Writers Goal

Eng. 286 Essay #3 March 1, 2013 The Writer’s goal â€Å"The Necklace† by Guy de Maupassant The necklace by Guy Maupassant is a story about a woman who was pretty and charming but she married poor. She wasn’t satisfied with her life and always wanted to live like the rich. Her husband did all he could to keep her happy. One day he brought home an invitation to attend a ball hoping this will delight his wife since she like to be fancy and rich. However his wife almost turned down the invitation because she didn’t have anything to wear.He was able to get her new clothing for the ball and to finish her outfit she borrowed a diamond necklace from a friend to wear to the ball. They had a great time at the ball however she lost the diamond necklace. She and her husband had to work hard and spend all their life savings to replace the necklace. At the end of the story, the woman ran into her friend she borrowed the necklace from and learned that it was a fake neckl ace instead of real diamonds.This is a very entertaining story and the writer was able to make the readers understand the deep and hidden meaning of events and because of that I agree that Maupassant ultimate goal is achieved through symbolism. I agree that the writer’s goal was accomplish because through symbolism of a necklace, Maupassant was able to reveal the moral of the story. We see in the story that the main character who was obsessed with her look wasn’t satisfied with her life. She had a good husband who cared for her and did everything to make her happy.She did not see that. This can be applied to reality in the sense that we get caught up with what we look like or what we are wearing, that we go to lengths to make it happen. Through the symbol of a necklace, the author was able to convey to the readers the theme that vanity is worthless and there’s a price to pay for vanity and that we should be grateful for what we have. We also see in the story tha t obsession with vanity have a price to pay. The main character and her husband had to slave for the rest of their life to pay back for the borrowed necklace.If she had gone to the ball with what she had, than this wouldn’t have happened. One can relate this to their life in the since that if you become obsess with how you look than there’s a price to pay. Beauty doesn’t come cheap. Through the symbolism of a necklace the author was able convey many themes to his readers. He was able to reach his readers on many levels that they could relate to and learn. By him doing this, I can agree that his goal was accomplish. I think that this is realistic fiction. Maupassant through the use of a necklace was able to convey to his readers different themes they can relate to.He convinces reader that vanity is worthless, there’s a price to pay with vanity and that one should be grateful with what they have. Instead of fabricating an adventure and spinning it out in a way that keeps it interesting till the end, Maupassant was able to pick up the main character at a certain point of her existence and carry her by natural transition. He also showed how her mind was modified under the influence of environmental circumstances and her passion was developed. Because of this I agree that he achieve his goal.

How can leaders motivate staff in order to improve efficiency and job satisfaction Essay

