Leading Change

â€Å"The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back† is the 2nd law in The Laws of the Fifth Discipline.   These laws are the core of a process called systems thinking and the concept is that it’s â€Å"best to manage the system, not just the individual processes.†Ã‚   (West & Cianfrani, 2004, p. 69)   Corporations have a tendency to look at the â€Å"direct linear cause and effect relationships,† rather than looking at â€Å"interactions.†Ã‚   (West & Cianfrani, 2004, p. 69)   Peter Senge’s book The Fifth Discipline identified 10 laws that defined systems thinking. The 2nd law in The Laws of the Fifth Discipline can be interpreted as â€Å"Compensating feedback.†Ã‚   Senge defines this as â€Å"when well-intentioned interventions call forth responses from the system that offset the benefits of the intervention.†Ã‚   (Senge, 1990, p. 58) In other words, the more effort exerted to change or improve the current organizational processes, the more effort it requires. Organizations have experienced this process when, for example, a product or brand suddenly begins to lose its popularity within the market.   When organizations begin to push new marketing strategies aggressively it often turns out that more revenue is spent on the marketing efforts with only a temporary pay back.   This process is not only limited to the business market, it can also be illustrated in personal experiences.   Senge uses the smoker as an example – if a person who is a regular smoker suddenly quits he or she might begin to gain weight, become frustrated with personal appearance and then suddenly begin smoking again.   (Senge, 1990, p. 59) As humans it is natural for us to get drawn into the process of compensating feedback.   We push harder and it’s exhausting and we often â€Å"glorify the suffering that ensues.†Ã‚   (Senge, 1990, p. 59)   When our efforts to produce change fail initially, we push harder and often have the belief that our hard work and effort will overcome all of the obstacles in front of us. However, compensating feedback is a process where we become blind to the fact that our efforts are actually contributing to the current obstacles we are facing as well as creating others we must overcome. (Senge, 1990, p. 59-60) Over the past two decades information and communication technology has continuously evolved and has empowered small businesses and large corporations with new emerging markets and tools.   The Internet has become the information highway and has impacted both social and economic relationships in various sectors such as education, health, government, trade and tourism.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. vii) In order to maintain its impact on society the information technology must continuously evolve to compensate for future needs for both local and global societies.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. VI)   Focusing on one idea or concept that does not elicit long-term success consumes time and effort that is imperative to online success. The consistent evolution of technology and the platforms provided are numerous and are impacting our society regularly.   These newly emerging technologies affect the way we do business, communicate with others, daily entertainment, study and do research.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. VI)   Ecommerce is the largest growing platform of the World Wide Web and it has provided a â€Å"new momentum of doing business in the digital economy.†Ã‚   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. VI) In order to compensate and adjust to the constant change through the internet environment we must be able to identify the implications. At the end of 2004 it was estimated that 750 million users represented the Internet community worldwide.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. VI) The e-marketplaces consist of various products and services that market their products both from Business to Business and Business to consumer.   These products and services provide value for both buyers and sellers. In order to create a successful ecommerce venture processes must be transformed from the traditional ways of doing business to modern Internet transactions that are efficient to both the buyer and the seller.   The biggest challenge for internet businesses is adapting to the virtual environment and integrating their current business processes into the e-marketplace. (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. 97) The Internet environment has its benefits as well as disadvantages, or threats.   On a local business level it immediately provides â€Å"easy and fast entrance to new markets,† 24/7 business hours, less physical structure maintenance, and the possibility of sales increasing.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. 99) For buyers this offers more selection of products and services, 24/7 business access and easy comparison between the various seller’s offers.     (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. 99) Threats for businesses as a whole are the loss of direct customer face to face relationships, increased competition and the extra funds required for consistent upgrading of products and platforms.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. 99)   For buyers there is the same lack of direct face to face relationships, the unknown reliability of the seller and lack of trust in products and services.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. 99) E-commerce is about â€Å"rediscovering the individuality of the customers and their needs, and the creation of frictionless modes of commercial interaction with them.†Ã‚  Ã‚   (May, 2000, p. 4)   Businesses must approach change in an internet environment carefully, as in the traditional business model the direct interaction allows the consumer to feel important.   Ecommerce does not provide the close interaction; therefore it is imperative that the online business practices allow the consumer to feel like a person, not a type.   (May, 2000, p. 5) A great example of ecommerce success is Amazon.com.   This company has proven its ability to implement change and business growth without affecting its customer base or falling behind the competition.   The vision of the â€Å"Earth’s biggest bookstore† (May, 2000, p. 52) was to offer a range and large quantity of products that would dominate traditional booksellers and to â€Å"achieve market ubiquity without acquiring retail real estate.†Ã‚   (May, 2000, p. 52) Jeff Bezos identified books as an ideal product for selling online because the number of books the traditional bookseller could offer was limited; therefore, if these products were offered online the number available would be unlimited.   In a sense the book trade has always been â€Å"virtual† – any customer can enter a traditional bookstore and order any book in print. Amazon.com brought a new online concept to the book trade and improved the efficiency of a traditional process.   However, though this insight was extraordinary introducing the concept into the ecommerce marketplace meant that consistent change was necessary and that customers must receive the same attention and personal relationships currently experienced in the traditional environment.   (May, 2000, p. 53-54) In order to change the ecommerce impersonal environment Amazon.com had to introduce a new strategy into maintaining and increasing its customer base.   Changing the internet environment is not a simple display creation or the addition of a personable salesperson to physically approach customers.   Amazon.com had to approach this change with a technology based solution that offered a personal approach to its customers.   The applications Amazon implemented offered their customers a positive experience. Customers are now able to access their portfolios at any time and without interaction with a sales representative.   These portfolios are personalized and address customers on a first name basis, provide purchase history and even suggest similar titles that might be of interest to the customers.   This change provided a personal touch, saved Amazon on staff time and clearly benefits the customer.   (May, 2000, p. 54) Rick Berry, CEO of ICGCommerce.com, an Internet-Based procurement business, describes leading an e-commerce business as â€Å"driving a Ferrari with a cinderblock on the accelerator.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004)   This fast-paced environment requires consistent change, as â€Å"E-Procurement is a $10 trillion market worldwide.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004) Berry states that building a procurement business in the traditional sense would take at least 10 years to become successful; however within the internet environment they are making an attempt to establish credibility within six months.   Their goal is â€Å"to grab a chunk of that market before the competition moves in.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004) Berry believes that talent is what businesses require to provide effective leadership and the ability to change quickly within Internet based businesses.   Leadership must have the ability to â€Å"attract teams of talented risk-takers.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004)  Ã‚   The speed of the working environment in an e-commerce structure means that very little time is available to train staff; therefore leaders of e-commerce ventures â€Å"must strive to create a specific type of work culture† that is high-energy and results-oriented.   (Pandya, 2004) Because little time is allowed for training and communication in an internet environment is more direct than others, changing the actions of others as well as effectively communicating the vision of change is difficult.   â€Å"You communicate directly, and you must build a team that can cope with that.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004) If an internet company is to be successful it must begin with establishing a visionary culture with the ability to attract and retain talented staff.   Talented staff members have the ability to effectively introduce change within the internet environment effectively and without disrupting business flow. David Perry, founder of Chemdex says that creating a successful business with the ability to adapt to the constant change of the internet environment is â€Å"raising money, so you can hire good people, so you can make and sell good products, so you can raise more money.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004)   These staff members must be â€Å"enthusiastic, passionate and share the organization’s values.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004) In his article titled The True Value of Change Management, George Spafford quotes â€Å"The only constant is change.†Ã‚   (Spafford, 2005)   He believes that many IT organizations â€Å"lack a fundamental understanding of the need to manage change† and that these organizations feel that change management stops at budgetary planning. When introducing change into the internet environment organizations must understand that this process has huge impacts on business operations – the more complex the change is within the system the â€Å"effective change management processes† increase.   (Spafford, 2005)   As most change within the internet environment is technology based, it’s imperative to know that 80% of security breaches have been caused by human error. (Spafford, 2005) Potential solutions in technology have three parts â€Å"people, technology and process.†Ã‚   (Spafford, 2005)   Most organizations have processes in place where change requests are â€Å"submitted, reviewed, planned tested, scheduled and then implemented.