Macbeth Essays (693 words) - Characters In Macbeth, Free Essays

Macbeth Essays (693 words) - Characters In Macbeth, Free Essays Macbeth Disease as Imagery in Macbeth Imagery plays a predominant role in Shakespeares play Macbeth. This stylistic device appears in several different forms throughout the play. Imagery of animals, nature, and darkness help create a foreboding atmosphere. In particular, the imagery of disease acts as a metaphor for evil and corruption. The idea of corruption spreading in Macbeth like a disease first appears in Act 1, scene 3, in one of Macbeths first soliloquies. He states that the thought of murdering Duncan is weighing on his find so greatly that he is unable to function normally. Soon after, Lady Macbeth, in a soliloquy of her own, points out that Macbeths only illness (at that point) is his ambition. Despite the fact that he covets the throne dearly, he does not want to usurp Duncan. Unfortunately, as the disease of Macbeths mind spreads, it takes on the new form of evil. For example, by Act 2, scene 1, his heat oppressed mind sees apparitions of the dagger he will use to murder Duncan. Soon after Duncan is slain, Lennox, unaware of this dreadful deed, describes how the earth was feverous. Not only does this comment show that the natural order reflects the moral order, it is also the starting point of Scotlands downfall under the rule of Macbeth as king. In Act 3, scene 4, Macbeth has prepared a banquet that is seemingly in honour of Banquo, whom he has just murdered. During the banquet, Banquos ghost comes back to haunt Macbeth for his actions. Macbeth, unaware that he is surrounded by several Lords, openly expresses his shock when he sees Banquos ghost. Lady Macbeth quickly comes to her husbands aid, saying that he is merely plagued by a common infirmity that causes him to hallucinate. Although this revelation is entirely false, it does have some ironic connotations: Macbeth is ill with the disease of evil. As the play progresses, the imagery of the diseased Macbeth becomes more evident. In the beginning of Act 4, scene 3, Malcolm and Macduff, lament the fact that Scotland is as ill as its ruler, Macbeth, who has now earned himself the terrible title of tyrant. Malcolm even goes so far to vividly describes how his country, personified as a being, bleeds under Macbeth. This metaphor of a diseased country is extended as Macduff introduces the idea of healing Scotland, upon learning that his family has been killed. He ominously vows to slaughter Macbeth, thus curing his homeland with the medicine of revenge. Even Lady Macbeth has been affected by the spread of the malady. On a literal basis she has actually suffered a mental breakdown, primarily due to the heavy load on her conscience. Figuratively, however, she is not suffering from a sick body, but a sick soul. She is merely living in the horror of the recollection of the evil deeds that she has committed. For this reason, the doctors diagnosis is that her only hope rests on divine healing rather than physical recuperation. The Scottish nobles continue the imagery of disease to stress that their opposition to Macbeths distempered cause is justified. In Act 5, scene 2, Malcolm has been identified as the medicine for the sick country. Moreover, his men are ready to shed their blood as purge for Scotlands affliction. Back in Macbeths camp, the tyrant asks a doctor to cure both the ailing Lady Macbeth and Scotland and to find out the cause of their troubles. Ironically, Macbeth is unaware that, in fact, he himself is the root of both of these predicaments. The use of imagery in Macbeth is effective in creating suspense and establishing the atmosphere of evil lurking. The imagery of disease as a metaphor for evil and corruption is appropriate for several reasons. Firstly, Macbeths slow descent down the moral ladder is similar to a disease slowly spreading through an organism. Secondly, just as Macbeth is unable to rid himself of the thought of killing Duncan, a disease is often uncontrollable. Finally, the metaphor is extended, as Malcolm (and to a lesser extent Macduff) is seen as medicine or a healer who cures Scotland of its infirmity.