In this essay I shall define – motivate, job satisfaction, productivity and leaders. I shall then give a brief history of motivational theories and then discuss McClelland’s Motivational Needs Theory; to explain some methods of how staff can be motivated by analysing the 3 main factors in his theory and explain how these factors can motivate staff and to see if motivation does lead to improved productivity, I shall then analyse this theory and thoughts of other theorists to see if motivation also leads to job satisfaction and conclude the results of my research. Motivate – The Oxford University Press (2014) states motivate is to â€Å"provide (someone) with a reason for doing something: he was primarily motivated by the desire for profit† 2014, 2014, February 26th, Oxford University Press, http://www. oxforddictionaries. com/definition/english/motivate? q=motivate What is Job Satisfaction? Job Satisfaction is when a person/employee is happy or content in their job. What is Productivity? Productivity is a term used to describe a state, quality or fact of being able to generate, create or improve goods and services. For example at the Chocolate Factory the Work Productivity was increased and 10% more chocolate bars were produced than last year. Or the Council’s Productivity increased after a restructure and they managed to provide more services to customers. What is a Leader? A Leader is someone who leads other people; this could be a manager, director, team leader, politician or anyone who leads people, usually staff or one or more people. Motivational Theories There have been many management theorists throughout the years from 1908 (Henry Ford) to 1990 (Dr Stephen Covey) and other theorists/theories onwards from 1990. David McClelland’s Motivational Needs Theory in 1961 identified that there were 3 types of needs for motivation: †¢The Need for Achievement (Goals, Deadlines etc. ) McClelland believed that the Need for Achievement would motivate staff; for example leaders setting goals, targets or deadlines for staff to achieve can motivate their staff to meet these deadlines (or goals) therefore enabling leaders to increase productivity and performance of staff by setting, planning and/or varying these deadlines, goals or targets. Without any goals or deadlines there is no need for the staff to achieve a certain amount of productivity such as producing/finishing a specific amount of work. Therefore I agree with McClelland that there is a motivational need for achievement to motivate staff and this can lead to improved productivity and performance. Many large companies such as Halfolds and MacDonald’s believe that Achievement motivates staff and they have reward systems in place to motivate their staff. By achieving a good performance or a certain level of productivity they can earn rewards, if a worker meets the requirements they may get praise or a reward from their leader there also may be an incentive for the staff member to achieve their/these targets of which motivates them to work harder therefore increasing productivity by McClelland’s motivational need for Achievement. But also when a staff member meets their work goals, targets or deadlines this may improve job satisfaction as they would know they have done well and their standard of work is sufficient to meet their goals even if there is no incentive, but an incentive for the staff to meet goals can help motivate staff further to meet their goals. †¢The Need for Power (Authority) Staff having authority or power McClelland believed would motivate staff, I believe this is because it gives the staff member a sense of importance by having authority and by would undertaking extra responsibilities that people with authority would usually undertake such as managing staff, it also enables them to motivate staff who they have authority over and therefore they can improve performance and productivity by successfully managing their staff as well as improving their job satisfaction, possibly by making changes. The Need for Affiliation (Good/Friendly Working Relationships/Being a part of a team, group, organisation etc. ) Affiliation/s in McClelland’s theory refers to staff being closely affiliated (or associated) which can refer to family, social, business or working relationships. This Affiliation is a state of being associated or affiliated, for example a staff member may be affiliated with a team or organisation and staff being in a team (therefore having affiliation with a team) McClelland believed staff may be more motivated by affiliation as they are associated with other staff who may most likely be working towards a similar outcome to themselves and as a part of a team they may wish to be or become a team player and motivate themselves and other team members. For instance I have affiliation with the University of West London Business Studies Course and as a student I am affiliated and effectively a part of a group of students, I am motivated to help other students as they wish to achieve the same outcome as me (a degree) and as I have affiliation with this group I am therefore self-motivated to achieve the same standard of work as my group or excel them and therefore I agree that there is a need for Affiliation and I believe this motivates me and my performance and productivity is improved as a direct result of Affiliation. McClelland believed that the majority of people have or show a combination of these 3 types of needs and some favour specific needs or a combination of these needs. Matching the correct needs to the person can strongly improve their work productivity, performance and behaviour but can increasing motivation therefore lead to an improvement in job satisfaction? McClelland does specify in his theory that motivation can improve performance and work productivity, but he does not specify that it can lead to improved job satisfaction but from analysing his theory above you can see that 2 Motivational needs factors in his theory (the need for authority and the need for achievement) can lead to improved job satisfaction, this is backed up by the fact that McClelland’s motivational theory shows that motivation can lead to improved performance of staff and there is a direct link between improved performance and improved job satisfaction. The 3rd factor â€Å"The Need for Affiliation† through personal experience at university and working as a part of team at various work places, I believe can also improve performance and job satisfaction). Naylor, Pritchard, & Ilgen; 1980; Vroom, 1964 state that; â€Å"expectancy-based theories of motivation generally stipulate that satisfaction follows from the rewards produced by performance. † Lawler and Porter (1967) who were â€Å"expectancy theorists themselves argued that performance would lead to job satisfaction through the provision of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. As these authors noted, briefly stated, good performance may lead to rewards, which in turn lead to satisfaction. † The Job Satisfaction-Job Performance Relationship: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review 2001, 376-379, American Psychological Association, Inc, 3 I can conclude that leaders can motivate there staff using motivational theories such as McClelland’s Motivational Needs Theory in order to improve productivity and job satisfaction. I have also came up with my own theory based on McClelland’s Motivational Needs theory and the work of Naylor, Pritchard, & Ilgen; 1980; Vroom, 1964, Lawler and Porter (1967). Josh Albright’s (2014) Motivational Flow Theory I agree with McClelland’s theory; which I have discovered to some extent also agrees with other theorists (such as Naylor, Pritchard, Ilgen, Vroom, Lawler and Porter) that motivation leads to improved performance (productivity) and job satisfaction, In order to increase job satisfaction and productivity you must increase motivation. The diagram I drew below shows that the more motivation is increased or â€Å"poured into staff† the more job satisfaction and productivity will thereby be increased.