† (Spafford, 2005)   The procedures are put into place to ensure that proper thought and planning have been applied and the implications assessed before introducing it within the business structure. Spafford believes that many organizations lack the resources to implement change and that many simply give up once the implications have surfaced with unsuccessful results.   He believes that companies must learn from their mistakes and work continuously to improve and implement future successes.   Developing one simple model of change in an internet environment can also be devastating.   â€Å"The point is to be flexible, keep costs down and remain responsive, adopting multiple change models.†Ã‚   (Spafford, 2005) The ability to manage change within the internet environment will always be a challenge for organizations.   Effective leadership is the key to any organization’s success as well as leadership’s ability to attract talented staff members who are constantly looking to the future, rather than traditional one-sided ideas. Technology is constantly evolving and introducing new competitive strategies into the ecommerce marketplace and little time is available to adapt to the competition.   Looking back at The Laws of the Fifth Discipline, â€Å"The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back† we see that it’s imperative to remain open-minded and constantly looking to the future where new concepts and ideas will introduce positive changes to the Internet environment. References May, P. (2000). The Business of Ecommerce: From Corporate Strategy to Technology. New York, New York: Cambridge University. Pandya, M. (2004). Center for Leadership and Change Management:   Leadership in E-Commerce:   What does it Take to Lead an E-Commerce Venture? Retrieved from http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/ecommerce/articles/Wharton_ECommerce_Forum.shtml Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline. New York, New York: Doubleday Dell Publishing Group. Spafford, G. (2005, August 15). Datamation:   The True Value of Change Management. Retrieved from http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/service/article.php/3527471 Waddell, D., & Singh, M. (2003). E-Business Innovation and Change Management. London: Idea Group Inc (IGI). West, J., & Cianfrani, C. A. (2004). Unlocking the Power of Your Qms: Keys to Business Performance Improvement. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: American Society for.          Leading Change Introduction Intense global competition, rapid technological change, and international capital markets are creating more demand for change leadership than at perhaps any other time in history. These forces, combined with the complexity of new and more global organizational forms that span nations and unite organizations through alliances, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions, make the job of leadership increasingly difficult. No wonder it is popular to suggest that leadership is in short supply in most organizations. Moreover, we have a limited understanding of the role that leaders should play in making effective change a reality. This is the motivation for this essay. In the pages that follow, I discuss how leaders can help organizations change to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.Body of the Essay It is one thing to argue that organizations need to reinvent themselves and develop new, more effective approaches to organizing, and quite another to accomplish it . Large-scale organizational transformation is, at best, a developing art that has yet to produce any clear formulas for success, but more and more attention is being turned to executives as the principle agents of change and adaptation. It is increasingly common to assume that leadership plays the crucial role in an organization's successful adaptation to a changing world. Companies are paying record compensation to attract the best and brightest executive talent to lead them safely through today's turbulent business environment. Many boards and executive recruiters assume that there exists an elite corps of individuals who possess leadership skills that have almost universal application.The subject of leadership and organization change is embedded deeply in the lexicon and discourse of business executives, management consultants, and organizational scholars. Business periodicals, the trade press, and academic publications are brimming with information and knowledge about leading o rganization change. Widespread attention to leading change is largely a reflection of the times. Fueled by unprecedented changes in technologies, markets, and economies, organizations are experiencing rapidly changing environments and enormous competitive pressures. Responses to these challenges are resulting in a virtual revolution in new organizational forms and systems. Organizations are increasingly seeking to transform themselves to become more adaptable and competitive, with leaner, more flexible structures, more empowered and committed employees, and more performance-driven human resource practices. (Lawler et al., 1995)As organizations strive to implement these innovations, they discover that change is incredibly arduous, requiring a great deal of expertise, resources, and luck. The sheer difficulty of transforming organizations is evident in their enormous inertial qualities as well as the scope and magnitude of the required changes. Organization transformation typically in volves radical changes in strategy and structure, in work practices and methods, and in members' perceptions, norms, and work behaviors. As many observers have pointed out, because transformational change involves the total organization including strategic relationships with the competitive environment, top leaders or CEOs need to lead the change process and are essential to its success. (Tichy & Devanna, 1986; Greiner & Bhambri, 1989; Nadler, 1997)â€Å"The Harder You Push, The Harder The System Pushes Back† Any organization has its own corporate culture and the employees in all hierarchies are accustomed to that particular culture. Bringing about any change at any level is bound to shake the status quo and bring in an element of disturbance within the smooth functioning of the organization. Keeping that in mind, the change leader has to be extremely careful in doing the job and allowing ample space and time for the employees and other variables to adjust to the change being brought about. If the change process is accelerated too much and transformation is imposed hard on the people and the system as a whole, it will result in increased resistance from the system and mounting difficulties in the process of change.