Comparing Beowulf And William Shakespeare s Macbeth

Actor Anson Mount, once made an insightful observation, â€Å"all of us have a hero and a villain in us.† This is something that has been proven over time, across cultures, and is also corroborated in famous literary works such as Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Key characters in these epics often rose to the occasion and made a positive impact on the society with their exceptional bravery, selflessness, moral courage, and steadfastness of character. There were also instances where the same characters didn’t exercise the best judgement. Although Beowulf had many more heroic moments than Macbeth and Macduff, each of them had their virtues and flaws that surfaced at different times and under different circumstances, validating that there is nothing such as a perfect hero or an absolute villain and therefore the society should be more careful in assigning such labels. Beowulf, who possessed a rare combination of physical strength, m ental courage and self confidence, was much more than a brave warrior. What distinguished him from other warriors was that he never misused his superhuman strength and always followed the highest standards of morality. An example of Beowulf’s classy behavior was when Geats were left without a king after Hygelac’s death. Queen Hygd didn’t have confidence in her son’s ability to protect their homeland against invaders. She offered Beowulf â€Å"throne and authority† and â€Å"Yet there was no way the weakened nation / could get Beowulf to

The Self, By Robert Thurman - 1779 Words

The â€Å"self† is notion of oneself and qualities that distinguishes one individual from the other individuals. Self is consist of perspectives, characteristics, emotion and personalities of a person that makes them different from others. However, Robert Thurman implies that the self does not actually exist, and individuals have to become selfless in order to achieve a â€Å"fulfilling life.† He uses the word â€Å"pretend self† to describe that people s identities are inherently false identities since individuals can control it. Therefore, according to Thurman in order to become the true self, individuals have to become â€Å"selfless†. Thurman discusses the importance of achieving the state of â€Å"selflessness† to find inner peace in his excerpt â€Å"Wisdom.† He encourages individuals to practice self-exploration, which can lead individual to give up their authentic self for the wellfare of others’ lives. become a â€Å"selfle ss† person, which then allows individuals to become flexible to change instead of staying fixated. On the other hand Beth Loffreda in her essay â€Å"Losing Matt Shepard: Life and Politics in the Aftermath of Anti-Gay Murder.† describes the effects of the violent act have on the town of Laramie. Loffreda discusses the town residents’ self-perception and how the minority community reacted to the murder of Matt Shepard.In contrast to Thurman s’ argument, Loffreda describes the change in perspectives and actions of the residents, indicating that an individual s â€Å"self† is not fixatedShow MoreRelatedGay College Student At The University Of Wyoming1447 Words   |  6 Pagesteachers felt disconnected and unable to mend the pain of losing Matt Shepard. She goes on to say that the feelings of the teacher seem to be â€Å"an appalling luxury, an indulgence in a kind of intellectual self-pity at a moment when the basic skills of education—critica l thinking, articulation, self-reflection—could be so concretely valuable† (249). Loffreda attributes the response of the faculty to the fact that they weren’t â€Å"perfectly equipped to handle the events of October†(248). In fact, LoffredaRead MoreGay College Student At The University Of Wyoming ( Bio )1429 Words   |  6 Pagesteachers felt disconnected and unable to mend the pain of losing Matt Shepard. She goes on to say that the feelings of the teacher seem to be â€Å"an appalling luxury, an indulgence in a kind of intellectual self-pity at a moment when the basic skills of education—critical thinking, articulation, self-reflection—could be so concretely valuable† (Loffreda). Loffreda attributes the response of many of the faculty of University of Wyoming to the simple fact that they weren’t â€Å"perfectly equipped to handleRead MoreSummary Of Rent Seeking And The Making Of An Unequal Society By Robert Thurman1319 Wo rds   |  6 Pageshas formed. In Robert Thurman’s essay, â€Å"Wisdom†, Thurman claims that a society filled with inequality is formed as a result of giving importance to the self. However this claim can be falsified by comparing it to the text by Martha Stout, â€Å"When I Woke up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday†. In Martha Stout ‘s text her patient, Julia is extremely successful. Along with her successes Julia does not give much importance to her self. Julia often disassociates from reality is unsure of her self, so she cannotRead MoreThe Act Of Caring For Others869 Words   |  4 PagesBarbara Fredrick son and Robert Thurman express different point of views about the act of caring for others. Although one wrote of love and the other wrote of wisdom, they both come hand in hand. There are a few parts were Love 2.0 and Wisdom show that you need both in order to live a happy, prosperous life. Fredrick son and Thurman try to show that the world isn t wha t you think it is. That different people interrupt in different ways, through their scientific research or through religious beliefsRead MoreExplanatory Synthesis Essay on Karen Armstrongs Homo Religiosus and Robert Thurmans Wisdom1357 Words   |  5 PagesExplanatory Synthesis Essay on Karen Armstrong Homo Religiosus and Robert Thurman Wisdom Karen Armstrongs first chapter in The Case of God, Homo Religiosus, provides readers with the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the idea of religion as being a dominant concept in human nature. Armstrong apparently wants to emphasize that humans were designed so as for them to be religious and thus concentrate on taking on a series of attitudes meant to provide them with the chance to developRead MoreAnalysis Of Wisdom By Robert Thurman1274 Words   |  6 PagesRobert