Od Interventions Case Study free essay sample

Organization Development has been defined as a process by which behavioral science knowledge and practices are used to help organizations to achieve greater effectiveness, including improved quality of life, increased productivity, and improved product and service quality. Its focus is on improving the organizations ability to assess and to solve its own problems to move the organization to a higher level of functioning by improving the performance and satisfaction of organization members. At Tata Consultancy Services Limited, (TCSL), too OD interventions have been instrumental in facilitating change management and bringing about competitive advantage. OD has contributed to redefining the organization’s relationship to its environment, its markets and key stakeholders. This paper briefly explores an overview of OD interventions at organizational level, and focuses in particular on the case of a large relationship within the organization wherein OD has brought about a paradigm shift especially in the cultural perspective. We will write a custom essay sample on Od Interventions Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The structural alignment and commensurate cultural changes thereof have been facilitated in a deliberate manner to improve the total system – the relationship and its parts in the context of the larger market environment. Introduction: TCS -An Organizational Perspective The Pre-OD Scenario: Our Strengths and Areas of Concern In the years 1998-99, TCS had grown into the largest Indian software company with revenues of over Rs. 600 crores and racing towards achieving its vision of being global top ten. As pioneers in the industry, TCS’s strengths included on time delivery, premier position in the industry in terms of revenues, focus on training programs, quality initiatives, use of good technical tools and procedures and encouragement of individual excellence in performance. However, TCS was also, at that point in time, grappling with a few areas of concern with regard to its operational paradigm. Mounting revenue pressures: The pressure to retain its strong premier position led the organization to tend towards short-term revenues, and relatively lesser efforts were being put into medium and long-term markets and activities (such as products and building up knowledge). Though TCS built relationships with individual customers, Relationship Managers investment on aligning to long-term objectives of customers. The approach, by and large, was of reactive project management and we were yet to espouse the approach of architecting proactive solutions for the customer. Selectivity in projects: There was a tangible tension at TCS, between generating revenues and organizing strategically, on basis of technology and business areas, impacting selectivity in projects accepted. Pressures from customers on schedules was resulting in faster delivery and hence, snowballing into further pressure on future schedules . Focus on specialization: There was diffusion of expertise and we were yet to focus on building strategic expertise in individual centers. Employees were rotated across domains and skills in the interest of learn ability as well as for meeting requirements. In a sense, there was heightened focus on Voice of the Customer, in comparison to the Voice of Employee. Efforts on Experimentation Innovation: The management at TCS felt that by and large, employees tended to go straight by the book. Though Dr. De Bono’s techniques were introduced and employees trained on these techniques to encourage innovation, there was a need to scale up on perceived rewards for experimentation. Rewards and Recognitions: The reward structure at TCS was, at this point in time, primarily focused on individual performance and we were yet to explore the institutionalization of team based rewards at the organizational level. Inter group co-ordination knowledge sharing: Sharing of knowledge was very centre-oriented, and although, informally, best practices spread by interaction and word of mouth, we were yet to evolve a formal system which would capture these for ease of replication across projects. Multiple centers and multiple projects within the same centre ended up resolving the same sort of issues, resulting in avoidable rework. Branding and PR: Image building endeavors were not yet an area of focus and, in a subtle way, this affected the sense of pride of employees. Among educational institutions, this meant greater difficulty in terms of attracting quality talent, which further aggravated stress among the few key performers in the organization. By the year 2002, management felt the conscious need to bring in changes in our approach to the aforementioned areas, in order to align more closely with the customer, business and market requirements at an organizational level. Alignment and Structure at TCS With respect to alignment, there was a need to create an environment of dialogue between system dynamics and human dynamics in the organization. Strategy comes from the market, form comes from structure; capacity from technology; and synergy from culture. The organizational design at that point needed to incorporate this holism and thereby bring in, a coherent organizational identity. The flow of philosophy to policy to practice and further to procedure in organizational design, needed to be re-looked at neutrally. In the interest of alignment of strategy and culture, the need for a dynamic process of dialogue between the â€Å"Generals and the Scouts† was also felt. Alignment and Attunement: As an answer to the above areas of concern, alignment and attunement were sought to be achieved through integrating and balancing out the four voices: †¢ Voice of Wealth †¢ Voice of Employee †¢ Voice of Customer †¢ Voice of Technology The Organizational Development interventions at TCS focused on balancing tensions arising from these four voices along dimensions ofstrategizing, valuing, serving, energizing, investing and improving. An internal organization workshop was conducted with top management for scenario building. This program focused at a larger level, on the â€Å"The TCS that can be â€Å". The idea was to challenge the conventional ways of thinking and to give shape to the key drivers of change through realistic listening and dialoguing. These workshops were followed by dissemination and communication of the scenarios with teams in order to develop a new language in the organization, consistent with the envisaged future scenario. As a fallout of this workshop, several representatives of senior management worked on building scenarios as for e. g. on TCS tools and approach to high end consulting. These looked at what we were and what we wished to be, our competition, changes and challenges with regard to our business models, technologies, products and support functions. Further, the factors that ould facilitate the desired change and focuses that needed to be redefined were clearly laid down. The OD Challenge: Creating order rhythm in the centrifugal and centripetal movements of the 4 zones Scenario Building Workshops: An internal organization workshop was conducted with top management for scenario building. This program focused at a larger level, on the â€Å"TheTCS that can be â€Å". The idea was to challenge the conventional ways of thinking and to give shape to the key drivers of change through realistic listening and dialoguing. These workshops were followed by dissemination and communication of the scenarios with teams in order to develop a new language in the organization, consistent with the envisaged future