Labor union trend

I would begin this paper with a definition of what labor union is. According to my source, MSN Encarta, a labor union is an â€Å"association of workers that seeks to improve the economic and social well-being of its members through group action.† Basically, labor union is a group formed by workers to protect their rights and interests from the company from which they are a part. Of course the demand a union may ask may vary from one company to another. However, some of the usual line a union usually asks for its members includes provision of benefits for its members. So what does provision of benefits entail? From the word itself it aims to ensure benefits for its member. Such benefits may include assurance against unemployment of an employee, health benefits in case of sickness, insurance for injury and the like. In most countries, the state assures that the employees get such and such benefits. Another common theme from different unions is their way of negotiating for a higher salary once they find the need to have a higher salary from before. The term used for the said negotiation is collective bargaining. Another common term between unions is industrial action. In industrial action the workers may decide to organize strikes when the company they are in decides not to meet their demands. Moving on, there is said to be two different and thus at odds views in terms of trade unions. The first one is restrictive and thus the only members they accept are those whose line of work or expertise is the same as theirs. The second one aims to unite all workers to better the state of affairs on their working field. Of the two views I think that the second one is more likely to achieve their ends as compared to the first one. I said that because should a revolution be needed in order for things to happen their way then they can win by numbers alone. However, I think that the first one is more likely to share stronger ties than the second one on the basis that since they are restrictive and accept only their own, then understanding each other would be no hard task. Surely since they share more things in common then each one is more likely to understand each others pain and the drive to pursue their goals would be more fiery than that of the second one. Now, unions may seem to be very common nowadays but for many years unions are considered illegal in most countries. However, through time, regardless of the efforts put upon by employers in order for union organizations to fail, the voice of the workers prevailed. There are many unions formed nationwide and the question to be asked is whether global scale union differs in anyway from that of national scale. As an answer, the American Federation of Labor (AFL), founded by Samuel Gompers, aims to form a â€Å"pure and simple† unionism that gives prime importance to collective bargaining in order to reach their goals. The AFL is an example of a union in a nationwide scale. Now, union structures, politics and the like vary from one country to another. Unions may be organized into three kinds, craft unionism, general unionism, and industrial unionism. The said unions are usually separated into locals and then they would eventually be fused together into national federations. The said federations would then join the forces of international unions like the International Union Trade Confederation. I think one difference unions in national scale may have from those of international scale is that the demands of the unions in the national scale, though not completely alike in every way to that of other unions within a certain country, their differences is not so far-off to the point the they would fail to meet in the middle. Unions on the international scale on the other hand could be very different from country to country that the hope to reach a compromise may not be possible. For example, in Germany the only form of union which they consider to be legal are open shop unions wherein such is not the case on other countries. As another example, unions in the United States, unlike from other countries, gives primary importance for collective bargaining to better their salary or even to represent members of their unions should the management decides to violate one of their rights. On other countries the focus of their unions is different from that of the United States. However there are still global trade unions that aim to bridge the gap of different unions from one country to another, such unions is World Federation of Trade Unions. I think that the major role unions’ play in our society today is to protect the right of the workers. Unions assure that the workers are not cheated out of their salary, benefits and the like. I think it is a good thing that the workers decided to get together to get what is their due. Having successful unions on our society today made me think about the line Marx used decades ago, â€Å"all workers unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains†. Surely, what Marx said held true to our society today. And though the Marxists goal is not entirely complete I can say that at least some of their goal came into being such as the getting together of workers which can be seen in different kind of unions nowadays. However, there are still criticisms thrown upon labor unions. Some critics claim that the aim of unions is simply to benefit the workers inside the company even at the expense of the â€Å"outsider workers†, consumers, and the stockholders. These critics argue that unions put those who are unemployed more unlikely to get a job. As for my opinion, I believe that there is some truth in what these critics have in mind. However, such things could be resolved by peaceful talks regarding the things both parties supports. I also believe that the government can address such problems such as unemployment by assuring that every citizen gets employed without any discrimination. As to the fact that there are workers who cannot get the line of work they want then I say that such things are facts of life. Nobody really gets what s/he wants every time. I believe that if one works hard for that thing s/he wants then eventually s/he would be able to attain his or her goal. Thus, they should keep the blame away from labor unions regarding things of that sort. Reference: http://www.socialstudieshelp.com http://www.wikipedia.org

Promoting the Integration of Therapeutic Touch in Nursing Practice Essay

1. Describe the patient group in the study. English speaking adults with Dx of cancer expected to be on the unit the day following the intervention, whose medical conditions did not preclude their ability to comfortably receive TT or participate in the interview, and were able to give informed consent; 34 patient-participants completed the research process (16 women and 18 men), age range of 22 to 77 with an average age of 52 years 2. What was their health problem? Bone marrow transplant Patients. The focus of the study? Explore the experiences of nurses and patients on an inpatient oncology and bone marrow transplant unit when nurses had time preserved for exclusive offering of TT. 3. Who was providing the care? Two staff nurse-interventionists who were experienced and participated in TT education, and three nurse-interviewers who discussed the TT intervention with patient-participants the day following TT treatment. 4. What was the setting for the care? The study was conducted in an academic medical center on a 26 bed hematology/oncology in patient unit with bone marrow transplantation program. 5. What were the findings? 1) TT is a vehicle for comfort, caring, and presence that creates possibility and healing 2) TT invites a shift from disease-state focus to personhood focus that is freeing and reawakens the essence of nursing 3)TT is an intervention that illuminates the transformative power of nursing theory-research-practice. 6. What were the recommendations? Having a complementary nursing strategy, such as TT, that allows nurses an additional way to offering care that facilitates comfort, assists with anxiety reduction, and enhances sleep is of major significance. 7. How practical/useful is this information to a practicing nurse? I am not sure how practical TT is. First, you would have to have additional staff to allow for the time to educate seasoned nurses in TT and then to perform TT on the patients. You would also have to have the support of the administrative staff. However, I do believe that laying on of hands is an effective therapeutic tool. 8. What I wonder is†¦.. would there be a similar outcome in other specialty areas that patients have not had the opportunity to establish a trusting relationship with the nursing staff prior to TT.

Michael Phelps Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Michael Phelps - Speech or Presentation Example "Having completed his Olympics gold rush, U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps is now poised to make another haul -- this time of the endorsement variety. Phelps already is collecting about $5 million a year in endorsement checks from companies like Visa -- payments that came after he won six gold medals during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. His performance in Beijing, where he won a record eight gold medals, puts him in line to earn much more." (Endorsements pure gold for Phelps, 2008). According to David Harrow of the National Sports Lawyers Association, Michael Phelps may be at $30, $40, $50 million a year in endorsements and there are various other reports suggesting such huge amounts as his endorsements. It is also obvious that Phelps collected a million-dollar bonus from one his sponsors even before the Beijing Olympics. More than his gold medals, the world records that were broken by Phelps contributed to his fame considerably and he has already broken thirty-seven world rec ords in swimming.

Assess the significance of the Atlantic slave trade for the rise of Essay

Assess the significance of the Atlantic slave trade for the rise of Europe - Essay Example It is in no doubt that the transatlantic slave trade served as the most formidable premise for modern-day capitalismis . This is due to its immense generation of wealth for various business enterprises across Europe and America (Acemoglu, Robinson, & James, 2002). Indeed, the trade made a substantial contribution to the industrial growth of north-western Europe. Moreover, it established a single Atlantic world that encapsulated Europe, the Caribbean islands, main lands of South and North America, and western Africa. Given that Europe acted as the epicentre of the transatlantic trade, the region received the greatest benefits from the slave trade that lasted for more than three centuries (Postma, J. 2003). It is noteworthy that modern economic development first emerged in Europe during the Industrial Revolution, with rapid urban industrialization, growth of cotton textile factories, as well as the increase in export-oriented industrialization. In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, and the associated expansion of industries, the available sources of labour in Europe were largely insufficient to provide the much-needed services in all industries. There were two main reasons for the apparent lack of workforce; firstly, the cost of voluntary migrants was very high to be cost-effective in offering the labour necessary to develop America as Europe’s breadbasket. Secondly, even though some European nationals were forcefully kidnapped and placed at the equivalent of slave labourers in America. The process required an extensive basis that would have denied the home countries the labour forced needed to expand the fast-rising industries. This would have resulted in the rise of labour cost in the home countries and exacerbate the price of domestically produced goods thus making them more costly and less competitive in both the home and international markets. The comparison

National health indicators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

National health indicators - Essay Example Health indicators for United States Birth rate-14 per 1000 population Fertility rate- 68.6 births per 1000 women aged 15-44 years Percent born low birthweight-8.2% Life expectancy-77.9 Obese population aged 20 years and above – 34% (Source: World Health Organization, 2007) Health indicators for India Population 60 years and above – 7.8% (in 2001) Crude birth rate (per 1000 population) – 23.8 (in 2005) Crude death rate (per 1000 population) – 7.6 (in 2005) Population with access to improved sanitation – 52% (in 2001) Physician per 1000 population – 7 (in 2005) (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010) Health indicators for Bangladesh Population 60 years and above - 7% (in 2004) Crude birth rate (per 1000 population) – 20.9 (in 2003) Crude death rate (per 1000 population) – 5.9 (in 2003) Population with access to improved sanitation – 59% (in 2004) Physician per 1000 population – 3 (in 2005) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010) From the above data, it is evident that United States maintains a satisfactory health condition. The US’ life expectancy is 77.9 and it reflects the nation’s improvement in health sector. Similarly, the country keeps a well low birthweight rate (8.2%), which represents the changing face of United States’ health care sector.

