Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Ethical And Theological Topics On Human Morality - 1439 Words

Though St. Thomas explored various ethical and theological topics throughout his several works, Thomas’s claims on the role of the conscience in human morality presents some of the most complex and though provoking assertions. Within the Summa Theologica, Thomas not only offers a complete explanation of the human conscience and the critical role it plays within our morality, but has the ability to take the examination one step further by proposing two fundamental questions. First, Thomas addresses the issues that arise when one has an erroneous conscience, and secondly, if a person can be blamed for following their misinformed conscience . Thomas’s response to these two questions hold strong conviction even to the present day, but do allow for some critical counterarguments with respect to the role of human natural law. According to Thomas, the human conscience pertains to the judgement of the rightness or wrongness of action you are thinking about doing or already have done. Our conscience pertains to a wide realm of things we may judge to be morally right or morally wrong . The conscience can be divided into two parts, our general judgements and our concrete judgements. General judgements relate to how humans judge particular things or issues, while concrete judgements relate to a present decision or situation . Many judgements within our conscience are not as black and white as previously stated. In reality, many other factors play an important role within eachShow MoreRelatedCatholic Moral Theology And The Medical Field935 Words   |  4 PagesCatholic Moral Theology and the Medical Field Principally, morality and ethical issues continue to be a topic of debate, particularly in the modern day world. Essentially, this is because some of them touch the heart of the human life and failure to find a convergence of opinion threatens existence (Piazza Landy, 2013). In this respect, religion is one tool that has significantly influenced and continues to shape this discourse. Accordingly, this easy draws from the moral teaching of the CatholicRead MoreThe Old Testament Essay1498 Words   |  6 Pagespeople to look to for guidance. The difficulty often comes because the questions they have in today’s society may not relate to the Old Testament. â€Å"Much biblical scholarship is narrowly historical-critical and does not seek to draw out the ethical-theological dimensions of the text.† (297) Pastors have the task of relating the Old Testament to today’s problems and it can be quite a challenge. Addressing moral issues is a difficult issue that pastors are faced with when addressing them through theRead MoreIs Abortion Moral Or Moral?1018 Words   |  5 Pagesclearly not a topic to be taken lightly in today’s modern world. Majority of the population’s answers to this question are based on each individuals opinion and is supported by what they believe. In general, there are two sides of the argument. One is that life begins at the time of conception. The other belief is that life doesn’t begin until the drawing of the first breath. The true dilemma here is not the accurate pinpointing of life’s beginning, but the questions that accompany this topic and eachRead MoreReligion Is Interfering With Science And Or Social Progress?1738 Words   |  7 Pagescould understand what they were and what they meant. Today, I am starting to understand more and more about other religions. It has occurred to me that sometimes there is a conflict between religions when talking about certain topics. There are multipl e controversial topics that can cause an uproar for one or many religions such as abortion and evolution. In addition, there are disagreements between religions that cause many other issues on their own. In that case, religion is interfering withRead MoreTypes Of Christian Ethics By H.richard Niebuhr1677 Words   |  7 Pagessocial justice, and offer their own perspectives on the common topic. I. Types of Christian Ethics by H.Richard Niebuhr 1. Various Ways of Typing Christian Ethics V No absolute types of Christian morality can be discerned, but there are various points of view from which the individual historical phenomena can be analyzed and classified (17). That is, even under the overarching umbrella of Christian ethics, a discrepant set of ethical types of a Christian community can be identified, based onRead MoreMichael Novak s Philosophy Of Religion From Harvard University1638 Words   |  7 PagesMichael Novak fulfills his ambition to write and lecture full time on his own. He was designated as U.S. Ambassador to the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations (Jan, 1981). He has also worked as a vice chairman for the Lay Commission of Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy (1984). Mr. Novak has also worked as U.S. Ambassador to the Experts Meeting on Human Contacts of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (1986). Mr. Novak was ordinated as priest from prestigiousRead MoreIntroduction. Abortion Has Been Widely Controversial And1178 Words   |  5 Pages Introduction Abortion has been widely controversial and still is controversial to this day. Opinions on the topic continue to change over time as well as laws changing to allow it or make it illegal. These changes will vary on factors like politics and the religion that is practiced in the country. Just like countries vary on whether it is widely accepted or not, the same goes for religions. Catholicism has been traditionally conservative and has taken a pro-life stance overRead MoreReligious Diversity And Its Impact On Society1792 Words   |  8 PagesReligion has been a topic of significant sociological discussion since the beginnings of sociology itself. Yet the complexity and changing social landscape that has surrounded this aspect of social life mean that one simple definition of religion is difficult to establish. The debate around secularisation and the changes in society bought about by capitalism and the Reformation have come together in contemporary Australia to forge a time where there is a complex relationship between religion andRead MoreEssay about The Morals and Ethics of Genetic Engineering3310 Words   |  14 Pagesproducts. Lastly, there is the concern that mankind is â€Å"playing God†, that we as a species and as a society are exceeding our natural reach and thus operating outside of our traditional preconceived boundaries, where our cultural sense of ethics and morality may not even hold ground. How can we govern or monitor what we do not fully understand? Do the pros of the genetic revolution outweigh the cons? Our civilization, as it delves further into a genetically engineered world, is in a moral dilemma that

Monday, December 23, 2019

Inside Look At The Prison Industrial Complex - 1484 Words

Anthony Marvel Mr. Hemery Nonfiction September 29, 2014 An Inside Look at the Prison-Industrial Complex Business’s that appear to be removed from the corrupt corporation of prison are ultimately expanding the prison industrial complex. Prison incarceration has become a multi-billion dollar industry that needs more than 2 million U.S. citizens to put into prison on any given day. This paper will be base for explaining how the PIC works and what really goes on behind all the barbed wire and armed guards. â€Å"The term ‘Prison Industrial Complex’ was first coined by either Eric Schlosser in 1998 or by Angela Davis in the same year, in order to examine the complex configuration compromised of the US prison system, multi-national corporations, small private business and the inmate population in the social and political economy of the 21st century United States â€Å"(Smith and Hattery 2). The prison system today seems to be a flawed one, where the smallest offences send people to years into either a private, state, or federal prison. The number of privately owned prisons has grown, as has the imprisonment rate of Americans. â€Å"In 2005 more than 2.3 million Americans (or .7% of the US population) were incarcerated, in nearly 1700 state, federal, and private prisons, with many more under other forms of custodial supervision including probation and parole†(Smith and Hattery 2). â€Å"In 1980, only 474,368 citizens in the US were imprisoned, but in just a little over two decades, 2,042,270 peopleShow MoreRelatedPrison Industrial Complex Economics And The United States1157 Words   |  5 Pagesother country. In the article â€Å"Prison Industrial Complex Economics†, it states, â€Å"the United States has approximately 6.5 million people under the criminal justice supervision. Incarcerated rate has grown from 176 in 1973 up to 700 in the year of 2000† (Waquant). Incarceration is a big business that feeds into drug violence, corrupted guards, and racism in criminal justice system, taxpayer cost , and racism in the criminal system and through privatization of prisons. Drug violence The United StatesRead MoreDownsizing Of The American Penal System1474 Words   |  6 Pagessystem, her main focus when taking a look at the system was the issue of mass incarceration. Murayama (1970, pp 629) states that since 1970 the number of people that are incarcerated has quadrupled. As a result of this corrections experts that were both inside and outside government began to emphasize two major goals for the American penal system. First was to address the concern about rehabilitation and second was to find a way to stabilize the size of the U.S. prison system. A National Advisory CommissionRead MorePrison Industrial Complex ( Pic )1472 Words   |  6 PagesPrison Industrial Complex (PIC) is a term we use to depict the interests of government and industry that utilization observation, policing, and detainment as answers for what may be, in fact, monetary, social, and political issues. Through its range and effect, the jail modern complex secures the power of individuals who g et their energy through racial, monetary and other auxiliary benefits by shielding current power conveyances. It benefits government and industry, and in addition those peopleRead MoreAre Prisons Obsolete? By Angela Davis1513 Words   |  7 Pages Angela Davis is the author of Are Prisons Obsolete?. Davis lays out the facts about incarceration and how it has effected our society; not to mention how it has played a major role in our history. Davis outlines the significant importance that incarceration has towards minorities in America. She goes on to identifies race, gender, and class as being a part of the problem of incarceration. Davis takes the stance of not having prisons in our society, period. She does believe that we can have someRead MoreA Theory Of Policy Style1883 Words   |  8 PagesCORPORATION PRISON AND FEDERAL PRISON The majority of BOP inmates in private prisons are sentenced criminal aliens who may be deported upon completion of their sentence UNICOR is the trade name for Federal Prison Industries (FPI):): an entirely closely-held, independent Government corporation that sells market-priced services and quality merchandise created by inmates. however additional significantly, it is also an important punditry program that assists offenders in learning the talents necessaryRead MoreEssay on The Liars Club1618 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of the Relationship Between Mother and Daughter: The Liars Club, and a look at childhood through the lens of adulthood Marry Karr’s The Liars Club is a haunting memoire, depicting a young Texan girls struggle to survive the trials of adolescence in home that finds stability in chaos and comfort in the abusive habits of her parents. Illustrating both fond and painful memoires from her past, Karr paints a complex image of the relationship she shared with her mother; giving readers everywhereRead MoreAlternative Learning Systems9735 Words   |  39 PagesArticles Sociology of the Prison Classroom: Marginalized Identities and Sociological Imaginations behind Bars Teaching Sociology 39(2) 165–178 Ó American Sociological Association 2011 DOI: 10.1177/0092055X11400440 http://ts.sagepub.com Kylie L. Parrotta1 and Gretchen H. Thompson1 Abstract The authors use sociology of the college classroom to analyze their experiences as feminists teaching sociology courses in the ‘‘unconventional setting’’ of prison. Reflective writing was used to chronicle experiencesRead MoreWho Is Worse : Criminals Or Police?1473 Words   |  6 Pagesyou ever thought , based on the color of your skin or what you believe, that you have a higher chance of being jumped, raped, or killed while walking on the street or in your home by another human. Imagine if this human was the person the country looks up at to protect the all neighborhoods and cities of the US. Police in the US are racist and discriminate against minorities. Policemen, especially white, have been notorious for killing African Americans, Latinos, and Muslims. Blacks inRead MoreThe Prison Industrial Complex And The United States Essay2129 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"One out of every 31 Americans (7 Million) are in prison, jail, or some othe r form of correctional supervision. A high incarceration rate in the United States has led to the prison-industrial complex, which has provided jobs and profits to legions of companies and people. The field of corrections is big business.†1 I believe that this fact is the best way in which to start my paper. The main idea of corrections, as the name suggests, is to correct the behavior that has caused an offender to strayRead More Fixing Racial Disparity Essay2366 Words   |  10 Pagesparticipate in the job training programs in order to receive the benefits. Unemployment representatives should have to verify the participation and all job search activities. By enforcing polices that are already in place one would be encouraged to look for work. Getting people back to work would help the economic problem in minority communities. Another reason researchers give as to why minorities are overrepresented in the criminal justice system is racial profiling. Racial profiling is the

