The Victorian period Essay Example for Free

The Victorian period Essay TASK: Pip changes a lot during his time in London. As we read the second stage of the novel, we do not like what we see of Pip because he becomes more and more of a snob. Do you agree with this opinion? The hero of Great Expectations is Pip and throughout the novel, our opinions of him change drastically. During his stay in London Pip changes the most and as we go on to read the second stage of the novel, we often fail to sympathise with Pip because he becomes more and more of a snob. Prior to his arrival in London, Pip makes it quite clear that he wishes to become a gentleman so that he can ultimately win over Estellas heart and with it her hand in marriage. But what exactly is a gentleman? A modern dictionary definition of this is: A well-mannered honourable man who may have a good social position. This is not too far away from the Victorian view (which would have been adopted by Magwitch and later on by Pip) as to what would have made a gentleman. At that time, any man was high in social rank or class, had the right by birth to be called a gentleman. A gentleman was also someone who could profitably manage his finances and would eventually own their own estate. A gentleman was also honourable and chivalrous and was a person against whom moral values could be judged. In short, a gentleman was an ideal for others to strive towards. During Pips stay in London, he becomes acquainted with many people. After his reunion with the pale young gentleman (Herbert Pocket) in the Barnards Inn, he meets the rest of Herberts family. It is at this point in the novel that we are introduced to Bentley Drummle. Pip immediately takes a dislike to Drummle and believes that Drummle can never be a true gentleman at heart because he was arrogant, snobbish and neither chivalrous nor honourable hardly making him a role model in society. However, Drummles lavish lifestyle and attitudes eventually rub off on Pip who consequently decides to join a frivolous and expensive London club and to hire a servant. Like a fast spreading poison, the lavishness and carelessness of Pips lifestyle corrupts Herberts life and lands them both in heavy debt as we are told later on in the novel. Just as there are gentleman who can be considered as being true at heart, there also those in the novel mainly Drummle and Compeyson, who certainly are not. It is a principle of his [Matthew Pocket] that no man who was a true gentleman at heart, ever was, since the world began, a true gentleman in manner. They are both only gentlemen by right of birth. Drummle is a spider fellow who possesses arrogance and snobbery of the highest order, has almost no moral values and is certainly not an ideal for others to strive towards. Compeyson is far from being honourable and chivalrous (he jilted Miss Havisham twenty minutes before they were to be joined together in holy matrimony), has no moral values (is happy to manipulate people just for money) and like Drummle, is not an ideal for others to strive towards. In the novel, Compeyson represents the greed of some of the middle class society and the beginnings of middle class crime, which occurred during the Victorian period. Pip makes it clear that he does not wish to turn out like either of the aforementioned characters but when Joe comes to visit Pip, this is not the case. Upon hearing of Joes intended visit (Chapter 27), Pip explicitly expresses his feelings to reader. He admits that if the chance arose, he would pay to keep Joe away from the Inn. If I could have kept him away by paying money, I certainly would have paid money. The apparent reason for this is that he does not wish for Joe to run into Drummle who Pip quite clearly holds in contempt (e. g. his self-revelation about his self-centredness at Jaggers dinner party [Chapter 26]). He criticises Joe before he arrives on his clumsy manner and his inability to read fluently. This was somewhat a strange criticism coming from Pip as at the time of the novel, there was no compulsory State education and reading was a much more common ability than writing. The criticism itself is very reminiscent of the way Estella criticises his appearance at his first visit to Satis House (Chapter 8). After Joe arrives, Pip illicitly makes him feel unwanted. He pays more attention to others at his home, especially to news from Miss Havisham and Estella. In general, the atmosphere is tense with Pip feeling very uncomfortable until Herbert enters the room. When Herbert enters the room, there is a drastic change in the rooms atmosphere. Herbert and Joe get on quite well with each other with friendly chat and Herbert offering Joe a warm beverage. Pip is unafraid for Joe to be seen by Herbert (who Pip believes is a gentleman at heart and of the sort of company that he would want Joe to see him with). However, this pleasant warm atmosphere is short-lived when Herbert has to tend to his hat. After Herbert leaves the room, Joe gets so uncomfortable that he is forced to explain to Pip why he really came to see him.

