Jesus the Warrior in The Dream of the Rood Essay -- Poetry Analysis

The image of Jesus nailed to a wooden cross by the palms of his hands and with a crown of thorns wrapped around his head is one that has transcended all time barriers. It has inclusive been replicated into figure form that is utilized in various ways but whose primary function is to serve as a constant reminder of the physical suffering endured by Jesus. In The Dream of the Rood however, the perception of Jesus Christ as not only the son of God and savior of mankind but also as a human with the capacity to feel pain, is subverted when through the perspective of a personified cross he is conveyed as a warrior in the midst of combat. The portrayal of Jesus in this way immediately evokes the image of an ideal stereotypical hero who is strong, courageous, and unrelenting in appearance. Nevertheless, it can be said that this type of hero is more inclined towards fantasy than it is based on reality because these idealized heroic figures have only ever truly existed in a fictional universe. The depiction of Jesus as a warrior thus, undermines forms of heroism that stem from explicit suffering that is not concealed but rather expressed by the individual. In the text, Jesus is made out to be a warrior in a literal manner in order to accentuate his act of heroism. Although it can be argued that Jesus was in fact a warrior, this argument is only valid if speaking in figurative terms since being a warrior and fighting in battles was not his profession. Jesus is first identified as a warrior during a particular moment when the cross observes as, â€Å"[†¦] the young Hero stripped himself—[†¦]God Almighty—strong and stouthearted. He climbed on the high gallows bold in the sight of many when he would free mankind† (28). By referring to Jesus as a â€Å"h... ...eying these emotions. It is the expression these emotions that is mistaken for weakness. However, while it is true that warriors for the most part are viewed as heroic figures, it is not the armor or the seemingly courageous appearance that they put up in front of a crowd that defines them as heroes. The way that Jesus is presented in the bible does not make him any less of a hero when compared to the way he is portrayed in the poem. It is the action and motive behind the action that ultimately determines who is heroic. Works Cited †¢ Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. "The Dream of The Rood." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 27-29. Print. †¢ Mark. The Holy Bible. The New King James Version ed. Thomas Nelson, 1985. Print. †¢ Mathew. The Holy Bible. The New King James Version ed. Thomas Nelson, 1985. Print.

The Negative Impact of Exposing Children to Media Violence Essay

The Negative Impact of Exposing Children to Media Violence On April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School, 13 people were killed and another 23 were wounded in one of the worst school killing incidents ever (Skeesis). Since the 1980's, overall homicide rates in the U.S. have declined. However, homicide rates for ages 14-17 have increased quite dramatically during this time period (Fox). Among other numerous potential causes, violence in the media may play a role in this increase in youth violence. Today, there is much controversy over the potential harmful effects of media violence on childrenà ­s lives. I believe that exposure of children to media violence is harmful. For the purposes of this paper, I will limit the definition of (mass) media to television, and, subsequently, violent (mass) media to television programs that contain violent acts. By children, I will be referring to people of age 18 and below who live in the U.S., since this group is the focus of the majority of the research data that I have used. I will begin my argument by acknowledging a counter argument to my position. I will then go on to discuss the negative effects of television on children. These effects include an increase in aggressive tendencies and an instilling of the idea that violence will go unpunished. Also included are the concepts of desensitization and stimulus addiction. Finally, I will discuss some potential solutions to the problem of television violence affecting our children. Granted, people are correct in saying that television violence has been around for decades. In fact, public violence has been around for centuries. In ancient times, many cultures made gruesome public executions or sacrifices. During the Middle Ages, entire villag... ...per impact than you realize. And what respectable parents would want their child to end up reenacting a scene from HBOà ­s Oz on his or her classmates? Works Cited American Psychiatric Association. "Psychiatric Effects of Media Violence." http://www.psych.org/psych/htdocs/public_info/media_violence.html (17 Oct. 2000). Berkebile, Nicole, Julie Newman, and Susan Parker. "The Effects of Television on a Childà ­s Development." 1995. http://www.richmond.edu/~psych/tvmain.html (17 Oct. 2000). Fox, James A. "Trends in Juvenile Violence: 1997 Update." 1997. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/tjv97up.pdf (17 Oct. 2000). Skeesis. "The Tragedy at Columbine High." 17 May 1999. http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/coroner/columbin.html (17 Oct. 2000). "Video Game Violence." Feb. 2000. http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/champaign/connections/0002-family4.html (17 Oct. 2000).

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Otec Environmental Sciences Essay

The oceans cover a little more than 70 per centum of the Earth surface. This makes it the universes largest solar energy aggregator and energy storage system. On an mean twenty-four hours, 60 million square kilometres if tropical seas absorb and sum of solar radiation equal in heat content to about 250 million barrels of oil. The history of world, have depended upon its ability to suppress the forces of nature, and to use these forces to function its demands. Energy engineering is surely one of the most of import factors in the outgrowth of world as the dominant species of this works. The innovation of the practical steam engine by James W, brought about development of big mills, steam ships and the steam engine. First wood was used, so coal. About the same clip, the usage of coal instigated progresss in metallurgy.petroleum from natural ooze has been used since ancient times for lighting, lubrication and sealing. The debut of boring for oil greatly increased the supply of oil. The i ndustrial revolution switches in to high cogwheel. One job is that the natural ooze is limited and in a few old ages the elements will be used. The development of atomic power was touted as the replies to all world ‘s energy sufferings. It non turned out that manner. The riddance of authorities subsidies for atomic power workss has made them rather unaffordable. When it went so bad no insure in the universe will compose catastrophe for atomic power works The construct of OTEC ( ocean thermal energy transition ) has existed for over a century as fantasised by Jules Verne in 1870 and conceptualised by Gallic physicist, Jacques arsene 500 arsonval in 1881. Despite this an operating OTEC power installation was non developed until the 1920 ‘s. 2.2 WHAT IS OTEC OTEC, ocean thermic energy transition is an energy engineering that converts solar radiation to electric power. OTEC systems use the ocean ‘s natural thermic gradient, accordingly the temperature difference between the warm surface H2O and the cold deep H2O below 600 meters by about 20'c, an OTEC system can bring forth, a significantly sum of power. The oceans are therefore a huge renewable resource ; with the potency to assist us in the OTEC procedure is besides rich in foods and it can be used to civilization both marine being and works life near the shore or on land The entire inflow of solar energy into Earth is of 1000s of clip as a great as world entire energy usage. All of our coal, oil and natural gas are the consequence of the gaining control of solar energy by life of the yesteryear. There have been, any undertakings for tackling solar energy, but most have non been successful because they attempt to capture the energy straight. The thought behind OTEC is the usage of all a natural aggregators, the Se, alternatively of unreal aggregator. 2.3 HOW OTEC WORKS Warm H2O is collected on the surface of the tropical ocean and pumped by a warm H2O pump. The H2O is pumped through the boiler, where some of the H2O is used to heat the working fluid, normally propane or some similar stuff. The propane vapor expands through a turbine which is coupled to a generator that bring forthing electric power. Cold H2O from the underside is pumped through the capacitor, where the vapor returns to the liquid province. The fluid is pumped back into the boiler. Some little fraction of the power from the turbine is used to pump the H2O through the system and to power other internal operations, but most of it is available as net power. There are two different sorts of OTEC power workss, the land based and the natation works. First, land based power workss, the land based pilot works will dwell of a edifice. This edifice will incorporate the heat money changers, turbines, generators and controls. It will be connected to the ocean via several pipes, and an tremendous fish farm ( 100 football countries ) by other pipes. Warm H2O is collected through a screened enclosure near to the shop. A long pipe laid on the incline collects cold H2O. Power and fresh H2O are generated in the edifice by the equipment. Used H2O if first circulated in to the marine civilization pool ( fish farm ) and so discharges by the 3rd pipe in to the ocean, downstream from the warm H2O recess. This is done so that the escape does non reenter the program, since rhenium usage of warm H2O would take down the available temperature difference. While, the other OTEC power workss is drifting power workss, the drifting power works works in the same mann er as the land based the evident different is that the natation works is drifting. Where really OTEC can be used, OTEC can be sited anyplace across about 60 million squares kilometers of tropical oceans anyplace there is deep cold H2O lying under warm surface H2O this by and large means between the tropic of malignant neoplastic disease and the tropic of Capricorn. Surface H2O is these parts, warmed by the Sun, by and large stys at 25 grades Celsius or supra. Ocean H2O more than 1000 metres below the surface is by and large at approximately 4 grades C.2.4 TYPES OF OTECThere are three types of OTEC designs: unfastened rhythm, closed rhythm and intercrossed rhythm.Closed rhythm Closed rhythm systems use unstable with a low boiling point, such as ammonium hydroxide, to revolve a turbine to bring forth electricity. Here how it works. Warm surface sea H2O is pumped through a heat money changer where the low boiling H2O point is vaporized. The spread outing vapor turns the turbo generator, so ball, deep saltwater pumped through a 2nd heat money changer condenses the vapor back into a liquid, which is so recycle through the system Open rhythm Open rhythm OTEC uses the tropical oceans warm surface H2O to do electricity. When warm saltwater is placed in a low force per unit area container, it boils. The spread outing steam drives a low force per unit area turbine attached to an electrical generator. The steam, which has left its slat behind in the low force per unit area container, is about pure fresh H2O. It is condensed back into a liquid by exposure to cold temperature from deep oceans H2O Hybrid rhythm Hybrid system combines the characteristic of both the closed rhythm an unfastened rhythm system. In a intercrossed system, warm saltwater enters a vacuity chamber where it is brassy evaporated into steam, similar to the unfastened rhythm vaporization procedure. The steam vaporizes a low boiling point fluid that drives a turbine to bring forth electricity2.5 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF OTECThe advantages of OTEC is the utilizations OF OTEC is clean, renewable, its natural resource. Warm surface saltwater and cold H2O from the ocean deepnesss replace fossil fuels to bring forth electricity. Second, its appropriately designed OTEC workss will bring forth small or no C dioxide or other pollutant chemical Third, OTEC system can bring forth fresh H2O every bit good as electricity. This is a important adapted in island countries where fresh H2O is limited, other there is adequate solar energy received and stored in the warm tropical ocean ‘s surface bed to supply most, if non all, of present human energy demands and last the usage of OTEC as a beginning of electricity will assist cut down the province about complete dependance on imported fossil fuels. The disadvantages of OTEC is produced electric at present would be more than electricity generated from fossil fuels at theirs current costs. Second, OTEC workss must be located were a difference of about 20 ; degree Celsius occurs twelvemonth unit of ammunition. Ocean deepnesss must be available reasonably near to shore based installations for economics operation. Floating works ships could supply more flexibleness. Third, there is no energy company will set money in this undertaking because it merely has been tested in really smell graduated table and last, the building of OTEC workss and lying of pipes in coastal H2O may do localized harm to reefs and near shore Marine ecosystems.2.6 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF OTECOTEC systems are, for the most portion, environmentally benign. Although inadvertent escape of closed rhythm working fluids can present a jeopardy, under normal conditions, the lone wastewaters are the assorted saltwater discharges and dissolved gases that come out of solu tion when sea H2O is depressurized. Although the measures of outgassed species may be important for big OTEC systems, with the exclusion of C dioxide, these species are benign. Carbon dioxide is a nursery gas and can impact planetary clime ; nevertheless, OTEC systems release one or two orders of magnitude less C dioxide than comparable dodo fuel power workss and those emanations may be sequestered easy in the ocean or used to excite marine biomass production. OTEC assorted saltwater discharges will be at lower temperatures than sea H2O at the ocean surface. The discharges will besides incorporate high concentrations of foods brought up with the deep sea H2O and may hold a different salt. It is of import ; hence, that release back into the ocean is conducted in a mode that minimizes unintended alterations to the ocean assorted bed biology and avoids bring oning long-run surface temperature anomalousnesss. Analysiss of OTEC wastewater plumes suggest that discharge at deepnesss of 50- 100 m should be sufficient to guarantee minimum impact on the ocean environment. Conversely, the nutrient-rich OTEC discharges could be exploited to prolong open-ocean Mari civilization

Alex Robbins.Durango Street

Durango Street Reading Log for Chapters 15, 16, 17 Character: Alex Robbins Alex Robbins is a social worker. His goal is to break up the gang â€Å"the moors†, but until chapter 17 he has no success. Alex Robbins is one of the main characters in the book, because he affects the gang â€Å"the moors†. In chapter 17 he is at Rufus’ home, because â€Å"The Gassers† cut the pigtail of Rufus’ sister. When Rufus comes home Alex Robbins is talking to his mother, that he wants to talk with â€Å"the Gassers† about what happened. But when Rufus asks about what happened, Alex tries to tell him a lie. But Rufus is smart and knows that he is telling a lie. After Rufus knows what happened, he is very angry and Alex sais that he wants to solve this issue, but Rufus sais that he has no idea of gangs. I think the idea of Alex is very absurd. In this case there is no way out. He can’t speak with the police, because it will make more problems. Alex also made a very inexperienced impression, when he talked the first time to â€Å"the moors†. Everybody laughed about him and he couldn’t accomplish himself. He seemed to be much untaught. He is a little bit the opposite of Rufus, who is very smart. Finally, I think Alex really wants to reach his goal to break up â€Å"the moors†, but he has to learn a lot, how to handle these guys.

Campbell Soup Essay

Company Objectives The company’s objective is to enable business and operational success through integrated world class solutions and development by utilizing the organizational restructure of the Engineering and R&D departments. Having a centralized organization with a decentralized engineering department makes meeting the company objective quite difficult. Also, if the company’s objective does not align with the department specific objectives Campbell Soup is setting their selves up for failure. Sales and Marketing are concerned with increasing market share and gaining profit, while the Plants are worried about operational performance, and Engineering is focused on individual parts of the system. In order to have a successful company objective each department must be working towards the same goal. For example, if the plants are measured based on operating results and performance, when launching a new product line we have to be flexible and put in different performance metrics and set a glide path with a specific timeline. Competing on consistent quality, time/availability (want to be the first) (want to always have it on the shelves), [ARE THEY COMPETING ON PRICE? Having a reasonable price, can’t be an expensive product but people are willing to pay a premium price?] Specific Problem Defined Currently after quite a few years of product development Plastigon is still in the process improvement stage and is not a finished program. The project team is facing difficulties involving people, processes, data, and systems. There is not a clear line of responsibility and ownership for people at the individual and group level. The development team for the Plastigon line was decentralized over the P3 and has suffered a high turnover rate of its developers. If engineers were leaving the company or project because of the amount of travel required the correct engineers were not selected for the project, or the scope of the project was not clearly defined. The knowledge that the individuals on the project possess is one of the most valuable resources, especially during the product development phase. Project management at Campbell is not a clear, identified, well-connected end to end standard process. The data collected and analyzed throughout the program could not be trusted because there were no steps in place to ensure reliability. For example, testing the production line with water instead of  the actual product gives the firm inaccurate results. There are large discrepancies in the viscosity of soup and water, and the issues you run into will be completely different. If the regulations and procedures are put in place so that test products are not shipped to customers by mistake, test products can be labeled as such. A reevaluation of what regulations are necessary needs to take place for the firm to be able to grow. It didn’t seem as though costs were allocated in standard process. The systems that are put in place need to enable people, processes and data to work for the organization. If Campbell had the right tools and methods in place to support the work that occurs in the organization, the Plastigon line would have been up and running. They had this problem because they are not familiar with how to launching a completely brand new product line. This is outside of their comfort zone and therefore it has effectively stalled the product line due to lack of interest, conflicting interests, decentralized teams, and engineering issues. Individuals were not working cross-functionally but instead they focused heavily on their specific issues instead of the overarching strategic goal. There were several communication issues between different departments because there was not a shared vision. Problems – Not having meetings. Plants not being involved. There isn’t any real data analysis in this case. We analyzed the data to prove significance in the other sections. 2. What should Elsner do about Plastigon? Alternative Strategies Elsner has a few options available to him Continue the current development plan that his predecessors have started Scrap Plastigon and move towards a container that imitates proven microwaveable products Centralize the current development plan and roll out the Plastigon line. 2. Each of these options has their pro’s and con’s. Continuing current development as planned has proven to be costly and slow, but is the most obvious route. Scrapping Plastigon will most likely guarantee a successful microwaveable container, but will prove to be unpopular due to the substantial investment in Plastigon. Centralizing the  development is the â€Å"middle option† allowing Elsner to have a more focused approach on the existing plan. This could cause more issues within Campbell because of their decentralized development teams though. Recommendation Campbell has already committed a large amount of human and financial capital, $10M, into developing the Plastigon production line. They want a return on their investment. Although they have lost the first mover advantage to other companies that have entered with shelf-stable microwavable products they still have a superior product and they can steal market share from them. Since they had a radical innovation if they came to market with a less than perfect product they would have been allowed to make changes in the future to improve on their initial product. Their strong quality reputation would not have been ruined. They need to have a batch process for this production line. The beginning of the process will be a flow shop where are the standard processes are performed but then it will be a job shop towards the end of the process where we have the cooker and incubator. In order to compete with other firms they will need to have consistent quality, and finished good inventory. The beginning of the process is the hardest because that is when toy have to program knowledge into the automated machinery but then your costs will go down because you have a low waged and narrow skilled workforce. Launch DRG now and work on Plastigon, do not fund any other programs. Right not the Plastigon margins are horrible, total cost per unit = $1.49-1.59 selling at whole price for $.85, they are not making any money. Need to reevaluate costs. 3. What can the firm learn from its experience with Plastigon? 1. Campbell’s current development process is outdated and unwieldy 2. Campbell’s competitors have more efficient product development and rollout processes 3. Campbell’s business structure (engineering, product roll out, manager incentives) is not geared towards developing the next generation of their products (disruptive technologies) 4. If Campbell is going to be competitive in future product lines it will need to restructure its company’s development process. 5. Campbell is vulnerable to new technologies taking market share away from it. Big Problem- Beyond the case (long-term) The Palastigon program can turn out to be beneficial to the Campbell Soup Company if they take the approach of levering the problems they were faced with during this period and turning them into company solutions, guidelines and safety nets. The project management process needs to be reevaluated and set process steps need to be put into place. Non-value added activities, like developing product lines without first piloting the process. They need to have process owners or strategic project managers that are responsible for project results and integration between the cross-functional team. Process innovation improvement is a key takeaway. Revisit the current state process and identify areas for development. After this new product development initiatives will be easier to launch – Management and Engineering interface Problems can lead to streamlining an effective process for the future and result in potential solutions. Project management at the individual and group level. Take the key learnings from this specific project and launch corporate wide initiatives and procedures, for effective and efficient project management.

My Leadership Practices and Future Essay

This following will outline my personal leadership practices and potential future leadership. To analyze my leadership qualities I will use the Seven Habits Profile and a leadership theory to determine my strengths, weaknesses, and areas of opportunity for improvement. In conclusion, I will determine the best recommendations for long-term improvement as well as SMART goals, or short-term courses of action, for leadership improvement. Seven Habits Profile The Seven Habits Profile revealed that I rank as outstanding in two categories, very good in six categories, and good in just one category. This seems to highlight what I am most exemplary at in terms of leadership, what I am just proficient at, and what presents itself as an opportunity for improvement. The main two strengths include having a work-life balance and being a proactive problem solver. An area of opportunity as indicated by the profile would be having the ability to synergize which is a combination of seeking the views of others and making creative decisions. The two strengths point to qualities I have constantly tried to improve upon. Earlier in my career, I was a bit of a workaholic and tended to bring work home with me. This resulted in a dismal personal life which eventually permeated negativity into my professional life as well. In light of that, over the years I have created rules for myself to remedy that initial error and in doing so this has become one of my str engths. My other strength, being proactive, stems from the lack of this quality in my current career field. More often than not it is more imperative to be reactive in my line of work.  To set myself above the rest I decided early on in my career to work on being both, as being reactive is just as important as being proactive in order to prevent conflict and deal with one once it has arisen. The category in which I rated as only good, or a possible opportunity for improvement, is synergize. I believe I scored myself low in two out of three categories because it has been an incredible weakness in the past and one I have been working on for quite some time. While I have significantly improved in this area I continually work on this factor of working better with people by seeking their input. In doing so, I rate myself harshly on this aspect, despite the progress I have made, because I am not as competent as I would like to be. My Leadership Practices Over the course of my career, I have tried to model various leadership behaviors based upon successful leaders that I have worked with or for. This has led me to incorporate different styles into my own. Considering my current leadership strengths and how I view successful leaders I will use a servant leadership theory to analyze my own competencies. Servant leaders have 9 different aspects comprised of: emotional healing, creating value for the community, conceptual skills, empowering, helping subordinates grow and succeed, putting subordinates first, behaving ethically, relationships, and servanthood (Boone & Makhani, 2005, pg. 86). The aspects of a servant leader are those that I personally value and identify with. In addition to this, it is my belief that servant leaders, because they are people oriented, are more effective in a variety of environments and situations. My Leadership Strengths In accordance with the servant leadership theory I have three main strengths that I employ in my leadership practices. The first recognized strength is my ability to develop strong working relationships with employees. This strength is best demonstrated in my practice of getting to know all of the employees on a personal basis and caring about their professional and personal lives by showing interest every day. This aspect of leadership requires a considerable amount of listening on my part and therefore assists in fostering clear communication and trust between me and the employees. According to Boone & Makhani (2005), â€Å"A vital prerequisite to servant  leadership is credibility, which is the foundation of leadership. People must believe in their leaders and know that they are worthy of trust† (Boone & Makhani, 2005, pg. 85). This establishment of trust, fostered through caring and building a sense of community within the team, lays the groundwork to being viewed as a competent leader that employees will follow with enthusiasm. In conjunction with my first strength, my second strength has been identified as the capacity to help subordinates grow and develop within their career. I have demonstrated this by mentoring employees. This has included helping them grow within their current position as well as aiding them in moving up from their current level within the organization. This aid is often in the form of teaching, listening, and giving them my insight to what I have observed within the organization in concern to both reviews of work and job promotions. Development of employees has to be a quality that is purposefully demonstrated consistently and not just when an employee asks for help. This requires a regular effort on the part of the leader of a team. In order to help an employee in this aspect a lea der has to know employees on a basic fundamental level. The leadership practice of aiding in an employees’ career growth cannot be effectively engaged without the insight gained by the understanding and communication gained through the aforementioned practice of getting to know your employees. Developing the people in your workforce builds skills and confidence and in turn increases and maintains a high level on morale. Along with caring about employees through getting to know them it is imperative that a leader show they care about the person and their future. Consistent with Hamilton & Nord as cited by Caldwell, Dixon, Floyd, Chaudoin, Post, & Cheakas (2012), servant leadership has been defined as ‘‘providing leadership that focuses on the good of those who are being led and those whom the organization serves’’ (Hamilton & Nord as cited in Caldwell, Dixon, Floyd, Chaudoin, Post, & Cheakas, 2012, pg. 180). Assisting an employee up through the career ladder demonstrates that the leader cares about each emp loyee’s future both on a personal and professional level. The third strength I have identified in my leadership practices, conducting myself ethically as a leader, relates to the first two strengths. I have established this strength by holding myself visibly to a higher standard than the organization I work for requires of me. This often involves a great amount of transparency with my work  processes and what decisions I make. I conduct myself in a manner that is viewed as beyond reproach. In addition to setting an appropriate example for employees behaving ethically allows trust to be established. If a decision or action were ever called into question my openness on honesty in matters would quickly dispel any thought of impropriety on my part. If a leader failed to obey the rules, no amount of caring, communication, or helping associates would build a sense of trust from the followers’ point of view. According to Parris and Peachey (2013) , â€Å"Whereas other leadership theories are traditionally defined only by what the leader does, servant leaders are defined by their character and by demonstrating their complete commitment to serve others† (Parris & Peachey, 2013, pg. 379). A leader’s style and effectiveness are defined by one’s character and is therefore defined by their actions and the ethics that govern their actions. My Leadership Weaknesses I have three main areas of opportunity for improvement in my leadership practices. While they are not complete deficiencies, or lacking, they require development to form a balanced leadership approach. My first weakness is a lacking of showing thoughtfulness or understanding with subordinates personal concerns. While this is not always the case, when I fail at this point is often because I am putting the organization first and failing to completely listen to an employee’s point of view concerning a specific subject matter. This often occurs when an associate is upset about a new organizational policy. Because I do not adequately listen to the associate’s point of view I fail in showing understanding and simply state to the employee that the policy must be followed. While this in an infrequent occurrence, when it does transpire it often leaves the employee to feel that I do not care about them and they in turn give the impression that they would be reluctant to come to m e with other issues that I could assist with. These perceptions degrade lines of communication and trust to an extent that negatively impacts how I may viewed as a leader and how my subordinates may, or may not, perform while working with me. The second leadership weakness I have pinpointed is that in certain situations I do not put employees first. When a new or big project is to be completed I do not always seek input from subordinates because of time constraints. In all  actuality their viewpoints on how these projects are to be done would likely decrease the time needed to accomplish the task. However, when I failed at seeking their input only my ideas are carried out, which may not be the most efficient way, and the employees feel that their views do not matter which fails to motivate or inspire fast and effectual performance. Therefore this failure leads to a demoralized team that negatively impacts not only the current project but future tasks as well. My third weakness as a leader is that I fail to empower subordinates concerning specific kinds of tasks on a consistent basis. This occurrence is typically the result of performance constraints on my end leading me to not help employees by showing them how to complete certain tasks. Instead I often do these tasks on my own so that I know they are done right and in a timely manner. By not always allowing employees to do these tasks, or helping them improve on these tasks they do not get a chance to grow within their position by mastering certain aspects of their job. This causes friction between me and employees as they perceive my actions to be a lack of trust or faith in their abilities. This weakness, like the first two, also contributes to a decrease in morale because the employees question my judgment or because they lack confidence in their abilities because I doubted them. Recommendations for Leadership Development To address my weaknesses, it is necessary to alter my leadership practices to be more congruent with the servant leadership style. All following recommendations for changes in my leadership practices will be a move toward a more complete servant leadership style. â€Å"Servant leadership differs from other models of leadership in that it focuses on leaders meeting the needs of followers, in that, if followers are treated as ends in themselves, rather than means to an end, they will reach their potential and so perform optimally. Such an approach is found when leaders respect, value and motivate those who follow them† (McCrimmon as cited by Waterman, 2011, pg. 25). The first recommendation will be to take the time to listen to employees regardless of the situation. This will require that I use the listening skills I have developed in all situations, especially in the types of situations I have consistently failed. This remedy will prevent the decay in trust and communication th at not understanding subordinates personal concerns often causes. This increased thoughtfulness in all matters on my  part will foster improved teamwork between myself and the team instead of hindering performance with decreased morale caused misunderstandings. The second recommendation change to my leadership practices is to seek input from employees on all tasks that involve them. A change in the practice would seek to prevent employees from feeling disenfranchised by having to complete work as dictated to them rather than doing tasks in a manner in which they believe is best for the work style that will still end with the same desired result. This change will garner an increased enthusiasm in daily task as well as the larger goals by giving employees a sense of ownership in their work. Gaining input and insight into how things are done will also add the possibility of increased efficiency and expediency in daily tasks by giving control to task experts who perform these regularly and have insight on how to improve. The increased performance coupled with an increased sense of trust will also seek to increase and maintain a healthy level of employee morale. The third recommended improvement to my leadership practices will be to challenge employees with new types of tasks and grow their skill sets to build performance, enthusiasm, and job satisfaction. When giving employees new challenges I also need follow up during and after their tasks to give constructive criticism and offer additional training if indicated. This alteration to my current practices will also prevent the erosion in trust my seemingly lack of faith in the past has had on employees and the team. This change to my practices will lead to greater employee skill set development and an added confidence within team members. SMART Goals To hasten my leadership development in a measurable method I am setting two SMART goals to accomplish within the next two weeks. The first goal is to set aside time to talk with each employee to ascertain what short and long term goals they have within the organization. I will also discuss with them what skill sets they believe they lack that is preventing them from moving to the next level. I will then assign tasks to each employee that seeks to build the desired skill set of each person. I will monitor their progress and give feedback as necessary. At the end of the two week period I will follow up again with each employee to ask them what they thought about the process, if they learned anything from doing new activities, and what, if  any, new tasks or skills they would like to learn or hone to further their career goals. The second goal will be to hold small team meetings, or huddles as we call them in the organization I work for, and gain the opinions and insights from employees on current changes within the organizations. I will guide the meetings and help employees choose how certain objectives will be met and how they might influence accomplishing long-term goals. Within reason, I will set into motion the employees plans and suggestions. At the end of the two week period I will again hold a series of huddles to discuss our accomplishments based upon the changes the employees have planned and further adjustments we could make to improve processes to these changes. I am optimistic that through the accomplishment of these two goals employees will feel more involved and valued within the organization. These immediate changes will also seek to build trust within my leadership and the organization. This improvement will further open up the lines of communication and reestablish a better sense of teamwork, as I will also be seen as part of the team in addition to its leader. These achievements will boost performance for both long and short-term objectives while increasing the teams’ morale. References Boone, L. W., & Makhani, S. (2012). Five Necessary Attitudes of a Servant Leader. Review Of Business, 33(1), 83-96. Retrieved from: http://wguproxy.egloballibrary.com/login?user=true&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=heh&AN=86286635&site=ehost-live&scope=site Caldwell, C., Dixon, R., Floyd, L., Chaudoin, J., Post, J., & Cheokas, G. (2012). Transformative Leadership: Achieving Unparalleled Excellence. Journal Of Business Ethics, 109(2), 175-187. Retrieved from: http://wguproxy.egloballibrary.com/login?user=true&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=heh&AN=78333229&site=ehost-live&scope=site Parris, D., & Peachey, J. (2013). A Systematic Literature Review of Servant Leadership Theory in Organizational Contexts. Journal Of Business Ethics, 113(3), 377-393. Retrieved from: http://wguproxy.egloballibrary.com/login?user=true&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=heh&AN=87015717&site=ehost-live&scope=site Waterman, H. (2011). P rinciples of ‘servant leadership’ and how they can

Symbolism in The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King Essay

Symbolism in The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King - Essay Example Mostly fairytales apart from the original story have to tell the other stories as well. The writers of the fairytales use some symbols to take the simple narrative to a higher level where it unravels some cosmic realities. Symbol is something which stands for something else. Generally concrete objects are used as symbols to conceptualize the abstractions. Symbols are born out of the connotative meanings of the words and are used by the skilled writers to highlight the abstract concepts. The novel The Eyes of Dragon, though apparently a fairytale, employs certain symbols and involves archetypal characters like Flagg (the incarnate evil: the offspring of the infernal serpent). The very age of Flagg suggests that he is more than a human character. The timelessness he enjoys makes him a symbolic character. Peter represents the archetypal innocent hero always beguiled by a near one (Thomas). Archetypes are actually the symbols that recur in literary depiction and are the offspring of huma n unconscious. Northrop Frye () and Jung contend that human unconscious has a stock of images or symbols that are shared by all and have some sort of cosmic significance. The symbol of Eyes of the dragon is a stock symbol used traditionally to distinguish between good and evil. Koch (2003) declares that The Symbol of Dragon’s Eye belongs to ancient Germanic tradition. ... It also stands for balance of power, love and wisdom. In King’s novel it relates to the mystery and also acts as the crystal ball through which u can see the see the truth. Thomas sees Flagg poisoning his father through Eyes of dragon. Thomas heeded Flagg's advice not to go often, but he did use the passageway from time to time, and peeked at his father through the glass eyes of Niner-peeked into a world where everything became greeny-gold. Going away later with a pounding headache (as he almost always did), he would think:Your head aches because you were seeing the way dragons must see the world-as if everything was dried out and ready to burn ( King , p. 78). The animals in the Novel (their symbolic significance) The animals in the novel have symbolic significance. The animal kingdom is represented in many instances from dogs to dragons and all of them have symbolic significance. Animals can be divided in to two groups: one belonging to evil and other belonging to good. Anim als related to Flagg are the harbingers of evil and destruction while animal of the good group represent faithfulness. Frisky represents the archetypal guide soothsayer who brings the protagonists to their required destination. According to Michael Peebles (n.d.) animals related to Flagg are the symbols of his evil designs for the kingdom. He means corruption to the Kingdom and the animals are the instruments that bring this corruption. The dragon is on such example and another example is the hawk.† Frisky The dog is the cosmic symbol of faithfulness and in Christianity takes the role of guide. Frisky, with his noble nose helps in locating the exact place where Dennis, son of Brandon has gone to from Peyna’s farmhouse. The Dragon