â€Å"Change involves moving from the known to the unknown (Cummins/Worley, 1993). Because the future is uncertain and may adversely affect people’s competencies, worth, and coping abilities, organizational members generally do not support change, unless compelling reasons convince them to do so. Similarly, organizations tend to be heavily invested in the status quo, and they resist changing it in the face of uncertain future benefits. Consequently, a key issue in planning for action is how to motivate commitment to organizational change, such as Business Reengineering. This requires management attention to two related tasks: creating readiness for change and overcoming resistance to change.† http://www.prosci.com/w_4.htmPeople c an be made ready to accept and contribute towards change once they themselves get to feel the need for change. This means making people so discontented with the status quo that they are provoked to try new ways of performing. Generating such discontent can be to a certain extent difficult. People who have been functioning and behaving in ways that have become norms for them now, may find it difficult to the level of hurt, prior to their undertaking the change seriously. In a situation as sensitive as such, the change has to be led very cautiously providing room for delay. The many issues related to change leadership could be structured around multiple themes. They include leader behaviors for effective change, sources of change, different change strategies, whether leadership really matters, and the development of change leaders.Most leadership scholars emphasize the importance of developing a vision or direction as the first step in leading change. This direction is critical in mak ing sure that everyone is moving in the same direction. It is, however, an open question whether a vision is really necessary for leading change. A key issue, particularly in the literature on charismatic leadership, is how to create a sense of empowerment and ownership for employees.One argument is that this requires giving employees the autonomy to determine appropriate means for implementing the vision. (Conger, 1989) Prior research has shown that employees are most motivated when they have the freedom to determine what works best given their talents and skills. (Spreitzer et al., 1997) However, in order for such autonomy to work employees must have access to the resources necessary for implementation and to information about the competition and the financial situation of their organization; without these they are likely to feel helpless in bringing about change. Also, rewards may be particularly helpful in building a sense of ownership. (Lawler, 1986)Leaders in crisis organizati ons facing a revitalization challenge must devote considerable effort at the front end of their transformation to the creation of resources. Individuals' resistance to change builds in direct proportion to the magnitude of the gap they perceive between the level of effort expected of them as part of the transformation process and the resources available to get the job done. Often this initial resource-generating step involves closing and consolidating peripheral or under-performing operations, trimming employee payrolls, reducing corporate staff overhead expenses, and suspending or deferring programs so that current operations can generate more cash to be redeployed to the launch of the corporate transformation process. Leaders attempting to revitalize their organizations also need to seek new external resources as they launch their transformation process.For example, at General Electric during the early 1980s under Jack Welch, the creation of slack resources was not so much a probl em as was the reallocation of existing resources to the corporate transformation effort. So the initial transformation issue was less one of resource creation than one of resource reallocation. Businesses that did not fit the vision had to fix, sell, or close themselves, and resources that would otherwise be consumed by these ill-fitting businesses were reallocated to enhance productivity and automation initiatives and to fuel capital investments in businesses that offered greater promise for achieving Welch's lofty vision of being first or second in their chosen global markets. (Aguilar et al., 1985)It might be argued that the key role for the leader is setting context; he or she must create a culture that embraces the importance of change. The leader then needs to create an organization structure that will support the new vision. This might, for example, involve a team-based design to reduce centralization, hierarchy, and bureaucratization. The leader must select and hire top-notc h people who have the skills necessary to bring the new vision to actuality. If the vision involves globalization, for example, this might involve hiring or promoting people who have international experience. The leader must also create a reward system that encourages behaviors appropriate for the new vision. For example, if the vision requires more focus on the customer, then employees must be rewarded for actions that improve customer satisfaction. In other words, the leader's most important role may be to devise an organization that sustains the vision.Implications For Change In An Internet Environment Sebastian  and Samuel  (2004) â€Å"explore the challenge that technology will deliver to management at both the tactical and strategic level. Changes in communication, content of communication, globalization of communication, are critical to these changes. The environment will support a greater degree of discontinuities in planning which is brought about by the globalization of management activities. Successful management must encompass the management of these discontinuities but use information in an artificial intelligence environment. The integration of these data and the actions that come from that integration must be understood within a moral framework.