The Scarlet Letter, By Toni Morrison - 1270 Words

Have you ever wondered how it would feel to live in a community from the past, one that is ran by Puritans, or maybe living in a community of black slaves? â€Å"The Scarlet Letter† and â€Å"Beloved† are two popular novels that takes place in the past, but in different time eras. â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†, which is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne occurs in the 17th century. At the time, Puritans were in place and their beliefs were heavily based on religion. â€Å"Beloved† by Toni Morrison is based on the 19th century, a time period in which blacks were living in white dominated country and the effects of the Civil War. The main characters of both novels face similar struggles that were dealt with differently. Throughout the novels, Hester and Sethe both experience ostracism from their community by being isolated and persecuted. A similarity that both characters experience in the novel was being isolated. However, I feel that Hester had experienced a worst case of being isolated than Sethe had. As people come to the scaffold, Hawthorne writes from a third person’s point of view â€Å"for, haughty as her demeanor was, she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung in the street for them all to spurn and trample upon (Hawthorne).† Hester would be publicly persecuted by the magistrates for she had committed the sin of adultery. Instead of being sentenced to death, she was punished by wearing a letter â€Å"A† on her chest. Sethe hadShow MoreRelatedThe Scarlet Letter, Walden By Henry David Thoreau, And Beloved By Toni Morrison806 Words   |  4 Pages In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walden by Henry David Thoreau, and Beloved by Toni Morrison, the authors describe cruel and flawed aspects of society as syst em and human nature in individuals within a society. As a punishment for adultery, Hester Prynne, the main character in The Scarlet Letter, was required to wear a scarlet letter â€Å"A† on her chest and stand on the scaffold in the town center every day to endure public shaming. During his stay at Walden Pond, Thoreau escapes the rigidityRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Henry David Thoreau And Toni Morrison s Beloved1898 Words   |  8 Pagescan shape or determine what is to come in the future. Without being patient and understanding of your past, you can’t make that past a brighter future if you never learn to overcome a bad memory. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, Henry David Thoreau’s, Walden and Toni Morrison’s, Beloved the authors dive into different aspects of the past, each character s past dynamically affects their present; the main characters in each novel struggle with the institutionalized wrongs of their societiesRead More Comparing the Role of the Ghost in Morrisons Beloved and Kingstons No Name Woman972 Words   |  4 PagesThe Symbolic Role of the Ghost in Morrisons Beloved and Kingstons No Name Woman The eponymous ghosts which haunt Toni Morrisons Beloved and Maxine Hong Kingstons No Name Woman (excerpted from The Woman Warrior) embody the consequence of transgressing societal boundaries through adultery and murder. While the wider thematic concerns of both books differ, however both authors use the ghost figure to represent a repressed historical past that is awakened in their narrative retelling of theRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s 19841450 Words   |  6 PagesI first confirmed my students’ concerns, I was engulfed by a feeling of righteous indignation, even anger. The list maker would rather that we run in shame after having been called out. Yet I was reminded of the novel â€Å"The Bluest Eye† in which Toni Morrison wrote that anger was better than shame: â€Å"There is a sense of being in anger. A reality and presence. An awareness of worth.† The anger I experienced was also — in the words the poet and theorist Audre Lorde used to describe the erotic — â€Å"a reminderRead MoreThe Gettysburg Address By Henry Wadsworth1548 Words   |  7 Pagesone another, she wants you to remember her words. I intend to use this poem to explain some of the flaws in American nature, and also emphasize the work and pain these people suffered throughout the process of creating this â€Å"glorious† country. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Vintage, 2016. Beloved is a novel that focuses on slavery, specifically the life of a woman who escaped but was captured by her previous slave owners. Before being taken Sethe, the escaped slave kills her two- year-old daughter so thatRead MoreBrief Survey of American Literature3339 Words   |  14 Pagesbetween Native Americans (or American Indians) and European explorers and settlers who had both religious and territorial aspirations - Native American oral literature / oral tradition - European explorers’ letters, diaries, reports, etc., such as Christopher Columbus’s letters about his voyage to the â€Å"New world†. - Anglo (New England) settlers’ books, sermons, journals, narratives, and poetry Native American / American Indian oral literature / oral tradition creation storiesï ¼Ë†Ã¨ µ ·Ã¦ º Ã§ ¥Å¾Ã¨ ¯ Ã¯ ¼â€° Read MoreBelonging Essay4112 Words   |  17 PagesThe curious incident of the dog in the night-time AF, APB YA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Curious_Incident_of_the_Dog_in_the_Night-time Hardy, Thomas Jude, the obscure AF Hardy, Thomas Tess of the D’Ubervilles AF Hawthorne, Nathaniel The scarlet letter AF Hemingway, Ernest, A clean well-lighted place, in Complete short stories AF Hinton, S.E. Outsiders YA Home and away: Australian stories of belonging and alienation ed. Bennett, Bruce AF Hosseini, Khaled The kite runner AF YA http://en.wikipedia

