St. Augustine Confessions about Friendship

Table of Contents Friendship is for God Friendship towards God Augustine’s View Conclusion Works Cited St. Augustine is one of the most influential philosophers and teachers from ancient times. Much of what is known about him comes from his writings. The world will never be the same because of him and his masterpiece known all over this planet as The Confessions of St. Augustine. He was an ordained priest and later on became a Bishop of North Africa.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on St. Augustine: Confessions about Friendship – Term Paper specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He may appear at fist glance as a deeply religious person who shuns the secular world and who pursued the spirit life using methods preferred by monks, but surprisingly St. Augustine believes in friendship. In his Confessions one will see that he considers friendship as an important part of the Christian life. St. Augustine did not only believes in the power, beauty, and significance of friendship in this earthly existence, he also sees friendship from a deeply spiritual and philosophical level. He believes that friendships formed in this world have an ultimate purpose and it is to prepare people for what is to come – a perfect relationship with God. First there is friendship with God and then there is friendship with man. According to one historian Augustine’s basic framework to understand friendship comes from a heavenly perspective. Augustine believes that the only true source of friendship is God and he adds that it is only through this God-man relationship that people can understand the ideal meaning of friendship (Hyatte, 1994, p.46). In addition, Augustine confesses that humans are not only supposed to tap this higher source for guidance when it comes to earthly relationship, this friendship, if done correctly will lead them to God (Hyatte, 1994, p.46). This is evident in his writi ngs most especially in the Confessions. Friendship is for God It has to be pointed out that Augustine is not merely giving lip service to religion and his spiritual beliefs in the same way that some people are prone to do. He is not only making a suggestion when he defined friendship from a spiritual standpoint. The context of his writings must be understood as not coming from the pen of a sociologist or a politician who merely attempted to say or write nice things that in turn will be warmly accepted by the general public. Augustine wrote from a deep conviction. This is a man of God who desires not to be misinterpreted when it comes to his teachings. There is a high level of orthodoxy in his teachings that says God is the center and the most important part of life. This understanding covers every aspect of his life including friendship. In Book IV of the Confessions Augustine makes an emphatic statement when it comes to judging who is a true friend or not.Advertising Looking f or term paper on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Referring to a person whom he grew up with, and spent considerable time with as a school-fellow and as play-fellow, Augustine is blunt in his assessment of their relationship and he wrote: â€Å"But he was not yet my friend as afterwards, nor even then, as true friendship is; for true it cannot be, unless in such as Thou cementest together, cleaving unto thee, by that love which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us† (Augustine, Book IV). This mindset colors everything that he sees. Augustine did not casually mention the role that God played in friendship he meant something deeper and through the help of a commentary one can see a partial revelation of his worldview, that for Augustine: â€Å"there can be no consensus between men on earthly matters unless first they agree perfectly on divine or spiritual ones †¦ onl y those with orthodox religious beliefs can be true friends, and they agree on human matters because their taste and opinions are formed by those beliefs† (Hyatte, 1994 p.63). This is crucial component to Augustine’s understanding of what true friendship is. Once this particular belief system has been identified then it is now possible to take a closer look at friendship viewed from this perspective. Augustine vacillates between two extremes when it comes to describing friendship. On one hand he said that he as no friends except those who share in his beliefs. On the other hand he confesses that he used to have friends but they made him understand the weakness of the flesh. Augustine laments that in human friendship that is not anchored in God one can only expect frustrations and sorrows. Sorrow is inevitable in a relationship composed of frail human beings. Sorrow is also expected in a relationship governed with lust. Sorrow is the result of creating a relationship for the purpose of filling up the emptiness inside the soul of man. But there is nothing on this earth that can fill up that void. However, friends are unaware of this and so they keep on working on their relationship until it is no more or until one is hurt beyond repair. Sorrow comes when a friend is led by another friend into the path of destruction thinking wrongly that there lies the road to happiness. Augustine implies that it is normal for friends to make that mistake because in normal circumstances they are driven by their sinful nature. Frustration comes from the realization that there are high expectations that could not be met. This is especially true when it comes to a special friendship between man and woman, a type of relationship that Augustine is not ignorant about. Before he was converted or before he gave his life wholly for the service of God, Augustine knows what it means to fall in love.