A Complete List of Shakespeare’s Plays

A Complete List of Shakespeare’s Plays Scholars of Elizabethan drama believe that William Shakespeare wrote at least 38 plays between 1590 and 1612. These dramatic works encompass a wide range of subjects and styles, from the playful A Midsummer Nights Dream to the gloomy Macbeth. Shakespeares plays can be roughly divided into three genres- comedies, histories, and tragedies- though some works, such as The Tempest and The Winters Tale, straddle the boundaries between these categories. Shakespeares first play is generally believed to be Henry VI Part I, a history play about English politics in the years leading up to the Wars of the Roses. The play was possibly a collaboration between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, another Elizabethan dramatist who is best known for his tragedy Doctor Faustus. Shakespeares last play is believed to be The Two Noble Kinsmen, a tragicomedy co-written with John Fletcher in 1613, three years before Shakespeares death. Shakespeare's Plays in Chronological Order The exact order of the composition and performances of Shakespeare’s plays is difficult to prove- and therefore often disputed. The dates listed below are approximate and are based on the general consensus of when the plays were first performed: Henry VI Part I (1589-1590)Henry VI Part II (1590-1591)Henry VI Part III (1590-1591)Richard III (1592-1593)The Comedy of Errors (1592-1593)Titus Andronicus (1593-1594)The Taming of the Shrew (1593-1594)The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594-1595)Love’s Labour’s Lost (1594-1595)Romeo and Juliet (1594-1595)Richard II (1595-1596)A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595-1596)King John (1596-1597)The Merchant of Venice (1596-1597)Henry IV Part I (1597-1598)Henry IV Part II (1597-1598)Much Ado About Nothing (1598-1599)Henry V (1598-1599)Julius Caesar (1599-1600)As You Like It (1599-1600)Twelfth Night (1599-1600)Hamlet (1600-1601)The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600-1601)Troilus and Cressida (1601-1602)All’s Well That Ends Well (1602-1603)Measure for Measure (1604-1605)Othello (1604-1605)King Lear (1605-1606)Macbeth (1605-1606)Antony and Cleopatra (1606-1607)Coriolanus (1607-1608)Timon of Athens (1607-1608)Pericles (1608-1609)Cymbeline (1609-1610) The Winter’s Tale (1610-1611)The Tempest (1611-1612)Henry VIII (1612-1613)The Two Noble Kinsmen (1612-1613) Dating the Plays The chronology of Shakespeares plays remains a matter of some scholarly debate. Current consensus is based on a constellation of different data points, including publication information (dates taken from titles pages, etc.), known performance dates, and information from contemporary diaries and other records. Though each play can be assigned a narrow date range, it is impossible to know exactly which year any one of Shakespeares plays was composed. Even when exact performance dates are known, nothing conclusive can be said about when each play was written. Further complicating the matter is the fact that many of Shakespeares plays exist in multiple editions, making it even more difficult to determine when the authoritative versions were completed. For example, there are several surviving versions of Hamlet, three of which were printed in the First Quarto, Second Quarto, and First Folio, respectively. The version printed in the Second Quarto is the longest version of Hamlet, though it does not include over 50 lines that appear in the First Folio version. Modern scholarly editions of the play contain material from multiple sources. Authorship Controversy Another controversial question regarding Shakespeares bibliography is whether the Bard actually authored all of the plays assigned to his name. In the 19th century, a number of literary historians popularized the so-called anti-Stratfordian theory, which held that Shakespeares plays were actually the work of Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, or possibly a group of playwrights. Subsequent scholars, however, have dismissed this theory, and the current consensus is that Shakespeare- the man born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564- did in fact write all of the plays that bear his name. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence that some of Shakespeares plays were collaborations. In 2016, a group of scholars performed an analysis of all three parts of Henry VI and came to the conclusion that the play includes the work of Christopher Marlowe. Future editions of the play published by Oxford University Press will credit Marlowe as co-author. Another play, The Two Noble Kinsmen, was co-written with John Fletcher, who also worked with Shakespeare on the lost play Cardenio. Some scholars believe that Shakespeare may have also collaborated with George Peele, an English dramatist and poet; George Wilkins, an English dramatist and inn-keeper; and Thomas Middleton, a successful author of numerous stage works, including comedies, tragedies, and pageants.

