Managing conflicts assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing conflicts assessment - Essay Example When conflict occurs finding a resolution is imperative because conflict can disrupt the work environment of an organization. Five recognized techniques that line managers can utilize to resolve conflict are accommodation, collaboration, compromise, avoidance, and authoritative command. Accommodation involves playing down the differences and finding areas of agreement among the parties. Collaboration allows the parties to recognize that something is wrong and the problem needs immediate attention. The underlying problem is the root of the conflict. A compromise is a good method to find a resolution because each party gives up something of value to the other in order to end the conflict. Avoidance pretends that the problem does not exist. The assumption is that the problem will play itself down through time. Authoritative command uses formal authority to end the conflict. As a manager I would create harmony at work and engender a positive atmosphere by focusing on building a strong corporate culture. The corporate culture of the company should bring the employees closer to each other. A second technique that I would use to build a better workplace is by empowering my employees. Employees that feel they are valued by their supervisors are more likely to achieve job satisfaction. A third technique I would use to create harmony is

International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 7

International Relations - Essay Example The world community is quite skeptical of this stance taken by the regime as they see the program as a chance for the current regime to make a nuclear weapon. This situation would certainly cause a stir in the region due to the unstable relationship that Iran has with neighboring countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and others (Bruno, Irans Nuclear Program, 2010). Iran’s nuclear program has caused a lot of hue and cry over the few years that it became common knowledge that Tehran was working on the program. Many resent the thought of Tehran having the potential of enriching nuclear material and using it either for energy purposes or for weapons as something unacceptable and dangerous. Even the Arab nations, though in the front portraying a show of support, are in the background somewhat skeptical of the program. In a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in November of 2005 the leaders of several Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, made a statement inviting the world nations to prevent he program taking off. The Secretary General in a statement claimed that the program had no justification for it and it was for the better that the Middle East be a weapons free zone with regards to weapons of mass destruction (KHAITOUS, 2008). There are a number of clear cut reasons why there needs to be concern over Iran’s nuclear program over that of France and Great Britain. Those two nations have their nuclear program off the ground and have managed to secure their facilities, as best as one can in this current global situation. Iran’s nuclear facilities are still in the preliminary stages with respect to the other nuclear programs operating in the world. A major concern are the Muslim extremists in the nation who are a threat to the world security. There are serious doubts as to how safe the nuclear material will be in Iran and whether Muslim extremists can get their hands on

Labor Boss Sees Racism in Romney Welfare Attacks Essay - 1

Labor Boss Sees Racism in Romney Welfare Attacks - Essay Example In preparation for the upcoming presidential election in the United States, Schlesinger has purposely written and published this article to make his target audiences realize that racism still exists in the U.S. politics. According to Schlesinger, Hoffa revealed that the Republicans’ â€Å"race baiting† attack on President Obama is just one kind of political strategy used to manipulate the voters’ decision on who to vote for in the upcoming presidential election (Schlesinger). By letting the target audiences know about the racism strategy used by the Republicans, the author could somehow remind the people to disregard the presidential candidates’ color and race when choosing the best candidate for the upcoming U.S. presidential election. To be able to determine what racism is really all about, it is necessary to define the term â€Å"racism†. According to Fredrickson (189), racism can be defined as â€Å"the doctrine that a man’s behavior is determined by stably inherited characters deriving from separate racial stocks and usually considered to stand to one another in relations of superiority and inferiority.† It means that racism is all about developing an ideology that makes men become prejudiced against another person due to their racial differences. During the class discussion, it was mentioned that there is a strong racial discrimination that is going on between the white and black Americans. In most cases, it is the white Americans that are considered more superior as compared to the black Americans. Since it is the white Americans who have a higher status in the society, it is the black Americans who are often at a disadvantage when it comes to political agenda. This partly explains why James Hoffa has been defending President Obama from the Romney-Ryan’s group and the Republicans. In class, it was mentioned that the U.S. historical trend, common beliefs, and practices have something to do with racis m. For example, based on the U.S. history, it is the African Americans (blacks) who once became the slaves. For this reason, a lot of the white Americans have developed the wrong perception that the African Americans are less superior in terms of knowledge, power, and financial capabilities as compared to them. In reality, there are some African Americans who are better than the white Americans in terms of knowledge, fame, and financial capabilities. Despite the continuous promotion of diversity in the school, there are still people who are unconsciously being racist. With regards to the case of Obama’s administration, a lot of people are continuously blaming him for the downfall of the U.S. economy. Is the U.S. experiencing a slow economic growth simply because America is being ruled under the leadership of the first black American president? Would the process of having a white American president be enough to make this country regain its economic stability in both the domest ic and international market? Or is it because most people in America have failed to develop their knowledge and skills in accordance to what is being in demand in both domestic and the world market? Based on the real-life scenarios presented in this paper, it is clear that the presence of racism could only disrupt the peace and order in our society.  