Provide Reception Services Essay

1.1 There are many purposes to a receptionist role especially being the first point of call between the company and the client/supplier. Being the first point of call is an important role because it helps the whole company. When a customer/supplier comes in a receptionist can get the correct member of staff for the person. Also it ensures that somebody knows who is in the building and has got them to sign in so the company had a record and it’s easier for people to be accounted for in cases of emergency. In some businesses the receptionists make appointments for the other staff for customers/suppliers to come in. They also take the call and pass it to the right person. Being a smaller company we do not have somebody that has been employed as a receptionist but because of where my desk is placed I have adopted the role. In this role I have to welcome people into the building, make sure that they sign in and offer them a drink. I also find out who they are here to see or do. If they want to collect goods I can pass them on if the girls in sales are busy but if they are here for a meeting or chat I let the member of staff know. 1.2 When doing a receptionist role you have to present a positive image of yourself and of the company. When someone enters the building and a positive image is being portrayed it makes them feel more comfortable and that the company is a good business to work with or use. If the staff a positive it shows the customer/supplier that they are going to get things done and enjoy what you do so you are going to do the best you can for them. 1.3 It doesn’t take a lot to show a positive image of yourself and the company. For starters just having a smile on your face helps massively because people can tell. Offering a drink when people walk in also presents a good image because it shows that you will do anything to make them feel comfortable. Keeping yourself and you work space clean, organised and smart shows that you care about yourself and what you are doing and also shows that you are a person that is ready to do things. 2.1In any business there are many lines of communication fro m the reception. For example if somebody came into the office with a complaint the receptionist would have to take down details and pass them on. If the complaint is about a product that would be passed on to their account manager, if the complaint was about employee –depending on the size of the  company- you would go to the supervisor or managing director. If someone came into Othello Martin James and could be a potential new customer I would take down some details and pass it on to the best person depending on who was free or where the person was based for example if they are based in Swadlincote or the surrounding areas I would pass it on to Tanya. But is she wasn’t available I would pass it to whoever was free and able to talk. If someone came in with questions about new products or a new order I would find out who the account manager was. 2.2In larger companies both employee’s and the public have to make appointments to see supervisors or the managing director. This all g oes through the reception as they can arrange the appointments and mange diaries. But at Othello Martin James we are a smaller office and less formal than big businesses. We don’t need to make an appointment to see our supervisors or managing director we are all in the same office and can just ask for two minutes if we need to have a chat. 2.3In every business there are many procedures for people coming into the office. For example entry and departure, security and confidentiality and finally health and safety, all of these procedures are made to difference business standards depending on the company. For example with entry and departure some high security companies might have to so more checks on people than say an office like ours. For example in any business visitors will have to sign in so the company has a record of who has visited and also in cases of emergency there is a record of who is in the building. This is very important so there are records because if there isn’t and an emergency does happen somebody could be in the building but you wou ldn’t know because you have no records. Security and confidentiality are important to any business because there are some many documents that need to be covered under the data protection act. In a reception a lot of documents are held for example in a doctors surgery they have all the patient records for the people that are going in that day, in an office there are details of the employees and the business. If people could just walk in they can easily get these records. If somebody is on reception all the time while the office is open this stops the security and confidentiality risk. 2.4Like I have mentioned earlier in our office we do not have somebody that is employed as a receptionist but because of where my desk is placed I have adopted the role. The way our office is designed there are four desks in our reception  area which is also the accounts department. There is also somebody in this part of the office so people can’t just walk into our office without somebody knowing. We ask visitors to sign into our sign-in book so we have a record. Also when someone is always in that office people can’t just walk in and access information that isn’t to b e viewed by them. Also our office is in a business park which has security fencing around the units, when people arrive they have to press the buzzer to be let in. For example is somebody is coming round for a meeting the have to press our buzzer and I have to pick up the phone find out who they are and let them in through the gates. 2.5/6The purpose of having health and safety procedures is to make sure that everyone safe and protected. This includes procedures such as signing in. It is my responsibility to make sure that everyone that comes into the office sign in and also know where the assembly point is in case of emergency. When visitors come in to the building I just ask them to fill in the book before I ask who they are here to see or if they want a drink. 2.7There are many emergency procedures in businesses from fire exits to if somebody becomes ill. In our office if a fire happens first the fire alarm will go office then we all have to get up and leave in a calm manner via the fire exits that are lit up and meet at the assembly point that is across the car park. My role is just to make sure that I can get out without causing a fuss als o when we are at the assembly point I should know if someone is missing because I see everyone that walks through the door. But being a small business the majority of us are in the same office on the same floor the rest will be our delivery drivers which could be in the warehouse or on the road. The sales office knows when drivers come back so will know if somebody is in the warehouse. If somebody falls ill or has an accident first we find out how urgent it is for example can we phone their emergency contact or do they need to go to hospital. I don’t have much of a role in this as I am not the first aider. But if I needed to help I will also my desk is closest to the kitchen where the first aid kit and emergency numbers are kept so I may have to run in and get them. 2.8/9In our office we don’t tend to get visitors that come in showing aggression and causing conflict because everyone comes in for a reason. But we sometimes receive conflict/aggression on the telephone and have to act in the same way – also sometimes our delivery drivers receive face to face conflict and aggression  wh ile out on the road. When this does happen we have to remain calm and take details of what the person is being aggressive about. If the person starts being aggressive we can ask them to leave or put the phone as we don’t have to tolerate that behaviour. Depending on what the person was being aggressive about depends on who I would refer it to. But in all cases I would tell my managing director and supervisor. 3.1/4.8In any office there are many reasons/purposes for suggesting ideas for improving the reception area. A reception area should have a desk for the receptionist where they can see the door, a telephone, a computer for the work of the receptionist and basic office equipment. If the building has security gates the buzzer should be behind the receptionist desk. For the visitors it should have a seating area and a signing in book. Some businesses have a water dispenser and magazine racks. The receptionist is best for suggesting ideas for the reception area because they are in there all the time and can see how it works for the visitors. Also the reception area should be a clean and welcoming environment. When suggesting ideas it helps keep the reception area modern and in best working order for you – the receptionist and the visitor. 3.2In any office there is always going to be quite times when all your jobs have been completed. At this point you can ask other members of staff if they need a hand with anything just to help with their work load. As previously mentioned about me adopting the role I work in the accounts department so I have many roles to duties to do but we can still have quite times where I go and ask if anybody needs a hand. Just before we finished for Christmas 2014 we had a couple of issues with our account program Sage. While this was being sorted I went in to the sales office and asked if they wanted a hand to finish the jobs for the year so I helped file the scanned delivery notes on the computer.

