Sunday, December 29, 2019

The Anglo-Saxon Sonnet Rewriting Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130

The Anglo-Saxon Sonnet: Rewriting a Shakespeare’s Sonnet â€Å"130† Through the Eyes of the Author of Beowulf My woman’s sight-seers shine like the sun; Her kiss-givers grant a great fiery glow; Her bone-house is a rare beast made to stun; The hairs on her head hang as soft as snow. Like a pollen-producer gleams garnet, Her cheeks blush, blinding any early man; Unlike a slimy serpent’s foul sweat, Her scent smells of fresh gold, or better than. Her voice flows like the whale-road, that I’m sure, My love quickens when I hear her murmur; She strolls above the ground, I can assure, For my toes touch the terrain more firmer. My fondness for her, rapid in my heart, Will keep us together, never to part. William†¦show more content†¦Shakespeare also incorporates alliteration in sonnet â€Å"130,† but not quite to the extent of usage like the author of Beowulf. Kennings are another writing method that the author of Beowulf deeply integrates throughout his poem. In Beowulf, the kennings â€Å"wave-crosser† and â€Å"sea-shawl† are used to give short metaphors of specific things such as a boat and the sail on a boat. In my rewrite of sonnet â€Å"130† I stressed and slightly exaggerated the usage and variety of kennings to demonstrate this unique figurative language that’s greatly adopted by the author. I note the compound â€Å"kiss-givers† to describe this certain woman’s lips. This kenning explains the intended purpose that the woman’s lips hold to the speaker; to give kisses to him. Another kenn ing I added is â€Å"pollen-producer,† which represents a flower. The flower is then later compared to the woman’s blushing cheeks. This kenning assists in giving the striking picture of the woman’s face by comparing it to a delicate, beautiful, red flower. Kennings are a form of metaphoric language that adds variety to the poem, while also helping the described features be more understood by using a familiar comparison. Imagery is seen in both William Shakespeare’s works and in Beowulf to suggest a more significant visual experience for the reader. Imagery can help set the scene, describe a character, or explain an event; imagery can be utilized for a countless number of situations. In

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Socialism Theory Vs. Praxis From A Christian Worldview

Socialism: Theory vs. Praxis from a Christian Worldview In Thinking for the Sake of Global Faithfulness, Thabiti Anyabwile, reminds us that we are called to be thinking people As Christians, he says, â€Å"we are called to love the Lord our God with all our mind, all our intellect, in the cause of being faithful to God and enjoying Him forever† (2011, p. 82). In considering an alternate worldview, such as socialism, careful mindfulness should be applied. It must be done with logic and, as good Christians, with heart. Dr. James Henderson would agree with this, as he says we must be â€Å"humble and redemptive† in evaluating a worldview. (Henderson, 2015) In this paper, I will evaluate socialism as theory versus praxis with humility and a redemptive Christian worldview perspective and, in so doing; expose the true fundamentals of socialism as nothing more than the very elitism and totalitarianism it sets out to eradicate. Socialism came about at the end of the Eighteenth Century following the French Revolution and the fall of the French monarchy. The weak and incompetent French monarch, Louis XVI and his controversial queen, Marie Antoinette, lived a lifestyle of excess and opulence while the French people starved due to years of bad crops and economic uncertainty. Louis XVI was indecisive, irresponsible, and completely out of touch with the desperate needs of his people. Resentment for the French monarchy paved the way for movements like socialism and liberalism, all of which hadShow MoreRelatedOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pages. Organization Theory Challenges and Perspectives John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson . This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of workRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pageslittle significance. But there is little agreement over when the twentieth century c.e. arrived, and there were several points both before the year 2000 (the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, the surge of globalization from the mid-1990s) and afterward (9/11, or the global recession of 2008) when one could quite plausibly argue that a new era had begun. A compelling case can be made for viewing the decades of the global scramble for colonies after 1870 as a predictable

Friday, December 13, 2019

Work Placement Reflective Free Essays

Introduction This is a sample of the reflective diary kept during my work placement with Viridian Housing. The experiences accounted in this sample reflect those used in support of my critical review. A reflective diary is a private record of experiences throughout work placement. We will write a custom essay sample on Work Placement Reflective or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is very important to use this diary to report thoughts, feelings and opinions rather than reporting on the factual events of the day. A reflective diary is also important for keeping a record of both the positive and non positive experiences, as well as the achievements. The purpose of reflection is a means to be able to think things over or to visualize. Reflection involves complex mental processing that discovers new ideas or inter-relationships between ideas.