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Role of Financial Institution in Economy Free Essays

Role of Banks and Financial Institutions in Economy Money lending in one form or the other has evolved along with the history of the mankind. Even in the ancient times there are references to the moneylenders. Shakespeare also referred to ‘Shylocks’ who made unreasonable demands in case the loans were not repaid in time along with interest. We will write a custom essay sample on Role of Financial Institution in Economy or any similar topic only for you Order Now Indian history is also replete with the instances referring to indigenous money lenders, Sahukars and Zamindars involved in the business of money lending by mortgaging the landed property of the borrowers. Towards the beginning of the twentieth century, with the onset of modern industry in the country, the need for government regulated banking system was felt. The British government began to pay attention towards the need for an organised banking sector in the country and Reserve Bank of India was set up to regulate the formal banking sector in the country. But the growth of modern banking remained slow mainly due to lack of surplus capital in the Indian economic system at that point of time. Modern banking institutions came up only in big cities and industrial centres. The rural areas, representing vast majority of Indian society, remained dependent on the indigenous money lenders for their credit needs. Independence of the country heralded a new era in the growth of modern banking. Many new commercial banks came up in various parts of the country. As the modern banking network grew, the government began to realise that the banking sector was catering only to the needs of the well-to-do and the capitalists. The interests of the poorer sections as well as those of the common man were being ignored. In 1969, Indian government took a historic decision to nationalise 14 biggest private commercial banks. A few more were nationalised after a couple of years. This resulted in transferring the ownership of these banks to the State and the Reserve Bank of India could then issue directions to these banks to fund the national programmes, the rural sector, the plan priorities and the priority sector at differential rate of interest. This resulted in providing fillip the banking facilities to the rural areas, to the under-privileged and the downtrodden. It also resulted in financial inclusion of all categories of people in almost all the regions of the country. However, after almost two decades of bank nationalisation some new issues became contextual. The service standards of the public sector banks began to decline. Their profitability came down and the efficiency of the staff became suspect. Non-performing assets of these banks began to rise. The wheel of time had turned a full circle by early nineties and the government after the introduction of structural and economic reforms in the financial sector, allowed the setting up of new banks in the private sector. The new generation private banks have now established themselves in the system and have set new standards of service and efficiency. These banks have also given tough but healthy competition to the public sector banks. Modern Day Role Banking system and the Financial Institutions play very significant role in the economy. First and foremost is in the form of catering to the need of credit for all the sections of society. The modern economies in the world have developed primarily by making best use of the credit availability in their systems. An efficient banking system must cater to the needs of high end investors by making available high amounts of capital for big projects in the industrial, infrastructure and service sectors. At the same time, the medium and small ventures must also have credit available to them for new investment and expansion of the existing units. Rural sector in a country like India can grow only if cheaper credit is available to the farmers for their short and medium term needs. Credit availability for infrastructure sector is also extremely important. The success of any financial system can be fathomed by finding out the availability of reliable and adequate credit for infrastructure projects. Fortunately, during the past about one decade there has been increased participation of the private sector in infrastructure projects. The banks and the financial institutions also cater to another important need of the society i. e. mopping up small savings at reasonable rates with several options. The common man has the option to park his savings under a few alternatives, including the small savings schemes introduced by the government from time to time and in bank deposits in the form of savings accounts, recurring deposits and time deposits. Another option is to invest in the stocks or mutual funds. In addition to the above traditional role, the banks and the financial institutions also perform certain new-age functions which could not be thought of a couple of decades ago. The facility of internet banking enables a consumer to access and operate his bank account without actually visiting the bank premises. The facility of ATMs and the credit/debit cards has revolutionised the choices available with the customers. The banks also serve as alternative gateways for making payments on account of income tax and online payment of various bills like the telephone, electricity and tax. The bank customers can also invest their funds in various stocks or mutual funds straight from their bank accounts. In the modern day economy, where people have no time to make these payments by standing in queue, the service provided by the banks is commendable. While the commercial banks cater to the banking needs of the people in the cities and towns, there is another category of banks that looks after the credit and banking needs of the people living in the rural areas, particularly the farmers. Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) have been sponsored by many commercial banks in several States. These banks, along with the cooperative banks, take care of the farmer-specific needs of credit and other banking facilities. Future Till a few years ago, the government largely patro-nized the small savings schemes in which not only the interest rates were higher, but the income tax rebates and incentives were also in plenty. The bank deposits, on the other hand, did not entail such benefits. As a result, the small savings were the first choice of the investors. But for the last few years the trend has been reversed. The small savings, the bank deposits and the mutual funds have een brought at par for the purpose of incentives under the income tax. Moreover, the interest rates in the small savings schemes are no longer higher than those offered by the banks. Banks today are free to determine their interest rates within the given limits prescribed by the RBI. It is now easier for the banks to open new branches. But the banking sector reforms are still not complete. A lot more is requ ired to be done to revamp the public sector banks. Mergers and amalgamation is the next measure on the agenda of the government. The government is also preparing to disinvest some of its equity from the PSU banks. The option of allowing foreign direct investment beyond 50 per cent in the Indian banking sector has also been under consideration. Banks and financial intuitions have played major role in the economic development of the country and most of the credit- related schemes of the government to uplift the poorer and the under-privileged sections have been implemented through the banking sector. The role of the banks has been important, but it is going to be even more important in the future. How to cite Role of Financial Institution in Economy, Essay examples

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Phuket Beach Hotel free essay sample

To:Michael Campbell, General Manager, Phuket Beach Hotel From: Albert, Andy, Becca, Chris, Derek Consulting Date:June 14, 2011 Re: Valuation of Potential Karaoke Pub Projects Thank you for retaining AaBCD Consulting in the valuation of your future capital improvement project. There are two mutually exclusive capital improvement projects under consideration: lease under-utilized space to an unrelated third party, Planet Karaoke Pub, or invest greater capital to open and manage your own nightclub, Beach Karaoke Pub.Using the predominant valuation methods, we have analyzed the relevant quantitative and qualitative data over their useful lives. In our assessment, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each approach as well as their relative weights in determining the financial viability of each project. There are three underlying assumptions driving our calculations: 1) a 10. 75% discount rate, 2) a 10% guest room erosion rate, and 3) the omission of irrelevant staffing costs (16% of sales) due to long-term salary contracts.We have determined that while both options are profitable, Beach is more so. We will write a custom essay sample on Phuket Beach Hotel or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, before a final decision is made, more research into the qualitative aspects of these undertakings needs to be done; community footprint impacts and room revenue erosion rates must also be examined in more detail. Relevant Economic Benefits (1) In order to assess the viability of each project we must first determine the initial outlays and the relevant cash flows, assigning an appropriate discount rate based on the weighted average cost of capital.Taking the weight of equity (75%), the cost of equity (12%), the cost of debt (10%) and the corporate tax rate (30%), we have calculated and recommend a discount rate of 10. 75%, which is much higher than the initial 5% estimated by Mr. Manming. From the initial outlays of both projects, we see a benefit of choosing the third-party project, Planet Karaoke. The initial investment in renovation of (700,000 to 1 million baht), is much less than that for Beach Karaoke (1. 7 to 2. 1 million baht), due to the added equipment costs associated with running and managing the night club.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Popularity of Reality Tv free essay sample