Thurman, a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and Karen Ho share their ideas on different topics in each of their passages. In Thurman’s passage titled â€Å"Wisdom† he writes about one’s self and how acquiring his form of wisdom means that they are selfless, or willing to change themselves for the better or when the time comes. In â€Å"Biographies of Hegemony†, Ho writes about the type of society that Wall Street has created and how they continue to keep the same type of people in their elite group. However differentRead MoreHuman Relations With Robot Companions / Artificial Intelligence1286 Words   |  6 PagesEverything We Feel, Think, Do, and Become (Barbara Fredrickson), and Wisdom (Robert Thurman) certain studies are elaborated on in which humans discover themselves through their emotions. In Alone Together Sherry Turkle gives insight on human relations with robot companions/artificial intelligence. Barbara Fredrickson’s Love 2.0 is about the study of biological love and the connections needed to produce it. And Wisdom, by Robert Thurman, is insight on achieving selflessness and how it makes you an overallRead More5th Paper Final Draft1186 Words   |  5 PagesWritings Involvement with Self and Society The self is expressed in a multitude of ways ranging from speeches to television as well as writing. Not only that but as human beings it is instinctual to make an observation and write it down, but we tend to add our own personal view as to what we believe, or interpret something entirely else from the observation. By reading Karen Hos Biographies of Hegemony and Jean Twenges An Army of One: Me essays as well as Robert Thurmans Wisdom it is evidentRead MoreWhen Religious Beliefs Overpower Human Rights 1489 Words   |  6 Pagesobserved. These steps include being able to dissolve the mind into a state of emptiness leaving potentiality. To find one’s intrinsic awareness, one must arise as promise being or seed syllable. According to Lopon Wandgu’s lecture, visualization of self as an enlightened being is the reason why one meditates. Empowerment, which comes from the embodiment of the five wisdoms of the Buddha, allows for praise and offering through recitation (mantra ), which â€Å"rotates around the seed syllable at the heart†Read MoreThe Mind Is Not Sane1765 Words   |  8 PagesPeople use the adjective sane as a fabricated reason to not only judge, but also to define the â€Å"self†. Sanity is in the eye of the beholder. It could be used to describe one’s self or others. It is an artificial construction, created by society, that has taken over society’s lives for both better and worse. In the readings, â€Å"When I Woke Up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday† by Martha Stout and â€Å"Wisdom† by Robert Thuman, both authors would arrive at an agreement that the mind creates ideas and scenarios

Managing Performance – Top Trucking Company Case Study

Question: Discuss about the Case Study for Managing Performance of Top Trucking Company . Answer: Introduction Human resource management is a critical function in any organization and thus requires an organization to pay a lot intention to the aspects that may affect the performance of the employees. Human resource is the most fundamental resource in the firm(Brad Jia, 2008). This is because it organizes the other organizational resources so that the company may realize its desired goals. Therefore, the management of this critical resource requires the managers to have essential skills and attitude to be able to execute their functions effectively. It also should be noted that the responsibility for ensuring the welfare of the employees is catered should not be solemnly centered to the human resource department rather it should be a collective responsibility for all the organizational leaders ranging from the supervisors to the top management of the company(Uzonna, 2013). Employee relations mainly entails how the employers relate to the employees at the workplace (Chandrasekar, 2011). The po or employee relations results to the several consequences for the organization. For example, in the event of weak relations between the employer and the employees: the overall organization performance may drop; the conflicts between both the employer and the employees as well as the trade unions can become a continuous affair. Despite, poor employer-employee relationship having the adverse effects some of the organization are not aware what it entails an effective human resource management. They still have the traditional ideology of treating the employees as the only resource which can be used for the benefit of the organization and disposed of when it loses value. However, the organizations adopting this ideology have continued to supper greatly due to low employee performance as well court litigations cost resulting the cases filed by the trade unions. For the further and comprehensive discussion of how poor employee relations can have serious consequences for the performance of the organization, this report uses the case study Top Trucking Company. Top Trucking Company Employee Relations Overview Top Trucking Company had been a great performer in the local market. However, the employees welfare was not appropriately addressed. Additionally, the manager was rude and authoritative when issuing orders and directives to the drivers. This means that drivers were not supposed to offer or suggest creative ideas as they were supposed to follow the manager's directives strictly. The worsening was that the trucks were wearing out, and the company was not ready to re-invest in the new trucks. The results of this poor management and leadership style were the creation of hardcore drivers, poor performance among the employees and trade union conflicts. However, the things changed dramatically when the company was purchased by the National Transport Group. The new investors were willing to venture into the business heavily so as to raise its performance above the bar. The new management adopted transformative leadership and also, it was willing to improve the welfare of the employees. As th e result, the company performance improved its reputation grew bigger. Besides, the drivers