Performance in a Business Environment Essay Example for Free

Performance in a Business Environment Essay The purpose and benefits of continuously improving my own performance at work is to move one step forward and exceed my limitations, achieve further goals, self-motivation, not to be the same person and on the same position after a certain of time, to exceed my performance at work and doing work, improving my own performance helps me to progress on my career and give me a job satisfaction. However this leads me to evaluate my own work by looking at the work that takes the most time, and what actions can I take to do this task in a less time, however at the same time I look at the best part of the job that I do and also look for areas where I can improve. I normally speak to my colleagues that are more experience than me regarding this and take advice as well as guidance to do so. It is so important for me to get feedback and to accept it from others as this will help me to learn from my mistakes and be more confident in the work I am doing. Receiving feedback also helps me see myself from the perspective of others and how other people see me I always accept feedback whether positive or negative, as positive will help me to work harder and keep the good work I’m doing, as well as negative will help me to learn from my past failures and mistakes so I can correct them. In every organisation it is so important to provide a Good quality piece of work, as a very challenging person I always try new ways, different ways to do my work with a good quality and within less time scale. I always learn new things either in the office as my day to day tasks or at home for my long term career goals. My own learning and development does not only improve my work and productivity, it improves and benefits the team I work with as well as the whole organisation. The more I learn, the more I can do. This benefits the organisation by increasing productivity. It helps me to identify gaps between my job requirements or future work roles and the existing knowledge, understanding and skills. This is one of the reasons that we have in our organisation a private website that provides different short courses for self-development. The progression route from my current role will be towards a Management Information Analysts role, and then eventually a Business Analyst role as my long term role. This will also help me work towards my career I wish to pursue in the educational field, where I will have to also demonstrate data management tasks on my day to day tasks at work. After completing my Apprenticeship in Business and Admin L3, I am looking forward to starting an Apprenticeship L4 with a hard working to  develop my career to the next level as Management Information Analysts towards my long term career as a Business Analysts. I already have experie nce working in education, retail and IT. I will be working harder to meet my above career development with a good salary package and job description, where I can best use my skills, talents and capabilities. So by developing my skills I can look at possible interesting careers and sectors that I might be interested in and develop my opportunities in securing a good job. A learning plan is a way for everyone to set personal targets and record achievements. It helps me as a person to keep on track towards where I want to be in my life and my work. The reason for making a plan is, it simply helps me to take more control of my future, by reminding me what I have learned, achieved and enjoyed. Creating my plan can help me develop more confidence in my ability to tackle new things, become more employable, and get more out of life.

Leadership and Personality Research

Leadership and Personality Research Section One: Leadership Model Leadership is commonly identified as an art, yet slightly understood as a science in various literatures. Leadership is both a science and an art (Hughes, Ginnett Curphy, 2011). To define what art is, in the noble words of Gunter Grass, Art is accusation, expression, passion. Art is a fight to the finish between black charcoal and white paper (Taberner, 2012). Furthermore, to borrow an interesting description of what art is not, from Leo Tolstoy, Art is not, as the metaphysicians say, the manifestation of some mysterious idea of beauty or God; it is not, as the aesthetical physiologists say, a game in which man lets off his excess of stored-up energy; it is not the expression of mans emotions by external signs; it is not the production of pleasing objects; and, above all, it is not pleasure; but it is a means of union among men, joining them together in the same feelings, and indispensable for the life and progress toward well-being of individuals and of humanity (Tolstoy, 2016). From the above, I arrived to an understanding that leadership seems to be a grey area with various definitions and identifications. I believe leadership is within oneself, it is a process that requests various human skills transformed into mere instinct, which requires a sense of understanding in regards to a particular environment via observation and experimentation as to achieve a certain goal. Many leadership styles exist, lending itself to being explained through multiple metaphors without a one size fits all model. Although it was not an easy task to determine a single metaphor for a personal leadership model, I reflected on my own personal life. Having grown up in a family of farmers, I shall thus compare leadership to farming. Farming, as defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary, is an act of growing crops and/or keeping animals. A farmer can be thought of as a leader since they attend to the following activities: Planting/growing crops and raising/breeding livestock. Continuously attending to crops and feeding livestock. Finally collecting what the land or livestock have produced. Given the above activities, a sound farmer would be one that reasons with each and every considerable act of nature as well as promotes a sense of nurture to what they are attempting to achieve. There are certain acts of nature that cannot be foreseen such as weather conditions. At a time where technology was not around to predict the weather forecast, farmers took upon themselves learning and adapting to the environment, as it was crucial and necessary in constantly maintaining the wellness of the crops and livestock. There are more factors farmers face when considering the art of appropriate farming. Appropriate farming involves the management of three different activities, that are crops, livestock and off-farm enterprises. The decision-making process is relatively difficult as it encompasses the farmers use of their knowledge as to come as close as possible to fulfilling the goal they are striving to achieve (Norman, Worman, Siebert, Modiakgotla, 1995).