These two theories are not necessarily contradictory, since they share the same underlying idea that human nature tends toward goodness. To clarify this point, we will lay more stress on the works of Mencius and the Chung-yung which directly elaborated on this idea than on those of Hsà ¼n-tzu and the I-chuan which accepted this idea in an implicit way. Mencius Etymologically, human â€Å"nature† (hsing) comes from â€Å"birth† or â€Å"to be born with† (sheng). The common understanding of this word in ancient China can be formulated as follows: â€Å"The inborn is what is meant by nature† (M, VI, A, 3).5 However, this consideration of the origin of nature exhibits only what a thing has rather than what a thing is: it expresses at most the sameness rather than the difference of all things. In order to determine what a thing is, it is necessary to know its essence: the genus plus the difference of species. This rule, made familiar by Aristotle, was true also for Mencius. First, Mencius was quite aware that in dealing with anything of the same kind, we must determine what this â€Å"same kind† means, and this is even more true when applied to man. Mencius said, â€Å"Now, things of the same kind are all alike. Why should we have doubts when it comes to man? The sage and I are of the same kind† (M, VI, A, 7). The wicked, however, also belong to the same kind. Thus, in determining the essence of human beings, we should find the difference of species. Mencius said, Slight is the difference between man and the brutes. The common man loses this distinguishing feature, while the gentleman retains it. Shun understood the way of things and had a keen insight into human relations. He followed the path of benevolence and righteousness. He did not need to pursue benevolence and righteousness (M, IV, B,19). Clearly, the essence or the distinguishing feature of man must be understood through the â€Å"slight difference† between man and the brutes. The statement about Shun is an example that benevolence and righteousness are the interior path of man, following which will have a great effect. The implication of this whole sentence is probably that benevolence and righteousness belong to the â€Å"slight difference.†6 Another paragraph will also help clarify the distinguishing feature of man. â€Å"A gentleman differs from other men in what he retains in his heart–namely, benevolence and propriety† (M, IV, B, 28). Granted that the human essence of man can be described as benevolenc e, righteousness, propriety, etc., how can common people lose it? Can something be defined by a feature which can be lost? The key to the answer lies in the idea of â€Å"heart,† which is to be understood here as neither bodily heart, nor soul, but mind with sensitivity. Concerning human nature, Mencius presents his famous theory of â€Å"the four germs of the heart,† concluding as follows: From this it can be seen that whoever is devoid of the heart of compassion is not human, whoever is devoid of the heart of shame is not human, whoever is devoid of the heart of courtesy and modesty is not human, and whoever is devoid of the heart of right and wrong is not human (M, II, A, 6). These four states of heart are named, in turn, the germs of â€Å"benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom† (M, II, A, 6) within man’s heart, which forms the difference of human beings. Human nature must be defined through this heart: Mencius said, â€Å"That which a gentleman follows as his nature, that is to say, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom, is rooted in his heart† (M, VII, A, 21). Therefore the goodness of human nature resides in the goodness of the heart. A reservation, however, must be added, namely, that goodnes s exists only in the state of germ and needs to be retained, nourished, and developed. In this way Mencius demonstrated that human nature is tending toward goodness. He did not stop at this point, but continued to examine the nature and origin of the heart. Mencius affirmed that there is a propensity for development within the heart which makes it an â€Å"evaluating heart.† If this means an ability to be moral and human beings are moral agents,8 does not its propensity for development imply in some sense a â€Å"commanding heart†?9 It must be the case, then, that the evaluating heart is at the same time the commanding heart, for otherwise how could Mencius honor as gentleman those who â€Å"retain† it? Only with this understanding does it become meaningful to say that â€Å"there is nothing better for the nurturing of the heart than to reduce the number of one’s desires† (M, VII, B, 35). Only if the heart does more than evaluate can Mencius say, â€Å"The sole concern of learning is to go after this strayed heart. That is all† (M, VI, A, 11). On the basis of this double character of the heart, we can loo k further at the heart in itself. Mencius used one word â€Å"thinking† to sum up the function of the heart. He said, â€Å"The organ of the heart can think. But it will find the answer only if it does think: otherwise, it will not find the answer. This is what Heaven has given me† (M, VI, A, 15). By thus explaining the source of the heart, especially its function of commanding, he bridges the gap between Heaven and man. Therefore, instead of stating that Mencius substitutes â€Å"self-legislation† for â€Å"external divine command,† we prefer to say that man’s self-legislation is bestowed on him by Heaven.10 The relation between Heaven and man is another interesting topic in Mencius’ thought, but is beyond the scope of the present essay. What we have established thus far is that the reason why human