Spiritual Teachers

Great Spiritual Masters and Teachers Written by Devon Love Sections on Babaji, How To Pick   Or Not Pick) A Spiritual Teacher, and Conclusion written by Christine Breese, D. D. Ph. D. Introduction Throughout time, many spiritual masters have offered teachings in service to humanity. Many who have been inclined toward self realization have, through a wide variety of different paths, reached this goal and gone on   to teach others. This process remains a mystery to and yet many people at some point in their lives begin to question who they are and seek out teachings to help them answer this question.There  are  multitudes  of   different  ways  that  spiritual  information  is  passed  on  and  shared  with  others. In  this  course  we  will  explore  the   many  different  categories  of  spiritual  masters  and  teachers  throughout  recorded  history. Review Of Literature (Exam  questions  are  not  drawn  from  the  Review  Of  Literature  section. )   Tao  Te  Ching  (1963)  translated  by  D. C. Lau  from  Lao  Tsu’s  original  words  is  a  translation  of  the  Chinese   classic. The   Tao   Te   Ching   rings   clearly   through   the   ages   as   a   Great   Pearl   of   timeless   Wisdom. All   serious   metaphysicians   should   study   this   work,   and   meditate   on   its   teachings.Like   all   great   spiritual   texts,   the   Tao   Te   Ching,  when  deeply  contemplated,  reveals  the  true  nature  of  the  universe. Peace   Is   Every   Step:   The   Path   Of   Mindfulness   In   Everyday   Life   (1991)   by   Thich   Nhat   Hahn   is   a   wonderful   book. Thich  Nhat  Hahn  is  a  Zen  Buddhist  monk  whose  teachings  come  straight  from  the  hear t. Those  who  have   discovered   his   work   have   likely   been   transformed   by   it. His   words   are   filled   with   compassion,   humility,   and   purity. In  Peace  Is  Every  Step,  Te  (teacher)  as  his  students  refer  to  him,  teaches  of  awakening  to  the  joy  of  now,  the   loving  presence  of  life.He  speaks  of  finding  joy  and  peace  wherever  one  is,  in  looking  at  flowers,  at  the  blue  sky, or  into  the  eyes  of  a  child. Thich  Nhat  Hahn’s  teachings  apply  to  everyone,  and  this  simple  book  is  an  excellent   introduction  to  his  work. The   Miracle   Of   Mindfulnes   (1975)   by   Thich   Nhat   Hahn   is   another   beautiful   gem   arising   from   the   consciousness   of   Te,   this   is   a   Zen   masterpiece,   reminding   us   in   simple,   economical,   and   flowing   words   of   the   wisdom  of  being  present  to  life. Using  anecdotes  from  his  life,  Te  tells  us  to  wake  up  and  consciously  experience   each  moment  as  the  precious  gift  that  it  is.From  washing  dishes  to  drinking  a  cup  of  tea,  he  encourages  us  to  be   fully   present,   awake,   and   aware,   to   be   fully   in   our   bodies,   and   experiencing   the   actual   physical   sensations   of   breathing  and  movement  in  these  acts,  this  being  the  key  to  fully  realizing  ourselves. The  Heart  Of  Buddha? s  Teachings:Transforming,  Suffering  Into  Peace,  Joy,  And  Liberation  (1998),  by  Thich  Naht   Hahn,   presents   the   teachings   of   Buddhaà ‚   in   a   simple   and   lovely   way. His   understanding   and   interpretation   of   these  teachings  is  flawless.He  speaks  of  his  own  relationship  with  suffering,  and  how  he  merged  with  Buddha   through  this. He  goes  to  the  heart  of  Buddha’s  teachings  on  suffering  and  non? suffering,  misery  and  happiness,   and   how   these   each   exist   only   with   the   presence   of   the   other. From   chapter   1:   Buddha   was   not   a   god. He   was   a   human  being  like  you  and  me,  and  he  suffered  just  as  we  do. If  we  go  to  the  Buddha  with  our  hearts  open,  he  will  look  at  us,   his   eyes   filled   with   compassion,   and   say,   â€Å"Because   there   is   suffering   in   your   heart,   it   isà ‚   possible   for   you   to   enter   my   heart. †¦If   you   have   experienced   hunger,   you   know   that   having   food   is   a   miracle. If  you  have  suffered  from  the  cold,  you   know   the   preciousness   of   warmth. When   you   have   suffered,   you   know   how   to   appreciate   the   elements   of   paradise   that  are   present. If  you  dwell  only  in  your  suffering,  you  will  miss  paradise. Don? t  ignore  your  suffering,  but  don? t  forget  to  enjoy   the  wonders  of  life,  for  your  sake  and  for  the  benefit  of  many  beings. The  Art  Of  Happiness:  A  Handbook  For  Living  (1998)  by  His  Holiness  the  Dalai Lama  with  Howard  C. Cutler   M. D. s   a   collaboration   between   H. H. the   Dalai   Lama,   the   spiritu al   leader   of   Tibet,   and   Dr. Cutler,   a   psychiatrist. These  two  people  broke  the  barriers  between  spirituality  and  psychology  in  order  to  help  people  realize  happiness. The  perspective  in  the  book  alternates  between  the  understanding  of  a  Western  psychiatrist,  and  the  understanding   of  a  Tibetan  spiritual  leader,  through  a  conversation  in  which  each  attempts  to  understand  the  other. The  outcome  is   a  rich  dialogue  of  great  importance,  which  explores  questions  such  as†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Is  happiness  truly  possible?   and†¦Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"How   is  it  that  we  find  happiness? †Ã‚  If  you  are  seeking  happiness,  this  book  is  recommended. Ethics  For  The  New  Millennium  (1999)  by  His  Holiness  The  Dalai  Lam a  is  a  book  dedicated  toward  the  task   of  right  living. An  excerpt  from  chapter  1  reads  as  follows:  We  have,  in  my  view,  created  a  society  in  which  people  find   it  harder  and  harder  to  show  one  another  basic  affection. In  place  of  the  sense  of  community  and  belonging,  which  we  find   Great  Spiritual  Masters  &  Teachers  Ã‚ ©2005  University  Of  Metaphysical  Sciences   1 uch  a  reassuring  feature  of  less  wealthy  (and  generally  rural)  societies,  we  find  a  high  a  degree  of  loneliness  and  alienation. Despite  the  fact  that  millions  live  in  close  proximity  to  one  another,  it  seems  that  many  people,  especially  among  the  old,  have   no  one  to  talk  to  but  their  pets. Modern  industrial  society  often  strikes  me  as  being  like  a  huge  self? propelled  machine. Instead   of  human  beings  in  charge,  each  individual  is  a  tiny,  insignificant  component  with  no  choice  but  to  move  when  the  machine   moves. Around  this  observation,  H.H. the  Dalai  Lama  offers  a  cure  for  what  ails  us. This  is  an  excellent  book,  and   a  great  follow? up  to  The  Art  Of  Happiness. Rumi  as  translated  by  Coleman  Barks  in  The  Essential  Rumi  (2001)  is  an  exquisite  translation  to  read. Here we  find  the  poetry  of  Rumi,  and  if  you  have  not  experienced  his  work,  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  drink  from  the   fountain:  Ã‚   The  Many  Wines   God  has  given  us  a  dark  wine  so  potent  t hat,  drinking  it,  we  leave  the  two  worlds. God  has  put  into  the  form  of  hashish  a  power  to  deliver  the  taster  from  self? consciousness.God  has  made  sleep  so  that  it  erases  every  thought. God  made  Manjun  love  Layla  so  much  that  just  her  dog  would  cause  confusion  in  him. There  are  thousands  of  wines  that  can  take  over  our  minds. Don? t  think  all  ecstasies  are  the  same! Jesus  was  lost  in  his  love  for  God. His  donkey  was  drunk  with  barley. Drink  from  the  presence  of  saints,  not  from  those  other  jars. Every  object,  every  being,  is  a  jar  full  of  joy? from  The  Essential  Rumi   Guru  For  The  Aquarian  Age:  The  Life  And  Teachings  Of  Guru  Nanak  (1996)  by  Steve  Gilba r  and  Partnatma   Singh   talks   about   a   particular   guru   named   Nanak.From   the   introduction   by   Yogi   Bajan:   Guru   Nanak   served   humanity  by  openly  teaching  this  technique  of  awareness  in  order  to  bring  men  out  from  the  pit  of  hell  into  which  they  had   been  dragged  by  the  blind,  ritualistic,  self? centered,  spiritual  egoists  of  that  dark  age. He  gave  men  freedom  of  the  spirit  and   took  away  the  domination  of  these  Ã¢â‚¬Å"middlemen. †Ã‚  Humanity  had  committed  the  error  time  and  time  again  of  worshiping  the   man   rather   than   the   truth   he   represents. Guru   Nanak   taught   that   it   is   God   who   prevails   through   demand   and   the   man? owever   great   he   may   be? is   only   the   channel,   the   instrument   for   the   flow   of   Divine   Wisdom. Men   are   meant   to   praise   God,   and   to   teach   others   to   do   so,   not   to   become   objects   of   worship   themselves. Thus,   Guru   Nanak   reestablished   righteousness  and  the  path  to  glory  in  his  own  time. He  made  mankind  understand  the  basic  law  of  life:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Nanak  nam  Chardi   kala,  tere  bhane  sarbat  ka  bhala,†Ã‚  keep  up  and  wish  good  to  all. Isis  Unveiled:  Secrets  Of  The  Ancient  Wisdom  Traditions,  Madame  Blavatsky? s  First  Work,  A  New  Abridgment   For   Today   (1997)   by   Helena   P.Blavatsky,   abridged   by   Michael   Gomes   is   a   classic. Helena   Blavatsky   was   a   spiritual  adventurer  and  metaphys ician  who  founded  the  Theosophical  Society,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A  world  organization  dedicated  to   fellowship   among   all   peoples   and   encouragement   of   the   study   of   religion,   philosophy,   and   science. † In   this   voluminous   book,  Blavatsky  endeavors  to  reveal  the  truth  underlying  the  ancient  mystery  teachings  found  in  many  cultures. Though   the   original   is   difficult   to   read,   the   abridged   edition   is   much   more   accessible.If   one   is   serious   about   metaphysics,  theosophy,  Egyptology,  and  mystery  school  teachings,  this  is  a  must  read. Hildegard   Von   Bingen’s   Mystical   Visions:   Translated   From   Scivias   (1995)   translated   by   Bruce   Hozeski   is   all   about  Hildegard  Von  Bingen,  an  eleventh  century  mystical  visionary  who  had  begun  to  have  visions  and  speak   prophecy   by   the   age   of   15. She   was   a   writer   and   an   accomplished   musician,   and   everything   she   wrote   and   composed  seemed  divinely  inspired.This  book  is  a  translation  from  her  work  entitled  Scivias,  which  means  Know   The   Path. It   is   a   collection   of   her   visions   and   the   prophecy   brought   forth   in   them. There   are   26   visions,   and   Hozeski  breaks  each  one  up  into  sections  and  discusses  and  interprets  the  rich  symbolism  contained  within. This   is  a  profound  look  into  the  visions  of  a  great  mystic. In   Tales   of   Hasidim:   Book   One,   The   Early   Masters   (1991)   by   Martin   Buber,   tra nslated   by   Olga   Marx,   the   author   tells   the   stories   of   the   early   leaders   of   this   religion.The   brilliant   Jewish   philosopher   and   scholar/practitioner   of   the   Hasidic   faith,   comments   on   the   philosophy   of   Hasidic   Judaism. His   writing   on   The   Baal   Shem   Tov   were   used   in   the   research   for   this   course. Martin   Buber? s   body   of   work   has   been   profoundly   influential  in  its  focus  on  the  value  of  human  relationships  and  conscious  interaction  with  life. His  philosophical   views  are  beautifully  expressed  in  the  now  classic  I  And  Thou  (1970). If  you  are  interested  in  learning  more  about   Hasidism  or  human  relationships,  these  works  are  invaluable  to  your  studies. Why   The   Baal   Shem   Tov  Laughed:  52  Stories  About  Our  Great  Chasidic  Rabbis  (1993)  by  Sterna  Citron  is  an   informative  piece  of  literature  on  Hasidic  Judaism. From  the  back  cover:  In  the  year  5487,  a  brilliant  source  of  light illuminated  the  dark  skies  of  European  Jewry. Yisroel  Baal  Shem  Tov  breathed  life  and  joy  into  a  population  oppressed  by  a   Great  Spiritual  Masters  &  Teachers  Ã‚ ©2005  University  Of  Metaphysical  Sciences   2 hostile  environment  and  depressed  by  disillusionment†¦Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"These  Hasidic  stories  are  not  only  heartwarming  and  encouraging   but  also  a  source  of  our  own  character  building.While  reaching  the  goals  of  the  saintly  individuals  may  be  unrealistic,  the   principles   they   established   and   manifested   in   their   lives   should   serve   as   guidelines   for   us. Even   the   fact   that   we   cannot   achieve  their  greatness  should  not  deter  us  from  at  least  trying  to  emulate  them. †? from  Dr. Abraham  J. Twerski   A  Simple  Path  (1995)  by  Mother  Theresa  and  compiled  by  Lucinda  Vardey  chronicles  the  works  of  Mother   Theresa,  her  unfailing  dedication  to  serving  those  in  need,  and  the  formation  of  her  powerful  and  compassionate   organization,   The   Missionaries   Of   Charity.The   story   of   Mother   Theresa   and   her   works   is   an   inspiration   to   all. This  is  highly  recommended  reading. From  the  back  cover:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"There  is  something  else  to  remember? that  this  kind  of   love  begins  at  home. We  cannot  give  to  the  outside  what  we  don? t  have  on  the  inside. This  is  very  important. If  I  can’t  see   God? s   love   in   my   brother   and   sister   then   how   can   I   see   that   love   in   somebody   else? How   can   I   give   it   to   somebody   else? Everybody  has  got  some  good. Some  hide  it,  some  neglect  it,  but  it  is  there.   ? Mother  Theresa  Ã‚   The   Philosophy   Of   Freedom:   The   Basis   For   A   Modern   World   Conception   (1916)   was   translated   by   Michael   Wilson   and   is   an   early   work   of   philosophy   by   Rudolph   Steiner. Steiner   was   a   19th? century   philosopher,   spiritualist   and   clairvoyant   who   created   a   spiritual? p hilosophical   cosmology   that   he   called   anthroposophy. He   was   a   student   of   mystery   teachings,   and   was   involved   for   years   with   the   Theosophical   society,   as   well   as   the   Rosicrucians.The   Philosophy   Of   Freedom   was   his   defining   work   outlining   his   cosmological   view. From   the   back cover:  Are  we  free,  whether  we  know  it  or  not? Or  is  our  sense  of  freedom  merely  an  illusion? Rudolph  Steiner  tackles  this   age? old  problem  in  a  new  way. He  says  that  by  taking  account  of  our  own  activity  of  thinking,  we  can  know  the  reasons  for   our  actions. And  if  these  reasons  are  taken  from  our  world  of  the  ideals,  then  our  actions  are  free,  because  we  alone  determine   them. But   this   freedom   cannot   be   settled   for   us   by   philosophical   argument.It   is   not   simply   granted   to   us. If   we   want   to   become  free,  we  have  to  strive  by  our  own  inner  activity  to  overcome  our  unconscious  urges  and  habits  of  thought. In  order   to  do  this  we  must  reach  a  point  of  view  that  recognizes  no  limits  to  knowledge,  sees  through  all  illusions,  and  opens  the  door   to  an  experience  of  the  reality  of  the  spiritual  world. Then  we  can  achieve  the  highest  level  of  evolution. We  can  recognize   ourselves  as  free  spirit. ?Michael  Wilson  Ã‚   Gurdjieff:  The  Key  Concepts  (2003)  by  Sophia  Wellbeloved  is  a  thorough  investigation  of  Gurdjieff’s  legacy   of  work.From  the  back  cover:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Sophia  Wellbeloved  has  provided  here  a  tool  for  delving  beneath  Gurdjieff’s  veil  of  words,   for  both  a  specialized  and  general  public†¦Ã‚  this  is  a  work  that  honors  Gurdjieff’s  gift  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  welfare  of   mankind. †Ã‚  ? Paul  Beekman  Taylor. â€Å"This  unique  book  offers  clear  definitions  of  Gurdjieff’s  teaching  terms,  placing  him   within  the  political,  geographical,  and  cultural  context  of  his  time. Selected  entries  look  at  diverse  aspects  of  his  work. †Ã‚   Teachings   Of   The   Hindu   Mystic   (2001)   by   Andrew   Harvey   is   a   compilation   of   writings   from   the   Hindu   mystical   tradition.Andrew   Harvey   is   a   wo rld? renowned   author,   lecturer,   and   teacher   of   the   world? s   spiritual   traditions. He  has  spent  many  years  studying  Hinduism,  Buddhism  and  Christianity. Included  are  works  from   the  Bhagavad? Gita,  the  Upanishads,  teachings  from  Ramakrishna  and  Ramana  Maharishi,  as  well  as  devotional   poetry   from   Mirabai,   Ramprasad,   and   others. This   is   a   great   introduction   to   Hindu   mystic   teachings,   with   its   beautiful  way  of  expression  through  lyrical  verse. Brother   Francis:   An   Anthology   Of   Writings   By   And   About   St. Francis   Of