Emergency Preparedness and Response Research Paper - 1

Emergency Preparedness and Response - Research Paper Example It requires development of effective management strategies to en sure that harmful agents are not released into food items. This paper evaluates US disaster preparedness and response capacity with food security being the focal point. Food security and safety is a critical element that advances nations productivity and performance capacities. It is imperative for various establishments to adopt proper strategies with an aim of advancing food security and safety. It is the prerogative duty of governments to develop food reserve units including food safety maintenance to ensure that meals that are consumed are not harmful to human development (Fong & Alibek, 2009). Federal government including various authorities should protect citizens from consumption of contaminated food through initiation of standardization assurance system. The program ensures that quality assurance and certification of food is undertaken to ascertain food safety before release for consumption as a preventive measure. This is to avert possible disaster occurrences that may claim many lives since food items are consumed vastly. In US, vital policies have been crafted to enhance food safety and availability. The policies seek to provide requisite measures to avert possible deficiencies and traumatic events that may occur due to food contamination (Fong & Alibek, 2009). The government ensures through its quality assurance department ensures that, food items for example maize is free from toxin content that is poisonous. According to Novick & Marr (2003), bioterrorism events occur due to deliberate contamination of food items by toxic elements that cause death or traumatic complications. During such events, victims require initial medical services to restore conciseness. Nations should ensure adequate preparations to mitigate the effects of food contamination by instituting health centers at a measurable radius to facilitate quicker access to medical

The NEGATIVE MESSAGE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The NEGATIVE MESSAGE - Essay Example It is essential that our facility creates a good impression so that the public feels that we are professional and efficient organization. Our product requires that our clients trust us enough to believe that we will reliably insure their possessions and lives, and not let them down. Their first impression of us must be good and the condition of our offices must reflect our professionalism. Often in the last few months, we have found it necessary to contact your company so that tasks would be done that should have been part of every day’s routine. Accidental messes and spills were not taken care of on six occasions at least, during the ordinary cleaning rounds of the crews. We then had to contact your company directly to have the required work done. We also to escalated our communications and did, on two occasions in the last three months, contact you directly. Despite your assurances that the situation would improve, we are still experiencing problems.

What happens to the design object when it becomes a museum object Essay

What happens to the design object when it becomes a museum object - Essay Example The answer to these questions lies in the development of cognizant regarding the museum and how it impacts the value of the object Concept of Museum The Museum, as described above, is a place which is not only an artistically design building of different historical objects, but it may also have profound impacts on the people, who have interest in the history hidden behind the object2. The Museums are normally established with having social authority. The social authority refers to the perception that museum creates regarding the meaning and importance of the object. In depth and highly reliable research is required to place the object in the museum along with its exact history. The social authority also refers the social responsibility of the authority, who manages the museum objects along with its deep traces, so that the trust of the people must be maintained regarding the reliability of the history behind the object. The museum controls the ways of seeing3. 1 Controlling the ways may mean that the perception of the people regarding the object can be created or developed by the museum authorities through the way of presentation of the object along with the context of the history described with the object. The museum, as described above, creates its importance and validity. Museums are believed to be the places, where not only historical objects are gathered but their importance also increases. In other words, museum does not only gather the valuable objects but the value and the meaning of the object increase by gathering the objects under one roof. The museum’s artistic framework and design make it able to generate and spread the cultural knowledge that can change the value of the object. Moreover, the museum preserves the cultural heritage so the people from the new world can trace its history more interestingly and realistically4.. The value of the design object: Discoveries of different objects may always lead to the creation of new story of the pa st. Past has always left some signs to be remembered. The objects such as paintings, metals, clothes, skeletons, books, papers etc may be the representative of the past. The reason is that the people from the past are no more. Therefore, only their related stuff can help the researchers, as well as, those who take interest in the histories of the people who are no more. The importance of its history may be mixed with the histories of other objects. Therefore, the common eyes may not be able to catch its importance4. The increase or decrease in value of the objects by displaying the objects in the museum depends upon following different factors 2 1. Size of The Object The Size of the object matters a lot in terms of its importance in front of the common eyes. The reason is that the big pictures, objects can be easily captured by the eyes but the small objects along with thousands of different objects may be neglected because the eyes may not be able to catch the objects view. Therefo re, small objects if combined with other object in the museum may have low value in front of common eyes. On the contrary, the people who have high interest in the history of the particular times they may give high value to even the small objects as well. It can be explained with the help of the common example of museum of Australia 5. The histories behind the aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ancestral provide different tales of the past6.3 2. Display Pattern Of the Object: The Museum’

Economics questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economics questions - Assignment Example new or used durable good, the importance of branding and quality in her decision, and her decision to purchase an item that has a warranty or guarantee . A risk-averse customer will trade savings for decreased risk; she will thus be less likely to buy used goods, good she perceives to be of an inferior quality or brand, and more likely to invest in a durable, expensive good which in its price includes a warranty or service guarantee for a period of time. . b. [10 marks] A refrigerator company includes a warranty that provides for free service and repairs during the first two years of ownership of any new refrigerator. The number of reported repairs rises after the warranties are introduced. Explain why this has occurred, referring to both the concepts of moral hazard and adverse selection. This phenomenon can be understood using the concept of moral hazard, in that customers who perceive the warranty to be â€Å"free† or included in the price of the good, might have purchased a refrigerator with or without a warranty, experience the cost of using that warranty once they have purchased the good to be zero. Therefore, problems that might otherwise have been tolerated (such as cosmetic defects), or repaired at the cost of the consumer (such as small parts) are now reportable, warranty-covered repairs. This phenomenon might also be explained by adverse selection, namely that under certain conditions customers and vendors may have differential access to information. Customers may be aware of conditions they intend to expose the refrigerator to (such as extreme heat) that will likely shorten its lifespan or durability, but which the vendor and guarantor of the warranty is unaware of. Customers with such undisclosed intentions may be more drawn to manufacturers offering warranties and thus become over-represented in population of customers once the warranty is introduced. c. [5 marks] In order to solve the problem of excessive repair requests in (b), the

Women's Rights Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Women's Rights - Research Paper Example Criminal justice system is in the front line in addressing harm to girls and women. Women and girls across the world face violation, sexual harassment, and abused. They do not feel safe at home, in the streets, workplace or even on public transports. As a result, the women live in fear. They do not live their lives entirely. They need equality and respect. Their rights are discriminated even by their families. It has been on media of parents who rape their daughters. The law is working on such cases (Thomsen 54). Considering acknowledgment of women and their rights, every woman, just as a man has the right of control over their bodies. Throughout the world, girls and women end up forced into cultural practices that are harmful to their health, and cause them so much pain. Some of these practices include female genital mutilation, early or forced marriage, and even sex-selective abortion. All these methods need consideration to protect the female human species (Mousset 77). The woman’s place in the house being in the kitchen has denied women their freedom even in their homes. The notion that women are housewives, and only contributing to domestic matters has denied them the chance to develop economically. We tend to forget the fact that women are just human as anyone else. Is it true that what a man can do, a woman can do better? Keeping this in mind, the rights of women need respect (Walter 44). In history, it was until the late 18th century when women’s right became fundamental in political debates. Most of the intellectuals defended the democratic principle of equality. In contrary to this, philosopher Jean-Jacques thought that it was an obligation for women to obey men. He went ahead to justify the argument that women make mistakes to complain about the inequity of the existing laws. He discriminates women as compared to men (Adams 31). The first article in the assertion of the rights of female citizens and women highlighted that just