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on St. Augustine: Con fessions about Friendship – Term Paper specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He has a son to one woman and then married another for the simple reason of satisfying the flesh and at the same time the purported benefits of a man-woman relationship. But at the end he said that there is nothing in this type of relationship that lasts and truly satisfies the soul. Augustine said that the friend is not only a friend – ready to serve, love, and protect – he is also a friend in need. There is that expectation to receive the love given. It is expected that there is reciprocity in that love. Augustine said that there are times when it is impossible to pay back what was given and the hope of love paid back in full can be sometimes suffocating. But there is more. Augustine said that this type of friendship that is not anchored in the Almighty is a friendship that will end in sadness especially when the other person dies and those who are left behind are left with a void that they cannot understand. Friendship towards God When he took on a new understanding of life, when he became a Christian, Augustine began to deplore the friendship that he had with the world and the people who are of the world. But this does not mean that he did not appreciate his friendship with them. In Book IV the reader is introduced to a friend whom Augustine truly loves because when he was near death Augustine was affected greatly and there were no words that could describe his feeling. Augustine is deeply religious but he is not a hermit. He is comparable to a pastor who longs to be with people and not like a holy man who prefers isolation and prefers to stay away from the crowd. When he became a Christian he all the more appreciated the power, beauty and significance of friendship especially the one he shared with like-minded people. But before going any further it is important to point out that Augustine owes his conversion to his friendship with others. It is through this friendship that he was able to see the error of his ways. It was his friend Alypius who led him to the path of righteousness and for that Augustine was so thankful. He wrote extensively about his friendship with Alypius and his impact on his life. He would continue to seek for this type of friends those who would make him a better Christian.Advertising Looking for term paper on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Augustine’s method of acquiring friends and sustaining their relationship came first as the result of his ardent passion to know wisdom and truth. Thus, even at a young age he chose to associate with those who can lead him to a higher level of learning. When he became a Christian he still had the same passion but this time around his search for truth is made more complex by another desire, which is the knowledge of Christ. It is no wonder then that Augustine’s friendship has a distinctive characteristic in it and it can be best described as having the quality of evident in a teacher-disciple relationship. Thus, Augustine will take a student under his wings and he would teach this younger fellow and in the process of teaching he becomes a friend to this person. But Augustine is not always the teacher; there was a time when friendship was developed when he entered into a mentor-mentee relationship with Ambrose the Bishop of Milan. Obviously the relationship started from the standpoint of a teacher dispensing wisdom and truth to a hungry student but overtime they developed a special friendship that Augustine treasured for the rest of his life and he wrote: That man of God received me as a father, and showed me an Episcopal kindness of my coming. Thenceforth I began to love him at first indeed not as a teacher of the truth (which I utterly despaired of thy Church), but as a person kind towards myself (Augustine, Book V). It is important to note that Augustine was attracted to Ambrose not because of his eloquence and erudite thoughts but because of his kindness towards him. This is a revelation as to how Augustine perceived human behavior and how he is affected by it. This is significant because the first impression that one will have on Augustine is a scholar who loves nothing more than to read and study. This initial assessment of his character creates a wrong assumption that this man is willing to sacrifice the nuances of human relationships in ord er to immediately dive into knowledge and wisdom – to feast on ideas and conjectures without regard to human relationships. But this statement is proof that Augustine does not only have a powerful mind that has overpowered all his senses but it also shows that he is a sensitive man. He brought himself near to Ambrose not only because Ambrose can teach him great things but first of all because Ambrose demonstrated that he can be a friend to Augustine. He is also fond of Nebridius the friend who allowed him to experience life in a deeper way. This is the friend who allowed him to imbibe wisdom, and understand the depths of God. He was forever thankful for meeting Nebridius, Alypius, and Ambrose. His friendship with them allows us to see the context of his declaration that true friendship is from and must be used to propel each one into the knowledge and intimate relationship with the Almighty. Augustine’s View At first Augustine felt despair because his friends are dear to him but they lead him to the paths of destruction. It is difficult for him to reconcile what he is feeling and what he knows. It has become clear after reading the Confessions that Augustine is a sensitive man who may have the mind of a philosopher but he also posses the heart of an ordinary fellow who is mindful of his need for companionship. It tore his heart and his soul thinking about his desire to be with them especially to his lady friend. But he had to choose the path less traveled. It was clear that he suffered in his decision to pursue a life dedicated to spiritual pursuits but at the end he was rewarded because he believed that God gave him true friends. It has to be reiterated that in the latter stages of his life especially after his conversion to Christianity and his clear understanding of the truth Augustine appreciated friendship in the context of a student and teacher relationship. For Augustine this type of relationship is not the same as the way modern people co me to perceive a teacher-student