Hierarchy of Needs in the Workplace Essay Example

Hierarchy of Needs in the Workplace Essay Example Hierarchy of Needs in the Workplace Paper Hierarchy of Needs in the Workplace Paper Brief Biography: Abraham Maslow Abraham H. Maslow was born April 1, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. As the eldest of seven children he was pushed hard for academic success. As a child he was smart yet shy and unhappy; as result he took refuge in reading books. Forty years later, after extensive education and research, Maslow developed the theory of human motivation known as â€Å"Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. † As a psychologist, he noted that some human needs were more powerful than others. Therefore he divided those needs into five general categories ranging from most urgent to most advance. Maslow first published his theory in the 1940s, which later became a widely accepted concept in the fields of psychology and anthropology. During his late years (1951 to 1969) he was a professor at Brandeis University until he died of a heart attack in 1970. Abraham Maslow saw a human beings needs arranged like a ladder, with the most basic needs at the bottom. First there are physical needs such as air, water, food, and sex. Next are safety needs (security and stability), followed by psychological or social needs (sense of belonging, love, and acceptance). At the top are the self-actualizing needs, such as self-fulfillment. Maslow felt that unfulfilled needs lower on the ladder would keep a person from climbing to the next step. He also felt that individuals who dealt in managing the higher needs were â€Å"self-actualized†. He generalized that self-actualizing people tend to focus on problems outside of themselves, have a clear sense of what is genuine, are spontaneous as well as creative, and do not feel the need to strictly attend social gatherings. â€Å"Hierarchy of Needs† in the Workplace To my beliefs, Abraham Maslow has had a significant impact on the practices which compose the field of organizational management, many of which I have been able to experience during my employment as an Avionics supervisor for the United States Marine Corps and as a Site Supervisor for Rio Salado College. During this essay, it will be my intent to give the reader an insight as to the different levels of the â€Å"Hierarchy of Needs† and how I feel they can be applied to the workplace. First begin with the lowest level on the hierarchy, human physiological concerns. In order to survive, one must feed themselves, drink water, breath, use the bathroom, and procreate. If one did not do these things, then one could not survive. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that an employee’s basic concerns and comforts are met in order for them to be productive. For example, if an employee is freezing cold in the work place, then he/she will not work as quickly and efficiently as if he/she were in a comfortable environment. On the second level there is safety and the need for human beings to feel protected. This could translate into the workplace as a need for job and financial security. Once again, it is an employer’s duty to establish this security for the employees. As a consequence for not fulfilling this need, an employee may not work to their fullest potential, especially if they feel that they could most likely be laid off or fired. In a worst case scenario, an employee may decide to give up or even do something to negatively impact the company as an act of revenge. The third level consists of a persons desire to belong and feel loved. An employer can help create this environment by establishing camaraderie among employees. There are possible ways for an employer to provide bonding opportunities by scheduling social events or by pairing compatible individuals to work together. Notorious for implementing these types of bonding strategies, are police units, military, as well as any organization where unit cohesion is of the utmost importance. This is primarily because camaraderie, unit morale, and willingness to work together are essential for these organizations to effectively carry out their purpose. The fourth level illustrates how human beings strive for success, feel strong emotions, and need self-assurance when in a group environment. Take for example how in the work place, ideally when an employee works to gain respect, the better their boost in self-confidence will be. With this principle, an employer should have the drive to create activities outside of work to motivate employees and raise self-esteem, thus raising worker self-reliance and most importantly workplace productivity. The final and most important level on Maslow’s hierarchy is â€Å"self actualization†, which refers to an accomplished individual’s ability to be creative, solve problems, and deal with feelings of morality. As related to the workplace, this characteristic unquestionably applies to those in supervisory positions. Without â€Å"self-actualization† a manager would not have the confidence to lead, resolve concerns, and deal with the ethical issues that commonly arise in the workplace, eventually resulting in the deterioration of unit structure. In the end, an efficient leader is the key o creating a healthy work environment and enhancing organizational effectiveness. References Abraham Maslow Biography. Value Based Management. 23 Aug. 2008 valuebasedmanagement. net/leaders_maslow_hierarchy. html. Huitt, William. Maslows hierarchy of needs. Educational Psychology Interactive. 23 Aug. 2008 ;http://chiron. valdosta. edu/whuitt/col/regsys/maslow. html;. Kermal ly, Sultan. Gurus on Managing People. London: Thorogood Books, 2005. Sirgy, Joseph M. , and Coskun A. Samli. New Dimensions in Marketing/Quality-of-Life Research. Westport: Quorum Books, 1995.