Ontology, epistemology and methodology in information system Article

Ontology, epistemology and methodology in information system researches - Article Example 93), ontology was considered to be the â€Å"study of the categories of things that exist or may exist in some domain.† Moreover, he states that the product of an ontology is a â€Å"catalog of the types of things that are assumed to exist in a domain of interest D from the perspective of a person who uses a language L for the purpose of talking about D.† He adds that predicates, word senses, or concept and relation types of the language L are represented by the different types in the ontology in cases when these are used to provide a discussion of the topics in the domain D (Sowa, 1993). Viinikkala (2003) defined ontology as an aged branch of philosophy, the purpose of which is to establish the truth about reality by answering the persistent inquiry of what exists. Furthermore, she shares Sowa’s goal of ontology which is to provide an â€Å"objective description of reality and any domain of objects† (Viinikkala, 2003, p. 3). Table 1. Common elements in th e philosophical definition of ontology Gruber Sowa Viinikkala What is ontology? explicit specification of a conceptualization study of the categories of things that exist or may exist in some domain branch of philosophy that establishes truth about reality Goal provide specification for a representation of a world catalog of the types of things that are assumed to exist in a domain of interest provide an objective description of reality and any domain of objects 2.1.1 Objectivity philosophy In a philosophical sense, objectivity is believing in an issue on the basis of what can be said in favor of, and against, its truth, without putting any bearing on whether one would prefer to believe the truth or not (Yandell, 1999, p. 15). Objectivity does not require for one to have any amount of feeling for the belief to be true... This paper states that the increasing interest in the subject of ontology, epistemology, and methodology in information system researches is brought about by their extensive applicability in the domains of information systems analysis and design (ISAD). As information systems are practically representations of real-world phenomena and scenarios, it is considered an important thrust to accurately and appropriately identify the entities that need to be represented and, essentially, how these should be represented. Because of the extensive applicability of ontology and, consequently, those of epistemology and methodology, it would serve the field well if these concepts and other constructs pertaining to them are properly defined. Since different sources may provide a variety of different definitions for these terms, it will be wise to draw out the commonalities from these definitions. Moreover, it is wise to note that the definitions for these concepts are presented differently on a phi losophical level, as compared with those on a technical or practical level. These differences should be noted as well in order to better unify these philosophical and practical meanings. The concepts of ontology, epistemology, and methodology are gaining extensive applicability in the information systems. While there are, to an extent, some similarities between the definitions of these concepts in a philosophical sense and when used in information system, a closer look at how these concepts are applied in the information system reveals certain significant differences.

Project Management Risk Management Case Study (Space Shuttle) Essay

Project Management Risk Management Case Study (Space Shuttle) - Essay Example Could it have been averted? In this essay today, we will look at the mishap from the perspective of Risk Management and try to critically analyze the causes, and lessons learnt from the tragedy. Launching a Space Shuttle has always been a tricky business. With so many complexities to handle and parameters to fulfill simultaneously, it involves a high level of risk. On 1st February 2003, the Flight Control Team at Columbia did not report any issues or problems related to the planned de-orbit and re-entry. The team had indicated no concerns about the debris impact to the left wing during ascent, and it seemed like any other re-entry since all the systems were normal and the weather observations and forecasts were within guidelines. However, as Columbia descended from space into the atmosphere, the heat produced by air molecules colliding with the Orbiter typically caused wing leading-edge temperatures to rise steadily. In the events that followed, a broken message was recorded from the mission commander: â€Å"Roger, uh, bu†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This was the last message from the crew. Soon after that, the space shuttle started disintegrating causing a loud boom and debris being sca ttered in the clear skies of Dallas. In case of any space program, the margin of error has to be next to nil since it not only entails billions of dollars of public money but also many precious lives. With Columbia, too, although the risk probability was extremely high, the consequences were still acceptable. So what went wrong? According to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), politics, budgets, schedule pressure and managerial complacency all contributed in causing the Columbia disaster. The CAIB report also delved deeply into the underlying organizational and cultural issues that led to the accident. However, the most apparent cause seems to be inaccurate risk assessment. In a risk-management scenario similar to the Challenger disaster of 1986, NASA management failed