Popularity of Reality Shows Cause and effect essay Television tends to influence peoples life more than they actually think. Some television shows appear to be real such as soap operas and daytime dramas, altering the viewers perception of reality by making them blend in fantasy and fiction, but one kind of show has taken over the public attention in the past decade, the reality shows. Reality television is overtaking the networks and polluting the viewers minds with distorted pictures of reality, leaving behind an even bigger effect than that of regular television. The participants of a reality show acquire fame, become cover of magazines and immediately are stereotyped by the audience. They are taken to random places and have to act according to a script and also use some of their own attitudes to make the show as much entertainable as possible. The problem is that a lot of those attitudes seen on those shows are not to be considered ethical or set as examples. We will write a custom essay sample on Popularity of Reality Tv or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Reality television causes its viewers a strong influence on their behavior and how they interact with others, people tend to see the TV stars as ole models and end up acting like them. This mix of reality with fiction also causes the audience certain anxiety to always know what is going to happen in the next episode and keep people watching. Although reality television could be harmful to the public health ,based on this mental pollution and distortion of reality that it is caused, many reality shows can also be good for the viewers such as The Biggest Loser, The Apprentice or Big Brother, which gives the audience motivation, strategy skills, knowledge about some subject, etc.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Christine de Pisan essays

Christine de Pisan essays The subject that I have chosen for my biography is Christine de Pisan. I chose her because I have never heard of her before and therefore; her life and her work would shed light on my knowledge of history and open up new avenues to work on. Furthermore, I was curious as to what the women had done during her life that inspired and changed the society during that Cultural and political setup of that time In the early fifteenth-century in England, majority of the young male members of the aristocrats received their education in the patriarchal family, where they were educated and skilled on the subjects of estate management, jousting, hunting, heraldry and ethics. As time progressed, this customary approach was changed by a classical education that emphasized logic and discipline, as well as prepared the young for service to a country that was progressively more preoccupied with colonial The new educational literature comprised of translations and versions of the philosophers and historians of prehistoric Rome, particularly Seneca and Cicero. The writings of classical authors had been popularized all through the control of Charles V of France (1364-80), who had commissioned French translations of Levy, and the Morals and Politics of Aristotle. Translations of Seneca and Cicero followed in the period of influence of Charles VI (1380-1422). Christine de Pisan (1364-c. 1430), who matured at the court of Charles V, sought after a wider view of the purposes of the governing class as skilled civil servants rather than as preserved nobility. Seeing the solution to this developing function as education, she was the first to employ these authors in this way (Willard, 4). Christine de Pizan was able to develop into a flourishing writer in a time when women had no lawful rights and ...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Australian Securities and Investment mission Law

In the case of ASIC v Sydney Investment House Equities Pty Ltd [2008] NSWSC 1224 (21 November 2008) Australian Securities and Investment mission is the plaintiff and Mr. Goulding is the 3 rd out of the 9 defendants. In this case, the plaintiff had made a claim against the defendant that he had mitted various infringements of the provisions of the Corporation Act 2001 (CA) and the Australian Securities and Investment mission Act 2001 with respect to his role as the director of several panies prising the Sydney Investment House Group . The plaintiff seeks from the court against the defendant that he should be he should be disqualified for an appropriate period from managing corporations and prevented from providing any financial services within Australia. However, the plaintiff had not made any claims for the imposition of any kind of penalties and others orders with respect to pensation payment.   The plaintiff had initially brought proceedings against eight panies, which belonged to the SIG group. Mr. Goulding and the Mr. Geagea (fourth defendant) were or acting as the directors of most of the panies which are all in liquidation. Application made by the fourth defendant with respect to Section 29.9(1) (a) and 29.10 one after the other against the claim of the plaintiff were dismissed by the court. The court in this case had to determine the fourth defendant mitted the breach of the provisions related to director’s duty or not. The plaintiff claimed that the court should determine that the following breached were mitted by the defendant with respect to the Corporation Act and the Australian Investment and Securities mission Act. The court in this case held the fourth defendant liable for the breach every allegation made by the ASIC. With respect to this decision, the court considered the following law. The court took into consideration the provisions of Section 180. The Section states that it is the duty of the and other officers of a pany to use their powers and exercise their duties with proper diligence and care which any reasonable person would have used if they were an officer or director of the pany in similar circumstance or held or occupied such a position in the pany similar to that of the directors and officers (Gerner, Paech and Schuster 2013).   The court in this case held that the defendant was liable for the breach of this Section by not observing diligence and care while discharging his duties as the director of the panies. The court also considered the provisions of Section 181 of the Corporation Act 2001 with respect to this decision. The Section states that it is the duty of the directors and the other officers of the pany to discharge their responsibilities towards the pany in good faith and in the best possible interest of the pany (Gelter and Helleringer 2013). In addition, the directors and other officers of the pany must discharge their duties for a proper purpose towards the pany. Duties in this Section refer to the statutory duty, which the direct owns towards the pany with respect to the general law o fiduciary duties. The court in this case also considered the decision provided in the case of Chew v R  (1991) 4 WAR 21, where the court held that good faith means (Knepper et al. 2015) The court in this case reading Section 184 of the CA along with Section 181, the Section can be breached if the director has not acted in the best interest of the pany, even if there is no act of dishonesty mitted by the director (Huebner and Klein 2015). The court also considered the provisions of Section 182 of the CA in deciding this case, according to the provisions of the Section it is the duty of the directors and other officers of the pany not to gain unfair advantaged for someone else or themselves by making unfair use of their position in the corporation. In addition, the directors and other officers of the corporations are not allowed to use their position in the pany to cause detriment to the pany. The court also considered the decision made in the case of ASIC V Adler 458 which held that entering into an agreement by the director which provides him with unfair advantage is the breach of Section 180,181,182 of the CA (Keay 2012). In the case of R v Byrnes  [1995] HCA 1;  (1995) 183 CLR 501 the court held that   if a director of a corporation acts with respect to a transaction in which the part to whom he owns a fiduciary duty gains benefits without making proper disclosure in relation to his interest, then the directo r is deemed to act improperly with respect to Section 182 of the CA (Welch et al. 2015). In addition, this would also lead to the breach of the provision of good faith provided in Section 181 of the act. In the case of Chew v The Queen  [1992] HCA 18, the court held the provisions of Section 180,181,182 of the CA can be reached by mere conduct to a director to attain unfair advantaged or himself or someone else , it is not relevant in this case that whether the advantage was actually breached or not (Stout et al. 2016). With respect to the decision made by the court in this case the court also considered that although the corporation itself owes the duties imposed by Section 181 and 180 of the CA the direct could be held liable for the breach of provisions of these sections (Land and Saunders 2014). This breach can arise from making or not preventing the corporation from breaching the provisions of law, which may indirectly involve failure to exercise skill and care towards the interest of the pany on the part of the directors (Fairfax 2013). After making such findings, the courts focused on the individual breaches, which were made by the defendant.   With respect to the first breach of making loans the question before the court was to determine whether the pleading made by the ASIC   are enough for the orders sought by them against the defendant and whether the objection of ASIC with respect to final formulation of loans were made out. The court in this case held that both the questions before the court were in favor of ASIC nod the defendant sis liable for the breach of Section 181 and 181 of the CA by making such loans (Prashker 2014). In relation to the allegation of rollovers against the defendant the question before the court was whether the orders sought by the plaintiff was in accordance with the pleading and whether roll over transaction finally formulated had been made out or not. After analyzing the submissions made by both ASIC and the fourth defendant the court decided that the defendant had breached directors duty by getting involved in the roll over transaction as alleged by the plaintiff. In addition the court also decided that the order sought with respect to roll over transaction were according to the pleadings made by the plaintiff. The court held that it is clear that the fourth defendant was clearly the sole director of equities and capital and he allowed the pany to go forward with a role over transaction by issuing preference share without any consideration and subsequently breached the provision of Section 180 and 181 of the CA (Donner 2016). The court also held that the defendant breached the provisions of Section 182 by causing detriment to the cpmpany through his actions (Bilchitz and Jonas 2016).    With respect to misappropriation, after considering the submissions made by both the plaintiff and the defendant the court had two factors to analyze firstly whether according to the submission of the defendant the defects in pleading made by the plaintiff is extreme and defies all principles of pleadings. Secondly, to what extent the allegation with respect to misappropriation are true. The court in this case held that the payment made by the pany were made for non business and in proper purpose or to give unfair advantage to the defendant and these payments were made to be caused by the defendant himself breaching the provisions of Section 180-182 of the CA. The court held the same with respect to unregistered managed investment scheme by not registering the investment scheme and therefore a breach of the defendant’s duty of care as provided in Section 180(1) of the CA along with the breach on Section 181 by not acting in best interest of the pany (Bruce 2013). The court had a different view with respect to the breach of reporting failure by capital. The court held the the defendant breach the provisions of Section 180 by not plying with his duty of care towards the pany. However, the court held that the defendant did not breach the provisions of Section 181 in this situation, as his acts cannot be considered not to be in good faith. The findings conducted by the court in this case are broadly discussed the range and limits of the duties of directors and other officers towards the pany. The provisions provided in Section 180-182 of the CA have a very wide but simple meaning to them. Through this case the court made it clear that the it is not necessary that detriment was actually caused to the corporation or unfair advantage was actually gained by the director , it is enough that the directors acted in such a way which would have resulted in such problem. Bilchitz, D. and Jonas, L.A., 2016. Proportionality, Fundamental Rights and the Duties of Directors.  Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, p.gqw002. Bruce, M., 2013.  Rights and duties of directors. Bloomsbury Publishing. Donner, I.H., 2016. Fiduciary Duties of Directors When Managing Intellectual Property.  Nw. J. Tech. & Intell. Prop.,  14, p.203. Fairfax, L.M., 2013. Sue on Pay: Say on Pay's Impact on Directors' Fiduciary Duties.  Ariz. L. Rev.,  55, p.1. Gelter, M. and Helleringer, G., 2013. Constituency Directors and Corporate Fiduciary Duties.  Fort ing: The Philosophical Foundations of Fiduciary Law (Andrew Gold & Paul Miller eds., Oxford University Press, 2014). Gerner-Beuerle, C., Paech, P. and Schuster, E.P., 2013. Study on directors’ duties and liability. Huebner, M.S. and Klein, D.S., 2015. The Fiduciary Duties of Directors of Troubled panies.  American Bankruptcy Institute Journal,  34(2), p.18. Keay, A., 2012. Directors’ duties to creditors and financially distressed panies’. Keay, A., 2016. Wider Representation on pany Boards and Directors’ Duties.  Journal of International Banking and Financial Law,  31(9), pp.530-533. Keay, A.R., 2014.  Directors' duties. Knepper, W.E., Bailey, D.A., Bowman, K.B., Eblin, R.L. and Lane, R.S., 2015.  Duty of Loyalty  (Vol. 1). Liability of Corporate Officers and Directors. Land, A.L. and Saunders, R.S., 2014.  Folk on the Delaware General Corporation Law: Fundamentals. Aspen Publishers Online. Prashker, L., 2014. Corporation Law for Officers and Directors (Book Note). Stout, L.A., Robà ©, J.P., Ireland, P., Deakin, S., Greenfield, K., Johnston, A., Schepel, H., Blair, M.M., Talbot, L.E., Dignam, A.J. and Dine, J., 2016. The Modern Corporation Statement on pany Law. Tewari, S.P., 2015. Directors Fiduciary Duty not to make Secret Gains. Welch, E.P., Saunders, R.S., Land, A.L., Voss, J.C. and Turezyn, A.J., 2015.  Folk on the Delaware General Corporation Law: Fundamentals. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Emerging leadership theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Emerging leadership theories - Essay Example However, Greenleaf believes that there must be a soul of the organization that does not change and is always there to help people with the change. This unchanging core that helps should be the core principles of the organization and should be determined by laws that are predetermined and are universal (Greenleaf & Spears, 2001). According to Greenleaf (2001), servant leaders live by the conscience which is the inward sense of what is morally right and wrong. The difference is that other leadership styles including servant work but the one that always endures is servant. The Servant leader has learned how to respect others and yet work toward organizational goals. The vision of that leadership is often integral to the character of that person. For example, the leader may believe that "I do Servant leadership because that is who I am." (Bell & Habel, 2009). In Servant leadership one would have a basic set of values which they would always use. In comparison, Full Range Leadership Theory (FRLT) is a rendition of the Transformational leadership style which affects the nine dimensions of leadership behavior. Transformation leadership as well as FRLT is very popular leadership styles at this time. This type of leadership is about charisma and the ability to move people forward because they want to work for you. Transformational leadership according to the literature works (Northouse, 2010), but is it as Greenleaf asks, enduring The answer to that is not really known at this time due it being a farily new style. Ethical leadership is the ability to understand ones core values and to use them to lead and advance the common good. Thos leaders that are concerned with ethical leadership have a core value of integrity. They find who they are and then the reach out and develop a vision as to how the world could be different and then use their voice to help change it. They also lead by example using values, vision, voice and virtue (ethicaleadership.org, 2010). These three leadership styles do have some things that are alike and some that are different. Each one has a dimension of moving the organization forward by helping employees to understand "get aboard the train" where the organization needs to go and why. In all three cases, the employees want to follow these leaders so they do. Transformational or FRLT leaders have charisma which makes them well liked by the staff and therefore the staff likes to work for them. Ethical leaders are always doing what is needed for the common good so the staff feels cared for and in Servant leadership, it is all about the staff but from the perspective of a leader who has strong core values and is the stable part of any change. A Situation Leadership in nursing must deal with many things. It is a field of caring and sometimes in a task environment that is forgotten. That can and does happen easily when one of our own is in need. Leadership then becomes more important than ever. In this case, the nurse was diverting drugs. At first, this is a strongly ethical issue for us that are quite difficult to figure out. One must remember, however, that a Servant leader has a strong core that does not change, even