International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 7

International Relations - Essay Example The world community is quite skeptical of this stance taken by the regime as they see the program as a chance for the current regime to make a nuclear weapon. This situation would certainly cause a stir in the region due to the unstable relationship that Iran has with neighboring countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and others (Bruno, Irans Nuclear Program, 2010). Iran’s nuclear program has caused a lot of hue and cry over the few years that it became common knowledge that Tehran was working on the program. Many resent the thought of Tehran having the potential of enriching nuclear material and using it either for energy purposes or for weapons as something unacceptable and dangerous. Even the Arab nations, though in the front portraying a show of support, are in the background somewhat skeptical of the program. In a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in November of 2005 the leaders of several Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, made a statement inviting the world nations to prevent he program taking off. The Secretary General in a statement claimed that the program had no justification for it and it was for the better that the Middle East be a weapons free zone with regards to weapons of mass destruction (KHAITOUS, 2008). There are a number of clear cut reasons why there needs to be concern over Iran’s nuclear program over that of France and Great Britain. Those two nations have their nuclear program off the ground and have managed to secure their facilities, as best as one can in this current global situation. Iran’s nuclear facilities are still in the preliminary stages with respect to the other nuclear programs operating in the world. A major concern are the Muslim extremists in the nation who are a threat to the world security. There are serious doubts as to how safe the nuclear material will be in Iran and whether Muslim extremists can get their hands on

Media industry in Covering Islam by Edward W Said Essay

Media industry in Covering Islam by Edward W Said - Essay Example The book was first published in 1981. It primarily focused on the issue of Iran, cold war and war. â€Å"Covering Islam† is full of examples of the work of various media groups and journalists. The views and ideas have been appropriately supported by the facts and examples. Chomsky (2002) has raised various issues on the way media has represented various issues of war, trade union issues and terrorism. The issues ranged are from the presentation of these events by media and control of powerful groups over these mediums to control thought process of mass. Said’s work â€Å"Covering Islam† is another effort which seeks attention of readers towards the biased representation of Islam and Islamic community by mainstream media. In the words of Christopher Lehmann-Haupt for The New York Times Book Review for the same book:â€Å"[He] skilfully traces the origins of American misinformation about Islam to the way that Orientalist scholarship is financed and organized in t his country. And finally he pleads eloquently for the instrumentality of all historical knowledge and the needs of all scholars to be aware of their objectives. This plea amounts to a prescription for cultural self-awareness that will be wasted on none of us†Various studies and theories have been developed to study the development of the concept of Islamophobia. This is very clear from the previous studies and views of Chomsky, Said and others about portrayal of the Islam, Muslim and Muslim countries unfavourable from the past.