Understanding The Awareness Of Digital Literacy Awareness

A FRAMEWORK TO EVALUATE DIGITAL LITERACY AWARENESS Tengku Adil, Tengku Izhar, Nurhidayah Abdul Jabar Faculty of Information Management, UniversitiTeknologi MARA (UiTM) UiTM Selangor, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia Abstract The aim of this paperis to propose a framework to evaluate the awareness of digital literacy among students. This paper mention about the ways to develop the knowledge performance towards students by practicing good skills to deal with the appropriate digital tools and knowing variety types of digital tools which can be use in digital literacy among students. Keywords: awareness; digital literacy; digital tool; information literacy; knowledge performance 1. Introduction Nowadays, in dealing with the rising of the technologies, students need to be encouraged to be ready to obtain lifelong knowledge and skill in the learning environment. The understanding of the concept of digital literacy has to go through long-term development and its current appearance is characterized by complexity and technology skills but also cognitive and attitudinal components of behavior. (Reynolds, 2008 ; Reynolds, 2016) notes that definitions of digital literacy are often skills, and practically in uses of related technologies, thus tethering them to a given historical moment in time. The definition frequently used is a confident and important use of ICT for work, leisure, learning and communication (European Commission, quoted in JISC InfoNet, 2012; Hall, Nix Baker,Show MoreRelatedA Study of Digital Literacy in a Marginalised Community1110 Words   |  5 Pagesand understanding of the digital and computing skills which is beneficial for higher education. Current a s well in future, most of the new jobs will require excellent digital skills and work will be based only on the digital world, improving digital literacy is an essential part of the higher education and training.Courses either full or part time will help the young learners to learn the subjects in the digital world enable students to gain the skills and confidence they need to use digital technologyRead MoreAnnotated Bibliography of Articles Related to Media Literacy902 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Boske, C., and McCormack, S. (2011). Building an understanding of the role of media literacy for Latino/a high school students. High School Journal 94(4), pp. 167-186. In a qualitative study of a small group of Latino/a high school students, the researchers found that students perceived negative cultural messages in media they were asked to watch. The messages were not obvious to the teachers who selected the media and who were not part of this ethnic group. The study serves as a cautionaryRead MoreDigital Technologies Essay Temp1609 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Ã¢â‚¬ËœWill the challenges emerging with digital knowledge contexts, for which digital literacy is being deployed, open new horizons for the human art of thinking and creating knowledge?’ (Belisle 2006, p.55). Reference: Harvard Style Knowledge can be interpreted in different ways where one scholar defines knowledge as a learnt education another interprets knowledge as intelligence. Knowledge is  continuing  a process commencing at birth.  Ã‚  Belisle (2006)  states Knowledge is much more than the transmittedRead MoreThe Four Resources Model Is Developed By Alen Luke And Peter Freebody Essay1702 Words   |  7 PagesThe Four Resources Model was developed by Alen Luke and Peter Freebody in 1999 to adapt to the increasing importance of technology that we see prevalent throughout society and in our daily lives. We live in a digital age in which technology is constantly reinventing itself and without the education that allows us to use these new age inventions, we are stuck frozen in a technologically advanced world unable to move forward. Luke and Freebody (1999) envision a school curriculum surrounding a printRead MoreUsing The Four Resource Model Developed By Luke And Freebody1302 Words   |  6 Pagestogether in small groups using digital as well as print text. The students are more culturally and linguistically diverse, many have English as a second language (ESL). This Critical- reflective essay will explore using the four resource model d eveloped by Luke and Freebody, focusing on; how young children learn to read, the four roles within the resources model are Code breaker, text user, text participant and text analyst. This essay will also articulate the understanding of the three phases of readingRead MoreStrenthening Early Literacy Skills in Studnets Language Word Recognitio1634 Words   |  7 PagesRunning head: STRENGTHENING EARLY LITERACY SKILLS IN STUDNETS: LANGUAGE AND WORD RECOGNITION Strengthening Early Literacy Skills in Students: Language and Word Recognition 510: Grand Canyon University Joanna Martinez September 9, 2012 Strengthening Early Literacy Skills in Students: Language and Word Recognition Introduction When discussing early literacy, its development begins at birth and continues its development throughout yearly childhood years. Literacy is having the skill to readRead MoreDigital Technologies are Powerful Tools for Education657 Words   |  3 PagesDigital technologies, radio and TV can be powerful tools for education. Dr. Samuel Chindaro said, â€Å"They can inspire, engage and provide young people with important skills.