† (Sebastian  & Samuel, 2004)In the present era of technological innovation and globalization, when the world’s business is coming closer to work as a network, when the logistics are being designed in a way that encompass the ever so easy access of technology, communication and information, when a single business is catering to the markets around the globe, the changes within the organization become more important than those ever were. It is the international culture that the employees have to work in, the greater than ever expansion plans and newer and faster service demands that they have to attend to. All these developments and enhancements come as part and result of the Internet en vironment in which virtually all businesses are operating these days.ConclusionLeading change in such circumstances become an even more demanding and challenging of a task for the managers or leaders. As the trade of goods and services around the world is getting faster and easier, the need for as fast a change continues. However as mentioned in the preceding pages that such changes cannot be brought overnight, nor can those be imposed or pushed hard on the individuals. The system pushes back even harder and poses even more resistance to the change. Instead, the vision once established has to be communicated to the people properly, make them ready for the change by suitably establishing the loopholes of the current state and furnish the future expectations of being technologically sound and equipped.ReferencesAguilar, F. J., Hamermesh, R. G., and Brainard, C. General Electric, 1984. (1985) Boston: Harvard Business School Press (9–385–315, Rev. Mar. 24, 1993).Conger, J. A. (1989) â€Å"The Charismatic Leader† San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Greiner, L., and Bhambri, A. (1989) â€Å"New CEO Intervention and Dynamics of Deliberate Strategic Change.† Strategic Management Journal, 10, 67–86.Lawler, E. E. (1986) â€Å"High-Involvement Management† San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1986.Lawler, E., Mohrman, S., and Ledford, G. (1995) â€Å"Creating High Performance Organizations: Practices and Results of Employee Involvement and Total Quality Management in Fortune 1000 Companies† San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Nadler, D., (1997) â€Å"Champions of Change† San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Spreitzer, G. M., Kizilos, M., and Nason, S. (1997) â€Å"A Dimensional Analysis of the Relationship Between Psychological Empowerment and Effectiveness, Satisfaction, and Strain.† Journal of Management, 23 (5), 679–704.Tichy, N., and Devanna, M. (1986) â€Å"The Transformation Leader† New York: Wiley.Wolf D. Schumacher â€Å"Ma naging Barriers To Re-engineering Success.† http://www.prosci.com/w_4.htm Accessed January 31, 2007.

Chaucer's General Prologue

Chaucers General Prologue Essay Compare and contrast the presentation of three pilgrims from Chaucers General Prologue and show how their descriptions add to our understanding of his society  The Canterbury Tales is a group of tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer in about 1387. Chaucer planned to write 24 tales but died before he could complete them, so, The Canterbury Tales consist of 22 verse tales and two long prose tales. The General Prologue gives a brief but vivid description of each pilgrim journeying to Canterbury before the pilgrims actually begin telling their tales. Most literature written in the medieval period was written in either French or Latin, especially poems or Holy Scriptures, so when Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in Middle English he was making a statement. Chaucer wanted to promote the vernacular language of England and so wrote The Canterbury Tales in Middle English. Three of the best portraits of the pilgrims in the General Prologue are of the Knight, the Wife of Bath and the Monk who all tell us a great deal about Chaucers society. The Knight is a verray, parfit, gentil knyght, who earns his living by fighting for his faith and his king. He has high status in the feudal system and Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre. He is as meeke as a mayde, and he is also worthy and humble.  The way in which Chaucer writes The Knight and the language he uses reinforces the point that the Knight is virtuous. The alliteration in he were worthy, he was wys draws attention to the praise that Chaucer is giving him. Also triple negatives are used to reinforce the point that he has no vices; he nevere yet no vileynye ne sayde. The Knight is humble and not materialistic where the text reads;  His hors were goode, but he was nat gay  Of fustian he wered a gypon  Al bismotered with his habergeon  There is also an ironic simile in the verse about the Knight where the text says, as meeke as a mayde this describes him as calm and gentle whereas we expect a Knight to be violent and proud of himself. Finally, the rhyming couplets at the end of each line draw even more attention to his good qualities for example  . prys  . wys  He does not care what people think of him, he uses his horse for its function, and he does not decorate it elaborately but just uses it for fighting. The clothes that he wears also tell the reader that he is not materialistic because he, wered a gypon/Al bismotered with his habergeon. The Wife of Bath lives biside Bathe