dynamic. In ancient times students and teachers can live in the same house and they are not limited by the four walls of the classrooms. In other words they can experience a deep level of connectedness that is not possible in today’s world. It is through these relationships that Augustine was able to prove that he can become a better Christian if he has these types of friends as opposed to engaging in a spiritual journey without companions. It can even be said that without his friends, especially when it comes to Alpius, Nebridius, and Ambrose he could not have written his masterpiece. This is because he was able to distill the lessons of life through his interaction with his friends. This is perhaps the reason why Augustine influenced the Christian church in such a profound way – he gave people access to lofty truths by way of earthly examples of human relationships. This may also explain why Augustine is popular to students especially the adolescents because of the way he can connect with them as he exposed his inner-struggles as a young man and therefore can easily establish a connection with today’s teenagers and college students (Henninger, 1989, p.32). This is the legacy of Augustine. Conclusion The secret of Augustine’s success and the reason why he is so popular even in the 21st century is that he did not discuss theology using words that are difficult to grasp. He did not use concepts that require a genius to appreciate. He used his experience and understanding of friendship as a vehicle for communicating deep spiritual truths and this is the reason why it resonates in the hearts of his readers. His idea that God is the source of true friendship and that God allows friendship to occur in preparation for an eternal relationship with him is profound but easily accessible by young and old. Augustine’s assertion that true friendship must lead people to God has become a standard of living. He was able to articulate these things because he too suffered and rejoiced greatly in his quest to find truth via the interaction with his friends. Works Cited Augustine of Hippo. The Confessions of St. Augustine. Trans. Edward Bouverie Pusey. Henninger, M. â€Å"The Adolescent’s Making of Meaing: The Pedagogy of Augustine’s Confessions.† Journal of Moral Education. 18(1989): 32-44. Hyatte, Reginald. The Arts of Friendship: The Idealization of Friendship in Medieval and  Early Renaissance Literature. MA: E.J. Brill, 1994. This term paper on St. Augustine: Confessions about Friendship was written and submitted by user Aurora N. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Princess Mononoke review Essay Example

Princess Mononoke review Essay Example Princess Mononoke review Essay Princess Mononoke review Essay Essay Topic: The Prince Princess Mononoke (original title: Mononoke-hime ) was produced and released in Japan in 1997 and was released in Canada in November 1999. This ecology-themed epic was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki the famous Japanese film director, animator, manga artist and screenwriter. It is in Animation / Adventure / Fantasy genre and the voce casts include Yà ´ji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida and Yà »ko Tanaka. Princess Mononoke shows a mystical battle between Animal Gods of the forest and humans. The story happens in an Emishi village during Japans Muromachi Period in the 14th century. The young Ashitaka gets cursed by fatal infection after a demonic wild boar attacks him in the village. He then travels to west to find the deer-like god Shishigami to get cured. Along his way, he sees the battle between the animal inhabitants of the forest and an iron mining town that is exploiting and killing the forest. The constant aggressiveness by the village has brought the rage of the Wolf God, Moro, who attacks the village along with San, a human who was raised by the wolf god. San can communicate with the nature spirits, which is why she is called Princess Mononoke (spirits of things). Ashitaka would like these conflicting groups to get along, and he hopes to bring peace between San and Lady Eboshi who is the ironworks owner. However, he is frustrated as vicious powers plan to kill the Shishigami and more battles erupt. Although the story looks like a simple legend of humankind versus nature, there are many issues which complicate the plot. To begin, there are no absolute evil people in this story. Even Lady Eboshi, the ruler of Irontown who is the most responsible person for the destruction of the forest, is quite sympathetic when confronts other humans. She takes care of lepers and poor women and provides them with a place a work and live. Even San, whose persistent intention to protect the forest leads her to be an enemy of the humans, merely wants to save her own homeland not hurting people. Nevertheless, Miyazaki has truly created an amazing work in Princess Mononoke. Multiple conflicts thrive with humans against humans, humans against nature, and even nature against itself. These conflicts are such that they are incorporated into an astonishing deep and satisfying plot. It is very inspirational to see a movie that is capable of such story-telling without leading to old clichà ©s and frustrati ng repetition of the same old stories. Lady Eboshi is portrayed as a bit of a radical, not in terms of changing an existing order but in sense of humanistic point of view. She represents the improvement of technology in trying to advance human settlement and production, yet the social aspects of her character, in times make even audiences who support nature to sympathize with her. Ashitaka, who is one of the few living young men of Emishi people, is to be the leader of his people. He has the nobleness of Royal blood and great skills as a hunter. He sacrifices himself to defend his village and received a curse of death. He does not talk so much, but has a strong sense of justice. San is a weird girl who was raised by a mountain wolf. She hates humans who invade the forest. With a strange mask on her face, and riding a large mountain wolf, she frequently attacks the iron