† Education and human capital are fundamental to the socio-economic development of Zimbabwe. Utilizing information, media and communication technology (ICT) will help Zimbabwe battle their educational problems. ICT includes radio, television, and digital technologies such as computers and the Internet, each are powerful instrumentsRead MoreI Am A Teacher s Degree Program1421 Words   |  6 Pageschildren have had the same experiences as I have had with reading. Although I am not sure I want to be a literacy specialist, I chose the literacy Master’s Degree program because I wanted to help all children, especially struggling readers, develop a love for reading and become successful readers and writers. If I had not seen children struggle with reading, I am not sure if I would have ever chosen literacy for my Master’s program. I know each child I meet comes with different experiences and needs. PriorRead MoreAn Effective Teacher Of Primary English And Literacy1454 Words   |  6 PagesAssignment 3: Essay Discuss the attributes and skills needed to be an effective teacher of primary English and literacy The attributes needed to be an effective teacher of primary English and literacy are as follows. Firstly, a good teacher must know have an in depth understanding of the subject matter and how to help students learn those subjects. They must recognize how knowledge is constructed in the discipline, as well as how it can be linked to other disciplines. I believe knowledge of theRead MorePrimary School Teachers’ Awareness and the Use of Information and Communication Technology (Ict) in Teaching.4519 Words   |  19 PagesPRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ AWARENESS AND THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN TEACHING. Abstract This paper investigated primary school teachers’ awareness and the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study. The study was a survey design. The population of the study consisted of 889 primary school teachers’. 200 primary school teachers’ were the sample. Data were gathered

Transforming anglian water Free Essays

string(61) " the vision and values were communicated from top to bottom\." Introduction It is believed that survival of an organization in contemporary era of globalization liberalization is directly correlated to the extent to which it utilizes advanced information technology tools and practices Total Quality Management. The concept of â€Å"Learning Organization† was introduced by Chris Argyris and further researched and explained by Sange (1990). Sange defined Learning Organization as the organization â€Å"in which you cannot not learn because learning is so insinuated into the fabric of life. We will write a custom essay sample on Transforming anglian water or any similar topic only for you Order Now † He further defines Learning Organization as â€Å"a group of people continually enhancing their capacity to create what they want to create.† The purpose of this assignment is to study Anglian Water in the light of Learning Organization and: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Investigate the extent to which the organization could actually claim to be a Learning Organization. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Identify those factors that may undermine the concept of â€Å"Learning Organization† in   Anglian Water and call into question the investments made. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Explain if Anglian Water can sustain the ideals and practices of a Learning Organization. While exploring the definitions and characteristics of Learning Organizations, the case study of Anglian waters will be investigated and comparisons will be drawn. Chris Argyris differentiates between first order or single loop learning versus second order or double loop learning.   Learning is further explained as detection and correction of errors. Single loop learning detects the errors and then functions within the construct of organization’s governing variable to achieve the desired result. Double loop learning challenges the governing variable itself and aims at producing drastic cultural changes within the organization. Argyris further divides organizations into Model I and Model II. Model I represents the traditional bricks and mortar culture, a few characteristics of which are: Achieve the purpose as the actor defines it, Win, do not lose, Suppress Negative Feelings, Advocating courses of actions which discourage inquiry, Defensive relationships, low freedom of choice. Model II represents a learning organization, the characteristics of which are: Valid Information, Free