Gm Swot Analysis Essay Example for Free

Gm Swot Analysis Essay General Motors Company is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. One of the top automaker companies in the world. General Motors most well known as GM has purchase several brands over the years. Everything started with William â€Å"Billy† Durant who was the founder of General Motors on September 16, 1908 (History and Heritage) Durant was a manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in Flint, Michigan but saw great opportunities in the automobile industry. As demand grew over the years so did GM. The automobile company bought Chevrolet, Vauxhall and Opel. GM opened many plants inside and outside the United States and they wanted to create â€Å"a car for every purse and purpose† (History and Heritage) World War I and II were hard times for every company but GM found opportunities on consumers who were eager to purchase goods that were not possible during war. The key to the success of GM was the innovative designs that made consumers felt in love such as Chevrolet Corvette and BelAir, Cadillac El Dorado. At the same time, the company supplied the Allies during war with trucks, tanks and airplanes. GM made a lot of money and more importantly learn from this experience. However, everything was not perfect as companies need to keep innovating and adjusting in order to keep leading an industry. Foreign automakers companies from Japan and Germany made efforts to compete against GM and export cars to the United States that were smaller and had better gas mileage and they were also better for the environment. This new types of cars brought interest to consumers and GM started experiencing losses in the market. Since GM was a large company it was very difficult to change direction. In order to compete against foreign companies, GM had to reorganize the company and compete as a single global company. In addition, GM purchase more brands to get a better variety of vehicles but the company still could not keep pace of the fuel efficient and space of other foreign companies that were growing and taking part of the market share of GM. In spite of everything, GM keeps working hard to regain share from competitors and the fuel efficient is a key area to improve. Nowadays there are other sources of energy such as electric vehicle technology and hydrogen powered fuel-cell. GM was making big efforts to compete but a recession occurred during 2008 and the company filed for bankruptcy. The U.S. treasury gave a loan to General Motors to continue in business and restructure its operations. Nowadays, GM is a more lean company and it has restructure it is operations in order to be more focus on the market. GM has experience great sales and is selling more cars outside the U.S in key markets. Consequently, GM is the leading automaker company in China, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany and United States. GM has a new face, they have restructure the organization and the company has a new business model with a new vision and experience employees that understand what it takes to be the leading automaker company in the world. GM is focus on delivering the world’s best vehicles with nice designs, efficient fuel and good prices. At the same time, they have learnt from the past that geographically, the demand for cars are different so they have work on delivering cars depending on the continent in which they are working. GM knows that in order to be a leading company they cannot just sell cars; they have to sell the right car to the right market. GM has shown that they are capable of having the latest technology with the Chevrolet Volt and they would keep innovating to satisfy customers demand in every space in the globe. Finally GM wants to have a proactive approach instead of a reactive approach and they know that they need a proactive approach to stay on top of the industry and define the industry standards. GM knows that they still have weaknesses in the company such as a large company that it is difficult to control. At the same time, foreign companies such as Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Kia, Volkswagen have gain customers loyalty and it would be a challenge for GM to gain market share from them. Other weakness of GM would be the complex supply chain of the company since it is a large company and it would have different components from different manufacturers and it is very difficult to keep track of all the orders. GM needs to develop a way to have a low fuel efficient in all of their vehicles because most people know that American cars spend lots of gas. The opportunities of GM are several. GM has many models that are parts of the automobile industry and they have redesign some models so people would buy them. Also they have the support of the U.S government and they are able to give better loan to customers. GM is also present in emerging markets. For example, China is experiencing grow in their automobile industry because more Chinese people are able to afford one. GM is well position in China and they have learnt from joint venture what Chinese people is looking in a car. Moreover, they have restructured the business model of the company and they are aware of their competitive advantage and they know the areas in which they have to improve. The threats face by GM could be the rise of fuel price or the innovation of a competitor that would provide a car to customer that uses a cheaper energy to use it. Also, competitor may improve their designs, prices or quality. Another threat may be the car sharing service or a new Chinese policy that disrupts businesses in China. In my opinion, the biggest threat of GM is the fuel economy standards. The company would need to work harder in this area to get even better than the leading automakers in this area which is Honda and Toyota. To conclude, I believe that GM is doing a great job having a leaner operations and selling different models in each continent since the situation in America is definitely not the same as in Europe. However, they need to work very hard to stay in business because other companies are gaining customers’ loyalty and improving every year. Works Cited â€Å"This is the New GM†. 2010 Annual Report. General Motors Company, n,d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. History and Heritage. History and Heritage. General Motors, n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.