[1] Accurate reflection will help us improve our decision-making, deal with issues in everyday work and social situations, discover new ideas and help understand ourselves better. There is a recurring theme with the tenancy checks and inspection visits that is very frustrating. I spoke to another tenant who is a long term tenant of Viridian. Invariably with the visits there will be small maintenance issues that need to be sorted out, however generally they have not been reported because they are minor and often aesthetic. In this case it was the issue of a window that was stuck shut. The tenant proceeded to tell me that there was a maintenance history, but that he would call one of the housing officers to sort it out, because that is the person they usually dealt with. Professionally this has no impact what so ever, as these things are recorded and can easily be dealt with. I found it frustrating however, because despite my position with Viridian, I feel that the tenants doubt my abilities and professional expertise. In this situation I remained calm and collected, as I suspect that this is a personal insecurity which will resolve itself with further experienc e in the field. I am also sure that there was no intention to undermine my position. I was proud that I was able to keep my composure despite feeling rather frustrated at the time. I spoke to one of my colleagues about it later that day and found out that this is a common thing with all housing officers. I was happy to learn this and am not dreading doing inspection visits as I was earlier in the day. An elderly lady came for a consultation after going to a number of housing organizations to attempt to get into a care facility. By the time she arrived in our offices she was at her wits end. Although the issue of finding accommodation for her is relatively simple and routine, I discovered that she really needed to just talk to someone that understood what she wanted and what she did not want. A lot of what she was complaining about had to do with housing organizations wanting to put her into a type of frail care facility, however this isn’t what she wanted. I feel like the respect that Viridian is always reinforcing in this industry really does have a place, as this lady clearly hasn’t been shown much respect and even though we have not helped her yet, she was incredibly happy and grateful at the end of the meeting. I am finding that so much about this position has to do with an attitude of respect towards to client. I do not think that one could succeed in this posit ion without the ability to build rapport with people and be friendly. I was proud to be a member of Viridian as the assistance that we can offer people in her situation, although not particularly unique, can make a huge difference in the lives of the elderly and disabled. I performed a tenancy check and inspection visit and was let into the property by who I assumed was family of the tenant. This was after significant problems in trying to gain access to the property and eventually after harassing the tenant for over a week, I was able to secure an inspection date and time. After having a look around the property it started to look a bit suspicious as it was clear that this family member was living in the property. After some questioning it became clear that the property had been informally sublet to this family member and that the actual tenant was now living somewhere else. Obviously illegal subletting has to be reported and the family member of the tenant will most likely be evicted from the property. I had mixed feelings about this, because she seemed like a very nice person who was going to bear the consequences of the mistake of the tenant. I felt very sympathetic towards her and going forward, I felt sad in having to report this to the housing officers. The matter was taken over by the housing officer that manages the property, however in subsequent reporting I found out that the matter has been settled. I was proud of my ability to be perceptive in this situation and follow my instincts. Although emotionally it was difficult to follow the rules, professionally this was a triumph as I followed my gut and in doing so discovered an illegal tenancy. There was an incident with an elderly couple that was occupying on the properties that had about three stairs throughout. Whilst in the office, I received a phone call from the husband informing me of the unsuitability of the housing for them because of the problems that the stairs caused. He then demanded that we find another house for them or see to it that there are the requisite ramps installed in the housing immediately. To that point I had not dealt with an issue like this, however I treated the matter as urgent and reported it immediately to one of my colleagues. The next day I received a phone call from the same man who was now irate that there had been no action taken as of yet and he shouted over the phone at me, not allowing me to speak. Whilst I understood his concern, I did not appreciate the disrespect shown towards me, especially since we had given him feedback on the issue and all things considered it was not urgent. I managed to stay calm during the whole conversatio n and tried to be as compassionate and understanding as possible. I calmly explained to him that we needed to get approval to install ramps in the property and there would be some delay. I was proud of myself for staying calm during that time as I was getting more frustrated as the man continued to rant at me. Moving forward, I learnt that when dealing with homes, people are always going to be upset, but as the professional you need to stay calm and do your job without getting angry or upset. There was an issue with a tenant that had a leaking roof that had allegedly been reported to the maintenance team. I checked the records and nothing was reflected. As there was staff training that week, I was alone in the office and the weekend was approaching. Not wanting the tenant to suffer any further water damage