become appreciative of the new management, and even the positive relations between the company and the trade union was enhanced. Therefore, this report seeks to use the Top Trucking Company case study to answer the following three questions. First, how the transformative workplace practices brought by the new management complimented each other. Second, the risk of sustaining the company new workplace changes. Third, comparison of blue collar union with the public sector unions regarding workplace changes. The complement of the New Workplace Practices. The new management introduced the changes which were deemed to improve the welfare of the drivers. For example, the new uniform and the trucks bought for the drivers enhanced their motivation and the company performance also increased. In addition to the new working facilities, also the health and safety of the drivers were improved. From several perspectives, it can be argued that the company management was meeting the employees rights as well encouraging them to improve their performance. As Lee (2006) noted the crucial responsibility of the manager at the organizational workplace is to get the task executed through the efforts of the employees. To achieve this vital objective, the employees have to be propelled by a driving force called motivation. However, Ganta (2014) argued that the term motivation is easily said within the organizational workplace environment but rarely practiced. The Top Trucking Management recognized the importance of motivation and initiated the changes whi ch could help the company attain competitive advantage in the market. The overview and the analysis of the Top Trucking Company human resource management under the two different managements portray how the human nature can be complex and sometimes very simple. Dobre (2013) noted the understanding of the human nature at different scenarios is the prerequisite to efficient employee motivation as well as effective leadership and management. The drivers under the company old management were treated badly, and the motivation incentives were not forthcoming. Besides, the manager adopted the autocratic leadership style an act which drivers felt it regarded them as unimportant. They felt that the company was only focused on fulfilling its objectives without putting the welfare and the interests of the drivers into consideration. However, under the new leadership, the manager seems to understand the importance of the employee motivation. The new manager seems to adopt transformational leadership style whereby his decisions, whenever there were grievances among the employees, were based on the rational approach. Importance of Employee Motivation Principles Research findings indicate the motivated employees improve their creativity and productivity (Zafar, Ishaq, Shoukat, Rizwan, 2014). Again, Safiullah (2015) argued that it is beneficial and morally right to treat human dignity on all scenarios. Relating to the Top Trucking Company old management, the drivers felt that the arrogance and autocratic behavior of their manager was disrespectful. As a result, the performance as well the reputation of the company started to decline. As Ganta (2014) noted if the employees are not motivated the total contribution of the employees on the organization success declines. This is because the employees do not channel all their energies and efforts in alignment with the desired goals of the organization. This phenomenon has been briefly illustrated using the diagram below. Source: Accel-Team (2015) Motivation and Performance The performance of the employees will majorly depend on how they are motivated(Mohsan, Nawaz, Khan, Shaukat, Aslam, 2011). The sources of motivation may either come internally or externally. The employees major sources of internal motivation are job satisfaction, challenging task and the importance of the job. On the other side, the external motivation comes from the management of the organization. Some employees have the self-motivation drive and other who have to be driven by the motivation to perform(Manzoor, 2014). However, both group of employees needs to be motivated to improve their performance. For effective management of the employee performance, leaders should base their motivation mechanisms on the following strategies: positive reinforcement; appropriate punishment and discipline; treating all the employees well; meeting the employees demands; restructuring jobs and rewarding employees based on the performance. Motivation being a critical factor in determining employee p erformance, the majority of the managers do not know what motivation mechanism to adopt. In one of the major study of Minneapolis Gas Company which involved forty-four thousand potential employees with the aim of determining what the employees desire most from a job(Hafiza, Shah, Jamsheed, 2011). The study which was carried for the period of twenty years found out that job security, work itself, development and proud of the company to work for were the main factors resulting in employee motivation. This was in contrast to paying that majority of the managers' believed was the core foundation of employees motivation. This explains why under the old management of the Top Trucking Company the drivers were always in conflict with the management despite being paid. However, the new workplace practices under the management of the company new investors contribute to the total motivation of the employees. Despite, being paid the drivers other needs such as improved working conditions and health and safety are catered for. Risk of Sustaining New Workplace Changes Different stakeholders ranging from the employees to government discourage the organizations to establish unsustainable workplace practices(Ouye, 2011). As it has always been the case developing, the workplaces changes are not the tough; the task is maintaining the same. Always the changes in the organization come up with modification of the employees' behavior and attitudes to adopt the desired change(ONeill, 2013). For the new changes to be implemented the human resource manager has to reinforce the employees to adopt the right behavior(Carey Parsons, 2009). However, this