Reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Reflection paper - Essay Example Different people may have different approaches to certain subjects because they The study on the methamphetamine and its effect on memory were explored in a way that linked it to the various aspects mental challenges (The Nervous System 2). In essence, the chapter was important in the manner in which it explored the variations in patterns of thought in different people and the capacity to comprehend situations or respond to certain stimuli from the environment. It might be necessary to consider the fact that some of the challenges that affect the efficacy of thinking processes have to be aligned with the differences in the brain capacities of individuals. Furthermore, the chapter opened my understanding of the enormous potential of the human brain and its capacity to coordinate activities within the understanding of human behavior. The brain as a biological organ is subject to a range of processes that determine human behavior. The communication between neurons is explored in a way that sheds light on the complexity and speed through which biological processes operate and communicate. On this matter, it becomes important to consider the fact the speed of communication is a key factor to communication. The challenge that arises within the element of communication should be considered as a product of the different levels of potentials between individuals with regard to the unique characteristics of the brain and variations in environmental factors. One of the important lessons obtained from the chapter revolves around the effect of substances on the functioning of the brain. Substances have the capacity to alter or ruin the processes of the brain in ways that may not be easy to comprehend in a normal way. In this regard, it becomes necessary to consider the fact that most of the issues that afflict matters of judgment are related to the capacity of the brain to process information with the right kind of

Joan of Arc Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Joan of Arc - Research Paper Example They again felt that they would be able to hold on to the sovereignty of their nation and have their own king on the throne. Joan of Arc lived her life according to what she felt was the dictate of God. What she did was based on the visions that she had when she was a child living in a village of France. Her rise to power in France was thus meteoric. Her death however, was equally tragic. A gruesome death at the hands of the English Church was hardly what she deserved after the pains that she took for the sake of her motherland, France. Following her death, her memory was recovered and she has now entered into public consciousness through literature and various other sources. This paper shall seek to understand her position as a woman in the fifteenth century and attempt to answer the question as to whether this position affected the different choices that Joan of Arc took. Joan of Arc’s entry into French politics is looked upon with great surprise by many who are familiar wit h the condition that women found themselves during the fifteenth century in France and for that matter, anywhere in the world. This is not a pointer to the immense clout that Joan of Arc wielded at this point, right at the beginning of her career, but to the condition that France found herself in. ... She however, looked at the situation where the Count of Dunois had led France to and sought to reverse it. The siege of Orleans had started to look like a hopeless affair as far as the French were concerned. The siege which had continued for over seven months had started to look ominous from the French point of view. This condition was changed to a large extent with the point where Joan of Arc enters the history of the Hundred Years War. Her journey to meet the Dauphin was the catalyst behind the revival of the French hopes as far as the continuance of their resistance was concerned (Pernoud 1999, 9-11)1. This journey was an uncommon one for any woman to undertake and this was the beginning of her breaking various stereotypes that are often assigned to women. This was a breaking of a barrier of customs that did not have such a precedent. Joan of Arc thus set an example for those who were to follow her, providing them with an example of initiative. In the twenty first century, there a re many women who are lauded for their political initiative and courage. One needs to remember that Joan of Arc’s actions were taken in a conservative society where women were given much less freedom than they are in today’s society. This makes her achievement all the more praiseworthy. Calling her the â€Å"Ideal Androgyne†, Marina Warner talks of Joan’s transvestism2 (1981, 140). Wearing clothes that were traditionally worn by men was something that Joan had to resort to so as to protect herself from sexual advances by male soldiers of both camps. This points to the condition that women had to face in society at the point of time when Joan was active. The importance of this lies in the fact that even a person who was powerful in the larger 1. Pernoud

The role of prophesy in the Judeo-Christian tradition Essay Example for Free