Leadership style of a successful international businessman

Leadership style of a successful international businessman INTRODUCTION This essay explores the leadership style of a successful international businessman, Howard Schultz, the Chief Executive Officer of Starbucks coffee-house company, arguably the worlds most successful coffee company. Fellner (2008) credited Schultz with having a highly successful year in 2003 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ with a net sales of $4.1 billion (almost twice what it had earned in 2000 when it yielded $265 million (p.16). Schultz was ranked as the 354th richest person within the USA in 2006 with a net worth of over one billion dollars (Forbes.com, 2006). Schultz joined the Starbucks Company initially as an executive in the early 1980s before becoming chief executive officer in 1987 and was credited for developing the company into an internationally recognized brand and multi-national corporation (James, 2009). He took a step down from CEO to Chairman in 2000 and witnessed the company struggle through the economic down-turn before returning to the helm as CEO in 2008 and navigating the compa ny through an international expansionist strategy whilst reducing the number of physical companies in the domestic US market. The premise of relevant leadership theories and models will be used to analyze the topic of Schultzs leadership style. In particular, one will assess the type of skills that he has demonstrated in order to ascertain his style of leadership in terms of competencies and meta-competencies. This assignment will enable the reader to understand what makes a successful entrepreneur and global leader by providing a lens into their world-view. In conjunction with references to academic discourse, the components of this effective leader are illuminated through a personal bibliography within the following section. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND SCHULTZS LEADERSHIP STYLE Burns (1978) introduced a theory on leadership that has had global implications for organizations. At the heart of Burns argument was a differentiation between two different types of leader: transformational and transactional. The latter often bases his approach on interactions and exchanges with those at lower organizational tiers in order to meet his desired strategic goals. In turn, his employees get what they require such as a salary, praise or promotion in exchange for what the leader values (such as effective performance levels). Conversely, a transformational leader seeks to redress employee/follower concerns and meet their desires whilst leading effectively and dealing with organizational issues at a higher contextual level. In this latter respect, followers are accorded respect and encouraged to develop as persons in their own right. They are also encouraged to participate at a collective level in order to ensure organizational objectives are met. Transformational Leaders te nd to adapt a selling style of leadership. The influence of this approach is captured in the following quote: [It] engenders high levels of motivation and commitment among followers/members. The emphasis is on generating a vision for the organisation and leaders abilities to appeal to the higher ideals and values of followers/members in order to achieve high performance, high commitment and high inclusion to an organisation or system (Rodgers et al; 2003: p.16). The emphasis shift from Transactional to Transformational leadership occurred in order to redress the hierarchical imbalance associated with Transactional theories by encouraging active participation and inclusion amongst followers. Discourse widely proffers that effective leadership development is an ambiguous and contested concept due in part to the variability of peoples leadership styles. Bryman (2007) argues that heroic and hierarchical forms of leadership that focus on a leaders competencies and behaviours have traditionally prevailed within business circles yet are increasingly unsuitable in the current and somewhat chaotic, global business environment (Collinson, Collinson, 2009: p.367). It is widely argued that modern leaders must eschew novel skill-sets, meta-competencies such as inter-personal skills and positive behaviours in order to increase organizational efficiencies and effectiveness (Kiel and Watson, 2009). Kutz discusses some of the tensions emanating from globali zation and free-market structures where a: Constant pressure to innovate, gives rise to continually changing contexts. In turn, these phenomena require executives and leaders to respond and adapt to quickly changing contexts (2008: p.18). Schultz recent advocated the use of mobile technology to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the company by accepting purchase payments through a mobile device. A Starbucks Card-Mobile iPhone application also enables use in a gift card capacity by presenting a technically secure QR bar code for baristas to scan in front of a high-tech 2D scanner during the payment process (Butcher, 2010). Participating customers now have the ability to reload their card balance via their mobile device using a major credit card. They also have the ability to check the status of their My Starbucks Reward status and to search for Starbuck stores in situ (ibid). From an historical perspective and before mobile technologies were piloted and implemented across New York Stores, Schultz had a vision to create 2000 physical stores by the year 2000. Some observers credit this vision with the driver behind Starbucks success. Schultz used his ability to translate this vision across the organizations management teams and supervisors who possessed micro level visions that directly sustained and supported his aims: His powerful communication skills define a leader who knows not only what he stands for, but also the values he promotes, and who knows how to make an emotional connection with his listeners (Bloomberg Businessweek, 2006: n.p). At a lower contextual level, management and supervisors directly supported their staff by providing them with the opportunity and resources to grow through various activities such as coaching, training, mentoring and educational opportunities. A shift towards a situated, networked and fluid leadership style based on n ovel forms of participation has been the consequence of Schultzs actions. Schultz stresses the importance of sharing both the success and the credit of entrepreneurship (Neff Citrin, 1999). Collinson Collinson cited research by Bolden et al. (2008, 2009) within the higher education establishments which identified strong evidence of distributed leadership. Conversely, and paradoxically, respondents (employees) also recognized the importance of powerful and inspiring leaders (2009: p.376). Schultz advocated the purchase of companies including Seattle Coffee Company in the UK and subsequently expanded their operations beyond the United States into Europe and South East Asia. By 2003 the number of stores rose to 6,000 and by 2010 approximately 16 thousand stores existed in over 50 countries (New York Times, 2010). The success of Starbucks has been attributed to Schultz collaborative style that contained powerful social essence, encouraged follower empowerment and which was seen as non-hierarchical and less-centralized compared to many other business models. Starbucks business strategy was driven by a man who exhibited effective leadership skills by empowering lower-tiered management and staff to participate in decision-making activities (associated with the 2000 vision) and by, for instance, providing universal healthcare for all employees. Starbucks uses 2 mission statements which are noted in the companys website: To inspire and nurture human spirit one person, one cu p, and one neighbourhood at a time and Starbucks is committed to a role of environmental leadership in all facets of our business (www.starbucks.com). James (2009) recently noted how the company still prides itself on its treatment of workers (baristas) who receive the same health benefits as all other tiers of the company: He gave baristas health care plus a share of the profit. When the AIDS epidemic was at its height, Starbucks paid for terminal illness care for employees for 29 months until the government took over (n.p). James also noted some of the current tensions facing Starbucks Corp and its CEO in particular. Schultz may have provided all employees with a 401(k) plan and stock options (including health benefits); however Starbucks Workers Union has restricted rights which limit its ability to defend staff against low-paid work and unsociable hours. James noted how Schultz stated: I was convinced that under my leadership, employees would come to realize that I would listen to their concernsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦If they had faith in me and my motives, they wouldnt need a union. On his return to the CEO fold in 2008, Schultz planned to dramatically reverse a decline in sales and achieve a turnaround in the companies financial performance at a time when the business world presumed that Starbucks had effectively lost its innovative edge. He advocated the closure of 300 US stores and cut hundreds of jobs yet aggressively opened hundreds of new stores beyond the US market (New York Times, 2010). Schultz took the decision to downsize in the US market and expand further globally with the support of his senior management team. This reflects Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy (1999, p. 365), who found that: [members] solidify into an interdependent team of mutually supporting friends and colleagues (cited in Bentley et al; 2004). Tobak, (2009) questions whether Schultz had the vision at that time to acknowledge that Starbucks undertook such changes without foreseeing the problems that may ensue. He conveniently blamed the economic downturn  [1]  for much or Starbucks p roblems when in fact significant problems occurred approximately 18 months before the economy: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦took a nose dive. From January 2007 to August 2008, its share price was off 60 percent while the Nasdaq index was essentially flat. This is not about the economy, and Schultz knows it (n.p). Schultz stated in a recent July/August 2010 Harvard Business Review article: The past two years have been transformational for the company and, candidly, for me personally. When I returned, in January 2008, things were actually worse than Id thought. The decisions we had to make were very difficult, but first there had to be a time when we stood up in front of the entire company as leaders and made almost a confession-that the leadership had failed the 180,000 Starbucks people and their families. And even though I wasnt the CEO, I had been around as chairman; I should have known more. I am responsible. We had to admit to ourselves and to the people of this company that we owned the mistakes that were made. Once we did, it was a powerful turning point. Its like when you have a secret and get it out: The burden is off your shoulders. Cited in Petty (2010: n.p) In early 2009, the company bounced back and has seen more store traffic and renewed earnings growth with Starbucks shares raising to $24 a share. By spring 2010, the company: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦announced its first dividend to be paid in cash to investors. In April, the company said its profit rose more than eightfold in the second quarter, as more customers visited its stores and spent more (ibid: n.p). Kiel Watson (2009) suggest that most organizational issues encompass human rather than technical challenges and suggest: While no academic study has been conducted on this topic [affective leadership and emotional intelligence], we believe that [those] who are successful in developing the support of their communitiesare ones who expend considerable emotional labo[u]r (p.22). Schultz leadership style has been described in the following terms: They dont teach caring in business schools, and benevolence isnt usually discussed in corporate management seminars. But these values anchor Schultzs leadership philosophy as he seeks to build connections between people through demonstrations of heart and conscience. Starbucks baristas, for example, receive a Green Apron Book that exhorts them to be genuine and be considerate. And the company works hard to treat its coffee growers in Third World countries with dignity while purchasing their products at above-market prices (Meyers, 2005, p. 1) Lara Wyss, Starbucks director of global consumer public relations also noted how: The company is testing concept stores with various platforms that fit in with its Shared Planet pledge hat each new store built in 2010 will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified (Zegler, 2010: p.62). Starbucks has recently introduced three concept stores in Seattle, Disneyland Paris and London. The former was recently redesigned in the light of its heritage concept theme and uses various recycled and revamped materials as part of its dà ©cor. Schultz illustrated examples of effective leadership by embracing a culture of open communication and by constructing active partnerships with his work-force. Schultz style of leadership would be at odds with a somewhat aggressive and negative management style that reflected an authoritarian and hierarchical leadership approach, such as that adopted by Michael OLeary from Ryanair. A Wall Street Journal (2009) article highlighted OLeary s abhorrence and total disregard of trade union power within the airline industry and how his drive for cost savings included the prospect of refusing free food for airline staff if the opportunity arose. Further criticism was directed at him for a perceived lack of moral leadership by refusing to provide wheel chair assistance for disabled passengers (Box Byus, 2005: p.68). Conversely: Starbucks was among the first companies to provide medical benefits to part-time employees. Today, however, Starbucks is spending more on healthcare than on coffee, and the workforce is nervous about shrinking benefits. Were not ever going to turn our backs on our partners [employees], says Schultz reassuringly. Then he faces reality. But we need relief. Where is the money going to come from? (US.news.com, 2005) In this respect, Schultz and OLeary are clearly different types of leaders with opposing leadership styles, yet both have similar beliefs in regards to trade union power. Fellners (2008) book viewed Schultz as the leader of a coffee chain with a proffered liberal consciousness and whose reputation was paradoxically categorized as a symbol of globalization and all that is immoral with free-market capitalism. She found paradoxes in the basis of employee friendly structures that espouse universal healthcare provision with anti trade-unionist practices; and between what she perceived as community individuality and forms of cultural hegemony. Carroll, Levy Richmond (2008) discussed Alvesson and Sveningssons (2003abc) research findings which stipulated that numerous managers involved in leadership development may effectively articulate abstract ideals such as vision and inspiration. However, an inability to define or explain concrete actions undertaken in pursuit of such ideals was also d eemed prevalent (ibid). CONCLUDING NOTES This section will provide a conclusion to the assignment and discuss some of its limitations. It was noted within the main body of text how different leadership styles can influence employee motivation and job satisfaction. A clear comparison can be made between Schultz leadership style and that of a successful entrepreneur in another industry (Michael OLearys Ryanair airline company). It was also discussed above how various leadership styles impact upon employee motivation and job satisfaction. Nelson and Quick (2006) attributed Schultzs leadership to a transformational style because his caring and generous nature reflects transformational leadership qualities. In some respects, it is clear that Schultz shows concern for the whole Starbucks organization and exhibits openness and debate amongst its employees and management rather than pursuing activities out of his own selfish interests. Spillane proposes that: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ from a distributed perspective, leadership practice takes shape in the interactions of people and their situation, rather than from the actions of an individual leader (2004: p.3). In realist terms, Fellner (2008) illuminated the chaotic social and business blend that Schultz embraces which seeks to maximize corporate profit by targeting new markets (foreign markets, mobile technology markets) whilst exhibiting sufficient social justice tendencies. It is this paradox that has led Schultz and his team to constantly align itself with one set of principles whilst seeking solace in another set of principles that are arguably at opposing sides of the spectrum. Collinson Collinson (2009) noted how Cameron et al. (2006) viewed effective leaders as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦simultaneously paradoxical, integrating factors usually seen as competing, contradictory and even incompatible (ibid: 377). Schultz seems to have used high degrees of emotional intelligence by seeking alliances and partnerships within the Starbucks organization, rather than thrive on adversity and seek economic benefit from unethical channels. As noted above, OLearys approach to staff meals and customer wheel chairs highlight his domineering and hierarchical leadership approach whilst Schultz willingness to support employees suffering from HIV shows aspects of social justice in his personality traits. Schultz embraced change and development in a chaotic, competitive and complicated external environment. He seemed to display a significant amount of vision and emotional intelligence in order to transform the status quo into a global brand in over 50 countries. Overall, the literature suggests that modern leaders must provide effective leadership skills that compliment and encompass traditional management skills. These are increasingly linked to emotional intelligence, empowerment, empowerment, reflection, the ability to take risk without apprehension and the need to reflect upon the ethical and moral consideration of others. Schultz openness for social and ethical practices in pursuit of Starbucks business objectives has been applauded by many observers. Much of Schultz skills included trust building, negotiating with opponents and encouraging mutual co-operation. Therefore, one must possess a combination of hard, technical and softer, intuitive leadership skills in order to solidify their role as an effective leader in all situations. They must also be charismatic and inspirational yet calculated risk takers in order to navigate their respective organizations through the chaos and complexity (for instance, see Wheeler et al., 2007 in Coll inson Collinson, 2009)