Monday, November 18, 2019

War literature has common themes such as loss, patriotism and Dissertation

War literature has common themes such as loss, patriotism and futility, how far is this true in relation to the literature of ww - Dissertation Example Such sentiments continued as basic war themes in various poems, dramas, and novels, right to the end of the nineteenth century. With the coming of the twentieth century, however there appeared a wave of modernism that removed all ideologies of romanticism from the realms of war literature. Romanticism, heroism, and patriotism were replaced by the theme of death, cynicism, and dilemma on the futility of the wars fought and lives lost. The Vietnam War, which belongs to the postmodern era, conveyed a picture of realism that focussed on mainly on evils of war. This article will examine the transformations in the war literature that took place for almost over a century, starting with the nineteenth century era of romanticism and hero worship, to the modern twenty- first century wars that speak of death and gory in the battlefield, with special emphasis on WWI, WWII, and the Vietnam war. War themes in the literature of WWI, WWII, and the Vietnam War 1 Introduction Soldiers, prepare! Our ca use is Heaven's cause; / Soldiers, prepare! Be worthy of our cause: / Prepare to meet our fathers in the sky: / Prepare, O troops, that are to fall to-day! Prepare, prepare!† – William Blake (A War Song to Englishmen) Throughout history, war has always played the role of a major determining factor in shaping a country’s socio-economic, cultural, and religious aspects. War, right from start of human civilisation, received societal approval, until the end of the 19th century. Therefore, it is of little wonder that war has been a persistent theme in art and literature, throughout the various ages. War literature always mirrored the hopes and aspirations of men in the battlefield, and also that of the society back home. There was a conscious feeling of patriotism, which intermingled with a pervading sense of futility about the lives lost in the various wars. The literature of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, also show a certain air of romanticism attached to the notions of war and the heroic actions of the brave soldiers at the front. However, all these started changing with the beginning of the twentieth century, when war slowly became a more grim matter, an issue of death, dying, and endless suffering, with a complete lack of the Victorian glorification of the war. We notice this slow transformation during the WWI when the era of modernism with its themes of  individualism, a deep mistrust towards all state and religious institutions, and a general air of breaking away from social and conventional norms, entered the literary world. The basic principles of modernism can be summarised as related to concerns centred upon â€Å"the deepest problems of modern life derive from the claim of the individual to preserve the autonomy and individuality of his existence in the face of overwhelming social forces, of historical heritage, of external culture, and of the technique of life" (Simmel, 2004, 79). The Vietnam War was however like a huge jolt, which shook the entire social world out of its repose, while also transforming the genre of war literature, making it more realistic, and reflecting the large scale destruction that war actually spelled out. The Vietnam War further removed all traces of nationalism from

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Transforming Leadership Analysis Essay Example for Free

