Morality in Politics Essay Example for Free

Morality in Politics Essay People are forced to face moral challenges in making day-to-day decisions. When it comes to benefitting individual and societal good, the great question of politics is raised: what is the right thing to do? In Sophocles’ Antigone, there is a dilemma whether to abide by the laws of the gods above the laws of the state. Antigone makes a decision that not only affects her future but the future of the state under her uncle’s rule. Antigone gains a high moral sense in that she followed the laws of the gods and therefore did the morally right choice going against state laws, either case can be deemed as morally correct. In this essay it will be argued that citizens should be free to disobey state laws when conscience dictates. Sophocles’ play enacts the moral conflict of power between the laws of the gods and the laws of state. He presents the reader with a dilemma involving religious rituals passed down in the family and a new law passed by a ruler of the state. Antigone and her uncle, Creon, have a different set of values. Creon, the ruler of Thebes, values the constant order of the state and the public good. Antigone values family and religion, and views these commitments as superior to the laws imposed by her uncle. She claims, there is an â€Å"unchangeable unwritten code of Heaven,† (Sophocles, Antigone, 17) and she decides to act against the laws of her uncle to fulfill the laws of the gods, by giving her brother a proper burial ritual against Creon’s will. Antigone considers her uncle’s laws as sacrilege. Creon thought that his decision would bring stability to his state, as he claimed that â€Å"by corruption few men thrive and many come to mischief,† (Sophocles, Antigone, 12). Creon places the ‘polis’ above family and religious values and disregards the values that Antigone holds sacred. Sophocles positions Antigone as being the heroine of the play and allows her to justify her decisions, with the taking of her own life Antigone made a statement and accentuates the power she held and that Creon lacked. In the end, Creon is left with feelings of regret and no family, thus punished by the gods for not abiding by their laws. Antigone believed that her rights were not given to her by Creon but rather given to her by the gods. She was only doing what she thought was morally right. Antigone is a religious being and clearly values the gods higher than the state; she is willing to face the consequences. Antigone was willing to â€Å"meet with nothing more grievous, at the worst, than death, with honour,† (Sophocles, Antigone, 4) she courageously fulfilled her duties as a religious being. Many people would applaud Antigone’s bravery, for any private interest should be allowed to challenge the public good. In doing so, I believe that those private interests could eventually turn into a public interest. In the play, a prophet visits Creon to warn him of the consequences that have been brought about from his unjust laws. If it had not have been for Antigone publicly objecting to Creon’s law, it would probably not have been such a big issue that brought the concern of others. Antigone allowed for others to question Creon’s law and debate if it is morally right to go against the laws of the gods. Publicly refusing to follow a law brings attention to an issue that otherwise would have been ignored. One great example in our society is during the Civil Rights era; Martin Luther King Jr. ’s actions brought great attention to the issue of racial segregation. He believed that it was right to openly break a law that was not supposed to be a law at all. His actions although non-violent broke many laws that were made to impede success among the African American population in the U. S. He believed that by publicly and consciously breaking the law exposes brutality and promotes participation. In doing so, the people against the law were perceived as being brave and those watching were forced to question what was just. When issues become public and catch the interest of the majority of the people in the ‘polis’, the government is forced to do something about it. Creon responded with a stern and much too harsh punishment that led to the death of his niece, son and wife but if Antigone would not have contested his law he could have eventually reached complete domination of political power. The general population supported Antigone but they were too afraid to say anything until they finally felt that something must be done. Creon was running a totalitarian government and was corrupting the state. He was unable to see how unjust his law was until others brought it to his attention and tried to convince him that his use of power was wrong. Antigone’s defying actions instilled courage in the people to also speak against their ruler. It might be objected that when someone disobeys state laws whenever their conscience dictates they are only helping themselves, the person breaking the law is not thinking about the common good but rather fulfilling their own good or promoting anarchy. Civil disobedience may seem reasonable when we consider Martin Luther King Jr. ’s situation but it may not always be driven with good intentions. By disobeying, regardless of good or bad intentions, they are hurting the stability of the state. Creon argues, â€Å"Obedience is due to the state’ officer in small and great, just and unjust commandments†¦ (Sophocles, Antigone, 26). † Creon did not bother to judge his laws as just or unjust, he simply did what he considered was good for the state. It is thought that if people continue to please themselves in breaking the laws of the state that they will eventually break every law and lose all respect for the state. Civil disobedience may not always serve the public good and only serve to undermine order. Breaking a law weakens the state and it’s order, it promotes anarchy and disrespects authority. It should not be encouraged or tolerated. It is a civic virtue to abide by the laws of the state it is what leads to its success and stability. By breaking the law Antigone was faced with death, she claimed that she was honoring the gods and that they would honor her in the end. But one must question if honor is worth the permanence of death. Many people feel so strongly about their opinions that they are wiling to die just as Antigone did in Sophocles’ play. One notable person in history is Socrates; he willingly faced all punishments administered to him. He claimed to have had a contract with his state of Athens that obliged him to accept punishments for taking advantage of the state in the first place. This shows that even though Socrates may have broken some law, he still held respect for the state. Not every person that breaks a law is completely recalcitrant. Like Socrates, those who fight for civil rights and follow what they believe to be morally correct are aware of their wrongdoings and make it a statement when they finally submit to the law. They are submitting to punishments even if they are deemed unjust only to prove to the state that their morals are important and can withstand any punishment. In facing moral challenges one is often forced to face it is always difficult to decipher what is right and what is wrong. Everyone has different values and obligations. Here, Antigone’s values outweighed Creon’s overwhelmingly unjust laws. One must always question what is more important and find a balance between the two. Civil disobedience is allowed when the conscience dictates in situations that lead to a greater good. Not all private interests are egocentric some may also reflect the interest of the general population. Antigone, although harshly punished just as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Socrates were as well, have all rose among the common people and proved to be great. They encompassed a passion and bravery for their beliefs that was able to attract attention to conflicts in the law. Without their brave actions the state would not have been open to change and reach a new level of stability.