Teaching Literacy Midterm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Teaching Literacy Midterm - Essay Example 326.) The demands of making meanings, stresses the students to activate their prior knowledge and schemata abilities. Schema theory explains how our previous experiences, knowledge, emotions, and understandings affect what and how we learn. (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000). Lapp, Flood & Farnan (2004, p.326) writes that, "Content area teaching has a detailed link with schema theory and prior knowledge."The notion of 'prior knowledge' comprises of few subordinate ideas, which are the 'characteristics of prior knowledge', 'historical back ground', the circumstances of learning and 'classroom acts' (Lapp, Flood & Farnan (2004, p. 326). Lapp, Flood & Farnan (2004, p. 326) write that, "This collection of related, hierarchically arranged ideas is a schema." Few followers of this theory even believed that the single most influential factor is the existing and prior knowledge of the readers on which it depends that what he ends up learning from the material (Eric Digest). The accuracy, sufficiency and appropriateness of a schema, needs to be tackled by the instructor in a very delicate and planned manner. Students can make most out of their schemas if only the teachers know how to activate it. (Lapp, Flood & Farnan, 2004, p. ... The renewed awareness in reading was reinforced by the International Reading Association in 1999. The document focused on "advanced levels of literacy" and considered "their ability to read will be crucial". Many instructors turned to interactive manner of teaching reading. Boothe and Walter (1999) quote McCormick, T. (1988) who writes that, "It one of the most promising approaches to the theory of reading today." Boothe and Walter (1999) write that, "An interactive reading model is a reading model that recognizes the interaction of bottom-up and top-down processes simultaneously throughout the reading process." But the reader needs "to interacting with the text, is selective in using just as little of the cues from text as necessary to construct meaning (Goodman, K. 1981). Most of the reading models, share a common postulation, that many "variables impact student's learning from text" (Pearson, Kamil, Bar & Mosenthal, 2000, p.647). They concerned themselves with cognitive psychology, schema, instructional strategies and the text. Boothe and Walter (1999) while quoting Rumelhart, D. 1985 write, "write that, "These various sources of information appear to interact in many complex ways during the process of reading In this scenario the teacher has to play a role of an instructional designer and their tool is 'text'. Once students are able to develop an understanding of text and identify the text structures then the road begins for towards independent reading. According to Buehl (2009, p.72) the benefits of involving the students in this model means "to condition the students to read material at different rates for verifying purposes" is similar to the core principle of content area literacy. The learners