Synthesizer

To make this synth, I opened up the ES2 synthesizer in Logic, changed the setting to â€Å"series†, turned on â€Å"poly' and made sure it was in â€Å"unison† and opened up a second and third waveform. Next, I split the waveforms evenly using the acute triangle fgure. I set a cutoff to 1 and 2, and used envelope 2 for the cutoff. Finally, I turned both cut settings all the way to the right†¦ from this I got an upbeat dance- style synth that I'd be happy to use on any dancepop/electro track that I was trying to create!Synth 2 For this next tutorial, I wanted to have synthesized drums, so I made a basic drum pattern in ultrabeat opened up the ES2 synthesizer. The first thing I did once I had the ES2 synthesizer open was change the default preset to plain sine. Next, shorten the attack significantly. Then, I shortened to the decay to a little less than half, took away all of the sustain, then shortened the release to about 1/6. Then, I changed the settings so that t he pitch will be modulated by envelope 2.After, I turned on the filter nd set the drive to about 0. 10 to give some realistic harmonics. Finally, I set the sine level up a bit to give a bit more of a bass sound and voila! The perfect synth percussion to add to a d&b or rap track. Synth 3 For synth number three, I set out to make a house/techno-type synthesizer. I opened up my ES2 synthesizer. First, I set the first channel to sine and right clicked down to number 59 â€Å"cryl† and lowered the channel to -17s. Next I enabled the second channel, put it on a saw tooth and lowered it to -24.Next I enabled the third hannel, went to sine and set it up to â€Å"vox3† and set this one to -36s. Brought the icon in the triangle to the center so the sounds are balanced, then turned the analog halfway up. I went to the top and set it to ono and brought the voices down to 4, set the distortion to about 13. 600db. Finally, I routed envelope 1 to cutoff 2 and set cutoff 2 down to O. Lastly, I set the decay up, however, I also like it when I set the decay all the way down, yet still making for a delightfully electronic sound that would fit any good house/techno track!Synth History Perhaps the first fully electronic instrument came along Just before the turn of the 20th century, in 1899, when William Duddell took technology used in the carbon arc lamp, which was known for making a lot of noise, from a high-pitched whistle down to a low hum. Duddell had the lamp examined and his workers cuncluded that the more voltage the lamp received, the higher the pitch of the sound it gave off would be. Duddell hooked a keyboard up to the lamp and tentatively titled it, â€Å"The Singing Arc†, thus birthing the first fully-functional electronic instrument!