The role of prophesy in the Judeo-Christian tradition Essay In Hebrew, the usual word for prophet is nab. The New Testament uses prophetes from which the English â€Å"prophet† is derived. Prophets were interpreters of God’s will. In popular thought, prophecy is associated with predicting future events but this was not the main function of Biblical prophets. According to Newsome (1984) Hebrew prophets have their roots in a wider Near Eastern context where seers played a clairvoyant role, sometimes using sheep’s entrails as signs pointing to future happenings (p. 11). Seeing the future was associated with ecstatic trance-like states as the seer communicated with spirits, or with God. In the Hebrew tradition, clairvoyant ability became less significant, with prophets taking on a special role as guardians of God’s covenant. The prophet’s job was to challenge the children of Israel to keep the commandments, to keep their covenant with God by upholding justice, living righteously and forsaking the worship of false Gods. There may have been guilds based at some of the ancient holy shrines, such as Shiloh where Samuel operated. I Kings 22: 6 refers to King Ahab summoning four hundred prophets to seek their advice. One of the most important prophets was Nathan, who challenged David to live up to the ideal of kingly conduct. In the Bible, there are sixteen books named for prophets (the twelve minor prophets form one book in the Hebrew bible but are sub-divided in Christian versions). There were many other prophets besides those after whom books have been named, including Elijah and Elisha. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are considered Major Prophets. Moses and Aaron are also referred to as prophets, though they are not usually regarded as such. Indeed Deuteronomy 18:18-22 suggests that Moses represents the â€Å"example of what a YAHWEH prophet should be† (Newsome, p. 5). The prophet spoke truth to power. In doing so, they pointed out what consequences would follow if people failed to keep the commandments. God would punish God’s people. Consistently, the message was â€Å"Obey my voice, and I will be your God †¦ walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you† (Jeremiah 7: 23). When Jeremiah spoke about the Temple’s destruction, this was not a prediction but a warning of what would happen if the Hebrews disregarded justice. When speaking of the future, what was said was based on what prophets knew â€Å"of the nature of a holy God and of a sinful, arrogant people† (Newsome, p. 11). Ecstasy continued to be associated with prophecy but what was more important was the content of their message, not the means by which this was communicated. False prophets had to be denounced. Famously, Elijah battled with the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). Above all, prophets were bearers of â€Å"revelation†, their words came to them from God. In the New Testament, Jesus is described as a prophet (Luke 7: 16) and in Christian theology Jesus is understood as God’s word made flesh. Prophets were often reluctant to accept their calling, for example, Jonah (see Jonah 1: 3). Sometimes they operated against the established political system, calling kings to account. At times prophets appear as honored members of a king’s inner circle. In the New Testament, Matthew often cites â€Å"prophecies†, suggesting that prophets predicted events in Jesus life. One way of understanding this is that Matthew was anxious to emphasize continuity between God’s revelation in Jesus and God’s revelation through the prophets. The role of prophet existed in the early church but was never formalized, perhaps because â€Å"prophecy† cannot be controlled. It can challenge established authority. The New Testament also warns against false prophets (Matthew 7: 15), so any claim to be a prophet must be tested against the content of the message. Reference Newsome, James D. 1984. The Hebrew Prophets. Atlanta, Ga: J. Knox Press.

Influence of Organization Justice on OCBs

Influence of Organization Justice on OCBs 1. Introduction Questions regarding the organization justice and OCBs have received considerable attention by the researchers in the areas of industrial psychology, human resource management and organizational behavior during last few decades. Much more studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of organizational justice on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Researchers have been emphasizing the relationship of organization justice with OCBs across the world through different moderating variables. The article which I have chosen for review is The Effects of Leader-Member Exchange on Organizational Justice and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Empirical Study written by Noormala Amir Ishak and Syed Shah Alam and published in European Journal of Social Sciences in 2009. As it is reflected in the topic, the author in this article analyzed the impact of three types of organizational justice on five dimensions of OCBs. The author also assesses the mediating role of Leader-Member Exchange in the relationship of organizational justice and OCBs. In the first part, the paper under discussion will to be summarized and in the second part, the relevance of the article to the Management will be discussed. In last part of critical review, first the article has been summarized and the critical remarks have been pen down. 2. Relevance to the Management Organizational Justice The issue of organizational justice and OCBs has attained ample attention of research community under the umbrella of organizational behaviors from last 4 decades. The work of Folger and Greenbergs (1985) is considered to be pioneering in this area of research, which received considerable attention in academic circles. It was followed by the study of Cropanzano, et al. (2001), whose primary focus was to explore the perception of justice and fair dealings among workers on work places. Later studies found organization justice to have a strong link with HR factors such as perceived organizational support, leadership behaviors and leaders-member exchange, empowerment, communication and socialization (H. Zhang, 2006; Jahangir, et. al, 2004) and employees attitudes such as job satisfaction, job commitment, turnover intentions, employee deviance, job stress (Zhang, 2006; Karriker and Williams, 2009; Aquino, et al., 1999). Researchers in the area of organizational justice classified these fa ctors into three dimensions: Distributive, Procedural and Interactional (Colquitt, 2001; Greenberg, 1993). These dimensions of justice have been reviewed in following sections. i) Distributive Justice: Distributive justice refers to the extent to which employees perceive the fairness of their work outcomes (Adam, 1965; Homans, 1968). Distributive justice is derived from equity theory provided by Adam (1963, 1965). The theory argues that people compare the ratios of their perceived input (e.g. contribution) and output (e.g. financial and non-financial rewards) with those of others at the workplace. If there is imbalance, the individuals whose ratio is greater than the other is perceived as underpaid whereas the individuals whose ratio is lesser is perceived as overpaid. Equal ratios are strongly associated with positive employees behaviors towards their jobs and organizations (Greenberg, 1990). Individuals who perceive themselves as comparatively low paid, attempt to reduce their distress by attempting to transform the inequitable situation to comfortable equitable position. These attempts may either be behavioral (e.g. altering job input and/or output) or psychological (e.g. alteri ng perception of work input/or ouput) (Walster, et al. 1978). Keeping in view the equity theory, later studies found that underpaid individuals decrease their contribution and individuals overpaid increase their contribution to achieve the organizational goals (Greenberg, 1982). ii) Procedural Justice: Thibaut and Walker conducted a series of study in early 1970s on the reaction to dispute-resolution process which further lead them to the development of procedural justice theory (Thibaut and Walkder, 1975). Procedural justice was conceived as extent to which individuals recognize the fairness of procedures and systems that govern the allocation of rewards (Leventhal, 1980; Lind and Tyler, 1988). Leventhal (1980) provided a variety of rules which allocation procedure must satisfy in order to be perceived as fair. These rules are consistency, bias-suppression, accuracy, correctability, representativeness and ethicality. Leventhal concluded that perception of procedural justice will be positive if these rules are sufficiently satisfied by the reward allocation procedure. Greenberg (1986) commented that individuals believe that reward resulting from unfair processes are themselves unfair but only when such outcomes are little beneficial. On the other hand, outcomes that provide more be nefits are perceived as fair irrespective of the fairness of outcome allocation procedure. When procedures are transparent and people are being informed about them, they recognize that they are being treated fairly (Beugre, 1998). iii) Interactional (Interpersonal and Informational) Justice Extending the previous theories of procedural justice, Bies and Moag (1986) differentiated between formal procedures (e.g. consistency, bias-suppression, accuracy) and the social aspects of fairness (e.g. treatment with courtesy) and introduced third dimension of organizational justice termed as interactional justice. According to the Bies and Moag (1986), interactional justice refers to the extent to which employees are treated with dignity and respect. Interpersonal treatment is found to have a significant impact on the employees perception of organizational justice as well. Employees perception is promoted when the justifications regarding the situation are clearly, truthfully and adequately explained and when employees are treated with courtesy, dignity and respect (Bies, Shapiro, Cumming, 1988). Organizational Citizenship Behaviors Employees Readiness to exert extra efforts beyond their formal job duties has long been identified as an essential predictor of organizational performance. It is noted in the work environment that the readiness of employees to exert cooperative efforts ultimately leads to the effective achievements of organizational goals. Exploring further this area, Katz and Kahn (1978) revealed that the rewards that motivate such unprompted, informal input are different from those that encourage task proficiency. Such theories provided an arena to the follower researchers; among them, Organ (1988) first introduced the concept of OCBs. Citizenship is a behavioral component that is believed to have a promise to improve organizational productivity by improving the attitudes of employees, creating harmony, cooperation and coordination among employees and minimizing disagreements (Bateman and Organ, 1983; Smith et al, 1983). OCB is defined as an optional and extra role, beyond the formal job, without e xpecting any reward that improves organizational functioning (Organ, 1988). Behavior such as helping an absent co-worker, willing to perform extra duties whenever required, playing vital role in the organization functions even without assigning the duty and resolving unconstructive interpersonal conflict (Organ, 1990). Organ (1988) introduced five dimensions OCBs i.e. Altruism (helping the specific others on the organizational tasks), Conscientiousness (efficient use of time, extra role with respect to the attendance, abiding by organizational rules, break time etc), Courtesy (get the update information and providing it to others to avoid work related problems), Sportsmanship (avoids complaining, Maximum use of time for organizational profitability), Civic Virtue (participating in committees and volunteer work for organizational functions). Followed study by Farh et. al., (1997) investigated two types of organizational behaviors i.e. positive contribution and preventing to engage in activities that are harmful to others. Leader-Member Exchange Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory suggests that quality of the exchange relationships that have been between employees and their leaders promise the highly productive attitudes of employees (Gerstner and Day, 1997; Graen and Uhl-Bien, 1995). LMX theory is unique among leadership theories in its focus on the dyadic exchange relationships between supervisors and each of their subordinates (Gerstner and Day, 1997). High-quality exchange relationships are based upon the mutual trust, respect, and obligation that generate coherence between an employee and his or her supervisor. Low-quality exchange relationship, on the other hand, are characterized by formal, role-defined interactions and predominantly contractual exchanges that result in hierarchy-based downward influence and distance between the parties. Social Exchange Theory Social exchange theory by Blau (1964) assumes that a reciprocal relationship between two humans or parties can be established. In other words, if one party renders its services or anything to the other, the receiving party would be obliged to perform the same or similar function for the former, in the days to come. If this sort of reciprocal relations are carried over the period, these would result in a social bond. This bond gives birth to trust, reliance and confidence between the parties. For instance, if an employer treats his employees with care and respect, the employees would behave, in return, in the same gentle and tender way. The treatment of employees may be in the form of better performance or undertaking their duties in an honest manner. Various studies on related topics such as organizational justice (Cropanzane et. al, 2001), leadership (Graen and Scandura, 1987), psychological contract (Rousseau, 1989, 1998), and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) (Organ, 1988 , 1990) conducted in different cultures have supported this theory empirically. Arguably, the reciprocal nature of human relations is more important in traditional cultures like Pakistan. The requiting norm of this theory reflects from the behaviors of Pakistani people. So, the social exchange theory provides a theoretical basis for conducting a study on behavioral aspect of relations between workers and owners, in context of Pakistan. In the light of above-mentioned theories, it is concluded that fair organizational practices promise the productive and favorable employees attitude. Under the social exchange theory there is reciprocal relation can be seen between firm and its employee when employees who are being treated fairly found to be involved more in some extra activities beyond their formal job duties to improve the firms effectiveness. Leader-Member exchange is one of the leadership theories which conclude that employees perform more if there is best dyadic relationship between leader and his follower. The article under discussion is found to be under the umbrella of study of organizational behaviors which is central theme of Human Resource Management. The study of organizational behaviors deals with behavioral issues of employees with the objective to improve the employees behaviors to accomplish the organizational goals efficiently. 1. Summary of the Article Objectives of the Study The study focused on OCB and examined the influence of organizational justice on OCB. The study is expected to address these two issues: (1) to investigate the influence of organizational justice types on OCB; and (2) to examine the role of LMX as a mediator in the relationship between organizational justice types and OCB. Research Design Research Framework On the basis of literature review, the following research model has been established by the author to explore the relationship between organizational justice and OCB with the moderating role of LMX. Hypothesis for this study are as under: H1: Organizational justice types have significant positive relationships with OCB. The impact of interpersonal justice and informational justice are stronger on OCB than the impact of distributive justice and procedural justice. H2: Organizational justice types have significant positive relationships with LMX. H3: LMX mediates the relationship between organizational justice types and OCB in such a way that the impact of organizational justice on OCB will be smaller (partial mediation) or non-significant (full mediation) in the presence of LMX. Sampling: Data has been collected from non-supervisory employees, employed in the participating domestic commercial banks. A package containing two survey questionnaires: ?one questionnaire (Set A) was to be answered by the subordinate and another (Set B) to be answered by the supervisor in charge of the subordinate ?was distributed to participating banks. The subordinates were also given questionnaire items measuring organizational justice and LMX. The supervisors were given questionnaire items rating the subordinates OCB and in-role behavior. A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed to 80 branches. A total of 339 completed questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 97%. Measurement: Citizenship behaviors of employees were measured by 24-item OCB scale developed by Podsakoff et al. (1990) was utilized to assess five dimensions of OCB. Organizational justice was measured using the 20-items adapted from Colquitt (2001). LMX was measured by the scale extracted by previous literature. Results: Table 1 reports the means, standard deviations, and zero-order correlations for all variables. Using Pearsons correlations it was found that procedural and distributive justice were significantly correlated with only one OCB dimension-altruism while Interactional justice and LMX were found to be significantly related to all OCB dimensions. Contrary to expectation, the results from Table 2 in which results are given of linear regression, it was found that only interactional justice has a significant relationship with OCB (altruism and consideration). Thus, hypothesis 1 was only partially supported. LMX was then regressed on organizational justice (Table 3). Distributive justice and interactional justice were found to have significant relationships with LMX. Hypothesis 2 was thus partially supported. OCB dimensions were then regressed on LMX. There had to be a significant relationship between the two in order to proceed to the next step of mediation testing. It was evidenced (Table 4) that LMX showed significant relationships with altruism and sportsmanship. Hypothesis 3 was also partially supported. Table 5 shows the results of the tests required for mediated regression analyses. The conditions for mediation were met for altruism but not for sportsmanship and consideration. Hypothesis 4 was thus partially supported. We found that the relationship between interactional justice and OCB which was significant in became insignificant once we included LMX as a mediator. We found that LMX fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and altruism. Conclusions: Results shows that there is positive relationship between interactional justice and two dimensions of OCB i.e. altruism and consideration which is similar to the findings of Moorman (1991). Distributive and procedural dimensions of organizational justice have not been found as a predictor of citizenship behaviors of subordinate. When subordinates feel that they feel that there is interaction justice between them and their supervisor, they found to be involved more in citizenship behaviors. The findings also noted that this relationship strengthened when there the role of LMX is included in the model. These results are consistent with social exchange theory where it entails unspecified obligations, did not specify the exact nature of future return for contributions, is based on individuals trusting that the exchange parties will fairly discharge their obligations in the long run, and allows exchange parties reciprocate through discretionary, extrarole acts (Blau, 1964; Konovsky and Pu gh, 1994; Moorman, 1991; Niehoff and Moorman, 1993). The study provides some insight for managers that in order to develop the citizenship behaviors among employees, the role of supervisors should not be ignored. Supervisors should be emphasized more so that they may build mutual interest and good dyadic relations with their subordinates. Managers need to always be supportive towards their employees and listen to their concerns and ask for their input on decisions affecting them. Open interactions with the employees will enhance their motivation toward their work and will lead them to perform in their work as well as performing OCB. The study provides evidence that interactional justice has greatest impact on OCB through the presence of LMX. This is especially true when the subordinates see their superiors giving them support and encouragement to them at work. In an environment in which relationships are important, superiors emotional support and guidance appeared to assist subordinates in attaining higher levels of performance. In res ponse subordinates are likely to perform some extra role beyond to their job in order to benefit other employees and organization. The study reported here is not without its limitations. The results pertaining to organizational justice and OCB may be susceptible to common method variance. The study conducted was also cross-sectional, which does not allow for an assessment of causality. Thus our results are mute where issues of causality are concerned. Critical Review: As discussed earlier, the featured article addresses one of the theories of leadership and organizational behavior. Earlier studies have been investigated the relationship of organizational justice and citizenship behaviors directly and through different moderating variables. Recently a study conducted by Karriker and Williams (2009) found the relationship between organizational justice and OCBO through OMX as mediating variable and the relationship between organizational justice and OCBS through LMX as mediating variable. Another justification of featured study is review of OCB literature by Podaskoff et al (2000) that suggests cultural influences on OCB as a future research agenda. Exploratory findings of Organ and Ryan (1995) also suggested that OCB may be evaluated and interpreted differently in different cultures/nations. They identify individualism/collectivism and power distance as potentional source of variation in research findings obtained in US context. For example they su ggest initiative in workplace may be different in high power distance countries as employees may limit themselves to what they are told. They also mentioned the possible impact of cultural differences on measurement of OCB (Organ and Ryan, 1995). Organization justice and OCBs have received ample attentions by the researchers as it is found to be positively linked with individual and organizational productivity. Vital role of organizational justice in creating citizenship behaviors has been emphasized by researchers in different aspects (Farh et al., 1990; Konovsky and Pugh, 1994; Moorman, 1991; Moorman et al, 1993; Niehoff and Moorman, 1993). Employees perception regarding fairness of outcomes and procedures has been considered as a major motivational basis for developing citizenship behaviors among employees (Organ, 1990). A study conducted by Moorman et, al., (1998) found that there is positive relationship between procedural justice and perceived organizational support and between perceived organizational support and three of the five organizational citizenship behavior dimensions. However, by including the effects of POS as a mediating variable, we found stronger support for a fully mediated model of the effects of procedural justice on OCB. Findings of this study provided support to earlier studies by Organ and Ryan, (1995) which revealed that fairness at workplace play major role in creating citizenship behaviors among employees. Researchers have also been attempting to examine the relationship between organizational justice and OCB through mediating variables. In this respect, Konovsky and Pugh (1994) analyzed the mediating role of trust between justice and performance relationships using the supervisor as proxy for the organization, rather than directly addressing the individuals level of trust in the organization itself. The study examined the mediating role of trust in supervisor between the relationship of procedural justice and OCB and found full support for this relationship. Extending this framework, Aryee et al. (2002) investigated the mediating role of trust in the supervisor and trust in the organization and found support for mediating role of trust in the organization between organizational justice (distributive, procedural and interactional) with job satisfaction, turnover intent and organizational commitment while trust in supervisor found to have mediating relationship between interactional justice only with OCBO and OCBS. Moorman and Niehoff (1998) conducted a study to measure the relationship of procedural justice with OCBs through mediating role of perceived organizational support (POS) and found that POS fully mediate between the relationship of organizational justice and OCBs. Masterson et al (2000) found support for the mediating role of POS in the relationship of organizational justice and OCBO. Karriker, JH and ML Williams, (2009) conducted a study to find the relationship of organizational justice on OCBS (citizenship behaviors that benefit to supervisors) and OCBO (citizenship behaviors that benefit to the organization) and found full support between system-referenced justice outcomes and OCBO and mixed support for agent-referenced justice perception and OCBS. Specifically, system-referenced distributive and procedural justice were not found to have significant impact on OCBO, yet agent-referenced distributive justice had a significant direct relationship with OCBS, and agent-referenced distributive and procedural justice had significant indirect relationships with OCBS. In addition, interpersonal justice found to have direct impact on OCBO. Here, in this study the relations of interpersonal justice only have been measured with OCB rather than full model of interactional justice including interpersonal and informational justice perceptions. Impact of system-referenced dis tributive and procedural justice was not supported in this study while one dimension of interactional justice i.e. interpersonal justice was found to have direct relationship with OCBO. Trust between employees and their supervisors is found to be strong predictor of OCB in the context of work environment. Leadership behaviors and level of OCBs have also been under the discussion of researchers in the area of social sciences. In this regard, Pdosakeff et. al, (1998) examined the aggregate effects of the set of transformational leader behaviors on OCBs noted found the indirect relationship between leader behaviors and OCBs. The study suggests that to find the support between leader behaviors and OCBs, organizational trust and employees satisfaction have to be included in the model as transformational leader behaviors impact both trust and employees performance while on the other hand only trust is significantly related to the OCBs. In contrast, transactional leader behavior on OCBs found to be positively related to two dimensions i.e. altruism and sportsmanship while no effect has been found between transactional leader behavior and other three dimensions of OCB. Mast erson et al. (2000) explored that high-quality LMX relationships lead employees to engage in behaviors that are directly related to their supervisors, such as in-role behavior and organizational citizenship behaviors. They found that LMX mediated the relationships between interactional justice and both job satisfaction and supervisor-focused citizenship behaviors, OCBS. Extending the research on the said area, the authors attempted to shed light on organizational justice and OCB directly and through the mediating role of LMX. Findings of the study opened some new avenue for social sciences researchers. Karriker and Williams (2009) investigated the relationship of organizational justice with OCBO through the mediating variable of organization-member exchange (OMX) and relationship of organizational justice with OCBS with the mediating role of LMX. The authors applied the model with some valuable changes in Malaysian culture and provide useful insight for managers to improve the level of OCBs. Over all the study is very well organized, address an unattended area; but the study seems to be failed to discuss the literature on organizational justice due to which reader may face difficulties to build logical connection between organizational justice and OCB. Further the study could not properly differentiate between the dimensions of OCBs that benefit to the individual and that benefit to organization. The author made good attempt to collect the data from respondents and their supervisors but the problem in this scenario that there may some intergroup conflict that may bias the result. To improve the accuracy regarding OCB data, peer review should also be incorporated in the data. As for as statistical tools are concerned, Zero-order Correlations, Linear and Mediating Regression test have been applied to analyze the data. The data should also be analyzed through Structure Equation Model (SEM) that is commonly used for the model where mediating and moderating variables are included in the model.

The Skeleton in the Dog Wood Essay -- Literary Analysis, Rash

The poem, â€Å"The Skeleton in the Dogwood† by Ron Rash, dramatizes the conflict between love and how easily that love can be shattered, as demonstrated by two lovers who, while taking a walk in spring, find a skeleton hanging in a dogwood tree. The lovers get the town’s sheriff, however, he cannot figure out who the person was, who killed him, or why. So the sheriff helps the lovers bury the bones and moves on. In the winter the lovers get married and on their wedding night they dream about the dead man with â€Å"spring flowers† (15) in his hand. The first stanza tells of the lovers finding the skeleton in the dogwood branches. The stanza uses the words â€Å"promised blessing† (2) to describe what a new spring, just like a new love, brings to people. However, neither spring nor love nor anything else is perfect. The skeleton is in stark contrast to the rebirth and new life that is associated with spring, but it exists just like problems will always exist in lovers’ relationships. People go looking for the beauty of spring, like lovers try their best to make their love last, but sometimes they find dead animals or, in this case, a skeleton, and sometimes love doesn’t last. Line two and three are â€Å"more than spring’s promised blessing; on new beginnings hanging†. Using the word hanging demonstrates how the promises of spring, and more importantly love, are very fragile gifts that can easily fall off the tree, that is their life, and disappear from a person forever. If lovers want their love to last they should not shake the tree, or test their love, but simply let it be. Hanging also creates a very ugly image with almost anyone, whether they think of people being hanged or meat hanging in a freezer like in Rocky, very few people can get a pos... ...you do not need to know them so you are not told them. â€Å"The Skeleton in the Dogwood† does not try to be a confusing poem. â€Å"The Skeleton in the Dogwood† starts so lovely with a couple taking a walk on a spring day. Suddenly, a mysterious skeleton creates a shift in the tone of the poem. However, the tone quickly shifts back to being pleasant when the lovers decide to treat the skeleton as one of their own and give him a funeral. For their efforts the lovers are blessed on their wedding night by the dead man. The poem goes through the same stages of a struggling relationship. At first, everything is great and new and exciting and nothing can go wrong. Eventually troubles emerge, but for the couple that puts the effort into fixing their relationship the darkness, like the dark tone of the poem, will disappear and the original wonders of the relationship will return.

Emperor Hadrian in Marguerite Yourcenars Memoirs of Hadrian and E.L. D

Emperor Hadrian in Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian and E.L. Doctorow's Everyman figure of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in Ragtime As Marguerite Yourcenar states in Memoirs of Hadrian, â€Å". . . there is always a day where Atlas ceases to support the weight of the heavens, and his revolt shakes the earth.† (114) When Coalhouse Walker strides knowingly, even willingly, into his death, he is more powerful at that moment than he has been at any other point in his crusade. Because he has no regard for death or for the effect of his decision upon the rest of the world, his chosen fate sends a resounding reaction through all who witness his end. And what might drive a man to abandon his life so freely? Love and death. Inextricably meshed in both Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar and E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, these timeless states profoundly change the outlooks of Emperor Hadrian and Coalhouse Walker Jr. Despite being separated by centuries, both men go to extreme lengths for their perception of love, but when death intervenes they have curiously opposite reactions. Hadrian is Emperor of the vast Roman Empire, and when he first comes into power he is afire with new ideas of beautification and improvements for all the provinces of the Empire, whether the people of said provinces wanted to be improved or not. He is secure enough in himself to consider himself, while not a god, something like a lieutenant, â€Å"seconding the deity in his effort to give form and order to a world, to develop and multiply its convolutions, extensions, and complexities.† (Yourcenar, 144) After many personal triumphs, he still refuses the accolades that previous Emperor’s have felt were rightfully theirs, preferring to let his people and his ... ...ife. This concept is totally foreign to Coalhouse Walker Jr. who, only after achieving the love that he sought and then losing it so quickly and so inhumanely, gains almost godlike power over the people of the city, inspiring fear and no little awe for the man who would go to such lengths over an automobile and some inconsequential (to them) black woman who wasn’t even his wife. Death and love: inseparable through the course of time, transcending the ages– both Emperor Hadrian and Coalhouse Walker Jr. face them, and while one gains conviction and a purpose, even if that purpose is ultimately his own death, the other declines, never seeing that the death of his love could possibly serve a purpose other than simple grief and mourning, never understanding that, with time and action, â€Å"the future [could] once more [hold] the hope of the past.† (Yourcenar, 176)

Master Harold and the Boys Essay

â€Å"Master Harold† †¦and the boys, by the white South African playwright Athol Fugard, is a naturalistic play set in a Tea Room in Port Elizabeth on a rainy day in 1950. Two black servants, Sam and Willie, and their white master’s son Hally (‘Master Harold’), have deep conversations about the good time they had together when Hally was young. In the beginning of the play, Sam and Willie, practice their dancing techniques and talk about an upcoming dance contest. Fugard has created first impressions of situation and characters in the opening of the play by using set design, stage directions, duologue as well as speech and tone. The opening of the play is interpreted as being up to Hally’s first entry. Firstly, the unprofessional and for the audience surprisingly casual and light-hearted situation is created by Fugard’s choice of set design, stage directions and duologue. Secondly, Sam and Willie’s relationship is proven of unequal status, yet intimate and deep, by the difference in speech and tone, and by the choice of topics in the duologue. Finally, initial perceptions of a childish and rude Willie and an intelligent and experienced Sam are constructed through mostly speech and tone. The unprofessional impression of the Tea Room and the carefree and easy going ambiance is created by set design and stage directions, and duologue. Firstly, the amateurish impression of the business is created by the blackboard on which an untrained hand has chalked up the prices of the items, and by the few sad ferns in pots in the room. Furthermore, the fact that Fugard has chosen to clear all tables to one side, suggests that the business is not doing well, because the Tea Room is not likely to be expecting any customers. Secondly, the audience notices immediately that the mood in the room is casual, by letting Willie start off with singing a song as he mops down the floor. This strong mood is then reinforced when Willie suddenly gets up and starts dancing, Sam eagerly encouraging and correcting Willie’s dance technique. The audience must have been surprised by this casual situation, because one must not forget that at the time of the performance, around 1982, apartheid in South Africa was considerably further developed than the setting of the play. The fact that two black men, obviously workers, are without supervision of a white person and that they are enjoying themselves during work must have raised a sense of unease from the spectators, unsure how to react. The relationship between Sam and Willie is profound, yet Sam seems to have a higher status compared to Willie, as suggested by Fugard’s choice of topic of conversation and by the contrast between the terms of address and physical position. To begin with, the way in which both men communicate is very informal. Willie uses plenty of swear words, like â€Å"fuckin’ whore† or â€Å"bitch†, whereas Sam uses a higher register, but is still joking around with Willie (â€Å"How’s your pillow with the quickstep?†). This use of language suggests that both men feel at ease and that they have known each other for a very long time already. A sense of intimate relationship is also created by the topics of conversation. Willie is very open with Sam about his relationship with Hilda Samuels, as when he talks about the problems buying food for their baby of which he isn’t even sure it is his son (â€Å"Only his hair looks like me.†); he shows no hesitation to discuss the matter with Sam. Sam even knows that Willie often beats up his girlfriend, suggesting that they have been living alongside for a long time. The audience realises that it is watching an intimate conversation, which makes them attentive, curious and involved in the discussion. Secondly, Sam’s higher social position is suggested by the contrast between the way Sam addresses Willie and vice versa, almost like a teacher-student relation. Sam suggests improvements for Willie’s dance technique, as â€Å"Don’t look down!† or â€Å"But you’re too stiff!†, as well as how he could be more successful in his relationships with girlfriends (â€Å"You hit her too much.†) and Willie reacts willingly to take up the advice. Also, Sam demonstrates the dance as it should be, suggesting that Sam is more experienced. Lastly, a subtle but symbolic detail is the physical positioning of Sam and Willie at the very beginning of the play: Willie is mopping down the floor on his knees, working, while Sam is flicking through a comic book, standing, and obviously not working. Fugard has visualised their relationship by the contrast between kneeling and sitting, and working and relaxing, and this can in fact be applied to the entire rest of the play. Sam is portrayed as a confident, intelligent and experienced character through his speech and tone. The way Sam guides Willie through the learning process of the quickstep, and even demonstrates a much more accomplished dance than Willie, indicates he is a skillful dancer himself. Fugard has made the audience feel sympathy towards Sam, as he encourages Willie, â€Å"Look happy, Willie! Relax Willie!†, although Willie is a hopeless dancer. Fugard represents Willie’s character as slightly vulnerable, unexperienced, and as a bad lover through his reactions to Sam’s teasing, the difficulties he has with learning the quickstep and through his description of his relationship with girlfriends. Willie is very quickly frustrated by Sam’s advice, like â€Å"Yesterday I’m not straight †¦ today I’m too stiff!† and â€Å"I try hard because it is hard.†. Willie’s incapability to cope with Sam’s teasing once even results in a small brawl between the two of them: â€Å"It’s finish between us.† Furthermore, Willie is clearly a bad love partner, confirmed when he describes his girlfriend as a â€Å"whore† and a â€Å"bitch†, but which is, quite ironically, provoked by himself hitting his girlfriend every once in a while. This, together with his vulgar choice of language, results in an aversion from the audience to Willie. To conclude, Fugard has managed to create strong first impressions in the opening of the play in terms of situation and characters. He has used set design, stage directions and duologue to create an unprofessional and casual ambience. In terms of characters, Fugard has succeeded in associating strong characteristic features to Sam and Willie, both intimate friends, yet separated in a way by an intellectual line.