[1] For example, their ability to manage and allocate crops away from livestock in order to achieve a balanced healthy environment on the farm is necessary, so as not all the crops are being fed on by the livestock and no t all the livestock are grazing throughout the farm. As farmers grow crops with a high-quality yield and cater to nurturing their livestock, similarly, leaders help in growing people and ensure sustainability and profitability to a business. The land and soil are the business culture, the climate is the market, the pests and diseases are then the competition (Tole, 2017). Leaders sow their values into the lives of others through the expression of attitudes, words and actions. Regardless as to where a leader may exist, be it at work, at home or in a community, the impact that individuals may have on your leadership, your business or organization requires attention as expressions are to be highly regarded by ones emotional instinct perceived from such interactions (Hale, 2013). Given the outline and understanding of the course this was witnessed by myself in the topic of Emotional Intelligence. I learned that we must partake in being in-tune with our emotions whilst dealing with others in and out of the workplace; attempting to understand the characteristics of whom we are dealing with as well as trying to relate to them to achieve a common goal. This has been evident whilst I recollected my personal observation of farmers attending to their land and livestock with much love, care and attention as to result in better productivity without dialogue. That alone is a magnificent skill to acquire. Leaders cultivate what they have sown by continuously connecting the dots between their words and actions. This is managed by living out or modelling what matters most to them about others, work, life and faith. Having such a practice put into effect tirelessly, is regarded to be like farming, since farmers weed/water the crops and feed/raise the livestock as to facilitate the full growth of crops as well as maintaining healthy livestock (Hale, 2013). Finally, leaders harvest what they have sown and cultivated (Hale, 2013). Like farmers, leaders allow themselves to celebrate their goals as well as reflect back on what they have generated or created per se. The act of doing so simply allows the leader to indulge themselves to progress together with their team as they exemplify success to themselves and continue working positively. Reflections, allow a leader to identify where they may have gone wrong and try to approach their harvest in a different manner yet more productive way (Miller, 2012). Similarly, with farming, the farmer would feel a sense of gratification as their goals of maintaining a healthy environment on the farm and the ability to sell their fresh produce as well as having high yields of growth, and a set of well-fed/raised healthy livestock. The farmers reflection to their creation would always require attention, hence identifying newer strategies to implement and put into action as to increase productivity and mak e more use of their resources to progress forward. The personal leadership model, highly relates to leading by example which is evident in the above section, as I mention exemplifying success in order to progress for both leaders and farmers. I can see it as a vital part of a famers life since each observation I can recall from my past allows me to identify most examples that these farmers could show rather than just point it out in words. I learned actions speak louder than words throughout the life I have lived thus far. This made me understand that not everything is settled by words and sometimes complete silence and the portrayal of an action is more than enough. Therefore, art is a very relevant topic when it comes to leadership due to the understanding of what art is and is not. Leaders are an amalgamation of various skillsets and knowledge. To better phrase what I previously mentioned, I believe farmers are leaders. In regards to my observations to the behaviours of multiple farmers, I can say they have acquired a high level o f emotional intelligence, have self-actualized their purpose, and yet are self-aware of their own actions towards tangible hard-to-communicate-with resources (i.e. land, crops and livestock). Effective leaders, are not always known to be good leaders whereas I believe farmers make good effective leaders due to the way they challenge the process of farming seeking opportunities to change, grow and improve their farms as well as define a model of life by behaving consistently in coordination to their associated goals. More-so the characteristics that are seen in farmers have a tendency of relying on growth and development. For example, their mere ability to encourage their competency in terms of adapting to the know-hows of running a farm as to sustain it, their integrity in acting honestly with the resources given to them as to harmonize the potential of a high level of productivity, their ability to carry on what they do in regards to their direction and the well-being of their resources and finally their vision that allows them to feel rewarded and celebrate their achievement in creating an healthy environment where all resources are put to work together to maximize grow th (Leadership, 2016). The leadership styles will vary from one style to another. The majority of styles witnessed in farming are realised to be situational, functional and moral in terms of understanding the importance of all the stages that are required to achieve the final goal. Situational comes into action whilst having to deal with unforeseen changes. Functional relates to the ways of dealing with the available resources such as the land, crops and animals in this scenario. Lastly, the moral approach comes handy whilst the farmers set to better the environment they are within by acting consistently, treating the livestock with care and provisioning a safe environment for their produce (Harvey, 2009). Section Two: Leadership Personality Assessment Self-leadership being the ability to lead oneself towards achieving goals. In understanding my purpose as a person, I became willing to work on self-development. My journey started with the growth of a need to depend on myself. Its emergence grew from self-education and the help of various others whom were regarded as leaders. I embraced my liking of leadership from certain role models in my life, starting from my family, later becoming certain icons of the past and present. I am grateful for having parents who shed the light of intellectualism and wisdom whilst growing up. Many of the lessons they taught me kept me progressing throughout life as well as catering to a greater understanding in identifying my percipience of others I characterised as role models. In the words of Jack Welch, Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others (Greenberg, 2012). Growing oneself is a lifelong process and so is leadership. It requires continuous assessment of skills and qualities, yet it helps in understanding the aims of life and co-ordinates the ability to set goals and realise potential. Personal empowerment and