3 Expert Tips for Tackling the UVA Essay Prompts

3 Expert Tips for Tackling the UVA Essay Prompts SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the University of Virginia boasts impressive academics, competitive sports team, and a long list of notable alumni. Though over 20,000 students attend UVA, the school has an admissions rate of just 30% - meaning you’ll have to work hard if you want to be a Cavalier. One of the best ways to boost your chances of admissions is by writing great UVA essays as part of your application. In this article, we’ll break down what the UVA essay prompts are and how you can write responses to each prompt that will make you stand out. What Are the UVA Supplemental Essay Prompts? In order to apply to UVA, you’ll submit either the Common or Coalition Application. No matter which option you choose, you’ll have to complete the UVA supplement, which includes two essays. Neither of the UVA essays has a hard word count, though the instructions recommend that you write around half a page, or 250 words. For the first UVA supplement essay, you’re required to write a response based on the school within UVA that you’re applying to. For the second UVA supplement essay, you get to choose the topic that resonates most with you. UVA Essay Prompts Here are the UVA essay prompts for 2018-19: Prompt #1 We are looking for passionate students to join our diverse community of scholars, researchers, and artists. Answer the question that corresponds to the school/program to which you are applying in a half page or roughly 250 words. College of Arts and Sciences - What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way? School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - If you were given funding for a small engineering project that would make everyday life better for one friend or family member, what would you design? School of Architecture - Describe an instance or place where you have been inspired by architecture or design. School of Nursing - School of Nursing applicants may have experience shadowing, volunteering, or working in a health care environment. Tell us about a healthcare-related experience or another significant interaction that deepened your interest in studying Nursing. Kinesiology Program - Discuss experiences that led you to choose the kinesiology major. Prompt #2 Answer one of the following questions in a half page or roughly 250 words. What’s your favorite word and why? We are a community with quirks, both in language and in traditions. Describe one of your quirks and why it is part of who you are. Student self-governance, which encourages student investment and initiative, is a hallmark of the UVA culture. In her fourth year at UVA, Laura Nelson was inspired to create Flash Seminars, one-time classes which facilitate high-energy discussion about thought-provoking topics outside of traditional coursework. If you created a Flash Seminar, what idea would you explore and why? UVA students paint messages on Beta Bridge when they want to share information with our community. What would you paint on Beta Bridge and why is this your message? UVA students are charged with pushing the boundaries of knowledge to serve others and contribute to the common good. Give us an example of how you’ve used what you’ve learned to make a positive impact in another person’s life. UVA Essays, Analyzed Looking for advice on how to write amazing UVA essays? Let’s break down how to answer each prompt. UVA Prompt #1 The instructions are the same for all of the first UVA essays: "We are looking for passionate students to join our diverse community of scholars, researchers, and artists. Answer the question that corresponds to the school/program to which you are applying in a half page or roughly 250 words." Let’s look at how to answer each one. College of Arts and Sciences - What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way? This prompt gives you an opportunity to examine many different fields. The key is to pick something you’re passionate about. Passion doesn’t always have to be a good thing. You may be passionate about why Pride Prejudice is the worst book ever written. This essay asks about something that has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you - you don’t need to pick your favorites here. Consider picking something that has reframed your perception of the world. Have you read a book that opened your eyes to another culture? Has some fact of science truly blown your mind? Go with something that has shifted how you view and conceptualize the world. Again, it doesn’t have to be in a good way. School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - If you were given funding for a small engineering project that would make everyday life better for one friend or family member, what would you design? This prompt allows you to think out of the box! In order to ace this essay, go small (it says so in the prompt) and personal. You don’t need to dream up a cure for cancer or a new way to bring water to the developing countries. Think about a challenge that faces the ones you love every day - you should pick something that feels real and