Sales System for Customer Management Software Program

Sales System for Customer Management Software Program Sales Management Coursework Assignment Outline what you believe to be going wrong with the sales efforts at Gardnov. Richard Booth is the newly appointed sales manager of Gardnov Limited, he has spent his first four weeks by simply observing how the sales force operated by accompanying them on sales visits and by talking to the customers. According to his observation, he found the company sales force are generally lacking in motivation and without energetic. Even customers can feel about that. Therefore, Richard has to do something in order to arouse the motivation of the sales force. As no new account has been opened during the past four months, it means that the sales force havent expend their market and just keeping the existing customers. Sales will not grow lots if new account hasnt been opened. Richard found the sales force are not trying very hard to get new customers. Richard had visited some customers in each region and he was depressed to hear that even regular customers felt that they didnt relate closely to Gardnovs sales force, customers felt the sales force has been more like order-takers instead of order-makers. It shows that the sales force are not putting efforts on the customers, customers feel that they are unimportant because the sales force showed little interest in them. Besides, a lot of customers reflected that the sales people were unable to answer questions about some of the products in the catalogue. It shows the sales people have lack of knowledge about the products that they are selling, it makes customers without confidence to buy the products because even the sales people did not know the details of the products. They felt that the salespeople showed little concern, spent less time on them, and had little enthusiasm for the products they were selling. Outline what steps Richard should take to investigate further the problems highlighted by his initial research, whilst gaining/maintaining the support of the sales force. By gaining/maintaining the support of the sales force, Richard analysed his initial research, and he will need more research to investigate further problems. By investigating the problems, he will use primary research and secondary research. According to the existing situation, Richard has already done some primary research which included: spending his first four weeks observing how the sales force operated by accompanying them on sales visits and talking to customers. By communicating with the customers directly, Richard can be able to understand what customers need and want from the sales force, and also be able to know if the sales force are effective or not. By observing the sales force, he knew how they work normally and in which aspects that they need to improve to achieve the sales profit. Richard will also need to find out how the company can help the sales force, supporting them and motivate them to sell more products to customers. Besides, Richard also use other ways of primary research to investigate how he can support the sales force and improve the problems in the sales force. He may send questionnaires to every customers (may enclose a brochure or leaflet which include the introduction of new products of the company or even with discount coupons), therefore he will be able to get more opinions about the sales force and he will directly know the problems in the sales force because customers are the most important sources of a company. After analyzing those statistic results, he can be able to take steps to improve sales performance accordingly by using those opinions from customers. Apart from primary research, Richard can use secondary research to investigate more information and can find out more ways to solve out the problems of the sales force. He can use internet research to get some ideas to maintaining the support of the sales force, internet is very useful nowadays, therefore lots of information can be found in internet. By using the research, Richard can investigate more about the problems of the sales force, e.g. to motivate the sales force by using rewarding methods, training the sales force†¦..etc. After Richard knows the problems of the sales force, he can get some solution by using research and therefore he can be able to gaining and maintaining the support of the sales force. Research can help Richard a lot, by taking some marketing research, he can be able to define the problems, decision alternatives and the research objectives. Then it can develop the research plan from the data sources he found, the research approaches including face to face interview customers, questionnaires, internet searching solution. So that Richard can take those steps to improve the sales performance in the sales force and therefore can lead the sales force and make them to develop effective selling habits and finally increase the profits of the company. What are the disadvantages of the present salary-only compensation plan? Salary-only compensation is mean straight salary, the sales people receives a fixed amount of money at fixed intervals, such as weekly or monthly. These security-oriented people prefer base salary or drawing account so that they can depend on some regular income to meet basic living expenses. In Gardnov Limited, the sales force are each paid a straight salary averaged  £21,000 each, within a range of  £16,500 to  £27,300, depends upon his age and the length of time he has been with the company. The disadvantages of straight-salary method of compensation plan are: It provides no financial incentive to put forth extra effort. Thats mean the sales force will not put much more efforts if the salary is fixed, they wont get more salary if they gain some new customers or sell more products to customers. Therefore they will not work very hard to sell the products to customers because they can still obtain the same amount of salary every month. It may increase selling costs because salaries go on when sales are not being made. If the sales force are not putting effort on selling the products to customers, then the sales profit will not made but Gardnov Limited still need to pay salary to the sales force because of its straight-salary. Therefore it might become a big expenditure if sales force didnt earn any sales profits for Gardnov Limited. It often leads to income inequities, since the least productive salespeople tend to be overpaid, and the most productive to be underpaid. There have six salespeople in Gardnov, if only few salespeople working hard and selling products to customers, then they will feel the straight-salary is not equities because they are working harder than other salespeople. They tend to be underpaid and the others tend to be overpaid, so that Gardnov Limited will need to make sure every salesperson are working their best to sell the products to customers under and let the salespeople think Gardnov Limited is fair to them. It also leads to adequate, but not superior performance. By using straight-salary method, it would lead adequate sales profits by sales force, but it will not leads to superior performance because it cannot motivate the salespeople to put a lots of efforts on their selling job, as they can get the same amount of salary each month even though they put little effort on it. The pay of the salary in Gardnov Limited is depends on the salespeoples age and the length of time they have been with the company. Therefore if the youngest salesperson works very hard and sells lots products to customers, he will not get the high pay and he may even get the lowest pay in the company because of his age and the length of time in Gardnov. It will discourage his working enthusiasm and ambitions because he knows that he just get the same pay every month. On the other hand, the oldest salesperson will not working hard as well if he knows that he will get highest pay. Under this circumstance, it cant motivate both of them to work and sell products for Gardnov initiative. And therefore the salary-only compensation plan might not suitable for Gardnov at this moment. Produce some initial recommendations on how Richard might improve sales performance. There have some ways to improve sales performance, it might help Richard to improve the sales performance. Improving team performance is very important for Gardnov, the sales force are aligned with the Gardnovs mission and culture. Gardnov has a committed and empowered workforce. Improving the utilization of the salespeople will help to increase sales volume and profitability of Gardnov, it can improve the sales performance by improve the sales force team workforce. Training is one of the way that Richard can take, according to the case study, customer complain that the salespeople were unable to answer questions about some of the products in the catalogue, they felt that they didnt relate closely to Gardnovs sales force. Therefore customer already felt Gardnovs sales force are not professional because they are deal with their problems. Training is a important job for Richard, it can develop the sales force into a successful, productive part of the team. Sales training and sales force development should be thought of as a long term, by training them more knowledge of the products they are selling, the skills to deal with customer, satisfy customer needs and wants. Motivation is another important part of improving the performance of the sales force. There are many things can motivate a salesperson to perform better, for example, salespeople can be motivated of they feel a lot of work to do on the job will lead to better performance, with better performance leading to higher rewards. Therefore Richard might try to reward them to sell more products to customer, it might help the sales force to increase sales because the salespeople will begin a healthy amount of competition. Another motivation way to motivate the sales force perform better is changing the compensation plan of Gardnov. At the moment Gardnov is using straight salary and they get paid depends on their age and the length of time with the company. Therefore some salespeople might think its unfair and it will not motivate them to work harder because they will not get more paid if they work harder and selling more products to customer. So there have others method of compensation plan, e.g. straight commission. Straight commission is the person receives an amount that varies with results, usually sales or profits. It provides incentives rather than security, the salespeople will increase their productivity because they can get their own commission rewards after selling products to customers. For example, a salesperson may receive 10% of commission on all sales, which mean if he sold  £400, he can get  £40 of commission with his base salary. Therefore income is directly related to productivit y, its easy to calculate, so salespeople may keep track of their earnings. Richard has to develop a sales system to invest in a customer management software program, therefore all the data will be in one locale, enabling Gardnov to increase sales while simultaneously being more efficient.