scenario. As a fallout of this workshop, several representatives of senior management worked on building scenarios as for e. g. on TCS tools and approach to high end consulting. These looked at what we were and what we wished to be, our competition, changes and challenges with regard to our business models, technologies, products and support functions. Further, the factors that would facilitate the desired change and focuses that needed to be redefined were clearly laid down. The scenarios addressed the nature of the struggle the organization would go through and etched out realistic possibilities based on present factors. The roles and context that would impinge on the following were detailed †¢ Wealth creation †¢ Factors which will enhance productivity and enhance the feeling of being valued †¢ Resource allocation and team-work †¢ Membership criteria and norms of the group Learning opportunities for individuals and teams Goal Alignment Balanced Scorecard: In the interest of better alignment, a need was felt to re-look at a few organizational processes and systems, as for instance, the performance management and appraisal system at TCS. A Teach-Train-Transfer workshop on Goal alignment was conducted, with help from expert OD consultants to build the context, to think through goal setting at TCS with a systems perspective to goal alignment to explore means of institutionalizing goal-oriented erformance management within the organization. The workshop further introduced the concept of the Personal Score Card, and clearly outlined what would define goals, outputs, performance management, Economic Value adds the ways and means for facilitating goal alignment. The Balanced Scorecard approach was proposed, introducing corporate goals, which touched upon the following: Voice of the Shareholder Financial Goals e. g. Wealth creation Vector of Technology – Technology Goals e. g. Quality, Cost, Delivery dimensions Voice of the Customer – Customer/ Market Goals e. g. Customer Satisfaction Voice of the Employee – Learning Development e. g. Employee Satisfaction Further the relevance of the corporate goal template at the relationship level was explored and the subsequent cascading to individual level (Organizational to Relationship to Personal Scorecard). Goal specification frameworks, derived from the key performance parameters of the unit were chalked out. While the goal was treated as a virtual entity, the measurement was extended to deliverables on a day-to-day basis (outputs). Further, workflow reviews were done with the objective of deploying an on-line regular review process and system to track individual performance against stated goals. The linkage with incentivesand value add drivers, was also thought through to determine the reward framework, based on published results as against goals. Hereby, strategic objectives and measures agreed upon by the function/ geography/ delivery and relationship heads would be cascaded to subsequent roles as appropriate, ensuring performance in alignment with the larger vision of the organization. Identification of talent for higher responsibility was also seen as a key focus area, highlighting the need to have a focused Career Planning and Mentoring process. The process of role alignment was further thought through, as well as the need for assessment and coaching for role transitions. Towards employee satisfaction and towards ensuring sustained availability of sufficient managerial and leadership talent, the need to create succession plans at all levels and to track and reward high fliers was brought out. This further, lead to the formulation of career paths in TCS global services, consulting and products, supported by HR processes, tools and support staff. This structure was designed to enable a fair degree of flexibility in rotating at appropriate levels, which would provide avenues for individual growth. Besides, there was an exercise to bring out new role definitions in Human Resources (HR), focusing on alignment, energizing and task facilitation through HR. Business leaders dialogued to evolve the mission and expectations and further, to design enablers for continuous change, team work, and individual growth. PROPEL – The Intervention: Culture Building at TCS PROPEL was introduced as a revolutionary intervention with the dual objectives of facilitating the exchange of ideas and helping in immediate problem solving, while also encouraging bonding and self-development among and within teams. As the organization and its relationships grew, it brought its own challenges, whereas change remained a constant. PROPEL was introduced as a platform and a tool to help bring about this change, in consonance with the TCS belief of â€Å"Let us make it a joy for all our stakeholders†. Promoting continuous improvement at a cross-functional level was one of the envisaged objectives. Change management was enabled through alignment with growth strategy; by creating platforms for dialogue on the current and emerging experience of the organization. PROPEL has helped the organization build a culture of collaboration,creativity and also networks of relationships through its two modes: 1. Confluences: Listening to the voice of the employee in a team scenario, by creating a platform for open sharing of thoughts on a relevant theme. This is achieved through a balance of fun, introspection and interaction, while evoking commitment to self-development. 2. Camps: Platform for problem solving, focus on the Quality, Cost and Delivery measures of throughput resulting in transfer and adoption of best practices within and amongst relationships in the organization. Further on, this paper explores the case of a large relationship which espoused PROPEL interventions to bring about effective quantifiable results in the interest of relationship robustness, market agility and a fine balance in the culture perspective. The case of a large relationship at TCS: Team Alignment through PROPEL framework Spiral Dynamics Team alignment was a PROPEL application initiated for members of this large relationship, to reflect on its own state, to build a coherent statement of current realities and to channel potent restlessness and dissatisfactions within the relationship, into a convergent blueprint of responsiveness and new levels of maturity. It looked at redefining desirable role behaviors, and hence conveyed responsibility for movement at the collective as well as individual levels, for the team. This was brought about through the following stages 1. Initiation: The Spiral dynamics framework was used to map the relationship in terms of its evolution. Tools were administered to a group of Project Managers to identify the gaps between where the team is (current state) and where it should be (desired state) and the steps to be taken to bridge this gap. Spiral Dynamics posits that the evolution of human consciousness can best be represented by a dynamic, upward spiraling structure that charts our evolving thinking systems as they arc higher and higher through levels of increasing complexity. The spiral in spiral dynamics contains the blueprints of patterns for sequential development of Cultures. The spirals first tier is a set of six memes (beige, purple, red, blue, orange and green) characterized by existence or subsistence, or the â€Å"survival-level† concerns. Second tier of yellow and turquoise works to create healthy forms of all the first tier systems, in the context of an information-rich, highly mobile global community. 2. Awareness sessions Workshops: Overviews on Spiral Dynamics and its application to achieve team alignment was shared with theteam.