comes with a big challenge among the managers. This is because during the implementation of the new practices the employees may be influenced to adopt a certain behavior. However, when the influence is no longer available, the employees may reverse to the earlier behavior and thus putting the sustainability of the new practices at risk(Reid, 2012). Top Trucking Company is faced with the same risk. The company employees have adopted the new change under the new management. However, it should be noted the organizations are separate entities and thus have perpetual existence, unlike their owners. This is the same risk which is facing the new human resource practices in top Trucking Company. From the analysis of the company's case, it is evident that the employees have embraced the change and thus it will be difficult for them to revert to the initial behavior. However, the sustainability of this change is under threat because the initiator of the change in no longer available. The manager who was in the charge of the yard and who ensured the practice of improving the employee's welfare continue to exist has been promoted to the head office. Now, the risks of change sustainability are set in whereby the new manager may not be willing to continue with the similar style of the employee relations. Otherwise, he or she may come with th e new leadership styles which may not favor the employees thus receiving resistance from them. Comparison of Blue Collar Union to Public Sector Unions Similarly, as the public sector, blue collar unions can get involved in the workplace changes. However, their involvement in the workplace changes is greatly limited. Therefore, it can be argued that the blue collar unions are less involved in the workplace changes than the public sector or service unions. Some factors are contributing to this difference. First, blue-collar workers are less paid compared to white collar workers. This means their payment dues to the blue collar union do not contribute to union much as that of the white collar workers. Therefore, with economic power public sector unions becomes more involved in the workplace changes than the blue collar unions. Second, the number of the members of the public sector unions is much higher than in the blue collar unions. This increases the collective bargaining power of the public sectors unions, unlike the blue-collar unions. Therefore, with the powerful bargaining power, they become very influential and impactful in ens uring workplace changes. Conclusion Effective employees relations is the determinant of the successful employee performance. Managers should adopt effective leadership styles to ensure that the health relationship between the employer and the employee is maintained. Effective leadership alone is not enough to ensure sufficient employer-employee relationship, and therefore it should be supplemented with motivation. Again, motivation will not be enough, and thus it will need to be accompanied by the taking care of the employees welfare. As it has been for the case of Top Trucking Company the performance of the company has only improved when the new manager has initiated the new management performance techniques. The employees seem to embrace the changes as well as appreciate the new manager for his effective leadership techniques. This is contrary to the old company management performance which was poor hence resulting in conflicts between the employer and the employees as well as the trade unions. References Accel-Team. (2015, April 3). Employee Motivation: Theory and practice. Retrieved from https://www.accel-team.com: https://www.accel-team.com/motivation/ Brad, E., Jia, W. (2008). "Workplace Incivility: Impacts on Individual and Organizational Performance. Human Resource Development Review, 7(6), 218-240. Carey, A., Parsons, S. (2009). Improving sustainability through the 21st-century workplace, and IBM's vision of the office of the future. IBM Global Business Services. Chandrasekar, K. (2011). Workplace Environment And Its Impact On Organisational Performance In Public Sector Organisations. International Journal of Enterprise Computing and Business Systems, 1(1), 1-19. Dobre, O.-I. (2013). Employee motivation and organizational performance. Review of Applied Socio- Economic Research, 5(1), 53-60. Ganta, V. C. (2014). Motivation In The Workplace To Improve The Employee Performance. International Journal of Engineering Technology, Management and Applied Sciences, 2(6), 221-230. Hafiza, N. S., Shah, S. S., Jamsheed, H. (2011). Relationship Between Rewards And Employees Motivation In The Non-Profit Organizations Of Pakistan. Business Intelligence Journal, 4(2), 327-334. Lee, S. Y. (2006). "Expectations of employees toward the workplace and environmental satisfaction. Journal of Facilities Management, 24(6), 343-53. Manzoor, Q.-A. (2014). The impact of Employees Motivation on Organizational Effectiveness. European Journal of Business and Management, 3(3), 36-44. Mohsan, F., Nawaz, M. M., Khan, M. S., Shaukat, Z., Aslam, N. (2011). Are Employee Motivation, Commitment, and Job Involvement Inter-related: Evidence from Banking Sector of Pakistan. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(17), 226-233. ONeill, M. (2013). New Workplace Ergonomics Research: Emerging Risks and Solutions. East Greenville: Knoll, Inc. Ouye, J. A. (2011). Five Trends that Are Dramatically Changing Work and the Workplace. East Greenville: Knoll, Inc. Reid, R. H. (2012). Creating Sustainable Workplaces and Organizations. Gainesville: Alachua County Manager's Office. Safiullah, A. B. (2015). Employee Motivation and its Most Influential Factors: A study on the Telecommunication Industry in Bangladesh. World Journal of Social Sciences, 5(1), 79-92. Uzonna, U. R. (2013). The impact of motivation on employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ performance: A case study of CreditWest Bank Cyprus. Journal of Economics and International Finance, 5(5), 200-211. Zafar, N., Ishaq, S., Shoukat, S., Rizwan, M. (2014). Determinants of Employee Motivation and its impact on Knowledge Transfer and Job Satisfaction. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 4(2), 50-69.