Narrative style of the novel Essay Example for Free

Narrative style of the novel Essay Comment on how the language contributes to the understanding of the character, plots, theme and narrative style of the novel Chapter 6 is presented to the audience entirely in the past with no hindsight. Once again it develops the plot showing the children developing closer to adulthood, yet still not quite there, not understanding the consequences of their actions : was it you two? , I look away. The language from the passage in the hard back page 111 to 113 contributes to the understanding of the characters, plots, themes and narrative style of the novel. The section about the hierarchy in trees only further reinforces the naivety and stupidity to the character Stephen. Stephen has an obvious sense of hierarchy and in this case the sour smell of the elders and its humiliating position at the very bottom of the hierarchy of trees. This continues into the familiar world out here at the end of the Lanes, ie: the hierarchy of humans where the levels convey Stephens actual opinion of the concept of hierarchy and social status. This shows how immature Stephen is and however evident is his naivety. See more: what is a narrative essay In hindsight Frayn exposes the audience to the intentional irony of the sliver framed heroes at the highest to the lowest an old derelict taking refuge who are the same person. Frayn has emphasised this hierarchy from the beginning. Stephen feels in triumph that for once he perceives himself higher than someone else in the human precedence and the language emphatically robusts this. This only reinforces that younger is obsessed with hierarchy only after the discussion of hierarchy is there a sense of realisation. The language in this passage contributes the understanding in the theme of mystery and adventure. Stephen relies on this adventure to prove himself to Keith and in doing so show Keith that hes not the only one who can think of plans and projects. The use of personal pronoun I used more frequently than other times (7) conveys Stephens awareness that at this point in the adventure, wherein he can contribute, is a way he can gain approval of others even at the exploitation of the tramp. The passage for the first time shows an all time low in the adventure and rain blows as deliberate violence. This marks a key turning point in the plot as they have to fine some reason for their expedition as they have lost Mrs Hayward. The language used to describe the old mans feelings are just some of the feelings evoked that explain exactly what the boys have been doing bullying, and in doing so, the language also introduces the theme of memory. Frayn draws attention to this key theme by making older Stephen interrupt his story to remind the audience that the Stephen who was once a victim of bullying is now the perpetrator. This narrative style is a device that suggests implausibly that older Stephen is telling the story and also draws attention to memory as a concept and theme. Not only that, but it helps the reader understand that the reason I (Stephen) throw down my iron bar, is to reflect what Stephen knew at that point in time is that what he was doing was bullying. In this passage Frayns presents the language as a way of children going on to do adult things but without adult hindsight and therefore reminds the audience that they are still developing unable to foresee the consequences of their actions. The language is deceptively simple in style, but the passage in Chapter 6 shows a subtlety in language. From the beginning of the passage Stephen shows this middle class social ranking which leads him into his so called heroism that is particularly associated with middle class values. This duty he is estranged with towards Keith was particularly powerful conception in times of war and for Stephen it shows a development in his character and what he is prepared to do out of duty for Keith. Thus, Frayn cleverly uses linguistic devices and in this case exploits the language in order to contribute to the understanding of the characters, plot, themes and narrative style of the novel.