Causes of Political Disaffection and Disengagement

Causes of Political Disaffection and Disengagement Is the British political class to blame for political disaffection and disengagement? The Founding Fathers suggested that a democracy can only come to impartial decisions if both high levels of representation and deliberation take place (Gargarella, 1998). As a result of growing political disengagement and disaffection within contemporary British politics, there is a growing, â€Å"focus on the quality of representative democracy in Britain and on the quality of participatory democracy† (Kelso, 2007, p365) – the relationship that has been recognised is that political disaffection and disengagement are not conducive with an impartial democracy. Worryingly, both the Hansard Society’s annual, ‘Audit of Political Engagement’ (2017), and a recent House of Commons briefing paper, ‘Political disengagement in the UK: who is disengaged?† (2017), suggest that political disaffection and disengagement are growing issues; knowledge of politics is down six percent from the previous year (49%), the level of trust in Government ‘to put the needs of the nation first’ has dropped to 17% (2013) and trust in the credibility of MPs stands at a measly 9%. These figures indicate that there is indeed an issue of disaffection and disengagement within the UK, thus, to determine if the political class or instead, something else is responsible, it becomes necessary to investigate what the cause of disengagement and disaffection is within specific subsections of the population; especially those who are more likely to become disengaged from politics – the ‘disaffected democrats’ (Flinders, 2015). These factions include demographics such as the ‘working class’ and ‘18-24 year olds’, both of which account for low levels of knowledge in politics compared to the average mentioned above; 29% and 33% respectively (Hansard Society 2017). The term ‘political class’ is contentious and, ‘is still not thoroughly developed in literature’ (Manolov 2013). Allen & Cairney’s, ‘What do we mean when we talk about the â€Å"Political Class†?’ (2015), offers the best practical definition; that the term political class is used to identify certain, ‘flawed characteristics’, that elected politicians tend to hold, those being: Limited roots in local constituencies, inexperience of the real world, inability to reï ¬â€šect the social background of the voting population, inability to represent devolved and English regions, and their tendency to engage in a style of politics that is off-putting to the general public.(Allen & Cairney, 2015, p18  ) The general view that the working class currently have of politicians is one of ‘cynicism’ (Manning & Homes 2012). Within a study conducted by Manning & Holmes (2012), members of the working class gave opinions on how the political class cannot represent them – one member of the survey describing David Cameron, the then PM as followed: â€Å"he’s snooty†¦ [h]e’ll not really be interested in ordinary, what I class ordinary people† (Manning & Holmes, 2012, p.483). This line of narrative makes total sense as there is no sense of ‘descriptive representation’ (Pitkin, 1967) for most elected MPs. For example, just 3% of MPs elected in 2015 came from an occupational background described as ‘manual work’ (House of Commons Library 2016), whilst the proportion of the population that lies within the social class of manual workers (DE) stands at 25% (NRS, 2016). Moreover, the annual wage for the working class sits below  £20,000 (Manning & Holmes, 2012) whilst the base annual salary of an MP starts at  £76,011 (Parliament.uk, 2017). It would be fair to say that there is a huge socio-economic disparity between the two classes which makes it hard for the working class to believe that they are truly represented within Parliament. This idea has been explored thoroughly in regard to the descriptive representation of women; Phillips (1995), most notably suggested that the electorate tends to favour those that are, â€Å"best equipped to represent† (Wà ¤ngerud, 2009, p.52), their views – those that can empathise directly with their electorate. Underrepresentation is an issue for a much wider demographic than just the working class. Just 8% of MPs identify as BME (British Future, 2017) whilst the population of BME citizens in the UK stands at 13% (Census, 2011). Furthermore, just 2% of MPs are under the age of 30 (Total Politics, 2016) whereas those who are of voting age under 30 make up 8.4% (Census, 2011). As the political class is not representative of the working class, or if it fails to represent minorities proportionally, there is no sense of, ‘impartiality’, within the representative process (Gargarella, 1998), resulting in political disaffection and potentially even disengagement. Whilst Pinkleton & Austin (2004) suggest that political disaffection leads to political disengagement, in evaluation, there is evidence to suggest that although disaffection is significant within the UK, the same cannot be said for political disengagement. Flinders (2015) argues that the current political climate is not, ‘anti-political’ –   that is it is not in favour of disengaging from politics – but that it is, ‘anti-establishment’ – disaffected from contemporary politics and the nature of the institution of the political class. Whilst statistics previously mentioned indicate that the levels of political knowledge within the working class are relatively low (29% vs. social class AB returning 71%), voter turnout in the 2017 General Election is only slightly lower than the highest ranking social class; DE’s 61% in comparison to AB’s 73% (IPSOS Mori, 2017). This would then indicate that even though the working class feel s disaffection towards politics, they remain involved in the political process. This seems to be the case more generally; more and more people are involving themselves in politics. Party membership numbers are ever increasing with the Labour party holding a 38 year high of 552,000 members (June 2017) and the Liberal Democrats a 24 year high of 102,000 (June 2017) (House of Commons Library, 2018). The logical question therefore; why is this the case amongst the working class and society in general? Birch (2016) reiterates the assumption that the [re]mobilisation of certain cleavages within politics indicates that a, â€Å"new issue has galvanised a previously political quiescent sector of the population† (p.107). This is reflected in the 2015 YouGov analysis of the General Election in which, the data within the social class ‘DE’ shows a shift away from the Conservatives (a vote share of 29%, their lowest amongst any social class) and one towards the alternatives of Labour and UKIP (37% and 18% respectively). A vote for Labour, whilst not as obviously as a vote for UKIP, could still very well be a vote against the political class. Mills (1958) specification of the political class as the, ‘political directorate’, places greater influence on the role of Cabinet above both Government and naturally Parliament. Following Mills’ terminology, a vote against the, ‘political directorate’, would be any party that would topple the current Cabinet. Thus, as Labour offer the most immediate alternative to the, ‘political directorate’, in a UK that is converging upon a two-party system (Prosser, 2018), a vote for them could also be interpreted as a rejection of the current political class; proof of political disaffection but not of disengagement. A stronger argument for disaffection being the fault of the political class would be the rise in support for UKIP. Nigel Farage, former leader and ardent supporter of UKIP, ran on a campaign revolving around the political class, ‘selling us out’, due to them being, ‘career politicians’ (GE 2015 & Brexit referendum 2017), drawing a clear line between the electorate and, ‘them’, (the political class). As well as furthering the argument of a lack of descriptive representation causing political disaffection, Farage’s campaign platform highlights an issue Crouch outlined in Post-Democracy (2004); career politicians are, â€Å"more concerned with meeting the needs of big business rather than ordinary citizens† (Jennings et al., 2016, p.880). This concept is reinforced by a survey carried out by Jennings et al, which reports that 78% of social classes C2DE believe politicians to be ‘self-serving’. This in tandem with the rise in votes for other parties, gives evidence of a growing cleavage against the political class, which although has prevented political disengagement from becoming a widespread issue amongst the working class, has cemented political disaffection within society. However, in evaluation, whilst political disaffection is self-evident, there is a systemic issue which enables the political class to unjustly receive much of the criticism. Flinders (2014, p.3) draws attention to the 1975 report, The Crisis of Democracy, which suggests that, â€Å"the demands on democratic government grow, while the capacity of democratic government stagnates†. The concept Flinders then explores in the same article is one of an, ‘expectation gap’, and, in another article, joined by Kelso, he goes on to assert that the contemporary system of Government, ‘encourages politicians to promise standards of behaviour †¦ that are unrealistic and unattainable’ (2011). Thus, when these, ‘unattainable’, promises are not kept, the result is one of disaffection as the electorate feels let down. Looking through the lens of game theory, it becomes clear as to why this is a systemic issue within contemporary UK politics. Whilst competing politicians both offer the most out of reach promises, any attempt to reduce the expectation gap by lowering the quality of promises will yield less votes, as to the electorate, the other candidates yields them a better payoff. Thus, the current scenario remains in a Nash equilibrium in which both candidates will offer a high level of promises in detriment to the expectation gap. Whilst it could be argued that the political class is at fault for offering unreasonable promises in the first places, it is to an extent only as a result of the nature of the contemporary electoral system. It can also be argued that political disaffection and disengagement are both contributed to by external factors, as opposed to just the political class. One of those external factors would be the influence of social media. Whilst this applies more to the younger generations within the electorate, the effects of social media in creating political disaffection are considerate. Yanamoto et al. (2017) report of ever increasing, ‘attack advertising’, and, ‘negative media coverage’, which perhaps foreshadowed the investigation into the activities of Cambridge Analytica (Channel 4 News, 2018). CA was more notoriously active in the Trump presidential election yet played a part in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Although there has been no leak of the explicit role CA played in the Brexit campaign, going off track record of its campaign defining ‘crooked Hilary’ slogan it developed from US Facebook data, it would be fair to suggest that the firm played a part in inflating political disaffection felt by the UK electorate. Even if CA was not directly involved, it cannot be denied that websites such as twitter, facebook and YouTube give individuals and entities a platform to spread cynicism and a rhetoric in favour of political disaffection. As suggested in Flinders (2015) individuals such as Owen Jones and Russel Brand played, ‘major roles’, in promoting a, ‘different form of politics’, engaging their audience, primarily the youth, in a narrative which revolved around the idea that, ‘the nature of British democracy’ was one of failure. Yanamoto et al (2017) found that cynicism like this, did not yield in disengagement from politics but rather, it, ‘foster[ed]’, a sense of desire to create change. In evaluation, social media is only a means of venting and publicising the original disaffection held by the electorate – disaffection which has been created by the political class. Bibliography Allen, P. & Cairney, P., 2015. ‘What do we mean when we talk about the â€Å"political class†?’. Political Studies Review, 2017, Vol.15(1), pp.18-27. Available from: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1478-9302.12092 Birch, S., (2016). ‘Our new voters: Brexit, political mobilisation and the emerging electoral cleavage’. Juncture, 2016, Vol.23 (2), p.107-111. Available from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=1b6a5f7d-88e1-4a87-93c5-b91d1acc55b3%40sessionmgr102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=118114895&db=bth British Future. ‘52 minority MPs to sit in ‘most diverse UK parliament ever’’. London: British Future. Available from: http://www.britishfuture.org/articles/52-minority-mps-to-sit-in-most-diverse-uk-parliament-ever/ Channel 4 News., 2018. ‘Exposed: undercover secrets of Trump’s data firm’. London: Channel 4. Available from: https://www.channel4.com/news/exposed-undercover-secrets-of-donald-trump-data-firm-cambridge-analytica Crouch, C., 2004. Post-Democracy. Cambridge: Polity Crozier, M., Huntington, S. P., Watanuki, J., Trilateral Commission., 1975. The crisis of democracy: Report on the governability of democracies to the trilateral commission. New York : New York University Press Farage, N., (2017). I got into politics because I could see our political class in Westminster would sell us out to Europe. Available from: https://www.facebook.com/nigelfarageofficial/videos/1542379039143027/ Flinders, M., 2014. ‘Explaining Democratic Disaffection: Closing the Expectations Gap’. Governance, Vol.27(1), pp.1-8. Available from: https://bath.userservices.exlibrisgroup.com/view/action/uresolver.do?operation=resolveService&package_service_id=2335930000002761&institutionId=2761&customerId=2760 Flinders, M., 2015. ‘The General Rejection? Political Disengagement, Disaffected Democrats and â€Å"Doing Politics† Differently’. Parliamentary Affairs, 2015, Vol. 68(suppl1), pp.241-254. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/pa/article/68/suppl_1/241/1403570 Flinders, M. and Kelso, A., 2011. ‘Mind the Gap: Political Analysis, Public Expectations and the Parliamentary Decline Thesis’. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Vol.13(2), pp.249-268. Available from: http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-856X.2010.00434.x Gargarella, R. (1998). ‘Full Representation, Deliberation and Impartiality’, in J. Elster (ed.), Deliberative Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 110–37 Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, 2016. Social background of MPs 1979-2017. London: House of Commons Library. Available from: http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7483/CBP-7483.pdf Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, 2017. Political disengagement in the UK: who is disengaged?. London: House of Commons Library. Available from: http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7501/CBP-7501.pdf Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, 2018. Membership of UK political parties. London: House of Commons Library. Available from: http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN05125/SN05125.pdf The Hansard Society, 2017. Audit of Political Engagement 14. London: The Hansard Society. (The 2017 Report). Available from: https://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/research/audit-of-political-engagement IPSOS Mori, 2017. How Britain voted in the 2017 elections. London: IPSOS Mori. Available from: https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/2017-06/how-britain-voted-in-the-2017-election_2.pdf Jennings, W., Stoker, G., and Twyman, J., 2016. ‘The Dimensions and Impact of Political Discontent in Britain.’ Parliamentary Affairs. Vol. 69(4), pp. 876-900. Available from: https://academic-oup-com.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/pa/article/69/4/876/2468902 Kelso, A., 2007. ‘Parliament and Political Disengagement: Neither waving nor Drowning.’ The Political Quarterly. Vol 78(3), p. 364-373. Available from: https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-923X.2007.00865.x Manolov, G. L., 2013. ‘The Political Class – Defintion and Characteristics’. Slavak Journal of Political Sciences, Vol. 13(No. 1), pp.5-23. Available from: https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/sjps.2013.13.issue-1/issue-files/sjps.2013.13.issue-1.xml Mills, C. W., (1958). The Power Elite. London: Oxford University Press, pp. 225-42. National Readership Survey, 2017. Social Grade. London:   Publishers Audience Measurement Company Ltd. Available from: www.nrs.co.uk/nrs-print/lifestyle-and-classification-data/social-grade/ Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. 2011. ‘Census aggregate data’. UK Data Service. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2011-1 Pinkleton, B. E. & Austin, E. W., 2004. ‘Media perceptions and public affairs apathy in the politically inexperienced’. Mass Communication & Society, Vol.7(3), 319–337. Available from: https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15327825mcs0703_4?needAccess=true Pitkin, H., 1967. The Concept of Representation. Berkeley, CA.: University of California Press Phillips, A., 1995. The Politics of Presence. Oxford: Clarendon Press Prosser, C., 2018. ‘The strange death of multi-party Britain: the UK General Election of 2017.’ West European Politics. 26 January 2018, p.1-11. Available from: https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1080/01402382.2018.1424838?needAccess=true Wà ¤ngerud, L., 2009. ‘Women in Parliaments: Descriptive and Substantive Representation.’ The Annual Review of Political Science. Vol.12(1), pp.51-69. Available from: https://www-annualreviews-org.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/doi/10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.053106.123839 Whale, S., 2016. ‘The under-30 club: Life in the Commons for Britains youngest MPs’. Total Politics. London: Total Politics. Available from: https://www.totalpolitics.com/articles/features/under-30-club-life-commons-britains-youngest-mps