and likes to weave, she has been married five times and gives advice to people in love. Thries hadde she been at Jerusalem, which suggests that she is a holy woman who has been on a lot of pilgrimages. However she only wants to be seen as religious and holy person. Chaucer only pretends to give evidence of her devotion whereas he is really saying that she is not concerned about religion, but that she is more concerned with her reputation and how she looks to other people; Nobody to the offrynge before hire sholde goon. Although she had been on a number of pilgrimages, especially to Jerusalem, Chaucer writes that she is often found wandrynge by the weye on them, passing many a strange strem. The alliteration here draws our attention to these details. Chaucers ambiguity towards some pilgrims motives for being on the pilgrimage is shown in this verse as he could be implying that the Wife of Bath strayed from the religious purpose of the trip.  Chaucer uses euphemisms to hint at the Wife of Baths promiscuity; gat-tothed, reed stockings, five husbands and oother compaigne in her youth are all quotes to support this point. The five husbands could suggest that the Wife of Bath was an early feminist because she uses men to her own advantage and in her tale she claims womens superiority over men. READ: First Confession Analysis EssayChaucer gently mocks the gregarious Wife of Bath by telling the reader in an exaggerated manner that on Sunday at Church the wimple that she wore weyeden ten pound, this also hints at her materialistic and vain nature, which is completely opposite to the Knight. The Wife of Bath had clothes such as;  hosen of fyn scarlet reed  Ful streite yteyd and shoes ful moyste and new  That show that she is vain and materialistic because she has bought new shoes for a pilgrimage and red stockings which would be very expensive because to dye clothes bright colours was very expensive in those days.  The Knight, however, Of fustian he wered a gypon/Al bismotered with his habergeon which is completely the opposite. The Monk is a lord ful fat and in good poynt; he is indulgent; the fact that The Monk likes to eat swan also suggests that he is indulgent, not what a monk should be. The sleves purfiled at the hond /with grys, and that the fyneste of a lond. This suggests that he is extravagant and doesnt really care about religious vows. The simile that says the Monks head shoon as any glas, could also suggest that he is vain. Like The Pardoner, The Monk is not a true clergyman; The Pardoner sells fake relics such as white sheets and says they are the Virgin Marys veil and The Monk goes on pilgrimages to get out of the monastery. The Knight has many pastimes, but most are associated with war, such as training the Squire, his son, taking part in jousts, defending the faith, travelling abroad to battles. This suggests that in Chaucers society there were many wars and that in the feudal system; knights were expected to fight to defend their faith and country.  The Wife of Bath, however, enjoys weaving which would be expected because Bath was famous for fine cloths. Of remedies of love she knew per chaunce, this means she helps people with love, which is ironic considering that she Housbondes at chirche dore she hadde fyve. She went on a lot of pilgrimages like the Knight, but she koude muchel of wandrynge by the weye, which could mean that she diverted from the religious purpose of the trip. Apart from this, though she has a lot of leisure time to enjoy her other pastimes. But unlike the Knight, the Wife of Bath enjoys things that will fulfil her needs and wants, whereas the Knights interests and pastimes dire ctly benefit other people such as the Squire, his country or his King The Monk enjoys hunting, which could imply that he doesnt care about Gods creatures as a Monk should. The Monk and The Pardoner are both corrupt, which reinforces the popular view that the Church at the time was rich and corrupt; The Parson is the only good clergyman on the pilgrimage. The Friar knew a lot of the taverns in the country which suggests he has a lot of time for social time which a monk should not have.  Christians go to Canterbury to worship the shrine of St Thomas Beckett who was murdered at Canterbury. In the General Prologue, the characters met up at the Tabard Inn and decided to tell their stories. The supposed reason these pilgrims are going to Canterbury is to seek St. Thomas, holy martyr blessed, but some have other ulterior motives for going there. The Knight, I think, is on the pilgrimage to give thanks to God and St. Thomas Beckett for bringing him back alive and well from battle. The Wife of Bath likes to show off about being holy since nobody to the offrynge before hire sholde goon. She could be going to Canterbury for a holiday, to travel more, to find another husband, to show off how rich she is; compared with The Knight she is on the pilgrimage for materialistic reasons whereas the Knight, like the Parson, is on the pilgrimage for authentic religious reasons. The Monk could be on the pilgrimage to socialise or it could be a reason to get out of the cloistered of the monastery; neither of which are holy reasons. READ: Play It Again Rita EssayIn conclusion I believe that the Knight is the only person, along with the Parson, who is on the pilgrimage for the right reasons. The Knight is on the pilgrimage to give thanks to God and he dedicates his time to those who are in need. On the other hand The Monk is on the pilgrimage for one of two reasons, either to socialise with other people or just to get out of the monastery. This reflects the view at the time that the Church was corrupt and rich. The Wife of Bath is on the pilgrimage for vain and materialistic reasons the most likely reasons are either to show off her wealth or to find another husband. This reflects the position of women because could not go out and live on their own they needed the support of a husband or a father.