The Awakening- Ednas Independence Essay Example for Free

The Awakening- Ednas Independence Essay In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna Pontellier is a character who is alienated from the rest of society. She carries views which do not coincide with the norm, and in a way establishes her own idea of how women should live and be treated. Not only do her views estrange her from society, but she also physically separates herself from the life she used to live and the Victorian culture into which she was born. During this time, it was expected of a woman to be the perfect picture of a wife and mother, an â€Å"Angel of the House†. Even early on in the novel Edna is shown to be the type of woman that doesn’t fit the bill. While most other mothers, such as Adele Ratignolle, would bend over backwards to take care of their children, Edna is clearly not as much a ‘mother-woman’; her children had learned to be the type to stand up and brush off the dirt rather than run to mommy if they fell down. Her marriage to Leonce was more a social convention than it was a loving relationship, as if she only married because it was the thing to do. This was not an uncommon arrangement, but Edna’s treatment of it was- with little passion and emotional connection in her marriage, she commits emotional adultery finding companionship in the form of Robert Lebrun. Later in rediscovering music and art, she also shirks all responsibility as a wife and mother, ignoring her expected duties in order to concentrate on her painting. This is far from the picture of the perfect Victorian wife. Edna’s physical separation from her old life is symbolic of her opposing views about women and their role in the community. With her husband away and her boys with their grandmother, Edna lives as a single woman. Her choice to remove herself from the life of a mother-woman is contradictory to everything she was taught to do. Her claim of independence is unheard of, and society doesn’t know how to react. In her Victorian culture, women are the belongings of men and have no claims to their own lives, nor have they any means to their own wants and needs; this was the custom everyone had grown up on, the custom everyone was used to. Edna rebels against this belief with her nonconformist decision to live on her own, as her own being, with her own mental and emotional and sexual desires. There is an instance when Edna and Robert are discussing a future together, and Robert notes his wish to free Edna from Leonce, because he is still under the belief that she is an object to be passed from one owner to another. Edna then calls him silly for believing such things, for she is an independent person, whom no one governs but her own self. Edna’s intellectual, emotional, and sexual awakenings, though giving her the independence she craves, isolate her from the rest of society. There is one point in the novel where Edna speaks of walking, how she doesn’t mind walking to get to places farther off and how she feels bad for those women who don’t take the walk because they are missing so much. Edna knows she is the only woman who has taken the walk, taken the chance to discover living outside of societal norms and finding out how freeing it is. As much as she wants someone to join her, in her last ‘awakening’ she realizes no one will- Robert wants to marry her out of convention rather than cross the boundaries and be her lover. Edna realizes she cannot escape the chains of society’s expectations, and she is utterly alone. Edna’s isolation grows as she has more and more revelations about her life and herself. Though starting simply as the odd one out among the mother-women, she becomes the lone rebel across the societal boundaries. Her beliefs about women as independent, intellectual, sexual, and emotional beings contradict the societal views demonstrated along her journey of awakening.