to her property, I went about organizing a repair team to go to the house to fix it the next afternoon, however got a call from the contractor who was at the house saying the tenant had said that someone had been around earlier to fix the problem from Viridian. This was incredibly frustrating as now the contractor would be paid for nothing and it was a waste of my time, the tenants and the contractors. I cross checked with the maintenance team the following Monday when training was over and discovered that they had organized for the roof to be fixed, however due to training they had been unable to update the records to reflect this. I was very embarrassed that I had no t first checked with the relevant housing officer, although at the time I felt that I was showing initiative. I feel like I learnt a valuable lesson through making this mistake that although showing initiative is encouraged, one must have all the facts of the situation before executing a plan. I had to explain the situation to the housing officer, who understood my mistake. I do feel however that there is some responsibility on the housing officer for not having updated the record, as it was clearly within my duties to have the maintenance issue sorted out and it is important to always update the files with the correct information at all times as these systems exist for exactly this reason. Although I was not formally reprimanded, I do feel that I was only part responsible. Nonetheless, I learnt a valuable lesson about communication between the different teams in Viridian and moving forward I shall ensure that I follow all protocol accordingly. Bibliography: Nolan, Y.,Moonie, N.,Lavers, S. (2005) Health and Social Care (Adults): S/NVQ Level 3, Essex, Heinemann Nolan, Y. (2005) Health and Social Care (Adults): S/NVQ Level 2, Essex, Heinemann. [1] Nolan, Y.,Moonie, N.,Lavers, S. (2005) Health and Social Care (Adults): S/NVQ Level 3, Essex, Heinemann How to cite Work Placement Reflective, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Question: Discuss about theCorporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Answer: Introduction In larger organisations, creation of new business is a very challenging task. Subsequent to many years of cutting costs as well as downsizing, it has been realised by the corporations of today that it is not possible to shrink their path towards success. Besides this, they have also realised that their growth cannot be rapid if they tweak their present offerings, take over their competitors or move to the developing nations. Due to the old product portfolios along with outdated technologies, a new imperative comes out clearly. Companies need to not only create and develop but also sustain innovation in businesses. They have to maintain their focus on two directions at the same time, on one hand the focus needs to be on the old while on the other hand it needs to be on seeking the new (Garvin Levesque, 2006). In this essay, the following question will be discussed - What are some of the challenges that are posed before the organisations in order to sustain corporate entrepreneurship and what strategies can be used for meeting these challenges? Thus, the focus will be on the major challenges for sustaining corporate entrepreneurship and how they can be overcome. Challenges Faced for Sustaining Corporate Entrepreneurship in an Organisation Organisations that operate in a dynamic environment need to be more innovative in order to absorb different kinds of pressures. Strong entrepreneurial characteristics like hands-on management, efficient operations, orientation driven by the customers, systems with good planning, leadership are the triggers for corporate entrepreneurship (Huse et al., 2005). However, the proposition of corporate entrepreneurship is very risky and the levels of entrepreneurial behaviour that are always increasing (pro-activeness, risk-taking and innovation) can worsen the performance of the company (Tang et al., 2008). A number of barriers are faced by the new ventures that are set up by the companies which are existing , because of this reason many of them fail. Businesses that are emerging, often do not mesh in a smooth way with the cultures, processes and systems that are well established. However, a mixture of new as well as old organisational traits is needed to achieve success by means of balancing the various acts. The organisations need to maintain equilibrium between these opposing forces for the success of the emerging businesses (Garvin Levesque, 2006). The organisational models which are traditional and driven by hierarchy pose complexities in fostering corporate entrepreneurship as boundaries that are clearly-defined and are created by them which chokes communication and limits flexibility (Dess et al., 1999). Organisations also suffer from political issues usually arising due to varied structures and this blocks free flow of information. Structures which are bureaucratic in nature restrict entrepreneurial behaviour in a company (Sebora Theerapatvong, 2009). The hierarchical levels in case of the structures that are traditional and in which responsibility is assigned to managers for entrepreneurial activities without the delegation of authority in adequate amounts also pose challenges to behaviour of entrepreneurship (Morris et al., 2008). There are several other issues which the management of the companies face in order to undertake creation of new businesses and also to sustain this corporate entrepreneurship. A culture which is averse towards risk and is also process-driven discourages employees to act in an entrepreneurial way. If such culture is present, then the levels of entrepreneurship will be low. The corporations are generally designed in a manner that ensures that their established businesses become successful. Majority