Nick’s View That Gatsby Essay

How far do you agree with Nick’s view that Gatsby is â€Å"worth the whole damn bunch put together†? The title character of The Great Gatsby is a young man, around thirty years old, who rose from an impoverished childhood in rural North Dakota to become fabulously wealthy. Indeed, Gatsby has become famous around New York for the elaborate parties held every weekend at his mansion, ostentatious spectacles to which people long to be invited. And yet, Nick Carraway’s description of the protagonist asserts that Gatsby seems curiously out of place among the ‘whole damn bunch’ which inhabit this lavish, showy world. Indeed, despite the aura of criminality surrounding his occupation, his love and loyalty to Daisy Buchanan and ultimately his capacity to dream, set him apart from the inhabitants of East Egg and West Egg. A key criticism made in Nick’s first person, self-aware and retrospective narration is that the ‘whole damn bunch’ entertained by Gatsby lives in extravagance. In Chapter Three, comparative adjectives and adverbs allude to the idea that the parties they attend grow ever increasingly lavish; the narrator expresses how ‘laughter is easier’, an ‘opera of voices pitches a key higher’ and ‘groups change more quickly’. In fact, the sheer scale of the operation required to keep them excited is emphasised by details that Nick gives, including ‘a machine in the kitchen which could extract the juice of two hundred oranges in half an hour if a little button was pressed two hundred times by a butler’s thumb.’ But the ‘vacuous bursts of laughter’ and the dancing ‘in eternal graceless circles’ lend a degree of artificiality to the proceedings. Indeed, the tone of the narration reveals another major shortcoming, suggesting that this outward show of opulence by the inhabitants of West Egg and East Egg is used to cover up their inner corruption and moral decay. This decadence is first exemplified by the length of festivities. Nick states that after ‘the first supper’, ‘there would be another one after midnight.’ Society’s moral compass seems to invert completely, Nick ironically asserting that there were ‘two deplorably sober men’. Being drunk appears to be proper behaviour at such a party. Moreover, Fitzgerald’s comical use of voice suggests that being sober is more than just frowned upon, ‘their highly indignant wives’ exclaiming that they ‘have never heard anything so selfish in my life.’ But other guests contribute to this air of corruption; for example, the predatory nature of ‘Young Englishmen’ selling bonds is stressed by anaphora: ‘all well-dressed, all looking a little bit hungry, and all talking in low, earnest voices to solid and prosperous Americans.’ Such obsession with money is further emphasised by musical language and assonance; they were ‘agonizingly aware of the easy money and convinced that it was theirs for a few words in the right key.’ And as time passes, such vices become ever more apparent. Increasingly ‘women were now having fights with men said to be their husbands’, ‘said to be’ suggesting that some may have brought mistresses rather than partners. Nick observes one man philandering with ‘a young actress’, with his wife present. Her anger is humorously emphasised by simile, the narrator comparing her to ‘an angry diamond’. She ‘broke down entirely and resorted to flank attacks’, reduced to hissing into his ear, ‘You promised!’ By the end, the function had turned into ‘violent confusion’. Fitzgerald’s use of characterisation also emphasises the flaws of those immediately around Gatsby, Tom Buchanan in particular. Tom is Daisy’s husband, an extremely wealthy man, a brute, and an athlete. And his vices become apparent from the beginning of the book. His ignorance is brought out when he praises the ridiculous notions of ‘The Rise of the Coloured Empires’ that ‘the white race’, which is ‘the dominant race’ has to ‘watch out or other races will have control of things.’ The way he refers to it as ‘science and art, and all that’ and ‘scientific stuff’ only undermines his racist viewpoints even further. But more importantly, Tom is deeply immoral, Jordan Baker informing the narrator that ‘Tom’s got some woman in New York’. Nick is so incensed by Tom’s affair that his ‘own instinct was to telephone immediately for the police’. In fact, only a few months after their wedding, he appears to have had a fling with ‘one of the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara Hotel’. This series of affairs must have caused his wife some emotional damage. He does not even turn up to the birth of their daughter, Daisy casually informing Nick that ‘Tom was God knows where.’ In this way, Tom is neither attentive nor sensitive towards Daisy, especially in contrast with Gatsby. But Tom is not just unscrupulous but abusive. When Nick meets him in Chapter One, he asserts that he had ‘a cruel body’ which was ‘always leaning aggressively forward.’ And though Carraway never sees him being violent with his wife, there are hints of his unbridled physicality when Daisy reveals a bruise on her finger that, although accidental, was caused by that ‘brute of a man’. She says ‘accusingly’ that ‘you did it, Tom’. But the brutal streak really comes across when Tom is with his mistress. ‘With a short, deft movement’ he ‘broke her nose with his open hand.’ But the title character too has his flaws. Like ‘the whole damn bunch’, Gatsby lives extravagantly, replacing a guest’s damaged dress with one costing ‘two hundred and sixty-five dollars’. And like ‘the whole damn bunch’, he has made unethical choices, in his case in acquiring his fortune. Speculation among his guests first alludes to such decisions, Fitzgerald using the method of choric voices. Although various theories that ‘he killed a man once’ or that ‘he was a German spy during the war’ may appear unrealistic, later speculation, from Tom Buchanan in particular, does start to blemish Nick’s idealised conception of Gatsby. When they first meet, Tom presumes that Gatsby is ‘some big bootlegger’. This assumption may not be wrong, the antagonist discovering that Gatsby ‘and Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter’. In this way, though Nick never quite finds out what Gatsby did for a living, his greatest vice appears to be the source of his income. But while Tom’s report would never be objective, Fitzgerald’s characterisation of Wolfsheim also hints at the aura of criminality surrounding Gatsby. The author’s use of voice emphasises the gambler’s sleaze, pronouncing ‘connection’ as ‘gonnegtion’ and ‘Oxford’ as ‘Oggsford’. But he also appears sinister, wearing ‘cuff’ buttons made of ‘human molars’. Wolfsheim’s criminality is confirmed when Gatsby informs Nick that ‘he’s the man who fixed the World’s Series back in 1919.’ But the gambler may be involved in more dangerous activities than simply fixing baseball matches. Wolfsheim’s own dialogue suggests that he has experience in activities where men end up dead, explaining to Nick that ‘when a man gets killed I never like to get mixed up in it in any way. I keep out.’ The mysterious phone calls which Gatsby receives in no way vindicate him either. His reunion with Daisy is interrupted by one such call, the use of ellipses adding a sense of secrecy to his subsequent conversation: ‘Yes †¦ Well, I can’t talk now †¦ I can’t talk now, old sport †¦ I said a small town †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The confidential nature of the suggested business dealing may imply that Gatsby’s work is not legitimate. In fact, only after Gatsby’s death does he find out what would be said on the other end of the line. When Nick is mistaken for the title character, ‘Slagle’ rapidly explains that ‘Young Parke’s in trouble’ and that ‘they picked him up when he handed the bonds over the counter.’ Words such as ‘trouble’ and ‘picked him up’ suggest that one of Gatsby’s subordinates may have landed himself on the wrong side of the law. Furthermore, the ‘frightened’ nature of Gatsby’s so-called ‘friend’ Klipspringer again alludes to the criminality of Gatsby’s business acquaintances. Over the telephone, Klipspringer even ‘demanded to know who I was before he would give his name.’ For such reasons, when Wolfsheim recalls how close he and Gatsby were, ‘thick like that in everything’, the narrator ‘wondered if this partnership had included the World’s Series transaction in 1919.’ Such implications about the way Gatsby has accrued his fortune also expose his deceit. In fact, early in the plot the title character lies to Carraway by saying that his wealth was inherited, that he is ‘the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West – all dead now.’ He also states that he was ‘brought up in America but educated at Oxford, because all my ancestors have been educated there for many years.’ In reality Gatsby rose from an impoverished childhood in rural North Dakota. His dishonesty is closely linked to his lack of authenticity. Indeed, Nick notices the manufactured aspects of his personality, put on to promote the image of the ‘Oxford’ man which he claims to be. The writer’s use of voice underlines his slightly forced characteristics. These include his affected accent – ‘an elaborate formality of speech’ which ‘just missed being absurd’ and his habit of calling people ‘old sport’. Moreover, Fitzgerald’s use of scene and place, his library specifically, alludes to the idea that he is not genuine. Owl-Eyes, one of his invited guests, is surprised that the millionaire’s books are ‘absolutely real – have pages and everything’, rather than being made out of ‘nice durable cardboard.’ This reaction implies a belief that so much about him is fake. Even when he realises its authenticity, Owl-Eyes compares him to ‘a regular Belasco’, a Broadway producer known for the realism of his sets. Thus, though he is putting on act, this theatrical persona which he has mastered is still a very convincing act. Indeed, The novel’s title itself – ‘The Great Gatsby’ – is suggestive of the sort of vaudeville billing for a performer or magician like ‘The Great Houdini’, again subtly emphasising the showy and perhaps illusory quality of Gatsby’s life. But despite both the nature of his work and this theatrical quality, Nick still suggests that Gatsby does not share the same level of moral decadence as the ‘whole damn bunch’ in his circle. Chapter Three serves to separate his personality from that of his guests. Anaphora underlines how he remains an outsider at his own function, Nick asserting that ‘no one swooned backward on Gatsby, and no French bob touched Gatsby’s shoulder, and no singing quartets were formed with Gatsby’s head for one link.’ Antithesis also contrasts Gatsby from the company he entertains; while ‘no one swooned backward on Gatsby’, girls were ‘swooning backward playfully into men’s arms’ Indeed, unlike the decadents he entertains, ‘he grew more correct as fraternal hilarity increased’. Gatsby’s acquaintances also reveal his merits. Meyer Wolfsheim stresses the basic nobility which defines his character, telling Carraway that he is ‘a man of fine breeding’, ‘the kind of man you’d like to take home and introduce to your mother and sister.’ Moreover, before the funeral, Gatsby’s father also underlines his son’s good nature by stating that ‘ever since he made a success he was very generous with me’. But he also reveals Gatsby’s great ambition and desire for self-improvement. Mr Gatz tells Nick that ‘Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something’ and that he placed great emphasis on ‘improving his mind’. Indeed, the ‘schedule’ – including activities such as ‘dumbell exercise and wall-scaling’, ‘study electricity’, ‘practise elocution, poise and how to attain it‘ and ‘study n eeded inventions’ – which he made ‘when he was a boy’ reveals that even before he knew what he wanted to be, Gatsby always desired to make something of himself. Furthermore, Chapter Five serves to explain that his method of acquiring millions of dollars, his lavish weekly parties and lifestyle and his manufactured persona are all merely means to a more worthy end. This end is winning back Daisy Buchanan. Indeed, in contrast with Tom’s cruel and unthoughtful treatment of his wife, Nick characterises Gatsby most of all with the admirable qualities of love for and loyalty to her. The title character’s speech alludes to his attempts to ensure that the reunion is perfect, the man asking Nick whether he has ‘got everything you need’. He specifically checks the day’s forecast in the hope that sunshine will emerge during the reunion, informing Nick that ‘they thought the rain would stop about four.’ The writer also uses scenes and places to enhance Gatsby’s need for perfection. For example, the reunion takes place at Nick’s house, perhaps reflecting how Gatsby wanted to meet the love of his life in a more secluded and romantic environment than his gaudy mansion. But Gatsby may also have organised the reunion at Nick’s house to impress Daisy, to give her a view of his ‘huge place’. He himself proclaims that his ‘house looks well’. However, the use of a first-person, self-conscious and retrospective narrator emphasises his efforts most of all. Gatsby almost redecorates Nick’s place, not only sending a man ‘over to cut my grass’ – to make sure the lawn outside was smart – but also adorning the interior with flowers, ‘with innumerable receptacles’. Hyperbole emphasises the extent of this renovation, as if a whole ‘greenhouse arrived.’ Further in the chapter, the author underlines the intensity of his love by presenting Nick’s speculation about Gatsby’s intentions as Gatsby’s actual thoughts. When Daisy goes from Nick’s place to her lover’s, Nick states: ‘I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes’, as if everything he has ever bought or owned has been simply to please her. Moreover, Gatsby’s decision to take the blame for Daisy over the death of Myrtle Wilson – telling Nick that ‘I’ll say I was’ driving – demonstrates the deep love he still feels for her and illustrates the basic nobility that defines his character. The image of a pitiable Gatsby keeping watch outside her house while she and Tom sit comfortably within is an indelible image that allows the reader to look past Gatsby’s criminality. Indeed, the fact that he wants ‘to wait here till Daisy goes to bed’, to protect her even after it appears that Daisy is not going to leave Tom, is a final testament to his undying love for her. Nick leaves Gatsby to watch over Daisy, as if his ‘presence marred the sacredness of the vigil’, the last statement suggesting that his devotion has moved to the extremes of religious worship. And yet, Nick’s final criticism of Gatsby questions the realism of such deep and uncompromising devotion. The parallels between his love for Daisy and religious worship – the title character ‘consumed with wonder at her presence’ – suggest that Gatsby, a man who stakes everything on his ‘dreams’, now appears to have dreamed too big. Even at the beginning of their reunion, Nick recognises the unrealistic nature of his ‘dream’. The way Fitzgerald presents Nick’s speculation about Gatsby’s intentions as Gatsby’s actual thoughts helps demonstrate that ‘there must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams’. Although Daisy possesses a number of virtues, although it is ‘not her own fault’, even she cannot match Gatsby’s ‘dream’. The narrator suggests that his ‘dream’ was so alive, that ‘his illusion’ had such a ‘colossal vitality’, that ‘it had gone beyond her, beyond everything.’ The repetition of ‘beyond’ emphasises that she cannot live up to Gatsby’s idealised expectations. The author’s use of poetic prose further emphasises how much the man has romanticized her. Indeed, metaphor likens Gatsby to an artist who decks his image ‘with every bright feather that drifted his way’, with every possible virtue. The alliteration of ‘f’ in the narration emphasises how permanent this idealised image has become, Nick asserting that ‘no amount of fire or freshness can challenge it’. Indeed, he expects too much, wanting ‘nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’ Tragically such expectations lead Daisy to change her mind, breaking down under his own pressure in Chapter Seven, exclaiming to Gatsby that ‘you want too much!’ But in Chapter Eight, Nick goes a step further, suggesting that Daisy, the object of his ‘dream’ is unworthy of his power of dreaming. Fitzgerald’s use of time and sequence, the narrative switching to Gatsby’s ‘story of his youth’, emphasises the influence of Daisy’s wealth and privilege on Gatsby. The narrator states that ‘her porch was bright with the bought luxury of star-shine’, and that she ‘vanished into her rich house, into her rich, full life’, the repetition of ‘rich’ reflecting the aura of affluence which Gatsby is drawn to. Indeed, it becomes clear that Gatsby idolises both wealth and Daisy, the title character almost quantifying her, the fact that many men already loved Daisy increasing ‘her value in his eyes’. Indeed, his attraction to Daisy may be caused in part because of what she represents, the exclusive upper class which he aspires to be a part of. Daisy thus appears almost shallow and fickle, and because she is the focus of Gatsby’s life, his dream is simply reduced to a motivation for material gain. After Gatsby’s death, Nick writes that Gatsby must have realized â€Å"what a grotesque thing a rose is.† The rose has been a conventional symbol of beauty. Nick suggests that roses aren’t inherently beautiful, and that people only view them that way because they choose to do so. Daisy is â€Å"grotesque† in the same way: Gatsby has invested her with beauty and meaning by making her the object of his dream. Had Gatsby not imbued her with such value, Daisy would be simply an idle, bored, rich young woman with no particular moral strength or loyalty. But this capacity to ‘dream’, this ceaseless effort to recreate the past, reflects the vitality and optimism which Nick most respects about Gatsby. The active narrator first notices this quality when they meet in Chapter Three. Fitzgerald’s use of first person, self-aware and narration reveals Gatsby’s rare ability to make anyone he smiles at feel as though he has chosen that person out of ‘the whole external world’; it reflects that person’s most optimistic conception of him or herself. His smile ‘believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself’ and ‘assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.’ And because of such ability to hope, when Gatsby waves goodbye to his guests, Nick emphasises the contrast between the immorality of his work and the virtue of his motivation. While ‘they guessed at his corruption’, ‘he had stood on those st eps, concealing his incorruptible dream’. Nick alludes to such undying hope in the last lines of the novel, the narrator strolling along Gatbsy’s lawn one final time, just as the title character had done when Nick first sees him in Chapter One. And as he sprawls out on the beach behind Gatsby’s house, he muses that Gatsby had failed to realize that even before his reunion with Daisy, his dream had already ended, ‘that it was already behind him’, and that his goals had become hollow and empty. But though this dream had ‘eluded us then’, Nick envisions that people everywhere are motivated by similar dreams and that ‘tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further’. In this way, though there is an ambiguity over whether men such as Gatsby will ever reach their ‘dream’ – Fitzgerald leaving the phrase, ‘and one fine morning -’, open-ended – Nick Carraway recognises that the importance lies not in reaching the ‘dreamâ€℠¢ but in refusing to lose heart. In the same way, Gatsby’s own audacity and nobility of spirit to dream of creating a radically different future for himself, to dream of a life with Daisy, never let up. This is why one can agree with Nick’s viewpoint to a great extent. Even though his dream ends in failure – because his methods are criminal, because he can never gain acceptance into the American aristocracy, and because his new identity is largely a theatrical act – his deep-rooted ambition, his loyalty to Daisy and, uniting the two together, the strength of his capacity to dream, are what set him above the members of West Egg and East Egg. Gatsby is a visionary. This is why he is â€Å"worth the whole damn bunch put together†.