Artificial Intelligence :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Artificial Intelligence "My name is Dorothy," said the girl, "and I am going to the Emerald City, to ask the Oz to send me back to Kansas."   "Where is the Emerald City?" he enquired; "and who is Oz?"   "Why, don't you know?" she returned in surprise.   "No, indeed; I don't know anything. You see, I am stuffed, so I have no brains at all," he answered, sadly.   "Oh," said Dorothy; "I'm awfully sorry for you."   "Do you think," he asked, "If I go to the Emerald City with you, that the great Oz would give me some brains?"   "I cannot tell you," she returned; "but you may come with me, if you like. If Oz will not give you any brains you will be no worse off than you are now."   -L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful World of Oz1 As Dorothy and the Scarecrow begin their search for a "brain," we can catch a glimpse of an issue that has been bouncing around our culture for centuries: can man make a machine think? While Baum's story does not focus on the Scarecrow as the possibility of a thinking machine, he does raise the question of whether a human brain is necessary for thinking. This question of the brainÕs vitality is first exposed to our culture with what many literary critics feel is the birth of Science Fiction, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.  Ã‚   Frankenstein is the story of dead body parts being brought to life through the use of electricity. After witnessing the creature's action readers are left asking if the human brain is sufficient for thinking or if there is more to thinking than a brain? Other Science Fiction writers took this to a different level and "created" the robot, a non-human thinking machine. Frankenstein is on the cusp of humans and non-humans and the beginning of the debate of what it means to artificially think. These imagined ideas caused others to think about making these ideas a reality. Marvin Minsky, one of the original scientists involved in establishing artificial intelligence, cites Science Fiction as one of his major motivators to enter the world of AI. It was not until the summer of 1956 that scientists felt that it might be possible to write non-fiction accounts of robots at some point in the near future.  Ã‚   During the summer of 1956 at Dartmouth College, scholars, who would later be considered the founding fathers of

Mercy killing Essay

The first reason we support mercy killing is it does relieve the pain that the patient suffer. For patients that terminally ill, there no need to make any actions to prolong their life because this may make them struggle and suffer in the last moment of their life. All those chemotherapy and medicines may prolong the patient life but also torture them physically and mentally as these treatments have side effects on human body. It is quite depressed when seeing the patients having all these treatments. It is a way for the patient to release themselves from all these pain. Another reason we support it is it will reduce the burden of the patient’s family especially from the economically aspects. From the day the patient started to hospitalise, the medical fees for the patient started to count into the bill. For patient that is not capable to carry on these medical fees, they will feel stress to find money to pay for this large amount of bill. They may start to think of selling their own properties and even loan money from loan sharks, just to pay the bill. The medical fee in a hospital is not cheap, if the patient stays one more day in the hospital, the family need to more money to the hospital. Even the patient will also feel stress when know his or her family members are funding for the medical bills. The third reason is euthanasia can save life. For example, a coma patient who has laid on bed for about 10 years. For this 10 years, he is occupying a hospital bed, medical equipment and medicine that sustain his life. As we know, almost every day, the spaces in hospital are inadequate for incoming patients. Instead of letting the coma patient to suffer and wasting a bed space, mercy killing an incurable patient can definitely save lots of life. Besides, if the organs of the patient are still functioning well, his organs can donate to other patients who are in need and have higher probability to survive. In short, euthanasia not only bring the grief suffered by a patient to an end, but this method too, can save many others lives. This reason should compensate the ethics problem that the public are discussing for decades.

“Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits” Analysis

The name of the essay is â€Å"Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits† by Suki Kim on November 21, 2009. In this essay she is telling us about a Korean girl went from being rich to her family going broke overnight. Ms. Kim is telling us about her struggles trying to adjust to a different society. She also needed to learn English and she found difficult to learn. One main point in her life was when her father lost everything overnight that ever mattered to the family. She was then moved to Queen, New York in the 1980’s where she started Jr. High. Suki had difficulty adjusting to America, especially not knowing how to speak English at all. The supporting details is when she stated that she watched reruns of â€Å"Three Company† in an attempt to learn English. She also stated that more brutal than learning English was facing poverty with a rich’s girl memory. A second main point is that immigration is meant to be the great equalizer, yet it is not easy to eradicate the divisions of the old country. She recalled at 13, is an acute awareness of the distance between her and her fellow F. O. B. ’s, and another, more palpable one between those of them in E. S. L and the occasional English- speaking Korean- American kids, who avoided them though they brought them certain undefined shame. The supporting details is that years later she learned that they were, in fact separated from them by generations. Those that sat in in huddle in that E. S. L class grew up to represent the so called 1. 5 generation. Many of them came to America in their teens, already rooted in Korean ways and languages. The writer’s purpose in genre is that she is now a Korean- American who once lived wealthy in Korea and then moved to a big city of Queens in the 80’s and really forced to learn English and adjusting to a new society. The audience is for all ages to read. The author tones towards her reader was calm when explaining her difficulties to adjusting to a new environment and going from rich to poor and having to learn how to be independent. Once she got older she became very good at speaking English that she became an interpreter for the Family Assistance Center.