of the revenues are derived from the existing resources. The current technologies and customers are supported by organisational systems which are fine tuned. It is easy to predict the operating environments and the goals of the executives are mostly ensuring efficiency, stability and also to make the maximum incremental growth (Steffens et al., 2009). However, new businesses differ, as most of them originate on the periphery of the established divisions of the company and sometimes they migh t exist in between the spaces. The operating and financial models are also different from the existing businesses. Most of the models of new businesses are not defined completely at the start and they gain clarity as new strategies are attempted by the executives, new applications are developed by them and new customers are pursued. As there is uncertainty of high levels which is associated with ventures that are new, organisational environments that are adaptive are required for their success (Holt Daspit, 2015). Three challenges that are presented by the new businesses are : lack of hard data, need for innovation which in turn needs fresh ideas and poor fitment between old systems and new businesses particularly in case of human resource management and budgeting. In case of the budgeting systems which have almost no space for failure, they pose threats for taking risks as availability of funds is not there for experimental projects (Morris et al., 2008). Apart from the systems of budgeting, other challenges like procedures and policies, strategic direction, and structure become barriers for sustaining corporate entrepreneurship. Some other obstacles which impede the entrepreneurial behaviour in organisations consist of limited managerial autonomy, limited rewards, red-tapism, personnel restrictions, procedures and policies (Morris et al., 2008). If the senior managers of the organisation do not involve themselves in articulating and driving the vision and mission and also do not align them with the strategic direction it puts constraints on the organisations entrepreneurial capacity (Venter et al., 2008). Often the senior management shows reluctance to embrace innovative ideas and are hugely fixed on conventional type of thinking (Wakkee, 2010). Very good examples of such a phenomenon are the circumspection of Ford Motors to embrace the cars which were hybrid and the reluctance of Microsoft software that was open-source. Most of the times, senior management shows unwillingness to accept ideas that are new and innovative as they are often seen as digressions from the business practice that is carried out normally (Spinelli Adams, 2016). Strategies for Meeting the above Challenges A balancing act is vital. The either-or approaches in relation to corporate entrepreneurship should be avoided by the companies as they cause conflicts between the new and old cultures. A new approach is required which will be able to blend the two cultures and also avoid behaviour that is of the extreme type. Leaning too much in a single direction will result in the process drifting out of equilibrium. However, if the balance is right, corporate entrepreneurship will be able to flourish. A balancing act is needed in the areas of organisation, operations and strategy. Open minded opportunism needs to be combined with disciplined planning. New businesses usually operate in environments that are highly ambiguous. A complete range of outcomes and alternatives are not known in an ambiguous environment which results in several possible directions as well as evolutionary paths. Ambiguity in high levels signifies that corporate entrepreneurs might not be able to get it correct in the first time itself. As it is difficult to obtain hard numbers and also to identify strategic options, little guidance is provided by past practices. It is essential to experiment. Managers need to start with the hypotheses regarding what might work and what might not and then look for ways to validate or invalidate their preconceptions and recognise that over time there will be changes in the first cut strategies (Tidd Bessant, 2001).. For firm as well as continuous rejuvenation of an organisation, a corporate entrepreneurial strategy needs to be developed which is not only able to recognise but should also be able to exploit the entrepreneurial activities which its own employees have identified. Employees need to be provided with an environment that is safe and gives them freedom of experimenting with new ideas and without having the fear that they will be reprimanded by the senior management if their ideas fail to produce the expected outcomes. As creating and renewing businesses comprise absence or presence of innovation, it becomes corporate entrepreneurships main component. Thus, collaboration is vital in discovery of innovative ideas as it helps in the promotion of a free sharing of ideas culture which is a necessity for innovation to occur continuously across a network of multiple firms (Wang, 2008). Existing programmes and policies need to be reviewed by the organisations for supporting and facilitating innovative and entrepreneurial growth (Clark, 2010). The managers need to have the ability of making changes in both strategies as well as tactics in order to make sure that performance of the organisation is effective and the survival of the organisation is ensured despite the opportunities as well as the threats that the external environment poses. The managers need to maintain a proper balance between objectives comprising trade-offs of complex nature such as reliability and efficiency and the innovative adaptation requirements to the emerging opportunities and also threats (Yukl Mahsud, 2010). Behaviours in the organisation which are of opposite kinds and also the values that are competing have to be