Impacts of the Pornography Industry

Impacts of the Pornography Industry Critically assess the case that the products of the contemporary pornography industry are both a cause of violence and discrimination directed against women and also ‘intrinsically harmful’. It is not the purpose of this essay to defend the contemporary pornography industry which to this day remains a ‘dirty’ and -to a large extent- a male-dominated, exploitative business, but rather to understand the reasons behind this sad reality. Pornography made its first prominent appearance in feminist discourse in the late 70s, when feminist groups such as ‘Women Against Violence in Pornography and the Media’ (WAVPM) embarked upon their anti-pornography campaign in the San Francisco Bay area. The so-called ‘sex wars’ of the 1980s brought about an unprecedented division within the feminist movement. Anti-pornography writers, such as Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon -authors of the famous ‘Minneapolis and Indianapolis ordinances’ advocated the censorship of pornographic material, on account of its role as ‘a practice that is central to the subordination of women’. Other feminists put forth a liberal legal argum ent, invoking the First Amendment to the American Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech. Two decades later, the pornography debate has retained its relevance in feminist discourse. There is still heated disagreement over three interrelated issues: what is the definition of pornography? Does pornography cause violence and discrimination against women? What is the best way to deal with pornography in the policy and legislation arenas? While critically assessing the anti-pornography thesis, I will argue in turn that most sexually explicit graphic material is not the cause but can mirror the misogyny and exploitation that characterizes modern societies; and that far from being ‘intrinsically harmful’ pornography can in fact be employed in the service of feminist ideas. A necessary starting point if we are to understand pornography would be an analytically helpful definition. But this is itself one of the main points of disagreement between feminists. The pro-censorship side has emulated traditional definitions of pornography and equated sexual explicitness with violence and female subordination. Dworkin understands pornography as the platform where sexist ideology thrives by exhibiting male supremacy,   discernible in seven interwoven strains: the power of the self, physical power, the power of terror, the power of naming, the power of owning, the power of money and the power of sex’. Contemporary porn depicts women as the helpless victims of men: bound, tortured, humiliated, battered, urinated upon or ‘merely taken and used’. Evoking the Greek etymology of the word, Dworkin (1990:24) defines pornography as the ‘graphic depiction of whores’, (‘porne’ being the Greek for a cheap prostitute or sex slave ). Thus pornography is conceived as something sexist, violent and exploitative by definition; in other words, as an intrinsically harmful phenomenon. Even at this early stage, pro-censorship analysis seems to rest on shaky methodological grounds. First it involves a clearly circular argument which condemns pornography without trying to understand it, almost like arguing that ‘pornography is bad, because it is bad’. Second, the cross-cultural analysis of Ancient Greece is dubious, if not completely a-historical, since ‘pornography’ is not an ancient but a Victorian neologism, invented in the 19th century, thus reflecting Victorian sensitivities rather than ancient realities. Third, the definition of porn as a field of violence and sexism logically entails a distinction from other, sexually explicit material that is not violent, demeaning and exploitative, but is based on sentiments of mutuality and reciprocity. Defining this emerging category, usually referred to as ‘Erotica’, is a highly subjective endeavor and obviously unhelpful for an academic or a judge. Equating sexual explicitness to vi olence, misogyny and other value-judgments is not only counter productive to the search for a descriptive definition of pornography; it is also untrue, since it is often the case that ‘soft porn’ or even altogether non-sexual material can contain much more disturbing scenes of violence and sexism than pornography itself. Fourth, most of the anti-porn literature has applied its definitions of pornography in a vague and inconsistent manner, jumping from the ‘graphic depiction of whores’ to the more mainstream concept of porn as cheaply produced ‘smut’ for instant consumption; and sometimes to a more inclusive definition containing phenomena as diverse as fashion, TV commercials, sex toys and sex education.