Quick Money

Over the weekend Lucy organized a sleep over for a friend who was interested in making some quick money. Rob tried to molest her. Lucy's friend resisted, and that is how the scuffle began. Karen; Lucy's friend had known what she had come but needed a little persuasion as she had never that kind of stuff and she desperately needed money to bail her boyfriend out of prison. Lucy nudged her and later went to call dad who was waiting impatiently in the sitting room downstairs. The action used to happen in Lucy room. Dad staggered into the room, grabbed Karen by the neck and pinned her down to the bed. He a little bit violent when drunk. Karen let out a sharp shrill and gathered enough adrenaline to push dad who had already tore her red velvet dress apart and was mounting her.She succeeded but lost her step and fell on her belly two steps from the leg of the bed. With hawk instincts Rob rose and grabbed her by the ankle. Rob pulled her back towards him and she reacted by kicking him thrice in his face, a matter that escalated the tension and made Rob become more rabid as he started nose bleeding. He was now on his feet and his sinister motive was written all over his face as his boner had receded. A panic struck Karen leaped out of the room and tried to shut the door behind her but Rob's hand was already on her left arm. Karen jerked from the tight grip and hit her back on the rails of the first floor, she lost balance and landed on the ground head first. By then Lucy was just stepping back into the house. I called for the ambulance immediately but the time it got to the house she had already passed out and was pronounced dead upon arrival in the hospital. ReferenceMelatonin signalin , Kj Schippers, SA Nichols 2014Guiding life dark secret, LM Friedman 2007

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The Rise of Strategic Management Accounting - Essay Example Management accounting systems ideally provide information regarding all aspects of an organisation’s transactions; by covering all spectrums of the organisation they represent an important source of information for decision making. As mentioned above, traditional management accounting has come under attack for failing to provide sufficient information for strategic decision making purposes. This failure lies in the inability of traditional management accounting to fulfil those information requirements that would contribute to both the competitiveness of the organisation vis-a-vis its competitors in the industry, and its long term performance. Langfield-Smith states that surveys of practice in the 1990’s suggested that the adoption of SMA was slow; others also go on to mention that it was ill—defined and it is unclear in terms of coverage. Others have said that there are gaps in the understanding provided by SMA and this is attributed to various interpretations th at have been put forward by writers advocating its use. This paper explains the difference between management accounting and financial accounting. ... Management Accounting versus Financial Accounting Management accounting is distinct from financial accounting in that it provides information to persons internal to the organisation to facilitate decision making, while financial accounting provides information for external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders are the management personnel of the organisation, based within various departments/sections/divisions working together to achieve organisational goals. External stakeholders include shareholders, advisors, potential investors, regulators, government authorities and creditors – including suppliers, banks and holders of debt instruments (Atkinson et al, 2003). This however does not imply by any means that financial accounting information is not used for internal purposes; it is in fact, crucial. The only difference is that it is not necessarily appropriate to apply it in the same format as it is for external purposes; although, it does derive from the same integrated account ing system. While financial accounting information conforms to standards and guidelines that have been instituted by standard setting bodies such as the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), management accounting does not conform to any particular standard since it is used for internal purposes only. Management accounting deals with both financial and non-financial information. Traditional Management Accounting versus Strategic Management Accounting In his seminal work entitled â€Å"Strategic Management Accounting† (SMA) Simmonds (1981) defined SMA as â€Å"the provision and analysis of management accounting data about a business and its competitors, for use in developing and monitoring business strategy.† Bromwich (1990, p.28) defines it as:

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Organizational Communication and Tourism - Dissertation Example 3.4 Tourism managers working in retail outlets with a physical location 9 3.5 Organisational communication and employees 12 3.6 Organisational communication and customers 14 3.7 Organisational communication and competitors 15 CHAPTER 4: CASE STUDY 17 CHAPTER 5: EVIDENCE 17 5.1 What evidence was used 17 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION 17 CHAPTER 7: RECOMMENDATIONS 18 CHAPTER 8: REFLECTION REPORT 19 LIST OF REFERENCES: 19 BIBLIOGRAPHY: 20 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 The aims and objectives of the dissertation The aims and objectives of the dissertation are to consider the processes of organisational communication in regard to its relevance with the operation of businesses within the tourism sector. To achieve this aim, the role of the tourism manager will be considered in depth, and there will be a discussion on how the concept of organisational communication has an impact on the role of the tourism manager, in terms of achieving commercial success. The roles of various other stakeholders such as employees and customers will also be focused upon, in considering this matter further. This dissertation aims to synthesise all of this material and communicate a view as to how the modern day tourism manager has been shaped by the recognised processes of organisational communication. 1.2 Background The challenges faced by the modern day tourism manager are numerous (Page S., 2003). The environment in which the modern day tourism manager operates demands professional and effective communication techniques (Page S., 2003), with many stakeholders such as colleagues, third party businesses, investors, competitors and others (Page S., 2003). Baker notes the shift from informal to more formal methods of communication for these sectors: "managers have traditionally... The aims and objectives of the dissertation are to consider the processes of organizational communication in regard to its relevance with the operation of businesses within the tourism sector. To achieve this aim, the role of the tour manager will be considered in depth, and there will be a discussion on how the concept of organizational communication has an impact on the role of the tourism manager, in terms of achieving commercial success. The roles of various other stakeholders such as employees and customers will also be focused upon, in considering this matter further. This dissertation aims to synthesize all of this material and communicate a view as to how the modern day tourism manager has been shaped by the recognized processes of organizational communication. The challenges faced by the modern day tourism manager are numerous (Page S., 2003). The environment in which the modern day tourism manager operates demands professional and effective communication techniques (Page S., 2003), with many stakeholders such as colleagues, third party businesses, investors, competitors and others (Page S., 2003). Baker notes the shift from informal to more formal methods of communication for these sectors: â€Å"†¦managers have traditionally spent the majority of their time communicating in one form or another (meetings, face-to-face discussions, memos, letters, e-mails, reports etc). Today, however, more and more employees find that an important part of their work is communication†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Baker K., 2002)