and Informed choice, Internal Commitment, Sharing control, Surfacing conflicting view, Minimally defensive relationships, High freedom of choice, Increased likelihood of double loop learning. Considering the above view point, Anglian water clearly falls in the Model II category of double loop learning. In the 1990’s it diversified into new markets, conducted employee satisfaction surveys and acted on the results of it. The Management clearly had a vision to introduce and sustain drastic cultural changes and move towards becoming a learning organization. This was achieved to a great extent through employee empowerment implementation of ‘transformation journey’ which enabled incumbents at all levels to develop attitudinal and behavioral change to be able to cope up with turbulent and uncertain environment. Argyris further introduces us to the concept of triple loop learning (Learning how to learn) which is in continuation to single loop (What to do); Double Loop (Learning what to do). Triple Loop Learning questions the structures and strategies of learning; and how our mental map affects the way we behave. It is considered as the highest level of organizational learning and restructuring. Triple loop learning leads to restructuring of current systems and processes. Dialogues are initiated with in the organization in the form of â€Å"collective mindfulness† to understand the basis of existence of hierarchies; policies, procedures etc and RESTRUCTURING within the organization takes place. A Learning Infrastructure is created where existing structure is studied, dialogue is initiated and new and more effective structures are proposed. Focus then is on developing competencies and skills of individuals – teams – organization and hence emerges a Learning Organization. Anglian Water as an organization seems to have all the characteristics that the Triple Loop learning mentions as that of a Learning Organization. At Anglian water, face to face communication is given utmost importance amongst employees; university of Water was established to integrate , support and accredit all forms of learning; develop skills and competencies that was required to move Anglian water to the 21st century and place it as a global player. Peter Senge (1990) remarks â€Å"The rate at which organizations learn may become the only sustainable source of competitive advantage†. He differentiates between adaptive and generative learning. Adaptive Learning is the initiation of a company into the community of Learning Organization. Generative learning utilizes the power of creativity and innovation to reconstruct those systems and processes that govern consequences. Senge, in his much acclaimed book The fifth discipline explains the five disciplines which according to him are cucial in building a learning organization. The first discipline Personal Mastery concentrates on learning of each and every individual in the organization resulting in Learning organization as a whole. Individual goals and tools to measure the proximity to these goals are developed. Significant evidence of Personal Mastery can be found at Anglian water through the introduction of the concept of travelers whose four guiding principles were a willingness to get to know myself, a desire to develop myself, a desire to develop my full potential with and through others, an ability to link my personal development to the development of Anglian water. The second discipline of Mental Model is the framework of cognitive processes of our mind which determines our thought and action process. Argyris concept of theories of action is similar to the Mental Model concept and govern actual behavior. Espoused theory is what we would like others to believe as our actual action theory. Anglian Water does not seem to have incorporate the Mental Model theory in its learning curve. The third principle of systems thinking or the ability to see interrelationships / circular causations (where a variable is both the cause and effect of another)is prevalent in the practice of Transformation Journey , Total Quality Management , Change Agent Networks. The Fourth principal of shared vision (build on individual vision of it’s members) is not well supported at Anglian Water. While the vision and value statements were rolled out in the 1990s it is unclear if these were created through the interaction between leaders and employees of the organization. It seems more likely that the vision and values were communicated from top to bottom. You read "Transforming anglian water" in category "Essay examples" The fifth discipline of team learning or â€Å"genuine thinking together† was highly encouraged by the leadership at Anglian water and is corroborated with the team and group formations through the methodology of Transformational Journey. Victoria Marsick states that learning organizations involve deep change in the mind sets of people as well as the culture of the organization and socities. Gephart , Marsic Van Buren 1997 emphasize on Continuous Learning at the system level which at Anglian Water was initiated in the form of Transformational Journey and University of Water. Knowledge generation and sharing was made possible through the introduction of University of Water which aimed at acknowledging, integrating, supporting