Structuralism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Structuralism - Essay Example The famous structuralists, like, Roman Jakobson, Roland Barthes, Claude Levi Strauss and Ferdinand De Saussure have made their contributions in justifying the fact that "a language speaks us". All of these structuralists have tried to develop the semiology or semiotics. These structuralists always took a language as a sign that reflects the thoughts of human being. The philosophies of structuralism were emerged prominently in the 20th century. The concepts that are provided by the structuralism hold more scope for making criticism. The most of the theories given by the structuralism include a margin of objectivity is the reason of the criticism. This objection is termed as the scientific objection. The structuralists tried to prove that we do not speak a language instead language speaks us. The fact is based on the thoughts that everything is produced as a result of some force or power, but the efforts of humans are not enough to produce anything. This statement has been made as a re sult of giving more attention towards the structures, patterns and the systems. (West, 170, 1996) The theories of structuralists are quite contradictory if they are compared with the theories developed by the humanists. Now, we are going to argue on the models developed for a language by the humanists as well as by the structuralists. The model that was presupposed and developed by the humanists states that the human minds are capable of understanding the real world. The human minds are rational and can get to everything that is seen. In the same manner, the rational human mind is able to portray and define the real world precisely up to some extent. This definition is given by making a use of some languages. The approach developed by the humanists relies on the fact that some of the languages are necessarily used for illustrating the real world. According to humanists, a language is the generation of the human minds. A language is totally generated by the will of human beings and no external force is involved in it. This theory suggests that an individual has the ability to decide what he wants to say. It clearly notifies the fact that we speak a language. It also defines the fact that the human minds are able to think and what to say. The human minds are also capable of understanding the meaning of the matter that has been uttered. No other external force is used by the human minds to speak. At this point, the theory of humanists regarding a language clearly denies the theory of structuralists. Every individual makes the use of a language for explaining the self essence or feelings. The individual here gets more value as in this case an individual represents the subject as well. The way of representing ideas and thoughts is also depending totally on an individual himself. Hence, the model considers the individual as the main element. All the meanings and concepts of a language are the generation of an individual's mind, and he is not being forced by any power to speak. So this theory suggests that we speak a language. (Martinez, 1, 1999) On the other hand, if the argument is made on the structuralists' model of a language that suggests

Is the Death Penalty Applied Fairly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is the Death Penalty Applied Fairly - Essay Example This definition also raises a lot of questions because according to many laws, the death penalty is considered, lawful and non-malicious yet it also involves the killing of human beings by the government or concerned authorities that execute such penalties (Williams, 2002). Those who oppose the death penalty argue that the terms ‘execute’, ‘murder’ and ‘kill’ can be used interchangeably. All the three actions result in the same end because life is lost in all the cases. Those who argue that the death penalty is just and fair fail to realize that they are supporting something that is as wrong as the crime that they purport to punish. Supporting the execution of someone who commits murder is just like committing murder itself. This is because the end result of such actions is the death of the people. Claiming that the death penalty is fair is similar to comparing rape to lovemaking or battery to self defense (Williams, 2002). Those who support tha t the death penalty is applied fairly base their arguments on the fact that the death penalty is a punishment for those who deserve to be killed for what they did. There are many types of punishments that may be given to people who do wrong deeds. These punishments may range from denying a person certain privileges, imprisonment and even the death penalty. The right thing to do according to the law is to ensure that the punishment given fits the crime that was committed. This means that a small crime should be punished in a small way and a very serious crime deserves a punishment of similar magnitude. Law jargon may refer to this as lex talonis which may be generally translated to mean, an eye for an eye. So, if someone kills another person, do they deserve to be killed or get punished in other ways? I do not feel that the death penalty is applied justly or fairly because it is ironic to kill someone who kills another person but not rape someone who rapes another person (Williams, 2 002). The death penalty is not applied fairly because it seems to have a lot of loop holes. As seen earlier, those who support the death penalty do so because they believe that a crime should be punished according to its seriousness. If this was the case, would it be correct to say that rapists should be punished by being raped? If a rapist is considered to be wrong by raping someone else, it is also considered morally incorrect to rape that person with the aim of punishing them. It would be morally degrading to let someone punish the rapist by raping them so that they do not get away with rape and that they do not rape again. Why then would it be right for someone to declare that a killer should be killed? Is this the only means of punishing someone who commits a crime of killing another person? I think that it is also morally incorrect to let someone decide that the life of another person should come to an end for whatever reason (Williams, 2002). Life is very sacred and should be treated as such. No human being has the moral obligation of deciding that another person should live or die for whatever reason. Governments are there to protect the rights and freedoms of their citizens. They should therefore ensure that the lives of their citizens are protected and respected, no matter what they do. When a person is found to have killed another person, the

Study into Reward Systems and Their Effect on Employee Motivation

Study into Reward Systems and Their Effect on Employee Motivation Reward systems are one of the basic components of a performance management system and a reward system is a broad term and it encompasses to include all organizational components linked to rewards including people, processes, rules, regulations, procedures and decision making processes that are involved in allocating the benefits and compensation among employees in return for the contribution that have made to the organization in terms of the work achieved (Griffin and Moorhead, 2009). Employee motivation is defined as the willingness or effort exerted by the employee in order to achieve goals of the organization and this phenomenon of motivation is universal and results because of certain unsatisfied desires of the employee. The basic motivation process has four steps; an individual has certain preferences and likes and dislikes that he/she wants to fulfill. When these wants and desires are not satisfied, a drive or motivation is created in that person to achieve that goal (Gunkel, 2006). Keeping these two important factors in mind, this study is aimed at determining the significance and importance of the impact that reward systems have on employee motivation. A study conducted to determine the impact of reward on motivation found that there is a direct relationship between the level of rewards and intrinsic motivation, the higher the reward, the more will be the extrinsic motivation (Ryan and Deci, 1985). Another study was also conducted that endeavored to inspect the relationship between rewards and employee motivation and revealed that there is a statistically significant impact of payment, promotion, recognition, benefits on employee motivation (Khan, Farooq and Imran Ullah, 2010). Roberts (2005) also supports this and his findings reveal that better the reward and recognition systems lead to higher levels of motivation and satisfaction among employees and therefore may lead to higher levels of performance and productivity. These facts revealed by various previous studies emphasize the importance of determining the relationship between reward systems and employee motivation and motivation affects the productivity of the employees and therefore has serious implications for the company. The purpose of this research study is to explore the relationship in a company specific setting using ASDA and determine how the total reward structure affects the employee motivation level in that company. Problem Statement The problem being discussed is current as well as relevant for any organization as employees are the main resource for any organization and these rewards directly have an impact on them. Motivation is an intangible and subjective term and is related to human behavior while reward systems are objective and clearly well defined and attempting to relate one subjective concept to an objective one is a daunting task. The relationship between motivation and rewards can also be viewed from the perspective of human behavior and this problem existed and is likely to continue into the future as human behavior remains the same and employees bring their behaviors to the work place as well. Therefore the results generated by this study will have practical applications in rationalizing future reward systems. Human behavior is reinforced or abandoned depending on the consequences that action has generated. When the person experiences anything good or satisfying related to an action then it results in positive reinforcement and the person will try to repeat the behavior in future. On the other hand, negative reinforcement occurs if an action results in criticism. These principles are equally applicable to the employees in a workplace and rewards can be considered as factors that help in reinforcing a desirable behavior like good performance (Wilson, 2003). Therefore the purpose of reward system is to reinfo rce positive behaviors so that employees repeat these behaviors. The problem therefore to be addressed by this research study is to investigate what motivates employees and what rewards are being offered to them. In case the reward is something that does not have any significance for the employee then it may not be enough to motivate the employee. Similarly, another problem to be addressed is that how the reward systems are developed and implemented so that these appear as positive consequences for showing the desired behavior which in this case is good performance and reinforcing this consequence which leads to motivation among employees. The general purpose of this study is to investigate what are the factors that motivate employees to work and how these factors can be incorporated into a reward system and what is the impact of these rewards on employee motivation. In order to investigate these factors the sample of employees to be studied belongs to a company called Associated Dairies Farm Stores Limited (ASDA). The basic overview of the research is that ASDA employees will be asked to fill out questionnaires through which their motivation will be judged in relation to the total reward system they are being offered. Introduction to the Company Associated Dairies Farm Stores Limited (ASDA) was established in 1949 in Britain and over the years it has grown into a supermarket chain. Initially its product line was limited to grocery and general merchandise but over the years the product markets have been diversified and ASDA also operated a financial services segment as well. It is a very successful business and owing to its success, Wal-Mart decided to acquire ASDA and operate it as its subsidiary in the year 1999. It has been an innovative company that has introduced distinctive store formats in Britain like one stop shopping superstores during the 1970à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s, introduction of supermarket owned brand and then finally moved into financial services business as well. This portfolio requires a large number of employees who specialize in their own areas of expertise and the company at present employs 170,000 colleagues in 400 stores  [1]  . ASDA is one of the largest retailing chains in UK along with a few other notable names such as Tesco and Sainsbury. ASDA has more than 1000 employees managing and running its stores throughout the country. The total reward system of ASDA includes components include Bonuses, Colleague Discounts, Private Medical Cover, Share Plans and share save Plans, STAR Points, Colleague Share Ownership Plan, Pension, Voluntary Benefits, ASDA Stars, Long Service and employee recognition  [2]  . Reports have shown that ASDA has expansion plans on the horizon and the company is expected to acquire Netto stores in the UK which will help ASDA increase its number of stores and employees  [3]  . Developing a reward system at ASDA and that keeps all or most of the employees motivated are a difficult task. There is a dire need to study how the total reward system of ASDA is viewed by the employees and what are the pitfalls of the system. Being such a large supermarket chain operating throughout the country with a large number of employees and plans of further expansion makes ASDA an ideal candidate to be studied for this study. Aims of the Study Developing and administering reward systems is one of the most important responsibilities of the human resource management department. Rewards are given to the employees in return for the work they contribute and are also a form of recognition for the employees. Rewards can be both monetary and non monetary. When one thinks about rewards, monetary rewards are the most obvious ones that come to mind however these may not necessarily be the most effective and include factors such as basic salary, bonuses, commission etc. On the other hand non-monetary rewards can be termed as career incentives or intrinsic rewards and include factors such as promotions, holiday trips and so on (Christiansen, 2000). The aims of this study therefore include: Explore the significance of reward systems in determining motivation level of employees Exploring the major components of the total reward system Exploring they types and components of motivation Objectives of the Study The main components of any reward systems include policies, practices, structures, schemes and procedures (Armstrong, 2002) and the purpose of this study is to study these processes is ASDA and study how job evaluation and performance management, practices are being used for motivating employees through the use of reward systems. The objectives of the study include: What type of reward systems are in place? How have these reward systems been developed and how are these systems kept current and up to date? Do the employees fully understand and appreciate these reward systems? Do the employees view these reward systems as being effective and in line with their needs and requirements? What is the level of job satisfaction and motivation in ASDA employees? Do employees view the appraisal process as just, equitable and fair? Does the reward systems discriminate employees on some basis such as age and gender etc? Do the rewards systems address factors that motivate or de motivate the employee? What are the missing links between what the employees want and what the reward system is offering? Results Expected The results expected from this study are to be able to generate a list of factors that serves as motivators and de motivators for the employees and what they are expecting form the reward system. The most important factors affecting employee motivation can be identified through this process. The study is also expected to help dissect the reward system of ASDA and compare whether this reward system addresses the employeeà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s expectations and what are factors that are lacking in the system. Finally, the comparison will reveal what elements need to be incorporated into the rewards systems o make it more effective in motivating employees. Conceptual Framework The research study will be based on primary data collection that will be carried out through questionnaires to be filled in by the employees of the company. The questionnaire has been designed to study the main components of the reward system of ASDA, whether this system has been developed keeping the employee and organizational needs in mind and how it does relate to the extrinsic and intrinsic motivation among the employees. A brief description of these three themes is discussed in the next few paragraphs. .The main components of any reward system include policies, practices, structures, schemes and procedures (Armstrong, 2002). Processes are developed so that the worth of the job and the contribution of the employee can be measured and may include job evaluation and performance management, practices are for motivating employees through the use of reward systems, structures are developed to link the value of the position to the level of benefits offered, schemes are for providing incentives based on the performance and procedures refer to the ways in which the system is maintained so that it operates efficiently. In the same way, the total reward system of ASDA will be studied to determine how effective it is in gauging employees. Even though a reward system is developed keeping in mind its intended audience which are the employees but it also needs to consider the needs and requirements of the organization. According to Griffin and Moorehead (2009), rewards carry both symbolic as well as surface value for the employees. The surface value refers to the objective value that the rewards offers to the employee and can be measured like for example a 20% pay raise. On the other hand rewards also have a symbolic or subjective meaning that carries some personal worth for the employee for example rewards that help an employee realize that his worth is more than the other employees. This study will explore how effective the reward system in ASDA is in dealing with the aspirations of the employees. There are two aspects of motivation, extrinsic intrinsic, which shows that motivation is subjective and has different meanings for different people. Extrinsic Motivation is defined as the desire to perform a certain behavior or task because of the contingent results or the positive consequences that action produces while Intrinsic Motivation is a desire to do something based on the enjoyment and interest in that task (Ryan and Deci, 2004). Intrinsic motivation includes factors such as job satisfaction, achievement of personal goals, compliance to standards, fairness, team spirit and ethical standards etc (Frey and Osterloh, 2002). The study will attempt to uncover whether the total reward system in ASDA deals with both extrinsic and intrinsic factors or not. Outline of Subsequent Chapters The introductory chapter will be followed by a review of the literature to build a foundation for this research study in the light of the studies carried out previously and will deal with the major theoretical themes relevant to this study. The next chapter will provide a detailed description of the methodology that will be undertaken for designing and filling the questionnaires to collect data for the research. The next chapter will them move to more specific issues and describe the current reward system being offered in ASDA while the section following this one will take on a critical approach and analyze and evaluate the system. After the analysis, data analysis and findings will be presented in a separate chapter and the final chapter of the study will summarize and conclude the entire research study.

The Pursuit of Happiness and the Union of Aristotle and Genesis Essay

The Pursuit of Happiness and the Union of Aristotle and Genesis Two major schools of thought broadly influenced the development of the moral code of Western Civilization. The Judeo-Christian tradition gave us faith and God through the text of the Bible. The ancient Greeks gave us philosophical inquiry and "the Good" through the teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In his Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle proposes that "the Good" is the highest end of man’s actions. Happiness is "the Good" because it is the only end man pursues with no other end in mind. A man obtains this highest end by living his life in a virtuous manner. In marked contrast, a careful reading of Genesis shows that, in the world of the Hebrews, the highest end of a man’s actions is faith in and communication with God himself. Oneness with God is the highest end because no other god exists. A man obtains this highest end by obeying God’s commands and fulfilling God’s plan for him. On first examination, the differences between these two construc ts seem negligible. But when we look closely at the ways in which the men of Genesis obtain their highest ends, we find that their means are less than virtuous in the eyes of Aristotle. To reach God, the ends seem to justify the means, while to reach "the Good", the virtuous path is crucial. Although this inherent difference in the two systems of morality seems to oppose them to one another, the difference between them has actually helped meld them together to form our modern view of happiness. We need both views: that wicked means will corrupt even the best ends, and that good ends can justify any means. In fact, there are stories in each text that describe a man who finds happiness through God, or "the Good," ... ...e which cannot be taken away; second, according to Genesis, because we have been given happiness by communion with a God who is ever present. Although not everyone considered to be a member of Western society holds these views on happiness, one can see these two roots in our construct of happiness. In our very American constitution, we acknowledge our inalienable right to the "pursuit of happiness." This phrase represents nothing other than the ultimate union of Aristotle and Genesis: we are guaranteed as humans, as a God-given right, the ability to strive for happiness through the Aristotelian process. NOTES 1. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, trans. Martin Ostwald (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1999). 2. Genesis, trans. Robert Alter (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996). 3. The Holy Bible, King James Version (New York: American Bible Society).

Sociology Notes

The childhood anecdote from the beginning of the chapter shows that racial prejudices and differences are not inborn and they are a result of the way that society shaped a persons image of the different races. Based on this assumption, it is safe to believe that a non-white three year old would be likely to bring home a white â€Å"baby sister† because the three year old wouldn’t realize that there is a difference. White people are put at an advantage with an â€Å"invisible knapsack of privileges†.There is a link between real estate value and school segregation. Inequalities in wealth have contributed to the long-term inequality between blacks and whites in the United States. As a general statement, whites are usually more wealthy and blacks are usually less wealthy. This contributed greatly to the inequalities between blacks and whites.As much as the idea of race should not necessarily play a role in the differences between people, statistics show that there de finitely is a correlation between many things in reference to race. So although politically speaking, race shouldn’t play a factor, it still does and therefore sociologists study it because it has to do with the study of people and where they fall into society at large.Science is informed by culture because sociology, which is the science of people, wouldn’t exist unless there were people and cultures to study. Culture is what makes up sociology. Science, in turn, fueled racism because of what was studied. Science came to the conclusion that racism exists and in turned, fueled it.Eugenics and physiognomy contradict the saying, â€Å"You can’t judge a book by its cover† because they explain it in terms of people. They say that the external of a person is not the determining factor and people should not be judged based on that. Today, although in theory it is nice, people still judge based on color, race etc.Racialization is â€Å"the formation of a new ra dical identity, in which ideological boundaries of difference are drawn around a formerly unnoticed  group of people†. Muslims have negative stereotyping in the mainstream media. They are often depicted as being extremely wealthy. They are also shown and uncivilized and barbaric. Many people associate them with terrorists. When the Irish first came to America, although they have physical white skin, they were not treated as such and instead were treated in the same way as African Americans.Race and Ethnicity are two separate things. Race refers the physical appearance of a person, such as the color of his/her skin. Ethnicity on the other hand, is defined by cultural factors such as beliefs and culture. Therefore, stating your ethnicity is more similar to stating you like the Beatles than describing your race because the Beetles give an example of culture.Rwanda- conflict United States- Pluralism Minority groups in America respond to domination in different ways depending on many factors including where they come from. It is difficult to generalize to answer this question thoroughly. Groups in Rwanda responded with mass genocide.  As time goes on, society seems to be more and more tolerant of everything, whether it be race, sexual identity etc. we have already majorly minimized the gap between people and race. I think that it will continue. It might even come to the point of complete integration and acceptance with no prejudices. Society at large is definitely moving towards a more tolerant place.

Which Is the Most Successful Gothic Horror Short Story

Gothic horror (Gothic Fiction) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. As a genre, it is generally believed to have been invented by the English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto. The effect of Gothic fiction feeds on a pleasing sort of terror, to thrill and scare the reader. The Red Room, by H. G Wells and The Monkey’s Paw by W. W Jacobs are both good examples of Gothic Horror. Both stories deal with the theme of the supernatural – the ‘ghost’ and the wish granting paw. Another, less obvious theme is the nature of humans, the main character in The Red Room is very confident in the face of the wisdom of the elderly residents of the castle. Even in the opening sentence the man seems to simultaneously acknowledge and dispel the fear of the paranormal in the Castle by saying â€Å"it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me. † He is showing off his confidence, which will slowly diminish on his journey to the red room, his actual stay in it and as the tension builds. This is confidence and arrogance is ironic as he will end up defeated by this so called ‘ghost’. In The Monkey’s Paw, the family, particularly Herbert is also very cocky – â€Å"might drop on his head from the sky† yet again this is also ironic as the in order to get the money Herbert gets mutilated and dies. The setting of each story is a very important way of adding to the tension. If the story was set in a nice, happy cottage, in the middle of a suburb, on a warm summer’s day there is nothing scary about it. If it is set in an old rotting house in the middle of nowhere, which is engulfed in darkness, there is an aspect of fright and scariness. In both The Red Room and The Monkey’s Paw there is this aspect of darkness, isolation with the stories setting – the isolated, dark and cold Lorraine castle and the dark, isolated house. The darkness and isolation, for the readers, increases the risk of something bad happening. The rain and storm outside the isolated house in The Monkey’s Paw also adds to the risk of danger. We know this house is isolated, as the wife says â€Å"the worst of living so far out† The time of both stories is also important. Both stories involve the night – in The Monkey’s paw, we meet the Sergeant Major at night and the knocking also start at night. This is also the case in The Red Room. The story is set at night. This adds to the tension through fear. People are naturally scared of the night as it takes away our vision. This would allow someone to creep up on us. Particularly in The Red Room this is the case as the darkness itself creeps up on the man, and we think there might be something behind that blanket of darkness. Both authors use a lot of in depth descriptive text, such as to describe the three custodians, or but I find Wells does a lot better job then Jacobs. Wells creates an amazing, tangible feel and sense to the story, despite the massive contrast between modern life and that of that era. ‘The glow vanished, the reflections rushed together and vanished, and as I thrust the candle between the bars darkness closed upon me like the shutting of an eye, wrapped around in a stifling embrace, sealed my vision, and crushed the last vestige of reason from my brain’. The detail and quality of this quote is very powerful and is very good at describing the scene, which is integral for the story and shows off the writer’s actual skill. Jacobs isn’t quite as skillful as Wells, but he isn’t bad either and while his descriptive text isn’t quite as good, it’s still quite effective. This might have been a decision on his part, but I personally prefer Wells’ method. However, in my opinion the most important technique in both stories is the author’s use of characters. Yet again, Wells is better in a more obvious way than Jacobs. Wells is very good at describing and turning the custodians into horrible, non-human creatures. The idea of using old, crippled people is very smart and ties in with the theme and even the setting very well. It’s almost like their part of the castle with their age and grotesqueness. The description used, could almost make a horror story. Instead of making each monster a similar monster, he makes them all unique and gives them all their own ‘quirk’. One man has a withered and wrinkled arm, the other red eyes that could pierce the night sky, yet the lady seems not to have as much of a quirk as the others, she only seems to repeat one thing over and over again. Each has its own weird personality, one saying nothing apart from, â€Å"tonight of all nights† and another, constantly warning him. Yet the third character is very interesting and says practically nothing, but his presence is strange and unexplained. This makes us very curious of his purpose. Some of Jacobs’s characters are quite interesting, like the soldier, but the idea of having characters as part of the horror story doesn’t seem to be important. The personality of the Whites seems to be non-existent, even the name is very plain and not interesting but it’s obvious when everything goes wrong – Mrs White goes hysterical in grief and becomes very desperate and maybe even loses the plot a bit. This lack of personality provides a nice contrast to the hysterical side. However, Mr White seems to keep it together a bit more. In The Red Room the main character seems to get more and more desperate. At the start he was very matter of fact and by the red room he is frightened by a statue of Ganymede and Eagle. Ganymede is a character from Greek mythology. He was supposedly the most beautiful of all mortals, and so the king of the gods took the form of an eagle and stole him from earth to become the god’s cupbearer. This relates to the story, as in both the story and the myth, the main character finds himself powerless in the face of a greater power. He reaches the room, which appears normal, and then suspense is built again, as the candles are extinguished due to an unknown cause. This is similar in The Monkey’s Paw. The characters are very relaxed at the beginning and confident of the lack of power by the paw, only Mr. White’s and the soldiers fear gives us warning of possible problems. Then once Herbert dies they start panicking and the wife even goes slightly mad. The Monkeys Paw’s ending, in my opinion, is much better as it is a better story plot and it keeps the tension and suspension right up to the very end. As the race between the husband and wife unfolds we are desperately wishing that the mutilated thing doesn’t come in, this keeps the reader involved and absorbed until the very end. In The Red Rooms ending was a let down and quite dull – an anti-climax. The tension finished before the ending and this made the ending quite boring, and though the concept of the fear of fear is very interesting it’s not very exciting. I personally prefer The Monkey’s Paw despite the better style of writing by Wells. For me, The Red Rooms ending completely ruined it and the story line was not as interesting or as gripping as Jacobs story.