honest. Don’t try to impress with size and scale here. Instead, make a small, meaningful impact. If you’re able to describe how your project really makes a change, it will be more memorable in the eyes of the admissions committee. School of Architecture - Describe an instance or place where you have been inspired by architecture or design. Inspiration comes in many forms - what’s important for this prompt is to think about what has inspired you, not the masses. In other words, don’t feel like you need to pick the Empire State Building if you weren’t actually inspired by that work. Pick something that was meaningful to you and expand on why it impacted you. You could even pick a small home - something that encouraged you to think of building dwellings that are important for families. Whatever you choose, you should be sincere about your inspiration. Anything that sounds trite will be really obvious to the admissions committee. They’ll read thousands of applications about wanting to make the tallest building in the world - make yours sound different. School of Nursing - School of Nursing applicants may have experience shadowing, volunteering, or working in a health care environment. Tell us about a healthcare-related experience or another significant interaction that deepened your interest in studying Nursing Don’t feel like you need to highlight a huge moment here - rather, focus on something that’s significant to you even if that experience was small! The key to this prompt is to make sure that you’re highlighting something real that happened to you or someone important to you. The more personal you can make the experience, the better. Saying something like â€Å"I want to solve cancer for everyone† is less impactful than saying that you have seen firsthand how cancer affected your grandmother. Nursing is a personal profession - lean into that for this essay. Kinesiology Program - Discuss experiences that led you to choose the kinesiology major. For this prompt, focus on one or two experiences and discuss them in detail. Don’t give an entire overview of your history - describing something more fully will resonate more than trying to cram a lot of experiences into a relatively short essay. Be honest about what drove you to kinesiology - don’t write what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. Write what’s true for you. UVA Prompt #2: The instructions are the same for all of the second round of UVA prompts: "Answer one of the following questions in a half page or roughly 250 words." You only need to pick one of these questions to answer. What’s your favorite word and why? With a prompt like this, it can be tempting to want to impress the admissions committee with your knowledge of esoteric vocabulary. Don’t go that route, unless you have a true connection to a strange, rarely used word. Pick a word that’s meaningful to you - something that’s very specific to you. The key here isn’t to pick the most interesting word, it’s to have the most meaningful and memorable experience to back it up. If â€Å"family† is really important to you, you need to have a good reason - simply saying you love your parents isn’t enough. Focus on the â€Å"why† rather than the word and you’ll be on the right track. We are a community with quirks, both in language and in traditions. Describe one of your quirks and why it is part of who you are. This prompt offers you a chance to show off a side of yourself that the rest of your application doesn’t highlight. Take advantage of it! Do you have a passion for collecting Minnie Mouse figurines? Do you have to run four miles every single morning? Do you stop everything you’re doing whenever the Red Sox are playing? Do your parents always make fun of you for pronouncing a word strangely? Whatever your quirk is, now’s the time to celebrate it! Write freely and without embarrassment - a quirk is a quirk! It’s not supposed to seem normal. The admissions committee won’t judge you for your quirk. They want to learn the interesting parts about your personality. Student self-governance, which encourages student investment and initiative, is a hallmark of the UVA culture. In her fourth year at UVA, Laura Nelson was inspired to create Flash Seminars, one-time classes which facilitate high-energy discussion about thought-provoking topics outside of traditional coursework. If you created a Flash Seminar, what idea would you explore and why? The topic you choose doesn’t have to be high-brow or exceedingly academic - rather, you need to pick a topic that’ll inspire thought-provoking conversations. If that conversation is, â€Å"What does Kim Kardashian say about the future of advertising?† that’s fine! As long as the topic is important to you. As with the other prompts, the word â€Å"why† is the most important of this prompt. You need to have a strong reason for wanting to explore this topic. If you want to talk about Kim Kardashian, that’s cool - as long as you can indicate why this is a topic worthy of discussion. UVA students paint messages on Beta Bridge when they want to share information with our community. What would you paint on Beta Bridge and why is this your message? As with the other prompts, the â€Å"why† is the most important part of this question. Whatever message you land on, make sure you have a good reason for it. Avoid trite or cliched phrases, like â€Å"Be the change you wish to see in the world.