Existing recruitment and selection process ITcom in India

Existing recruitment and selection process ITcom in India Imagine that you have been asked by an organisation to review an area of HR practice and suggest ways in which it could be improved so as to contribute to HRM strategy and organisational goals. Draw on research literature and contemporary organisational practice to address this issue, and ensure that your answer also pays attention to issues of the methodology employed in the studies you quote. You can choose any area of HR practice that we cover during the second half of the course (that is, recruitment, selection, talent management, performance management, employee involvement and participation). You will also need to provide a short description of the organisation on which you are basing your recommendations so that answers can be evaluated within the context of their application. Objective: The objective of this essay is to undertake an examination of the existing recruitment and selection process forming an organizational framework. The current author will review an Indian based Multinational Company ITcom (Organizations name changed) with respect to globalisation and international market, emphasising on finding the effectiveness on cost/time and quality parameters to identify areas of improvement and suggest ways to improvise on its recruitment and selection procedures drawing on the literature and analysing the research methodology of studies used. Introduction: Increased global competition coupled with enhanced customer/client expectations makes the growth or even the survival of any firm difficult (Back S, 2005). Organizations need to perform and respond to a rapidly changing global environment and thus require attracting and retaining a dedicated, high quality workforce by means of recruitment and selection. From the psychometric perspective (UK Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), jobs are defined in terms of their tasks or descriptions which are specific. Recruitment is a process of attracting individuals who might meet specifications of task or description. Selection is the process of measuring differences between these candidates to find the person who is best fit. The importance of hiring should not be underestimated because a poor recruitment decision can cost an employer an amount equal to 30 per cent of the employees first year earnings (Hacker 1997). These costs can include: lower productivity; potential loss of clients; training costs; advertising costs; recruitment expenses and redundancy packages (Smith and Graves 2002). According to the CIPD, 20 percent of employees leave within the first six months. This is sometimes called the induction crisis. It was found that numbers varied dramatically by industry, clothing industry figure was 26.5 percent, with 45 percent leaving during first three months, only a third remaining beyond a year (Tarpin et al, 2003). Overall turnover rates in the UK/Ireland fell from 25 percent per year (2000) to about 18 percent per year (2007). However, more people left voluntarily than through dismissal, redundancy, or ending of contracts. Thus it is imperative for an organization to have a strategized HR policy in place for recruitment for selecting and retaining the workforce. Although its recognised as crucial to many organisations, recruitment is often done in an ad hoc and reactive manner. Eight in ten employers rank attracting and recruiting key staff to the organisation in their top three resourcing objectives, but only 50% of organisations in the UK have formal resourcing strategies in place. Many employers acknowledge that they experience tremendous recruitment difficulties (86% according to CIPD). Hence given the costs of filling a vacancy, its important for firms to recruit well and select the most appropriate employees. About the company: ITcom Business, a division of ITcom Limited, is amongst the largest global IT services, Business Process Outsourcing and Product Engineering companies. In addition to the IT business, ITcom also has leadership position in niche market segments of consumer products and lighting solutions. The company has been listed since 1945 and started its technology business in 1980. Today, ITcom generates USD 6 billion (India GAAP figure 2009-10) of annual revenues. Its equity shares are listed in India on the Mumbai Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange; as well as on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States. ITcom makes an ideal partner for organizations looking at transformational IT solutions because of its core capabilities, great human resources, commitment to quality and the global infrastructure to deliver a wide range of technology and business consulting solutions and services. ITcom enables business results by being a transformation catalyst. It offers integrated portfolio of services to its clients in the areas of Consulting, System Integration and Outsourcing for key-industry verticals. It has a wide geographical diversity of operations with over 50 development centers and 10 near shore centres spread across India, Japan, China, France, Austria, Sweden, Germany, UK and USA. In recent years, ITcom has faced a number of workforce challenges, such as an increasingly diverse workforce, increased cut throat competition in market giving rise to attrition rate and uncertainty of workforce requirement. As one of the strategies to address these challenges, a need rises to review and streamline recruitment and selection business processes to support ITcom as a leading organization and to increase the ability to make high quality hires and meet workforce needs. Literature Review in Context with ITcom: The Recruitment Process: Organizational review and Job Analysis: Perhaps the most one can say with any certainty is that many UK companies continue to express a commitment to the idea of HR strategy and planning. How this translates into practice, however, is less clear (Liff, 2000 p.125) When the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities [is] intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals'(Wright and McMahan 1992: 298), HRM can be said to be strategic. More specifically, for recruitment to become strategic, HR practitioners must answers to the following questions (Breaugh 1992; Breaugh and Starke 2000): Whom to recruit?, Where to recruit?, What recruitment sources to use (e.g. the web, newspapers, job fairs, on campus, etc.)?, When to recruit? And (5) what message to communicate? HR planning is regarded as essential for at least four sets of reasons (Marchington, 2005): Clear links between business and HR Plans: It draws the link or degree of fit between HR planning and strategic plans, so that the ability of HR function can be measured to deliver precisely what the business requires. It can also be viewed as a relationship between corporate and HR plans, where HR plans will contribute to the development of the corporate. In either ways HR planning can be viewed as major facilitator of competitive advantage. Better control over staffing costs and numbers employed: Making projections about anticipated staffing needs is imperative, irrespective of whether a growth or decline in numbers is predicted. This makes it easier to match supply and demand and therefore make decisions about recruiting from the external labour market, relocating staff, or preparing for reductions in numbers employed in order to achieve greater control over staffing costs (Taylor, 2005. P.101) More informed judgements about the skills and attitude mix in the organization: It is very critical to get the right mix of skills in the employed workforce to attain the confidence of customer and for productivity and profit generation. In case of ITcom, some of its customers are domain based, for example one of its clients is Boeing, which has specifications of employing only citizens in the USA geography and highly skilled professionals in Product Life Cycle Management (PLM). In this scenario what is expected is either ITcom should search and acquire people skilled in this field or get professionals who can be trained on these platforms to give quality results. Maintain a profile of existing staff: By maintaining a profile in terms of age, gender, race and disability etc helps any organization to claim for providing equal opportunities. Without accurate and up-to-date figures on existing staff numbers and their breakdown by grade and position, it is impossible for employers to make decisions about how equality management can be achieved (Liff 2000, p103). In 2008, ITcom was asked by the DOJ (Department of Justice) of US legislations to prove that it offers equal employment opportunity for all. ITcom was using online software (known as SYNERGY) for database generation. This software had a peculiar questionnaire (like age, sex, nationality etc) to understand the background of the candidate applying for jobs. Later these questions were omitted as it was believed that interviewers might get biased at the initial stage of application and may not proceed ahead with the prospective employees