The artistic relationship between Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt Essay

The artistic relationship between Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt - Essay Example Conversely, Mary Cassatt emphasized on painting about social as well as the private lives of women in the society. In her works, Mary Cassatt is particular on the intimate bond manifested between the mother and the child2. The two artists that is, Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt had distinct relationships in arts besides their actual relationships. The relationships are attributed by the themes onto which each of them emphasized in their pieces of art. However, the subject has an element of complexity in its demonstration and a critical analysis of the content of the artistic works would perform a fundamental role of exposing the sense of relationship in this scenario. The two artists base their works on main issues occurring in the society. It is obvious that the works displayed by the two artists are related in various perspectives1. Therefore, this research seeks to establish the relationship between Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt artistic works. Throughout this exercise there will be analysis of four different artistic pieces from the two artists. There will be a selection of two paintings of Edgar Degas and two pieces from Mary Cassatt pieces of art. The first pair of artistic pieces to be analyzed for relationship in this scenario are Ballerina and Lady with a Fan by Edgar Degas and At the Opera by Mary Cassatt. In the Ballerina and Lady with a Fan, Edgar Degas portrays a woman sitting in front in a balcony watching dancers perform. This painting exhibits an exceptional proficiency possessed by the artist. The painting manifests three levels of viewing3. In the first instance, the viewers of the painting find themselves fixed in the position of the actual audience in the theatre. The second level now directly concerns the image and there is a woman displayed as one of the audience who is also watching the performance by the dancers. The third level depicts the actual performing dancers in the stage and of whom all the attention is geared. Edgar utilizes differ ent artistic styles in ensuring an effective visualization by the appreciators. There is effective harmonization of the light, color and shadows. All these attributes to the observable quality appreciated in the painting2. There is a distinction between the leader of the dance group who is in a light orange dress and is in front of the other dancers who are in green gowns with red stripes4. In Mary Cassatt’s, At the Opera the image also dominate a significant portion of the painting. The piece exhibits a woman seated alone in the balcony to observe performance in a theatre. The woman has a long black dress that covers her body properly from the lower part of her neck till the feet. The proper woman also has gloves on her hands and a black hat. These leaves only the face and few parts of the hands exposed for the public view. The woman has a pair of binoculars with which she uses to capture the performance explicitly in the hall4. According to the prevailing trends of this per iod, the paintings have a close relationship ranging from the way they are exposed to the actual meanings depicted by the pieces. The two paintings relate specifically in dominance, meaning and spectatorship. In the first painting and that is Ballerina and Lady with a Fan, we can consider the spectatorship and we can endeavor querying the exposure of the woman and her capacity to regulate or dispute the situation5. The woman seated at the balcony is viewed by other spectators most of which are men. The woman

Organizational Commitment Essay Example for Free

Organizational Commitment Essay The focal point of effective human resource management (HRM) is on managing people within the employer-employee relationship. As banks are considered a very critical industry of the economy, it is important that the workforces supporting these banks are well motivated and are effective in delivering the necessary work output. It includes the productive utilization of employees to achieve the organization’s business objectives and satisfy individual employee needs (Stone, 1998). HRM seeks to strategically combine the interests of an organization and its employees (McGraw, 2003). Consequently, ineffective HRM can be a major barrier to employee satisfaction and organization success (McGraw, 2003). HRM practices in the banking industry play a key role in attracting, motivating, rewarding, and retaining employees. HRM practices include recruiting employees, selecting employees, designing work, compensating employees, and developing good labor and employee relations (Noe, 2005). For the purpose of this study, the researcher bundled five specific human resource management practices. These are HR planning, training, career development, performance appraisal, and employee participation programs. The researcher chose to bundle HRM practices since bundled HRM practices produce interrelated and complimentary functions. For example, training and development, and performance appraisal overlap each others’ results. The appraisal of an employee’s performance will show potentials and identify gaps in employee’s knowledge, skills, and abilities that will be filled in by training and development. Furthermore, the alignment of HR practices produce synergy contributing to increase productivity and corporate financial performance (Huselid, 1995). Bundled HRM practices contribute to overall firm performance by motivating employees to adopt desired attitudes and behaviors (Bowen Ostroff, 2004). Moreover, Chang (2005) argues that employees perceived HR practice as an exclusive and single practice rather than separate and diverse fields. According to Fishbein’s (1963) an individual’s overall attitudes towards each HRM practices can be represented by a summation of the belief held about each HR practices. It is important to study HRM practices and its relationship with work related attitudes, and behaviors. Attitude is a mental state of readiness that is organized through experience, applying a dynamic influence on the individuals response to objects and situations to which it is related such as job satisfaction and organizational trust. (Allport, 1935). On the other hand, behaviors are manners in which an individual or group conduct and respond to his/her environment like Organizational Citizenship Behaviors or OCBs ( Robbins, 2005). Employee perception of organizational banking practices and working conditions within the banks of Jamaica influence employee attitudes and behavior (Guest, 2001). Existing organizational practices within banks in Jamaica such as HRM should facilitate the development of desired employee attitudes and behavior that contribute to enhance firm performance. Previous studies have found that positive perceptions of HRM practices lead to positive employee attitudes and behaviors such as job satisfaction (Guest, 1999), organizational trust, organizational commitment, organizational justice (Greenberg, 1990). Job satisfaction, organizational trust and OCBs were the variables selected to be studied in relation with HRM practices as these three elements are key factors in organizational effectiveness and these variables are considered understudied. These facets affect and overlap each other’s functions and outputs that contribute to the development of HRM practices. Furthermore, this study contributes to the literature by examining a wide breadth of outcome measures within the same study. The study extends HRM literature in three ways. First, it provides additional research in the examining the role of HRM practices to employee attitudes and behaviors since there are limited studies in HRM