† The admissions committee will have seen thousands of these - and those words are probably already written on Beta Bridge. What do you have to say? What message is personal to you? What lesson have you learned that you specifically can communicate? UVA students are charged with pushing the boundaries of knowledge to serve others and contribute to the common good. Give us an example of how you’ve used what you’ve learned to make a positive impact in another person’s life. First and foremost: don’t make something up here. Don’t say that you spent months devoted to helping a family whose father was suffering from cancer if that’s just not true. While this prompt does encourage you to share how you’ve served people, it’s not a contest. You don’t have to have the grandest and most impressive example of selflessness that the committee’s ever read. What you do need to have is sincerity - talk about how you helped someone and why that experience was so impactful. Explain what led you to help and reflect on how UVA might inspire similar feelings of service in you. How to Write UVA Essays Here are some general tips for how to write UVA essays that will wow the committee. #1: Be You Your UVA supplement essay is a chance to show the admissions committee who you are. Take that opportunity to flesh yourself out. You’re not simply a collection of A’s and B’s printed on a transcript. You’re a real person! Show that in your UVA essays. #2: Feedback Is Cool; Plagiarism Is Not It can be tempting to bounce essay ideas off your peers, parents, and teachers. That’s fine! But don’t rely on them too heavily. Your work should be your own - from the ideas to the execution. There’s a fine line between receiving helpful feedback and using that feedback in a way that misrepresents your work and ability. Seek out help, but know that you have the first and final say. #3: Play With Form Your UVA essays don't have to follow the traditional five paragraph structure. UVA encourages you to play with form. That means you can submit a poem, if you want! Take advantage of the freedom from structure to write in a way that feels authentic to you. If that means starting every sentence with the letter â€Å"E†, then go for it! As long as your work is well-written and engaging, the form doesn’t matter. What’s Next? There are over 5,000 colleges in the United States- how can you possibly decide which to apply to? Using a college finder tool can help you sort through your options and find your ideal school without having to tour every single campus. Once you've decided on some colleges or universities that you're interested in attending, our guide will help you narrow down your list to safeties, matches, and reach school. Still not sure what you're looking for in a college?Read our articles on whether you should go to a school close to home and whether you should attend a large or small college. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

Target Marketing for Agrium Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 19

Target Marketing for Agrium Inc - Essay Example Agrium has approximately 500 retail units in South America and the United States of America and they operate under the brand names of Crop Production Services, West Farm Services and Agroservicios Pampeanos SA (Agrium, 2012). The retail units deal directly with farmers in selling its agricultural nutrients and specialty fertilizers. Its affiliate, the Crop Production Services has the vision to be a leader in the production of agricultural inputs in all segments of its market and in doing this; it has embarked on a policy to retain talented employees in its services so as to provide high-quality services to its customers. The organization seeks to build its brand name by assisting college students to achieve higher education by paying their fees.  Through its wholesale unit, the company provides nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers to retailers who in turn sell these products to farmers. The wholesale unit, in achieving its targets, treats its customers as partners in the business and it does this through honesty and integrity in dealing with them. The company has a distribution network of over 100 supplied by thirteen production unit and these results into the timely supply of the products to their customers. The company has initiated technological devices such as Ag Tracker and loading hours to enable customers to access critical product information and operating hours of various plants of the organization.  The advanced technological unit produces specialty fertilizers and focuses on environmental sustainability (Agrium, 2012). This unit targets consumers, agricultural and horticulture market and organizations engaging in sports such as golf, due to the profession turf. In achieving its objective, the company markets and sells its products through distributors in the United States of America and Canada.