nature tends toward goodness consists in its relation with Heaven. Better known in China as â€Å"Master Meng† (Chinese: Mengzi), Mencius was a fourth-century BCE Chinese thinker whose importance in the Confucian tradition is second only to that of Confucius himself. In many ways, he played the role of St. Paul to Confucius’ Jesus, interpreting the thought of the master for subsequent ages while simultaneously impressing Confucius’ ideas with his own philosophical stamp. He is most famous for his theory of human nature, according to which all human beings share an innate goodness that either can be cultivated through education and self-discipline or squandered through neglect and negative influences, but never lost altogether. While it is not clear that Mencius’ views prevailed in early Chinese philosophical circles, they eventually won out after gaining the support of influential medieval commentators and thinkers such as Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi, 1130-1200 CE) and Wang Yangming The Mencius of History Like the historical Confucius, the historical Mencius is a vailable only through a text that, in its complete form at least, postdates his traditional lifetime (372-289 BCE). The philological controversy surrounding the date and composition of the text that bears his name is far less intense than that which surrounds the Confucian Analects, however. Most scholars agree that the entire Mencius was assembled by Mencius himself and his immediate disciples, perhaps shortly after his death. The text records several encounters with various rulers during Mencius’ old age, which can be dated between 323 and 314 BCE, making Mencius an active figure no later than the late fourth century BCE. The other major source of information about Mencius’ life is the biography found in the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) of Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE), which states that he was a native of Zou (Tsou), a small state near Confucius’ home state of Lu in the Shandong peninsula of nort heastern China. He is said to have studied with Confucius’ grandson, Zisi (Tzu-ssu), although most modern scholars doubt this. He also is thought to have become a minister of the state of Qi (Ch’i), which also was famous as the home of the Jixia (Chi-hsia) Academy. The Jixia Academy was a kind of early Chinese â€Å"think tank† sponsored the ruler of Qi that produced, among other thinkers, Mencius’ later opponent Xunzi (Hsun-tzu, 310-220 BCE). Mencius inherits from Confucius a set of terms and a series of problems. In general, one can say that where Confucius saw a unity of inner and outer – in terms of li (ritual propriety), ren (co-humanity), and the junzi (profound person)-xiaoren (small person) distinction – Mencius tends to privilege the inner aspects of concepts, practices, and identities. For Mencius, the locus of philosophical activity and self-cultivation is the xin (hsin), a term that denotes both the chief organ of the circulatory system and the organ of thought, and hence is translated here and in many other sources as â€Å"heart-mind.† Mencius’ views of the divine, political organization, human nature, and the path toward personal development all start and end in the heart-mind. . Theodicy Again, as with Confucius, so too with Mencius. From late Zhou tradition, Mencius inherited a great many religious sensibilities, including theistic ones. For the early Chinese (c. 16th century BCE), the world was controlled by an all-powerful deity, â€Å"The Lord on High† (Shangdi), to whom entreaties were made in the first known Chinese texts, inscriptions found on animal bones offered in divinatory sacrifice. As the Zhou polity emerged and triumphed over the previous Shang tribal rule, Zhou apologists began to regard their deity, Tian (â€Å"Sky† or â€Å"Heaven†) as synonymous with Shangdi, the deity of the deposed Shang kings, and explained the decline of Shang and the rise of Zhou as a consequence of a change in Tianming (â€Å"the mandate of Heaven†). Thus, theistic justifications for conquest and rulership were present very early in Chinese history. By the time of Mencius, the concept of Tian appears to have changed slightly, taking on aspects of à ¢â‚¬Å"fate† and â€Å"nature† as well as â€Å"deity.† For Confucius, Tian provided personal support and sanction for his sense of historical mission, while at the same time prompting Job-like anxiety during moments of ill fortune in which Tian seemed to have abandoned him. Mencius’ faith in Tian as the ultimate source of legitimate moral and political authority is unshakeable. Like Confucius, he says that â€Å"Tian does not speak – it simply reveals through deeds and affairs† (5A5). He ascribes the virtues of ren (co-humanity), yi (rightness), li (ritual propriety), zhi (wisdom), and sheng (sagehood) to Tian (7B24) and explicitly compares the rule of the moral king to the rule of Tian (5A4). The dependence of Tian upon human agents to put its will into practice helps account for the emphasis Mencius places on the satisfaction of the people as an indicator of the ruler’s moral right to power, and on the responsibility of morally-minded ministers to depose an unworthy ruler. In a dialogue with King Xuan of Qi (r. 319-301 BCE), Mencius says: The people are to be valued most, the altars of the grain and the land [traditional symbols of the vitality of the state] next, the ruler least. Hence winning the favor of the common people you become Emperor†¦. (7B14) When the ruler makes a serious mistake they admonish. If after repeated admonishments he still will not listen, they depose him†¦. Do not think it strange, Your Majesty. Your Majesty asked his servant a question, and his servant dares not fail to answer it directly. (5B9) Mencius’ replies to King Xuan are bracingly direct, in fact, but he can be coy. When the king asks whether it is true that various sage kings (Tang and Wu) rebelled against and murdered their predecessors (Jie and Zhou), Mencius answers that it is true. The king then asks: â€Å"Is it permissible for a vassal to murder his lord?