conceptualized as a bundle (Chang, 2005; Guest, 2004; Huselid 1995). Second, it examines the proposition of Morrison (1996) on the role of HRM practices in contributing to extra-role behaviors. An examination of HRM literature revealed that there has no study conducted investigating HRM to organizational citizenship behaviors. Third, it also simultaneously examines HRM, job satisfaction, organizational trust, and OCBs in one study. Previous studies have examined these variables separately. For example, Ellickson (2002) and Bradley, Petrescu, and Simmons (2004) conducted the study on HRM practices to job satisfaction, Tzafrir (2004) examined HRM practices to organizational trust. Furthermore, since there are limited studies on HRM practices within the banking industry; this would contribute to the importance of HRM practices in the management organization. Review of Related Literature Human Resource Management Practices HRM contribute to the attainment of an organizations competitive advantage through the strategic implementation of a highly committed and competent workforce using an integrated range of cultural, structural, and personnel techniques. Effective HRM leads to an organization success by developing employees that contributes to the delivery of products and services bring customer satisfaction, business results, and shareholder value (Stone, 1998). The main purpose of HRM is to improve the productive contribution of people wherein the employees are being heard by the management and helping the employees to find new resources that enable them to successfully perform their jobs (Ulrich, 1997). The role played by human resource functions is best explained by determining the key objectives that they seek to align strategies, develop effective policies, systems and activities which are significant to the firm’s overall success (Torrington, Hall Taylor, 2002; Storey, 1995). HRM functions are critical in running an effective organization. Organizations need to have a competitive HRM functions in order to maintain a competent workforce and attain business objectives (Newman Hodgetts, 1998). HRM function includes planning, training and development, career development, performance appraisal, and employee relations. These functions help organizations to facilitate strategies that allow them to achieve efficiency and effectiveness (Stone, 1998). HRM functions must change in manner that it accomplishes new roles and new competencies. It also has to be transformed to deal creatively and practically with the emerging challenge. HRM practices have a tangible and various intangible organizational consequences. Prior researches have found support for the role of HRM practices in predicting organizational commitment (Davidson, 1998), job satisfaction (Bradley et al. , 2004), and procedural justice (Edgar Geare, 2005). Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction is a pleasurable emotional state resulting from the valuation of his or her work (Locke, 1976; Steijn, 2002). Even though job satisfaction is a highly personal experience, there are a number of facets that seem to contribute the most to feelings of job satisfaction. Steijn (2002) stated that mentally challenging work, adequate compensation pay, career opportunity, the ready availability of promotions, people that are friendly, considerate, or good-natured superiors contribute to job satisfaction (Johns Saks, 2000). For instance, the ready availability of promotions is positively related to job satisfaction. The promotion given enhances the perception of the employees that they are valued enough by the organization (Garrido, Perez, Anton, 2005). Previous studies have shown that compensation (Bassett, 1994), opportunity for advancement (Schneider, 1994), psychological climate, and leadership style (Howell Frost, 1989) are antecedents of job satisfaction. Organizational Trust Trust is an individual’s expectation, assumption, or belief about the likelihood that another’s future action will be beneficial, favorable, or at least not detrimental to one’s interests (Meyer, Davis, Schoorman, 1995). Trust is considered to be an essential component in organizations since it is a consistent mechanism that supports organizational change and development in an unpredictable environment than hierarchical power and direct surveillance (Kramer Tyler, 1996). Several studies clearly indicate that the formation of trust within workplace relationships is complex and elusive (Tzafrir, 2003). Furthermore, workplace trust is a necessary element for the development of competitive advantage through support, co-operation, and improvement of systems. Trust is viewed as a feature of the social foundation that begins interactions among parties (Mayer Davis, 1999). According to Kramer and Tyler (1996), there is a need for organizational trust for the reason of there are organizational needs that are not to be disclosed and one of the elements to address these requirements are employees that trusts their organization. Currall and Judge (1995) defined trust as an individual’s reliance on another person under conditions of dependence and risk. Dependence means that one’s outcomes are reliant on the trustworthy or untrustworthy behavior of another. Furthermore, risk means that one would experience negative outcomes from the other person’s untrustworthy behavior (Kramer Tyler, 1996). Previous studies have shown that psychological contract breach (Costa 2001), leadership style and organizational communication are antecedents of organizational trust. Organizational Citizenship Behavior Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCBs) are behaviors that are discretionary, indirectly seen or recognized by the official compensation system, and as a whole encourage the effective functioning of an organization (Organ, 1998). It is also defined as an employee behavior that is above and beyond the call of duty and is therefore discretionary and not rewarded in the context of an organization’s formal reward structure (Konovsky Pugh, 1994). Social exchange is an explanatory mechanism to obtain OCBs. It refers to relationships that entail unspecified future obligations. Social exchange is a critical element in understanding OCBs. It is the theoretical basis and the starting point for OCBs to obtain. When HRM practices offered by the organization are perceived favorable by employees, they tend to reciprocate by OCBs (Organ, 1998). For example, when supervisors treat employees fairly, social exchange and the norm of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960) dictate that employees reciprocate, and OCBs are the avenue for employee’s reciprocation. There are five dimensions of OCBs (Organ, 1998). First is altruism that involves all discretionary behaviors that have the effect of serving a specific other person with an organizationally important task or problems. The second is conscientiousness it is the extent that a person goes well beyond the satisfactory or required level in work attendance; the person exemplifies the brand of OCBs. Third is sportsmanship which the employees’ goodwill in tolerating less than ideal circumstances without â€Å"complaining and making a federal case out of small potatoes. † The fourth dimension is civic virtue which is the behavior that shows a concern for participating in corporate life for example, by performing tasks that they are not required to perform, and doing so for the benefit of the organization. It also implies a sense o involvement in what policies are adapted and which candidates are supported. The last dimension is courtesy which involves such actions as â€Å"touching base† with those parties whose work would be affected by one’s decision or commitments. Touching base refers to actions done by employees that their co-employees values (Organ, 1998). Previous studies have shown that procedural justice (Alotaibi, 2001; Organ, 1998), organizational commitment (Alotaibi, 2001; Mayer Allen, 1997; Moorman et al. , 1993 ), and job satisfaction (Alotaibi, 2001; Moorman et al. , 1993) leads to OCBs.