candidature. Hence all the details of employee were transferred and saved in the SAP software for internal use and data storage, it helped the company to keep track of its existing employees along with amendments in Synergy software which helped in refraining its managers and recruiters to avoid any discriminatory practice by human error at the stage of recruitment and selection. The primary step in the recruitment process after HR planning, involves a systematic review of the organizational requirements which lead to a thorough analysis of the requirements of jobs called job analysis. The above process of HR planning and job analysis which translates demand for labour, leads to forecasting the internal and external supply. Based on these decisions can be made about the balance between external recruitment, internal staff development or workforce reductions. Table I is an example of a typical seven days of business taken from a hotel operation. The figures have been reduced to two functions: for example, rooms and food and beverage or restaurant and bars, and for simplicity it is assumed that functional flexibility covers two skills, i.e. staff from function A would be able to work in function B and vice versa. In operational terms the seven days depicted here would be a point in a rolling forecast that would change daily. The demand patterns described here are typical of departments within a hotel operation but could also represent patterns in restaurant operations, retailing and many tourism attractions. ITcom has been able to work well in this area of HR planning and setting up a stringent policy to which all the employees/recruiters are bound to be compliant. The Executive Vice President of Human Resource Management personally regulates the HR policies which are formed by the leaders and Senior Managers of the company. A dedicated team continuously works on mapping the market trends and predicts the upcoming problems and opportunities to work pro-actively on demands to incur with supply of labour. Job description, person specification and competencies: Once the job analysis has been collected, the next step is to develop a job description. They are particularly prevalent in public sector and large organizations. A job description usually includes: Job title, location, responsible to (job title of supervisor) and for (job titles of members who will report directly under the job holder), main purpose of the job, responsibilities or duties, working conditions (contains contractual agreements, fringes and benefits etc) other matters such as if travelling is required etc and performance standards along with any other duties that might be assigned by the organisation. (Marchington, 2005) Traditionally, it is divided into two main topics: work-oriented analysis (focussing on the job itself) and worker-oriented analysis (focussing on the worker) (Searle, 2003). Rodgers seven-point plan (Physical make-up, attainments, general intelligence, special aptitudes, interest, disposition and circumstances) and Frasers five-point plan (Impact on others, acquired knowledge and qualifications, innate abilities, motivation and adjustment) rely heavily on personal judgment to specify human qualities associated with successful performance (Newell and Shackleton 2000, p115). The significance of these job descriptions is that they focus on the behavioural aspects of the candidates. Therefore it is not required to make inferences about personal qualities that might underpin behaviour (Newell and Shackleton, 2001, p26). Job descriptions and specifications of person often exist alongside the competency-based approaches (Taylor 2002c), not least because they set a framework within which subsequent HR practices, for example performance management, training and development, pay and grading can be placed (Whiddett and Hollingforde 1999). According to IRS (IRS Employment Review 782 2003, p45) the most commonly used competencies are team orientation, communication, people management, customer focus, results orientation and problem solving. Surprisingly, ethical behaviour, responsibility, enthusiasm and listening are rarely used. Competency can be differentiated in four types (Roberts 1997, p71-72) a) namely: natural which is made up by the big five dimensions of personality; extraversion/introversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience b) acquired: where knowledge and skills acquired through work or other avenues. c) Adapting: this competency area revolves around the ability to adapt natural talents and acquired skills to new situation. And lastly, performing: which comprises observable behaviours and output. Recruitment Methods: Choosing a cost effective method for recruitment is essential and depends on factors specific to organisation. Recruitment is typically regarded as poor relation to selection, typically afforded limited space in most of the publications and gives very little evidence of the theoretical underpinnings (Breaugh and Starke 2000). Recruitment provides the candidates for the selector to judge. Selection techniques cannot overcome failures in recruitment; they merely make them evident (Watson, 1994, p203). It is very important that the organisation decide whether or not to recruit, which sources to be used and what cost. Legal issues are also to be borne particularly while using media and publishing the adverts (Taylor 2002c). Internal and External Searches: ITcom uses various tools for recruitment internally and externally. Internal Sources: It moves its potential employees from one department to another which fills the vacancies and proves to be a career development for the employees. The knowledge transfer from one position to another embarks the capabilities in the staff and enhances their skills and abilities. These practices are more prevalent during rationalisation than in boon or recession (Marchington, 2005). Staffs are also transferred from temporary posts to open ended contracts or from agency work onto the direct payroll. This provides employers with a form of quasi-internal labour market where they can observe people at work before committing to a more secure employment offer (Rubery et al 2002, 2004). There is indication from wider research on agencies that they are progressively taking up strategies to expand markets in which potential recruits, as well as employers, are receptive to temporary opportunities and for whom the profit of agency working outweigh the costs. * There is also an internal marketing team in recruitment department in ITcom which focuses on publishing the job vacancies in the company and gain the references from the existing employees. The CIPD survey showed that word-of-mouth recruitment remains widely used though it is sometimes hard to differentiate from speculative applications. A major advantage of referral programs is the quality of candidates, as most employees are unlikely to recommend friend who will not fit the culture of the organization and who is not suited for the role. The Coventry Building Society filled nearly a quarter of all its posts through this method (IRS Employment Review 804 2004). In ITcom there are various award schemes for recruiters to encourage employees to refer their friends and families. Although it is cheap and readily available, organizations such as Acas, the EOC and the CRE are worried such ring-fencing may strengthen the existing imbalances (gender, race and disability), upsetting the attempts to encourage greater workforce diversity. (Marchington, 2005) One of the major and critical hiring in ITcom is for the Sales division, where the Industry experts like evangelists, practice managers, sales director etc are required to lead the business. ITcom has a dedicated team of leadership hiring professionals who evaluate the candidature for these positions. The current author suggests that the company should try to engage with head-hunters for sourcing and recruiting for such high-level and critical roles. Head-hunters may have extensive contacts which can be beneficial. This method is expensive, and is used much in private sector than in public or voluntary bodies (Marchington, 2005) Apart from the middle and senior level positions, for the fresh recruits the most effective way can be campus placements and the CIPD survey found that it was on a par with the companys own website in popularity. Sources of external applicant and Methods of attracting applicants: Largest number of lists comes under external sources which constitute the open sources. Advertisements in national and local papers are amongst the most widely used methods, and for the specialist posts trade press can be more effective (CIPD 2004b). Radio and TV adverts are rarely used. ITcom in 2009 advertised its employee referral programmes which were based on theme of friendship, aired the adverts on a local radio channel (94.3 Radio One FM in Bangalore), to let the message be conveyed to mass. This had helped the company to gain many applicants through existing employees. E-Recruitment is another one tool which has gained its significance in recent years. According to IRS 90% of firms use some form of