buy custom Learning Composition essay

buy custom Learning Composition essay Learning has always been both a challenge and fun for me. Just as how I strive to live my life, the same it is on how I tried to do my best to learn particularly in this composition class. While I enjoing learning to write a composition together with my friends and classmates searching and discovering new things in the world of writers, I was challenged with the application of all these things in my own composition. It was really easier to learn than to apply. The fact that I do not love writing composition as much as others do made my journey both complicated and exiting. But there is one thing for sure: I learned writing composition the way I learned to live my life. Writing has never been as easy as I thought it before and as most of us think about it. Every detail of a composition holds a certain volume of quality that if not handled correctly, the whole work is affected to the same extent. In this writing class, I learned that every detail such as misplacing a single comma could affect the whole work and reduce its quality. I learned that a comma should be used only when separating items in a series, separating independent clauses, separating an introductory modifier, setting off non-restrictive clauses or phrases, etc. but not between two short independent clauses or neither in a series of adjectives that are used as a single modifier. I learned that if this is not met, instead of clarifying the meaning, the comma would confuse and obscure the meaning to the readers and, therefore, the writers real message would not be delivered. Being careful with every detail in composition is the same way important as being careful with every significant d etail in life as these details are parts of the whole and if they are not treated correctly, the whole would be ffected. Annotation is another thing I learned in this class. We were taught how to give concise descriptions and make notes while reading a text that will later provide us with information of what the source is all about. At first, I felt like lazy to repeat and write again what I had just read but later on, by doing this, I learned that having knowledge and being aware of the things that we use or we need, whether in composition or in real life, can help us in sorting meanings and keeping us working orderly. I also learned to be heedful of every detail from the source, so I would not meet further difficulties with citing and keeping correct information. Moreover, I learned how to do research and how to access resources. It is true that resources are always at hand but, if we do not know how to access it, there will be a great problem. We did researches in our school library and we were taught how to look for scholarly sources from the library database. It was not as interesting for me as for other researchers but I was happy that I learned another important thing that is helpful in gathering data for researches. So, whenever I will have another research, I know already how to do it properly. While doing my research paper, I learned how to work in a systematic manner and I found it easier and organized. Having done researches about slavery for my final essay and having read the book by Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl I became more acquainted with the condition of slavery in the U.S. and became aware of how slaves lived their lives. It is more than the physical pain when a slave grieves for the emotional torture he/she gets and in the story Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Harriet JJacobs related to her readers how these physical and emotional abuse did shaped her as it affected her whole being. Slavery is more than a simple endless captivity as the Northerners think of it in the story. It is more than what the seven-letter word states for itself. Only slaves know what slavery really means because one cannot understand it unless one has gone through it. There is more than the common pain regarded to it, and the depth of degradation is neither seen in the word nor in its definition but in the experience of slavery itself. Jacobs is trying to reflect the undergoing slavery in her country by sharing her own experience in detail. She wanted her readers to become aware that slavery should not be encouraged and, moreover, it should be ceased to be put in practice. From her story, I learned that every person should be sensitive of their fellowmens feelings and needs. I also realized that everyone has a responsibility for the persons they came in contact with. Moreover, I felt a sense of gratitude because I am free and I have the liberty a slave wishes throughout his/her life. I was able to give more importance to my freedom than before. I took this class and learned of the misery of being a slave. From this class, I did not only learn how to write a composition, but I also learned how to compose my own life in a better way. The points I learned not only taught me how to write, but wrote also in my heart the lessons which changed my attitude towards dealing with life. I believe there is a difference in my writing now and I feel better about it because it has helped me to become both a better writer and a more grateful person. In this class, while learning to write a composition I was taught certain points on how to live my life. Buy custom Learning Composition essay