Transforming Leadership Analysis Essay Introduction â€Å"The strategic environment, national guidance, and operational requirements demand that todays US Army forces conduct operations of a type, tempo, and duration that differ significantly from those of the past. The late 20th century required a force able to execute a fixed number of deliberate war plans and prepared to provide small forces for infrequent contingencies. The 21st century requires a force able to conduct sustained operations against several ongoing contingencies while remaining prepared to execute a number of deliberate war plans. Sustained operations and readiness to meet both old and new threats will be normal for the foreseeable future.   This situation requires changes in both structure and mindset. The Army is rapidly transforming itself to meet both requirements. The War on Terrorism has given the Army a strategic opportunity to reshape itself. It is leveraging its wartime focus to build campaign quality Army forces with joint and expeditionary capabilities. It is shedding inefficient processes and procedures designed for peacetime and re-examining institutional assumptions, organizational structures, paradigms, policies, and procedures. (Kane Tremble 1994) This ongoing transformation is producing a better balance of capabilities. When complete. Army forces will be able to deploy more promptly and sustain operations longer to exercise decisive land power across the range of military operations. The Armys goal is to transform itself into a more responsive, effective expeditionary force capable of sustained campaigning any where in the world. Meanwhile, it continues to sustain operational support to combatant commanders and maintain the quality of the all-volunteer force†. (Our Army at War Relevant and Ready) Within the last century, the scale of war has made necessary a different type of leader. We no longer fight for our farms, villages, and hunting lands. Our interests have shifted from straits and mountain passes. In our current world, as a result of technological revolutions and ever growing political instability, we live in the threat of a global war. Actions have the potential to resonate in many continents subsequently influencing the economies, policies, and war strategies of nations worldwide. For these reasons, leaders must study the past and integrate historys lessons learned with the new challenges of leading within a heightened threat. Military leaders must maintain their grasp and focus on the technical mastery of war fighting, personal courage, and the ability to inspire men to fight for a common cause. Victory will lend itself to the commander who can master the terrain and find new or creative ways to employ his weapons and men. Leaders must be technically proficient with the arms they use to wage war. In a broad example, the Spartans studied the natural tendency of phalanx formations to shift right and employed special tactics to break off part of their formation and bring it upon the flank of their enemy. Even here with similar weapons and tactics, the Spartans pursued the mastery of their war fighting system and stood victorious on the field of battle. (Bass 1990) For a more detailed analysis, in 480 BC, during the Greco-Persian wars, a Spartan leader named Leonidas used terrain to his advantage to inflict incredible damage upon his Persian enemy. The Persian army numbering between 200,000 and 250,000 men marched towards the northwest pass into Greece. Leonidas moved his forces to block the vital passage at Thermopylae, a narrow passage with high walls. Though he reinforced his army along the way, Leonidas could muster only 7,000 men. He immediately began building a wall between the pass to further narrow it and channel his enemy. Overwhelmed, the Spartans lost the pass but managed to kill 20,000 Persians to their 1,000 lost. Several centuries later in the US civil war, General Lee used his mastery of terrain at the Maryes Heights during the battle of Fredericksburg, Maryland. Mid-November in 1862, union forces under General Burnside began to occupy positions outside Falmouth near Fredericksburg to meet Lee. In response, Lee entrenched his forces at Maryes Heights, a higher ground outside the town. In addition, the armies were now separated by the Rappahannock River. In December Burnside began his assault. Lee allowed the union forces to cross the river and then instructed his entire army to open fire, which pinned Burnside between the Heights and the Rappahannock River. Lee managed to inflict 3 to 1 casualties upon the northern armies during several futile, uphill charges and Burnside is forced to call off his offensive. He would try again in January 1863, but would be repulsed by Lees army in their superior position. (Kane Tremble 1994) Army Transformation â€Å"Transformation describes the process by which the current force is becoming the future force. It occurs as the Army incorporates new capabilities into its force structure and trains soldiers to use them. The future force is what the Army continuously seeks to become. It will be strategically responsive and joint interdependent. It will be capable of precision maneuver and able to dominate adversaries and situations across the range of military operations envisioned in the future security environment. The future force will be lighter, more lethal and agile, and optimized for versatility. It will be capable of seamlessly transitioning among the different types of military operations. Army transformation is more than materiel solutions. Adaptive and determined leadership, innovative concept development and experimentation, and lessons learned from recent operations produce corresponding changes to doctrine, organizations, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities (DOTMLPF). DOTMLPF is a problem-solving construct for assessing current capabilities and managing change. Change is achieved through a continuous cycle of adaptive innovation, experimentation, and experience. Change deliberately executed across DOTMLPF elements enables the Army to improve its capabilities to provide dominant land power to the joint force. Authoritative basis that sets into action the Armys transformation strategies, It provides specific objectives, assigns responsibilities for execution, and synchronizes resources. It directs the planning, preparation, and execution of Army operations and Army transformation within the context of the nations ongoing strategic commitments. These commitments and resource availability dictate the synchronization and pace of change. The Army Campaign Plan also sustains operational support to combatant commanders and maintains the quality of the all-volunteer force†. (FM 1) In contrast, when in history a leader has demonstrated cowardice, it has stripped them men of their warrior spirit, unity, and willingness to fight. When Antony fled the battle at Actium, his unit became disorganized and confused and subsequently lost the battle. The same result occurred when Napoleon abandoned his army at Waterloo. (Kane Tremble 1994) These characteristics of valor and moral courage are illustrated in the battles of General Washington. He sat with the remnants of the Continental Army at Valley Forge starving, inadequately sheltered, and with their only clothing rotting off their backs. Though he had been successful earlier on, Washington now found his army suffering through one of the worst American winters and troubled by low morale and desertion. In response to his pleas for additional funds and supplies the American congress suggested he quarter his troops in the nearby towns. Quartering was an acceptable practice and certainly expected given his circumstances, but Washington feared the impression his troops would have upon the American public and how it would affect the support for the war and the resulting government. After much moral deliberation, he gathered his troops and spoke to them. His decision to stay in the blistering cold and suffer the winter was unpopular at first, but his men began to understand his reasons and responded to his exemplary leadership. Washingtons personal actions and moral courage renewed his mens faith, convinced them to stay the course, and above all to do the right thing. In the combat action of the Revolutionary war Washington had a dozen mounts shot out beneath him, and was once missed by a round that struck through his overcoat and he narrowly escaped injury. His morality was accompanied by his physical courage in battle inspiring his men to fight on despite their hardships. (Tremble 1992) Literature Review Nearly a century later, the moral courage and personal character of its commanding general held together an undersupplied, undermanned, yet confident Confederate army. In the final battle of the Civil War, Lee demonstrated his dedication to his men and willingness to sacrifice himself over his command. The opposing armies were prepared for battle in a field near the town of Appomattox. Near the beginning of the assault Lees lines began to give way forcing him into a moral dilemma that affected the overall course of the war. In this moment Lee replaced his personal drive for victory with the sobering realization of defeat. Understanding the futility of further efforts against his enemy, Lee sent a flag of truce to his counterpart, despite the war cries and urging of his men to return to battle. He sacrificed personal pride and commitment to victory for his duty and loyalty to his men. General Lees character and obligation to do the right thing tied together and motivated the armies of the south and his soldiers understood that Lee acted for the benefit of the Confederacy and not for personal gain. In WWII, 80 yrs after Lees surrender, the US was at the height of submarine patrols against Japan in WWII, and Commander Howard Gilmore set a course from Brisbane, Australia into Japanese waters to interrupt their shipping lanes in the USS Growler. While surfaced to charge the submarines batteries, Gilmore was engaged and rammed by a Japanese ship. Attacking the crippled and idle Growler, enemy gunners quickly sprayed the bridge of the submarine killing the Assistant Officer of the Deck, lookout, and wounding Gilmore. The submarine remained under still heavy fire from the enemy machine gunners. Aware that the Growler would be sunk in the time needed for him to crawl below decks, Gilmore made the supreme sacrifice for his shipmates. Commander Gilmore put his command before himself and through his selfless and courageous act saved his crew at the cost of his own life. His ordered his crew to, Take her down! and then perished at sea. Perhaps the most decisive aspect of moral leadership is the ability to inspire a fire within people to fight for a common goal or unit objective. Moral courage and technical expertise and skill are the enabling devices for which a leader may instill confidence and trust among his troops, but it is the ability to produce a common objective that will inspire men to fight. A free and voluntary army requires an indisputable cause. (Tremble 1992) For example, General Washington was able to contain the rivaling factions of the American Revolution and then unite and direct them towards a common purpose. Unable to agree amongst them as to an appropriate course of action, it was Washingtons decisive and assertive leadership that unified their purpose. Despite their conflicting ideas, the Americans believed unanimously in the ability of Washington. In much the same way, Robert E. Lee fused and gave purpose to the Confederate states in the Civil War and Winston Churchill unified the rivaling factions of the British government during WWII. One of the better examples of inspirational leadership is from recent history. Al-Qaeda forces draw their strength and morally rationalize their terrorist attacks through their fanatical belief in the justness of their cause. The terrorist leaders harness the energy created by this fanaticism in their culture and focus it towards a common goal. This leadership style establishes a purpose and allows for a transition into active fighting spirit. These leadership traits are fundamental and remain at the foundation of successful military leadership. They remain a leadership challenge for all fighting men in the worlds militaries and occur at all levels within the military force. Those who master and arm themselves with these concepts are positioned to succeed while those who ignore them are destined to fail. Transformational Leadership and Subordinate Outcomes on Army a Case Study Basss (1985a, 1985b) ideas have enthused Ð ° substantial amount of study. The mass of this study has investigated the foundation line or Ð ° circuitous effect of transformational behaviors on Ð ° leader or unit recital and effectiveness. Research on the hypothesized straight effects of ordinate outcomes: admiration, respect, and Ð ° trust of the leader, motivation and commitment to Ð ° shared goals and visions; innovative and creative approaches; and growth reflecting the unique needs and desires of Ð ° individual followers. According to Bass, Ð ° follower outcomes promoted by transformational behaviors result in Ð ° levels of organizational attempt and recital over and further than what are possible by Ð ° transactional behavior. These effects of Ð ° transformational leadership on Ð ° subordinate outcomes defines the augmentation hypothesis, which has Ð °, guided empirical testing of Basss ideas about transformational leadership.   Basss (1985a, 1985b) ideas are particularly striking to organizations, like todays military, in which Ð ° success depends on the participation and Ð ° active participation of all organizational members. U.S. Army doctrine, for instance, mentions leadership as the most essential component of combat power or the ability to fight and win. This doctrine more envisions that leaders add to effectual unit recital by inspiring Ð ° purpose, direction, and Ð ° will to win. Basss ideas for the expansion of successful army leaders have been so striking that the U.S. military in recent times published Ð ° volume discussing issues and insinuations raised by the distinction among transformational and transactional behaviors (Bass, 1996). Study in U.S. Army units has Ð ° supported these doctrinal views relating to the significance of the interactions between leadership, soldier circumstances, and unit performance. Siebold (1994), for instance, measured the work enthusiasm of soldiers 2 to 4 weeks earlier to their units contribution in replicated battle exercises. Strong, optimistic correlations were obtained among pre-exercise modes of soldier enthusiasm and rated success of units throughout the exercises. In adding, the motivation-unit-performance association was moderated by leader efficiency. So as to, when units were grouped by discernments of leader efficiency, strong, optimistic correlations were obtained for units with the uppermost leadership ratings but not for units with Ð ° lowest ratings. Savell, Teague, and Tremble tested the connection among leader-follower characteristics. They reported that Ð ° positive association existed among the enthusiasm levels of leaders and followers and that the force of that association augmented as followers reports of Ð ° Leader’s overall ability also increased. (Tremble 1992) Organizational Level and Transformational Behaviors Bass (1990) argued that the principles of Ð ° transformational leadership apply to all organizational levels. Consistent with Ð ° argument, transformational research has Ð ° examined samples ranging from cadets at military institutes to executives and Ð ° world leaders. Potentially inconsistent with Basss (1985b) quarrel, though, is the deviation in results obtained across organizational settings. For example, Spangler and Braiotta (1990) reported that transactional scope was slightly more strongly correlated with audit committee efficiency than were transformational features. In this framework, monitoring mistakes and satisfying accuracy may have been essential for leader recital. As such, lively management by omission and dependent reward predicted recital as powerfully as did transformational actions. Spangler and Braiotta as well found that active, management by omission was as powerfully connected with the transformational scales as those scales were connected between one another. In difference, Howell and Avolio reported that active management by omission was unconstructively connected with unit recital and transformational leadership in monetary institutions.   (Bass 1986) How to report for these unreliable effects is not overall clear. Relationships among leaders and followers vary crosswise organizations. As leaders move on in organizations, they grow carefulness and authority, use less time intimately supervising followers, and take on broadened responsibilities. Crossways levels, followers frequently vary in status, carefulness, independence, and promise. In adding, the progressive understanding and training conventional by organizational personnel might generate diverse expectations between junior leaders, more senior leaders, and followers about actions that comprise suitable leadership actions. Therefore, the unreliable effects obtained for transformational and transactional behaviors could reproduce a number of issues, together with the suitability of a single-form device, for instance the MLQ, for recitation variations across levels in leadership roles, in function relationships, or in contexts. (Bass 1986) Though the connotation of leader actions and of follower prospect concerning that behavior might modify crosswise organizational levels, the regularity of precise types of behavior might also vary. Kuhnert and Lewis explained that adults are extra liable to connect in transformational behaviors after they have attained advanced stages of ethical growth. Behind this outlook, increased transformational behavior (but not essentially transactional behavior) was originated for other senior Army leaders (Bass et al., 1987b). On the contrary, transactional behavior was originated to typify victorious cadets all through their pre-commissioning preparation and learning at a state military college. Contrary proof was obtainable by Lowe et al. (1996), who completed in their meta-analysis that transformational leadership did not considerably vary as a purpose of organizational level. (Bass 1996) Our current National Security Strategy (NSS), National Military Strategy (NMS) and existing Army force structure were ill conceived for the future of the Army. As a result of the Bottom-Up Review (BUR), the Army was right sized and structured to meet the requirements to fight and win two major theater wars (MTWs). However, this force structure was never intended to support current deployment levels for military operations other than war (MOOTW). In fact, the BUR warned that, Protracted commitments to peace operations could lower the overall readiness of US active duty forces over time, and in turn, reduce our ability to fulfill our strategy to be able to win two nearly simultaneous major regional conflicts. Increased MOOTW deployments such as Somalia, Haiti and Bosnia have driven the Armys operational tempo (OPTEMPO) to historically high levels. As prophesied by the BUR, the Armys overall readiness is declining. Moreover, given our current NSS, a turbulent international community ripe with MOOTW opportunities and continuing fiscal pressures, it is unlikely the Army can expect a reduction to OPTEMPO in the near future. In short, the Army is faced with a strategy and force structure mismatch. To compound this mismatch, the Army faces another pressing problem in its responsibilities to support joint war fighting. As joint war fighting doctrine continues to evolve and improve, deficiencies concerning critical missions such as rear area protection of the joint logistics and sustain base and the need for a war-termination force have surfaced (US Department of Defense, 1995, pp.1-9). These unique Army missions pose a difficult challenge. How can the Army correct these joint war fighting deficiencies in an environment that already overtaxes its capabilities and resources? Late in the Cold War, the Armys strategy for using its Reserve Component (RC) forces was totally different from todays. Born of the joint vision of General Creighton Abrams and Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, the Total Force concept was embraced by an Army all too aware of the problems created by not using significant RC forces in either the Korean or Vietnam Wars. The Armys overall readiness is declining. Moreover, given our current National Security Strategy, a turbulent international community ripe with opportunities for military operations other than war and continuing fiscal pressures, it is unlikely the Army can expect a reduction to OPTEMPO in the near future. In short, the Army is faced with a strategy and force structure mismatch (1993). It is time to abandon the conflict between the active Army and Army National Guard (ARNG) over Guard readiness and look at ARNG maneuver unit utility from a new perspective. The search for a new paradigm properly begins by considering the connection between readiness and risks. Reserve Component (RC) units cannot attain the readiness levels of equivalent Active Component (AC) units in 39 days of yearly pre-mobilization training. Therefore, some degree of risk will always be associated with early deployment of RC units. The key question is: how much risk is acceptable? If the risk of deploying ARNG maneuver units early is within acceptable limits, the Army could benefit greatly. (Bass 1996) The decision to deploy these units meant that the Army was accepting some degree of tactical risk that units could not perform some of the missions for which they were organized. Even during the defense build-up in the mid-80s, the Army maintained its strategy of early deployment of RC maneuver forces. In a security environment of high threat and increasing resources, the Army was willing to accept the tactical risks associated with deploying these RC units (Noyes, 1995, pp.8-9). Today, the Army faces no peer competitor such as the massive Soviet Army, just a small group of ill-trained, ill-equipped regional armies. Army and joint capabilities for precision deep attack of enemy forces have revolutionized the ground combat concept of battle space. No longer must the enemy be reduced in a desperate fight by maneuver elements along the forward line of troops (FLOT). Deadly surface and air joint operational fires, many miles away, can now reduce enemy maneuver units from the FLOT. Although resource constraints have reduced the active Armys relative maneuver combat power by nearly half since the RC units cannot attain the readiness levels of comparable AC units in 39 days of yearly pre-mobilization training. Therefore, some degree of risk will always be associated with early deployment of RC units. The key question is: how much risk is acceptable? If the risk of deploying ARNG maneuver units early is within acceptable limits, the Army could benefit greatly. (Waldman et al 2001) In November 1999, US Army Chief of Staff Eric K. Shinseki directed the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) to undertake a comprehensive review of the Army force structure. In response, the TRADOC commander, General John Abrams, began developing a brigade-sized force capable of rapid deployment, yet with the staying power of the current heavy force (1993). This force would have to be able to respond to the growing number of peacekeeping and small-scale conflicts, as well as, facing the problems of nontraditional threats and the likely hood of terrorist threats. The Army today is built on a heavy force and a light force. The heavy force has the necessary firepower and sustainability but require too much time to deploy. The light force can deploy quickly, but lack the power and sustainability to remain for extended periods of time. (Waldman et al 2001) Under this new transformational plan, there would be a combat force comprised of elements of the active Army heavy and light forces, along with, elements of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve forces. This would provide a mix of forces that could deploy fast, pack the necessary combat power, and be able to sustain contact for an extended period of time without direct support. It would also provide our part-time soldiers with the necessary additional training to sustain their combat readiness and confidence. This will bring the armed forces to the realization of an Army of one. As we can see from the events of today, that the conventional Army of the past is no longer the Army of the future. The forces have to be ready to react to any possible action or conflict that may arise. Terrorism is an entity that has a broad hand. The multitude of the armed forces has had to come together to provide the necessary force to not only fight abroad, but to secure to home front from attack. The part-time soldier has stepped up in this new transformational Army to take to job of homeland protectors while the specialized forces have taken on the challenge of rooting out the evil. Did the US Army Chief of Staff Eric K. Shinseki have a premonition of the events that unfolded over the last few months? He may or may not, but the fact is that he new that the Army of old could not fight the battles of the future. Transformation was inevitable, and he was the man to see the emerging trend of modern day warfare. Present The observations illustrated above show how far the Army has come in the past 15 years concerning civilians in the Total Army. The new FM 22-100 is the latest indicator that the Total Army must depend on all its components in performing todays missions.   The Army is smaller today than at any time since before World War II and it continues to downsize. In less than a decade, the Army reduced its ranks by more than 630,000 people, closed more than 700 installations and changed from Ð ° forward-deployed force to a Continental United States-based, power-projection force. The number of deployments in that same period increased by 300 percent accordingly, missions were realigned and force structures changed. The bottom line is that DACs have assumed responsibilities in the Total Army that were not even envisioned a couple of decades ago. The Army simply cannot mobilize, deploy or sustain itself without its civilian component. The old ways of doing business do not work anymore. The outdated paradigms that endure about DACs should be revisited. DACs roles, responsibilities and leader challenges are in constant flux. Emphasizing the need to develop civilian leaders for positions of greater responsibility, Reimer stated, We cannot leave the development of our civilian leaders to chance. The development of civilian leaders starts with the accession and training of interns. We must hire the best and train them to meet the challenge,; of the 21st century . It is important that we continue the emphasis on professional development for all civilians through the executive level. (Waldman et al 2001) It was only a little more than a decade ago that the Army began providing progressive and sequential competency-based leadership training for civilians through the Center for Army Leadership (CAL), Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Army Management Staff College, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Before the mid-1980s, a career track comparable to those for officers and noncommissioned officers (NCOs) did not exist for DACs. Historically, the career program functional chiefs for about 25 percent of DACs who were in career programs determined their technical requirements. Supervisors determined the appropriate training for those not in career programs. Not enough attention was given to identifying civilians with potential for advancement or systematically determining the skills needed to prepare high-caliber individuals for progressively more responsible leadership roles. In essence, leader development for DACs was not a consideration. (Tremble et al 1997) The difficulty of creating a civilian training program was compounded by the fact that civilians enter the federal work force at various levels based on their qualifications for specific jobs, rather than at a single point as officers and enlisted personnel do at the start of their careers. An individual is hired with a presumption of having the training needed for the position he is to occupy. Additional training is provided only after finding that the person needs to enhance the skills required by the job. Bringing such a person to a high-performing level in a reasonable amount of time is a tremendous challenge for any commander or leader. Historically civilian training does not compete with military training for resources. The Army has made considerable progress in the past 15 years in modernizing civilian personnel management. Programs such as the Army Civilian Training, Education and Development System (ACTEDS) and the Total Army Performance Evaluation System (TAPES) have eliminated many of the earlier systems complexities, resulting in some civilian developmental programs more closely resembling those for officers and enlisted personnel. ACTEDS provides a career progression road map for developing and training civilians from entry to senior level. The development of civilian leaders, like that of their uniformed colleagues, is a blend of institutional training, operational assignments and self-development. The Civilian Leader Development Action Plan provides similar frames of reference as plans developed for officers, warrant officers and NCOs. ACTEDS specifies training in two areas: professional technical career training and leadership and training. There are some underlying concepts that are common to all three courses. The content in each course is embedded in the Armys leadership doctrine and values. Participants experience leadership in its purest formexperience being the operative word. Experiential learning permeates the course from the moment class begins and continues until the participants depart. CLTD courses are the only ones the Army offers that employ experiential learning. Adults learn better if they experience a situation rather than simply hearing about it from others. In experiential learning, everyone in a situation has his own personal experience. Human nature being what it is, no two experiences are exactly the same because of individual backgrounds, prior experiences, biases, values, beliefs and attitudes. Once the common experience is complete, participants examine the varied perspectives in the group and look at why those different views exist. Through discussion, participants begin to discover the factors that came together to create the behaviors others saw. They consider the lessons they can take away from the experience and then examine possible new courses of action. Through this process, greater and deeper understanding develops, trust grows and teams build. (Kane Tremble 1994) The focus is on how people work together, as contrasted to what they may be working on. Participants examine how the group made decisions and how those decisions affected members commitment to the final product, how conflicts were resolved, how people communicated with one another and how groups dealt with common issues or problems. In doing this, the participants learn more about themselves and others. Many opportunities arise throughout each course for participants to discover how influential they can be with other members. They live the Armys values and come away with a real understanding of those valuesnot merely slogans that are little more than bumper stickers. They polish influential communication skills and gain a better understanding of their individual strengths and the areas where they may want to change. Opportunities abound for those who desire to practice new behaviors and receive feedback from others in the group. They also examine the choices they have in their lives, which often yield surprises. If individuals see that they are empowered to influence their own behavior, then they can do a better job of influencing and motivating others. Leaders also learn how to diagnose the culture in their organizations, develop visions for their organizations and lead change. Class participants learn what works for them personally and do not simply take home cookie-cutter recipes for leadership. Condition: Peace and War The previous debate was concerned mainly with serving leaders comprehend how the leadership equation develop as Ð ° leader moves from strategic leadership to superior levels. As Ð ° general rule, the wartime mission is more serious and Ð ° result of breakdown takes on Ð ° potentially disastrous consequences. Therefore, the arrow under the assignment column is considerably bigger than the other arrows. A unit that breakdowns to convene its peacetime tasking might ruined an operational readiness inspection (ORI) or acquire a commander fired. Over time of Ð ° war, the mental state of followers takes on superior meaning since terror complicates their aptitude to execute. Leaders have to take this aspect into reflection when transitioning from tranquility to war. To recompense for fear and the superior significance of mission achievement, leaders might understandably turn out to be more demanding.   In case we deduce too much from the above case, we would propose that a demanding style is not Ð ° routine response to a battle environment. Under usual conditions, a leaders style wont transform simply as the bullets are flying. It depends on the circumstances and the leader. If one has never individually practiced combat, one cannot recognize in what the difficulties continuously mentioned actually consist, nor why a commander should need any brilliancy and outstanding skill. . . . Everything in war is straightforward, but the simplest thing is not easy. The difficulties build up and end by producing Ð ° kind of resistance that is unthinkable if one has experienced war, Ð ° last war versus peace related issue should be addressed at the present. As we change to a more follower-oriented, empowering leadership model in peace for example TQM, there are possible pitfalls for us when busy in battle operations. The basic principle of essential training over the years has been to smash down the individuals civilian mind-set that is obviously opposed to subsequent potentially life-threatening battleground orders. In place of the inhabitant mind-set, we replacement military discipline throughout fundamental training, an automatic compliance to Ð ° strict leadership style. The objective of Ð ° QAF is just the contradictory. It seeks to move authority from the leader to subordinates and to Ð ° solicit ideas and insights from followers in a very friendly, benign atmosphere. How will the methodically indoctrinated and empowered QAF follower react if the units control takes on a more despotic style during battle? This is a matter that prospect leaders, mainly at the unit level, need to address. (Spangler Braiotta 2000) Condition: Combined Leadership One more difference in the leadership equation that will turn out to be more and more significant in todays atmosphere involves the mixture of friendly forces. A single-service process is comparatively simple to organize since like-minded persons are concerned in accomplishing the task. Their communication is facilitated by an ordinary dictionary and a ordinary orientation to their exacting way of combating. One time we comprise members of an additional service, though, additional considerations and sensitivities require to be addressed. Differences in service doctrine and operational methods not merely aggravate working jointly but can have a harmful, even deadly consequence on operations. Additionally, inter service rivalries have intricate and will carry on to confuse mission achievement. The rivalry between Gen Douglas MacArthur and a admirals Ernest J. King/Chester W. Nimitz in the World War II Pacific Theater led to a less than best harmonization of operations. Alternatively, Army general Omar Bradley and an Air Force general Elwood R. Quesada worked fine jointly. The circumstances become especially multifaceted when allies are drawn in. Additionally to doctrinal and service mismatching, cultural and chronological differences complex efforts to organize joint operations. In an Airpower Journal article The Staff Experience and Leadership Development, Gen John Shaud noted that a likelihood of your contribution in a joint alliance staff in this post-cold war world has augmented by an order of magnitude. He served as a chief of staff for the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) until lately and as of that skill made the following observation: On the alliance staff, as is the case with some new management position . . . my main assignment was to organize the activities of the workforce. . . . Additionally to what you might usually wait for that to entail, I originate that I also had to be a negotiator, diplomat, taskmaster, and cheerleader. I learned also that on the SHAPE staff (as well as on most coalition staffs), some of the most significant factors to be measured were appreciating intrinsic differences in culture and speech and possessing a solid intellect of history. Future Operating Environment Challenges and Recommendations â€Å"The Army is preparing today to meet the four types of challenges: Traditional, Irregular, Catastrophic, and Disruptive. To address traditional challenges, the Army is extending its mastery of major combat operations. It is maintaining the ability to counter todays conventional threats while preparing for tomorrows anti-access environments. The ability to prevail in major combat operations is a crucial responsibility and primary driver of capabilities development. Many capabilities required for major combat operations apply across the range of military operations. Those capabilities include: Strategic and operational mobility; Advanced information systems to support command, control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; Precision weaponry; Force protection: and Sustain. The Army is broadening and deepening its ability to counter irregular challenges. However, because the Nation cannot afford two armies, the Army is meeting this requirement by increasing the versatility and agility of the same forces that conduct conventional operations. In many situations, the combination of traditional and irregular threats presents the most demanding challenges to military effectiveness. This combination requires soldiers and units able to transition between the operations required to counter conventional and irregular threats. Preempting catastrophic threats includes deterring the use of, or destroying weapons of mass destruction. It is increasing its ability to rapidly project forces and decisively maneuver them over both global and theatre distances. It is seeking minimal reliance on predictable, vulnerable deployment transition points (intermediate staging bases) or ports of entry. To prepare for disruptive challenges, the Army is maintaining and improving a range of capabilities, minimizing the potential for single point strategic surprise and failure. It is also developing intellectual capital to power a culture of innovation and adaptability, the Armys most potent response to disruptive threats. While preparing for irregular, disruptive, and catastrophic challenges, the Army is retaining its ability to dominate land operations in traditional conflicts. American land forces clearly occupy a commanding position in the world with respect to defeating traditional military challenges. The Army must retain a superior position, particularly in the face of modernizing armies that might challenge US partners and interests. Failure to maintain a qualitative edge over these traditional threats would promote instability and create vulnerabilities that adversaries might attempt to exploit. While technology will be crucial to achieving greater operational agility and precision lethality, the human dimension will continue to be the critical element of war. The soldier will remain the centerpiece of Army organizations. As the complexity of operations increases, well-trained, innovative, and disciplined soldiers and leaders will become more important than ever. Recruiting, training, educating, and retaining of soldiers is vital to maintaining land power dominance in all forms of conflict†.   (FM 1) Conclusion The research of Bà  ss, Burns, Kà ®uzà ¥s and Pà ®snà ¥ had one major preliminary task, then, was to assemble a list of behaviors that seemed to be critical. That list would be used in surveys and discussions with the study participants. While this study focused on division commanders, the requisite behaviors were typically relevant to any level of the organization, and discussions with participants, who ranged in grade from captain to lieutenant general, went beyond the exclusive behavior of division commanders. (As one indicator of the relative universal applicability of basic leader behaviors, an Army Research Institute study a few years ago on leader effectiveness in light infantry platoons showed many critical behaviors at that level were similar to those seen important for division commanders.) An interesting but not surprising finding from that exploration of previous studies was that certain behaviors kept surfacing as crucial to good leadership. There is no doubt that Army officers over the years have had a solid feel for what good looks like. While there are some differences of opinion on the relative importance among behaviors, there is remarkable agreement across grades and branches on which set of behaviors really make a difference. It is also important to note that in distinguishing good leaders from others, the distinction did not fall between leaders on one side, who focused on mission, and leaders on the other, who focused on people. Rather, it was how leaders approached mission and people that accounted for the perceived differences in the quality of their leadership. The team that created the study also recognized that operations in Iraq present an environment that epitomizes two fundamental challenges for leaders of all organizations: the need to attain immediate tactical success while maintaining the long-term health of the force; and establish the necessary centralized control to ensure integration of operating systems while encouraging and supporting the required initiative at subordinate levels. The study team eventually isolated 29 behaviors, derived from current leadership doctrine and the synthesis of prior studies. That preliminary list was further reviewed by a number of active duty and retired officers who had extensive leadership experience. An Army War College class and some scientists familiar with Army leadership principles and methods also helped to refine the list. The final list became one of the survey instruments used in the study. These 29 behaviors were seen as relevant and comprehensive by the 77 officers from the four divisions, who eventually participated in the study at their home stations within a few weeks of returning from OIF. To gain an external view of division mission accomplishment, two corps commanders and a deputy corps commander were queried about the combat performance of the divisions and the styles of the division commanders (individual or unit data was not specified in the report; subordinate participants provided survey input anonymously). In each division, the division commander, the assistant division commanders (when available), the chief of staff, eight members of the division staff, and from six to ten subordinate commanders completed survey instruments and participated in lengthy and wide-ranged discussions with study team members. These participants had observed the division commander during most or all of the divisions deployment to OIF. (Waldman et al 2001) The study report provided a number of conclusions and recommendations. The study concluded that we have a lot of impressive people in todays very busy Army! The study further concluded that we still have some development and selection work to do. In particular, we must have the interpersonal skills to gain trust and build the essential horizontal and vertical teams needed to take full advantage of the high level of tactical and technical competence that typically exists in our Army. Twelve behaviors, validated by officers returning from a combat theater, were selected as the most important factors in creating a command climate that supports operational excellence and motivating competent people to continue their military service. These behaviors, referred to in the study as the Big 12, also best differentiate between good and poor leaders. Note that the criterion included both short- and long-term mission requirements: tactical success today; a strong Army tomorrow. Army doctrine should explicitly acknowledge that being a good manager is not the same as being a good leader. FM 22-100 and related publications ought to provide all officers and NCOs with textual resources to clearly articulate the differences between supervising, administering and creating leadership within their units, and they should suggest ways in which the skills and aptitudes that contribute to each of these complementary, but distinct, competencies can be independently trained and appraised. The Officer Evaluation Report and Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Report and their governing regulations must also be modified to reflect leadership-management distinctions and provide means to separately evaluate performances in each of these areas. To determine pure leadership competency, in particular, serious thought should be given to incorporating nontraditional forms of assessment such as 360-degree evaluations into the rating process. Here, the observations of peers and subordinates are factored into the rated soldiers performance review. When properly interpreted, such data can be useful in matching the right person to the right job, as well as helping to focus leaders attention on truly serving their teams and organization, rather than just pleasing their boss. Impressive gains in performance and productivity are being reported by civilian companies such as Frito Lay and Intel, which have successfully merged 360-degree and similar assessment methods into their human resource systems (Champy). Armed with such tools and an expanded accent upon critical self-evaluation, those in command or other positions of responsibility can then more accurately identify strengths and weaknesses in their own personal inventory of people skills, as well as in the collective inventory of their staff, and make appropriate adjustments. Finally, the importance of participative, emotionally engaged followers in the leadership process can hardly be overstated. Because all military leaders are also followers in some context, leadership doctrine must explicitly consider the characteristics of effective followers and instruct leaders how best to forge and encourage them at all levelsfrom the fire team on up. Creating wide parameters within which followers may exercise judgment and make decisions, exploring/aligning the personal goals and values of soldiers with those of the organization and providing meaningful, responsive incentives to excel must be stressed as critical leadership tasks. When effectively executed, these musts will combine to create teams with genuinely shared vision and commitment, operating via an influence connection between leaders and followers that transcends the tacitly coercive nature of military relationships. In this way, authentic leadership will underpin effective command in our Army, attracting and retaining the high-quality soldiers so vital to future operations. (Waldman et al 2001) References Bass, B. M. (1985a). Leadership and performance beyond expectations: New York: Free Press. Bass, B. M. (1985b). Leadership: Good, better, best Organizational Dynamics, 3(3), 26-40. Bass, B. M. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18(3), 19-31. Bass, B. M. (1996). A new paradigm of leadership: An inquiry into transformational leadership. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. FM 1 http://www.army.mil/fm1/chapter4.html Accessed, May 22, 2007 Kane, T. D., Tremble, T. R., Jr. (1994) the impact of leader competence and platoon conditions on platoon performance in simulated combat exercises (Tech. Rep. No. 1001). Alexandria, VA: U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Our Army at War Relevant and Ready http://www.army.mil/thewayahead/intro.html Accessed, May 22, 2007 Spangler, W. D., Braiotta, L., Jr. (2000) Leadership and corporate audit committee effectiveness: Group and Organization Studies, 15, 134-157. Tremble, T. R., Jr. (1992) Relationships of leadership competence with leader and unit performance effectiveness (Res. Rep. No. 1625). Alexandria, VA: U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social: Sciences. Tremble, T. R., Jr., Kane, T. D., Stewart, S. R. (1997). A note on organizational leadership as problem solving (Res. Note No. 97-03) Alexandria, VA: U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Waldman, D. A., Bass, B. M., Yammarino, F. J. (2001). Adding to contingent reward behavior: The augmenting effect of charismatic leadership: Group and Organization Studies, 15, 381-394.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