† Mencius replied, â€Å"One who robs co-humanity [ren] you call a `robber’; one who robs the right [yi] you call a `wrecker’; and one who robs and wrecks you call an `outlaw.’ I have heard that [Wu] punished the outlaw Zhou – I have not heard that he murdered his lord. (1B8) In other words, Wu was morally justified in executing Zhou, because Zhou had proven himself to be unworthy of the throne through his offenses against ren and yi – the very qualities associated with the Confucian exemplar (junzi) and his actions. This is an example of Mencius engaging in the â€Å"rectification of names† (zhengming), an exercise that Confucius considered to be prior to all other philosophical activity (Analects 13.3). While Mencius endorses a â€Å"right of revolution,† he is no democrat. His ideal ruler is the sage-king, such as the legendary Shun, on whose reign both divine sanction and popular approval conferred legitimacy: When he was put in charge of sacrifices, the hundred gods delighted in them which is Heaven accepting him. When he was put in charge of affairs, the affairs were in order and the people satisfied with him, which is the people accepting him. Heaven gave it [the state] to him; human beings gave it to him. (5A5) Mencius is famous for claiming that human nature (renxing) is good. As with most reductions of philosophical positions to bumper-sticker slogans, this statement oversimplifies Mencius’ position. In the text, Mencius takes a more careful route in order to arrive at this view. Following A. C. Graham, one can see his argument as having three elements: (1) a teleology, (2) a virtue theory, and (3) a moral psychology. Confucius Better known in China as â€Å"Master Kong† (Chinese: Kongzi), Confucius was a fifth-century BCE Chinese thinker whose influence upon East Asian intellectual and social history is immeasurable. As a culturally symbolic figure, he has been alternately idealized, deified, dismissed, vilified, and rehabilitated over the millennia by both Asian and non-Asian thinkers and regimes. Given his extraordinary impact on Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese thought, it is ironic that so little can be known about Confucius. The tradition that bears his name – â€Å"Confucianism† (Chinese: Rujia) – ultimately traces itself to the sayings and biographical fragments recorded in the text known as the Analects (Chinese: Lunyu). As with the person of Confucius himself, scholars disagree about the origins and character of the Analects, but it remains the traditional source for information about Confucius’ life and teaching. Most scholars remain confident that it is possible to extract from the Analects several philosophical themes and views that may be safely attributed to this ancient Chinese sage. These are primarily ethical, rather than analytical-logical or metaphysical in nature, and include Confucius’ claim that Tian (â€Å"Heaven†) is aligned with moral order but dependent upon human agents to actualize its will; his concern for li (ritual propriety) as the instrument through which the family, the state, and the world may be aligned with Tian’s moral order; and his belief in the â€Å"contagious† nature of moral force (de), by which moral rulers diffuse morality to their subjects, moral parents raise moral children, and so forth. The Confucius of the Analects Above all else, the Analects depicts Confucius as someone who â€Å"transmits, but does not innovate† (7.1). What Confucius claimed to transmit was the Dao (Way) of the sages of Zhou antiquity; in the Analects, he is the erudite guardian of tradition who challenges his disciples to emulate the sages of the past and restore the moral integrity of the state. Although readers of the Analects often assume that Confucius’ views are presented as a coherent and consistent system within the text, a careful reading reveals several different sets of philosophical concerns which do not conflict so much as they complement one another. Those familiar with Enlightenment-influenced presentations of Confucius as an austere humanist who did not discuss the supernatural may be surprised to encounter the term â€Å"theodicy† as a framework for understanding Confucius’ philosophical concerns. Confucius’ record of silence on the subject of the divine is attested by the Analects (5.3, 7.21, 11.12). In fact, as a child of the late Zhou world, Confucius inherited a great many religious sensibilities, including theistic ones. For the early Chinese (c. 16th century BCE), the world was controlled by an all-powerful deity, â€Å"The Lord on High† (Shangdi), to whom entreaties were made in the first known Chinese texts, inscriptions found on animal bones offered in divinatory sacrifice. As the Zhou polity emerged and triumphed over the previous Shang tribal rule, Zhou apologists began to regard their deity, Tian (â€Å"Sky† or â€Å"Heaven†) as synonymous with Shangdi, the deity of the deposed Shang kings, and explained the decline of Shang and the rise of Zhou as a consequence of a change in Tianming (â€Å"the mandate of Heaven†). Thus, theistic justifications for conquest and rulership were present very early in Chinese history.By the time of