Angelas Ashes Comparative Commentary Essay Example for Free

Angela’s Ashes Comparative Commentary Essay Although these two passages taken from the memoirs; Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Sallinger, are similar to each other in some aspects, such as mood, perceptions and attitudes towards death etc., their society, culture, and their ages make the contrast between their styles. In the passage from Catcher in the Rye, we see the 17-years-old Holden going to his brother Allie’s grave. From his comments about his brother’s death, we start to interpret his immature and irreverent character. â€Å"I know it’s only his body and all that’s in the cemetery, and his soul’s in Heaven and all that crap†¦Ã¢â‚¬  On the other hand, just like Frank McCourt’s, Holden’s anger, sadness and resentment is seen by his mood and tone. The 5-years-old little Frankie is already witness to his sister Margaret’s death, and now he losts his little brother Oliver. In this scene, where Oliver is buried in the graveyard, Frankie tries to understand the things around him with his childish curiosity and responses. â€Å"I did not want to leave Oliver with them. I threw a rock at a jackdaw that waddled over toward Oliver’s grave.† Nevertheless, although his age, Holden’s inability to come to terms with his brother’s death makes him angry and resentful. â€Å"All the visitors could get in their cars and turn on their radios and all and then go someplace nice for dinner – everybody except Allie. I couldn’t stand it.† There are some hints in the passages which suggest about the culture, societies and time the two memoirs took place. Holden says â€Å"the visitors could get in their cars and turn on their radios and all and then go someplace nice for dinner†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , whereas Frankie says â€Å"we rode to the hospital in a carriage with a horse† and â€Å"My mother and Aunt Aggie cried, Grandma looked angry, Dad, Uncle Pa Keating, and Uncle Pat Sheehan looked sad but did not cry and I thought that if you’re a mean you can cry only when you have the black stuff that is called the pint.† The â€Å"carriage with a horse† and the people â€Å"running like hell over to their cars† â€Å"and turn on their radios† show us that the scene from Angela’s Ashes took place many years before Catcher in the Rye. Moreover, with Frankie’s childish comment about his family, the men in his family appear as drinkers; this suggests about the Irish culture which all men are drinkers. The same comment also clearly shows us the difference between women and men in their culture. We also see that the two characters’ families and societies are Christian, and believe in the life after death. Holden says â€Å"I know it’s only his body and all that’s in the cemetery, and his soul’s in Heaven and all that crap, but I couldn’t stand it anyway.† On the other hand Frankie explains, â€Å"Dad said I shouldn’t throw rocks at jackdaws, they might be somebody’s soul. I didn’t know what a soul was but I didn’t ask him because I didn’t care.† Their perception towards religion is the same; they both believe in what is taught to them, but in both cases the characters’ sadness and anger are much greater then their religion now, when they lost their brothers whom they love and were connected so much. â€Å"I wish he wasn’t there. You didn’t know him. If you’d known him, you’d know what I mean.† â€Å"Oliver was dead and I hated jackdaws.† Both Frankie and Holden are alone with their thoughts and feelings; they cannot share them with anyone. Holden is too immature and powerless to face his brother’s death and Frankie’s parents wouldn’t answer his question marks about death. The two narrative characters cannot talk about or express their sorrow, they have to keep it inside and divert it into anger and hate of other things or people around them. â€Å"I’d be a man someday and I’d come with a bag of rocks and I’d leave the graveyard littered with dead jackdaws.† â€Å"All the visitors in the cemetery started running like hell over to their cars. That’s what nearly drove me crazy.† Hence the two characters need to heal theirselves by something else; writing. Angela’s Ashes Comparative Commentary. (2017, Aug 22). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

The Kite Runner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Kite Runner - Essay Example The relationship that is first going to be explored is the one between Amir and his father (Baba). In the first half of the movie, they are shown to possess different characteristics. Baba is brave and powerful, while Amir is a coward. Unlike them, the relationship between their Hazara servant, Ali, and his son, Hassan, is very similar. Ali is defined by his modesty and is very loyal to his master, catering to his needs diligently. His son has the same personality and will do literally anything for Amir, as is seen in various incidents in the movie. However, when I got to know that Hassan was Baba’s illegitimate son further on in the movie, I realized how similar Baba really is to Amir. He acted out of impulse and consequently made a blunder in their lives and never disclosed what he had done. Moreover, he tried to atone for his action in other ways to clear his guilty conscience. Amir had a lot more to atone for. Somehow, the guilt of not being able to stop what happened to Hassan transformed into anger. This was further fuelled when Hassan remained impassive when Amir insulted him repeatedly. Not only had he abandoned his friend at the time when he most needed him, but he also tried to get rid of him later; he planted false evidence to ‘prove’ that Hassan stole Baba’s watch. However, not once does Hassan betray Amir; he ‘admits’ to the ‘crime’ in order to make Amir happy. ... It could also be because Hassan was a Hazara, which was termed as a lower cultural class in Afghanistan, due to which Amir only ‘used’ him by letting him stand up to Amir’s bullies alone. However, their bond must have been pretty strong, owing to how burdened Amir became with the guilt of what he had done. Moreover, after finding out that Hassan’s son, Sohrab, was taken by Assef (the bully who had raped Hassan in his youth), Amir courageously steps forward and receives a beating from Assef for the sake of Sohrab’s freedom. In addition, he took Sohrab to safety and later adopted him. These acts of his prove that he did indeed redeem himself (indirectly, through Sohrab) in front of Hassan. This also shows that this is a buildungsroman story; Amir developed from being a selfish boy to a selfless adult. On the other hand, Assef has an extremely selfish and remorseless character, as he never even thinks of redemption for the sins he committed to Hassan an d Sohrab. Sacrifice has been a major recurring motif in The Kite Runner; Hassan, knowing how important the blue kite was for Amir, refused to give it up even if it caused himself to get sexually abused. He also sacrificed his honesty for Amir by owning up to a crime he did not commit (stealing Baba’s watch). However, even Amir later selflessly put himself in danger’s mouth to save Sohrab. Kites symbolize the difference between Amir and Hassan’s social class and status in their friendship; the kite flyer (Amir) is important and controlling, while the kite runner (Hassan) is minor and ever-available. This movie also showed me that if there is hope for a better future for Sohrab-who has suffered in the hands of Assef-then there is hope for Afghanistan-which has suffered in the hands of the Taliban-as

HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY & QUESTIONNAIRE Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HOW TO WRITE AN & QUESTIONNAIRE - Essay Example One’s knowledge and writing skills, the ability to find appropriate literature to support one’s views and to add a greater number of perspectives, are expressed through the work. This paper proposes to provide guidelines on how to write an essay. The main parts of an essay are the introduction, the discussion or body of the essay and the conclusion. The essay may be structured further to organize the argument clearly under subtopics, if required. Spurr (2005) gives comprehensive guidelines on academic essay writing. To start with, it is important that the essay question or topic is understood clearly, without any ambiguity. Next, appropriate books, journals, newspaper and magazine articles where relevant, and recognized sources of information from the internet should be identified and accessed. Key arguments and theories which express the writer’s viewpoints should be summarized, and referencing should be done to support as well as counter these arguments. The introduction introduces the reader to the question at hand, explains the subject of the essay, defines terms and establishes the parameters of enquiry or investigation. An outline of the arguments that are to be put forth in the discussion and main theorists’ work that may be drawn upon will serve to present a map of the terrain that will be explored in the essay. The research topic is stated as a thesis statement, and this will form the focus point of the entire argument or discussion in the paper. A good introduction is essential because it helps to form a favourable impression about the essay in general. The discussion should remain focused on the main topic, throughout the work. Through extensive research, supporting approaches as well as counter arguments should be available for drawing upon. It is important to critically analyse the opinions and arguments of various scholars, in comparison with the writer’s viewpoints. To avoid plagiarism, other authors’ works should be

Biological oxygen demand (BOD) of water sample analysis Essay Example for Free

Biological oxygen demand (BOD) of water sample analysis Essay Qualitative data: Collected sample was very murky The first end point colour was of a yellow colour, perhaps not light enough Addition of starch indicator produced a grey-black solution; perhaps did not add enough indicator, however this did not pose as a problem There was one occasion where I suspected to have added too much sodium thiosulphate, however the second trial indicated that I did not go past the end point too much Calculations To calculate the dissolved oxygen content (mg/dm ³ or ppm), we must first determine the number of mols of thiosulphate from the mean titrated volume of both samples. In this case, we will use sample A. The Winkler method indicates that the relationship between the amount of oxygen and thiosulphate is a four to one ratio. Therefore, we will divide the number of mols of thiosulphate by four to get the number of mols of oxygen. Then we convert this to milligrams per dm ³ first by multiplying by 20 to arrive with the number of mols present in 1dm ³ (because the pond water sample used was 50cm ³). Then we multiply that number by 32 (molecular mass of oxygen) to attain the number of grams of oxygen. Then finally, the number is multiplied by 1000 to be converted into milligrams. The biological oxygen demand (BOD) would therefore be the difference between the DO of sample A and sample B.

NO Mandatory Community Service for Students! Essay -- Argumentative Pe

NO Mandatory Community Service for Students! Community service: What a wonderful opportunity for students! A chance for our younger citizens to learn responsibility, experience the satisfaction that comes with helping others and to acquire new skills. Right? Well, that depends who you're talking to. Slip the word "mandatory" behind community service, as school districts in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and hundreds of others have done, and "opportunity" takes a new twist. Opportunity for who? For the students, or for the communities that can now capitalize on students' free labor? (Martin, pg. 13) More than two decades ago, President Nixon ended the military draft. Now a new and more menacing form of enlistment is threatening our school systems. This enlistment I am speaking of is that we are forcing "community service" to be a requirement for high school graduation. Compulsory service programs, already functioning in many communities, typically giving students four years to complete, say, 60 hours of labor. The students must not receive any payment. They can choose whether to serve the elderly, or the poor, or the disabled, so long as they serve others rather than themselves. The penalty for dodging this new draft is simple: no diploma. In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, angry parents and students took the local school board to court, arguing that such a mandatory service program for high school students imposed the kind ...

A Book Report on Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart”

The Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe, is written in the first person. This is proven because â€Å"I† is used to tell the story. This story told is by a participating narrator. The narrator is also the main character. The point of view used in this story is the unreliable narrator; this is a point of view according to Literature by X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. This view was chosen because the narrator was very deceptive, deluded and deranged. For example, â€Å"I cut off the head and the arms and the legs†. (pg. 36). I find this to be extremely deranged. The narrator was also very deceptive by playing a trick on the older man in bed every night. The deluded madman would spy on the old man at midnight every night for seven days straight. By the eighth day he had this deranged plan to kill him. So, at midnight the madman came into the room quietly, or so he tried, and suffocated the old man. In the meantime the old man was scared when he heard some noises but probably thought that it was only a mouse or something. Because the man did not get up and check on the noises, it cost him his life. The old man was tricked on thinking it was just a noise an old house makes. Therefore, The point of view used in the story was that of an unreliable narrator in the first person. Raymond Carver had many influences in his life that contributed to his short stories and poems. But his main influence was his family. With two kids and married at the age of 19, he definitely had his hands full. He would try and write stories to support his children while engaging in other labor jobs during the day. Everyday life is an inspiration on everyone. People might not realize it but what happens everyday has an affect or influence on the way they approach life. For example, Carver†s day at the laundry mat. He realized that life isn†t what it is cracked out to be and he noticed this just by being frustrated because he couldn†t get any driers. Also, Carver†s professor at Chico State University, John Gardner, was a great influence at the time. Gardner helped Carver with some of his short stories. He would help Carver by being really patient and helping understand what he needs to do better. Education is a great influence on life. It introduces new perspectives to life and opens many new doors of opportunity. Without education or his family Raymond Carver might not have been as successful as he has. A Book Report on Poe’s â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† The Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe, is written in the first person. This is proven because â€Å"I† is used to tell the story. This story told is by a participating narrator. The narrator is also the main character. The point of view used in this story is the unreliable narrator; this is a point of view according to Literature by X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. This view was chosen because the narrator was very deceptive, deluded and deranged. For example, â€Å"I cut off the head and the arms and the legs†. (pg. 36). I find this to be extremely deranged. The narrator was also very deceptive by playing a trick on the older man in bed every night. The deluded madman would spy on the old man at midnight every night for seven days straight. By the eighth day he had this deranged plan to kill him. So, at midnight the madman came into the room quietly, or so he tried, and suffocated the old man. In the meantime the old man was scared when he heard some noises but probably thought that it was only a mouse or something. Because the man did not get up and check on the noises, it cost him his life. The old man was tricked on thinking it was just a noise an old house makes. Therefore, The point of view used in the story was that of an unreliable narrator in the first person. Raymond Carver had many influences in his life that contributed to his short stories and poems. But his main influence was his family. With two kids and married at the age of 19, he definitely had his hands full. He would try and write stories to support his children while engaging in other labor jobs during the day. Everyday life is an inspiration on everyone. People might not realize it but what happens everyday has an affect or influence on the way they approach life. For example, Carver†s day at the laundry mat. He realized that life isn†t what it is cracked out to be and he noticed this just by being frustrated because he couldn†t get any driers. Also, Carver†s professor at Chico State University, John Gardner, was a great influence at the time. Gardner helped Carver with some of his short stories. He would help Carver by being really patient and helping understand what he needs to do better. Education is a great influence on life. It introduces new perspectives to life and opens many new doors of opportunity. Without education or his family Raymond Carver might not have been as successful as he has.

Curleys Wife of Mice and Men Essay

To begin with, in the novel Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife is a disadvantaged character who relates to the themes dreams and loneliness. She is important in the novel because she portrays the stereotypical 1930’s women in America and she is the only women in the novel. Steinbeck presents her negatively but by the end of the novel the reader feels sympathetic towards her. Curley’s wife is first introduced in section two; ‘both men glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was standing there looking in’. Sunshine relates to hopes, happiness and freedom, which most of the ranch workers seek. Steinbeck foreshadows she will ruin this by using ‘cut off’ which shows she will be the reason why the ranch workers dreams will be ruined, which she is. She seduces Lennie resulting in her death, which means the characters Lennie George and candy cannot fulfil their dream because everybody wants to kill Lennie. This shows the reader she is a troublesome character. She is described as a girl rather than a lady due to the fact she is playful and flirty like a girl. Steinbeck shows she is looking in because she is searching for something. Attention. This also shows she is an outsider because she’s not involved, just merely lonely on the outside, desperately wanting to be involved. Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife as a tart by using ‘she had full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up’. The phrase ‘rouged lips’ shows she has intentionally made her lips bold so the other ranch workers will notice this. The colour relates to danger which foreshadows that she is a dangerous character because Lennie got into trouble because of a girl in weed with a red dress and Curley’s wife eventually gets Lennie killed. Red is a seductive colour and she seduces Lennie. Steinbeck uses ‘heavily made up’ to show she has made an effort to be noticed which automatically makes the reader sense she is a sexually seductive character. Steinbeck shows she is out of place because a stereotypical woman on a ranch would be messy but Curley’s wife tries to be perfect. It also shows she has made herself pretty to impress someone. Furthermore, Steinbeck refers to her as ‘she’ because she has not got a name. Steinbeck has done this to show her status in society was not important enough in 1930’s America to be called by her name. No-one knows it and no-one cares what it is either. In 1930’s America, women were looked down on and did not have the same rights as men did, although they had more rights than black people. Steinbeck uses ‘curley’s wife’ to show she is the property of Curley; the apostrophe shows she is the possession of Curley. This makes the reader feel negative feelings towards her due to the fact she has a husband yet flirts with the other men. The next time Curley’s wife is introduced is in section four; she is looking for attention. ‘They swung their heads towards the door. Looking in was Curley’s wife’. Steinbeck portrays the theme loneliness because once again, she is on the outside ‘looking in’. She is desperate to talk to someone. Curley is at the cathouse which gives her the chance to get out of the house because Curley makes her stay in the house all day. When she does escape from the house to find someone to talk to, her familiar excuse is she’s looking for Curley. The other workers aren’t fooled and try avoiding her; they misinterpret her loneliness for being troublesome and flirty. At this point the reader still feels negatively towards her. Curley’s wife appears in Crook’s room although candy and crook’s resent her unwanted presence. This makes her feel intimidated after she is told by a black man to get out. ‘I can get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny’.

The Civil War,North Success essays

The Civil War,North Success essays Why Did the North Win the Civil War? In 1861, following the secession of the Deep South on a platform of states rights, the right to property and the event of Fort Sumnter, the inevitable conflict Seward had predicted emerged as the Civil War. Four years later Lee surrendered and so returned the Confederate states to the Union - the victory of the North was never as forgone as the onslaught of secession, and certainly historians such as McPherson have judged it would be dangerous to generalise over causes of the Northern Victory, since events on the battlefield could have taken a different course into Southern favour, changing the Wars final outcome. However, there are several factors that were certainly crucial for northern victory - such as economic growth and stability, the political prowess and generalship of Lincoln and Military manpower and technique. Many historians of the post-war era and in the 20th century noted the economic might and manpower of the North as one of the main reasons for success. Economic factors were certainly crucial for the defeat of the South in 1865. By 1861, the North was, economically, in line with the Industrialised world of Northern Europe and Britain, and was way ahead of the backward South, still mostly reliant on the peculiar institution of slave labour in the cotton fields. It possessed 4 out of 5 factories, Americas Banking system, 15 times more Iron and 38 times more Coal; it made its own clothing and even during the war was never short of new migrants from Ireland and Germany. Northerners outnumbered Southerners 22 million to a measly five million whites (slaves, who made up the remaining 4 million, were constitutionally only 3/5s of a citizen each, and so were not legible for the draft). The North had to rely little on Europe; it was self-sufficient, it had a variegated economy compared to the Southern reliance on cash crops as a source of inco...