mining town. After meeting Ashitaka, her feelings lean between the Gods and humans. The central theme of the movie is the environment. There are several different environmental concerns depicted within this movie. The most obvious is clear cutting. The devastation that happens afterwards is a good representation of what could happen if humans continue to clear cut and kill the land. The setting is in Japan some time during the 14th century, an agricultural time before the country was unified. The general scenery and architecture are based on reality but the rest takes significant imagination with the reality of the time. The work is a fascinating animation which keeps the audience for most of the time and conveys its main messages in the context of attractive visuals and lively sound tracks. When viewed from a simplistic perspective, Princess Mononoke is a perfectly legitimate, well-represented movie. It is a wonderful anime work. It explores themes and concepts that leave the audience wondering about it. The plot is engaging and entertaining. It nicely shows how humans interact with the environment, and how they need to preserve and protect their land by working together. It has a great ending, and is overall very pleasurable to watch. The characters are well developed and realistic. However, the story has some fundamental elements that enhance and reflect upon Japanese culture which may be unfamiliar for the Western audience. Its only problems, in my opinion, come from the personal views of the producer. The movie presents its concepts in a judgmental or biased matter. The stream of a story should be neutral, so that the audience may judge content for themselves but it is the case in some instances in Princess Mononoke. Over all, I found this movie very entreating, enj oyable, and more importantly informative and an eye-opener to environmental problems that threaten our world.

PSY 1010-60 - General Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PSY 1010-60 - General Psychology - Essay Example As the precise description of ethnographic study is established, the patterns which distinguish various groups may be apparent, but the universality in some aspects of culture may also bring a variety of groups in mutual standpoints. In practical example, a brief experiential study on a religious Catholic mass set in a local community had been conducted for more than an hour. Keeping the exact location of the place confidential, a number of relevant observations can be drawn from such cultural sector. Majority of the individuals who attended the mass are white Americans, with several mixtures from other races--including Hispanic Americans. Female population seemed to dominate the congregation, with a few attendance from the male counterpart. Some have been dozing off in their seats, while others prefer to stand while attending the mass. In terms of the ceremony, gospels songs are played in muted tones, while the priest had been quite forceful in delivering his religious speech to the congregation--several of them looked bored while a few are avidly listening. It had been obvious that most attendees are already aware of the routines followed: the cues on when to stand, sing, and perform religious hand gestures.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit - Research Paper Example Christians believe in the existence of a single and most powerful superpower. They use the church for worship and education purposes. The church from a Christian point of view is not just the physical building, rather it constitutes the congregation as well as the believe system of the Christians. They are followers of Christ, and therefore do everything according to the teachings of the bible. In order to perform optimally in their activities, Christians are endowed with various gifts. These abilities enable them to perform both general and specialized duties and help each other in different ways. Believably, the gifs come from God and are given by the Holy Spirit to the deserving Christians. It is against this background that this paper provides an in depth analysis of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It argues that all gifts of the Holy Spirit are for today but some have ceased and are inexistent. To ensure a coherent view, it begins by defining the concept of spiritual gifts. Defining a Spiritual Gift The concept of a spiritual gift is complex and all encompassing. A spiritual gift is akin to spirituals, implying that it belongs to the spirit. In addition to having characteristics of a holy spirit, the gift is controlled by the spirit. Generally, Boice defines it as a special capability given by God which enables Christians to serve the church effectively.1. They are supernatural in nature and Christians need them in order to fulfil different missions in the church environment. They are given graciously by God to any individual He feels can serve the church according to His wishes. From these considerations, individuals who are gifted do not earn the respective gifts. Neither do they deserve them. They are merely given sovereignty and freely by the Almighty God. They are not rewards and therefore everybody is entitled to them. Also worth appreciating is the recognition that all gifts are charismatic in nature. Put differently, all of these are given by God through the Holy Spirit. Based on the preceding explanation, it is certain that humans do not posses these gifts. They can be revoked at any time when God through the Holy Spirit feels that an individual is not using them as expected. They act as an ideal channel that the Holy Spirit uses to minister to the church. Christians in this sense are just instruments that are moulded to fit the spiritual expectations. In order to receive these gifts, the respective human soul needs to exhibit willingness. Only then can they be able to effectively utilize the gifts in line with the Godly expectations. An important characteristic of these gifts pertains to the recognition that they are closely related to natural abilities of an individual. Yet they also have a miraculous characteristic. This distinguishes them from the ‘normal’ abilities that the Christians have. To ensure optimal performance however, one is gifted with a gift that is closely related to his or her natural ability2. The gifts of the Hol y Spirit are for today. They are relevant to the church settings and used by the Christians to benefit themselves as well as the entire church. They can only be recognized and utilized when they are needed. Seemingly, some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit such as apostolic and the gifts of signs have ceased. To a great extent, this is attributable to the recognition that they are no longer needed by the church. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Apostleship This gift is classified under the leadership category of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. According to Gangel, an apostle is a messenger who is sent by God with orders to deliver to a specific population3. An apostle is delegated authority by God through the Holy Spirit to represent Him in especially a foreign land. Biblically, apostles were the very initial leaders of the Christian church. They were commissioned by Jesus Christ to preach the gospel and ensure that is spreads to the entire globe. In this respect, apostles were a

Developing an action plan Essay Example for Free

Developing an action plan Essay The Utah Symphony has proven its ability to generate substantial sums of Revenue with both performance revenues and by securing large sums of income from governmental grants along with generous contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations. The Symphony’s ability to draw large crowds along with their demanding schedule length allows them to offer the community ample opportunities to participate. The Symphony provides sustainability for 83 full time musicians, and this allows them to concentrate on the goals of the Symphony without the worries of looking for other income opportunities. Mr. Lockhart is a very talented and experienced music director that has a personal commitment to his symphony. Mr. Lockhart’s role as the music director comes with many challenges, it is through these challenges that he has elevated the Utah Symphony to the status they enjoy today. The musicians and Mr. Lockhart have developed a relationship of trust and respect, Mr. Lockhart has publicly acknowledged how important they are to the overall success of the symphony and his success as a director. The Utah Symphony has a very demanding schedule and with it comes great expense; the symphony needs to look for cost cutting options to maintain operations. They are relying on generous governmental funding and other contributions that are simply not what the previously had been. The symphony will need to look towards the possibility of reducing its staff’s income and benefits, to overcome this shortfall, which is a hard situation to deal with. Mr. Lockhart will need to take a stronger leadership role and develop a plan to approach the musicians about the dire situation they are in and try to develop a strategy to cut cost, however his personal relationship with them present a challenge that is not easy to overcome. Another concern is Mr. Lockhart does not want be perceived as â€Å"playing second string† when it comes to his Symphony and will need to look at the bigger picture to see what is best for the Symphony. Anne will need to be as straight forward and honest as possible about the  realties that the symphony faces, with regards to budget management and cost saving techniques. She will need to gain the trust of the musicians much the same way Keith has by developing the understanding of the importance the musicians hold within the developing organization for the merger to be successful. She needs to develop a relationship with Keith and his position with the symphony that does not create tension within the merged organization. The Utah Opera has developed a business strategy that works. They are running a very profitable organization that utilizes effective methods for fundraising and obtaining other contribution resources. They have appropriated their budget to allow them to maximize what revenue they attain wisely; they will have very little reduction in governmental grants, and a projected increase in contributions for individuals, corporations and foundations in the year to come. They have a large inventory of costumes and productions sets and own the building and land they operate in. With Anne as the head of the UOC she has grown the budget from 1.5 million to almost 5 million; she’s an accomplished fund raiser for the UOC. Anne bring many talents to the UOC from stage director, to general director Anne is a very crucial part of the success of the UOC. The UOC faces a challenging future with the lack of performance revenues projected for the upcoming season and increase in production cost they may have to make adjustments to staff to maintain their level of security, however they have been running an impressive surplus of nearly half a million dollars. With the merger details made public they have had some staffing concerns and even the resignation of the Director of operations Leslie Petersen. Some members of the UOC staff feel they may be placed in the shadows of the Symphony and end up flipping the bill for the symphonies failures. Anne has undertaken a huge role within the merger of the organizations and she will need to make sure she doesn’t lose focus with the day to day operations of the UOC, since she is currently without a Director of operations. Anne has a proving record of running efficient organizations and may not be sensitive to the needs and desires of the employees from both the UOC and USO, due to her drive for efficiency. Anne needs to place a Director of operations for the UOC as soon as possible. She will need to talk with her current employees and provide the assurance they need in regards to the important role they play in a successful merger. She will want to assure that the organizations will work together as one and the UOC will not be left flipping the