Networking and competition Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Networking and competition - Assignment Example People greatly recognized and appreciated him through his snapshots to an extent that even if he comes up with such a creative idea in future, people will still recognize him. He saw a business idea and made it happen. However, networking requires the spirit of hard work and commitment to attain the required fruits. Had Kalina not committed himself to the daily task of taking self portraits, his project would not have thrives. Competition is important to motivate business minded people to put an extra effort in their businesses. For Kalina to transform his snapshots into the most famous videos recognized today, he saw a video from Ahree Lee which served as his catalyst. Without such a competition, he would not have transformed his snapshots into something that would positively affect his career. Most businesses do not feel good if any form of competition tends to overtake them. This is because in today’s world, most customers flee to businesses that provide the best quality products at affordable prices. That is why most business individuals always strive to outdo their competitors to achieve the highest number of clients and maintain them. Competition is one powerful force that pushes business individuals to improve their performance. This powered with appropriate networking ensures that businesses achieve the expected goals and objectives of that organization. Many businesses make use of networking in their marketing plan. It enables a relationship of trust to develop between the individuals involved. It also enables the company to rank its profile at a high level. In the event of networking, most businesses learn of their competitors’ strategy and ensure that they come up with almost the same or even better strategies. However, it is difficult to get hold of a strategy used by a competitor. That is why some businesses wait for a competitor to come up with a

Critical Evaluation of International Essay Example for Free

Critical Evaluation of International Essay A review of literature on international HRM reveals three different approaches (Dowling et al. , 1999, p. 2): Comparative, Cross-cultural and multi-national. Firstly, according to Adler (1997), the early approaches to researching international HRM focused on cross-cultural differences and examination of human behaviour from an international perspective. Certainly, research on cross-cultural organizational behaviour has become a conduit for the understanding of the dynamics of multicultural domestic and international workplaces within the advent of globalisation. There are different levels of analysis within cross-national HRM, national factors, contingent factors and organisational level. Cross-national HRM researchers claim that it is at the levels of national factors and contigent variables that they can make useful contributions through the examination of the impacts of such determinants of HRM policies and practices (Boxall, 1995; Brewster et al, 1996). However, other researchers (Budhwar and Sparrow, 1997; Jackson and Schuler, 1995) argue that national factors and contingent variables are not enough in themselves to provide an understanding of the context-specific nature of HRM practices. It is important therefore, to consider analysis of the impact of organisational-level strategies (Budhwar and Sparrow, 1997). Secondly, the comparative approach focuses on similarities and differences in HRM practices within an international context. Undeniably, Budhwar Sparrow (2002) note that the increase in globalisation of business transactions, the emergence of new markets such as the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as well as hyper competition among organisations at equally the domestic and international level have been associated with an increased significance and need for comparative human resource management (HRM) studies. As a result, there has been a growing number of studies addressing the configuration of HRM in different national contexts (Budhwar Sparrow, 2002). According to Rechie, Lee and Quintanilla (2009) one of the most significant role of comparative HRM research is to provide managers, principally those working in multinational firms, with specific guidelines concerning how to design and implement an effective HRM system taking into consideration cultural differences especially when their business operation enters into different cultural contexts for example western multinationals seeking to do business in China. This notion of being responsive to the context and standardisation of HRM policies and practices has generated controversial but nonetheless critical topics of discussion in comparative HRM, such as the debate on localization versus standardization, and the process of transferring HRM policies and practices across nations (Rechie et al, 2009). The thirdly, multinational approach, tends to focus on HRM practices in multinational organisations. The HRM extant literature reveals that there are two distinct schools of thought as regards approaches to managing people within MNCs: (i) convergence and (ii) divergence. According to Brewster et al. , (2007), the convergence approach is said to be one of the most dominant strands in international management research. On the one hand, the convergence approach has three main assumptions: firstly, the ultimate aim in all organisations is to improve performance through high-performance work systems (Brewster, 2001). Secondly, the universal aim of performance improvement can be achieved by using sound and effective management philosophies that hold true despite of differences among national environments (Girgin, 2005). Thirdly, proponents of the convergence approach argue that if local practices are different from these principles, they are expected to be replaced with ‘the one best way’, converging mainly on the American model as the leading industrial economy (Dowling et al. , 