self-education allowed me to find greater self-confidence, self-awareness, self-management and a level of self-motivation to commit to tasks in life to reach a satisfying goal. John F. Kennedy once said: Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other (Kennedy, 1963). As I continued to grow, my path crossed with others. It is inevitable to have at least one friend or person to whom you cannot relate to or try and befriend, regardless of all stages in life. A person will eventually work with someone on a given task. This can be seen either at work, home or within the community. Given the fact that I have moved away from the home I grew up in, many obstacles came my way. I no longer lived in my comfort zone. My surroundings were new, the people within the community were foreign to me, I had to re-calibrate and learn more about the environment I was living in. Therefore, I took on setting more goals that would encourage my participation in this environment. This helped me acquire a sense in furthering my knowledge of teamwork as well as elevate my emotional intellectual instincts in accordance to the surroundings, yet not allow the surroundings change who I am. I remained true to myself, but I visualised a larger set of goals. Results from the psychometric tests are as follows: Myer-Briggs/Jungs Big Five, 16 personalities (ENFP Personality (The Campaigner) | 16 Personalities, 2017). I am an ENFP-A Appendix B. Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Prospecting and Assertive. This suggests that I possess the personality of a campaigner and has the role of being a diplomat whilst utilizing the strategy of people mastery. Tony Robbins DISC (Robbin Research International, 2017). I have a moderately low Decisive, very high Interactive, high Stabilizing and moderately high Cautious personality Appendix C. In accordance to the DISC study, I seem to always build a comfort zone. This suggestively allows me to maintain my stress levels even when I am placed in a fast-moving environment due to my tendency to consciously think about modifying my behaviour. The Narcissist Personality Inventory (NPI-40 iLearn: MGSM, 2017). Score: 15/40 The lower the score the less narcissistic I am, as suggested by Raskin Hall. This simply states I have an average level of narcissism and is concluded in seven different facets. To my understanding from this test and the diagram available in Appendix D, various qualities have suggested levels of authority, self-sufficiency, superiority, exhibitionism, exploitation, vanity and entitlement that my personality tends to project. The high level of superiority indicates my senses of being of a high intellect whilst compared to the other tests. Personal observations in accordance to the above tests: My suggested personality is ENFP-A as per 16 personalities. The individual traits that were suggested showed a high level of extraversion, a high level of being intuitive, showing feelings, a prospecting character, and moderately assertive. The role as characterised by 16 personalities suggests I am a diplomatic campaigner who uses the strategy of people mastery. Results from the interviews: Interviewee 1 (the male participant), identified my personality to be ESFJ-A as per 16 personalities. The individual traits that were revealed by him showed a high level of extraversion, a moderate level of being observant, showing feelings, judging, and a high level of assertiveness. The role as characterised by 16 personalities suggests I am a sentinel consul who uses the strategy of people mastery. More-so, interviewee 1s completion of the DISC test further acknowledged a moderately low Decisive and very high Interactive personality, whilst concluding a very high Stabilizing and moderately low Cautious personality. Interviewee 2 (the female participant), identified my personality to be ISTJ-A as per 16 personalities. The individual traits that were revealed by her showed a moderate level of introversion, a high level of being observant, being practical, judging, and assertive. The role as characterised by 16 personalities suggests I am a sentinel logistician who uses the strategy of confident individualism. More-so, interviewee 2s completion of the DISC test revealed a well-balanced result that indicates a high average Decisive, a high average Interactive, a high average Stabilizing and a high average Cautious personality. Both interviewees were asked to come up with a list of six traits to help identify who I am to them. One listed the traits, whilst the other rated them from 1 10 (1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest). The results were fascinating to me, as I would have never actually considered them about myself. To conclude the results, I have found out that I possess certain characteristics of a natural leader. Given the above suggestions describing my person, I do realise everyone has potential of being a leader in their own way. I believe leading a good life and being a good person shows greatness; those are the first signs of true leadership. I embrace my strengths and work upon encouraging further strengths to emerge, yet I disregarded any mention of weaknesses. I believe everyone has weaknesses and implying them would discredit the ability of minimising them, yet understanding them may allow a person to bypass them. As once mentioned by Shusaku Endo: Every weakness contains within itself a strength (Scott, 2016). I envision my weaknesses as partially evident within my strengths and in bettering my strengths I can overcome any weakness. Therefore, the suggested strengths I have acquired can be further worked upon to better my being and indulge my sense of leadership. As for my efforts in bettering myself via personal development, I have set goals to improve the skills I lack in. Traits like social boldness and dominance as stated by the interviewees present in Appendix E will require some work to improve on, yet maintain and improve the rest of the other traits. Whereas from my own assessments, I would have to picture myself in being more assertive and find ways to identify my dominance as I never thought of myself as being someone who is well dominant, rather someone who is very competitive. References Cambridge English Dictionary. (2017). Meaning of farming in the Cambridge English Dictionary. www.dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 13 March 2017, from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/farming Greenberg, M. (2012). Six Qualities Leaders Need to Be Successful. Psychology Today. Retrieved 15 March 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201204/six-qualities-leaders-need-be-successful Hale, R. (2013). Why Leaders are like Farmers. WellSpirit Consulting Group, Inc. Retrieved 13 March 2017, from http://wellspiritconsulting.com/why-leaders-are-like-famers/ Harvey, T. (2009). Leadership theories, leadership models and leadership principles. www.learn-to-be-a-leader.com. Retrieved 14 March 2017, from http://www.learn-to-be-a-leader.com/leadership-theories.html Hughes, R., Ginnett, R., Curphy, G. (2011). Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience (7th ed., p. 5). McGraw-Hill Irwin. Kennedy, J. (1963). John F. Kennedy Speeches John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Museum. www.jfklibrary.org. Retrieved 15 March 2017, from https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/Dallas-TX-Trade-Mart-Undelivered_19631122.aspx Leadership. (2016). www.thepeopleindairy.org.au. Retrieved 14 March 2017, from http://www.thepeopleindairy.org.au/working-together/leadership.htm Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM). (2017). iLearn: NPI-40 Narcissism Personal Inventory. ilearn.mq.edu.au. Retrieved 15 March 2017, from http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/mod/quiz/view.php?id=3829882 Miller, P. (2012). Self-reflection: the key to effective leadership. Todays Manager, Dec 2011 Jan 2012. Retrieved from https://works.bepress.com/peter_miller/133/ Norman, D., Worman, F., Siebert, J., Modiakgotla, E. (1995). The farming systems approach to development and appropriate technology generation (1st ed., p. 33). Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Robbins Research International. (2017). DISC Profile: Free Online Personality Strengths Test Tony Robbins. Tony Robbins. Retrieved 15 March 2017, from https://www.tonyrobbins.com/disc/ Scott, K. (2016). What is Your Biggest Weakness? Vistage Florida. Vistage Florida. Retrieved 15 March 2017, from http://florida.vistage.com/2016/11/30/what-is-your-biggest-weakness/ Taberner, S. (2012). Cambridge Companion to GuÃÅ'ˆnter Grass (1st ed., p. 167). Cambridge: ProQuest LLC. Tole, J. (2017). Why leadership is very much like farming. LinkedIn Pulse. Retrieved 13 March 2017, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-leadership-very-much-like-farming-jonathan-tole Tolstoy, L. (2016). What is art? (1st ed.). Bloomsbury Academic. Appendices       Appendix A: Appendix B: 16 Personalities: Personality type: The Campaigner (ENFP-A) Individual traits: Extraverted 61%, Intuitive 68%, Feeling 64%, Prospecting 53%, Assertive 63%. Role: Diplomat Strategy: People Mastery Summary: An extraverted mind that prefers groups activities, gets energized by social interaction and tends to be more enthusiastic, yet easily excited than introverts. A very intuitive individual who is very imaginative, open-minded and curious. Someone that prefers novelty over stability and focuses on hidden meanings as well as future possibilities. A naturally sensitive and emotionally expressive individual who tends to be more empathic and focuses on social harmony/cooperation. An assertive individual who is self-assured, even tempered and resistant to stress. Can refuse worrying too much and tends to not push themselves too hard when it comes to achieving goals as they believe goals will naturally come to them. Appendix C: DISC: Strengths: I have a large knowledge-base and a continuing appetite to learn more. I have the tendency to be friendly and easy-going whilst interacting with others. I possess the ability to focus on building my own skills and talents as well as assist others on building their own. I am modest rather than egocentric, yet can become more assertive when necessary. I have a desire to become the best that I can be, or an expert in a specific area. I acquired the ability to self-manage. Appendix D: Question 1 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I am much like everybody else. b. I am an extraordinary person. Question 2 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I am more capable than other people. b. There is a lot that I can learn from other people. Question 3 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I get upset when people dont notice how I look when I go out in public. b. I dont mind blending into the crowd when I go out in public. Question 4 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I wish somebody would someday write my biography. b. I dont like people to pry into my life for any reason. Question 5 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I am a born leader. b. Leadership is a quality that takes a long time to develop. Question 6 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. People sometimes believe what I tell them. b. I can make anybody believe anything I want them to. Question 7 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I am going to be a great person. b. I hope I am going to be successful. Question 8 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I would prefer to be a leader. b. It makes little difference to me whether I am a leader or not. Question 9 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. Being an authority doesnt mean that much to me. b. People always seem to recognize my authority. Question 10 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I can live my life in any way I want to. b. People cant always live their lives in terms of what they want. Question 11 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I really like to be the centre of attention. b. It makes me uncomfortable to be the centre of attention. Question 12 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I like to look at myself in the mirror. b. I am not particularly interested in looking at myself in the mirror. Question 13 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I dont care about new fads and fashions. b. I like to start new fads and fashions. Question 14 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I have a strong will to power. b. Power f or its own sake doesnt interest me. Question 15 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. Compliments embarrass me. b. I like to be complimented. Question 16 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I will never be satisfied until I get all that I deserve. b. I take my satisfactions as they come. Question 17 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I expect a great deal from other people. b. I like to do things f or other people. Question 18 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. Sometimes I tell good stories. b. Everybody likes to hear my stories. Question 19 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I sometimes depend on people to get things done. b. I rarely depend on anyone else to get things done Question 20 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I always know what I am doing. b. Sometimes I am not sure of what I am doing. Question 21 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I try not to be a show off. b. I will usually show off if I get the chance. Question 22 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. My body is nothing special. b. I like to look at my body. Question 23 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one: a. I just want to be reasonably happy. b. I want to amount to something in the eyes of the world. Question 24 Two statements. Which best applies to you? Select one:

Culture of Conflict in the Philippines