balanced by the managers as per the situation so that a culture can be created for innovation (Kaiser et al., 2007). Leadership by setting an example is necessary so that trust is invoked. Managers can also sustain corporate entrepreneurship by ensuring that innovative capability is developed in the employees. This can be done by considering innovative capability more than RD. Apart from this, every part of the organisation requires undergoing the process of restructuring and employees who come up with innovative ideas need to be provided encouragement as well as rewards. Innovation needs to be viewed as something that provides the organisations with a competitive advantage along with being a mechanism that facilitates creation of knowledge that is new. The reason for this is that innovation capability links the innovation stream with the mainstreams technologies as well as capabilities. Despite the fact that uncertainty is existing, the managers need to accommodate and also channelize innovation breakthroughs that are generated by means of certain behaviours which are chaotic as well as divergent (Razavi Attarnezhad, 2013). Conclusion Intensified competition globally, corporate downsizing along with technological progress taking place rapidly have increased the need for companies to be more entrepreneurial so that they not only prosper but also survive. Firms that involve themselves in entrepreneurial endeavours register increased levels of profitability and growth in comparison to them firms which do not do so (Agca et al., 2009). Thus, in a dynamic environment, entrepreneurial approach is needed for organisational performance wherein they have to be flexible towards the dynamics of the environment and identify the opportunities which are new. The source for corporate entrepreneurship can be provided by the environments where the companies operate and since this environment is volatile and complex, competitiveness in the long run needs that organisations have openness towards signals related to the present and future environmental conditions and use it for innovating and also sustaining this corporate entrepreneu rship. A number of benefits are provided to the organisation by corporate entrepreneurship and innovation and hence the responsibility of building a capability of innovation is dependent on the organisation as a whole and commitment in needed from all the corners of the company including the senior management. Management needs to make adjustments of the variables which they come across and also to the organisational processes as well as priorities. Thus, corporate entrepreneurship and innovation has to be managed and understood in a proper way, a suitable culture has to be developed for it, the organisation needs to learn constantly and show high involvement in the process of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation in order to be able to sustain it. Bibliography Agca, V., Topal, Y. Kaya, H., 2009. Linking Intrapreneurship activities to multidimensional firm performance in Turkish manufacturing firms: an empirical study. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, pp.1-19. Clark, N.D., 2010. Innovation Management in SMMEs: Active Innovators in New Zealand. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 23(4), pp.601-19. Dess, G.G., Lumpkin, G.T. McGee, J.E., 1999. Linking Corporate Entrepreneurship to strategy, Structure, and Process: Suggested Research Directions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 23(3), pp.85-102. Garvin, D.A. Levesque, L.C., 2006. Meeting the Challenge of Corporate Entrepreneurship. Harvard Business Review, October. Holt, D.T. Daspit, J.J., 2015. Diagnosing Innovation Readiness in Family Firms. California Management Review. Huse, M., Neubaum, D.O. Gabrielsson, J., 2005. Corporate Innovation and Competitive Environment. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 1(3), pp.313-33. Kaiser, R.B., Lindberg, J.T. Craig, S.B., 2007. Assessing the flexibility of managers: A comparison of methods. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, pp.40 55. Morris, M.H., Kuratko, D.F. Covin, J.G., 2008. Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation. 2nd ed. USA: South-Western CENGAGE Learning. Razavi, R.H. Attarnezhad, O., 2013. Management of Organizational Innovation. International Journal of Business and Social Science , p.226=232. Sebora, T.C. Theerapatvong, T., 2009. Corporate entrepreneurship: a test of external and internal influences on managers idea generation, risk taking, and pro-activeness. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 5(10), pp.1-20. Spinelli, S. Adams, R., 2016. New venture creation: entrepreneurship for the 21st century. 10th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Steffens, P., Davidsson, P. Fitzsimmons, J., 2009. Performance Configurations overtime: Implications for Growth- and Profit Oriented Strategies. Entrepreneurship and Theory in Practice, 33(1), pp.125-48. Tang, J. et al., 2008. Exploring an Inverted U-Shape Relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance in Chinese Ventures. Entrepreneurship and Theory in Practice, 32(1), pp.219-39. Tidd, J. Bessant, J., 2001. Managing Innovation. Chichester, UK: John Wiley. Venter, A., Rwigema, H. Urban, B., 2008. Entrepreneurship: theory in practice. 2nd ed. Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd. Wakkee, I.E.T.a.M.S., 2010. Creating Entrepreneurial employees in Traditional service sectors. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 6(1), pp.1-21. Wang, C.L., 2008. Entrepreneurial Orientation, Learning Orientation, and Firm Performance. Entrepreneurship and Theory in Practice, 32(4), pp.635-54. Yukl, G. Mahsud, R., 2010. Why Flexible and adaptive Leadership is Essential. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, pp.81-93.