1999). According to Girgin (2005) the concept of convergence towards the one best way practice has been encouraged and/or supported by the forces of globalisation, which has led to the opening of world markets, deregulation, regional integration and improvements in communication technologies. Although HRM as a field of practice was developed in America, the principles and practices designed for America may not hold for other parts of the world. Barlett and Ghoshal (1989), say that, the main suggestion of the globalisation argument is that nationality factors in the operation of national systems and of companies are no longer influential or important as international companies become ‘trans-national’ which converge to a new ‘best model’. Yes, the IHRM literature shows that because multinational corporations are embedded in their home institutional environments, they may attempt to transfer ‘home’ practices to their foreign operations in different cultural environments (Edwards et al. , 1999). However, the study of HRM practices in Europe (see Brewster et al 2007) suggest that national differences are significant in the determination of HRM practices. On the other hand, the divergence approach or contextual paradigm searches for contextually unique practices and approaches to management, it does not search for evidence of similarities (Brewster, 2001). Within the IHRM literature, the focal point of the divergence standpoint is the dissimilarity of policies and applications across different national and regional contexts and tries to understand the particularities of the context with a view to interpret why and how such differences have emerged in these settings (Brewster, 2005). Within the divergence school of thought, there are two distinct approaches to managing human resources in multinational organisations: (i) the culturalist and (ii) the institutionalist perspectives. Based mainly on Hofstede’s (1980) value-based behavioural dimensions and concepts of national culture which have made an attempt to explain the influence of culture upon Multinationals’ behaviour, the culturalist approach has found widespread acceptance in the IHRM literature. Hofstede (1980) came to a conclusion that culture was the main determinant of the variations in work-related values, attitudes and behaviours among employees and managers within the same organisation, and of the same profession, age, or gender. Hofstede found that there were four dimensions that explained the differences in work-related values and behaviours: (i) Individualism and collectivism, (ii) Uncertainty avoidance, (iii) Power distance and (iv) Masculinity and femininity According to Girgin (2005), the culturalist approach endeavours to build an understanding of differences in work organisations, managerial behaviour and human resource practices based on attributes of national cultural distinctiveness in terms of values, ideas and beliefs shared by people in a given society. Under the divergence school of thought, the institutionalist perspective is the second. The main argument of the institutionalist perspective is that national institutional contexts (for example, government systems, training and development systems) play a major role in determining structures and strategies of organisations (Girgin, 2005). According to Girgin (2005), those who support the Institutionalist perspective stress the pressures on companies to acquire and maintain legitimacy in relation to the environment and the way that interlocking practices can bring benefits in particular systemic contexts. This perspective presents itself as a more comprehensive framework for the comparative study of different national systems (Girgin, 2005). For example, despite the knowledge of the influence of culture on organisational behaviour, HR practitioners cannot simply measure cultural values across their operations and predict behaviour, due cognisance must be given to various institutional contexts. As noted by Dewettinck and Remue (2011) certain practices are shared across or within particular contexts; some are distinctive of certain countries; some are unique to certain sectors or sections of an organization or even individuals. Without doubt, while each of the above approaches sharpens the focus on some aspects of HRM, it is possible that solely focusing on one aspect may unavoidably, hinder capturing the positive aspects from other perspectives(Mayrhofer and Brewster, 2005). Indeed what appears to be more significant in researching international HRM is the context. According to Dewettinck and Remue (2011) the notion of context and/or focus on contextual factors has been reflected in the cross-cultural embedment of many international HRM studies (Brewster, Mayrhoferand Morley, 2004), in addition, the Globe project which was focused on leadership also reveals that context is important (House and Javidan, 2004). For example, a recent study by Hartmann et al. (2010) of western multinationals operating in China shows that these organisations implement relatively unchanged HRM practices from their home country in their Chinese subsidiaries. The study of Hartmann et al. , reveals that consideration of contextual factors is important in the understanding of HRM practices and the management of people in an international context. As a matter of fact, results of Hartmann et al. ’s study indicate that, although the Chinese subsidiaries of Western multinationals were able to implement unchanged HRM practices such as talent management from their headquarters, the practices were not successfully internalised. This demonstrates the significance of national cultures and being responsive to local needs in implementing HRM practices. The example above actually shows that context is an important aspect in researching international HRM regardless of the approach taken. In conclusion, there is indeed something to be learnt from each of the perspectives. Each of the perspectives do make considerable contribution to the understanding of international HRM.