Internation Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Internation Economic - Essay Example 4.The United states has experienced a Balance of payment Trade deficit since 1982. You are a member of the Council of economic advisers to President and you role is to advise the President, who is very concerned about the rising EURO and the Trade Deficit, on how he can reduce or correct the Trade deficit respond to the Euro. What actions would you recommend and why? The US trade deficit shows that the country is importing more than its exports. Any act of balancing the trade deficit through increased exports that match with the imports will take years to yield the desired results. One of the easiest ways to ease out is through favorable changes in the currency exchange rates such as the Euro. A rising euro means that the United States is able to export more than previous levels. As such, the trade deficit has come down since 1996 compared to previous years. Therefore, it is advised to maintain the favorable variations in currency by looking into the factors that affect these exchange rates and utilizing them for the benefit of the

Counting Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Counting Systems - Essay Example There was a certain social status and prestige associated with the use of a counting table. Hindu mathematics presents interesting features of notation. Valuable information on this development is revealed by the Bakhsh'l' Manuscript. First, Hindu Arabic numeral system was mentioned in the 9th century. It is classified as a positional decimal numeral system consisted of symbols (Smith and Karpinski 1911). It has been generally believed that the so-called Arabic numerals, from which arise those in use by us today, were derived by the Muslim peoples from India, and that the Hindus invented (1) the principle of position or place value of the decimal point and (2) the nine digits and zero (or dot). In the astrological treatise written by Ch''-t'an Hsi-ta, who flourished under the T'ang Dynasty in the early eighth century A.D., the so-called Hindu decimal notation and rules are implied, so that they were introduced, or re-introduced into China, at that time or possibly earlier (Datta and Singh 1998). Whereas Hindu astronomy made improvement through Greek influence, mathematics in India, as Professor Sarton has stated, had no need to wait for Hellenism: we are, therefore, at present disinclined to refuse legitimate claims for Hindu originality in respect of the nine numerals and decimal system (Al-Daffa, 1977). "The basic idea of the system is the primacy of grouping (and of the rhythm of the symbols in their regular sequence) in "packets" of tens, hundreds (tens of tens), thousands (tens of tens of tens), and so on" (Ifrah et al. 2000, p. 25). In the Bakhshali Manuscript researchers find a small sign used to represent negative quantity: it is a cross, like the present 'plus' sign, but placed to the right of the quantity to which it refers. Zero is represented by a dot. The dot is also used to indicate an unknown quantity. There is an absence from the Bakshali Manuscript of symbols of operation, even the negative sign already noted not being used as such. In Bhaskara's Bija-Ganita, however, the dot is used as the negative sign of operation (Datta and Singh 1998). Operation is indicated in the Bakhsh'l' Manuscript by an ad hoc term, or by relative position, In general, Hindu mathematicians used the terms "ya" (as many as") for the first unknown quantity, now usually denoted by x; for the second unknown, say y for the constant quantity in an expression; "v or va" for a square and the initial letters of the words representing various colours for other unknown quantities (Al-Daffa, 1977). During his khalifate and later, there flourished Al-Kindi. Al-Kindi, like many eminent scholars of the Middle Ages, was an encyclopedialist, and wrote numerous works on many subjects. He translated extesively from the Greek, and his treatise on geometrical and physiological optics (known in the Latin form as De Aspectibus) was based on the optical works of Euclid, Heron, and Ptolemy. He was interested in large-scale natural phenomena, studying particularly the tides, and also the rainbow ion accordance with the principles of optical reflection. Further, his scientific studies embraced the Hindu numerals and a musical notation relating to pitch (Smith and Karpinski 1911). He was sufficiently far-sighted to regard much alchemy as spurious and non-scientific Eminent among writers on mechanical and mathematical subjects were the three sons of M's' ibn Sh'kir, the Ban' M's', who engaged also the

New Market Opportunities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

New Market Opportunities - Essay Example The revenue of the Kellogg was 12,397 million Dollars during the year 2010. The revenue figures depicted a compound annual growth rate of 4% during the past five years ending at 2010. The figure below depicts the movement of revenue throughout the period from the year 2005 to 2010: Source: (Kellogg Company, 2011). Leadership Team The leadership team of Kellogg is headed by Chairman of the Board, James M. Jennes. John A. Bryant is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Various Senior Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents operate under the Chairman and the President of the company. The various departments of the company are headed by the respective Senior Vice Presidents. Margaret Bath is the Senior Vice President of the Research, Quality and Technology Department. Mark R. Baynes is the Global Chief Marketing Officer and Kris Charles is the Vice President of the Global Communications and Philanthropy Department. An important department dealing with the sustainability i ssues of the company is headed by Dr. Celeste A. Clark. The Chief Financial Officer of Kellogg Company is Ronald L. Dissinger and the department of global human resource is overseen by Dennis Shuler (Kellogg Company, 2009). ... The pyramid below depicts the objectives of Kellogg: Source: (Kellogg Company, 2011). Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Kellogg aspires to develop a strong prospect for business and grow on a continuous basis with proper sustenance of business ethics towards the company’s stakeholders and primarily the environment. The company undertakes a number of projects aimed at the betterment of the society every year. For instance, during the year 2010, the company concentrated upon investments on charities in order to depict their objectives as a company dealing with processed food on a global basis (Kellogg Company, 2011). Product Mix The product mix of Kellogg is consisted of a number of varieties of products. By category, the products of the company are consisted of baking products, beverages, cereal, cones, cookies, crackers, fruit flavored snacks, snack bars, snacks, chips and party mixes, toaster pastries, vegetarian and waffles, pancakes and syrup (Kellogg NA Company, 20 11). The various products under each of the categories are available in innumerable number of brands offered by the company. Current Financial State The financial health of the company can be considered to be stable as the company has sustained its operating profit, sales and earnings per share throughout the last five years, while investing in various profitable business opportunities. Although the operating profit of the company declined during the year 2010 from that in the year 2009 (from $2001 million to $1990 million), the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) during the past five years was 3%. Similarly, the earnings per share of the company also depicted a CAGR of 7 % (Kellogg Company, 2011). Part II: Technological Opportunities

660 Assignment 5 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

660 5 - Assignment Example Situational leadership model has outlined three critical elements that come into play in the situational leadership theory. Among them is the leader, the followers and the circumstance/situation at hand that has to be handled. Applying this theory to Windber Medical centre and its administration by F. Nicholas Jacob, we get all the three factors of the theory coming into play. First we have Jacob has the leader, the followers being the workers and the situation being the poor state of performance of the hospital in terms of service delivery and its remuneration to its workers. Jacobs’ approach to the situation was one that depicted his task behavior and at the same time relationship behavior. He talked to the workers in a bid to know what they would want done about their workplace to improve the situation. More so he reached talks with the surrounding community in his efforts to establishing good relations with them. He got engaged in instructing the workers what to do, selling ;by extending his relations to the surrounding community, participating and delegating some duty to his juniors for instance putting somebody in charge of the food service. This refers to a follower’s ability and willingness to successfully accomplish a specific given task. This does not evaluate the individual/group’s innate values and qualities. In applying this to Jacobs’ case we find that 32 employees who were not willing and ready to cope up with the new working conditions were laid off as others joined the institution amidst impressive economic and developmental performance. A continuum ranging from R1(lowest readiness) to R4(highest readiness) has been crafted to show the extent of this ability and willingness by the followers to perform task. The task to be accomplished by Jacobs as the president of Windber was to raise the performance of the institution and make sure it’s not closed down. Jacobs had to ensure the old structures

Unit 1 - Program Capstone Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 1 - Program Capstone - Research Paper Example This explains why most employees appreciated the managers monitoring the activities of the employees and the overall company performance. In regards to the leading function, Google employs a democratic type of leadership that allows for participation of all members of the team; thus, proper participation in the course of accomplishment of tasks (Google Inc., 2015). Planning, as Daft & Marci (2012) and Daft & Marci (2012) indicate, is a core function for management. Planning is strong points of the managers of Google Inc. as the managers have been on the frontline to come up with processes that ensure they access the appropriate resourcing. The managers are also innovative and mostly focus on implementing their ideas effectively. Lastly, organization is also evident in Google. The company uses a product organizational structure where employees work based on their division and product such as employees on the YouTube and Chrome section (Google Inc., 2015). However, improvement may be needed, in terms of seeking ideas that will provide for diversification; thus, reach newer customers. Additionally, Google my benefit from creating more innovation ideas that would allow for growth of its company (Google Inc.,

Robert Smithson and Ana Mendieta Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Robert Smithson and Ana Mendieta - Essay Example The paper "Robert Smithson and Ana Mendieta" discovers the art of the two artists, Robert Smithson and Ana Mendieta. Both artists use the earth as their medium. The only difference that we can see to them is the way by which they choose the medium to present their art. Smithson in his works tends to make monumental creations. His wonderful idea about making land into a form of art motivated him to come up with the Spiral Jetty in Salt Lake Utah in 1970. Eventually he became the proponent of Earth Art or land art. He called this as a site work, wherein the mere place or location becomes the artist medium or subject. Mendieta’s approach is almost the same. She also uses the earth and other things like feather etc. as her medium. The only difference that we can see is that she does intend to make monumental creation or big work as what Smithson is doing. She is unique in her symbolic approach in visual representation. She does not concentrate in making the site as her subject and medium. She mainly incorporates herself or her body to her art. These are things that Smithson has not done with his work. Most of his concepts revolve on his conceptual ideas of making the mere place or site as a form of art. There are reasons for these differences. Ana Mendieta strives not only to present a piece of art, like what Smithson is doing. Her concept is feministic, therefore bringing her earnest idea into the mediums by which she is using. She makes a lot of symbolisms in her work than what Smithson has done.