and accrediting all forms of learning in the company. The concept was further given a boost with the establishment of an intranet for information exchange and communication. Systematic Thinking capacity which enables employees to identify linkages and feedback loops. The presence of the concept of systematic thinking can be illustrated by the feedback statements of employees on the Journey being a good learning experience OR the findings of the employee satisfaction survey that clearly demanded a cultural change in Anglian Water. Greater Participation and accountability by a larger percentage of employees is promoted by Anglian Waters through various methods such as ‘employee satisfaction survey’ , ‘employee empowerment’ , ‘transformational journey’ that saw the participation of more than 3000 employees, new ‘HR Performance Management Policies’. Culture and structure of rapid communication and learning was introduced with the advent of the 2 year long traveler role and Aqua University. Rapid communication was facilitated through the installment of Intranet. Pedler, another major pioneer, in his work ‘Blue prints of a learning company’ characterizes such organizes through the usage of five themes. ‘Strategy’ is explained through: i.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Learning approach to strategy was seen in the efforts to promote team working and cooperation through transformational journey which would have a direct bearing on the operational effectiveness and business performance. ii.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Participative Policy making is missing in Anglian Water’s organizational learning. ‘Looking in’ encompasses: i.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Informating or use of information technology to inform and empower employees by giving them access to information was being practiced at Anglein Water through installation of Hawk – their intranet system. ii.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Internal Exchange was facilitated through the introduction of Total Quality Management i.e. Each department treated the other as Internal Customer iii.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Formative Accounting and control and iv.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   reward flexibility are missing from the grounds of Anglian Water. ‘Enabling structures’ are flexible organizations which revisit reformat structures, goals, objectives to align with the interest of employees, shareholders and suppliers. Post privatization, Anglian Water reorganized it’s business, restructured to a flatter organization, encouraged cross functional and individual participation to facilitate positive change. Transformational Journey empowered employees to arrange for their own support and skill development. ‘Looking out’ encompasses i. ‘Boundary workers as environmental scanners’, which refers to the collection of information from the external stakeholders of an organisation in order to establish their needs is evident through the introduction of TQM a key element of which is to be: ‘sensitive to customer requirements and to respond rapidly to them†¦to achieve customer satisfaction†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Stark, 1998) ii.‘Inter-company learning’ which entails joining with customers and suppliers in training experiences, research and development and job exchanges is conspicuous by its absence in Anglian Water. Learning Opportunities talks of i.    Learning Climate encourages employees to seek continuous improvement, learn from their experiences and make time to question practices and try out new ones. Establishment of university of water by Anglian Water for the sole purpose of learning and development of employees attests the presence of Learning Climate in the company. ii. Self Development opportunities for all was encouraged at Anglian Water through the introduction of Transformational journey which was a holistic strategy designed to prepare and equip employees for the technical and emotional challenges of operating in a turbulent and uncertain environment. To Summarize, whether Anglian Water can claim to be a learning organization, I would like to include a few ideas organized by Art Kleiner states as Why Bother? i.   Because we want superior performance and competitive advantage ii.    For customer relations iii. To avoid decline iv.    To improve quality v.    To understand risks and diversity more deeply vi.    For innovation vii.   For our personal and spiritual well being viii.    To increase our ability to manage change ix.       For energized committed work force x.   