The Truth Behind the Bus :: Buena Vista University Drinking Alcohol Essays

The Truth Behind the Bus There are many controversial issues concerning the bus service provided by Buena Vista University. BVU Rides, commonly known as the â€Å"Drunk Bus,† receives great reviews from the students using it at Buena Vista. However, members of the Storm Lake community are not as appreciative of this service. It is important, nonetheless, that people learn facts about BVU Rides in order to make an educated judgment. According to Behind the Arch, an essay compiled by students of Buena Vista University about the drinking issues within the university, citizens of Storm Lake feel that the â€Å"Drunk Bus† endorses drinking and drunkenness. The bus does in fact give students a chance to drink without being worried about a way back to their rooms. Some students who would not normally drink because of not having a ride are now able to drink without worrying about a designated driver. The bus system does facilitate ways for students to be able to drink. However, not only is the bus system sending a message to students that they can drink and not be worried about a way back to campus, but it also sends many other positive messages. The Storm Lake Community Believes: Getting Rid of the Bus will make a Statement that Drinking is not Acceptable and will Encourage Students to Abstain from Drinking One factor that Storm Lake citizens need to consider is that no matter what, there will be college students who drink. Not only are some of the students that use this service of age to drink, but it is likely that eliminating BVU Rides will not deter college students of any age from drinking. With there being a good chance of students out drinking, there has to be a way to get them back to their dorms. If Buena Vista were to take away the BVU Rides program, students who drink would not have a safe ride home. This would leave some students thinking that their only way of getting home would be to drive while under the influence. BVU Rides Allows Students to Get Drunk and Become Irresponsible Safety is a major concern when it comes to drinking. Drinkers are often reminded of this with billboards and commercial ads that tell them to â€Å"drink responsibly.† The Storm Lake community is also concerned about safety for themselves and students when it comes to student drinking.

Impact of Social Classes Essay

The world that we live in is so immense, that the people who live in it is so diverse in culture, lifestyle, language and even skin color. We live in different environments and countries yet with all these dissimilarities, we share something in common. That is what we call social classes, which was practiced primarily during the beginning of world civilization. Our world began with this system and thereby influenced the generations after them. People were then identified simply as slaves or kings yet very unjust. People eventually awakened from a lengthy stupor and learned to fight for their human rights to exterminate these social strata and discriminations that exist in the society even until today. It is sad but factual and real. Even in the most democratic country, social classes still exist in modern times and manifest in terms of financial, cultural ethnicity and even racial aspects. We still have what we call as upper, middle and lower classes basing on their financial capacity. It is really part of our world but we have grown to be more considerate and tolerant to each other. In the story A&P, the setting of the story happened in a store in a small town five miles away from the beach. People here are generally conservative thus concerned about propriety. The story began when Sammy, who worked as a cashier in this grocery store called A&P saw three young girls who came in the store barefoot, wearing swimming suits. This of course does not occur everyday in this town, so naturally, Sammy and his co-worker Stokesie were stunned. Even the other grocery shoppers were surprised to these girls confidently walking along the aisles looking for something they need to buy. When the girls were on the counter being manned by Sammy, they caught the eye of Mr. Lengel, who manages the store. Mr. Lengel who also teaches Sunday school could not help but approach the girls and told them â€Å"Girls, this isn’t the beach. † This embarrassed the girls and one of them said, â€Å"We are decent†. The girls then paid and hurried to go back to their car outside and leave. Before the girls left, Sammy suddenly told Mr. Lengel that he is quitting his job, deliberately saying it while the girls were of hearing range to present himself as their hero but when he left the store, the girls left already, putting his efforts to nothing. Sammy then realized that his impulsiveness led his to lose his job which can greatly affect his life and his family. Living in different