Gerard Manley Hopkins an atypical Victorian Essay Example For Students

Gerard Manley Hopkins: an atypical Victorian? Essay Much of the power of Hopkins later poetry comes from the tension between his creative personality (i.e. self) and his Jesuit beliefs. He attempted to reconcile the two after reading the works of the philosopher Scotus, who recognized the value of the individual self (haecceitas), a concept which seem to condone the poets ideas of inscape and their expression, the resulting poetry being a combination of inscape and the instress of the poet himself. Here, in the second verse of The Sea and the Skylark, we see the poets instress consciously imposed on the inscape with the inclusion of I hear; Left hand, off land, I hear the lark ascend, His rash-fresh re-winded new-skeined score In crisps of curl off wild winch whirl, and pour And pelt music, till nones to spill or spend.. Hopkins was not immune from another product of the self consciousness of the age, the tendency towards self analysis. Obviously his vision of the period was coloured by his religious faith, which tended to push him in the direction of those pessimists such as Carlyle, Ruskin, Tennyson and Morris in feeling that Victorian England was moving inextricably towards its own downfall. Like Ruskin and Carlyle Hopkins was concerned by the effects of industrialisation upon nature, seeing it as wilful abuse of God given beauty (as can perhaps be seen in the grieving tone of Binsey Poplars), and by the inequality of society, seeing them all as symptoms of the moral decay and growing irreligiousness of society Why do men then now not reck his rod? (Gods Grandeur, line 4). Both Toms Garland and Felix Randall address the social problems which Hopkins clearly saw as a direct result of the godless materialistic industrialisation of the period This, by Despair, bred Hangdog dull: by Rage, Manwolf, worse; and their packs infest the age. (Toms Garland 19-20) and the poets own concern for the spiritual welfare of this growing hopeless underclass. The Wreck of the Deutschland serves to illustrate the might of God and the fate of those who will not sacrifice themselves utterly to Him and suggesting an almost apocalyptic vision of the future in such a society, although the God who presents himself to the faithful Hopkins is very different to the one of the first few stanzas The Christ of the Father compassionate (stanza 33). Hopkins is often seen to be set somewhat apart from the Victorian norm, perhaps because his work was not actually published until 1918 but whilst his poetic technique may have been innovative and contemporarily unique, in this respect it represents perfectly the spirit of the age. The sensuous imagery of his poetry, his determination that his art should have an edifying purpose and his concern for the Condition of England are typical of much work of the period. The crucial difference is the result of Hopkins fervent religious belief in a time when many were less sure, his work is poetry of faith and certainty rather than a product of the anguished doubt that characterised the work of men such as Tennyson and Arnold, and this eternal belief underpins everything he wrote, estranging it from much of the eminent contemporary literary canon. 1 Cited in Gerard Manley Hopkins and the Victorian Temper, Alison G.Sulloway, London 1972, page 1. 2 The Correspondence of Gerard Manley Hopkins and Richard Watson Dixon, ed. Claude Colleer Abbott, London 1955 3 All poems taken from Gerard Manley Hopkins Poems and Prose, ed. W. H. Gardner, London 1953 4 quoted in Gerard Manley Hopkins Poems and Prose, London 1953, p. xxxiii 5 Note-books, p. 95 6 Gerard Manley Hopkins, from lecture notes on Poetry and Verse, 1874.