Definition of Public Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Definition of Public Relations - Essay Example However, in developing of an appropriate ‘public relation’ schedule, it is always important to picture how it will appeal to different people. This definition was provided by a female Military officer aged 33 years. A Community Health Officer defines public relations as the ability to foster and maintain mutually beneficial relationships between the community and county government. In the explanation, the officer attributes that public relation is very similar to ‘community relations.’ The health officer is male aged 45 years. A permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labor and Public Works attributes the fact that Public Relations is a management function, which aims at establishing and sustaining a self sufficient inter-link between the Ministry and the public on whom its success or failure depends. The permanent secretary is male aged 51 years. A female student aged 20 years, taking Bachelor of Arts (English & Journalism) defines Public Relations as an art of communication which can be between a firm, State, or an individual and the most suitable audience. A Marketing male student aged 22 defines public relations as the ability of an organization to communicate its activities, products, and services to customers in the right manner prescribed to them, right time, and in the right place. Public relations is purely a management function that aims at establishing and maintaining ‘mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance, and co-operation’ (Fawkes, quoted in Wilcox et al. 2003: 7) between a firm, government, or an individual and the general public. Because organizations are always concerned with maintaining a good public image, they assess public opinions, which can be relevant in solving problems, help in accepting and adapting to changes, identifying any warning elements to help anticipate trends, and promote ethical behavior. Newsom et al. (2012)

Macroeconomics II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Macroeconomics II - Essay Example Macroeconomics is the big picture of a country. The rate of inflation measured by the Consumer price index, Growth measured by the GDP rate, and the rate of unemployment, which denotes the country’s full employment potential. On the other hand, Microeconomics is study of the behavior of firms workers, markets and households. The primary goal of the government and the Bank of England is to keep inflation and unemployment as low as possible in the process of maximizing growth. To achieve this goal a monetary and fiscal policy is formulated. A monetary policy is the altering of lending rates to banks this in turn releases or curbs money supply in the financial market. An increase in the prime lending rate by the Bank of England to other banks pushes them to raise the interest paid on deposits to consumers and the interest on loan to borrowers. A fiscal policy is the change in the taxation structure and public spending. Public spending in other words is the government spending on defense, infrastructure and welfare schemes for the country. (Source:Mathew Bishop ’Economist’ Essentials of Economics, Macroeconomic policy.) Inflation is caused when demand for goods and services exceed supply or a rise in the price of oil, which most countries around the globe are facing right now. An increase in the prime lending rate will encourage saving, and discourage borrowing due to the high rate of interest on loans and in turn bring down consumption spending by giving the common person, lower disposable income, Therefore lower demand and this controls price rise. Now the reduction in consumption spending decreases the demand for goods and services, and businesses will cut cost as they worry about inventory pile up and future sales. This results in low wages and unemployment. So what do we do? What we see here is ironical. In the attempts to

Ethics and brand Essay Example for Free

Ethics and brand Essay Branding is defined in various ways. In the case of engineering, technological and high value products the brand name plays an important role. Customers are ready to pay premium for a brand due to the intrinsic value and trustworthiness attached to it. They trust particular brand that’s the reason they buy it. In business-to-business buying consumers or professional buyers rely on the strong and positive image of the brand. The products or services these consumers buy have impact on their business and operations. Ethical branding enhances corporate reputation over a period of time, it helps them retaining their consumers and creating long term and strong relationship with consumers in the present competitive market place. There are several ways companies are operating in the global market. Company like Toyota has different strategies for developed countries and developing countries depending upon consumer group and market. Consumers in country like Europe are more concerned about environmental friendly and fuel efficient products whereas consumers in developing countries are concerned about mileage and affordability. Toyota is one of the most reputed global brands for its ethical practices in every area from recruitment to branding. Consumers pay premium for the preferred brands. Positive brand image like ethical branding will definitely encourage consumers to buy the product over competitors. It depends on the target consumers and market place where a company is operating whether or not, consumer will be ready to pay more for ethical brands. Different technological products and services like software, Operating Systems and E-commerce activities like banking and finance, high Technology products like pharmacy, biotechnology products consumers rely on the reputation and brand image for their buying decisions. The products where the consumer has low level of knowledge and high level of requirements consumer will probably take decision in favor of ethical and more reputed brand over the other. A strong and positive brand image helps organisations to not only be on the top of the mind of consumers but also contribute to the long-term success of the product. This is the reason companies like Cola and Pepsi use advertising strategies to gain maximum of market share. Some companies adopt practice like they communicate themselves to be an ethical brand rather than adopting ethical practices. This limits realty of ethical branding. However, regulatory bodies, active consumer groups and other organizations keep an eye on such companies and their practices and investigate the matters. Active consumer groups put pressure on the corporate to adopt ethical practices. Companies become more accountable for their acts with their ethical branding efforts. Consumers worldwide are being more sensitive about ethical practices adopted by companies and the numbers of consumers ready to pay premium for the ethical brands are growing. This phenomenon is encouraging professionals and engineers to adopt ethical practices and comply with the ethical branding campaign of their companies. Ethical branding is more acceptable in the social groups where price sensitivity of the consumers is low. Professional engineers have many opportunities with ethical branding. The intellectual property rights will help them protecting their copyrights and patients, trade marks and trade secrets. They will have better protection for their innovations and will be encouraged to adopt ethical practices that can add value to the branding efforts.