bills from the shadows. Anne will want to continue to meet the needs of the UOC to maintain it level of success. Analysis of Company scorecards Financially the goals of the USO and UOC are quite similar they both are concerned with financial stability with increased profitability. Fund raising is realized as being very important to maintain that profitability with the USO focused more on keeping ticket prices the same as last year and the UOC with increasing their endowment being a priority, which has one to think that the UOC is more concerned with money then the artistic exposure aspect that the USO has. Both organizations have goals of increasing profitability, with the USO planning on a significant increased goal, the UOC just wants to increase the reserve funding (there security blanket). Both organization have similar goals with respect to notoriety however due to the size and scope of the entertainment they provide, the USO has a more world vision on success with the UOC is focused on national and regional recognition. Both organizations realize their success depends on great performances and talented performers; they remain very similar in that aspect. The crowds say it all and both the UOC and USO know that feedback and attendance is very important, but they have different views on how to gauge this with the USO focused on feedback directly from exiting customer and the UOC judging this by the ability to producing sell out performances. The internal processes of the two organizations are quite different with the USO maintaining the staff of it musicians tear round, and the UOC gaining new performers for different performances, they face different sets of challenges they both negotiate salaries for the performers and talents with  profitability being a major tactic. They measure the success of the internal process differently as we with the USO depending on improving ticket sales and returning customers the UOC is depending on reviews and profitability measurements for success. With respect to learning and growth, the organizations differ slightly. They are concerned with increasing the amount of performances, with the USO focused more on gaining a younger crowd the UOC is just trying to keep sales growing. They both realize the importance of ticket sales to their success with the UOC again is concentrating on having the increase in bottom line, where as the USO wants greater returning audiences. The scorecard does address some of the strengths and weakness, I developed prior but should have a better focus on what the organizations can do to improve and assure they will be successful in the future. The balance score card may not align with all the strengths and weaknesses of an organization but it more approximately focuses on what direction the organization desires to go to meet its desired outcome. USO UOC Balanced Scorecard Financial  ·Strategic Goal: Being Financially stable with increased profitability  ·Critical Success Factor: Maintaining highly successful fundraising efforts to maintain ticket prices and endowments.  ·Measure: Increase profits providing Surplus deficits. Customer  ·Strategic Goal: Providing Top notch performances and gain Notoriety  ·Critical Success Factor: Acquiring quality performers  ·Measure: Ticket sales and exit surveys Internal Process  ·Strategic Goal: Attracting top talent while improving profitability  ·Critical Success Factor: Negotiating contracts closely to assure profitability  ·Measure: Improved profitability, and ticket sales. Learning and Growth  ·Strategic Goal: Increase of productions to more appealing crowds  ·Critical Success Factor: Increased profitability with Larger demographic  ·Measure: Return sales and exit survey results The weakness of the merged organization with regards to the financial stability will be how to distribute the profits; they both have goals to increase profitability which is a good starting point, they will just need to develop a solid plan. With regards to the customer the organization wants to increase its overall notoriety and exposure to different demo graph’s and this is a great strength they share and can benefit from. With regards to Internal processes the current goals they share to maintain profitability while negotiating salaries is a weakness due to the inherently different classes of talents the organizations face and how they can balance that difference while maintaining peace. The organizations share the goal of increased growth and exposure to a varied age group while increasing production so this should be a strength that they both will benefit from and have little trouble adapting to. With the balance scorecard in place, the financial issue that could arise would be how the profitability of the organization should be allocated, whereas the UOC is more focused on maintaining its endowment the USO is more concerned with keeping ticket sales stagnate while keeping the musicians happy. The Humans resources department will be dealing with two very different groups of talent and with the USO musicians union to deal with they will have a very challenging task with the merger.  When dealing with customer satisfaction, due to the organizations producing very different types of productions they have a level of frustration and confusion with scheduling and production run times. The best way to educate customers on the performances will be through advertisements and customer interactions such as exit surveys and questionnaires. The new merged company executive will want to develop a detailed business strategy that will show how the organization will be able to maintain its level of profitability while achieving all the financial goals it has developed. The new executive must help the Human resources department understand their roles and assemble this department from both organizations to be successful. As with any company customer satisfactions should be a priority and by educating the public about the benefits of the newly merged company and the great performances you provide can greatly increase your exposure to a larger customer base.