Philosophy - Boethius and Aquinas on the Problem of God's Prescience Essay

Philosophy - Boethius and Aquinas on the Problem of God's Prescience - Essay Example This only serves to pronounces the clash with freewill. The Problem of God’s Prescience The conflict hence forms the basic premise of the Problem. God as the master of all things tangible and intangible is assumed to know incomprehensible details about human life and the course it will take. As such, His knowledge about a particular event precedes the event itself, thereby exemplifying his unique ability of knowing the future. This belief in God’s ubiquitousness forms one of the core foundations of his Divinity across the board of religions, whether the one in question is Christianity, Judaism or Islam. The Bible, Torah, and the Quran all repeatedly assert His pervasiveness carefully contrasting it with His limitless power. The masses of religions preach the notion that God is to be found everywhere at all times and no thought or eventuality escapes His gaze. Superficially, this ideology is readily admissible but when theologians venture to expound their gifts of insigh t onto the subject, striving to explain the Divine Knowledge, the one immediate problem they tend to notice is the apparent conflict with freewill. This is because the concept of freewill indicates that every human is capable of altering the course of his life as he deems fit by exercising discretionary powers of judgment. If God is to possess all knowledge of all time, this discretion may not in actuality exist, since God would already know the direction a particular individual would be expected to take. If the individual’s future is already preconceived in God’s eternal knowledge, the individual’s course of action could simply be labeled predetermined, even though he in his own right may be employing the gift of freewill. This notion forms what has come to be known as the Problem of God’s Prescience. Boethius’s ideologies Boethius in his Consolation of Philosophy sought to answer the very questions that formed the crux of the Problem. Firstly, it must be elucidated that incidents are historically conceived by philosophers to be of two kinds, necessary and contingent. God’s omniscience pertains to all knowledge that exists in the world, including the murkiest of thoughts that originate in a person’s mind. Hence, any thought, if formulated by a conscious course of judgment in a person’s mind, should be deemed contingent. It is contingent because it is not necessary for a person to think a certain thought, as his freewill allows him to develop a unique mindset, but if God already knows what his mindset would be, that contingent thought could become a necessary course of action for the person to take, as not taking that course of action would render God’s knowledge flawed. If it is assumed that God already knows the thought that is about to transpire, its contingency is made redundant. This, in essence, negates freewill and converts seemingly contingent occurrences into necessary occurrences since Go d already knows of their presence. As such, Boethius’ twin-prong ideologies regarding the problem emerge. His first limb identifies that God’s omniscience and perfection go hand in hand and can never be rebutted,