Impact Of Ecommerce On Vodafone Marketing Essay

Impact Of Ecommerce On Vodafone Marketing Essay E-Commerce in simple terms can be explained as buying and selling of goods and services and transfer of funds through digital communications. Electronic commerce over the Internet is a new way of conducting business. Ecommerce or electronic commerce involves carrying out business over the Internet with the assistance of computers, which are linked to each other forming a network. The amount and volume of trade that is conducted over such mediums has increased manifold over the years with the spread and adoption of Internet. The growing number of Internet users, (estimated to be more than 1.4 billion worldwide [1]) coupled with increased Internet Connectivity, has contributed to increase in spends for online budgets. Vodafone is the worlds leading international mobile telecommunications group with approximately 280 million proportionate customers as of 30 September 2008 [2]. Vodafone has equity interests in 27 countries across five continents and over 40 partner networks worldwide. Lets have a look at all the ecommerce activities done by Vodafone Vodafone maintains and manages a UK online store for consumers; this ecommerce site is one of the most visited websites in the UK and reliably handles 1.85 million unique visits per month [5]. This has been achieved by optimizing both the front-end and back-end code to ensure that it operates smoothly under considerable load. The site is under constant development with promotional/sales changes made on an on-going basis and releases of strategic developments every 2-4 weeks.   Why is this Vodafone online shop different? It enables a remarkable customer online experience; It completely automates the buying and renewal of online subscriptions; It is built on a very powerful infrastructure: ATG, an e-commerce solution used by the worlds top brands. Picking up the major benefits Vodafone gains are: Customer acquisition increased number of new subscribers; Customer retention due to the personalized customer experience; Customer growth through handy, accessible mix of services; Cost-effectiveness decreasing customer-related operational costs by integrating core business systems. Quoting from the news articleM2 PRESSWIRE-16 May 2000-VODAFONE: Corporate customers enjoy benefits of e-commerce (C) 1994-2000 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD RDATE: 16052000 Vodafone today unveils Vodafone Corporate Online, the heart of a new e-commerce strategy for its corporate customers [6]. Vodafone Corporate Online is a secure web site (Extranet) that will initially enable corporate customers to buy goods or services on-line, request installations, recoveries and review order status. Future e- services such as on-line bill analysis, billing via email and electronic bill viewing will follow later in the year. Graham Ward, Managing Director of Vodafone Corporate, said: We are constantly striving to make life easier for our customers and our innovative e-commerce strategy plays a major role in the business [6]. And also another ecommerce transaction of Vodafone is that, the account is also very easy to manage via the Vodafone web site. There is the option to change your price plan, top up, manage your calling groups or even add extra services [7]. If you purchase just a sim card to put into an existing phone, you can send all the settings for GPS, SMS, and WAP etc via their website to update your phone automatically without the need to spend ages doing manual input, or spending hours on the phone to an advisor. Leading e-commerce marketplace makes it easily accessible to Vodafone customers. New mobile application ensures best customer experience on mobile. Vodafone is to offer the new eBay mobile service to customers, enabling them to keep up with their latest purchases, wherever they are and whenever they wish. The eBay application will be free to download  on Vodafone live! or embedded on key customer Vodafone handsets. Launching in Italy initially, the new eBay mobile service will be available across Europe later this year [8].   The eBay mobile application, accessed directly from the customers handset, will include the ability to search and browse items, find deals, bid on items and buy fixed price products. The application will be embedded onto key consumer handsets from Vodafone in the future. Customers with compatible handsets will also be able to download the application from Vodafone live! The application will help consumers track their eBay activity in real time on their phone and will also ensure their mobile and web activity is synchronized.   As we move closer to the convergence of web and mobile, it is essential that we can offer our customers, leading Internet based services, such as eBay, in an easily accessible way, [8] said Frank H. Rà ¶vekamp, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Vodafone. There is a strong demand from eBay users to benefit from a mobile application where they dont miss the end of auctions and bid back when they are outbid. Todays announcement offers just that and gives Vodafone customers a great service and a clear advantage allowing them to make the most of their time [8].   Vodafones main areas of interest are [3]: focus on the customer including privacy, security and online protection; reducing environmental impact through network energy-saving, waste reduction and green travel and; using communications technology to help customers reduce their carbon footprint; supporting good causes including World of Difference a major new volunteering programme; employee engagement and advocacy; working with suppliers to raise and maintain standards. To reach and succeed on these interests the Vodafone started all above mentioned e-commerce strategies and a lot more so that it can enjoy many benefits, the impact it had on Vodafone are, Vodafone was be able to reach new markets across traditional geographic boundaries and expand their customer base. Firm was able to provide cost-effective customer service with tools such as Frequently Asked Questions, delivery-tracking technology or personalized online customer accounts. Its win/win when e-commerce allows them to shift a lot of the burden of service back onto the customer. Stay open for business 24-hours. Vodafone customers can purchase online while employees sleep. And also potentially saved money on labor, materials and other overheads and reduce their inventory holdings. Ecommerce allows Vodafone to carry out businesses without the barriers of time or distance. One can log on to the Internet at any point of time, be it day or night and purchase or sell anything one desires at a single click of the mouse. Essentially this allows them to offer their goods and services to both a global and local market 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, often with vastly reduced overheads which are associated with traditional sales methods. Operational benefits of e commerce include reducing both the time and personnel required to complete business processes, and reducing strain on other resources. The strategic benefit of making Vodafone ecommerce enabled, is that it helped reduce the delivery time, labor cost and the cost incurred in the following areas: Document preparation Error detection and correction Reconciliation Mail preparation Telephone calling Data entry Overtime Supervision expenses According to research conducted by AC Nielson, in September 2006 5.9 million Australians were shopping online, making us the third-largest online spenders behind the UK and the US [4]. Over half of these online shoppers (51 per cent) came back for more and average shopper spending was up 19 percent to $1,900 per annum [4]. Concluding the facts I have written above regarding the ecommerce techniques and strategies used by the Vodafone and also the impact ecommerce had on Vodafone, I would once again like to remind the readers that ecommerce brings in more advantages weighed against the disadvantages to the adaptor. The major the benefits what all firms are striving for are, Increased awareness of products and services   Businesses can now greatly expand their markets using ecommerce, no need to constrain the focus to only the local scene, but by using the Internet, businesses can venture into international and regional markets, with greater ease. This dynamically changes the nature and the marketing activities of some businesses, possibly encouraging the business to expand the diversity of its products and services, to meet these new markets. Websites, in their nature, allow hundreds and thousands of items to be on view 24/7; thus encouraging wider viewing, and extended trading hours. Freedom   With the freedom of being able to post your information on their website, hence on the Internet, at any time of the day; available information of all variations is increasing at a huge rate. The freedom to browse anywhere and interact with anyone is enough to tempt the smallest of businesses and the most introverted of people to get on the Net; hence Net users are increasing in numbers, at an alarming rate, approximately 50,000 per day. Businesses are buzzing on the Net; they have found a way to compete on an even field, with even the largest of corporations; and within a daily increasing customer marketplace. This can be done only by ecommerce Cost advantage  -businesses based on ecommerce are extremely aware of how they can profit by being on the Internet; they can advertise their products and services without the huge costs, and delays of printing, publishing and distribution. The market is a global one, which adds greater value to the costs outlaid for promotion and marketing; compared to the limits of offline. Ecommerce facilities can be incorporated into the website, transforming 2D screen visuals into user reactive models; for example, consumers can order their products and services online, greatly reducing administration expenses. Reduction of telephone calls to potential customers; follow ups by email; newsletters digitally made, promoted by email or downloadable from the website, with reduction of distribution costs; less promotional material sent out, printed and wasted; extended trading hours without a human presence; are just a few ways to cut costs. To reach their goals and strategies, striving through life time of the business will not make any difference they should adapt ecommerce and feel the advantages and the turn-up on their business as soon as possible. This article about Vodafone can be great example of how adapting ecommerce had made an impact on its business activities, customer base and a lot more.