Contrasts between Douglass and Chopin essays

Contrasts between Douglass and Chopin essays Douglass and Chopin, both well respected figures of literature, have different styles of diction and detail. Edna often felt dragged down by religion, and as time goes by she learns to express her disregard of the traditional duty of the clergy. The traditional set-up of the church in those times, was only for show, and there was a lack of depth in a persons service. Edna fell into this trap but she learned, as time went by, that there was something else to yearn for, and after this did she proceed. In the beginning Edna was quick to defend her status in the church with defenses such as I was a little unthinking child in those days, just following a misleading impulse without question (VII). Madame Ratignolle had asked her if she was still running from prayer and Edna quickly responded and defended her service to make sure her service in the church was well respected. Edna needed that security and that blanket of protection in order to feel wanted and cared for by something of importance. As time goes by, however, Edna loses this resolve, this passion for religion and it soon becomes a nuisance for her. A feeling of oppression and drowsiness overcame Edna during the service. Her head began to ache, and the lights on the alter swayed before her eyes (XIII). This new feeling towards religion has freed Edna of the dull monotony that church oppressed people with. The average church bores the person into obedience, but they have left no torch of light inside a persons heart, no burning desire to search out their God through sincere prayer. Edna has awakened to realize the pointless duty of attending church and has come to realize her spirituality through other methods, those of God, not those created by the hands of man. Searching out the ways of nature brings about several questions about the supernatural and things not understood by man. When a person opens up their mind to...

Lebensraum - Hitlers Policy of Eastern Expansion

Lebensraum - Hitlers Policy of Eastern Expansion The geopolitical concept of Lebensraum (German for living space) was the idea  that land expansion was essential to the survival of a people. Used originally to support colonialism, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler adapted the concept of Lebensraum to support his quest for German expansion to the east. Who Came up With the Idea of Lebensraum? The concept of Lebensraum (living space)  originated with German geographer and ethnographer  Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904). Ratzel studied how humans reacted to their environment and were especially interested in human migration. In 1901, Ratzel published an essay called Der Lebensraum (The Living Space), in which he posited that all peoples (as well as animals and plants) needed to expand their living space in order to survive. Many in Germany believed Ratzels concept of  Lebensraum supported their interest in establishing colonies, following the examples of the British and French empires. Hitler, on the other, hand, took it a step farther. Hitlers Lebensraum In general, Hitler agreed with the concept of expansion to add more living space for the German Volk (people). As he stated in his book,  Mein Kampf: [W]ithout consideration of traditions and prejudices, it [Germany] must find the courage to gather our people and their strength for an advance along the road that will lead this people from its present restricted living space to new land and soil, and hence also free it from the danger of vanishing from the earth or of serving others as a slave nation.- Adolf Hitler,   Mein Kampf   1 However, rather than adding colonies to make Germany larger, Hitler wanted to enlarge Germany within Europe. For it is not in colonial acquisitions that we must see the solution of this problem, but exclusively in the acquisition of a territory for settlement, which will enhance the area of the mother country, and hence not only keep the new settlers in the most intimate community with the land of their origin, but secure for the total area those advantages which lie in its unified magnitude.- Adolf Hitler,   Mein Kampf 2 Adding living space was believed to strengthen Germany by helping solve internal problems, make it militarily stronger, and help make Germany become economically self-sufficient by adding food and other raw material sources. Hitler looked east for Germanys expansion in Europe. It was in this view that Hitler added a racist element to Lebensraum. By stating that the Soviet Union was run by Jews (after the Russian Revolution), then Hitler concluded Germany had a right to take Russian land. For centuries Russia drew nourishment from this Germanic nucleus of its upper leading strata. Today it can be regarded as almost totally exterminated and extinguished. It has been replaced by the Jew. Impossible as it is for the Russian by himself to shake off the yoke of the Jew by his own resources, it is equally impossible for the Jew to maintain the mighty empire forever. He himself is no element of organization, but a ferment of decomposition. The Persian empire in the east is ripe for collapse. And the end of Jewish rule in Russia will also be the end of Russia as a state.- Adolf Hitler,   Mein Kampf   3 Hitler was clear in his book  Mein Kampf  that the concept of Lebensraum was essential to his ideology.  In 1926, another important book about Lebensraum was published Hans Grimms book  Volk ohne Raum  (A People without Space). This book became a classic on Germanys need for space and the books title soon became a popular National Socialist slogan. In Summary In Nazi ideology, Lebensraum meant the expansion of Germany to the east in search of a unity between the German Volk and the land (the Nazi concept of Blood and Soil). The Nazi-modified theory of Lebensraum became Germanys foreign policy during the Third Reich. Notes 1. Adolf Hitler,  Mein Kampf  (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971) 646.2. Hitler,  Mein Kampf  653.3. Hitler,  Mein Kampf  655. Bibliography Bankier, David. Lebensraum.  Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. Israel Gutman (ed.) New York: Macmillan Library Reference, 1990. Hitler, Adolf.  Mein Kampf. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971. Zentner, Christian and Friedmann Bedà ¼rftig (eds.).  The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. New York: Da Capo Press, 1991.

Diversity in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diversity in the Workplace - Essay Example The main personal tools are self-awareness, metacommunication and flexibility. Metacommunication is one of the most valuable skills that a manager can possess is the ability to communicate effectively with others (Sonnenschein 95). Metacommunication reflects and folds back upon itself bringing more information to each conversant. Metacommunication is an active process that is particularly useful in understanding persons who come from different cultural contexts. Among individuals in an increasingly diverse society, there may be more than one understanding, more than one meaning of a single reality. Individuals who come from different cultural paradigms or different hierarchical positions may perceive the same situation differently and draw different meanings from it. The role and importance of metacommunication is to eliminate cultural and language differences. Self-awareness is another tool which helps managers to deal with diverse employees and lead them. It means: "be aware of those things in your personal background that might help you do or see, or prevent you from doing or seeing thing, important your organization" (Sonnenschein 30). In this case, managers should realize the influence of culture on behavior. Like time or distance, culture is one of those concepts we all know but find difficult to put into words. Self-awareness helps managers to respond effectively to behavior and actions of other employees, understand their motives and desires (Sonnenschein 32). Flexibility can be seen as a tool which helps leaders to manage diverse workforce and sustain positive organizational culture. 'Flexibility' can be seen as an ability to find the best solution in any situation in spite of personal interests or beliefs. For instance, today men's and women's roles have become more diffuse. The division of labor is less rigid and not necessarily gender-linked. The task of the manager is to perceive these changes and apply them into workforce (Sonnenschein 94-95). The organizational techniques are conflict management, socialization and training workshops. Conflict management is an effective technique which helps managers to avoid dissatisfaction and misunderstanding between employees. Clearly, if the parties can agree on mutual objectives then the problem is far easier to resolve than if they have conflicting objectless and personal agendas. The tools used to solve the conflict can be communication and listening, respect to position of others and account of cultural differences. These strategies help a manager to separate the people from the problem; focus on interests and not positions; search for solutions which can accommodate both interests; agree objective criteria. Developing a solution is more critical and complex than ever before. Managers should use benefits of conflicts to create positive culture and climate. Socialization involves understanding of such processes as family influence, personal experience, educational experiences, peer influences, media influences and critical incidents (Sonnenschein 31). For instance, the attributes that once were operative have become less significant in a more democratic and diverse society. Redefining fit no longer means using the broad attributes seeking a deeper sense of knowing and understanding one another. That is, the more we get to know who we all are as