To expand boundaries Above mentioned ten points are positive results of a successful learning organization. Anglian Water when viewed in the light of the above mentioned results comes out as a winner in the field of learning organizations  The next step is to identify factors that may undermine the concept of Learning Organization in Anglian Water. Senge states that the role of a leader is to build a shared vision. Though the vision and value statement that were released at Anglien Water were designed to inculcate new attitudes and behaviors, no evidence of participation of employees in shared vision building exercise is found. Shell (1997) also talks of Creative tension as a characteristic of Learning Organization. This enables innovation and visioning the future and further working towards a commonly agreed goal. However, this capacity to vision the future seems to be lacking in the employees of Anglian Water. This was more than evident when in 1990 Ofwat recommended a price reduction of at least 17.5%. and this decision hit the company hard. It suffered tremendous losses and had to initiate a major cost reduction strategy. If the government decision had been predicted by the visionaries of the company, they would have had time to prepare ground for the turbulence that they faced as a result of this Change. Davenport and Prusak (1998) are concerned with the magnitude of importance that has been given to Information technology centric Knowldege Management in Learning Organizations. They state that it is more important to build a culture conducive to knowledge and learning rather that emphasizing on information storage, retrieval and transfer. Clarke and Cooper state that in their goal to be a learning organization, Anglian Water rolled out a complete Knowledge Management Policy. However, their Intranet, despite of being called HAWK – Harnessing Anglian Water’s Knowledge appears to play only a secondary role. One of the major characteristics of Learning Organization is Experiential Learning. Polanyi (1967) characterizes experiential learning as tacit or not highly conscious. Lave and Wenger term the process as ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ which further dilutes   lessons learnt. Employees undergoing experiential learning might not be capable of fully understanding the reasons for success or failure. Thought Processes that are different from that of the value systems of a learning organization might be considered null and void. Marsick points out that when an organization is undergoing change and simultaneously assessing feedbacks, a confused and chaotic situation is bound to emerge. Multiple feedbacks emerge resulting in reception to various signals at the same time. Envisioning the environmental factors that would affect the well being of the company in future and predicting the types of challenges that the company should be ready for becomes very difficult. A tiny random fluctuation, often called Noise ‘can induce the path of choice’ (Capra 1996). It is hence expected of a learning organization to analyze well the various feedbacks and signals and prepare for the future challenges. It appears that the visionaries ay Anglian Water missed the point and hence future environmental challenges could not be well predicted. A few other vital characteristics of a Learning organization, mentioned by Pedler, seem to be missing at Anglian Water are â€Å"Formative Accounting and Control†, â€Å"Feedback loops being built in policy making process†. Formative Accounting and control insists on accounting , budgeting and reporting systems that are designed to help people understand the operations of organizational finance. However, It is important to add here â€Å"scholars often caution against one size fits all approach to creating the learning organization† (Marsick). Hence, it should not be a mandatory criteria for companies to absorb all characteristics defined by all scholars in the field of learning organizations. The third step is to analyze if Anglian Water can sustain the ideals and practices of a Learning Organization. If we refer to that portion of case study which is called â€Å"The future†, what immediately comes to our mind is that Anglian Water can not sustain the ideals and principles of a learning organization. When Anglian Water adopts a major cost reduction strategyin 1998 – 99; it seems to be moving away from the concept of Learning Organization. 10% of the employees (400 in number) were seen losing their jobs. While Learning Organizations are all about Investment in social, human and intellectual capital; Cost reduction strategies include downsizing, ‘low levels of risk taking, ‘short term focus’ ‘minimal levels of employee training and development,’ and ‘narrowly defined career paths’ (Schuler and Jackson, 2006:168) These practices are in stark contrast to senior managements bid to change Anglian Water’s approach to doing business to ‘entrepreneurial, innovative and outward looking’ (Jenkins, 2008:1) Cost Reduction would further mean minimizing overheads and it is assumed that the worse affected areas would be Human Resources logistics. Under Human Resources, most of the benefits such as training programs, employee engagement activities would have been scrutinized and the logical conclusion would be to cut the costs related to them. In this scenario, existence of a corporate university might come under investigation with respect to the total costs being incurred on it. Huczynski and Buchanan (2001:135) describe LO practices as: ‘A complex difficult set of practices, difficult to implement systematically.’ This criticism is relevant toAnglian Waterin numerous ways. Firstly, with regards to the University of Water, in the long run, those employees involved may struggle with coping with learning and their ‘day job’ at Anglian Water and also the need to encourage employee attrition and encourage ‘new blood’ at Anglian Water. Secondly after the initiation of the cost-reduction strategy the practices of a Learning Organization would be even harder to implement for reasons which were discussed previously. It is imperative to mention here that a lot of scholars in the field of Learning Organizations consider downsizing as a part of the Learning and restructuring process. Labbas 1999, states that employment downsizing has been regarded as the preferred route to improving organizational performance. Success or failure of a downsized organization depends on the workforce remaining after the downsizing (Best Practices in Downsizing: 1997). The Organizational trends in late 1990’s and then at the advent of 21st century was moving towards downsizing , restructuring and outsourcing. Managers continue to use downsizing – and other forms of restructuring – to improve productivity ( Ellis, 1998 ).   Downsizing has been termed as a reorganization strategy by Mckinley, Sanchez and Schick. Few other companies which downsized in 1998 and are still going strong are Kodak, Levis and Citicorp. Freeman and Cameron mention downsizing as an intentional reduction in personnel intended to improve the efficiency of the firm. Last but not the least, the chaos theory related to learning organization deserves to be given its due importance while discussing the probability of success of Anglian Water after downsizing. This theory talks about a situation when an organizational equilibrium becomes structurally unstable at critical bifurcation points†¦.in the system’s evolution where a fork suddenly appears and the system branches off in a new direction (Capra 1996). As a result of occurrence of chaos, a new form of organization would evolve. Since it is important for an organization to always be in the learning category to be able to survive environmental changes, downsizing at Anglian water could be looked as a phase in the learning process. It can be assumed that Anglian Water emerges successful after the process of downsizing and continues in its process of learning through as innovative techniques as â€Å"Transformational Journey†; â€Å"Traveller† and â€Å"University of Water†. Bibliography Peter Sange, Fifth Discipline Chris Argyris On Organizational Learning Watkins and Marsick Sculpting the Learning Organization Beardwell, J and Claydon, T (2007) Human Resource Management A contemporary approach Fifth Edition Pearson Education Ltd Organizational Behavior Tata Mcgraw Hill Burnes, B (2004) Managing Change Pearson Education Ltd Easterby-Smith, M, Burgoyne, J and Araujo, L (2006) Organizational Learning and The Learning Organisation Sage Publications Huczynski, A and Buchanan D (2001) Organisational Behaviour (4th Edition ) FT/Prentice Hall Paton, R, Peters, G, Storey, J and Taylor, S (2005) Handbook of Corporate University Development Gower Publishing Pedlar, M., Boydell, T. and Burgoyne, J. Learning Company Project: A Report on work (see mullins p205) Mabey, C and Salaman, G (1999) Human Resource Management a Strategic Introduction Blackwell Publishers Ltd Schuler, R and Jackson, S Strategic Human Resource Management (2006) Blackwell Publishing Torrington, D and Hall, L(1995)   Human Resource Management Prentice Hall Perter Clarke Maggie cooper, Knowledge Management Collaboration       How to cite Transforming anglian water, Essay examples

How Does Class Conflict Affect Society and What Are Its Consequences free essay sample

s Karl Marx once said: ‘In class society, everyone lives as a member of a particular class, and every kind of thinking, without exception, is stamped with the brand of a class. ’ In this essay we will be discussing the affect class conflict has on society from the 1600’s up until the modern world today. We will be discussing how Karl Marx developed his theory of class conflict and look at the different areas of society and how it effects individuals. To define it, class conflict is a tension or strain among individuals in society due to socio-economic interests between different socio classes. In can take on several different forms within society; violence (take for example the war between Iraq and U. S. A, over oil and cheap labour), starvation, poverty, unsafe working conditions or strikes between trade unions and employers. The book ‘Wuthering Heights’ is a perfect example of class conflict. We will write a custom essay sample on How Does Class Conflict Affect Society and What Are Its Consequences? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Emily Bronte cleverly shows us the huge rift of classes between the upper and lower people. This book was set in the 1600’s, so one can say that class conflict is not just a recent discovery. Through this book Bronte shows us how class conflict affects society. The most obvious distinction between upper and lower classes is with the two settings; Thrush cross Grange and Wuthering Heights. The society in Wuthering Heights is that of the working class. Wuthering Heights is a rundown farm that represents hardship; ruthlessness, and difficult working conditions. Life at Wuthering Heights is more domestic yet spiteful revenge and personal struggles envelop the characters that live there. Therefore, even from the 1600’s class conflict was a major and is still a part of everyday