Thoeries Of Evolution Essay -- essays research papers fc

Thoeries of Evolution   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Evolution is the process by which living organisms originated on earth and have changed their forms to adapt to the changing environment. The earliest known fossil organisms are the single-celled forms resembling modern bacteria; they date from about 3.4 billion years ago. Evolution has resulted in successive radiations of new types of organisms, many of which have become extinct, but some of which have developed into the present fauna and flora of the world (Wilson 17).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Evolution has been studied for nearly two centuries. One of the earliest evolutionists was Jean Baptiste de Lamarck, who argued that the patterns of resemblance found in various creatures arose through evolutionary modifications of a common lineage. Naturalists had already established that different animals are adapted to different modes of life and environmental conditions; Lamarck believed that environmental changes evoked in individual animals direct adaptive responses that could be passed on to their offspring as inheritable traits. This generalized hypothesis of evolution by acquired characteristics was not tested scientifically during Lamarck's lifetime. A successful explanation of evolutionary processes was proposed by Charles Darwin. His most famous book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859), is a landmark in human understanding of nature. Pointing to variability within species, Darwin observed that while offspring inherit a resemblance to their parents, they are not identical to them. He further noted that some of the differences between offspring and parents were not due soley to the environment but were themselves often inheritable. Animal breeders were often able to change the characteristics of domestic animals by selecting for reproduction those individuals with the most desirable qualities. Darwin reasoned that, in nature, individuals with qualities that made them better adjusted to their environments or gave them higher reproductive capacities would tend to leave more offspring; such individuals were said to have higher fitness. Because more individuals are born than survive to breed, constant winnowing of the less fit-a natural selection-should occur, leading to a population that is well adapted to the environment it inhabits. When environmental conditions change, po... ...le in the short term have broad tolerances, which may better enable them to survive extensive changes. Human beings are uniquely adapted in that they make and use tools and devices and invent and propogate procedures that give them extended control over their environments. Humans are significantly changing the environment itself. The effects are most complex and cannot be predicted, and yet like the likelihood is that evolutionary patterns in the future will reflect the influence of the human species(Microsoft96). Works Cited Ardrey, Robert. The Hunting Hypothesis: A Personal Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Concerning the Evolutionary Nature of Man. New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Antheneum, 1976. Encarta 96. Computer Software. Microsoft, 1995. Gribbon, John and Cherfas, Jeremy. The Monkey Puzzle: Reshaping the Evolutionary Tree. Philly: Pantheon, 1982. Reader, John. Missing links: The Hunt for Earliest Man. Boston: Little, 1981 Schwartz, Jeffery H. The Red Ape: Orang-Utans and Human Origins.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  San Francisco: Houghton, 1987. Wilson, Peter J. The Domestication of the Human Species. Oxford:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yale, 1991.

Comparing Christianity, Judaism, and Islam Essays -- Compare Contrast

Similarities and Differences between Christianity, Judaism and Islam There are many similarities and differences between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There are also many differences that separate the three major religions of the world. This paper will delve into all three of them. The major similarities that all three religions share are that they are all monotheistic. This all means that they believe in one god and that he is the supreme ruler of all things. They also believe that all things are created equal under one god. They all have books of what they believe to be God's word. The Jews have their book known as the Torah. The Christian's have their book known as the Bible. Lastly the Islamic people have their book known as the Qu'ran. All three of these books have scriptures. These three major religions also share a belief that there is one major area that they claim as their Holy Land. The Jews and the Christians claim Jerusalem, Israel as there Holy Land while the Islamic people claim Mecca, Saudi Arabia. These places are where the people believe that ...

Macbeth Essay :: essays research papers

Macbeth Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare in the 1600th Century, when England was under the rule of King James. Shakespeare was born and lived in Stafford upon Avon. Macbeth was one of his famous works, and it is about a man, Macbeth who kills the king, so he can rule England. The plot is complicated and the play develops a character profile of Macbeth showing how his mind and morals change and develop. The play can be analysed from three different perspectives: Prose, Theatre, and Poetry and I will, in all three. I will however only analyse two sections. Act One Scene Seven, and Act Five Scene Five Over View Alone after dinner, Macbeth has the first opportunity to think about the murder of his king. At first this was only a dream, but now it is a real moral problem for him. He knows that the crime must be punished; divine justice in a â€Å"life to come† does not worry him so mush as judgement in this earthly life. Then he considers the duties he owes to Duncan as his kinsman, of a subject to his king, and a host to his guest. Finally he thinks of the character of Duncan, a king of almost divine excellence. Macbeth has a vision of the heavenly powers horrified by this murder; he sees Pity personified as a â€Å"naked new born babe† which is nevertheless â€Å"striding the blast† while â€Å"heaven’s cherubin† are mounted on the winds. The speech builds to a mighty climax then suddenly the power is lost, when Macbeth turns to his own wretched motive for committing such a crime. He can find nothing except Vaulting Ambition. His mind is made up, and tells his wife â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business†. He is not prepared for her rage and abuse. She calls him a coward, insults his virility and declares that she would rather have murdered her child while it was feeding at her breast rather than break such a promise as Macbeth has done. Defeated Macbeth agrees to murder his king. Act One Scene Seven This is the first main soliloquy. It is also the longest. At a glance one notices that most of the ideas are repeated, accented, reinstated. This is because Shakespeare has realised that in theatre the audience will generally only pick up about half of what is said. This section is where Macbeth is pondering over whether or not to kill King Duncan.