The Glasgow Caledonian University

The Glasgow Caledonian University INTRODUCTION Glasgow Caledonian University is one of the largest universities in Scotland with nearly 17,000 students. This institution was established in 1993, as a result of the merger of Queens College Glasgow with the Glasgow polytechnic (GCU website).The institution is situated right in the heart of Glasgow city centre. There exist increasingly, a lot of activities going on within this university making a growing case for the importance of managing the environmental impacts associated with its activities, products and services. Recognising this concern that university decided to act responsibly by making serious commitments towards a sustainable place to work and study. The commitment paid off with the recent bronze award awarded to the university by Eco campus after an off-site audit. Despite this achievement, there is still a general lack of awareness about the process and there have been no visible improvement in environmental performance. Therefore, this report seeks to; identify the universitys main activities with significant impact to the environment, explain the relationship between Environmental Management System (EMS) and Eco campus, examine the role of eco campus in achieving the ISO14001 certification and finally suggest steps needed to be taken by the University to attain the next phase-silver awards presented by Eco campus. ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF GLASGOW CALEDONIAN UNIVERSITY WITH SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. â€Å"Universities are now regarded as â€Å"small cities† due to their large size, population and the various complex activities taking place in them† (Abubakar et al, 2008). Glasgow Caledonian university being one of the universities in Scotland, has going in it a complex number of activities (aspects) which could have direct or indirect impact on the environment which will result in environmental sustainability or could lead to the degradation of the environment. Such environmental aspects includes: fresh water and energy use- including electricity and heat consumption (Noeke, 2000), consumption of materials (e.g. food, paper, equipment, etc.), procurement, generation and disposal of all kinds of waste, construction (including refurbishment) and demolition activities, transport to and fro the university (Edith Cowan University, 2009), workshop and laboratory use, lectures, research and sporting activities, community support services (Abubakar et al, 2008) and finally the provision of student and staff accommodation. WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS) Environmental management system is a management system used by an organisation to develop and implement its own environmental policy and manage its environmental aspects (International standards organisation, 2005). It involves ; the development of environmental policy statement, implementation of that policy (through appropriate objectives/targets, clear responsibilities, organised structure, action plans and established procedures), creating awareness and training, performance monitoring and audit and lastly continuous improvement on previous policy. Denning Cycle The Environmental management system approach to the management of environmental impacts was based on the Plan-Do-Check-ACT (PDCA) cycle commonly known as the Denning cycle shown above. The â€Å"Plan† aspect involves, environmental baseline review, setting of objectives, assigning of responsibilities and the preparation of plans, programmes and procedures. The â€Å"Do† aspect involves implementation of these standards, procedures and action plans. The â€Å"Check† aspect involves environmental monitoring and auditing of the implemented procedures, action plans and objectives. Then the â€Å"Act† involves the review by management and the continuous improvement of the environmental policy. Though ISO14001 standard produced by the International Standard Organisation (ISO) in 1995 is generally accepted as the global standard for certifying environmental management systems, there still exists other standards such as; Eco Management and Audit Scheme- which is an European standard established by European regulation 1836/93 as a voluntary initiative to improve companies performance (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, 2009) and the British standard-BSI 8555, which is a national environmental management system intended towards a phased approach to implementation. Several such national environmental management systems exist across the globe WHAT IS ECO CAMPUS Eco campus is a national environmental management system development program and award scheme developed by the higher education sector for the higher education to improve environmental performance using a phases and modular approach (Eco campus, 2009). The project is funded by the higher education funding council for England (HEFCE) and is a collaborative project between Nottingham Trent University (NTU), Loreus Ltd, Environment Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) AND Environment Campaign- ENCAMS (EAUC, 2009). Eco campus achieves improved environmental performance through the issuance of four awards which are usually done in phases. The awards include; Bronze, Silver, Gold and platinum. With each being a product of a particular phase. The bronze award is the lowest of the awards while the platinum award is the highest and is equivalent to the ISO14001 standards. Based on the released Eco campus audit criteria published in 2008, the Bronze award is given to institutions that have; shown senior management commitment to environmental management, carried out environmental baseline review of environmental aspects, developed a draft of environmental policy and are involved in creating awareness of the process. The Silver awards (being the 2nd phase award) is given to higher institutions that have; identified the significant environmental aspects of the universitys operations, identified the legal and other requirements related to its environmental aspects, developed environmental objectives and targets and have produced a finalised environmental policy document. Furthermore, the achievement of the Eco campus Gold awards is tied to the completion of the following processes, assigning roles and responsibilities towards meeting environmental objectives and targets, ensuring that the personnel involved in the implementation of the environmental policy are competent and adequately trained, developing and implementing standard operational control procedures, ensuring proper documentation and communication of processes involved and putting in place systems that will identify emergencies and respond to them. Finally, the platinum award is given only to institutions who have shown adherence to; monitoring and measurements of environmental aspects of the university, performing