areas in the same country also means having diverse cultures. Urban areas especially the big cities have displays of a more liberated lifestyle compared to the rural ones. The contrasts of these two societies are very apparent in this story. These girls didn’t think they did anything wrong by walking in a store wearing swimming suits but for residents of that community, it was very improper and offensive. Sammy seemed in awe of these girls and impulsively quit his job just to become a momentary hero for them. Seeing this trio of girls who have been used to a different upbringing due to a social class they grew in opened Sammy’s eyes to something different from the one he is used to. The second story was entitled â€Å"Barn Burning† which happened in the 1930’s. It was about an impoverished family led by the father called Abner Snopes, who works for farmers in way of rental contracts. This family has been moving from one farm to another for several years because Abner always gets in trouble. Abner is so full of bitterness and insecurities that pushed him to do ludicrous deeds to the farm owners he works in. His temper heats up even with the slightest provocation and gets consumed with hatred which impels him to burn the barns of the farms who worked for. All these were done witnessed by his two sons, twin daughters, sister-in-law and his wife who tags along with him every time he needed to move. He was put in question in Peace’s courts several times because of his arsonist tendencies. One time, he burned a barn to get back at his neighbor named Mr. Harris because his hog strayed to his neighbor’s property and defiantly refused to return it if he would not pay the fine of a dollar. He then sent a black man whom he calls rudely as a nigger and asks him to pay the dollar to claim his hog and tell the neighbor, â€Å"Wood and hay kin burn. † Later the barn of that neighbor was burned. After the inquest the Snopes family had to move to another farm outside that county. When they arrived at another farm, he immediately paid a visit to the owner of the farm and insisted on going inside the white carpeted house with his filthy shoes and smeared dung on it from his shoes. He was later told in court to pay the farm owner ten bushels of corn which he obviously could not afford since they can barely put food on their table. He then later decided to burn the barn of that farm owner for revenge. The only person in the Snopes’ family, who truly asserted himself to correct the misdeeds of his father, was Abner’s youngest son who was a little boy named Colonel Sartoris Snopes. He wanted his father’s habitual barn burning to be stopped and so told the farm owner of what was happening. Colonerl Sartoris was righteous and did what he believed was the right thing to do even if his father’s barn burning is revealed. I am not trying to defend but understand Abner for the things he did in the story. What he did was wrong and there was no just compelling for his actions but Abner’s behavior was in some ways a result of what society laid as basis for a person’s worth. He became irrational and resorted to violence when he thought he was unfairly treated instead of trying to do things in a proper way. Social classification then was so vividly observable. The owners of a farm are far more affluent compared to the families in the likes of the Snopes’ who does the hard, laborious work of tilling the land, growing the crops then harvesting it yet earning so little for it. The unfairness of that era was evident and created a huge gap between these social classes which affects the lives of those considered as inferior like Abner’s family. They deserved equal opportunity to live a more comfortable and easy life. Sammy and Abner has the same impulsiveness to do what they think could put justice into a situation without thinking of the consequences of their action. Sammy quit his job to show that he dissented the way Mr. Lengel embarrassed the girls which was implied to be a decision that would affect his family. On the other hand, Abner resorted to violence to solve his predicament which apparently worsens his family’s situation. Social stratification affects the lives of the people. It may enrich their lives or curtail their opportunities. These days it is a relief to see that the lines between these classes are not as vivid as during the time of our forefathers and are now slowly fading into progression. There are still destitute men and women on the streets in most communities. There are still discriminations among races and gender. There are still people oppressed by their leaders. But it is evident that in our society today people are more aware of their rights and would definitely fight for it in whatever way they can. These stories showed the development in how people treated each other during these two eras and the history of social classes.