People in Organisations Essay Example for Free

People in Organisations Essay Introduction The purpose of this paper is to define the concept of Organisational Behaviour and identify the most important areas of the topic which considerably impact on organisational efficiency and effectiveness. Nowadays, due to the rapidly changing business environment, perceiving organisational behaviour is recognised as one of the most significant aspects of all business operations (Robbins and Judge, 2010). According to Financial Times Mastering Management (1997) â€Å"Organisational behaviour is one of the most complex and perhaps least understood academic elements of modern general management, but since it concerns the behaviour of people within organisations it is also the most central its concern with individual and group patterns of behaviour makes it an essential element in dealing with the complex behavioural issues thrown up in the modern business world. † This paper focuses on two areas of organisational behaviour that are considered crucial in achieving organisational effectiveness and efficiency, these are: organisational structure and management. Organisational structure and management play a crucial and direct role in organisational behaviour. The study of organisations, their structure and identification of key trends in management and organisational behaviour are crucial in achieving organisational goals and objectives (Mullins, 2010). Definition of Organisational Behaviour According to Robbins and Judge (2010), â€Å"Organisational behaviour is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and structure have on behaviour within organisations, for the purposes of applying such knowledge towards improving organisation’s effectiveness.† Griffin (2011) defined Organisational Behaviour as â€Å"the study of organisational behaviour in organisational setting, the interface between human behaviour and the organisational context and the organisational itself†. In other words, Organisational Behaviour is â€Å"the study and application of knowledge about how people, as individuals and groups act within an organisation. It strives to identify ways in which people can act more effectively† (Ahmad et al,  2008). The concept of Organisational Behaviour has been defined by many authors in various literature, Mullins (2008) summarised that â€Å"common definitions of organisational behaviour are generally along the lines of the study and understanding of individual and group behaviour, and patterns of structure in order to help improve organisational performance and effectiveness†. Cole (1995) suggested that â€Å"The structures developed for work organisation, their nature, and the reasons why they are, or should be, adopted to increase their effectiveness have a considerable bearing on the subject of organisational behaviour†. The key elements of an organisational structure are work specialisation, departmentalisation, chain of command, span of control, centralisation and formalisation (Mullins, 2002). The significance of organisational structure is primarily critical for communication within an organisation and allows the distribution of authority. According to Robbins and Coulter (2007), â€Å"organisational structure is a formal framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped and coordinated†. The concept is contributed to organisational culture, management style, leadership approach and it is strongly influenced by environment, therefore provides a fundamental framework to organisational efficiency and effectiveness (Daft and Armstrong, 20 09). Mullins (2005) states that â€Å"Structure is the pattern of relationships among positions in the organisation and among members of the organisation. Structure makes possible the application of the process of management and creates the framework of order and command through which the activities of the organisation can be planned, organised, directed and controlled†. On the other hand, according to Drucker (1989), design of organisation structure is strongly contributed to organisational performance and poor organisation structure makes effective performance difficult to achieve. According to Rosenfeld and Wilson (1999), organisational effectiveness and efficiency will strongly depend on right identification of key elements of structure. This involves the process of delegation of authority in decision making which primarily refers to the centralisation or decentralisation (Cloke and Goldsmith, 2002). Mullins (2005) identified the chain of command  concept which relates to the importance of a clear line of authority and responsibility within an organisation. The framework is contributed to identification of subordinate relationships in a line down from the top of the organisation, therefore is crucial for effective operation of organisation. The combination of span of control and chain of command establish whether the organisational structure is flat or tall. Graicunas (1937) argue that due to the need for improved efficiency and competitiveness, organisations move towards flat organisation structures. The author claims that flatter structures contribute to organisational cost savings on managerial level, improved communications and resulted in a fewer levels between top management and the bottom of hierarchy. Organisational behaviour is concerned with people in organisations, and management relates to achieve organisational objectives, and since the success of organisation relies on human input, organisational behaviour is a fundamental segment of management (Mullins, 2002). According to Koontz and Weihrich (1990) â€Å"Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims†. In general, ‘Management is the process of achieving organisational goals through people. The principal part of the study of organisation and management is development of management thinking and evaluate management theory (Ivancevich et al, 1994). Effectiveness and efficiency of organisation is strongly contributed to management, therefore understanding of fundamental concepts of management models and principles is necessary (Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967). Major trends in the development of organisational behaviour and management theory, based on four core approaches: classical (scientific management and bureaucracy), human relations, systems and contingency (Cole, 1995). According to Berrien (1968) â€Å"An organization is an integrated system of interdependent structures and functions†. Peter Senge (1990) introduced systems approach to management which was to challenge the scientific theory. Although the scientific theory based on the hypothesis that an organisation was a closed system, systems concept is viewed as an open system which  emphasise the total environment of the organisation (Lutans, 2011). In contrast, contingency model suggests that none of the classical management theories is the most effective in all situations (Burns and Stalker,1961).