Interpersonal Skills Needed by Business Managers

Interpersonal Skills Needed by Business Managers In modern corporations, business managers desire to develop positive and effective interaction with their employees. In order to build up successful relationship with subordinates, managers need to improve their interpersonal skills. This paper sets out to analyse three different interpersonal skills needed by business managers: understanding others, developing and maintaining rapport, listening and presenting feedback to others. And it seems that listening and presenting feedback is the most significant one. Introduction In recent years, there has been a great deal of discussion about interpersonal skills of business managers. For business managers, they always work with people who have different backgrounds, and whether they can maintain successful interaction with their employees, to a certain degree, depends on their effective interpersonal skills. In modern society, it is significant difficult for business managers who cannot relate with others to achieve succeed. (Fandt 1994) In modern corporations, positive relationships are of great importance in earning high degrees of job satisfaction. If employees have a good feeling about their jobs, they will be more likely to do their job well; in addition, they are able to accomplish their tasks in high-quality environment. The research of service-profit chain(Heskett et al. 1994; Heskett, Sasser, and Schlesinger 1997 cited in Tews Tracey 2009, p.245) which analyses how companies achieve and maintain outstanding performance mentions that internal servi ce quality, such as the way people work with each other, moves employees to feel more satisfied about their working environment. (Tews Tracey 2009) On the contrary, if a business manager lacks interpersonal skills, they will limit the performance of employees. For example, employees who are likely to be passive, lack creativity, and depend too much on others ideas and instructions results in working with the managers who lacks interpersonal skills. (Fandt 1994) Therefore, it is one of the most basic priorities for business managers to improve their ability of interpersonal skills. The interpersonal skills needed by business managers can be seen as the capacity to be a facilitator-to foster a collective effect; get along with peers, subordinates, and superiors; and manage interactions with other. (Fandt 1994) This paper will analyse the following interpersonal skills: (1) understanding others, (2) developing and maintaining rapport, (3) listening and presenting feedback to others. Moreover, it will be argued that listening and presenting feedback to others is the most significant interpersonal skill among the three skills needed by business managers. Understanding others Some social psychologists have recognised that making efforts to understand the inner world of others is an extremely common feature of human interaction. This is because interpreting how to open up a conversation with others, how to respond to what others say are built up on the level of understanding of others. (Guirdham 1996) For business managers, understanding others is also of great significance. The survey (Heller Porter 1996 cited in Guirdham 1996, p. 147) of 150 US and UK executives found that the ability to understand people was ranged as the top of a list of 16 skills of management. This is because other skills such as communication, persuading, and team work are based on a basic priority of understanding what others do and say. (Guirdham 1996) In addition, business managers need to interpret others also because people are differing from each other and the managers should not treat everybody alike. Fiedler (1964) as cited in Guirdham (1996) suggests that a leader who can distinguish among their followers is more likely to be succeed than those who cannot. Taking the captains of basketball teams as an example, Fielder (1964) as cited in Guirdham (1996) found that the leader of the losing team seemed to find the differences among his players from a macro perspective, however, the captain of winning team knew who dribbled well, who shot well, who played well under pressure, and so on. Willard E. and Robert W. (1951) also mentioned that the more you are able to recognize the differences among your men, the better you will be able to understand and help them. For instance, there was a business manager who interpreted his subordinates by making notes in index cards. He picked up some information such as the birthday, education of his employees, names of the subordinates wife and children, the employees hobbies, ages, and even interests. By doing that, the manager could remember some individual characteristics of his employees which would play a key role in talking with each other much easier and distinguishing the employees better. In a word, successful business managers tend to have the capacity to perceive differences among their employees. (Guirdham 1996) Furthermore, no business manager can function without comprehending and understanding individuals who work with him. The performances of a leader will be affected by what he knows of his followers. A manager may always study the behaviours of his subordinates in order to avoid lacking confidence or discord. (Parker Kleemeier 1951) Finally, understanding the subordinates will help the business managers match their employees properly with the right work. If a person who lacks sufficient abilities probably will fail in finishing his job. And as a result, he will be more likely to become frustrated and disappointed. On the other hand, employees who are over-qualified tend to become bored with their simple work. Thus, it is essential for the managers to understanding their employees better in order to match them with the right work. (Parker Kleemeier 1951) Developing and maintaining rapport Rapport can be seen as the quality of the relationship in describing the interactions between psychotherapists and their clients (Gfeller, Lynn, and Pribble 1987 cited in Gremler Gwinner 2000, p.83), as the quality of [a] relationship characterized by satisfactory communication and mutual understanding in investigating college roommate relationships (Carey et al. 1988 cited in Gremler Gwinner 2000, p.83) and as a quality in the relation or connection between interactants , especially relations marked by harmony, conformity , accord, and affinity (Bernieri et al. 1996 cited in Gremler Gwinner 2000, p.83). In terms of the relationship between business managers and their subordinates, rapport means the enjoyable interactions which will be established when the business managers tend to open to others with a friendly manner, display the interests in their employees, use the sense of humour to reduce tensions, demonstrate that the managers have the sensitivity of the needs and feelings of their subordinates. (Fandt 1994) For business managers, developing and keeping rapport with their employees will help them build up confidence to deal with problems in an appropriate way, encourage them to share their helpful ideas with the employees, promote the cooperation between leaders and followers, and bring themselves and their subordinates into harmony by reducing the possibility of the grievances and disruptive conflicts (Filley 1975). Grievances and disruptive conflicts (Filley 1975) seem to be the two main aspects which are result in failing in maintaining rapport in working environment. Firstly, a grievance can be described as the resentments of a person which is possible to contribute to adverse effects on subordinates attitude toward their job, their manager even the whole company. The quality of work will be suffered severely and the morale of the employees will be lowered when employees have a grievance. In addition, the relationship between managers and their employees is also likely to be tensional because of the existence of grievance. Secondly, according to Filley (1975), conflict is divided into two different kinds: competitive conflicts and disruptive conflicts, and to a certain extent, disruptive conflicts are likely to cause damage to keeping rapport. It will bring tension between business managers and their followers. Moreover, it seems to create negative feelings between leaders and subordinates which will contribute to a complaining atmosphere in work. (Quinn, Faerman, Thompson and McGrath 1996) According to the above-mentioned, it is clear that for business managers, developing and keeping rapport is of huge significance in order to create enjoyable interactions between leaders and their subordinates and avoid grievances and disruptive conflicts(Filley 1975). Listening and presenting feedback to others The meaning of listening is not the same as hearing. Listening is an intellectual and emotional process in which you use all resources at hand to understand the meaning of a message. (Fandt 1994) Thus, to a certain extent, listening is a reflective activity. An effective listener should not only hear something form others, but also include keeping appropriate eye contact, observing the hidden stories, exploring the words that have been spoken, and understanding the body language of the speaker. (Fandt 1994) For business managers, in order to be a good listener, they should attempt to use empathy (Quinn, Faerman, Thompson and McGrath 1996) which means feeling others inner world and experiencing others thoughts instead of directly controlling others thoughts. For example, when the statement of a subordinate is not accurate, the manager should not interrupt him and keep listen to him to the end. And after that, the manager can ask some open-ended questions like How did you feel when that happened. This kind of listening behaviour may help managers understand the inner thoughts and feelings of the subordinate. In addition, it will also be beneficial to save time because of the less of interruption and repetition. However, if a manager experiences a subordinates inner world excessively, the subordinate may feel uncomfortable, and as a result, the manager cannot understand the speaker deeply. (Quinn, Faerman, Thompson and McGrath 1996) It is also of great importance that while listening to the subordinates, the business managers should present some feedback to them. Fandt (1994) mentions that appropriate feedback given by managers will help the subordinates promote, correct, and obtain a greater achievement. For instance, some business managers present feedback as I think you handled the customer complaints very professionally and I appreciate your error-free report (Fandt 1994). This kind of feedback shows subordinates that the managers understand what they are doing, recognize and appreciate their performances, as a result, the subordinates tend to continue to perform well. (Fandt 1994) In most cases, business managers attempt to give critical feedback to their employees. In another word, managers not only present some negative feedback but also give some negative feedback. However, according to Fandt (1994), it is more considerable to give positive feedback than negative feedback. That is because most employees feel difficult to hear and accept negative feedback. For example, punishment, blame, and wrongly criticism seem to be the most common kinds of negative feedback which will decrease the inspiration of employees because of the feeling of tension. Furthermore, punishment, blame, and wrongly criticism also tend to reduce the capacity of doing jobs of employees because they are likely to be defeated by them. On the other hand, giving some positive feedback such as praise can inspire employees to a greater achievement. Parker and Kleemeier (1951) states all men will work hard to gain admiration and praise from others. It is for the reason that praise is one of the strongest motivating forces at the supervisors command. If an employee gets positive feedback such as praise from the manager, he will desire to accomplish his work better and show great cooperation. (Parker and Kleemeier 1951) Moreover, although some employees may make some mistakes during their work, the manager also should point out what they have done is right, and as a result, employees will be more likely to have more confidence to correct their performances. Discussion Comparing to the three interpersonal skills needed by business managers, listening and presenting feedback seems to be the most significant one. That is because understanding others and keeping rapport in working atmosphere are based on listening and giving feedback to others. Firstly, managers tend to show their understanding of the subordinates through listening and presenting some feedback. As Parker and Kleemeier (1951) point out nearly all supervisors who really understand their men eventually learn to be good listeners. Successful managers attempt to study the attitudes of their employees, to observe what the employees really are thinking about through listening to them. After listening to them, managers can present some feedback to show the employees that the managers can understand what they are thinking about and what they really want. Secondly, listening and showing feedback to others will also help business managers to select the right man to do appropriate work. If a manager desire to select employees the most common way to do that is interviewing. During the interviewing, the managers may always ask some open-ended questions and then they keep the interviewees talking about it. The only job of the interviewers is listening and giving feedback at the end of the interview. This kind of activity will be more likely to help managers make the accurate choice and understand the interviewees better. Finally, the possibility of grievances and disruptive conflicts (Filley 1975) seems to be reduced by listening and presenting feedback. For instance, some employees may complain that they are treated unfairly. For an experienced manager, the best way to deal with this kind of problem is to listen to their complaints to find some hidden problems of the employees even the company. In addition, they present some feedback to show that they have understood the problem and will take actions to cope with it. As a result, the managers can develop and maintain rapport in the working environment. (Parker Kleemeier 1951) Conclusion In conclusion, a perfect business manager should maintain successful interaction with their employees. Furthermore, to become a successful manager, people should be skilled in outstanding interpersonal behaviours which will not only develop the level of self-awareness but also promote the level of prestige. This essay has analysed three different interpersonal skills needed by business managers including understanding others, developing and maintaining rapport, and listening and presenting feedback to others. For business managers, firstly, understanding their employees can promote the capacity of distinguish people from different backgrounds, help them interpret what their employees feelings and match their employees appropriately with the right job. Secondly, it is also beneficial to develop and keep rapport. Most of people would like to work in a positive place where there are less grievances and disruptive conflicts (Filley 1975). If a manager can keep rapport in a company, he will be more likely to build up cooperation relationship with his subordinates and become more successful. Finally, listening and presenting feedback to employees can make the employees feel that their managers concern about them, and understand them. So that managers may earn the respect of their employees which will develop the efficiency of their work. In addition, listening and presenting feedback might be the most significant ability among the three interpersonal skills needed by business managers. Because it seems as the foundation of other interpersonal skills and business managers should concentrate on develop the capacity of listening and presenting feedback to their subordinates firstly.

Gabon :: essays papers

Gabon ECONOMY Gabon has a PCI (per capita income) that is two to four times greater than that of most sub-Saharan African nations. The average income in Gabon is about $6,400 compared to the $1,200 of some other countries. The higher PCI has helped in the decline of extreme poverty but because of a high income inequality many families still remain poor. High income inequality makes it hard for families to move up in society, they remain where they are at. In 1992 there fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of there GDP and they did not settle the arrears on the bilateral debt which lead to the cancellation of all the official and private creditors. Fluctuating prices in the oil, timber, and uranium, plus poor fiscal management has also hurt the economy. Gabon’s GPD (gross domestic product) is estimated to be around 7.7 billion dollars. The GPD is divided into three sections the first being agriculture making up 8%. Gabon’s agriculture consists of cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, cattle, and fish. The second section, industry, contributes 67% of the nations GPD. Gabon’s industry includes textile, lumbering and plywood, petroleum, cement, manganese, uranium, gold mining, and chemicals. Oil was located of the coast of Gabon in the 1970’s. Petroleum alone now makes up 50% of the GDP. The last section of the GDP is services, making up 25%. Ship repair supplies the most to this category of the GDP. Gabon exports about $2.1 billion a year and imports an average of $890 million. The US, China, France, and Japan are there leading partners for exports. The US receives 67% of Gabon’s exports a year. Machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, petroleum products, and construction materials are included in Gabon’s imports. France imports about 38% followed by the US, Cameroon, and the Netherlands. The CFAF (Communaute Financiere Africaine franc) is Gabon’s currency. The CFAF started of as the French currency the Franc. The exchange rate for every US dollar is 577.61 CFAF’s. The inflation rate for the CFAF is about 2% as of January 1999. Gabon’s labor force works in three sectors, agriculture, industry and commerce, and services. Even though agriculture supplies only 8% of the GDP it makes up 65% of the labor force. Workers raise foods such as; cassava, plantains, sugarcane, corn (maize), peanuts (groundnuts), bananas, palm oil, and cacao. Gabon :: essays papers Gabon ECONOMY Gabon has a PCI (per capita income) that is two to four times greater than that of most sub-Saharan African nations. The average income in Gabon is about $6,400 compared to the $1,200 of some other countries. The higher PCI has helped in the decline of extreme poverty but because of a high income inequality many families still remain poor. High income inequality makes it hard for families to move up in society, they remain where they are at. In 1992 there fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of there GDP and they did not settle the arrears on the bilateral debt which lead to the cancellation of all the official and private creditors. Fluctuating prices in the oil, timber, and uranium, plus poor fiscal management has also hurt the economy. Gabon’s GPD (gross domestic product) is estimated to be around 7.7 billion dollars. The GPD is divided into three sections the first being agriculture making up 8%. Gabon’s agriculture consists of cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, cattle, and fish. The second section, industry, contributes 67% of the nations GPD. Gabon’s industry includes textile, lumbering and plywood, petroleum, cement, manganese, uranium, gold mining, and chemicals. Oil was located of the coast of Gabon in the 1970’s. Petroleum alone now makes up 50% of the GDP. The last section of the GDP is services, making up 25%. Ship repair supplies the most to this category of the GDP. Gabon exports about $2.1 billion a year and imports an average of $890 million. The US, China, France, and Japan are there leading partners for exports. The US receives 67% of Gabon’s exports a year. Machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, petroleum products, and construction materials are included in Gabon’s imports. France imports about 38% followed by the US, Cameroon, and the Netherlands. The CFAF (Communaute Financiere Africaine franc) is Gabon’s currency. The CFAF started of as the French currency the Franc. The exchange rate for every US dollar is 577.61 CFAF’s. The inflation rate for the CFAF is about 2% as of January 1999. Gabon’s labor force works in three sectors, agriculture, industry and commerce, and services. Even though agriculture supplies only 8% of the GDP it makes up 65% of the labor force. Workers raise foods such as; cassava, plantains, sugarcane, corn (maize), peanuts (groundnuts), bananas, palm oil, and cacao.

Plot Summary of This Other Eden by Ben Elton :: essays research papers

The story begins with a view into what life is going to be like in the next century for the people of Earth. The first image described is of a rat eating away at a man's rotting leg, as he lies in mountains upon mountains of garbage. The man then decides that he is going to have to cut off his leg in order to save himself. This however, is not the world in which the characters of the book live, this is a world created by Nathan Hoddy, an English screen-writer whose job it is to market the end of the world.... The story in set sometime in the future, it does not say exactly when, but gives the impression that it is in the not-too-distant future. The world is much different and technically more advanced, with people (especially those in the USA) frequently undergoing plastic surgery to make themselves look as beautiful and young as they desire. People play with virtual reality helmets in their spare time, and aeroplanes leave the Earth's atmosphere, wait for the earth to rotate, and land where they desire. Britain is the dumping ground for the entire world's waste. There is no place on Earth where people can go outside for any extended period of time, without exposing themselves to millions of harmful rays. The story is set in many countries around the world, it changes between England, the USA, Ireland, and other various parts of Europe. Plastic Tolstoy is probably the main character in this book. Plastic is head of 80% of all the world's media and also runs the claustrosphere company. He has achieved this position of power through convincing the world that marketing is all that matters and that, beforehand, there were too many programmes breaking up the adverts. Plastic Tolstoy is the creator of â€Å"advertainment†, an extra long advert whose aim it is to capture people’s attention whilst also selling them things. Plastic is incredibly powerful and lets everyone he can know about it. He is rude to anyone and everyone, and is good at it. He talks to people constantly in a completely sarcastic and patronising way, probably as a way of letting them know that he is the one in the position of power. For example, when Nathan Hoddy is pitching his idea to him, he returns every idea told to him with a bitterly sarcastic and aggressive reply. "Do I think, perhaps? Plot Summary of This Other Eden by Ben Elton :: essays research papers The story begins with a view into what life is going to be like in the next century for the people of Earth. The first image described is of a rat eating away at a man's rotting leg, as he lies in mountains upon mountains of garbage. The man then decides that he is going to have to cut off his leg in order to save himself. This however, is not the world in which the characters of the book live, this is a world created by Nathan Hoddy, an English screen-writer whose job it is to market the end of the world.... The story in set sometime in the future, it does not say exactly when, but gives the impression that it is in the not-too-distant future. The world is much different and technically more advanced, with people (especially those in the USA) frequently undergoing plastic surgery to make themselves look as beautiful and young as they desire. People play with virtual reality helmets in their spare time, and aeroplanes leave the Earth's atmosphere, wait for the earth to rotate, and land where they desire. Britain is the dumping ground for the entire world's waste. There is no place on Earth where people can go outside for any extended period of time, without exposing themselves to millions of harmful rays. The story is set in many countries around the world, it changes between England, the USA, Ireland, and other various parts of Europe. Plastic Tolstoy is probably the main character in this book. Plastic is head of 80% of all the world's media and also runs the claustrosphere company. He has achieved this position of power through convincing the world that marketing is all that matters and that, beforehand, there were too many programmes breaking up the adverts. Plastic Tolstoy is the creator of â€Å"advertainment†, an extra long advert whose aim it is to capture people’s attention whilst also selling them things. Plastic is incredibly powerful and lets everyone he can know about it. He is rude to anyone and everyone, and is good at it. He talks to people constantly in a completely sarcastic and patronising way, probably as a way of letting them know that he is the one in the position of power. For example, when Nathan Hoddy is pitching his idea to him, he returns every idea told to him with a bitterly sarcastic and aggressive reply. "Do I think, perhaps?

Tuesdays with Morrie Essay -- essays research papers

At first glance, the movie, Tuesdays With Morrie, appeared to be a movie about an ex-student learning a final lesson about life from his dying ex-professor. But, as the movie progressed, I felt it was actually a movie about two dying men. Morrie, the old professor, was in the final stages of ALS and physically dying. Mitch, the former student was a commitment-phobic living an unfulfilled life and spiritually dying. Spiritual death is reversible, so Mitch tried to gain some of the wisdom and learn some of the lessons that Morrie had already learned in his happily fulfilled life. On the other hand, physical death is irreversible and Morrie realized that his time was growing short. He had concerns, such as becoming increasingly dependent on others, that he wanted to discuss. Most importantly, he wanted to teach the world one final lesson on "The Meaning of Life" and he needed Mitch to be his messenger. For fourteen weeks, Morrie and Mitch discussed life and how it should be l ived. Topics included issues concerning love, commitment, forgiveness, family, and regrets. By the time Morrie died, they had helped each other transition to a new life. Their discussions changed Mitch’s life. Before the weekly lessons with Morrie, he appeared to be terrified of love and commitment. He was also afraid of displaying affection like kissing, touching, hugging or crying. He broke promises to Janine, didn’t save a lot of time for her, and was basically str... Tuesdays with Morrie Essay -- essays research papers At first glance, the movie, Tuesdays With Morrie, appeared to be a movie about an ex-student learning a final lesson about life from his dying ex-professor. But, as the movie progressed, I felt it was actually a movie about two dying men. Morrie, the old professor, was in the final stages of ALS and physically dying. Mitch, the former student was a commitment-phobic living an unfulfilled life and spiritually dying. Spiritual death is reversible, so Mitch tried to gain some of the wisdom and learn some of the lessons that Morrie had already learned in his happily fulfilled life. On the other hand, physical death is irreversible and Morrie realized that his time was growing short. He had concerns, such as becoming increasingly dependent on others, that he wanted to discuss. Most importantly, he wanted to teach the world one final lesson on "The Meaning of Life" and he needed Mitch to be his messenger. For fourteen weeks, Morrie and Mitch discussed life and how it should be l ived. Topics included issues concerning love, commitment, forgiveness, family, and regrets. By the time Morrie died, they had helped each other transition to a new life. Their discussions changed Mitch’s life. Before the weekly lessons with Morrie, he appeared to be terrified of love and commitment. He was also afraid of displaying affection like kissing, touching, hugging or crying. He broke promises to Janine, didn’t save a lot of time for her, and was basically str...

A Discussion of the Final Chapter of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay

In the final stages of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, there are many ways in which the author, Robert Louis Stevenson, both explores human nature, and also creates a sense of sympathy on the part of the reader for Dr Henry Jekyll, which could be said to extend to Mr Edward Hyde as well. In reference to the author’s exploration of the nature of humanity, the settings of the story itself are very important. Previous to the writing of this story, there had been a firm tradition of horror stories being set exclusively in rural areas, perhaps due to the fact that only a minority of people lived in these areas, and so to those elsewhere it would have seemed far more remote and exotic. Stevenson’s thriller was ground-breaking in that it focussed its plot in an urban setting, by name London, but also with extraordinary resemblance to Stevenson’s home city of Edinburgh. This setting reflects the idea of urban expansion into the countryside, but more importantly the more modern appearance of this particular horror story. Because a large majority of the readers of this book would have been living in the city, it brings the story closer to them, and allows them to become more involved in the events of the plot. Stevenson’s use of the city as the setting for his story also is also representative of early manifestations of writers of this era moving towards using the city as a representation of fear and darkness, rather than its previous role as a deeply romanticized place. In terms of Stevenson’s investigation of human nature, the proximity of Jekyll’s laboratory and his fine house is very significant. The laboratory represents, in my opinion, the hidden, secretive side of his life, involving his work, as well his life as Mr Edward Hyde. The fact that this laboratory is so close to Jekyll’s expensive and upper-class house, representing his professional and social life as a doctor and a well-respected member of society, signifies the proximity of the two parts of his character, in fact their intricate relationship, intertwined and connected in so many different aspects. This idea is also mentioned by Jekyll himself in the final chapter, in his account of events, emphatically saying; â€Å"It was the curse of mankind that these two incongruous faggots were thus bound together-that in the agonized womb of consciousness, these polar twins should be continuously struggling.† I have decided to quote this sentence because I believe it is very revealing about the â€Å"thorough and primitive duality of man† explored in the text. Jekyll talks of â€Å"incongruous faggots† being bound together, meaning that the two elements do not combine, but that they are still as one. The phrase â€Å"polar twins,† is almost a contradiction in terms, and shows that the two elements of Dr Jekyll’s psyche are both united in their existence, but also that they are totally opposite. The phrase â€Å"duality of man,† used earlier in this chapter, also expresses the idea of two parts to every mind or conscience, an ego and a superego. Mr Edward Hyde is the ego, an utterly self-absorbed being, merely concerned with and conscious of themselves. Dr Jekyll, however, is the superego, the element of the character which socialises the entirety, enabling it to interact with others. No man is complete without both of these parts, and neither can truly exist without the other. However, Jekyll’s apparent desire to appear arid and utterly professional externally, and his recognition of his chief fault as â€Å"a certain impatient gaiety of disposition† seems to have forced him into a desire to separate the two parts of his character, the superego and the ego. This, in his mind, would allow him to live as two men, but his failure to predict the nature of these two individual characters leads to his suffering and isolation. In the final chapter, his retrospective account, he concedes, â€Å"all human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil.† Stevenson himself shares some parallels with the character of Jekyll. Born into a strictly religious, part of the Calvinist movement, Stevenson grew up with the belief, although possibly inescapable, that there was an underlying and constant presence of sin in everything; every action and every person. This is shown in the character of Henry Jekyll, and the underlying evil that is personified by Edward Hyde. In Jekyll’s earlier life, he was forced to conceal his pleasures from his family, becoming rebellious against his father, just as Jekyll himself feels urged to do in the story, and from which the beginnings of his familiarity with a double-life or, as he says â€Å"a profound duplicity of life†, can be traced. The context of the story is also important in terms of the sympathy created by the author for Hyde. The period in which the book is set was one of enormous scientific progress and discovery, and in my opinion, this adds a further element to the reasons for a feeling of sympathy for Henry Jekyll. Jekyll himself cites a burning ambition inside himself as being a key reason for his unquenchable thirst to discover the true nature of humanity, and thus his desire to become Hyde. The intensity of the scientific world of the period, and the temptation which face Jekyll after his first experience of the transformation both appear to contribute towards his inability to stop himself becoming Hyde. Jekyll himself seems to realise the responsibility of these factors towards the end of the book, in his account of events. One particular example of this is; â€Å"Strange as my circumstances were, the terms of this debate are as old and commonplace as man: much the same inducements and alarms cast the die for any tempted and trembling sinner; and it fell out with me, as it falls with so vast a majority of my fellows, that I chose the better part and was found wanting the strength to keep it† This clearly shows Jekyll’s impotence to stop himself from leaning towards the temptation of his new life, and also that this was not a vice exclusive to him as an individual, but that it was something unavoidably and unquestionably natural for mankind. This creates a sense of sympathy on behalf of the reader, because it emphasises Jekyll’s lack of power and control over his actions, as well as explaining to the reader that the evil which is brought out of Henry Jekyll is not something that he is to blame for, instead that he is a victim of his own ambition and daring, as well as the ambition and aspirations of the society in which he lived. Another remark which shows this idea is, â€Å"It was thus the exacting nature of my aspirations, than any particular degradation in my faults, that made me what I was†, expressing the feeling of blamelessness in Jekyll, and thus the sympathy in the reader for him. Another way in which the reader is led to sympathise with Jekyll is the way in which Jekyll is tempted to become Hyde by his feelings of restriction and his desire to find pleasure, whilst keeping his life as Dr Henry Jekyll separate from this. In his account, Jekyll explains that, in becoming Hyde, he is free â€Å"from the bonds of obligation† and is able to, â€Å"like a schoolboy, strip off these lendings and spring headlong into the sea of liberty.† These quotations clearly show the immense need for freedom that Dr Jekyll faces, and the extent to which he is prepared to act in order to obtain this freedom. There seems, to me, to be a certain resemblance to the idea of sin and temptation in this element of the story. Jekyll clearly feels restricted by, and in, the world in which he lives, and the fact that he is aware of a way out of this world causes his inability to resist the temptation of taking the path to freedom. When he has experienced the freedom for the fi rst time, he is unable to stop himself from using the potion in order to free himself from the burdens of society. The sympathy induced by Stevenson is not, however, limited to the character of Dr Jekyll. To a certain extent, Mr Hyde is worthy of some pity himself. The main way in which this applies is in relation to Hyde’s death and disappearance. Hyde commits suicide because he is afraid of being caught, and subsequently punished for his violent actions. If we are to believe that Hyde is evil incarnate, and that he possesses no element of good in his character, then the fact that he is unable to forgive himself his wrongdoings, and that he makes excuses for his actions, would seem to suggest that he cannot be seen as utterly ruthless, and thus in a sense he is weak. This inability to ignore his conscience, means, in my opinion, that he is not in fact entirely evil, and that the relationship between good and evil, and between Dr Henry Jekyll and Mr Edward Hyde, is not as defined as one might think, that there are â€Å"shades of grey† to be considered. I believe that this creates sympathy for Hyde, making him appear wretched and pitiful. Indeed, Dr Jekyll himself creates and expresses a certain degree of pity for Hyde, admitting that he cannot wholly condemn his actions, because he himself envies the way in which Hyde embraces his freedom. He says, â€Å"But his love of life is wonderful†¦I find it in my heart to pity him† The fact that even Jekyll feels pity for his wretched inner self merely serves to encourage similar feelings in the reader. In conclusion, I believe that Dr Henry Jekyll bravely sacrifices his own life in order to prevent the evil Edward Hyde from being free. In this sense, I feel that he shows another side of human nature which is almost entirely exclusive to Jekyll’s superego, the conscience. Jekyll shows an ability to consider the situation of others above himself, and importantly, an ability to recognise between good and evil.

Cause and Effect of School Bullying Essay

In today’s society bullying is playing a big roll in schools. A ratio of 1:3 student have committed suicide or committed some kind of crime due to the act of being bullied. The kids who are being bullied are not only victims but the kids who are doing the bullying are victims also. If they are bullying they are having some type of problems at home. Not only that they have insecurities issues of some kind. This sometimes causes them to pick on people that have lower self-esteem issues than they have. Maybe this kids is overweight or maybe they wear glasses or even sometime they pick on people now a days from having slight mental illnesses. Bullying don’t always affect the kid it also affects the family. But it doesn’t always end in bad things in cases such as mines. On a personal note being a victim of bullying’ it did give me self-esteem issues. But those self-esteem issues became much bigger then my problems and I overcame them. I was bullied all throughout elementary, middle, and high school but only in the 9th grade. They talked about my legs, they talked about my chest, they talked about my teeth, pretty much anything they can talk about on me it was done. Was even just picked on and told that I was an ugly little girl. It had me down but when maturity hit for me those same guys and girls started to like me more. The biggest tease of them all was having short hair. It only encouraged me more to bring out my true beauty. So like said before bullying has cause me to be more open about everything even my sexuality which back then I was teased about but now I embrace being a lesbian. I think that only strong minded people can actually do some of the things I have done after being bullied. Now today I have grown beautifully and very successful if I must say. My past may hinder me a slight bit but there are still methods of me overcoming them. Based on my research if a student is lacking any types of family support, the effects can be more devastating. In some cases some kids that are affects by any type of traumatic events may disassociate themselves from the traumatic situation and absorb themselves in bad behavior. Sometimes they think that this negative attention is a good thing to help secure themselves. Something like when most kids mis-behave when their parents get divorces (Zigler, 2002). The only way they can cope is by doing wrong. Many kids who are affected by bullying can have their develop mental processes and some part of their brain affected by the events. In a recent survey of 1. 965 students between 7th and 12 grade 48% have reported being harassed in some kind of way by other students. (Anderson, 2011)

Pet Peeve Essay

Frankly I have a rather extensive list of pet peeves. Either that or I have a very low tolerance for many things. One of my biggest annoyances however, happens to be something that I quite enjoy as well. To be in a relationship, for example, is my biggest pet peeve. Not so much being in a relationship, but all that pursues during and after this bond. Don’t let me be misunderstood, though I hate to be in a relationship, it has its perks but that’s a different matter. To be in a committed relationship does require the fundamental regulation that you must stay, exclusively, with this person alone. This I have no issue with, however I am not in favor of someone or anyone thinking of me as ‘theirs’ similar to how their property is theirs. I will stride by ones side, not be a mere possession to just tag along. I am my own person and infatuated or not I will never forget it. I assume it’s safe to say that my peeve isn’t necessarily relationships, but noticeably terrible relationships. When I am stuck in a bad relationship and I’m aware of the matter, there is no greater infuriation in my opinion. Standing idly aside and watching your days will with irritations and anger. Not anger towards the other person but to oneself for doing nothing to terminate or aid the situation. My days were filled with complete nothing and had no one to blame but myself. These bonds should be founded upon mutual acceptance of one another. Shared trust is bestowed within each other alongside the love and affection you can’t do without. If perchance I feel that I am not receiving all of these aspects it truly ticks me off. Why then should I obligate myself to one whom does not do so to me? I loathe if I am truly giving all my effort in return of minimal to no effort at all. Eventually this person resolves to none other than taking me for granted. Overlook me for something of superior importance or higher significance. My worth will be eternally forgotten and what I had endured this far is in vain. Day to day obstacles will prove too problematic to stomach sooner or later. Seems as if everyone and everything wants this unappreciated association to come to an end just as much as I do. Temptations are the work of the devil himself and never fail to win the eyes of an interested morsel of a man. For the saying goes, â€Å"You always want what you want until you have it.† Or perhaps I’ve said it myself. His wondering eyes will have me on the verge of insanity with rambunctious assumptions and obsessive suspicions. I hate if they mistake my praise for license and suppose they have every right to demand of me, to order me around. What’s more is that you better treat me like a princess if you have the audacity to order me like a slave. All these dreadful features in a relationship lead to sever trust issues, dishonestly within each other, and far more shadiness. You incorporate all of this in a couple and believe me this is a tie bound to fall apart from the loose ends in. In conclusion, perhaps I should stop dating, or genuinely try to have a functional relationship. Maybe I shouldn’t give up at the first sure sign of trouble and help fix it once again before it’s too late to fix. My pet peeves are being stuck in a dreadful relationship and that I don’t have the nerve to do something about it.