lives today. In relation to class conflict the sociologist thinker, Karl Marx viewed class conflict with a class definition. Marx explains how a class is defined as the ownership of property. With regards property there are three different classes, the bourgeoisie (who own the means of production such as factories and machinery, and whose source of income is profit), landowners (whose income is rent), and the proletariat (who own their labour and sell it for a wage). Therefore one can form the opinion that class is not determined by income or status but by property. Income and status is determined by the administration and consumption of the property, which in turn reflects the production and power relations of classes and effecting society as a whole. ‘Marxists believe that class conflict plays an important role in the history of class based systems such as capitalism and feudalism. ’ The class conflict within capitalism is between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and takes the form of conflict over work hours, salary values, cost of consumer goods, the culture at work, control over parliament or bureaucracy, and inequality within the economy. Through the development of the labour party, the working class will try and influence the bourgeois political process to allow its bill pass and its own supporters elected. According to Marxist theory, everything else is beyond the control of the working class; inevitably they cannot do much more. It cannot gain control over the bourgeoisie. Marxism is then needed by the working class. ‘When the workers grasp socialist theory they transform it into a living force; only then can they organize a party capable of leading a revolution and overthrowing bourgeois rule. The years of economic downturn and depression with unemployment rising are rarely ones of industrial strife however, they often portray communities who are working hard together in working class communities expressed in strikes, boycotts or struggles against tenant rights. ‘With the formation of the industrial working class or proletariat, workers begin to struggle against their employers, first in the factory th en in the trade or locality’. This causes major rifts between the classes; however it allows the working class to work together to from unions to protect oneself from discrimination. They direct their attacks not against the bourgeois conditions of production, but against the instruments of production themselves, they smash to pieces machinery, they set factories ablaze, they seek to restore by force the vanished status of the workmen of the middle ages. ’ The effects of this is that, these classes begin to form unions, which expand and grow powerfully and affect the workers’ salaries and working conditions and lead to mass strikes and boycotts. The workers begin to realize they are not fighting their employers, but the class of employers everywhere. This struggle becomes one of the working class against the bourgeoisie; it becomes a political as well as an economical struggle’ Marx states that a class is formed when its individuals achieve class consciousness and peace. This takes place when a class become aware of each other’s shared interests and identities and realises its exploitations within its society. A common identity within this society will then be formed. A class therefore can take action against others who are taking advantage of the lower classes. Marx believes that classes are ‘authority relationships based on property ownership’. A class defines groupings of individuals with shared life situations and interests. The evolution of the new lower middle classes in the 1980s has resulted in a group of people who are no longer offered a voice. Traditionally the Labour party, in standing up for the working class, has also, as a result stood up for the impoverished underclass as well. But now that Labour stands for the new middle classes there is no one standing up for the ones Thatcher left behind. There is no conflict today not because everyone is contented but because they have had their voice taken away. A consequence of class conflict is income inequality. Even though class status is not a casual factor for income, surveys have shown, those in higher classes have higher incomes rather than those in lower classes. This inequality still exists in occupation. Conditions at work vary greatly between classes. The individuals in the upper middle class enjoy a relaxed work environment with a good salary and receive respect from fellow employees and society in general but lower middle class however lack in job satisfaction and tend to feel more alienated. While middle-class workers may suffer alienating conditions or lack of job satisfaction, blue-collar workers suffer alienating, often routine, work with obvious physical health hazards, injury, and even death’. Class also has an effect on one’s lifestyle which includes leisure activities which reflects the attitude and values of the person. Therefore the way in which a person raises a child depends on their lifestyle. For ins tance an upper middle class individual will raise their child as an upper middle class person and vice versa. This also can effect a child education, as they are offered more of a variety of schoolings.