Monopoly questions and answers Essay

In a monopoly, and at the expense of supply in the market one entity to control and demand, and the degree of the price offered and the control exercised by the institution or individual is greater. Predatory pricing. This feature of the advantages of a monopoly consumers. These are short term market gains when prices dropped to meet the demand of rare product. Suppliers and consumers directly benefit from an attempt to monopolize the company to increase the sale of business marketing. Price flexibility With regard to the demand for the product or service offered by the company monopoly or individual, and is dictated by the price elasticity of the ratio of the absolute value of the increase in prices and demand in the market. Lack of creativity At the expense of absolute control of the market, and monopolies display a tendency to lose efficiency over a period of time. With one product lifetime, and innovative design and marketing techniques rear seat. Lack of competition. When the market was designed to serve the monopoly and the lack of commercial competition or the lack of goods and viable products shrinking the scope of â€Å"perfect competition. † 2-How monopoly arises Monopoly arises in a variety of circumstances: there are types of goods and a service does not accept by its nature, or not in the public interest to multiple producers, it’s called natural monopolies, for example: to provide the city with water, electricity, or the trains running between two countries. Often assume the state or municipal authorities to manage these services, or to grant a concession to a private company, subject to strict control. Monopoly may arise in an industry, the growth of a project, and it seized on other projects. Or as a result of grab or merge of small projects in the large-scale project, Monopoly May arise due to agreement between the projects owners in a particular industry to determine the price, or divide markets among themselves, known as (cartel), and in this case there are a number of producers, such agreement among them makes them a monopoly power. Most of the countries have been working on the subject of monopolies control. 3-How we can regulate the monopoly Pricing at marginal cost Economists have for many decades argued the benefits of setting public utility tariffs on the basis of marginal cost. This view is expressed in many classic economic texts on regulation. Price discrimination One common objection to marginal-cost pricing is that, in the presence of economies of scale, a simple linear price equal to marginal cost would not allow the regulated firm to recover sufficient revenue to cover its total costs. Ramsey pricing In those cases where the regulator is unable to set the marginal price for each service equal to its marginal cost, economic theory still places central emphasis on reducing the deadweight loss. Incremental cost The deadweight-loss hypothesis has a hard time explaining why regulators fail to pursue policies which are efficient under the conventional economic theory, such as Ramsey pricing. Price / service stability. Another puzzle for the conventional economic approach to regulation is the heavy emphasis on price stability. There is a sizeable amount of evidence that price and service stability is one of the primary concerns of regulators. Alternative regulation †¢ To encourage the productive efficiency of the monopolist. †¢ To eliminate the incentive to waste resources seeking to obtain a position of monopoly. †¢ To protect the sunk investment of the monopolist 4-Give some examples of monopoly type of monopolyThe main characteristicexamples. NaturalAccess to rare and not easily reproducible elements of productionMonopolies operating in the sphere of production is mineral deposits of strategic importance for the national economy technologicalFeature production: in this technology is not enough consumer demand to support many competitive firmsEnterprise for the production of specific goods, such as infrastructure for the operation of natural monopolies. GeographicCompetition due to the non-rationality of the territorial limited due to the effect of geographic barriersPublic transport companies infrastructureInfrastructure network – a network that supply products between distant from each other (both in space and in time), economic agentsBackbone enterprises in energy, rail transport , heat, gas and water supply patentUsing a unique patented technologyNatural monopolies are producing high-tech products, such as medicine StateMarkets related to the exclusive jurisdiction of the stateDefense, aeronautics administrative commandOperating in a command systemNatural monopolies in the administrative-command system.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist Impressions

After reading for a few pages, it seemed almost as if the main character of the book, Changez, implicates the reader (us) as the person who he is talking to, and I thought that was a unique aspect of this book, unlike many other books. The American man that Changez is actually speaking to, I thought it was very strange how he was wearing a full suit, especially in a place like Lahore where the weather is extremely humid and hot. Throughout the reading, I found it even stranger how the American is so jumpy and cautious, sticking his hand into his coat pocket as if he is going to pull out a gun, when approached by the waiter and server of the place him and Changez are at. Though the American man is very suspicious when reaching his hand into his pocket, I believe Changez is playing dumb by saying things like â€Å"there is no need to pay the waiter before the meal,† and I think that Changez can read the American like a book. It is very obvious that the American has some sort of gun under his coat, and I know that Changez realizes that as well. When Changez began recounting his experiences with his interview with Underwood Samson, I thought right away that Changez would not get the job as he lost his temper when the interviewer Jim started probing into his economic status and life back in Pakistan. Instead, I was surprised when Jim was actually impressed with Changez’s temper, and revealed that he also was a Princeton alumnus and the first person in his family to attend college as well. Nearing the end of the interview, I was surprised once again how Changez could predict the value and profits right on the spot of the imaginary company that Jim told him to value. After reading about Erica, I would have found it extremely awkward if I were Changez, learning that Erica’s first true love was now deceased. For some reason, I am not surprised after reading that Changez had ranked first in his Class. I was impressed that Jim’s house reminded Changez of The Great Gatsby, because in my opinion, from what I pictured after reading The Great Gatsby, the house must had been amazing. Pages 51-100) I understand that Changez is attracted to Erica and would most likely not mind â€Å"getting with her,† but I still find it awkward when reading (I know for a fact that I would feel awkward if I was attracted to a woman that loved a man who had recently died of lung cancer). If I was Changez, I would have felt very out of place when Erica explained that the detaile d sketch of the island within an island picture, was a picture her late boyfriend, Chris, had drawn. I found it amusing when Changez went against Muslim traditions and accepted wine from Erica’s father at dinner, and when the American asserts that drinking is a sin according to Islam, I found it funny when Changez replied with â€Å"so, for that matter, is coveting thy neighbor’s wife. † I was impressed when Changez held his own after Erica’s father â€Å"bashed† Pakistan about it’s crumbling economy, tyrannical government, how the elites had â€Å"raped that place well and good,† and about it’s religious fundamentalists. I would have snapped if someone disrespected my country like that. At this point, I look forward to what Changez says when the American reaches his hand into his coat. If I was the American, I would have noticed by now that Changez is not dumb enough not to realize that there is a gun under the coat, but I suppose he is also playing along as well. When Changez reminisces about â€Å"flying foxes,† I couldn’t picture myself in a pleasant state at all. I’ve seen what flying foxes look like, and they are extremely large for a â€Å"bat. † They average at about 3-4 feet tall, and have heads that resemble foxes. If I were to see a flying fox in person, I would immediately faint†¦ or run for my life. I found it very strange after I read how Changez smiled at the site of the World Trade Center towers collapsing. I understood why the American got angry of course, but when found it someone peculiar that Changez was happy and took pleasure in seeing the American military bombing Iraq. I felt a bit sad for Changez when he had to be stripped searched at the airport, and how the other passengers on the plane were unsettled at the sight of him sitting on the plane with them. After reading how Changez and Erica probably had the most awkward experience in bed ever in history, I found it even weird how Changez asked Erica to tell him what it was like to make love to Chris†¦ even if it did seem to put her at ease. I would have felt extremely uncomfortable, especially since Erica cried as well. At this point, I began to realize that Changez is in some sort of denial. His newfound lifestyle, â€Å"love,† and work all seem too good to be true in my opinion (except the â€Å"love of course, being Erica). After reading how Changez was panicked at the images of his neighbor country being invaded and attacked, and how he drank himself to sleep, I knew he beginning to â€Å"crack. † (Pages 101-150) When Changez told Erica to pretend that he was Chris, I felt that was probably the strangest, and most awkward thing I have ever read. How Changez felt it to be violent, as if Erica’s vagina was a wound and he kept imagining he smelled blood, all of it was very gross, and I agree with the American that it also disgusted me. After reading this, I lost respect for Changez now. Although he is extremely smart, successful, attends Princeton, etc. , I would feel extremely ashamed and disgraced if I was him. I don’t understand how Changez did not realize that Erica needs space. After Erica’s mother told him â€Å"She doesn’t need a boyfriend. She needs a friend† I thought maybe finally Changez would get the message and leave Erica alone. After reading how Changez was verbally harassed in the parking lot by a man, I somewhat felt his anger/pain. When the man in the parking lot said â€Å"Fucking Arab,† which ironically he is not, I understood what he was going through because I have been through similar experiences in my life. Instead of being called Vietnamese, which is what I am, because I am Asian, I have been called â€Å"Chinese,† â€Å"chink,† etc. , so I know what Changez went though. Though it does not effect my any longer, I understand Changez’s emotions because it is most likely the first time he has experienced ethnic prejudice. When the food arrives and the American asks about the utensils, it made me smile when Changez replied with â€Å"allow me to suggest that the time has now come for us to dirty our hands. We have, after all, spent some hours in each other’s company already; surely you can no longer feel the need to hold back. There is great satisfaction to be in touching one’s prey† I liked the last sentence for some reason. I understand that Changez continued to grow his beard to be different from the other Americans he works with, but that only made him more susceptible to prejudice. Personally if I was him, I would have shaved it off, especially due to the fact that it could impact my job. When Changez goes to visit Erica at the hospital and is greeted by the nurse, I would have felt very unsettled after hearing the nurse tell him that he was what made things harder for Erica by being â€Å"the most real† thing she knew, disturbing her own world of her imagination which she felt was more vibrant and tolerable than the real world. Now, I know for a fact that Changez knows that something will happen soon with the American when he encourages him to â€Å"sugar his tongue before undertaking†¦ the bloodiest of tasks. Also when Changez notices that the American has a bulge in his shirt where an armpit holster would be and assumes that the bulge is a travel wallet, it is obvious that Changez knows what the American is really there for. I know that Changez has a successful job, is making a good salary, but when Juan-Bautista asks him â€Å"Does it trouble you†¦ to make your living by disrupting the lives of others? † It would have made me feel bad about myself. By this point I know that Underwood Samson is not only a company that values other businesses, but also takes then over, causing many to lose their jobs. Personally, I would not feel comfortable working for a company that destroys other’s lives. (Pages 151-End) I was not surprised when Changez left Underwood and Samson, despite his loyalty to Jim, the need for money, and his visa’s dependence on his job. I found it sad that out of all of Changez’s colleagues, only Wainwright said goodbye. I felt a bit sad after reading that Erica had committed suicide. Instead of living through all of her depression, sadness, distraught, I suppose taking her life to â€Å"end it all† was her only solution. I was in someway glad that Changez finally came to terms with the fact that, whatever happened to Erica, â€Å"she had chosen not to be part of his story. † I felt bad for Changez; his only love was not in love with him, and now had committed suicide. Up to this point, I have finally realized that the old Changez, excited about and loving America, is no more. Instead, I feel that Changez is now angry at America, and by teaching/convincing students to disassociate from America and to take part in the movement towards Pakistani international independence, is his way of combating America. As the American and Changez walked faster and faster towards the hotel, I knew that something was about to happen. I thought at first that the other people on the street were going to start firing guns at any moment, but I was wrong. â€Å"It seems an obvious thing to say, but you should not imagine that we Pakistanis are all potential terrorists, just as we should not imagine that you Americans are all undercover assassins. After finishing the book, I believe that that quote somehow relates to the American, because I see the American as an agent sent to murder Changez. Though the end of the story does not say if anyone was killed, I believe that Changez was indeed murdered, and he knew that whole time as he was talking to the American, that he was going to be murdered that night. What I don’t understand is why the American would sit hours upon hours with Changez, listening to his stories and becoming acquainted with him, only to delay himself in his task to murder him.

Church and Government Essay

According to Article II, Section 6 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that, the separation of Church and State shall be inviolable and Article III, Section 5 states, No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall be forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights. Given the articles of the constitution regarding the relationship of the church and the state, is the Catholic Church violating the principle of the Separation of Church and State by daring to speak out against certain bills? First, what does the separation of the church and state really means? The separation of the state means that the state does not have an official religion. It means that the people are free to choose in what religion depending in their own belief. It also means that there should be no laws that shall be pass that favors a religion over the other. It also means that there should be no discrimination of the religion and belief of the people. In short, what the union of the church and the state really means is that the citizens should be forced to follow a particular doctrine and those that do not follow should be penalized. We can see from banners outside of cathedrals the popular phrase â€Å"No to RH Bill, Yes to Life.† But can we consider this action as a violation of the constitution? The separation of the church and the state does not mention that church officials cannot speak or try to influence the state policy. Since the Philippines is a democratic country, every person, group and organization is free to express their own opinion regarding certain issues. The church does not force people to go against a certain bills; the decision still lies in the people according to their conscience and understanding. It means that the church is not violating the constitution since it is only expressing its right to speak in order of its belief. Given the reasons above, that the Philippines has no state religion and given that the state does not subsidize the church, and that no church has any official access to the instruments of state power, I believe that the church does not violate the constitution and that there is really a separation of the church and the state.

Siddhartha Commentary: Bildungsroman

â€Å"Siddhartha† by Herman Hesse is neatly categorized under the Bildungsroman genre. Bildungsroman is a novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education. Throughout the whole novel Siddhartha, the main character, is confronted by many setbacks not only physically and emotionally but also spiritually. Siddhartha’s father was a Brahman and thus Siddhartha learnt the traditions through his own father. However, Siddhartha felt that he was missing something and this started his journey to enlightenment.Herman Hesse splits Siddhartha’s journey into three major locations. The confrontations that Siddhartha faces in the different location all relate to each other by three different aspects that affected Siddhartha. Mental situations, situations that involved human desire and spiritual situations are the three aspects that affected Siddhartha. Firstly, when Siddhartha encountered situation that involved his mentality, human teachers taught S iddhartha. Siddhartha was first taught by his father, the Head Brahman, through scriptures of ways to lead a blessed life.However, Siddhartha had already mastered the ways of the Brahman. He also felt that his soul could not be taught by scriptures because if he continued learning though scriptures he would just go on a â€Å"detour, (he) was getting lost†. Soon after, Siddhartha left the Brahman ways with Govinda to learn from the Samanas. Once again, Siddhartha’s teachers were humans. The duo was taught to deprive themselves of all sorts of pleasure and to be an â€Å"empty human†. After slowly mastering the ways of the Samanas, Siddhartha soon became bitter to his surroundings.He saw his world as one full of negative things. Siddhartha’s â€Å"glance turned to ice when he encountered women†, â€Å"merchants trading, princes hunting, mourners wailing for their dead, whores offering themselves, physicians trying to help the sick, priests determin ing the most suitable day for seeding, lovers loving, (and) mothers nursing their children†. Siddhartha’s mouth would always â€Å"twitch(ed) with contempt†. Siddhartha would also be absolutely numb to the world saying that â€Å"the world tasted bitter† and that â€Å"life was torture. †The Samanas also taught Siddhartha self-deprivation. Siddhartha â€Å"went the way of self-denial by means of pain, through voluntarily suffering† in the process of this, Siddhartha was able to overcome pain, hunger, thirst (and), tiredness. † Soon, Siddhartha acknowledged that the ways of the Samana was not able to achieve enlightenment. He told Govinda that the eldest Samana who has â€Å"lived for sixty years and has not reached the nirvana† so how were they supposed to attain enlightenment through the ways of the Samana if the eldest Samana hasn’t.Siddhartha shadowed behind the mental games that the ways of the both the Head Brahman an d eldest Samana. The way of the Brahman and the eldest Samana were only training Siddhartha’s mental but it did not touch even the slightest part of Siddhartha’s soul. Secondly, Siddhartha went through what I would consider a stage that lured him to somewhat go against what he learnt in the first part of the novel, which is accepting human desires and attending to them.The start of this journey was when he let Govinda stay with the Buddha while Siddhartha ventured out himself. Throughout this journey, Siddhartha’s teachers are humans. Siddhartha learns the art of love from a ‘teacher of love’ named Kamala and the ways of the rich by a merchant named Kalaswami. Siddhartha learnt how to see the beauty in things however, this led him to take advantage of his surrounding’s beauty. When Siddhartha left Govinda, it symbolized him letting go of his the teaching from the Samanas and Brahman.Once he let go, then Siddhartha was finally able to see the beauty of life, he saw â€Å"all of this, a thousand-fold and colourful, had always been there, always the sun and the moon had shone, always rivers had roared and bees had buzzed, but in former times all of this had been nothing more to Siddhartha than a fleeting, deceptive veil before his eyes, looked upon in distrust, destined to be penetrated and destroyed by though, since it was not the essential existence, since this essence lay beyond, on the other side of, the visible. Siddhartha then describes his ‘new life’ as a child-like laughter, he called it â€Å"beautiful and lovely†. As Siddhartha reaches the near village, Siddhartha sees a young woman and inside of him, there is a spark of lust that started the first fire. Siddhartha describes the feeling as one that made â€Å"his blood heating up†. Next, Kalaswami first sees Siddhartha as he â€Å"entered, a swiftly, smoothly moving man with very gray hair, with very intelligent, cautious eyes, with a greedy mouth†.Siddhartha seems to take note of the result of indulging in too much pleasure. Unfortunately, he doesn’t realize when he has become just like Kalaswami. Then Siddhartha finally realizes that pleasure is only temporary. Siddhartha sits and â€Å"he became aware of the strange life he was leading, of him doing lots of things which were only a game, of, though being happy and feeling joy at times, real life still passing him by and not touching him†. Siddhartha acknowledges again that through lust and desire, he was not able to attain enlightenment.So, he continued his journey. Lastly, Siddhartha went through his final stage that would be considered a stage that was about Siddhartha spiritually. At first, Siddhartha’s spiritual journey begins at the Jetavana Grove where the Buddha gave his teachings. The second part of Siddhartha’s spiritual journey, he was guided by a human named Vasudeva. However, unlike the other teachers that Siddhar tha had, Siddhartha learnt how to attain enlightenment through the river that he studied.Siddhartha’s first step to enlightenment was when he was just about to leave the Jetavana grove where the Buddha gave his teachings. As Siddhartha was just about to leave the grove, the Buddha smiled at him. At that point, Siddhartha was able to understand the tranquility behind the smile. Siddhartha also understood that peacefulness was the result of enlightenment. The proof was the Buddha, his â€Å"eyes quietly looked to the ground; quietly, in perfect equanimity his inscrutable face was smiling†. Through Siddhartha’s spiritual path, dreams came to Siddhartha.These dreams brought Siddhartha to a realization of how he was living in the past and they also guided Siddhartha is ways guided him on how he should live his life. Siddhartha’s dreams were manifestations of his consciousness. For example, Siddhartha’s internal ‘death’ through his indulgenc e of pleasure was represented by Kamala’s dead song bird. † At the last stage of Siddhartha’s spiritual journey, Siddhartha made many self-reflections while studying the river. This made him realize what he did in the past, what he was doing in the present and what he would do in the future.Siddhartha through the process of attaining enlightenment, he â€Å"stopped fighting his fate, (and) stopped suffering. On his face flourished the cheerfulness of a knowledge, which is no longer opposed by any will, which knows perfection, which is in agreement with the flow o f events, with the current of life, full of sympathy for the pain of others, full of sympathy for the pleasure of others, devoted to the flow, belonging to the oneness. † Siddhartha studied the river and when he did, Siddhartha finally found enlightenment.Throughout the novel, Siddhartha has had many different encounters with different people, animals and himself, Siddhartha changed from a boy to a man who’s eyes have been opened to the ‘new world’. Siddhartha’s goal that he had when he took the first step by leaving his house to join the Samanas was to attain enlightenment. With this goal in mind, Siddhartha was finally able to attain enlightenment with the help of the river. At first was boy who was hungry for the key to enlightenment even more for his hunger for new knowledge.During his lifelong journey Siddhartha went through many mental, physical and spiritual struggles he on the road to attain enlightenment. However, unlike the other teachers that taught him their different specialties’, Siddhartha’s teacher that helped him to enlightenment wasn’t a human but rather it was from one of Mother Nature’s creations, the river. The many changes in Siddhartha’s life caused Siddhartha going through the vital process of growth. In conclusion, Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is a bildungsroman.