e-recruitment. Like job boards (monster.com, dice.com, careerbuilder.com. jobsahead.com etc) for advertising the vacancies. Social networking sites (linkedin.com, myspace.com, facebook.com etc) are also gaining popularity amongst the job seekers and recruiters for filling the positions. Main advantages of e-recruitment are reduced costs, improved corporate image, reduced administration, etc. The Selection Process: Consulting various sources such as Cook (1998), Taylor (2002c), Cooper et al (2003) and Searle (2003) it is conferred that no single technique, no matter how well it is designed and administered, can be capable of being perfect selection decision. Employers are advised not to rely on one method (Marchington, 2005). According to a CIPD survey of more than 1000 employers, it is concluded that the most common and widely used techniques were traditional interviews, competency-based interviews and tests for specific skills. Robertson and Smith (2001) also indicated that most techniques have very low levels of accuracy in terms of producing effective selection decisions. Of techniques used on their own, work sampling offers the highest likelihood of success, closely followed by intelligence tests and structured interviewing (Schmidt and Hunter, 1998) Various authors (Newell and Shackleton 200; Taylor 2002c; Cooper et al 2003 and Searle 2003) discuss the criteria for assessing the value of selection methods: Practicality: According to Cooper et al (2003, p94), it is the most important criteria of all. The method suggested has to be economical in terms of cost and benefits, the time required to administer it and should be within the capabilities of those who are supposed to run it. Most critical is the cost issue. For example, it makes very less sense to run a sophisticated and complex personality test if only one candidate has applied for the post. Sensitivity: A lot of care must be taken to avoid any kind of discrimination based on race, gender, age or disability. Reliability: comprises of different elements but refers essentially to consistency of method used to select individuals (Newell and Shackleton 2000, p119). It should not be too much influenced by chance factors (Cooper et al 2003, p 50-52). For example: inter-rater reliability is crucial if many interviewers take interview, where one rejects and other selects. In ITcom, at many occasions this problem exists, as for certain job roles, several levels of interviews are conducted. It must be taken in consideration to measure the accuracy of each interviewer before concluding a rejection or selection of the candidate. Validity: This defines the correctness of the inferences that can be drawn from the selection methods. (Newell and Shackleton, 2000, p121) define this as the relationship between the predictors (the result from the selection methods used) and the criteria (performance of the job). Key Themes and Recommendations: The assessment of market scenario of ITcom suggests that while there are quite a few areas for upgrading and improvement, there are also many areas that are working well, including: ITcom appears to have more flexibility in identifying the suitable appointment method, establishing the merit criteria to be considered in determining the most suitable candidate with its strong value based strict compliance policies. The range of options (internal and external sourcing) available to recruit staff provides flexibility and supports timely and effective hiring decisions. The Jobs Websites (monster.com, dice.com, careerbuilder.com, linkedin.com etc) appears to be an effective method of attracting successful candidates, and feedback about the job postings, application and interview process and the quality of hires seems positive. Staffing Operating Principles related to fairness, integrity and selection of the most suitable person was seen as both useful and being achieved. The staffing proce ss was perceived to be transparent and able to withstand scrutiny. Executive Search recruitment and screening processes were generally considered to work well and support hiring high quality executive management and senior leaders, in a timely fashion. Opportunities for improvement: Themes emerged including the need to formalize processes that will progress into a more strategic approach to recruitment: Focus must be increased on long-term forecasting of workforce needs in new development centres (e.g. newly opened development centre in Atlanta, GA in USA and Germany), which will help to directly connect workforce planning to the staffing function and developing strategies to address gaps. In this context of globalization, many multinational organizations search for suitable employees from across the globe and apply similar selection criteria with limited attention to effectiveness and less knowledge of different cultural backgrounds (Searle, 2003). Searle also believes that this is an area where practice is far ahead of research and comment. One way firms are trying to manage their operation within this new global context more effectively is by using sophisticated selection assessment practices. If the underlying basis for their assessment is flawed, then these more high-powered tests and assessments will inevitably be a further waste of resources. Increase focus on recruitment planning and implement a project management approach to the hiring process. Increase focus on branding and candidate sourcing for active and passive candidates, including more targeted sources of media. Research has indicated that the media exposure of a firm is a sign of its reputation (Newell and Shackleton, 2001). Technology in form of media and internet helps reducing the cost and time of travel for both applicants and companies. ITcom with most of its offices across the globe uses the telephone and video conferencing for conducting interviews. Expand methods for facilitating the identification of potential internal candidates for executive positions, including if possible, information from succession management and workforce planning initiatives. Enhance utilization of summer employment, work experience, co-op and internship initiatives as a strategy to attract and develop students and recent graduates in conjunction with workforce forecasting needs. Improve efficiency and effectiveness through increased collaboration and use of technology. Increase all stakeholders knowledge of staffing process including the recruitment strategies available. Conclusion: The Recruitment and selection within the wide organizational context highlights the relationship between organizational strategy and human resource policy and procedures. Key changes in methods and practices are identified responsible for increased attention and use of selection systems. Application of techniques enhances the confidence of HR processes. The growth in process oriented research highlights an alternative view of selection and recruitment and is at odds with the psychometric approach. As there is increased sophistication in the selection methods, it is often forgotten that without a proper set recruitment method, there would be less number of applicants for selection; this can have reverse impact on the performance of employment contract. Conversely, usage of well chosen methods can be helpful in choosing the staff which can be fit to meet targets of the organization. Recruitment is one area of HRM where assistance might be sought from the external providers, as being aw are of the limits and using the right techniques are equally important. It is very important that recruitment and selection processes be well organised, delivered and evaluated for the organisational growth. Methodology: The research work or sample used in the essay are pure and applied (from the perspective of application in various situations) and descriptive, co relational, explanatory or exploratory (from the perspective of objectives of the literature view). Most of the information is gathered by the literature from texts and journals and was related to real life experience of the current author from ITcom. Data collection of most of the articles and references cited in the essay are from the companies which is generally the primary data, secondary data is the one used from literature. Wherever required while collecting the data, the interviews were commenced, questionnaires were formed, and observations were made for example the IRS employment reviews and CIPD conducted surveys (which are quoted in the essay) in such styles or formats. Each of the articles and examples portrayed in the essay were based on literature review which brought in the clarity and focus to research problem and improved the methodology by enhancing the knowledge base. The literature pertinent dealt with two types of information, one universal and second specific (local trends). In some of the journals, a number of sources were used to compile databases, for example data was collected from local employment agencies, yellow pages along with interviews and surveys were conducted. These give a broad platform to compare and relate the data by empirical methodology of data accumulation.