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Methodological concerns aside, anti-porn definitions of pornography entail positions that appear to contradict the very essence of feminism. Anti-porn pronouncements on ‘good, sensitive Erotica’ vis-à  -vis ‘bad, abusive porn’ are essentially pronouncements about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sexuality. At the risk of caricature, this entails restrictions on sexuality of Orwellian dimensions, and is contrary to the fights of the feminist, gay and lesbian movements for sexual liberation and diversity. One anti-porn author opines that ‘erotica is rooted in eros, or passionate love, and thus in the idea of positive choice, free will, the yearning for a particular person, whereas in pornography the subject is not love at all, but domination and violence against women’. Statements like this one seem to imply an acceptance of old patriarchical stereotypes of the form ‘men are aggressive and polygamous by nature, while women are pas sive and monogamous’ and that women do not, cannot or should not enjoy sex in itself. Paradoxically, Dworkin’s (1990) synoptic treatment of the history of pornography exaggerates the passivity and helplessness of female victims and the violence of male domination to such an extent, that it unwittingly reinforces the very binary stereotypes that feminism has historically fought to uproot. Her presentation of women in pornography as ‘whores’, is at best patronizing, if not condescending and insulting towards female porn-workers, who often choose to follow that mode of subsistence. The choices of porn-workers deserve as much respect as those of women working in less stigmatized industries and, perhaps, even greater feminist solidarity.     Ã‚   Pro-censorship argumentation tends to revolve around two rhetorical devices. The first is the exaggeration of the amount and degree of violence contained in pornographic material, through the accumulation of undeniably disturbing images. The slide shows projected in WAVPM meetings and the material articulately described in Dworkin’s book have been handpicked for their shock-value and power to disturb. Drawn primarily from the underground cultures of Bizarre, Bestiality and SM, most of these images are largely unrepresentative of the mainstream market, which is both highly diversified and specialized. Specialization is a key-point because of the basic fact that different people have different ‘turn-ons’. Given that some people may find publicly disturbing, what others view as privately stimulating is no good reason to label porn in its entirety as intrinsically offensive. The second rhetorical device lies in the argument that pornography is not just a representatio n of imaginary violence but also a recorded reality or as put by MacKinnon, a ‘documentary of abuse’. Again this argument misleadingly conflates reality with representational fantasy. To claim that every woman -or man- that appears to be abused in a porn-movie is actually abused, is almost as naà ¯ve as claiming that every man shot-dead in, say, ‘the Terminator’, is actually dead. The anti-porn argument fails to take into consideration factors such as artifice, acting and role-playing. While genuine case of abuse are not absent from the porn industry, the vast majority of depictions of ‘violence’ occur in a role-playing context which carefully ensures the safety of the actors. My view is that understanding pornography requires a descriptive definition which, instead of passing judgments over the moral credentials and political consciousness of its participants, focuses on the realities of the porn industry. In this light, modern pornography, as we know it, is the graphic representation of sexually explicit material, mass-produced and mass-consumed with the purpose of sexual arousal. Although it is not ‘intrinsically evil’, this industry is morally no better than the society that produces it. The effect of sexually explicit material on its viewers and society at large is the second main component of the pornography debate. Anti-porn analysis has insisted on a theory of causality, whereby real rape, physical abuse and humiliation of women by men occur as a direct result of their exposure to the ‘hateful values’ of pornography. In Dworkin’s own words ‘at the heart of the female condition is pornography: it is the ideology that is the source of all the rest;’. By equating the representation of violence with injurious action, Dworkin evokes what neo-Aristotelian theorists of representation have termed as the ‘Mimesis-model’. Derived from the Greek word ‘mimesis’, meaning ‘imitation’ or ‘reproduction’, the model positions the real both before and after its representation. At a theoretical level the Mimesis-model can be sufficiently challenged by another Aristotelian concept, that of Catharsis. This would entail that far from reducing men to perpetrators of violence, exposure to the mock-violence of pornography -with all its artistic conventions and restrictions- would relieve them of the violent dispositions that lay ‘hidden’ in their psyche, in the same way that, say, a horror movie may give us pleasure without inciting violence and blood-thirst. The Catharsis-model fits particularly well to the very nature of pornography. Founded on a much-attested human desire for an occasional breach of taboo, porn tends to represent situations and feelings that may well be antisocial and very often remote from what the actual social practice is. Japan -a country with one of the lowest rape rates world-wide- sustains a huge pornographic industry that ‘specializes’ in violence and sexual domination. The anti-pornography perceptive fails to grasp this crucial distinction between social reality and harmless fantasy. In terms of