The Striding Apis Bull Essay -- essays papers

The Striding Apis Bull The Apis Bull originated in Memphis, cult of Serapis during the reign of Ptolemy I. Serapis was the god whose association with Osiris, the god of the dead, formed the name Asar-Hapi. Asar is the Egyptian name of Osiris and Hapi was the name given to the Apis Bull which was the object of worship at Memphis. The Greeks combined the two together to form Zaparrus. Even though it is not quite clear, it is certain that Serapis is the shape Apis took after death. â€Å"Apis is called the â€Å"life of Osiris, the lord of heaven, tem (with) his horns (in) his head .†He is said to give life, strength, and health to thy nostrils forever.† At the beginning of the new Empire Osiris and Apis are united by priests of Memphis to represent a funeral character which, at the time, was considered a god of the underworld. This character that was considered to be the god of the underworld was the Apis Bull. There are several different Egyptian myths about the â€Å"Apis Bull†. However, the most common myths of the Apis Bull are alike. â€Å"In one myth Apis assisted Isis, Osiris’s wife, in searching for the body of Osiris. It was believed by the ancient Egyptians that the bull’s fecundity and generative powers could be transformed to the deceased, ensuring him or her rebirth in the next life.† In another Egyptian myth it was said that an Apis Bull was born of a virgin cow that was impregnated by Ptah. â€Å"The Bull could be recognized by a peculiar white mark on his neck, a rump t...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Discussion on Quantitative Reasoning for Business Course Essay

Discussion on Quantitative Reasoning for Business Course Self Reflection Paper 10/15/08 Discussion on Quantitative Reasoning for Business Course For many years, the quantitative or mathematical approach to business problem solving was the cornerstone of MBA programs worldwide. The traditional approach has been a rational analysis: information is collected, collated, analyzed and interpreted, alternatives are formulated, and a logical choice is consciously arrived at (Bagchi, 2005). In practice this means: â€Å"the more information, the better; ‘cool and calm’ strategic thinking should not be ‘debased’ by feelings; efficient thought and behavior must be called upon to subjugate emotion† (Sadler-Smith, 2004). The Quantitative Reasoning for Business course would provide me with the prerequisites necessary to master the rational analysis. In recent years, however, the usefulness of the quantitative analysis training for future managers has been put into doubt. The requirement for fast decisions and the limits of human beings’ rational information-processing capacities may combine to impose severe demands upon executives’ cognitive capabilities to handle masses of information at the necessary speed (Sadler-Smith, 2004). That is when intuition comes into play. Intuition is difficult to describe but easy to recognize. Many of us will be intimately familiar with our own intuitions and will probably be able to identify, and may even envy or admire, those individuals who confidently display a ‘gut feel’ for complex situations and who appear to have an ‘instinct’ for grasping key issues quickly. This quality can be nurtured through life experience. The optimal solution thus, might be a combination of two approaches depending on circumstances. The relationship between intuition and rationality can work in two ways. For example, proceeding from intuition to rational analysis represents a ‘validation’ sequence in which gut feeling may be checked out by rational analysis by posing questions such as ‘Do the data support my hunch? Proceeding from rational analysis to intuition represents an ‘incubation’ sequence in which intuition provides an expertise-based or feelings-based validation for judgments arrived at through rational analysis (Sadler-Smith, 2004). In summary, quantitative training will probably benefit me by preparing me for the future courses in economics, finance, accounting, operations, and research (Quantitative Reasoning for Business Overview, nd). More importantly though, it will prepare me for the future ‘real world’ w ork, even when its direct usefulness is not as extensive as often believed its proponents.