The Myth Behind La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre :: Cuban Culture

The Myth Behind La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre To many Cuban-Americans living in Miami, La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, is one of the only ties remaining that unifies them with their homeland. The Virgin is a renowned and integral part of Cuban culture and plays an important role in the Catholic heritage of Cubans exiled inside and outside of North America. The church, La Ermita de la Caridad del Cobre, is a memorial that was constructed in honor of her and is a monument to the religious and political history of the island. Since there are many different versions circulating about the sighting of the Virgin, one must discuss the most popular and the most commonly accepted. The myth behind the La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, originated in 1606. The Virgin appeared one day in the Bay of Nipe near Santiago to two brothers, Rodrigo and Juan de Hoyos, and to Juan Moreno,a black boy roughly ten years of age. They were out on a fishing trip in the Bay. While struggling in their storm tossed boat, they heard a voice declare, "I am the Virgin of Charity." In one hand, the Virgin carried a mulatto baby Jesus; in the other, she held a cross. She also appeared to be holding a tablet which contained the inscription, "I am the Virgin of Charity." A replica of the same tablet is now framed and displayed on the first floor of La Ermita in Santiago de Cuba. In Cuba, there is also a statue of the Virgin, approximately one meter tall, located in a small chapel on the second floor. The statue is of a pretty mulatta who wears dangling earrings and a golden robe. La Virgen's racial attributes is a mixture of black, white and Indian; essentially, it covers the entire racial makeup of Cuba. She has dark hair and carries the baby Jesus in one hand and a cross in the other. People flock to her memorial to pray to her and give her thanks. They often leave small tokens of their appreciation and gratitude. To the exile community, she represents a Catholic Cuba untouched by the religious beliefs of the communist regime of he last four decades.

Feminist Criticism of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Essay exam

Feminist Criticism of The Great Gatsby The pervasive male bias in American literature leads the reader to equate the experience of being American with the experience of being male. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the background for the experience of disillusionment and betrayal revealed in the novel is the discovery of America. Daisy's failure of Gatsby is symbolic of the failure of America to live up to the expectations in the imagination of the men who "discovered" it. America is female; to be American is male; and the quintessential American experience is betrayal by woman. Fetterley believes that power is the issue in the politics of literature. Powerlessness characterizes woman's experience of reading not only because her experience is not articulated, clarified and legitimized in art, but more significantly because to be universal in American literature is to be not female. The Great Gatsby is an American "love" story centered in hostility to women. The vision of love is played out as a struggle for power in an elaborate pattern of advantage and disadvantage in which romance is but a strategy for male victory. Gatsby's imaginative investment in Daisy is evident in his description of her as the first 'nice' girl he had ever known. The quotation marks around "nice" indicate that the word is being used not as a reference to personality but as an index to social status and that Jay Gatsby's interest in Daisy Fay lies in what she represents rather than in what she is. She is for him symbolic rather than personal: he later remarks to Nick that Daisy's relation to Tom was just personal. Gatsby thinks of Daisy in relation to the objects that surround her. He cannot separate his vision of her from his vision... ... Gatsby, in the eyes of a feminist critic, is based on a lie of a double standard that makes female characters in classic literature not persons but symbols. It makes women's experience no part of that literature's concern. The male romantic imagination wants women to remain outsiders so that they can be forever available as occasions for the heroic gestures of men and as scapegoats for the failure of men's dreams. Works Cited Feminist Criticism. http://www.cumber.edu/engl230/femcrit.htm Fetterley, Judith. The Resisting Reader: A Feminist Approach to American Fiction. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978. Lee, Elizabeth. Feminist Theory - An Overview. http://ursula.stg.brown.edu/projects/hyp...t/landow/victorian/gender/femtheory.html Meese, Elizabeth A. Crossing the Double-Cross. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1986.