Ethical Debate for Buying Organs for Transplant Research Paper

Ethical Debate for Buying Organs for Transplant - Research Paper Example (Goodwin, 2006); therefore, those in favor of organ selling and buying holds that clinicians and health care providers have a moral duty to save their patients’ lives and reduce their sufferings when it is in their capacity to do it. Researches indicates that various people die yearly because of inadequate organ supply. Similarly, patients in need of organs wait for years hoping that donors will come for their rescue, all these years suffering painful and expensive dialysis interventions. Therefore, allowing people to sell and buy organs could halt unnecessary deaths and increased sufferings and agony by such patient. People have the right to participate in any form of business that they wish as long as they make profit. Thus, hindering organs sales infringes donor’s freedom of choice of participating in a most profitable venture, (Wilkinson, 2003). Cash payment from organ sales increases taxpayers’ income power and will increase their willingness to donate their organs and increase organs supply. People should look at the commercial market prosperity in enhancing organ transplant success, given the increased number of donors who are willing to donate their organs at a cost. As long as poor people receive a compensation for their donations, this is crucial to alleviate poverty. This also would enhance the financial power of poor people and the poor, rich, and desperate patients in hospitals will equally benefit. Therefore, patients in hospitals will have increased chances of gaining better health. Additionally, increased organs supply forces the mechanism of market to reduce organ prices and thus increased number of patients will afford to purchase an organ and improve their life quality. Those against organs sales argue that the process entails various risks... This paper approves that people have the right to participate in any form of business that they wish as long as they make profit. Thus, hindering organs sales infringes donor’s freedom of choice of participating in a most profitable venture. Cash payment from organ sales increases taxpayers’ income power and will increase their willingness to donate their organs and increase organs supply. People should look at the commercial market prosperity in enhancing organ transplant success, given the increased number of donors who are willing to donate their organs at a cost. As long as poor people receive a compensation for their donations, this is crucial to alleviate poverty. This also would enhance the financial power of poor people and the poor, rich, and desperate patients in hospitals will equally benefit. The author of the paper talks that patients in hospitals will have increased chances of gaining better health. Additionally, increased organs supply forces the mechanis m of market to reduce organ prices and thus increased number of patients will afford to purchase an organ and improve their life quality. This report makes a conclusion that irrespective of the ethical measure involved, organ sale will continue to grow and thousands of donors will continue to die because of crime issues and health complications involved. However, the ethical issue around organ sales promises to survive for long. Therefore, people have to choose among controversial moral values sets, for instance, the value placed on pain relief and death prevention, and the value placed on human dignity respect and human commitment preserving humankind requirement s in a just and equitable way.

Tylenol Recall Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tylenol Recall - Research Paper Example and Drug Administration regulator supervised the removal of five Tylenol products from the shelves after consumers complained that Tylenol bottles had a moldy like odor. Some of the consumers reported experiencing stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting after taking pills from those packages. (fda.gov). On that same year, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulator issued a press release statement expanding the recall that included all Tylenol arthritis pain drugs. According to the ABC news network, a further 54 million bottles and packages of pills were pulled from the shelves across the country that year. To the consumers, the Tylenol recall came as a relief especially since they had complained a year earlier about the products’ packaging (abcnews.go.com). On one of the news report aired on the ABC news network, the complaints are reported to have started back in the year 2008 but it is only after the FDA intervened that Johnson and Johnson reacted extensively. The following year, there was a massive voluntary recall by Johnson & Johnson Company under the FDA supervision. The recall saw McNeil consumer Healthcare, a child company of Johnson and Johnson, take actions to compensate its customers. According to the FDA press statement, a consumer who had purchased Tylenol arthritis pain medicine were requested to stop taking the pills and seek either refunds or replacement from the company. After pulling millions of bottles from the shelves , the government began a series of criminal investigations. In a federal court case in Philadelphia dated 10th march, 2015, McNeil settled for a criminal fine of 20 million dollars following an incidence that dates back to 1st May, 2009. A consumer had reported finding foreign materials in an infant Tylenol medication. Investigations later confirmed the materials to be harmful. Many of the widely products were pulled from the shelves affecting its millions of users. For example, Tylenol arthritis medicine was one the