African Influenced Christianity in Toni Morrison’s Beloved Essay

Religion has influenced fiction since people first began writing fiction. Christianity tends to be one of the most influential forces on western writers in the last couple millennia, but the introduction of other cultures changes the influences present in books. The forced migration of enslaved Africans created a fascinating fusion between Christianity and native african religions, primarily totemistic but often involving archetypal pantheons. The slaves often identified with the Israelites enslaved in Egypt, and such parallels between biblical stories and their own experiences hastened the adoption of a modified Christianity by the slaves. Events in Toni Morrison’s Beloved reflect the experiences of the Israelites and other biblical figures in ways modified by native African religions. The slaves identification with the Israelites is used by Toni Morrison, who gives Paul D an equally divine rescue. So he raced from dogwood to blossoming peach. When they thinned out he headed for the cherry blossoms, then magnolia, chinaberry, pecan, walnut, prickly pear. At last he reached a fiel...

Re-organization and Layoff- Issue Paper Essay

Problem Identification and formulation will be reviewed using the team discussion from Week 2. The paper will: Summarize the issue; Identify the problem; Explain why it is the underlying problem; Reflect on the group collaboration process in defining the problem; and Explain how a clearly defined problem could help to find the solutions. Summarize The Issue The problem presented in article by Bouw, Mismanaged Layoffs can go ‘Horribly Wrong, is the lack of proper and well-managed policy around employee lay-offs. Most managers are trained to handle a corporate crisis. Employers should approach any job losses with caution and always be respectful. Companies should consider whether job losses are necessary and the impact on operations internally, and how clients and contractors view it externally. Companies need to make sure they are following the law when it comes to laying off staff, including paying out severance as required by each province based on an employee’s years of service. (2013) Identify The Problem Some reasons that a company would look at reorganization and layoffs would be that the sales of that company have dropped below what they were projecting. To help with costs they may look at laying people off and then reorganizing the employees that are left to help ensure that the internal structure remains in tact to ensure that the company continues to run smoothly. Most companies see layoffs as a way to save money, however most times this is not the case due to the things that the company has to pay out to the employees that were let go. Alternatives to job cuts include transferring staff to other departments, using fewer contract workers, or cutting wages. Whether it’s a termination, where the employee’s job is eliminated, or a layoff, where the employee loses the job for a certain  period of time, a company’s handling of it can have consequences. Explain Why This is the Underlying Problem If sales are lower then expected there might be a bigger problem then just lying off people. However, that is definitely where you should start, but employers need to stick to the rules around termination and ensure the reasons are clear. The negative impact the event can have on employee morale, which in turn can hurt productivity. It’s traumatic to the remaining staff can create fear and resentment. To help manage the disruption, companies need to be compassionate and transparent about why the job losses occurred. If management handles it in a benevolent way it can boost their image as an employer, staff feel motivated and they don’t live in fear. Layoff plan moves forward at GE Transportation, By Jim Martin demonstrates, that after unsuccessful lobbying and failed negotiations aimed at saving jobs, the company planned for its first round of layoffs. The pink slips were to be distributed Monday, giving employees one-week notice of their layoff. GE Transportation, said about 50 employees was expected to retire instead of taking a layoff. While each retirement had the potential to spare one layoff, Duke said he didn’t try to influence anyone’s decision. In a statement from Erickson, the company acknowledged the significance of the job cuts. â€Å"We are taking this difficult step to meet an increasingly challenging marketplace that requires us to reduce costs and improve flexibility to maintain our competitiveness,† she said. â€Å"We understand how hard this action is for everyone affected, including families and the broader community.† She said the company is working closely with the state Department of Labor & Industry’s Rapid Response team to help employees who lose their jobs. (Martin, 2013, Page 1) Reflect On The Group Collaboration Process in Defining the Problem Effectively managing group decision-making has three requirements: (1) an appropriate leadership style, (2) the constructive use of disagreement and conflict, and (3) the enhancement of creativity. The most constructive type of conflict is cognitive conflict, or differences in perspectives or judgments about issues. In contrast, affective conflict is emotional and directed at other people. The dialectic goes a step beyond devil’s advocacy  by requiring a structured debate about two conflicting courses of action. The dialectic goes a step beyond devil’s advocacy by requiring a structured debate about two conflicting courses of action. Custom-made solutions are necessary, so the group must be creative in generating ideas. The leader of a decision-making body must attempt to minimize process-related problems. How a Clearly Defined Problem Could Help Find The Solutions The first stage in the decision-making process is to recognize that a problem exists and must be solved. Typically, a manager realizes some discrepancy between the current state (the way things are) and a desired state (the way things ought to be). Such discrepancies—say, in organizational or unit performance—may be detected by comparing current performance against (1) past performance, (2) the current performance of other organizations or units, or (3) future expected performance as determined by plans and forecasts. Recognizing that a problem or opportunity exists is only the beginning of this stage. The decision maker must dig in deeper and attempt to diagnose the situation. The following questions are useful to ask and answer in this stage. The â€Å"problem† may be an opportunity that needs to be exploited: a gap between what the organization is doing now and what it can do to create a more positive future. In that case, decisions involve choosing how to sei ze the opportunity. (Bateman, 2013, Page) Critical thinking plays a major role in the decision making process. Problem Identification and formulation aids in management’s ability find custom solutions using a creative generation. Reference Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2013). Management: Leading & collaborating in a competitive world (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Bouw, B. (2013, June 28). Mismanaged layoffs can go ‘horribly wrong’. The Globe and Mail, B.14. Martin, J. (2013, November 3). Layoff plan moves forward at GE Transportation. McClatchy — Tribune Business News, n/a.