Health Policy on Obesity in Relation to Mental Health Illness Essay

Health Policy on Obesity in Relation to Mental Health Illness - Essay Example The  World Health Organization  defines mental health as "a state of  well-being  in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community" (World Health Organisation, 2010). Obesity, where excess fat accumulates in the body, causes serious health problems like diabetes, liver and heart problems, and/or cancer, often also leads to mental illness in the affected person, thus producing an overall negative effect on human health. Data from the latest Health Survey for England (HSE) revealed that â€Å"in 2009, 61.3% of adults (aged 16 or over), and 28.3% of children (aged 2-10) in England were overweight or obese, of these, 23.0% of adults and 14.4% of children were obese. The Foresight report, Tackling Obesities: Future Choices project, published in October 2007, predicted that if no action was taken, 60% of men, 50% of women and 25% of children would be obese by 2050† (Department of Health, Obesity, 2011). ... ity to accord proper healthcare to all sections of the population, to spread awareness and educate the public through various promotions and programmes. In this context, the paper will examine the determinants of health, their relevance to health and well-being, and the impact of inequalities of health on individuals and populations, while analysing the impact of policies on public health and healthcare access, and the structure, organization and delivery of healthcare.   It will also evaluate the role of the nurse in the promotion of health with individuals, families and populations and first contact care, while using a health promotion framework to illustrate role of nurse Discussion The determinants of health, their relevance to health and well-being, and the impact of inequalities of health on individuals and populations: The surrounding environment and circumstances that one faces in his/her daily life, often decides the course of health of that particular individual. Differen t factors like family income, education, lifestyle, surrounding environment, interpersonal relationships, and genetics, all have a significant effect on health. On the other hand, certain commonly deliberated factors like the availability and use of health care services, tend to produce less impact on an individual’s health (WHO, Health Impact Assessment (HIA) - The determinants of health, 2011). According to WHO the determinants of health comprise of â€Å"the social and economic environment; the physical environment; and the person’s individual characteristics and behaviours† (ibid). Thus, we find that often the ambience/surroundings in a person’s life determines this/her health, and some of these determinants are quite beyond the direct control of an individual. Besides the

Gun violence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Gun violence - Research Paper Example Ownership of gun is restricted in most of the other countries including democratic countries. For example, an individual can own a gun India only if the court or the police authorities grand him the permission of gun license. He should convince the authorities that his life and property is in danger and ownership of gun is necessary for him to protect his life and properties. However in America, it is not necessary that an individual should convince the authorities about the reasons of gun ownership. Anybody, even school children in America can own a gun, legally or illegally. As a result of that, gun related violence is growing in America at present. The Sun (March 12, 2013), reported that a GUNMAN has shot two people at a high school in California - less than a month after 26 were slaughtered in the Sandy Hook massacre. It follows last month's slaughter by Adam Lanza who killed 20 young children and six adults at the Sandy Hook elementary school - reigniting the gun laws debate in the US (Two shot in yet another school shooting in America, 2010). Sandy Hook massacre shook America recently and the public debates over the topic of gun control heated up again. The relationship between gun ownership and gun violence is researched heavily by prominent scholars now. Many people believe that gun violence is directly proportional to gun ownership. In other words, when the number of gun owners increases in a society, the chances of gun violence also increases. This paper critically analyses this claim and argues that "The states (in the U.S.) with the highest gun ownership also have the highest gun violence related casualties". Literature Review A new study, led by a Boston University School of Public Health researcher, Dr. Michael Siegel, published in American Journal of Public Health shows that U.S. states with higher estimated rates of gun ownership experience a higher number of firearms-related homicides. This study analyzed the claim by the National Rifle Associa tion’s (NRA) that increased gun ownership does not lead to increased gun violence and argued that these claims are totally baseless. They have conducted this study across 50 American states and the completion of this study (The largest in the history of US) took around 30 years (1981-2010). They found that for each 1 percentage point increase in the prevalence of gun ownership, the homicide rate increases by 0.9 percent (Siegel, 2013). The study by Hepburn & Hemenway, (2004, p.4170) supports the findings of Siegel and his associates. After a comprehensive study, they found that gun availability is a risk factor for homicide, both in the United States and across high-income countries.   They argued that in homes, cities, states and regions in the US, where there are more guns, people are at higher risk for homicide. The second amendments in United States’ constitution protect the right of individuals to bear arms. Self-defense is accepted as a human right in America. Even after plenty of unpleasant and cruel incidents, the authorities are not much keen in putting any control on gun ownership or gun violence. Even the immature teenagers can possess guns and they can carry such things easily to the schools. Even though president Obama expressed deep concerns about the gun control laws in America, after the Sandy Hook massacre, his earlier stands were neither in favor nor against the strengthening of gun