Theology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Theology - Essay Example This paper intends to discuss why would an intelligent mind believe or not believe in the existence of God, and what my opinion about the nature and existence of God is. A 90 minute debate was held in Alys Stephens Center in Birmingham, Alabama, on October 03, 2007 between two Oxford University colleagues; an atheist and secular humanist, Professor Richard Dawkins, and a Christian apologist, Professor John Lennox. The topic of the debate was the existence of God based upon the atheistic views that Dawkins presented in his book, The God Delusion. In the debate, Dawkins explains his theses regarding the rejection of God’s existence saying that science is based on evidence-based grounds whereas faith is blind and is based merely on satisfactory beliefs and thus it drags humans to believe what is told in religion without the need of understanding and exploring. This makes us say that an intelligent mind believes that science does not support religion; rather, it supports rationalism or atheism. Marx conception of God’s existence is purely atheistic. He affirms that an intelligent mind must argue that the designer God, if there is one, must need another designer to design him. Freud does not believe in God and asserts that â€Å"the sooner one accepts that God does not exist, the better† (qtd. in McFaul 9) if one wants to step into mature adulthood. Christianity poses dangers to the existence of humans as all wars and destructions come as a result of the religious beliefs and difference in faiths. Dawkins explains an argument from his book, that is, faith is blind whereas science is evidence-based (92) in which he argues that faith is by no reasons strengthening its grounds in the 21st century when it has nothing to do with evidence. On the other hand, according to Dawkins, â€Å"science uses evidence to discover the truth about the universe† and scientific discoveries are based on research and

Forest Management and unlawfull logging in Cameroon (centre Africa ) Thesis

Forest Management and unlawfull logging in Cameroon (centre Africa ) - Thesis Example The Congo Basin in Africa has the second largest rain forest in the world after the Amazon rain forest. It had almost one hundred and ninety million hectares in 1995 (Hutter, 2000) and was spread across countries like Equatorial Guinea, The Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Gabon and also Cameroon. Cameroon is located to the north of the equator and is bordered by countries like Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic, Chad, and Nigeria. While in the north, Cameroon is covered by savannas, in the south it is has a dense tropical forest (Cameroon Forests, n.d.). The country is inhabited by more than two hundred ethnic groups and has a diverse wildlife with over four hundred species of mammals and seven hundred species of birds. There are also numerous plant species in these forests many of which are endangered. About seventy five percent of Cameroon consists of dense forests or woodlands. The country al so has an affluent literary heritage. The biodiversity of Cameroon especially in flora and fauna is worth a mention. Of the total forested area seventy percent has a dense forest cover with a thick canopy of leaves that covers the sky. It consists of fifty percent of the country’s area. The entire forested region of the country is not suitable for logging. Out of the twenty four million hectare spread of dense forest in the country seventeen million is suitable for logging activity (Cameroon, n.d.). Logging is an important economic activity for the people of Cameroon and accounted for nine percent of the tax revenue of the country. Data suggests that logging generated $60 million for the Cameroon government in 1997-98 as tax revenue. Commercial logging had been an active source of livelihood for a large number of people for over a century. But in recent times the environment of the Cameroon is being threatened by rampant felling of trees for the timbre. In the past few decade s a large amount of the forest has given way to open lands for agricultural tracts, farms and human settlements. Though cutting of trees for agricultural lands is the primary reason of deforestation, logging activities is also responsible for the threat that the forest faces. Some facts about deforestation have been revealed in a report of the Global Forest Watch. The report mentions that the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization estimated that out of the 21.6 million hectares of historic forest cover of Cameroon in 1980 only 19.6 million remained in 1995. From 1980 to 1998 the population of Cameroon increased by more than sixty six percent (from 8.6 million to 14.3 million). This caused an increase in demand for land and resources. The excess demand of land for agriculture and human inhabitation was satisfied at the expense of the forest cover. According to the legislation of Cameroon, the locals have a right over the products of the forests though the government owns t he right to the trees and everything below the soil like oil. As of now, Cameroon ranks among the top five exporter of timbre in the world. But the population is increasing steadily and the modest reserve of oil that the country had been blessed with is depleting at a fast rate. This depletion of oil, the environmentalists fear, will put more pressure on the demand for forest resources to supplement the loss of income when all the oil has been exhausted. Logging is very crucial activity for the regional as well as the national income of the country. The government of the country has realized this. So they have given a high priority to the conservation of forest and the issue figures in almost all the agendas of the local and national politics. Towards the end of the past millennium the president of the country Paul Biya organized a summit for the head of the states to discuss the issue of proper management of the forest and its resources. It resulted in the Yaounde Declaration where five

Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Latin America - Essay Example One of the key areas of influence was on the Latin American economy. As the article above highlights, there are two different forms of economies in the region, and this highlights how the different European countries that conquered Latin America had different economic policies and approaches. For example, Spain conquered Latin America in order to exploit the natural resources in the region and export them to Europe. This form of exploration favored the state controlled type of economy, which, according to the article, persists till today. On the other hand, countries such as Netherlands and England favored free trade where they allowed for the production of sugar, cotton and tobacco, which were sold to other countries for profit. These were the basis of globalization and free markets. This explains why certain countries in the region have shown greater economic success than others. In the article for instance, Luhnow argues that the Pacific-facing countries have shown higher levels of economic growth by taking advantage of globalization compared to their Atlantic facing counterparts who have favored state controls. For example, the author notes that Argentina has immensely suffered from the heavy-handed regulation. This article gives a clear picture of how Latin America has been influenced by the different European countries that colonized the