Power Failure The Inside Story Of The Collapse Of Enron

General Power Failure: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron, Mimi Swartz and Sherron Watkins, 432 pages, March 25, 2003, Crown Publishing Group, ISBN: 978-0-767-91368-3 Authors The book is written by two authors: Mimi Swartz and Sherron Watkins. Mimi Swartz is a journalist who graduated from Hampshire College. She has written for many publications. Her work has been included in Slate, Vanity Fair, National Geographic, The New Yorker, and the New York Times. Currently, she serves as an executive editor for Texas Monthly. Ms. Swartz is a long time resident of Texas, and was able to use her experiences and insight into the Texan psyche to highlight the personalities of the Texas company and the attitude of its employees. Sherron†¦show more content†¦Sherron is uniquely qualified to offer experiences that she personally witnessed during her tenure there. As an accountant, she was able to understand and explain the intricate details of what went wrong at Enron. Summary Power Failure is a book that tells the story of Enron from the point of view of one of the book’s authors, Sherron Watkins. The basic premise of the book is given in the first chapter when Tom Peters warns the attendees of a corporate conference that â€Å"An excess of self-confidence kills companies† (Swartz Watkins, 2003, Loc. 306). First, the authors describe the November management conference of 2000. The point describes Sherron’s experience at the conference and her interaction with several key people, among whom were Jeff Skilling and Andy Fastow. Next, the authors of the book advance through a timeline starting with a brief biography of Ken Lay. The timeline of Enron carries into company’s desire to continue to expand and grow. Secondly, the narrative symbolizes the rise of Andy Fastow who ultimately ran the various shell companies that were instrumental in keeping debts off the balance sheets. Thirdly, the book describes Sherron Watkinsâ₠¬â„¢s attempt at getting her leadership to correct the problems and admit to the stakeholders the true financial situation of Enron. Power Failure highlights the letters she sent to Ken Lay. Ms. Watkins wrote to