internal audits on universitys environmental performance and regularly review of environmental performance by management. THE BENEFITS AND LIMITATION OF IMPLEMENTING ECOCAMPUS IN GLASGOW CALEDONIAN UNIVERSITY The eco campus being an environmental management system has a number of limitations to its operation. But the benefits of implementing the eco campus environmental management system far outweigh the limitations (Eco campus, 200). These benefits may include the following: Eco campus will help the university to effectively improve its environmental performance in phases, thus helping the institution to gradually establish a standard environmental management practice. This will in the long run, facilitate its certification to standard environmental practices such as ISO14001 (Caledonian Environmental centre, 2009) and will reduce the overall cumulative impact on financial as well as human resources associated in the initial establishment of such standards. Eco campus will improve cooperation and environmental awareness among staff, student and other relevant stakeholders (Melnyk et al, 2003). This will as reported by Abubakar et al (2008) bring a change in the way the university; exploits its resources and develops its technology. Thus leading to; reduced operational cost (profitability), increased efficiency and ultimately environmental sustainability. Eco campus will enhance the universitys compliance to regulations and codes of good practice. Thereby promoting improved relationship with both the regulators and the general public. This will help reduce enforcement or civil actions and other direct or hidden legal cost associated with non compliance to regulations (GCU sustainability website, 2009) Eco campus will help the University to effectively manage the impacts of its activities on the environment and improve its environmental performance. Enviro campus (2007) pointed out that, this will enhance the reputation of the university thus encouraging high student recruitment, better public perception and more community support. Eco campus will have significant effect on cost saving through, reduction of cost associated with waste disposal, efficient use of resources (e.g. energy, water etc.), avoidance of cost associated with non compliance to legislations and reduction in insurance cost (Wikipedia, 2009) Though benefits abound there still exist a number of limitations associated with the implementation of the Eco campus Environment Management system. The Glasgow Caledonian university website (2009) suggested some to include; it takes a long time to implement and monitor and it requires proper documentation, adequate training and good communication for it to be successful. In my own opinion other limitations will include the fact that it requires high level of commitment by the management for it to be successful and that it still requires human and financial resources though little compared to the full implementation of a standard Environmental Management system like ISO14001. CURRENT GLASGOW CALEDONIAN UNIVERSITYS ECO CAMPUS STATUS AND IMPLICATIONS TO ATTAINING ISO14001 CERTIFCATION. Glasgow Caledonian University was presented the bronze award by the Eco campus director in Bournemouth University on the 1st of July 2009 (Glasgow Caledonian university website, 2009) as an award for meeting up with the minimum criteria of the Eco campus project for the bronze phase. The reports found on the Universitys website indicated the following achievements of the school to have warranted it the eco campus bronze awards. The university showed senior management commitment to the Eco campus scheme by establishing an Eco campus team (comprising of; the Caledonian Environmental centre, School of built and natural environment, facilities management arm of the university, student association and the Caledonian environmental society students group) headed by Therese Fraser, to oversee the implementation of the Eco campus environmental management system. This team went ahead to produce the draft of the Universitys environmental policy The University carried out the environmental baseline review of more than five basic management areas exceeding by far the minimum requirement set out for the bronze phase. The management area include; waste management, environmental management systems, sustainable procurement, transport, health welfare and safety, environmental policy, energy and water, emissions and discharges, biodiversity and community involvement. The university provided and is still appropriate environmental training for staff involved in the Eco campus programme. The implication of this current status to attaining its target of ISO14001 certification is that the institution is still at the planning phase. It will have to move from that phase to the implementation phase which involves; identification of environmental aspects and legal requirements, setting objectives and target, establishing standard procedures towards achieving this targets/objectives, formalising the environmental policy and its implementation. And then continuously review and improve on policies and practices. But since the university is using a phased approach-Eco campus, it thus means that, it will have to pass through the silver, gold and platinum phases before thinking of getting the ISO14001 certification. The platinum award is an equivalent for ISO14001 standard. So reaching that platinum status will facilitate the easy acquisition of the ISO14001 certification. PRACTICAL STEPS IN MOVING GLASGOW CALEDONIAN TO THE SILVER AWARDS Moving from the bronze phase to the silver phase involves meeting the criteria for the silver phases. The Eco campus audit criteria published in 2008 listed the criteria to include; identification of its significant environmental aspects, identification of legal and other requirements associated with these aspects, setting objectives and targets, producing a final copy of the environmental policy and communicating this policy to all relevant stake holders. So for the university to achieve the silver status the following practical steps have to be taken. The university has to first thoroughly identify and document all the activities of the university that has significant impact on the environment The second step is to identify and document all legal and other requirement associated with the above environmental aspects The next step is to set up and document objectives and targets in relation to managing the environmental aspects Using the information above, the university should produce a formal copy of its environmental policy which will be signed by the top management indicating the management commitment to the process Lastly, the environmental policy should be adequately communicated to the staff, students and all other relevant stakeholders in the university community. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS