Transcendentalism Essays (554 words) - Lecturers, Concord

Transcendentalism Transcendentalism was an important movement in literature that occurred during the years of 1836-1860. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were the best-known transcendentalists. Ralph Waldo Emerson gave the German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, the credit for making ?Transcendentalism? a familiar term. Kant had said that there were certain experiences that could be acquired only through ?intuitions of the mind.? In Kant's thoughts, transcendentalism was the knowledge or understanding a person gains intuitively. This, for the most part, sums up all of the transcendental writings that have been written to this day. Both Emerson and Thoreau were very similar in their thoughts on transcendentalism and personalities. Emerson was very strict on his-self and worked to make his writings spiritual. He made it clear that he wanted no followers. Emerson thought that if anyone were to copy his style of writing that the whole purpose would be defeated. He wanted his writings to inspire individuality. Thoreau was rigid and almost military-like. He cared little for group activities, and avoided organized reform movements. Emerson and Thoreau both wrote about how the world had an influence on their soul. They let the nature around them be their inspiration, and they wrote down the effects it had on them spiritually. Ralph Emerson wrote Nature, an essay about his surroundings, and the effect they had on him. Emerson said, ?Its effect is like that of a higher thought or a better emotion coming over me,?.? This quote came from Nature, which he wrote in 1836. Henry Thoreau wrote Walden, a book he wrote after keeping a journal about the nature around him while living at Walden Pond for seven years. Both of these works were prime examples of transcendentalism and its ideas and philosophies. After these works were published, writers started interpreting the idea in their own way. Today, we are still seeing the effects of Emerson and Thoreau in poems and other literature. The effect that nature has on us is, now, often a common thought among many of us. Transcendentalism is something we are well aware of because of Emerson and Thoreau, and their new ideas and theories. I am influenced most by transcendentalism when I sit underneath a clear starry sky on a warm summer evening. When you sit there, you can not help but let your mind wander. You start to realize how small you are compared to the rest of the world. The stars, which are, in reality, large and bright, are only a twinkle in the deep blue sky. While sitting there I take in the peacefulness of the night. You hear the crickets and other animals of the night and are forced to understand that humans are not alone in the world. We are accompanied everyday by so many other species, yet we do not pay attention to anyone but ourselves. I can also see a whole separate meaning and significance of nature, when I take in everything around me. It is not only our surroundings, but it is much greater. Nature has been here since the beginning of earth. The true aspects of nature have always been here. It shows what little amount of time we take up on Earth. We are nothing but a tiny dot on a never-ending time line of life. English Essays

F451-Burning of Books essays

F451-Burning of Books essays In Fahrenheit 451, author Ray Bradbury, made an infamous statement that puts the entire novel into perspective for a reader. His notorious quote, There is more than one way to burn a book, compiles the entire concept that he was trying to portray through the characters. In Fahrenheit 451, the dystopian society that was depicted destroyed books through various methods and tactics. When Bradbury said, There is more than one way to burn a book, he was referring to the fact that the society he depicted in his novel wanted to destroy their one main source of knowledge in order to make everyone think the same. In order to do this, the members of the community burnt books in various ways. Examples such as brainwashing, murder, censorship, and various other methods were used to help burn books. One way of burning a book is to brainwash a person to the point where they no longer need to rely on the knowledge within a book, instead they are absorbed in their own life. For example, Montags wife sheltered herself from the need to get the knowledge from a book. Books at this time were filled with useful knowledge, however Mildred and the rest of the community were so brainwashed that they could not understand what the books were referring to in life. Instead they turned their attention from the books that held so many thoughts and life issues and focused on non-knowledgeable items such as the televised walls. When every single person in the community neglected the knowledge within the books and focused on the same thoughts and ideas, each one of them soon began to think the same, react the same and have the same feelings as one another. They were in a sense, brainwashed into thinking alike. Their minds were not open to the various ideas and thoughts that the books contained. T his in fact was a form of burning books; the brainwashed members ...

Bio u4gp Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bio u4gp - Essay Example Also contained in the digestive tract is a layer of muscle that helps in the process of breaking down food (The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2008). In addition to the aforementioned hollow digestive organs, there are also solid organs that produce or store digestive juices to aid in the digestive process. These solid organs are the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. The liver and pancreas produce digestive fluids that travel to the intestine via ducts. The liver’s digestive juices are stored in the gallbladder until the intestine needs them. Also, there are parts in the nervous and circulatory system that play serious parts in the overall digestive process (The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2008). Also according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, â€Å"When you eat foods—such as bread, meat, and vegetables—they are not in a form that the body can use as nourishment. Food and drink must be changed into smaller molecules of nutrients before they can be absorbed into the blood and carried to cells throughout the body. Digestion is the process by which food and drink are broken down into their smallest parts so the body can use them to build and nourish cells and to provide energy.† According to Merck (2008, pg. 1), â€Å"Although an organ has a specific function, organs also function as part of a group, called an organ system. The organ system is the organizational unit by which medicine is studied, diseases are generally categorized, and treatments are planned.† The organ systems within the human body include the cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, skin, musculoskeletal, blood, digestive, endocrine, urinary, male reproductive, and female reproductive systems. Organ systems do not function by themselves. Instead, they work with each other to accomplish tasks that are needed for the human organism to

Should taxes on alcohol and tobacco be increased to help pay for Research Paper - 3

Should taxes on alcohol and tobacco be increased to help pay for rising medical costs - Research Paper Example Consequently, there are views that these two drugs are legal in the society, yet there challenges to human health are extremely uncontainable. The following discussion sets the basis of the prescribed solution in accordance with the professor’s view, an evaluation of the advantages of the solution, and an argument of the demerits likely to emanate from the tax increments. A critical review of the professor and classmates’ response indicates that the group acquired success to the extent they were able to determine the reasons as to why the society continues to suffer the menace of drug abuse and addiction (Jones, 2011). They indicated alcohol and tobacco as the most abused substances despite the administration setting constitutional constraints to ensure proper or reduced usage rates on them (Brisbin, 2008). The group indicated that most of the people indulge in the consumption of the legalities but health hazardous substances while seeking to relieve themselves from traumas and other types of psychological stresses. Amicably, the response sets a proper basis for the society to decipher vital knowledge on the untamed use of alcohol and tobacco products. In turn, the essay articulates the irresponsible behaviors that obviously pose threats to the society at large. For instance, consumption of alcohol has contributed to the spread of diseases since the consumers, make decisions based on the idealization. While they think that they are right, alcohol consumption impairs ones judgments and these drunks often find themselves in more troubles after realizing their deeds (Berry, 2005). The group indicates that in the absence of increased taxes on the commodities, the users are vulnerable to unprotected sex thus the consequences remain at large while they extend the infections to their spouses too. Therefore, the response seems to be successful as it denotes on the risks

Human Resource Management At Walt Disney World Resort Tourism Essay

Human Resource Management At Walt Disney World Resort Tourism Essay Theres probably no place on earth as magical as the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The theme park continues to thrill, delight and exceed its guests expectations nearly 40 years after its opening. The secret to Disneys success is its well-trained, enthusiastic and motivated work force. Its a secret that the founder, Walt Disney himself realized years ago. You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world but it requires people to make the dream a reality, he said. A Brief History The Walt Disney World Resort, is the worlds largest and most visited recreational resort, covering 30,080-acres near Orlando, Florida, USA. The resort was founded with the opening of the Magic Kingdom theme park in 1971. It consists of four theme parks, two water parks, 23 resort hotels, lodges and time-share properties, sports facilities complex, and other recreational venues and entertainment. Epcot park was added in 1982, Disneys Hollywood Studios in 1989 and Disneys Animal Kingdom in 1998. This world famous resort was inspired by the dreams of Walt Disney and his creation of Disneyland in California. The resort is the largest single-site employer in the United States, employing 42,000 people, with over 3,000 different job classifications. More than 1000 people work in the security department alone. Hiring Disney is renowned for being a fun and friendly place at which to work. Its ability to offer attractive incentives make it a desirable place to work and it is constantly evaluating the market to ensure their wages remain competitive. All Disney employees participate in training programs that update them on the latest service techniques, product knowledge, and technology being used in their parks. Disney recruit both internally and externally, advertising vacancies on their website, via the press, job fairs, employment exchanges and colleges. There is a large quantity of college students working in Disney. Employment representatives also travel to Puerto Rico to recruit for positions such as housekeeping, custodial and food and beverage. It s 4 major employment strategies are: Hire the right people Develop people to deliver service quality Provide needed support systems Retain the best people Once potential employees have been identified, interviews follow. The skills and abilities that managers generally look for are: Excellent communication skills Good team player Self motivated Analytical ability Problem solver Leadership potential Strong computer skills Project management skills Relationships-builder Able to manage expectations Personal and professional style Strong business judgment Ability to facilitate and multitask A guest service orientation Disney theme parks promise to provide a superior service in order to create a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦imaginary world where visitors can escape the themes of the real world. To achieve this, the company has to employ people with the proper skills and personalities, who are also motivated, with a clear knowledge of the companys marketing objectives and strategies. Staff have to be polite, well dressed, energetic, enthusiastic, and people-loving, always serving guests whole-heartedly. All staff are provided with an extensive knowledge of the park facilities, rides, and sites. HRM Practises Disney believes in investing in its staff and provide various training programs and learning opportunities for employees to work their way into higher positions. The company promotes from within 70% of the time. Almost everyone including the managers start out in an entry-level hourly job (Disney almost completely promotes from within). There is a program to help hourly workers who want to become part of management, there is another that lets them transfer to the technical unions like plumbers and electricians as an apprentice. That program involves four years of training leading to a very well-paid job. Disney also give educational reimbursement for those who are continuing their education while working for Disney full-time. Supervisors try to create a family-like atmosphere in Disney by offering flexible schedules and on-site day care programs for working parents. . The company also host numerous special events for its employees that are held in the park after hours. Present day human resources practices at Disney are considered to be extraordinary, with all staff being trained in excellent customer satisfaction policies. However HR practices were very poor in the early years of Disney. The Walt Disney Company originated back in 1923, when Walt and Roy Disney started their first animated recording studio. Early animation production was highly labour-intensive. Rigid division of tasks was further delineated on gender lines. By 1941, the Walt Disney Company employed 1,100 people. Ellwood (1998) describes Walt Disney as a notorious workaholic, a perfectionist who pushed his staff relentlessly. Both paternalistic and domineering he rewarded loyalty and punished dissidents. There were no women or black people promoted to senior positions during this period. The company was the only Hollywood studio without union representation and as such was targeted by the American Federation of Labour. Eventually, animators took industrial action over conditions an d lack of recognition in 1941. By the end of the 1990s, the Walt Disney Company had developed into a $23 billion media conglomerate. Cast Members Employees in Disney are called cast members. Quality cast members are a direct result of quality hiring practices. Bonuses are paid to workers who refer new hires. Disney believes its important to have people who have actually worked in different parts of the company, to do the hiring. So these cast members working in the casting office, come from all different parts of the Disney organization, and work on 12-month assignments. While prospective cast members wait for their initial interviews, they watch a short video that describes the interview process and outlines what the company expects of them, if theyre successful. Once hired, all new cast members go through the same 1 and a half day training program called Traditions. Its here they learn the basics of being good cast members, from Disney history to direction on how to meet and exceed guest expectations. Cast members learn they must adhere to the companys strict 13 page manual of dress codes, known as the Disney Look. The Disney Look is a rigid code of cast member appearance that imposes a well-scrubbed, all-American look. It details the size of earrings allowed, to the size of finger nails, to the no tolerance rule regarding facial hair and dyed hair for both females and males. Disneys grooming standards make sense when you consider employees to be part of a cast of characters so there is no room for non-conformity. Every employee is instructed in the Seven Guidelines to Guest Service which highlights the need to smile and to be cheerful. From the very start, staff are encouraged to implement a have a nice day! mentality, and to smile the Disney smile all day. Casting Employees are routinely assigned jobs according to age and appearance, a process officially known as casting. The most presentable get the most popular front-line jobs and shifts. For example: Young and pretty workers get jobs that involve a lot of interaction with customers; Haitian women generally work in housekeeping; Older women sell in the shops Older men work in security Puerto Recons work in food preparation African Americans work as stewards or cooks, More than a 100 Africans are employed in the Animal Kingdom, to lend authentic flavour. Anyone who might appear less presentable work on the night shift Cast Members receive some excellent benefits including: Health, Dental, Life Insurance Complimentary Theme Park Passports Learning and Development Opportunities Paid holidays, vacations, and sick days Retirement plan. Scholarship Program 30% Discount on park merchandise Employee Stock Purchase Program Access to a Cast Member-only lake and recreation area with tennis, volleyball, and an Olympic-size swimming pool. Educational Reimbursement Educational Matching Gifts Program Service Awards Employee Cast Member Contests Childcare Centres Credit Unions Employee Stores Cast Members usually work 40 hours or more each week, with quality service being the responsibility of every one. Each one measures service quality levels, establish benchmarks and set goals, as there is no person in charge of quality. Instead of one quality director, Disney has 42,000 of them. (Paton S. M. Service Quality, Disney Style, Quality Digest) Disney University Many hours have been devoted to designing successful employee universities which train workers in the Disneyland philosophy. Walt Disney established the Disney University to teach these unique skills. The University provides cast members with free world-class training in diverse skills including computer applications, professional development, management/leaderships development, health safety, interviewing, business, etc. Empowerment Disney is committed to employee empowerment. Employees are empowered to resolve all guest issues on their own, with managers only getting involved in extreme circumstances. Managers use service measurement teams to empower employees. 1 or 2 employees from each department take note of any service issues that might take from a guests stay at the resort. By keeping records of every problem, and how it was dealt with, helps to reduce the chances of it happening again. To keep up-to-date with their guests expectations, Disney also collects huge amounts of data about guests from opinion polls, surveys, focus groups etc. From this information, the company know that the top three things that guests expect are for the parks to be clean, friendly and fun. Every worker, from the CEO to cleaner, know these 3 expectations well, and is empowered to make them happen. All employees know, too, the definition of quality at Disney: Disney defines quality as attention to detail and exceeding guest expectations. Performance Appraisals Management use performance appraisals and performance surveys, to measure internal service quality. The annual performance appraisal is designed to give the employee a broad perspective of his/her accomplishment from the previous year and to identify upcoming challenges. Another strategy employed by managers to deliver service quality, are monthly development action plans. (DAPs) (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2000) Rewards Disney certainly know the true value of retaining productive employees. Annual turnover amongst its employees is only 20%. This low turnover is made possible by treating employees like resort guests, and the extensive employees reward programs, Disney offers. There are in excess of 50 different reward and recognition programs, that are geared towards maintaining high employee morale, the most prestigious award being the Partners in Excellence program. This award involves one employee nominating another employee (who has excellent attendance and no disciplinary action record). The nominated employee then receives a bronze statue of the company founder, Walt Disney, and is invited to a dinner ceremony where he/she is individually recognized for his/her outstanding accomplishments by company executives. Disney also rewards employees through service pins, attendance awards, and Recognition-O-Grams (ROGs). Recipients usually wear service pins on their uniforms, which they receive service pins on their first, fifth, tenth, twentieth and twenty-fifth anniversaries. Attendance awards are also offered to employees after one, three, five, ten and fifteen years of perfect attendance. The awards range from honorary certificates to a $2000 gift certificate. Recession hits  Disney Theme Parks Like many other industries, the entertainment industry has been affected by the world economic downturn. Early this year, Disney reported a 32% drop in net income for its fiscal first quarter of 2010, attributing the results to the recessions effects on its studio, television and parks. The Walt Disney Co. axed 1,900 jobs from its theme parks in California and Florida. Walt Disney World in Orlando eliminated 1,400 jobs. The original Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, axed 300 positions. The rest of the jobs were eliminated at the companys corporate headquarters at Burbank. These decisions are not made lightly, but are essential to maintaining our leadership in family tourism and reflect todays economic realities, said Mike Griffin, a Walt Disney World spokesman. Those laid off received a 60-day paid administrative leave, a severance package that is based on their years of service, extended medical benefits, and job placement. According to the Los Angeles Times: Disney is bracing for an extended downturn as people skip theme parks to save money. The recession, and the recent decline, has really hit the theme park industry, but it has hit the destination parks more than the regional parks, People are staying closer to home, the newspaper said. Trade Unions Workers are represented by 34 unions, the biggest being the Service Trade Council Union (STCU), The STCU represents about 22,000 F/T and 5,000 P/T workers at Disney World. The SEIU is part of the STCU, a consortium of six trade unions that is the only group certified to bargain with the Disney company. In the last two years alone, Disneyland Resort has successfully negotiated nine agreements with the union. These agreements included wage increases, sick pay and access to seven affordable and reliable health care plans offered through Disneys Signature benefits package for full-time cast members. Conclusion This essay looked at the human resource practises that have been adopted at Disney in order to maximize the delivery of superior guest services. Reasons for the companys success include emphasis on customer service, and a focus on the elements of efficiency, courtesy, show, and safety. It has shown how employee strategies at Disney lead to the attainment of exceptional service quality. Disney takes a lot of care with its casting department and regularly assess its pay packages and new ways of recruiting. It offers a competitive package of wages and incentives to its staff, such as free park admission and discounts on park merchandise. In the past, Disneys theme parks has been fairly recession-proof. But this year, fewer people found their way to the Magic Kingdom as profits were down from 2008-10. Disney said the company manages its operation based on demand, and like any other business it is subject to the ups and downs of the economy Its important that management stress to workers that employee development and empowerment is an on-going process, as the actions of empowered employees have enabled Disney to develop a lasting relationship with millions of guests worldwide. The human resource department must continually develop successful recruiting strategies and effective reward and recognition programs to maintain high morale and promote teamwork.

Amazon PORTER’S FIVE FORCES MODEL

AMAZON. COM PORTER’S FIVE FORCES MODEL Bargaining power of suppliers The power of suppliers is medium-high. Suppliers have a medium power in the sense that much of Amazon’s own inventory could be obtained from numerous suppliers across the country or even across the globe. Suppliers have a higher power given that Amazon. com cannot compete with suppliers. Amazon. com does not run any production plants. Bargaining power of buyers The bargaining power of buyers is high. Amazon. com’s customers have the option of buying the products and services they desire on the hundreds of thousands of other retail web sites on the internet.If Amazon. com does not offer low prices to satisfy the customer then the customer will search the Internet until they find that low price. Rivalry among competing firms Despite Amazon. com is one of the first companies into the e-commerce field, rivalry is high (Barnes and Noble  , Google, Walmart, Ebay etc. ) Threats of substitute products Amazon. com has innovated their services and products along the years and the name of amazon. com is well recognized and trusted into the field, but still the threat for substitutes is high (Books can be purchased at Barnes and Noble Books, Books-A-million, and Half Price Books.Books are additionally sold at newsstands, drugstores, and discount stores. Books can also be borrowed for free at university libraries, music can also be purchased at discount retailers) Threats of new entry Threat of new entrants is low. It would be virtually impossible for a new company to reach the magnitude of inventory and status that Amazon. com maintains. Amazon. com has been in the internet marketplace for about thirteen years now- it would be extremely difficult for a start-up company in the industry to raise enough capital to even compete with Amazon. com on a lower level.

Booker T vs Washington

Booker T Washington and W. E. B Du Bois offered different strategies for dealing with the problems of poverty and discrimination faced by black Americans at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. By using my knowledge of the documents and my knowledge of the period 1877-1915, I was able to asses the appropriateness of each of the strategies in the historical context in which it was developed. I came to the conclusion that Booker T Washington’s strategy was more appropriate for the time period 1877-1915 then was W. E. B Du Bois’ strategy. A summarization of Booker T Washington’s strategy presented in The Atlanta Compromise Address or â€Å"Document D† would be to say that he wanted all black Americans to learn trades. He wanted them to pass on those skills, and use those skills so their families could have a better life. â€Å"Cast down your bucket where you are†¦while doing this you can be sure in the future, as in the past, that you and your families will be surrounded by the most patient, faithful, law-abiding, and un resentful people that the world has seen. †-Document D. This excerpt from the document basically says that when we are taught a specific trade and teach it to our families, they can in turn be successful and live good lives in the future. Because of you learning this skill and in turn teaching it to your family, they will be better off. A summarization of W. E. B Du Bois strategy can be described as ceaseless agitation stated in â€Å"The Niagara Movement†- â€Å"The Niagara Movement proposes to gain these ends†¦. If we expect to gain our rights by nerveless acquiescence in wrong, then we expect to do what no other nation ever did. What must we do then? We must complain. Yes, plain, blunt complain, ceaseless agitation, unfailing exposure of dishonesty and wrong- this is the ancient, unerring way to liberty, and we must follow it. †-Document F I disagree with his strategy for the period 1877-1915 for he only thought about a small number of the black race, the top ten percent. He was going to send them to Harvard and some how they were going to become the intelligence for the black race as a whole. This also appoints only specific figures as a mini government of the black race. Mainly in Booker T Washington’s proposal, it just seems as if he included the whole race as opposed to W. E. B’s proposal pertaining to only a small select few. By looking at the â€Å"School Enrollment Graph† in Document A, it seems as if the W. E. B strategy would have a better chance of working in a later time period. In the time period of 1877-1915, there really were not a lot of black Americans enrolled in school. The rate does rise; showing that after 1915 there would be a much better chance of any percent of Black Americans getting into college. I can also be seen in Document B-â€Å"Illiteracy by Race†, that Black people were becoming more and more literate, allowing them to thus go to college. It appears that in the ladder of the time period we are discussing, that there is a much larger opportunity for black Americans to go to college and progress while there, than there is a chance for them to go to go to college in the beginning of the time period being discussed. Another reason it seems the Booker T Washington’s way is more appropriate is because it worked. By looking at Document C- â€Å"Lynchings by Race†, the amounts of black lynchings were becoming more and scarcer. This is perceived by me in a number of ways. First off, black Americans were learning skills now by the way of Booker T, and were not only becoming smarter, but they were becoming more important to other persons. Their skills were needed by others which not only gave people a reason not to lynch them, but it also introduced many people to more black Americans, thus putting a personal perspective of actually knowing someone. A person would much rather lynch someone that they did not know personally, than someone that they get potatoes from. In Document G, Booker T is praised by T. Thomas Fortune, a black activist and newspaper editor who writes about BTW in the nationally circulated black periodical, â€Å"Christian Recorder. He is spoken of as a man whose value is impossible to estimate. His work involving Tuskegee College is hailed for having 400 students, great teachers, splendid farm equipments, stock-raising, fruit culture, laundry work, practical housekeeping, blacksmithing, wheelwrighting, carpentering, and more, all this while a normal school system is maintained. â€Å"No time is wasted on dead languages or superfluous studies of any kind. What is practical, what will best fit these young people for the work of life, and that is taught, and is aimed at. This shows that his approach was actually working and this is evidence enough for me to say that I believe by using my knowledge of the documents and my knowledge of the period 1877-1915, I was able to asses the appropriateness of each of the strategies in the historical context in which it was developed. W. E. B just might have been a little before his time with his views. Maybe later when the literacy rate would be higher and more black Americans were being accepted to college, his idea could have worked, but there would be many smart and skilled black Americans all from the concept given by Booker T Washington.