Social Media As A Tool For Protest

Social Media As A Tool For Protest The revolution in social media has made it easier for likeminded people to gather and voice their opinion on a particular subject of common interest, the revolution has accelerated the rate at which relationships develop, information is communicated and influence is transmitted. Social media is like community places in past: a place where aggravated people can get together to discuss and raise protests. Facebook has played a large role in this revolution since it has taught users a new way to create groups, spread information all over the globe and voice their opinion unanimously. Social media has had a profound effect on society, commoners now has a chance of having their voice heard, there is a sense of hope, as every issue has the ability to be widespread, empowering citizens of all nations with the power of being heard. A recent example is the rape crime currently committed in India, the news and protests have spread throughout the globe from India to the United States and people are signing petitions on Facebook condemning this act and asking for a death penalty for the abusers. In this case governments face increasing pressure because of the power of the crowd, and due to the Arab spring, the power of the crowd should not be underestimated. In recent proceedings like the Tunisian uprising, the Egyptian protests and, the most common, the student protests, social media has acted as tool to get people altogether and carry out the protests and uprising. It is important to note that social media in its entirety should not be blamed for the uprising as it is merely a tool to disseminate information quickly and on a broader level. There are many other elements to consider when carrying out a protest for revolutionary change such as funding, organisation and proper leadership. The key to creating a proper protest movement is to motivate and convince people about a certain cause, and to inspire them to leave the comfort of their own homes and face the chaos and gravity of the streets, to be prepared to face the police and other irregularities of the open street. Social Medias role in this revolutionary period is allowing the revolutionists to broadcast information at a cheaper cost, participants do not have to attend regular meetings, workshops or rallies. So in order to make a social media led revolution into reality it is necessary for it to be translated into street action. But in some countries the government directly controls the media profoundly; social media are one of the reliable sources of news for citizens. They are somehow the voice of the natives. Bloggers take over the position of journalists and correspondents to bring the news that would otherwise be suppressed and masked by the government. Hence this shows that social media is not directly responsible for revolution, in Egypt when the government blocked internet access, the revolutionaries distributed information through handing out pamphlets with their tactics and they used fax and telephone lines for communication, something which was done in Iran in 2009. In fact social media are not accountable for the protests; they may be a tool to organize them. The channel for the Tunisian uprising was the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi. This event set off people to protest against the said Tunisian government. The social media coverage of this event made the protests spread and helped to organize protests on a broad scale eventually. Only 21% of the Egyptian population use internet and only 33.4% of the Tunisians. (Internet World Stats, 2012) these figures are unlikely to launch an entire national movement, but are enough to get it initiated. Though the government shut down all that from the internet but the protests still kept on growing and made up to The March of many Millions. Social media is not only used for physical protests, but are being used for digital protests. One can join even a Face book group to express his support, opinion and comment if he cannot make it to the physical protest. In this regard Twitter is also used, when there is a live protest happening. The use of said social media will definitely expand in future years and perhaps 2013 will be the year of the social protests. Influence and power of media global contestation Social media alone does not work for revolutions alone; they are the tools that allow revolutionary groups to groom well. It lowers the overall cost of participation, recruitment, training and organization. And inherent weaknesses, strengths along with their effectiveness depends how influentially leaders use them, how it is easily accessible to the general category of people. The Iranian green revolution in 2009 was upraised mostly by the western media through YouTube and twitter that follows later Moldovas revolution 2009 that is twitter revolution. Revolution always required an organization, mass appeal and funding. Sometimes they appear vulnerable to the governments counter protest strategies. To motivate individuals up to that required standard that is required, joining the chaos of the streets, mention their protest, and record their point of views instead of sitting at their houses. Social media presently has become important tool for social networking and most importantly the content sharing among the community. The content is generated from the websites that are up to date and remains largely untapped. Social media demonstrate how social media content can be used to predict real-world outcomes in this age of fast communication. Particular, we can use the chatter from public sharing sites like Twitter to forecast the upcoming situations. The tweets extracted from Twitter may be further utilized to improve the forecasting power of social media. The information spread like fire in the forest and the community is driven by the social media. SOCIAL MEDIA AS A TOOL FOR POLITICAL PROTEST: The participation of social media in political protests could be anticipated since the birth of social media. It plays a vital role in awareness and revolutionary impacts around this global village. But we can say a boost influence was made after the introduction of Facebook In 2003, Youtube In 2005 And Twitter In 2006 and such type of other social networking sites. An Article posted in (TheAge,2012) is an example of a social networking site used in a political protest in which it is written that Facebook was used to rally the protesters who gathered in Sydneys CBD to demonstrate against an anti-Islam film but the rally was hijacked by extremists, says Muslim community. In the same article Ms Abdel-Fattah said Facebook updates from friends at the protest depicted a demonstration that had started peacefully until a minority of extremists hijacked it. However one of the famous protest made in 2011 in Egypt covered quite a role of social media, (taken from an article by Anne Alexander on 9th February 2011 in BBC NEWS) The events of 28 January are particularly important, because they contain crucial clues to understanding the broader relationship between the media both new and old and the mass movement for change which has developed in Egypt over the past few weeks. The Social media is creating very difficult for the some authoritarian leaders to maintain an authoritarian rule. Media is making it difficult even for tough autocracies such as Iran and Myanmar. Firstly, the fact that an internet and mobile phone blockade failed shows clearly that this movement is not based on the web. In fact, the movement which erupted on 25 January has brought together many groups who have taken to the streets over the past 10 years. They are varied socially and politically, ranging from workers to bloggers and democracy campaigners, to senior judges, to members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Coptic Christians. This is the first time they have all demonstrated together, and the first time they have been joined by millions of their fellow citizens. But it is important to understand that this movement builds on a legacy of protest by many different activist networks, most of which are not primarily organized online. Secondly, it is clear that the protesters use a range of different media to communicate with each other and to get their message across. I was in Tahrir Square on Sunday: everywhere you look there are mobile phones, hand-written placards, messages picked out in stones and plastic tea cups, graffiti, newspapers and leaflets, not to mention al-Jazeeras TV cameras which broadcast hours of live footage from the square every day. When one channel of communication is blocked, people try another. Every mass movement needs spaces where political alternatives can be debated and organization can take place. In the 1940s, the last time that Egypt saw mass protests on a similar scale, radical bookshops, underground newspapers and illegal trade union meetings played this role. For the current generation some of these spaces have been online. I asked Ahmed, a socialist activist in Tahrir Square, what role he thought the internet was playing in mobilizing protest. Online organizing is very important because activists have been able to discuss and take decisions without having to organize a meeting which could be broken up by the police, he said. We can also witness social media as warfare in the Gaza Battle, as NBC News brings in our knowledge that Israeli and Hamas military forces tired to fight the conflicts in GAZA by using social media. But the Israeli Defense Forces broadcasting of the details of its attacks against Gaza via Twitter, YouTube, and its own blog (IDFblog.com) is more organized and pointed-and its viral qualities have made it perfect fodder for protesters. Soon after the IDFs first tweet of an attack last Wednesday, protesters across the globe took to the streets to rally against the bloodshed and show their support for Gaza-and for Israel as well posted by Cara Maresca (MSNBC, 2012) SOCIAL MEDIA AND ACTIVISM: Activism can be defined as the vigorous or revolutionary actions, protests, demonstrations etc taken in order to implement or achieve goals. However social media is one of the main orbit around which activism revolves. Its main influence could be seen majorly in youth. Many NGOs and other organizations lay down platforms for activists. An example of rising activism through social media can be given from the article Global activist network involving Asia: global continuation an evolution in Japan written by Takuro Higuchi (inter-Asia cultural studies, volume 13, number 3, 14th June 2012) Since Seattle 1999, plenty of summit protests around WTO, G8/20, IMF, WB, COP, and so on happened in each of the different summit sites in the last decade. Such incidents were amazingly accepted because of their mass actions and widespread networks of activists sustaining a series of mass actions. As some researchers argue, those of generating networks are based on horizontality and autonomy, and they have already prefigured a powerful model for (re)organizing society. However, on the other hand, some researchers also argue the major shortcomings. In theory, the Global Activist Network has been constructed since Seattle, although in practice there has still been a serious spatial gap between the Western part of the world and the other side of the world. Actually, the global activist network has excluded Asia. However, in 2008, the G8 summit was held in Japan. This paper, thus, aims to show that the global activist network since Seattle, which was limited to Europe and North America, has expanded to involve Asia through the 2008 G8 summit in Japan. The 2000 G8 in Japan was right after the Seattle in 1999, yet, due to its single-issue and national character of the movements, globally expanding networks didnt reach Japan. However, movements around the 2003 anti-Iraq war brought in the autonomous character of the alter-globalization movement and referred to the legacy of autonomous activisms. During the 2008 G8, some autonomous activists in Japan took over the diversity of tactics and networks of activists inherited since PGA, DAN and Dissent!' Another great definition of social network relating activism can be read under the heading of GLOBAL ACTIVISM NETWORK: When scholars and activists conceptualize social movements, increasingly, they emphasize the role of networks in activist organizations and coalitions. There is accumulating evidence that activist issue campaigns are strengthened and broadened by their network-based organizational strategies. These networks are often transnational or global in their reach thanks, in large part, to the enabling qualities of the Internet. The following links present papers and websites that provide resources for better understanding the strategies, strengths and limitations of activist networks. (Govcom, 2012) features work by Richard Rogers and his colleagues at the University of Amsterdam. Using social network analysis methods, these researchers explore innovative techniques for measuring networks and tracing their dynamics over time. They are able to create remarkable sociograms or maps of activist networks. Richard Rogers has also developed typologies for hyperlinks and networks. Bennet (1998) Globalization has changed societies and the ways in which people think about and communicate politics. This paper explores properties of global activist communication and examines their implications for political organization and change according to (Global Activists Network, 2011) However social media turned out to be very helpful for the disable activists as well. Written by Patric Butler while there are fears that traditional methods of disability activism are on the wane, a new campaigning spirit is been forged using the social media revolution he also wrote Galvanized by the governments draconian welfare reform agenda, the new activism arguably is helping to renew a disability movement thought by some to have lost its way in recent years. The staggering Twitter-driven success of the We Are Spartacus campaign in January announced the emergence of this new wave. This carefully planned viral campaign steered by a tiny band of activists almost single-handedly put the previously arcane issue of cuts in disability on the public agenda Awareness of social media and activism is also given to the young generation, as they are the upcoming leaders of tomorrow, events and programs are organized for their knowledge an example of such act is an event organized in Glasgow by the name KIDS, SOCIAL MEDIA AND ACTIVISM on September 24th 2012. However, a book GLOBAL ACTIVISM, GLOBAL MEDIA written by Wilma de Jong, Martin Shaw, Neil Stammers ties up much of the activism related with social media. INTERNET EMPOWERMENT: Though social media is actually web based media and it refers to accessible online technologies where people share, publish, comment, and communicate etc across the global village. Starting from the local communities, we see a great internet empowerment around Social media has the capacity to alter traditional power dynamics. Consumers can influence the buying decisions of others by sharing their experiences of purchasing products or services online. Major industries find themselves disrupted by file sharing and citizen journalism, while governments have been challenged by citizens mobilized with the help of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The Young Foundation wanted to test whether social media could empower local, geographical communities. So we set to work with several community groups in Huddersfield, Kings Lynn and north Kensington. Across these areas we supported residents who wanted to use social media to develop relationships between neighbors, increase awareness of local news and events, and ultimately encourage more people to get involved in community action says Mandeep Hothi in a community action blog. Walking towards the professional approach the Blow Fish Agency tells us much about the social internet media empowerment Both social media marketing and advanced web communication are important approaches to business that are rapidly expanding. One significant trend, appearing with greater frequency, is the necessity for not only brand value, but extreme brand transparency. It is clear that various diverse companies are investing more in social media and web optimization and less in print media and the like. Consumers, in the last decade, have begun spending increasing time on the Internet and less time reading magazines and listening to public radio. The old trends in advertising are quickly becoming obsolete and in order to stay abreast and maintain market share, businesses are taking great measures to keep up with consumers and are gravitating towards web-based marketing. Although the mastery of social media tools does not, by any means, guarantee market domination or any concrete increase in profits, it does allow businesses to stay competitive in an ever-changing marketplace. Blowfish is well awar e of the weight that web communication carries with it and strives, on a daily basis, to optimize that communication of its clients. The internet empowerment and its anticipations can be understood from the book Network Empowerment edited by Oliver B Popov. This book is based on workshops on network technologies, internet services, control, security, access efficiency etc. However, events for future internet or social media empowerment awareness are carried out by variety of organizations around the globe. One of the active organizations in Glasgow is a good example for arranging such events. Making Waves Social Media, Empowerment and Wellbeing is an example of an event organized in Glasgow. Can social media approaches help empower communities to be more engaged in shaping their own health and wellbeing? Can they contribute to the creation of richer forms of dialogue between health-related agencies and service users? What partners, skills and resources can help? What pitfalls should be avoided? What kinds of approaches to dialogue, sharing news and telling stories are most productive? These were the few main motives of this event. Amsterdam privacy conference 2012 is another example of such event under the heading of USER EMPOWERMENT IN A SOCIAL MEDIA CULTURE where ideas were presented and exchanged regarding people under the influence of internet empowerment and the presence common culture of social media around the globe. Computer revolution has a strong bonding between media and internet; however social media and internet are blended in the same category. Furthermore increase in empowerments could be anticipated through the past, present and future web technologies advancement. Defying Social Media Social Media does have its drawbacks, with the low cost of communication, there is also the cost of low operational security, and messages on Facebook are accessible by almost everyone. Social media is being used as an intelligence collecting tool, and users have become more cautious in giving out more personal information. Therefore the reliability of the information and the information disseminator is questionable, increasing the risks of getting involved into something which is illegal and falling into the wrong hands. Prior to gaining access to a country, Social Networking sites need to get approval of the governments of the locality, and getting approval usually involves giving the government unlimited access to the data of the users registered in their own country. This in turn increases the risks of the people participating in the revolutionary movement, because if this revolutionary movement fails, then the government has full access to the data of those who were involved and who planned this movement, this information can land them in jail and cause a lot of trouble for them and their families. This is one of the tradeoffs these revolutionaries must think about before deciding to use Social Media as their tool to broadcast their purpose. Conclusion In fact, the protests only grew bigger more and more as websites or social media were shut down and the Internet was turned off as in Egypt. If the right situation exists than a historic revolution can occur. Just because an Internet-based group exists does not make it popular or a threat. There are several Face book groups, many YouTube videos and hundreds of Twitter posts about everything, but that can never make them popular only if the concentration of the community is more towards the basic urges and needs. Due to problems like inflation, food shortages, corruption , population must be motivated to mobilize and protest with good zeal and zest. The popularity of the social media, one of many consequence of the Internet, may actually be separated from International media observation. In real time we can now easily watch protest developments and most modern situations. Western perceptions about the said issue are often easily persuaded by English-speaking, media-savvy. This is now further exaggerated in Authoritarian countries of modern age. Western media is now having the same challenge and have no choice but to turn the social media like Twitter and YouTube on to report on the crisis of the present, thus ultimately increasing the apparent importance of social communal media. In the Middle East, where the Internet diffusion is below 35% if any movement or protest grows large enough to effect the change it will join through the word of mouth, not through the social networking. This is not an insuperable challenge, as shown in china, but even in this case there is Increasing anxiety about the capability of Internet users to escape controls and spread illegal and forbidden information. Social media can represent only one contrivance among many for an resistance group to employ. Protest Movements are hardly ever successful if started from somebodys basement in a virtual arena. Their leaders should behave, just like leaders of any other organization and should organize and gather people and convince them to leave their homes and join a movement which may jeopardize their lives and also the lives of their families Any revolutionary group cannot rely only on its most tech-savvy significant leaders to commence a successful protest or revolution, this is in fact a fraction of the overall policy, and it cannot be the sole strategy to launch a movement . The real story of social media working for the betterment and developing the nations is one of entity Empowerment. Social media connects deprived nations to the whole world and provides the power to figure the Internet in such a way that it become significant to their peoples lives, the command to organize in scale, and the influence to speak. Social media can be used positively, to make others hear of social injustices that occur and are un heard of in the convention media channels. Social media has given hope to a number of people and has helped spread the word of many oppressed people, hence when used positively social media can have a revolutionary impact on the users lives. These are the feature that makes social media an implausible tool that may be embraced by everyone with an eye towards significant development.

October :: Creative Writing Essays

October Jennifer stopped running through the forest after doing so for what seemed like eternity. She had no idea where she was, why she was here, or who was chasing her. All she knew was that running for so long of a time made her very hungry. Desperately, she looked around for something to eat, and her eyes settled on a tall apple tree. Jennifer picked a couple and ate them as she leaned against a maple tree while watching mother nature take its course. She could see the sun was setting through the bright red leaves of the forest trees. It was a cold October evening - so cold that she could see the white puffs of steam coming out of her mouth. Soon it would be nighttime. That meant that the temperature would fall so dramatically that she might get hypothermia. Thus, she gathered up numerous dead brown leaves among the forest floor and pushed them all over her body as she lay down on the cold black dirt. Jennifer became worried that "the man" or one of his "best friends" would find her. What would she do? She began searching for something sharp - like a twig or a stone. Her hand enclosed on a smooth metal oval-shaped rock. Then, she remembered that it was a swiss army knife which she stole from the house as she made her escape. After shrugging off practicing how to use the knife, Jennifer concluded that when the time came, she would know how to use it. Being thoroughly exhausted did not ameliorate her survival instinct. She began to become indifferent to her anxieties and needs. Finally, the silent sinister hand of sleep had stricken her. She dreamed about the past; how she got here. She relived all the major milestones that happened in her life. She dreamt that when she was in high school, her mother got into a car accident and died, in October. She dreamt her father exploding and being constantly angry, in October. She dreamt of after not being able to deal with her father, dropping out of school, in October. She dreamt of running away from home, in October. She dreamt of the termination of her career as a lounge singer after being signed by a major record company, in October. She dreamt of her first album staying at the number one slot for eight weeks, after being released in October. After she became such a big star, Jennifer decided to make up with her father. She went to her former home frequently to visit her father.

A Humorous and Heartfelt Wedding Speech -- Wedding Toasts Roasts Speec

A Humorous and Heartfelt Wedding Speech Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen - I would like to start by thanking Frank on behalf of the bridesmaids for his kind comments and echo the fact that they look wonderful and performed their role fantastically well, despite the inevitable and healthy rivalry that can sometimes occur. In fact, just before the service I overheard a furious sisterly argument about who was going to be first to dance with the best man. Understandable, I thought - until I got closer and heard them saying, 'You!', 'no, you!' I've known Frank for the best part of 20 years now and of course there are plenty of things I could tell you about what we got up to in our younger days. Unfortunately, I did consult my solicitor and he tells me that we could still face prosecution, so maybe I’ll keep things to a minimum and talk about how nice he is. Frank is a quality ac... A Humorous and Heartfelt Wedding Speech -- Wedding Toasts Roasts Speec A Humorous and Heartfelt Wedding Speech Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen - I would like to start by thanking Frank on behalf of the bridesmaids for his kind comments and echo the fact that they look wonderful and performed their role fantastically well, despite the inevitable and healthy rivalry that can sometimes occur. In fact, just before the service I overheard a furious sisterly argument about who was going to be first to dance with the best man. Understandable, I thought - until I got closer and heard them saying, 'You!', 'no, you!' I've known Frank for the best part of 20 years now and of course there are plenty of things I could tell you about what we got up to in our younger days. Unfortunately, I did consult my solicitor and he tells me that we could still face prosecution, so maybe I’ll keep things to a minimum and talk about how nice he is. Frank is a quality ac...

Ethical Philosophies and the Hippocratic Physician :: Philosophy Medicine

Ethical Philosophies and the Hippocratic Physician Twenty four centuries ago, Hippocrates created the profession of medicine, for the first time in human history separating and refining the art of healing from primitive superstitions and religious rituals. His famous Oath forged medicine into what the Greeks called a technik, a craft requiring the entire person of the craftsman, an art that, according to Socrates in his dialogue Gorgias, involved virtue in the soul and spirit as well as the hands and brain. Yet Hippocrates made medicine more than a craft; he infused it with an intrinsic moral quality, creating a â€Å"union of medical skill and the integrity of the person [physician]† (Cameron, 2001). So, how do we who are aspire to be Hippocratic physicians achieve this goal? First we must look at the foundations for our personal ethical frameworks through meta-ethics. Meta-ethics refers to the systems by which we establish morals and ethical principles. Today there are many philosophies of meta-ethics, divided into two basic categories, moral absolutivism and moral relativism (Lawhead, 2000). The difference between these is in the nature of ethical principles, whether subjective or objective. Say something exists objectively, like a vase on a table. The subject’s perception of the vase must conform to the true vase. If, however, the subject is simply thinking about a vase, that vase exists subjectively, and its properties are contingent to the subject’s contemplations. So, how do these differing systems affect the physician in attaining the Hippocratic ideal? Let us first consider relativism. To the Moral Relativist, moral principles are created within cultures and communities, coming from cultural folkways and mores (Gerson Moreno-Riaà ±o, personal communication). These principles are normative only in the culture which created them. Already, the Hippocratic Oath loses its moral weight. For example, in the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion, Justice Blackmun dismissed the centuries-long Hippocratic tradition as merely a â€Å"Pythagorean manifesto,† relegating it to minority status (Cameron, 2001). However, relativism does not end here. If moral principles are defined by cultures, how does one define a culture? If a social scientist were to dissect cultures into subcultures, and then divide those as well, he could logically continue making â€Å"cultural distinctions† until he comes to individuals as separate cultures. As a culture of one, each individual by relativism’s definition creates his own moral principles. This could be called ethical egoism (David Mills, personal communication). As logical conclusion extension of relativism, ethical egoism creates a world of moral lone rangers, with no one responsible to answer to any other.

Lincoln, the Movie

At the beginning of the movie we see Lincoln talking to two African Americans who served in the war, and they went on to say that they loved his speech and one of them even quoted the end of his speech. This movie shows us how much we need rescuing. According to Spielberg, Lincoln and his contemporaries debated the moral merits of ending slavery now or ending the war now. Lincoln was gaining and losing votes. People are looking at it as this: if African Americans are given rights then women are next and people do not want that.A man had said that if we give African Americans the freedom then they are going to want more. Lincoln does not know that there are bribes being made in order to get 20 votes from the representatives. Lincoln is trying his hardest to keep going. Not only is there this problem but family is getting in the way. The south are against everything Lincoln stands for. Some believe that passing the amendment; the war will stop while others think otherwise. Lincoln beli eves that the war is almost done with. He believes that the amendment will pass and he won’t stop until it does.People have given up on him while others keep on fighting with him. Lincoln tells stories that have a moral to go along with what is going on. Lincoln may be known for a lot of things but the most important thing was freeing the slaves. He didn’t have much schooling but he specks so wise and has a lot of knowledge. This movie shows how one man made the biggest difference with his actions and words. People were against him but are now seeing that Lincoln is willing to keep pushing forward. Of course god is used in the debate saying that African Americans shouldn’t have freedom.The south is fighting against Lincoln and not giving up. My favorite quote is one that is used to this day. â€Å"All men are created equal. † Lincoln is an honest man and even visited war heroes in the hospital. Lincoln’s son believes that it is better for him to go to war but Lincoln doesn’t want that. There is a lot on tense between Lincoln and his wife since losing Willy. Mrs. Lincoln thinks that she is going to lose her son once he joins the war. Lincoln goes to see those who are helping him get the democratic vote.His wife has a break down talking about how Lincoln could have sent her to the loony pin after losing her youngest son. Lincoln thinks that the amendment is the cure for the war. People are telling him to give up, to not change the constitution. The day of the vote, African Americans are welcome to what is called their house. The democrats are changing their minds from no to yes. To end the movie on a sad note, the president was shot. Saturday April 15. Such a great lost from a man who gave the African Americans their freedom.Also at the end, Lincoln is giving a speech. He had deep depression, even though he would frequently tell stories and jokes to friends and family. Lincoln, one week before his death, had a dream of s omeone crying in the White House, when he found the room; he looked in and asked who had passed away. The man in the room said the President. When he looked in the coffin it was his own face he saw. His party was Republican and he was president for four years from 1861-1865, when he was assassinated. In 1844 Lincoln formed a legal partnership with William Herndon.The two men worked well together and shared similar political views. Herndon later claimed that he was instrumental in changing Lincoln's views on slavery. Lincoln's continued to build up his legal work and in 1850 obtained the important role as the attorney for the Illinois Central Railroad. He also defended the son of a friend, William Duff Armstrong, who had been charged with murder. Lincoln successfully undermined the testimony of the prosecution's star witness, Charles Allen, and Armstrong was found not guilty.

To what extent was the vietnam war part of the cold war

To what extent was the Vietnam War part of the Cold War? The Vietnam war was a cold war-era mllltary conflict In southeast Asia. conflict officially began on November 1st In 1955 and ended on April 30th 1975 with the fall of Saigon. With that it lasted nearly 20 years, which makes it one of the longest military conflicts ever In human history. The war was fought between the communistic North Vietnamese and the Anti-communlsuc south. The north was supported by various nations, including the Soviet union, China, Cuba, Bulgaria and any others.The south, which was supposedly the by far weaker army, was also supported by a number of countries, the US, South Korea, Australia, Spain and Thailand are only a few of the numerous supporters ot the South. The main problem in the war for the Anti-Communist forces was the Vietcong. which was a lightly armed south Vietnamese communist Guerrilla which was hard to fght, especially for the heavily armed US army. The Vietcong dug complicated tunnel sys tems and trenches to fight the US In to them unknown territory.The Vietcong referred this Guerrilla warfare in the rainforests to open battle. The Vietcong also used traps, mines and their knowledge of the region to bring a whole load of trouble upon the US troops. This resulted in heavy bombing raids by the US Air force, this was widely criticised around the whole world as it was seen as a breach of the human rights that the US bombed North Vietnam with napalm bombs. In total, more bombs were dropped on North Vietnam during the Vietnam War than on Germany in the Second World War!In 1968 the Guerrilla warfare stopped and during the national Tet holiday (from hich the attack got its name: Tet offensive) the North Vietnamese army started an assault against over 100 Vietnamese Cities, including the US embassy in Saigon. Although the Anti-communist forces were Initially driven back, they were quick to recover and struck back Immediately, decimating the ranks of the North Vietnamese Viet nam was the battlefield where the cold war was actually really fought, not only talked about or empty threats being thrown at each other. The united States used Vietnam to blow an attack against Communism in the world.Extinguishing communism was the major goal of the United States in the cold war and in Vietnam they had the perfect region to attack. The US and the Soviet union did not dare to attack each other directly. that is why they fought their war, also if not directly, in the muddy forests of Vietnam. None of them had the courage or the means to enter a direct conflict against the other, one tOf2 conflict during the cold war was not directly between the US and the Soviets as the Soviets only supported the North Vietnam army with money, ammunition and weapons.A direct intervening from the Soviets would probably have ended in a 3rd World War as many nations were already involved in the war in Vietnam and the US could not let a direct Soviet attack unpunished. With that, it was better for the rest of the world that the Soviet Union did not directly involve itself in the fighting. A widely discussed topic is the outcome of the Vietnam War. According to various American sourcesl the Vietnam War was won by the US when they finally left the country in 1975.It is though generally known that the North Vietnamese won the war, hey took the capital of the south; Saigon, on April 30th 1975 and with that won the war. The South Vietnamese army was defeated and left with a total of 800,00 casualties (military and civilian). The US had a total of 58,220 dead soldiers; additional 303,644 soldiers were wounded. The Anti-Communist army had a total of 670,000-1 casualties whereas the North Vietnamese had about 600,000-1 losses. Concluding, the Vietnam War was a huge, if not the major, part of the Cold War.