Nationalism from a Marxian Perspective :: Politics

Nationalism from a Marxian Perspective The mobilization of the masses to both support and participate in a wide variety of cultural and political endeavors is often achieved through nationalism. It can be used to get a society to push for a return to traditional ways and old-time religion, to press on for national liberation and self-determination, to support or fight vast acts of imperialism and genocide, as an excuse to severely obstruct rights and liberties for citizens, and ultimately be used as a great tool in a quest for all out war and full throttled vengeance in any case in which a country is attacked. For decades, the Nationalist tendency of America has not been as clear or strong as it has been during the current aftermath of the attacks in New York City. The response across America has been widespread and clear: people, by and large, and in full support of the state and whatever path it wishes to choose, with a majority of the population even supporting secret military trials and a strict curtailing of civil liberties in America. Nationalism is running rampant in America, much of which goes far beyond mere patriotism and concern for the state of one’s nation and rather into astonishingly high levels of First World chauvinism. But what does this mean on a larger level? How is nationalism used on a larger scale? Is it most always used to have the mass blindly follow the interest of elites? Or is nationalism more complex? To answer these questions, in this paper I will address nationalism on multiple levels and from a Marxian perspective. Nationalism will be dealt with at a structural level, with an examination of how it utilized in both the First World and the Third World. Many basic descriptions of what nationalism is exist, and defining precisely what nationalism means is not an easy task. This is in large part because the causes and effects of nationalism greatly varies from social context to social context, as the concrete social reality determines the specific shape and character that the nationalism idea takes when it comes to hold a large part of the consciousness of a society (I say the ‘nationalism idea’ for I feel that nationalism is, primarily, in the realm of the ideological). Put more succinctly â€Å"Nationalism can be, and has been, democratic and authoritarian, forward-looking or backward-looking, socialist or reactionary† (Kamenka 1976: 3).

Global Inequality Caused by Consumption

Core issue: consumption causes global inequality. Global inequality is the inequality in distribution of income and wealth between rich and poor countries. A concentration of wealth is in the hands of very small number of people. A study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research at United Nations University reports that the richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. The bottom half of the world adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth.According to the wealth concentration theory, those who already hold wealth have the means to invest in new sources of creating wealth or to otherwise leverage the accumulation of wealth, thus are the beneficiaries of the new wealth. Over time, wealth condensation can significantly contribute to the persistence of inequality within society. This correlation between being rich and earning more is also contributed by plutocracy: t he ability of the rich to influence government disproportionately to their favor thereby increasing their wealth. This unjust global trade regime as a primary cause in increasing global inequality ————– Wealth and poverty make life different in a host of ways. health, education, literacy, child labour, employment, gender, political participation, higher level in countries with higher income Compare their economic productivity–>classify countries.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) & Gross National Income (GNI) The World Bank uses GNI per person to classify countries. Low income (P559) For example, workforces in China, much of which is well trained and educated and now receive extremely low wages-sometimes less than one-twentieth of hat workers earn in comparable jobs in the developed countries. These institutionalised inequalities result in greater marginalisation within society. The report emphasises the inevitable social disintegration, vi olence and national and international terrorism that this inequality fosters. Ironically, the diversion of social development funds to national/international security and military operations produces further deprivation and marginalization, thus creating a vicious cycle.