The history and evolution of Chinese women' rights Research Paper

The history and evolution of Chinese women' rights - Research Paper Example This created way for the formation of the communist government in the country under the name of the People’s Republic of China (Johnson 121). The new government committed to implementing social changes with the aim of uplifting the status of women in the society. The evolution of women’s rights in China has been a slow, painful but steady process discussed in the essay below. The growth and radical changes leading to the modern liberal Chinese society that embraces the gender equality has been slow and with myriad sacrifices, between 1966 and 1976 for example, the country experienced a massive cultural revolution as feminist movements sought the inclusion of women in the governance of the country. At the time of the formation of the new people’s republic of china, the country’s workforce had only seven percent of the women. The new communist government formulated and implemented new radical changes that with the view of increasing the status of women in th e new society but the male dominated society resisted most of such changes. By 1992, the percentage of the women in the country’s workforce had risen to thirty eight percent. Marriage in the traditional Chinese society was an arrangement between families. Young girls would be married off to men of the family’s choosing thus nurturing the women in order to befit specific requirements of the spouse’s family. Such arrangement denied women the right and privilege to fall in love and determine their lives. They simply married the men their families thought right for them. The male dominated society thought such to be effective ways of developing strong social ties but at the expense of the girl children. The great Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976 sought to address the social vice that had threatened the development of effective cultures in the society. Prior to the revolution, the communist government had initiated policies that sought to address the vice. I n 1950, the government formulated the marriage law. The law provided for the revocation of all previous family arrangements thus setting women previously bound by their families free. The law was a result of effective government research on the effects of such marriages and family arrangement on the social development of the society. By revoking all such arrangements, the governments sought to formulate better and more ethical policies and systems of marriage in the country. The men in the Chinese society opposed the legislation but through concerted government efforts and the works of the numerous feminist movements in the country, the law successful laws. In 1980, the government formulated another family law that banned arranged and forced marriages in the country. By banning such marriages, the government set the children especially the female children free from the dominance of their parents who used benefited from such arrangements. The marriage law of 1950 further permitted wo men to instigate divorces in the society. This would provide disadvantaged women in the forced, arranged and even purchased marriages the freedom to break away and foster their own independent lifestyles. Prior to the legislation, the society only permitted a divorce if it befitted the man. Additionally, the society also permitted polygamy thus allowing men to marry as many women as they wanted. In fact, the number of women in a homestead symbolized wealth and influence in the society. While

Gold Industry Trends Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gold Industry Trends - Dissertation Example For instance, in the second quarter of 2011, the international demand for gold was almost 919.8 tonnes, 17% less compared to previous year. The value of gold has increased by 5% ‘year-on-year’ and the total demand of gold with respect to value is 44.5 billion USD (World Gold Council, 2011). Furthermore, in the second quarter of 2011, the demand of gold attained a record increase by concentrating on the emerging markets of India and China. These two nations occupy almost 52% of gold piece and currency investment as well as 55% of aggregated international jewels’ demand. It is worth mentioning that demand for gold in India is accounted as 38% and China is 25% with respect to worldwide gold growth rate i.e. 7% in 2011 (World Gold Council, 2011). Gold Industry Investment The financial market of gold permits market contestants to use gold as a medium of capital, investment and a basis of security. Gold is practically imperishable and can exist in several forms. Thus, gold can be used for jewelry, investment, official assets, security etc. The investment in gold currently accounts as the second largest usage of the material. According to the report of World Gold Council (2011), in the year 2010, the total amount of gold investment was almost 31,400 tonnes i.e. 18.7% of total gold usage in the world. In the year 2010, several assessments proposed that around 168,300 tonnes of gold have been extracted worldwide which can have an impact on the demand of gold (World Gold Council, 2010). ... In the year 2010, several assessments proposed that around 168,300 tonnes of gold have been extracted worldwide which can have an impact on the demand of gold (World Gold Council, 2010). Gold as Financial Product and Instrument For various investors, gold has emerged to be a financial instrument and an ideal investment choice which is fundamentally associated with lesser risks compared to other financial investment instruments. Investment in gold is beneficial when the financial market condition is unstable. In present day context, there are several products which originate their worth from the price of gold and those products are used as investment instruments such as ‘gold futures’, ‘gold exchange traded funds’ and ‘licensed gold coins’ among others. In this irregular value of currencies, driven by economic condition and massive uncertainties regarding accurate price of other financial instruments, gold can be a smart option to invest (The Hon g Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, 2011). New Product Development in Financial Services Industry Financial organizations need to carry out new product development strategies on a regular basis to stay competitive in the market. Discovering the potentials of developing new financial products to influence the current customer demand in the market is an exceptionally stimulating procedure followed by financial institutions (Strategy Corporate Finance, 2010). In the financial industry, new product developments are often witnessed to fail because of quick market variations along with the challenges of altering internal structures to preserve new offerings. The challenges of new product development for financial products can be approached from three perspectives which are: Introducing a single financial