empirical evidence, psychological experiments on the alleged correlation between exposure to porn and violent activity are, at best, inconclusive. Historical and cross-societal analysis is equally unpromising for the Mimesis-argument. Porn, in its modern sense, is a very recent creation. And yet, the exploitation of women by men had predated it by thousands of years. At the same time, political systems that adhered to the systematic suppression of pornographic representations, such as the Soviet Union or modern Islamic states, had not been less exploitative or violent. And yet, many anti-porn thinkers have insisted on censorship, despite the fact that this insistence has produced an awkward alliance with moral traditionalists from the Right. If passed, the 1984 Minneapolis ordinance would have reinvented ‘pornography’ as a criminal offence, distinct from ‘obscenity’. This would have allowed women to take civil action against anyone involved in the production, or distribution of pornography, on the grounds that they had been ‘harmed’ by its portrayal of women. In the passionate words of Andrea Dworkin (1990:224) ‘we will know that we are free when the pornography no longer exists. As long as it does exist, we must understand that we are the women in it: used by the same power, subject to the same valuation, as the vile whores who beg for more.’ If only, pornography was, indeed, the mother of all evil. Then sexism could be uprooted at one, simple, legislative stroke. But unfortunately, sexism, viole nce and exploitation are endemic to the economic structure of the modern society and pervasive of all our media. Pornography seems to have been singled out as a scapegoat for all forms of sexual prejudices in today’s world. The long-standing social stigma and visual honesty of the industry made it an easy target to right-wingers and left-wingers alike. Censorship has not worked in the past and there is no reason to believe that it will work in the future. I believe that the only viable solution to the pornography problem is the exact opposite of censorship, namely support for ‘the Politics of Representation. Women should try to ‘capture’ pornography, as producers, script-writers and directors, in a manner consistent with earlier feminist ventures into other male-dominated fields, such as literature, politics, media, religion, education and science. ‘Going legit’, would not only mean that society as a whole will take a less hypocritical stance to the realities of pornography   but also that regulation would guarantee better working conditions for female porn-workers (e.g. unionization, safe-sex, better security, health and cleanliness). Most importantly establishing a feminine perspective within the industry would counterbalance the male bias from which it now suffers. Following the example of ventu res such as ‘Femme Productions’ -launched by former porn-worker Candida Royalle and targeting a couple market- sexually explicit material written and produced by women can celebrate women’s right to pleasure without complying to sexism and exploitation. Pro-censorship feminists have been mistaken in defining pornography as problem. The explicit representation of sexual scenes is neither ‘intrinsically harmful’ nor a direct cause of violence. While men retain the reigns of an industry plagued with social stigma, porn will continue to be biased and exploitative. Yet, in the right hands, pornography can become an instrument for feminist action.   Ã‚  Ã‚   BIBLIOGRAPHY Barker, I. V. (2000): ‘Editing Pornography’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 643- 652 Butler, J. (2000): ‘The Force of Fantasy: Feminism, Mapplethorpe, and Discursive Excess’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 487-508 Carter, A. (2000): ‘Polemical Preface: Pornography in the Service of Women’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 527-539 Cornell, D. (2000): ‘Pornography’s Temptation’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 551-68 Dworkin, A. (1990): ‘Pornography: Men Possessing Women’, London: The Women’s Press Ltd C. A. MacKinnon (1988): ‘Pornography and Civil Rights: A New Day’, Minneapolis: Organizing Against Pornography Kilmer, M.F. (1997): ‘Painters and Pederasts: Ancient Art, Sexuality, and Social History’,in M. Golden and P. Toohey [eds] Inventing Ancient Culture: Historicism, Periodization, and the Ancient World, London, pp 36-49. MacKinnon, C. A. (1993): ‘Only Words’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 94-120 Rodgerson, G. E. Wilson [ed] (1991): ‘Pornography and Feminism: the Case Against Censorship’, Feminists Against Censorship, London: Lawrence Wishart Royalle, C. (2000): ‘Porn in the USA’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 540-550 Rubin, G. (1992): ‘Misguided, Dangerous and Wrong: an Analysis of Anti-pornography Politics’, in A. Assiter and A. Carol [ed], Bad Girls and Dirty Pictures: the Challenge to Reclaim Feminism, London: Pluto Press, pp 18-40 Russell, D. E. H. (2000): ‘Pornography and Rape: A Causal Model’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 48-93 Sutton, R.F., Jr. (1992): ‘Pornography and Persuasion on Attic Pottery’, in A. Richlin [ed], Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome, New York, pp 3-35.