Confucius, the concept of Tian appears to have changed slightly. For one thing, the ritual complex of Zhou diviners, which served to ascertain the will of Tian for the benefit of the king, had collapsed with Zhou rule itself. At the same time, the network of religious obligations to manifold divinities, local spirits, and ancestors does not seem to have ceased with the fall of the Zhou, and Confucius appears to uphold sacrifices to â€Å"gods and ghosts† as consistent with â€Å"transmitting† noble tradition. Yet, in the Analects, a new aspect of Tian emerges. For the Confucius of the Analects, discerning the will of Tian and reconciling it with his own moral compass sometimes proves to be a troubling exercise: If Heaven is about to abandon this culture, those who die afterwards will not get to share in it; if Heaven has not yet abandoned this culture, what can the men of Guang [Confucius’ adversaries in this instance] do to me? (9.5) There is no one who recognizes me†¦. I neither resent Heaven nor blame humanity. In learning about the lower I have understood the higher. The one who recognizes me – wouldn’t that be Heaven? (14.35) Heaven has abandoned me! Heaven has abandoned me! (11.9) As we all know that Mencius several times throughout Chinese history has been regarded as a potentially â€Å"dangerous† author, leading at times to outright banning of his book. This is because Mencius developed a very early form of what was to be called in modern times the â€Å"social contract.† Mencius, like Confucius, believed that rulers were divinely placed in order to guarantee peace and order among the people they rule. Unlike Confucius, Mencius believed that if a ruler failed to bring peace and order about, then the people could be absolved of all loyalty to that ruler and could if they felt strongly enough about the matter, revolt. I surmise if we go into details, it will probably take us months or maybe even years before finishing this comparison. I personally felt that Mencius and Confucius did not share nearly the same feelings for what was the most important unit in a society. I believe Confucius set up the belief of â€Å"Emperor, Master, and Father.â⠂¬  Basically, all subjects were obliged to the orders of the Emperor. All students were required to follow the footsteps of their Masters. In the same way that all children should obey their fathers commands. If at any given time these orders came in conflicts with one another, then everyone must choose to put the Emperor’s demands above everything else. Perhaps, this concept was one of the main reasons why Confucianism was promoted as the state’s ideology during the reign of Han Wudi. On the other hand, Mencius had a totally different view. Mencius insisted that â€Å"People came first Empires/Nations were only second, while the Emperor was the least important.† Well I am sure that not too many people would be happy to hear this argument let alone agree. This concept will definitely tolerate rebellions against a tyrannical ruler. The Emperor was working in the best interests of the people. Without the people’s support, the emperor had certainly failed his du ties as the leader. While Confucius’s theory I think that Confucius was more correct in his views than Mencius, not because of differing views (although they did differ at certain points), but because of the way these ideas were carried out throughout his career, and ultimately, his life. Confucius was a Chinese thinker and philosopher. His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, and justice and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Taoism during the Han Dynasty. Confucius’ thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy which has come to be known as Confucianism. It was introduced to Europe by Matteo Ricci, who was the first to come up with the Latin name â€Å"Confucius†. His teachings may be found in the Analects of Confucius, a collection of â€Å"brief aphoristic fragments†, which was compiled many years after his death. For nearly 2,000 years he was thought to be the editor or author of all the Five Classics, such as the Classic of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals, but this was not the case as many of these â€Å"fragments† cannot be directly credited to Confucius because of lack of written proof. Confucius was born in 551 BC in the Lu state of China, born into a warrior family. His father, Shulianghe, was a famous warrior who fought in the chinese military, and owned a large portion of land. Confucius lost his father when he was three years old, and then his mother Yan Zhengzai took him and left his father’s land because, as a concubine, she wanted to avoid the scorn from Shulianghe’s real wife. Therefore, Confucius lived in poverty with his mother since childhood. With the support and encouragement of his mother, Confucius studied hard as a child. When Confucius was seventeen, his mother died as a result of illness and exhaustion. Three years later, Confucius married. Though he had a good wife who loved him, he left his family to pursue his philosophical goals. Confucius sought to revive the As we all know that Mencius several times throughout Chinese history has been regarded as a potentially â€Å"dangerous† author, leading at times to outright banning of his book. This is because Mencius developed a very early form of what was to be called in modern times the â€Å"social contract.