Culture of Conflict in the Philippines The markers of globalisation such as the imperatives of economic liberalisation, fiscal reform, and migratory flows, which is one of tidal waves of global information, have restructured social relations existing all over the world. Even though the globalisation has been called as an integrating force, cultural conflicts have presently become the most rampant and widespread form of international violence as globalisation has accelerated (Crawford, n.d.). Undoubtedly, it is said that members of any kind of culture can hold varying degrees of commitments towards the predominant values of such culture, however being in opposition to such cultural values can set the stage for cultural conflicts. A situation similar to above can clearly be seen by examining the continuing cultural conflict that the government of Philippines have with armed communist as well as Islamic insurgent groups, which has been developed through the international interventions (Peleo, 2007). Philippines has a long history of cultural conflict, with armed groups that mainly consist of Muslim separatists, clan militias, and communists, and criminal all of which are active in the country (BBC 2012). The Muslim separatists comprises the MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front), the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) and the Abu Sayyaf. The Abu Sayyaf and The MILF are breakaway groups of the MNLF (BBC 2012). On the other hand, the communist insurgency is propagated by the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) military wing, the NPA (New Peoples Army). Since the beginning of the communist insurgency in 1960s, the government of Philippines has persistently fought with the benefit of its superior equipments, training, as well as communications. However, the government failed to resolve the conflicts mainly owing to its failure of addressing the root causes of the communist insurgency such as the social injustice, imperfect democratic process, inequitable distribution of wealth, and inconsistent delivery of services etc (Peleo, 2007). The Muslim insurgency can similarly be regarded in an ambiguous way. In contrast to the communist insurgency, this movement had not determined to replace the national government through a revolution. Accordingly, the insurgency of the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) took a secessionist form with the intention of establishing a Muslim state in the areas of southern Philippine island of Mindanao. The ongoing struggle between the Philippine government and the communist as well as Muslim guerrillas has the emergence of limited internal conflicts (Brown, 1996) that may be solved yet through negotiations and stricter law enforcements. However, the formal peace talks amongst and the insurgent representatives and the government began in the 1970s and keep on until today have yet to present a final ending to the armed cultural conflict. This conflict spreads through all aspects of Philippine governance Political and security (Peleo, 2007) and both the insurgents and the government have denounced each other since the cause of the slow development of the country. Furthermore, since the 1970s, the insurgents and the government have sought to boost international involvements in a domestic’ political conflict. Nevertheless, it can be note that the international support, recognition, as well as financial and material aid gained by the government as well as by the Muslim and communi st insurgencies have not significantly diminished the hostility amongst the insurgents and Philippines government. Rather, the promise of such international aids for domestics’ cultural conflicts appears to both parties as a means of gaining military advantage sand coercive political leverage. The evidences as to the international influences on cultural conflicts in many countries existing in the world demonstrate that such international influences have not completely been effective in successfully avoiding or mitigating such cultural conflicts. In particular, Philippine insurgents have mainly been persuaded by the supposition that the foreign governments continue to and directly influence the Philippines governance (Peleo, 2007). In other words, the decisions of beginning, intensifying, reducing, or ceasing armed resistance have been encouraged by insurgents’ perceptions towards international supports for efforts of the national government for the anti-insurgent. Throughout history, the Philippines governments have all the time deferred to foreign states’ decisions on a wide range of social, political, and economic issues. Especially, much of political culture of Philippines is able to be attributed to a variety of foreign influences. For instance, the Phili ppines country was a colony of Spain during the 16th century to the late 19th century and was redeveloped subsequently as a commonwealth by the US until 1935. It was also occupied by Japan during the period of 2nd World War, and after its liberation, the country was aligned with the US till the end of the Cold War. Filipino insurgent groups were active throughout these periods, and opposed not only foreign occupations but also the Filipinos who were said to be perceived as having gained the government office through foreign endorsements. The European Union and the United State have alleged that the local insurgent groups in Philippines have expanded their capabilities and are regarded as the foreign terrorist organizations. These allegations, which were made from the perspective of the global war on terror, indicate that Philippine insurgents constitute a security threat not only for the government of Philippine but also for the US, the EU, and other foreign governments around the world. Accordingly, this renewed international interest in the insurgent conflict in the Philippine and provides evidences to the insurgents’ durability and the continuing appeal as to the idea of resistance towards a collaborationist government (Peleo, 2007). According to Reuters (2014) Muslim rebels in Philippines, on 27th May 2014 has signed a final peace negotiation, to end the conflict together with the international supports from countries including the United State. However, as far as above facts pertaining to the continuity of cultural conflicts in Philippines are concerned, this peace deal does not seems to work in long run since potential threats as to lasting peace will remain, ranging from a small breakaway of MILF faction to criminal groups, Islamist militants connected to al Qaeda as well as feuding clans (Reuters 2014). Moreover, the sustainability of peace talks between the Philippines government and insurgents may vary with the current government reactions and political stability of the country. In view of the above, it can be identified that a proper mechanism that goes beyond the peace talks is required for Philippines to cope with its cultural conflicts with various insurgents. Otherwise, it will be difficult to reduce the implications of such cultural conflicts that were exercising by people such as cultural and religion division, barriers in building care and trust for people, the continuity of culture of violence, and exposure to an environment of armed conflict together with a violent family feuds, poor access to health, education and social services (Sumndad-Usman, 2014), all of which eventually lead people to suffer and turn into rebels or bandits. Hence, it is prudent for the Philippines government to specifically admit to the systemic weaknesses within its governing regime which can motivate insurgents to resist. The government may need to sacrifice its privileged position as the victim of the insurgents’ security threats so that it can concede the legitimacy of grievance of insurgents. Although, this course of action may carries political risk to a certain extent, in particular for the government of a small state depending on a big-power state for the security, such confidence-building measure can ultimately convince both the insurgents as well as the government and that their interests are served by eliminating armed conflicts from political interactions, and by ruling out foreign influences on national governance and security issues. References Peleo, A. (2007), Living with a Culture of Conflict: Insurgency and the Philippines, Retrieved from: http://www.politicalperspectives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/CIP-2007-01-04.pdf, (Accessed on 30th September 2014) Crawford, B. (n.d.), Globalization and Cultural Conflict: An Institutional Approach, Retrieved from: http://aannaim.law.emory.edu/ihr/worddocs/jamail1.doc, (Accessed on 1st October 2014) BBC (8 October 2012), Guide to the Philippines conflict, Retrieved from: www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-17038024, (Accessed on 2nd October 2014) Sumndad-Usman, B. R.(25 July 2014), Building a Culture of Peace in the Philippines and Beyond, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bai-rohaniza-sumndadusman/building-a-culture-of-pea_b_5529494.html, (Accessed on 2nd October 2014) Reuters (27 March 2014), Philippines, Muslim rebels sign final peace deal to end conflict, Retrieved from: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/27/us-philippines-rebels-idUSBREA2Q1W220140327, (Accessed on 2nd October 2014)

Emma Bovary - searching for oranges on apple trees? :: essays research papers

To state that Emma Bovary, the heroine of Flaubert’s epic Madame Bovary, looks for oranges on apple trees and refuses to eat apples is a gross over-simplification. Emma would be no happier with oranges than she would be with apples. In fact, if her taste in fruit is anything like her taste in men, she would probably insist on a fruit with all of her desired qualities - perhaps a cross between the consistency of an apple, the fibre of an orange, the vitamins of a blackcurrant and the taste of a strawberry. In saying this, however, the statement is entirely accurate in that Emma is searching for the wrong things in the wrong places and is bitterly disappointed in not finding them as she desires. To analyse Emma Bovary is a difficult assignment, due to the very complex and often contradictory nature of her character, and the many opposing critical theories that have been written since her ‘death’ over 150 years ago. Flaubert’s determination to â€Å"remain outside of his book and to assume the role of a manipulator of marionettes† adds to this sense of mystery surrounding Emma Bovary, who is essentially a confused young woman, trapped in a stifling society who tries so desperately to be something she is not. She is a woman so fixated on creating the life she dreams of that she eventually self-destructs, a broken and dejected victim. Before discussing in detail the various elements of her personality, it is necessary to highlight the social position she is involuntarily placed in. This will in turn give rise to, and in many cases explanation for, the way in which she responds to various events in her life, and therein revealing her true colours. Emma is born a woman in France during the early 19th Century, and as such is doomed from the start to be a victim of the misogynistic bourgeoisie. As was the case for all women at the time, Emma was completely reliant on Charles to provide the quality of life she desired – and indeed her very identity – as she was not in a position that she could exercise such control herself. In marrying Charles, she ceased to exist as Mademoiselle Emma Rouault, and simply became Madame Charles Bovary, the doctor’s wife. Emma realised that she had blown her only chance to pursue the life she felt she deserved. â€Å"Pourquoi, mon Dieu! me suis-je marià ©e?

Judas :: essays research papers

Ever since you told me what your YL leader said, I have been studying it. Once I got into the word, I realized that I had dealt with this topic before, when our leader was â€Å"testing† our response to â€Å"questions of contradiction.† This is what I have concluded. First of all, notice that the text does not say that Judas died as a result of hanging. All it says is that he "went and hanged himself." Luke however, in Acts, tells us that "and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out." This is a pretty clear indication (along with the other details given in Acts - Peter's speech, the need to pick a new apostle, etc.) that at least after Judas' fall, he was dead. So the whole concept that Matthew and Luke both recount Judas' death is highly probable, but not clear cut. Notice verse 5..."Then he...went and hanged himself." Matthew does not state death as being a result. The Greek word used is APAGCHO. Matthew 27:5 is it's only occurrence in the New Testament. In the LXX (the Greek translation of the OT used at the time of Jesus), it's only used in 2 Samuel 17:23 : â€Å"Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to his hou se, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died; and he was buried in his father's tomb.† Notice that not only is it stated that Ahithophel "hanged himself" [APAGCHO], but it explicitly adds, "and died". Here we have no doubt of the result. In Matthew, we are not explicitly told Judas died. Also, there is nothing in the Greek to suggest success or failure. It simply means 'hang oneself'". So, my line of reasoning to dispel the contradiction myth is that the "two" accounts of Judas' death is this...Matthew doesn't necessarily explain how Judas died; he does say Judas "hanged himself", but he didn't specifically say Judas died in the hanging incident. However, Acts seems to show us his graphic demise. Therefore, there is no contradiction between Matthew and Acts, more specifically the death of Judas. So what happened to Judas? Well my opinion is that only God knows, but this is what I personally believe (there are many other theories of how Judas died, but it is such an unimportant topic when placed to the gospel as a whole, but know that the Bible is ERROR-FREE and any conclusion must be biblically based).

Important similarities and differences between Judaism and Christianity

Judaism and Christianity are both monotheistic religions with a common root in that they share in descent from the patriarch Abraham. Christianity after all was founded by Jews, and even when it first had Gentile converts for a while they followed Jewish practices, such as keeping the food laws, until Peter’s vision a t the home of Cornelius ( Acts 10) They are linked by the search for the Saviour or Messiah foretold in the scriptures that both share e. g, Isaiah 35 – and known by Christians in the New Testament. Goldberg and Rayner begin their book ‘The Jewish People’ :-The history of the Jewish people begins with Abraham, the history of the Jewish religion begins with Moses. Jews take their name from the fourth son of Jacob by his wife Leah. They would have in times past called themselves Israelites. The name Jew comes from the Romans who referred to Idumea, an area south of Israel. The fundamental difference is that Christians believe that Messiah came i n Jesus of Nazareth some 2000 or so years ago, while Jews, unless they claim to be Messianic Jews, a growing group, are still waiting. Another massive difference is that one is born a Jew.As long as your mother was Jewish you are Jewish, whether or not you are in any way religious, whether or not you keep the laws of Judaism and even whether or not you believe in God. Descent is through women, because then, if a foreigner impregnated a Jewish woman, whether by consent or by rape, the child would still be part of the people of God. This applies even when the women of a family have married non Jews for several generations and worship as members of another faith. It is the religion of a race and it is very difficult for anyone to become a Jew in any other way than to be born to it.Christianity on the other hand is a religion open to anyone, but though one can be born into a Christian family and dedicated or christened soon after birth, as a young person or adult each person must decide for themselves to follow Jesus as Saviour. Christians believe in one God, but refer to God as Trinity, three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jews prefer to think of God as one. Yet in the Old Testament there are references to God as Father ( Psalm 68 v 5 ‘A Father of the fatherless†¦. is God) and as Spirit, ( Numbers 11 v 17) and also to his sending of a Saviour.( Isaiah 42)Like Christianity Judaism has over the years divided into various groupings, orthodox, liberal and so on, but just as all Christians of whatever denomination relate back to Jesus Christ, so all Jews relate back to the patriarchs. By the time of Christ though Judaism had become a very different religion as far as its every day practice – so much so the writer Ninian Smart in ‘The World’s Religions’ differentiates them into the religion of the Israelites and Judaism. ( pages 202-203). This was a gradual evolution rather than a sudden change.When the Israelites were only a few in number they worshipped together. When they made their Exodus and spent 40 years in the wilderness they worshipped together in the tabernacle Change began at the time of the Exile, when the majority of Jews were separated from temple worship, and synagogues developed. After C. E. 70 when the Romans destroyed the Jerusalem temple and Jews fled from Israel to become part of the Diaspora, non sacrificial synagogue worship became the only type available. The period of temple worship is still looked back to as when at Passover each family makes the pledge ‘Next Year in Jerusalem’.These forced changes also meant that home worship as a family became more important. Judaism is essentially the religion of the group. Judaism has its scholars and mystics, but never took up the solitary or single sex contemplative life, such as that of Julian of Norwich or groups such as the Franciscans, that began in Christianity in the second century with the desert fathers and continues t o some extent to the present day. The position of women in both religions has been problematic and is divided upon denominational lines.In the Chambers Dictionary of Religions and Beliefs, page 271, Rosemary Goring tells us about this in some detail. She explains how Reformed Judaism has tried to redress its traditional exclusion of women from worship as in the introduction of a coming of age ceremony for girls as well as for boys. The first woman became a rabbi in the Reformed tradition in the1970s. Even Conservative Judaism took the same step in 1985, but in Orthodox synagogues women are still separated from men in worship and they are only obliged to keep the negative laws i. e.thou shalt not commit adultery, and not the positive ones at certain times. The claim is that this is a matter of difference rather than a matter of inferiority.The same claim would be made by certain Christians. There have always been women in leadership roles within the church, but, despite verses such a s Galatians 3:28, â€Å"There is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free men; between men and women, for you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. † actual ordination has been a long time coming and in certain denominations has either not arrived or again been minimal in its effect.Judaism is a quite legalistic religion. There are rules that cover every area of life, and Orthodox Jews in particular are meticulous in keeping such rules. Christianity on the other hand, although it too has rules, these are more concerned with morals than with such minutiae as the kind of knot that can be used on the Sabbath. Galatians 2 v 16 perhaps sums up the different attitudes to legalism. ‘’We know that a person is put right with God only through faith in Jesus Christ, never by doing what the law requires.†These are of course the words of St Paul, who in his earlier life had been most legalistic -a Hebrew of the Hebrews’ as he describes h imself in Philippians, ‘’As far as keeping the Jewish law is concerned I was a Pharisee’ ( Philippians 3 v 5). Jews consider themselves the chosen people of God. Christians consider themselves to have become, because of their faith in the Savior Christ Jesus , also children of God ‘At one time you were not God’s people’ Peter tells new converts, ‘but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God’s mercy, but now you have received his mercy.’ ( 1 Peter 2 v 10)With regard to the after life there are a range of beliefs. Christians believe that Christ has covered their sins and they will ultimately live for ever with God in heaven. Large parts of the New Testament are concerned with teaching on the subject as in I Thessalonians 4. The after life is rarely mentioned in Jewish scriptures. It concentrates more on one’s actions than one’s beliefs. Both Torah and Talmud concentrate on doing one’s duty to God in this life. The web site ‘Jewish beliefs on the afterlife ‘ says :-Succeeding at this brings reward, failing at it brings punishment. Whether rewards and punishments continue after death, or whether anything at all happens after death, is not as important. Despite this there is some teaching on the subject.. Moed Katan is cited on the same page . â€Å"This world is only like a hotel. The world to come is like a home. † In the early history of the people death is likened to a reunion with family. (Genesis 49 v 29) Jacob tells his sons ‘I am going to join my family in death.’It was important to him that he be buried close to those who had preceded him as is obvious in the careful instructions that follow. This contrasts with the fate of the wicked who are described as being cut off from their people. (see Exodus 31 v 14). There is still a belief among the most Orthodox of Jews in a sort of half life after death in a place called She’ol , a world described in Isaiah 14 v 9 and 10. This was expressed to me by a lady who said ‘As long as someone is alive who remembers me I shall be alive’. Both religions have naturally adjusted to changing situations over time.For instance on page 111 of ‘The Jewish People’ Goldberg and Rayner describe how Jewish law was adjusted to conditions in such places as Cairo and Istanbul. It began as the religion of a nomadic people, but became the religion of a minority group living among people who practiced other faiths. This, and the persecution they suffered, led to such things as the Jewish ghettos of mediaeval times, in part forced on them by the majority population, and in part by the natural inclination of people to live near those like themselves.Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century under the emperor Constantine. In the intervening years since its inception the church grew rapidly in fulfillment of the parable of the mustard seed recorded in Matthew ( 13 v 31 and 32). William Frend describes in ‘The Christian World’ how its organization had developed into something that rivaled the state itself with its various officials in each area, so much so that Diocletian and his court in 302 tried to face up to the significant decision as to whether Christ or the traditional gods of Rome should be considered as the guardians of that city.A Roman mosaic from 5th century Rome, shown in the Christian World , (page 39) would depict Christ emperor. Becoming a state religion had both advantages, the protection of Christians and their practices, and problems such as state interference in matters that might be considered as purely church matters. For example Henry 1st of England intervened so much in church life that he wanted to be the one to give authority to the archbishop Anselm, rather than this coming from Rome. Christianity is a missionary faith.Christians have traveled to all parts of th e world taking the good news with them and seeking to bring other people to join them in faith in Christ. Judaism sees no need for this. Judaism follows the commandment found in Exodus 20 v 4 about the forbidding of making images. This is taken to mean images of God. A modern synagogue will perhaps have stained glass windows depicting important t stories from the scriptures – the giving of the law to Moses for instance or the crossing of the Dead Sea, but because they also accept the words of Genesis 1 v 26 in which God says that he created men in his image, there are no depictions of people.This injunction does not seem to apply to photographs. Christians, believing that they are not bound by Old Testament laws frequently celebrate their faith in pictures, including images of Christ and symbolic pictures of God as Father and Spirit. Conclusion These two faiths have both parallels and common roots as well as shared scriptures and monotheism. There are also major differences i n belief and emphasis and the way that religion affects daily life. In both there are sincere believers as well as those of less than total commitment.

Characteristic of a research study Essay

1. Reliability is a subjective term which can not be measured precisely but today there are instruments which can estimate the reliability of any research. Reliability is the repeatability of any research, research instrument, tool or procedure. If any research yields similar results each time it is undertaken with similar population and with similar procedures, it is called to be a reliable research. Suppose a research is conducted on the effects of separation between parents on class performance of the children. If the results conclude that separation causes low grades in class, these results should have to be reliable for another sample taken from similar population. More the results are similar; more reliability is present in the research. 2. Validity is the strength with which we can call a research conclusions, assumptions or propositions true or false. Validity determines the applicability of research . Validity of the research instrument can be defined as the suitability of the research instrument to the research problem or how accurately the instrument measures the problem. Some researchers say that validity and reliability are co-related but validity is much more important than reliability. Without validity research goes in the wrong direction. To keep the research on-track define your concepts in the best possible manner so that no error occur during measurement. 3. Accuracy is also the degree to which each research process, instrument and tool is related to each other. Accuracy also measures whether research tools have been selected in best possible manner and research procedures suits the research problem or not. For example if a research has to be conducted on the trans-gender people, several data collection tools can be used depending on the research problems but if you find that population less cooperative the best way is to observe them rather than submitting questionnaire because in questionnaire either they will give biased responses or they will not return the questionnaires at all. So choosing the best data collection tool improves the accuracy of research. 4. Credibility comes with the use of best source of information and best procedures in research. If you are using second-hand information in your research due to any reason your research might complete in less time but its credibility will be at stake because secondary data has been manipulated by human beings and is therefore not very valid to use in research. A certain percentage of secondary data can be used if primary source is not available but basing a research completely on secondary data when primary data can be gathered is least credible. When researcher give accurate references in research the credibility of research increases but fake references also decrease the credibility of research. 5. Generalizability is the extent to which a research findings can be applied to larger population. When a researcher conducts a study he/she chooses a target population and from this population he takes a small sample to conduct the research. This sample is representative of the whole population so the findings should also be. If research findings can be applied to any sample from the population, the results of the research are said to be generalizable. 6. Empirical nature of research means that the research has been conducted following rigorous scientific methods and procedures. Each step in the research has been tested for accuracy and is based on real life experiences. Quantitative research is more easy to prove scientifically than qualitative research. In qualitative research biases and prejudice are easy to occur. 7. Systematic approach is the only approach for research. No research can be conducted haphazardly. Each step must follow other. There are set of procedures that have been tested over a period of time and are thus suitable to use in research. Each research therefore should follow a procedure. 8. Controlled-in real life experience there are many factors that effect an outcome. A single event is often result of several factors. When similar event is tested in research, due to the broader nature of factors that effect that event, some factors are taken as controlled factors while others are tested for possible effect. The controlled factors or variables should have to be controlled rigorously. In pure sciences it is very easy to control such elements because experiments are conducted in laboratory but in social sciences it becomes difficult to control these factors because of the nature of research.