Baby Boomers Effect on Health Care Essay

As the baby boomer generation begins to reach retirement age, there has been much speculation as to what affect they will have on the health care industry. The baby boomer generation is the group of people born between 1946 and 1964. At one point, there were more than 76 million of them, of which 4 million died before 2000. With all this in mind, I will discuss what specific effects they will have now they are getting to that â€Å"elderly† stage. One word used by many people when they describe how the baby boomers will affect health care is apocalyptic. We all know that elderly people have to see the doctor quite frequently as their bodies start to deteriorate and begin to not work as well as it did when they were younger. It is believed that with this many people needing that much attention from the health care providers that the younger generations could face permanent inflation or high taxes and very possibly it could be both. Others believe that it will put such a strain on the insurance providers that the amount of coverage for everyone is going to be dropped as well. Another group of people think that with the cost of Medicare (government run insurance for those 65 and older) skyrocketing, the national debt will reach a point of no return. Why will all of this happen, you wonder? As mentioned before, elderly people have to see the doctor a lot more frequently than younger people. When the average generation holds about 60-65 million people, adding nearly 20 million more to that all at once is quite a large amount. Let’s put it this way. A computer can only hold so much memory. When it begins to store so much information on it, then it begins to slow down and not run as efficiently and needs more ram put in it. If too much is put on to it at once, then it could fry the system and become broken. The health care industry is the same way. The amount of organizations and providers can only hold so much. When there are less people using it, the more efficiently it works. The more and more that are crammed on it, the slower things work and the less effective and expensive it can become. In the baby boomers case, there are a lot of people that are going to be cramming the system. The costs are going to skyrocket as a result. There are a couple particular challenges that we will arise with the baby boomers. The first will be the cost of prescription medication. According to Dr. Woody Eisenberg, M. D. , vice president and chief medical officer for Medicare for Medco Health Care solutions in Franklin Lakes, NJ, baby boomers were the first generation to use medications as a preventative measure. Therefore they are used to taking medication and their bodies are accustomed to doing so. They have also had the privilege of all of the medical advances that have come about in the last 50 years that other generations haven’t. According to the Edlin, M. (2013) website, by 2015, the baby boomers will add nearly 19% to the population that falls into the 50-60 year old age groups. That is a staggering number. Another challenge that faces the health care industry is the long term health care program. The English, M. (2013) website says that by the year 2020, 12 million people will need long term care. With the baby boomers coming along, that number will surely increase. Providers will need to hire more long term care nurses as well as more doctors. The more people they have to hire, the higher the cost of the service because they have to make up the extra expense one way or another. Another issue facing this generation would have to be the incidents of chronic disease. While the average life expectancy was 48 years old in the early 1900’s, the now life expectancy is up to 78, nearly double. With that in mind, there are also more people with chronic disease. Many of these diseases, though, are preventable, but due to some poor lifestyle choices made during their life span, it is inevitable that that number will increase. The effects of smoking and drinking are a major part of that. Part of this is the decrease in the number of primary care physicians and pension plans that are disappearing due to the economy. That means there is a smaller number of doctors and smaller amounts of funds to take care of these. If there will be an evolution in this, there must be new models of management of these illnesses as well. This includes the delivery of innovative services through Medicare and private sector plans. â€Å"Transformative changes are particularly critical for the baby boomer generation, of which nearly two-thirds (35 million people) have at least one chronic health condition,† (Blumenthal, S. 2013). Another thing about this particular generation is that they are technology savvy. While things like the internet were not around when they were little, the older they got, the more technology as a whole grew. The internet came along as well as television. They have become starving for information. Therefore, when it comes to marketing, the best place to do this is on the internet and also on television advertisements. They do also enjoy reading the newspaper, so taking out portions of those would be beneficial. Making sure that there is as much information as possible about a particular service or product available is vital. If there is something that they see or want, they will do their research on it first, before taking it. There seems to be a lot of negative surrounding this generation and the health care industry. However, there are things that can be done to help with all of this, on the part of the individual, community, and society as a whole. As far as the individual patients goes, it starts with taking good care of themselves. While they are getting older, it is never too late to begin proper health habits. If they smoke, they should stop. Their lungs will begin to heal themselves. Doing daily exercises can go a long way to promoting good health. They should have a proper diet and try not to rely on supplements unless directed so by their doctor. As far as the community goes, there should be more tolerance for elderly people. It is frustrating to a lot of people that they don’t move as fast and even ridicule them. Being more accepting of them when they walk or drive by. Encourage them to go out and do things. In terms of society as a whole, the same could be said there as well. However, another thing that could be done is that there can be more programs made for people age 50 and up to encourage them to get out and get involved. If people don’t become â€Å"home bodies† and stay active, then they are more likely to stay healthy. I work at Walgreens, which is known more for its health related stuff and it has changed its motto to â€Å"Helping people get, stay, and live well. † I have seen an increasing number of older people coming in living well in to their 80’s and 90’s and still living healthy lives. The people that I have spoken with have attributed their good health to staying active. They admit they don’t move as fast as they used to, but they still manage a way to do it. They stay mentally strong which is a big plus when it comes to keeping their health condition high. The baby boomer generation is a large generation of people, likely one of the biggest in the nation’s history. They are getting older, now, and will start to require more medical attention. It is going to put a major strain on the health care field, which is why it is best if we start preparing for it now. Living a healthier lifestyle is a key to all of this.

I’m Going! a Comedy in One Act

I’m Going! A Comedy in One Act Keshalla Mabry ENG 125 : Introduction to Literature Andrea Moak February 25, 2013 Literature can be expressive. It can be expressed in many different ways. Some use writing, some use pictures and print, or even dramatic and musical works of art. In this essay I will be using the Reader-Response Approach to analyze a piece of literature. I have chosen the short play I’m Going! A Comedy in One Act, by dramatist Tristan Bernard. I will include why the literary work captured my interest, how it made me feel, and how it has formed or change my connection with literature.Firstly, let me describe the approach I will be taking towards this piece of literature. The Reader-Response approach I can’t just rely on feelings and opinions, I must read and make connections and respond on those connections. With that being said I will start with what captured my interest. While going through the first couple of lines in the dialogue I began to paint a picture of Henri and Jeanne. Henri came across to me as a stubborn old scrooge who wants things his way or no way.He is very persistent about the races and his wife not attending. As they continue to converse he brings up all the reasons why she shouldn’t accompany him to the races. He complains about having to get a special carriage if she goes, and how he would have to buy her a ladies ticket. Basically, he is trying to think of anything possible to keep his wife at home. He would rather be alone at the races so he can â€Å"have a good time†, because according the dialogue he can only accomplish this goal if he goes alone.The wife on the other hand tries to reason with him and let him know that she is willing to have a good time and she would rather be out with him than to be home alone and neglected. I for one can sympathize with Jeanne. She is a woman who has a regular Sunday routine and it goes on unchanged. I too have a Sunday routine that is consistent. She w ould like to get out of the house for once and attend the races with her husband, who feels as if she present it will spoil his goodtime. My fiance is the same way. Every other Friday he and his friends go out to the bar.Sometimes the friends bring a date and other times they don’t. Well, one Friday I decided I wanted to go with. He (my fiance) kept making excuses for me not to go. He would say, â€Å"Oh love, the boys and I are just going to have some beers†. Or he would let me know ahead of time they were just going to hang out and watch ESPN. He made sure that I knew there was no room for me in his boys’ night out. So I can definitely feel Jeanne's pain. A little farther in the conversation Henri tells Jeanne that he is off to the races, as he does she says that she will be alone and neglected.He insists that the weather was too bad for her to attend and that she should stay home. After some debate about changing clothes and some sulking from both parties Jea nne eventually decided that she will allow her husband to leave and amuse himself with the races because she wants to go visit with a friend of hers. Once Henri hears this and at first all he can think about is the fact that he can go to the races alone. Once he sees that Jeanne is content and easy going about him leaving he begins to have second thoughts about going.He sees that Jeanne is not acting mad or sad and he thinks that something must be fishy and he asks to see the telegram that she is sending to her friend. This seems to me as if Henri may have a trust issue with Jeanne. She shows him the telegram and he insists that this was a signal so that Jeanne could meet some other man. After reading this far, I came to the conclusion that Henri must have had some kind of infidelity and he was afraid that his wife was taking his decision to go to the races as an opportunity to get even so to speak.This is just insecurities and guilt catching up with him. He doesn’t want her at the races, he doesn’t want her visiting friends, he wants her at home alone and neglected. This way he knows where she is and can pop up on her at any time. Eventually Jeanne decided to stay at home while Henri attended the races. After reading this short play I began to wonder if this type of trickery goes on in other relationships. It seems to me that Henri has some trust issues, possibly from something he has done in the past and he is scared that it may catch up to him.But should the man or woman in the relationship be made to feel unhappy, sad, mad, alone, and neglected while the other party does as he or she pleases? Henri had no sympathy for his wife’s feelings or concerns. The only thing on his mind was him going to the races while she stayed at home alone and social deprived. Relationships take two people to give and take considerably and evenly, no one person should dictate the relationship or benefit more than the other. I have also run across other work of literature that shows the female as the subordinate to the husband or vice versa.I’m beginning to enjoy this course now more than ever, I can see the connections and feel where the characters and authors are coming from so to speak. With all the literary terms and works or literature that I’ve covered so far, they have me expressing my thoughts, feelings, and interpretations already and we are just scratching the surface. Bibliography Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc Litlang Ltda. (2007). Types of literary criticism. Retrieved from http://www. textetc. com/criticism. html I’m Going! a Comedy in One Act I’m Going! A Comedy in One Act Keshalla Mabry ENG 125 : Introduction to Literature Andrea Moak February 25, 2013 Literature can be expressive. It can be expressed in many different ways. Some use writing, some use pictures and print, or even dramatic and musical works of art. In this essay I will be using the Reader-Response Approach to analyze a piece of literature. I have chosen the short play I’m Going! A Comedy in One Act, by dramatist Tristan Bernard. I will include why the literary work captured my interest, how it made me feel, and how it has formed or change my connection with literature.Firstly, let me describe the approach I will be taking towards this piece of literature. The Reader-Response approach I can’t just rely on feelings and opinions, I must read and make connections and respond on those connections. With that being said I will start with what captured my interest. While going through the first couple of lines in the dialogue I began to paint a picture of Henri and Jeanne. Henri came across to me as a stubborn old scrooge who wants things his way or no way.He is very persistent about the races and his wife not attending. As they continue to converse he brings up all the reasons why she shouldn’t accompany him to the races. He complains about having to get a special carriage if she goes, and how he would have to buy her a ladies ticket. Basically, he is trying to think of anything possible to keep his wife at home. He would rather be alone at the races so he can â€Å"have a good time†, because according the dialogue he can only accomplish this goal if he goes alone.The wife on the other hand tries to reason with him and let him know that she is willing to have a good time and she would rather be out with him than to be home alone and neglected. I for one can sympathize with Jeanne. She is a woman who has a regular Sunday routine and it goes on unchanged. I too have a Sunday routine that is consistent. She w ould like to get out of the house for once and attend the races with her husband, who feels as if she present it will spoil his goodtime. My fiance is the same way. Every other Friday he and his friends go out to the bar.Sometimes the friends bring a date and other times they don’t. Well, one Friday I decided I wanted to go with. He (my fiance) kept making excuses for me not to go. He would say, â€Å"Oh love, the boys and I are just going to have some beers†. Or he would let me know ahead of time they were just going to hang out and watch ESPN. He made sure that I knew there was no room for me in his boys’ night out. So I can definitely feel Jeanne's pain. A little farther in the conversation Henri tells Jeanne that he is off to the races, as he does she says that she will be alone and neglected.He insists that the weather was too bad for her to attend and that she should stay home. After some debate about changing clothes and some sulking from both parties Jea nne eventually decided that she will allow her husband to leave and amuse himself with the races because she wants to go visit with a friend of hers. Once Henri hears this and at first all he can think about is the fact that he can go to the races alone. Once he sees that Jeanne is content and easy going about him leaving he begins to have second thoughts about going.He sees that Jeanne is not acting mad or sad and he thinks that something must be fishy and he asks to see the telegram that she is sending to her friend. This seems to me as if Henri may have a trust issue with Jeanne. She shows him the telegram and he insists that this was a signal so that Jeanne could meet some other man. After reading this far, I came to the conclusion that Henri must have had some kind of infidelity and he was afraid that his wife was taking his decision to go to the races as an opportunity to get even so to speak.This is just insecurities and guilt catching up with him. He doesn’t want her at the races, he doesn’t want her visiting friends, he wants her at home alone and neglected. This way he knows where she is and can pop up on her at any time. Eventually Jeanne decided to stay at home while Henri attended the races. After reading this short play I began to wonder if this type of trickery goes on in other relationships. It seems to me that Henri has some trust issues, possibly from something he has done in the past and he is scared that it may catch up to him.But should the man or woman in the relationship be made to feel unhappy, sad, mad, alone, and neglected while the other party does as he or she pleases? Henri had no sympathy for his wife’s feelings or concerns. The only thing on his mind was him going to the races while she stayed at home alone and social deprived. Relationships take two people to give and take considerably and evenly, no one person should dictate the relationship or benefit more than the other. I have also run across other work of literature that shows the female as the subordinate to the husband or vice versa.I’m beginning to enjoy this course now more than ever, I can see the connections and feel where the characters and authors are coming from so to speak. With all the literary terms and works or literature that I’ve covered so far, they have me expressing my thoughts, feelings, and interpretations already and we are just scratching the surface. Bibliography Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc Litlang Ltda. (2007). Types of literary criticism. Retrieved from http://www. textetc. com/criticism. html