† Mencius, like Confucius, believed that rulers were divinely placed in order to guarantee peace and order among the people they rule. Unlike Confucius, Mencius believed that if a ruler failed to bring peace and order about, then the people could be absolved of all loyalty to that ruler and could if they felt strongly enough about the matter, revolt. I surmise if we go into details, it will probably take us months or maybe even years before finishing this comparison. I personally felt that Mencius and Confucius did not share nearly the same feelings for what was the most important unit in a society. I believe Confucius set up the belief of â€Å"Emperor, Master, and Father.† Basically, all subjects were obliged to the orders of the Emperor. All students were required to follow the footsteps of their Masters. In the same way that all children should obey their fathers commands. If at any given time these orders came in conflicts with one another, then everyone must choose to put the Emperor’s demands above everything else. Perhaps, this concept was one of the main reasons why Confucianism was promoted as the state’s ideology during the reign of Han Wudi. On the other hand, Mencius had a totally different view. Mencius insisted that â€Å"People came first Empires/Nations were only second, while the Emperor was the least important.† Well I am sure that not too many people would be happy to hear this argument let alone agree. This concept will definitely tolerate rebellions against a tyrannical ruler. The Emperor was working in the best interests of the people. Without the people’s support, the emperor had certainly failed his duties as the leader.

Impact of Internal and External Environment on Business Function

Football refers to a number of sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just â€Å"football† or â€Å"soccer†. Unqualified, the word football applies to whichever form of football is the most popular in the regional context in which the word appears, including association football, as well as American football, Australian rules football, Canadian football, Gaelic football, rugby league, rugby union,[1] and other related games. These variations of football are known as football codes. Various forms of football can be identified in history, often as popular peasant games. Contemporary codes of football can be traced back to the codification of these games at English public schools in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. [2][3] The influence and power of the British Empire allowed these rules of football to spread to areas of British influence outside of the directly controlled Empire,[4] though by the end of the nineteenth century, distinct regional codes were already developing: Gaelic Football, for example, deliberately incorporated the rules of local traditional football games in order to maintain their heritage. 5] In 1888, The Football League was founded in England, becoming the first of many professional football competitions. During the twentieth century, the various codes of football became amongst the most popular team sports in the world. [6] information Football is the game which is played on the rectangular grass. It is played with the ball. In this game, the goalkeeper is the only player who allowed to use their hands and arms to propel the ball. The main purpose of the game is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal and the remaining members of the goalkeeper are use their feet to kick the ball into a position. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. The width of the fields for the non-international matches is in the range of 50-100 yards and the length is in the range of 100-130 yards. The international adult matches may be 64-75 meters in width and the 100-110 meters in length. In the front of each goal, there is also a one area for the penalty. Football game has been established with the team sport and it is played by two teams of 11 players. It is one of the most popular game in the world. In this game, the points are scored in a variety of ways, by throwing the ball to another player, including carrying the ball over the goal line or kicking the ball through the goal posts on the opposing side. The main object of the game is to score a point by just clicking the ball into the goal of the other team. There is also a one referee and the two assistant referees. The basic equipment for the players are required to wear a footwear, shorts, socks, shirt and adequate shin guards. But the goalkeeper must wear the clothing for the easily distinguishable from that worn by the other players and the match officials. Compare OddsUse the mashbet website to compare online bookmakers and find out who is offering the best odds for the sporting even you want to bet on. Professional Punting Elite Ratings: A Leading provider of Professional Punting strategies and the best customer service in horse betting tips. Sports Nutrition Supplements Sports Trophies & Awards Wide selection of trophies & awards from Broadway Trophy & Engraving. Thailand Lottery sports mentoring Integralperformancecoach. com – Leaders in sports mentoring and provides training and coaching for top perfomance in sports. ingonodeposit. net Are you ready to get in shape, but HATE the gym? Join our lifestyle brand of healthy living with health & Crossfit sugar land. Barcelona football shirts frive and y8 games: play y8 and frive mni games online for free. Arsenal football shirts Medallas messi Lionel Andres â€Å"Leo† Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljo?nel an?d?es ?mesi], born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who pl ays as a forward for La Liga clubFC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team. By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and 2012. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions. At age 25, Messi became the youngest player to score 200 La Liga goals. Commonly rated by commentators, coaches and colleagues as the best footballer in the world and as one of the greatest layers in the history of the game,[2][3][4][5][6][7] Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballons d'Or – all of which he won consecutively – as well as the first to win threeEuropean Golden Shoe awards. Messi has won six La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, five Supercopas de Espana, three UEFA Champions Leagues, two Super Cups and tw o Club World Cups. In March 2012, Messi made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match. He also matched Jose Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single Champions League season. Messi became the first player to top-score in four successive Champions League campaigns. Messi set the European record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals. In the same season, he set the current goalscoring record in a single La Liga season, scoring 50 goals. On 16 February 2013, Messi scored his 300th Barcelona goal. On 30 March 2013, Messi scored in his 19th consecutive La Liga game, becoming the first footballer in history to net in consecutive matches against every team in the league. Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa America tournament the following year, in which he was elected young player of the tournament. In 2008, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team. SportsPro has rated Lionel Messi as the second-most marketable athlete in the world. His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his

Analysis Of Theodore Roethke s My Papa s Waltz Essay -- Poetry, Stanza

He tries to beautify the experience by making it a waltz. He also, by means of images and rhythm, shows the conflict between the readers, or the way any other ‘normal’ man will look at this experience, and how he sees it, or wants it to be seen ( although he does not show his father as completely innocent). It can also be looked upon as the Petty Herst syndrome – meaning having a ‘reality’ so intense and strong that one feels incapable of any other ‘reality’, fearing it can and will be worse. The poem is built of four stanzas (quatrain), each consisting of four lines. The rhyme scheme is, in the first stanza – abab, in the second – cdcd, in the third – efef, and in the fourth – ghgh. The meter is trecet iamb (stressed unstressed – three times per line). The central image in the poem is the metaphor in which the beatings are described as a waltz. The poet is led around the house, dancing – not beaten around. Which is also brought throu by the meter – trecet iamb – the beat of the waltz, thus the main image is shown through the meter as well, giving the reader more of the feeling of a dance in contrast to the ‘secondery images’ which are more associated with the rough experience of a beating. Given such parameters the poet installs some sort of relaxation in the reader (maybe even in himself), in order to make the subject – the beating – more readable, and lessening the effect of thewhen the person leaves this reality it will still, in retrospective, be the best situation he was ever been. It is possible that the narrator in this poem is ‘afflicted’ by this syndrome. He defends his father because to him it seems that this is the reality he should be in. He describes the beat ings as a waltz because he sees it as such. Although the poem is narrated retrospectively, from a grown up man point of view, something remains, the poet does not hate his father for the beating, on the contrary, he shows us that the love to his father is not, and never was lost. And twice during the poem – he talks about † But I hung on † in the first stanza, and † Still clinging to your shirt.† in the fourth stanza, which gives the feeling that he loved and stayed with his father during his childhood, and that he does that even now when his childhood is no longer with him.

Power, authority, and influence in the workplace Essay

Power, authority, and influence in the workplace - Essay Example Power and influence theories are linked with how individuals use power and influence to manipulate others and consequently achieve organizational objectives in the workplace. In reference to French and Raven's theory of power, I take advantage of my personal power and strive on advancing my professional skills and knowledge as this is considered the most reasonable basis or foundation of power and influence. According to Lunenburg, power and influence theories also focus on transactional form of leadership. According to this form of leadership, individuals or workers strive to achieve their goals in the hope of getting a reward. Therefore, I use rewards to inspire and encourage workers and hence ensure that duties or tasks are completed in a timely manner.   Lunenburg additionally states that contingency theories focus on different leadership styles according to existing situations. Organizations are faced by numerous challenges that require effective decisions to be made. Therefor e, I employ different leadership styles depending on existing organizational problems. This is important as it ensures employees are supported at all times. An effective leadership style ensures the creation of effective relationships among workers and also between workers and the management. This type of leadership theory is referred to as path-goal leadership theory. In other words, the path-goal theory states that employees enjoying a good relationship with their leaders are pleased by their accommodating nature.